Transcription
Praise the Lord. And God bless you.
Welcome to another exciting episode of Doers of the Word Ministries broadcast on the Marketplace Network. My name is Bishop Reginald Givens and I am the senior pastor of the Word of Truth Community Worship Center. Our mailing address is 75 West Nuevo Road in the city of Paris, California, 92571. And we're blessed and excited to bring to you another message from the Lord that I believe will bless you and encourage you and to draw you closer to your relationship with God.
So, before we get started, let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you once again for you are good and your mercy endures forever. We thank you, Father, for this opportunity to share your word and I pray to God that it will go out and accomplish that which it is sent out to do. Your word will not return unto you void. Father God, I pray that you will prepare the hearts and the ears of your people to hear the word of God, to receive the word of God, to act upon the word of God, that we not just be hearers of your word, but Lord, that we also become doers also. I ask God that you will anoint my delivery, Father, that I may share your word with clarity and understanding and that your will will be done. This we ask in Jesus' wonderful name. Amen.
Grab your Bibles. Amen. And go with me to the book of Matthew. Matthew chapter 28 and we're going to look at verses 16 through 20. Matthew 28 verses 16 through 20. And then beginning in the 16th verse, it reads as thus. And this is actually what took place after Jesus was crucified. This is the scene after his crucifixion. Then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him. Watch this, but some doubted. Now, when you read this, the first person that might come to mind is the disciple named Thomas. Thomas is famous for having the nickname Doubting Thomas. But some doubted indicates first of all that the disciples were slow to believe. It also indicates that they were human. Not easily imposed on and could only be convinced on the strength of tangible evidence. But when they saw Jesus risen, it was it was the most conclusive proof that they were not deceived in regard to the fact of his resurrection.
Let's go on in verse 18. And Jesus came and spoke unto them saying, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." If you'll allow me to use my sanctified imagination, I can hear Jesus say, "All power is given to me and because all power is mine, I can go before you. Wow. I can even prepare the way. Because I have all power, I can give you power. I can even defend you as you do my will. And if you die, just know that the work will go on and shall be accomplished."
Verse 19. "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Amen. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of his holy word.
Matthew chapter 28, I believe, verses 19 and 20 are two of my favorite verses. Uh Jesus is letting them know, giving them the the direction to go teach all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you. And he says this, he says, "Lo, I will be with you always, even to the end of the world."
So, the title of my message today is this. Nothing has changed. Amen. Nothing has changed. This mission was spoken over 2,000 years ago to a different culture, to a different time and a different people, but nothing has changed. People are adamantly more hostile to the gospel of Jesus Christ more now than ever before. But nothing has changed. >> Wow. Other gods have deceived and crept into the hearts of men and women all over the world, but nothing has changed. People have increasingly become more fearful of not stepping on the preferences of certain groups that no longer fear the Lord. But nothing has changed. And yes, we live in a culture now where when you tell people what they need to change, they get mad. But in spite of all that, nothing has changed.
In Isaiah chapter 40 verse 8, it says, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth away. But the word of our God shall stand forever." And so after spending 3 and 1/2 years pouring and depositing into his disciples the mind of the Father, just before he ascended into heaven to be back with the Father, Jesus delivered unto his disciples the mission call. Amen. That call is for us to be witnesses. Amen. In Acts chapter 1 verse 8, it says, "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. And you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
The mission call is also that he called us to evangelize the world. In 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 5, "But watch thou in all things. Endure afflictions. Do the work of an evangelist. Make full proof of your ministry." That call was also for us to visit the sick, visit the shut-in and the incarcerated. In Matthew chapter 25 verses 35 through 36, it says, "For I was hungry and you gave me meat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. Naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came unto me. And people will say, 'Well, Lord, when did we see you in these these these uh positions?' And Jesus said, 'When you did it unto the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me.'"
And because the mission and the words of our Lord and Savior have not changed, we must band together, saints, and operate in the strength of what we believe. Amen. And the gospel is the foundation. It is the foundation of what we believe. Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Because it is what we believe that will bring conviction to the hearts of sinners. It is what we believe that will bring new converts into the church. It is what we believe that produces reconciliation back to the Father.
First and foremost, I just want to let you know, we believe the truth. Amen. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. For you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." We believe the Bible is the inspired and infallible word of God. We believe there is one God eternally existent in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. We believe in the deity of the Son of God. We believe in his virgin birth, in his sinless life, in his miracles, in his atoning death, in his ascension to the right hand of God, and his second coming to the world. We believe we are saved by the grace of God. We believe one must acknowledge and repent of his sins, accept Jesus as his savior, and receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
In Ephesians chapter 4 verses 3 through 6, it says, "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all." We have been empowered, saints. Praise God. We have been empowered for the mission. We've been empowered to reach the world for Christ. And I just want to encourage each and every one of you that in spite of what it looks like, in spite of the attack of the enemy, the mission is still possible. Amen, because nothing has changed. Regardless to who comes and goes, nothing has changed.
So, may his will be done. Amen. May his will be done in us. May his will be done through us. May his will be done with us. May his will be done for us. And may his will be done in spite of us. May his will be done. Because nothing has changed. Amen.
That is my message for today. I pray and I hope that something was said to encourage you to know that regardless of what has transpired since Jesus ascended into heaven, nothing has changed. He said what he meant, and he meant what he said, and he's coming back again real soon. And we don't want to him to come and find us with our works undone. So, be on guard, be alert, and as the Bible says, "Watch and pray." Amen.
Well, once again, my name is Bishop Reginald Givens. I'm the senior pastor of the Word of Truth Community Worship Center. Our mailing address is 75 West Nuevo Road, Suite E, 342, in the city of Paris, California, 92571. If the Lord would impress upon your heart, we solicit not only your prayers, but your financial support. If you could send in a donation of $10, $15, $20, $30, $40 dollars to help us continue on in this ministry, it would be greatly appreciated. You can send it to the PO Box address at the bottom of the screen.
Well, once again, thank you for allowing me to come into your homes to share with you this word of God. I pray that this will not be the last time we meet, but that on the next opportunity, we'll come back with you and we'll share another exciting word as far as us being Doers of the Word Ministries on the Marketplace Network. So, until such time, may God be with you, and may God bless you.