The Mission of Every Believer - Part II
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then said He unto the disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.” —Matthew 9:35-38
I believe in divine healing because it is scriptural. Let it be understood that every miracle Christ performed while on this earth was not done as God, but as a man filled with the Holy Spirit. Even though He was used of God in a way like never before, as believers we should follow suit and pray for those who need healing, whether that need is physical, spiritual, emotional, financial, or domestic.
James 5:13-15 says, “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
It can be easy to grow angry at God if He chooses not to heal you, but we should never become angry or frustrated at God. Regardless of our lot, we should continue to believe and trust Him, for He knows exactly what He is doing. If you find yourself growing bitter and angry toward God because of your current situation, then you need to re-evaluate yourself and change your attitude. It’s not God’s fault that He hasn’t healed you yet, but He knows what He is doing, and we should trust that He has everything under control. There is a plan for everything, and even though we may not know it yet, that plan will come to fruition, providing that we continue to trust Him.
He Was Moved With Compassion
As Jesus went throughout the cities teaching, preaching, and healing the sick, the Bible is very specific about one thing: He was moved with compassion. This is more than just a feeling of sympathy, but rather a sympathy borne in the very being of the individual that affects the entirety of a person. It was His sympathy that had its foundation in the very heart of Christ—His innermost being.
The word compassion has its roots in a heathen practice. Let me explain: When sacrifices were offered by a heathen, he would remove the animal’s intestines and, with his hands, hold the intestines up to the sun. It spoke of the very guts or inner being of the sacrifice (victim). That’s why this word means more than just sympathy; it’s that which is at the very center of a person.
Christ was compassionate toward the multitudes, and before we explain why, I would like to ask this question: Where is our compassion today? Unfortunately, much of the church world boasts in its compassion, but does little to show any. For the most part, we have become extremely self-righteous—we only care about what goes on in our inner circles and don’t spend much time concerned with anything or anyone outside of that circle.
Christ was concerned about people, and He was moved with compassion because the people fainted; they were sheep without a shepherd. This meant that there were religious leaders aplenty in Israel, but none who really had a heart for God. (Is it much different today? There are religious leaders aplenty, but very few have a true heart for God.) With no shepherds to tend to the sheep, the people did not know what to do, where to go, or what to really believe. Once again, this sounds a lot like what we are seeing at this present time. Without true biblical shepherds, or under shepherds, the people don’t really know where to go, what to do, or what really to believe. They are scattered abroad, faint, and weary.
Christ is the one true Shepherd—the head of the church—and those who are truly called of God and have a heart for God are, in all actuality, under shepherds (we must not supersede Christ). This is why the position of pope is ungodly because no one should ever be the head of the church, only Christ. We must do what He says do, and we must follow the Word of God to the proverbial letter, “rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15). Anyone else is looked at by God as a thief or robber (Jn. 10:8).
The Harvest Is Plenteous, But The Laborers Few
There has never been a truer statement than what the above heading states. It doesn’t take much to really see the world around us, and how those around us are living in complete and utter darkness. They are surrounded by spiritual darkness with no way or hope of ever escaping. So it’s extremely important that this gospel go around the world, and that we as believers do our part in spreading the gospel to those around us. There are multiplied millions in need of God and desperate for something to change in their lives, but the sad realization is that too few will bring them the message of redemption. The world is worth winning for Christ. You need to understand that. The world is worth winning for Christ, and we must take the responsibility of playing a role in seeing people brought to Christ. Dear Christian, quit relying on others when you are capable of telling someone about Christ. Many don’t because they fear rejection, but remember, it’s not up to you that they get saved. It’s up to you that they hear.
I understand that Matthew 9:37 refers to the fact that there are too few preachers of the gospel, but I also believe that every believer must be one. I understand that the majority of believers will never stand in the office of the preacher, but that doesn’t mean that we neglect our responsibility of leading others to Christ; we must declare to the world who Jesus is, and what He has done for them. Of all the preachers in the world today, only a minute group are really proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ; the majority is leading people astray with false doctrine. Those who lead others astray with false doctrine are, in my opinion, the worst enemies their followers could have because they are leading people to hell. That’s why it’s extremely important for preachers to preach the gospel, which is Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, for the Message of the Cross is the only message that can bring people to salvation and bring about sanctification in the life of the believer.
As we stated a little bit ago, the world is worth leading to Christ, and as believers we should take the responsibility to share the gospel with everyone around us. Don’t neglect this opportunity; there are souls waiting to hear the good news of what Jesus Christ has done, and they are waiting to experience what true deliverance really is. Each and every day, ask the Lord who you can share the gospel with—you never know what God can do through you, and you never know what God can do in the life of that person.
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