We live in very exciting times. We hear of the amazing waves of souls coming to Christ, and the news gets better when it comes from places that were unreachable in the past, and where preachers were brutally prevented with many becoming martyrs.
All over the world, there are news reports of people encountering the Lord Jesus Christ in visions and dreams, especially in the worlds of other religions. These revelations are always about Christ leading the people to accept Him as their Lord and Saviour. Incredible as this may sound, it is also a sad commentary on us as Christians that perhaps we are leaving our core mandate of witnessing to the world undone, compelling the Master to practically set foot in the field He left for us.
In Matthew 28:18–20, Jesus revealed that all authority had been given to Him, and commissioned every Christian beginning from the disciples to ‘GO therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising…and teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…’. The resultant effect of Christ’s authority is our GOing to make disciples. The New King James Version of the Bible clarifies it; since Christ has the authority, we are equipped, boldened and entrusted, therefore, with making disciples of all nations. It is our assignment; when we fail God by keeping quiet, then Christ will bypass us to let ‘stones’ cry out (Luke 19:40) with the salvation message to a world in dire need of it (Romans 8:19). In preaching the gospel, we praise and please God with one of the highest kinds of worship we can give.
Jesus Christ will build His Church, with or without you and me. He will always have a remnant, but for those who do not ‘Go’ to make others disciples, this form of disobedient would have made them members of the gates of Hades, which try to prevail against the Church without avail (Matthew 16:18). Whenever someone comes to the saving knowledge of Christ and confesses Christ as their Lord and Saviour, they join Peter in making that confession of Christ as the Rock in Matthew 16:16 upon which the Church is being built. On this acknowledgement and acceptance, they automatically become additional human blocks laid on the Church Christ is building. However, before they become part of the building (make the confession), they must be moulded into blocks (preached to). This work is the responsibility of the co-labourers (Christians) and not the master (Christ).
As we mark Evangelism Week in The Church of Pentecost, this responsibility placed on us must drive us and carry us on to bring all other sheep outside the pen (John 10:16) through the only Way (John 14:6) into the pen (God’s Kingdom). Let us not relegate this task to visions and dreams of Christ to the unsaved. We must be seen on the ‘Go’. And as we go, we must reach all nations.
In the light of reaching all nations, the introduction of special ministries in The Church of Pentecost must be of interest to all Christians. These special ministries, such as Home and Urban Missions (HUM), Schools Outreach Ministry (SOM), Pentecost Workers’ Guild (PeWG), Ministry to Royals and Politicians, and Ministry to Persons with Disabilities (MPWDs), must be part of the fore-burner as we endeavour to reach all nations. These have become wings of the gospel we must all ride on to get the gospel going.
On May 13, 2023, the Okyeame (royal linguist) of Gomoa Jukwa in the Central Region of Ghana, Okyeame Kobina Akwando I, was laid to rest. As I sat through the burial service and heard the tributes read in memory of a man who was a Christian for just seven (7) months, I asked myself, ‘What if the gospel had not flown to this man?’
The introduction of the special ministries by Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye, the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, as part of the roadmap to achieving the church’s Vision 2023 mandate of possessing the nations, birthed a passion for embarking on ministry to the ghettoes and people living with disabilities in Swedru. The Lord blessed us, and an Assembly (local church) was opened for the hearing-impaired. One of the founding members of the Assembly was Sister Elizabeth Akwando, daughter of the late linguist. Through her, we got to know her family, which had all her siblings having a hearing impairment. Virtually the entire family except the Okyeame and his wife did not have the impairment.
The church took particular interest in their situation to offer any assistance we could. We also shared the gospel with the family; over time, Elizabeth’s life influenced her father and many household members to accept Christ. It is said that Okyeame Akwando I, a hard man to deal with, suddenly became sober and humane, and soon members of the royal family were influenced to accept Christ. Some members of the chief’s palace who had abandoned going to church soon started attending their former churches again due to the transformation they saw in Okyeame Akwando. This is the testimony of what preaching the gospel to just one soul can do. First, it was just Elizabeth, but today, the message has reached her entire family and the larger royal families of Gomoa Jukwa.
Every Christian is blessed with the mandate to ride on the wings of the gospel and get it to the world. When God saw the Ethiopian Eunuch searching the Scriptures, He sent Philip to preach the gospel to him, not angels or visions (Acts 8:26–31). Again, when the Centurion was visited by an angel for his devotion, he was asked to look for Peter (Acts 10:1–44). For ‘…how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14).
We have all been called to evangelise (Romans 10:15, Matthew 20:19). Let us gird our loins and get going. For we bear the gospel of peace on our feet (Ephesians 6:15). Those are “beautiful feet” (Romans 10:15); let us bring them to the world. Take a ride on the wings of the gospel, be a Philip and visit a confused world that needs to understand this Jesus you have (Acts 8:31). Hark the clarion call!
Written by George Osei-Asiedu
