NO BIBLE NO BREAKFAST DAILY BIBLE REFLECTIONS AND MORE

SCRIPTURE READING

ISAIAH 9:1-4

1 CORINTHIANS 1:10-17

MATTHEW 4:12-23

SUNDAY REFLECTION

“Prepare to preach the Good News” is the theme for our reflection. To prepare means to be ready to do something. To preach means to publicly deliver a sermon. Good News is the message about the gift of eternal life to humanity through repentance and Salvation in Jesus Christ. The theme can therefore be rephrased as being ready to proclaim God’s gift of eternal life to humanity through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. There are two important reasons why we must prepare to preach the Good News always.:

1. Preaching the Good News is the only way those who are in the darkness of sin will see the light of salvation.
2. Preaching the Good News constantly reminds believers that Salvation is Christ-centred and not human-centred.

Firstly, we must prepare to preach the Good News so that those who are in the darkness of hopelessness and sin will see the light or will be saved through our Lord Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 8:19-22 exposes Isreal’s idolatry and their status as people living in spiritual darkness. God does not give up on Israel but reassures His people of His love, therefore in Isaiah9:1-4 God promises to bring the light of salvation upon His people who were in darkness. The questions that lingered in the minds of the people were how and who will bring this light to deliver them from the darkness? Matthew gives us the Good News that Jesus is the light of the world that takes away the darkness from the people who had hitherto lived in darkness. In other words, Isaiah’s prophecy and God’s promise are fulfilled when Matthew wrote that Jesus was the light that Israel had been waiting for to be delivered from the darkness of sin and oppression. “Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— to fulfil what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:13-16). Dear friend, many of us are still in darkness in our generation and Jesus is the only light that can save us. Many of us are in the darkness of immorality, guilt, depression and confusion. Some of us have become hopeless because we have no one to turn to, but the Good News is that if only we shall genuinely repent and turn to Jesus in faith, welcoming Him into our lives to become our Lord and Saviour we shall experience the unquenchable light of Salvation, joy and peace in our lives. This is the core message of the Good News, “…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8). Just as Jesus called the disciples, “Come, follow me, …and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19), in order to prepare them to preach the Good News for the salvation of many, we have also been called to go out there ever ready to preach the Good News in bringing as many as we can to the saving knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Has our Church in the twenty-first century prioritised the preaching of the Good News? If yes, in which ways is the Church reaching out to those in the darkness of sin and spiritual bondage to liberate them. As a believer and a disciple of Jesus, are you always prepared to preach the Good News in the world of darkness, especially to your colleagues at work, friends and family members? Let us remember that Jesus first delivered us from darkness and made us fishers of the lost and perishing in the world. We must prepare to preach the Gospel through our social media platforms and through any means available to us. We are greatly encouraged by Paul’s admonishment in his letter to Timothy that “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage —with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:1-5) Dear friend, it is now our turn to prepare to preach the Good News and save as many as we can in our lost and dark world!

Secondly, the church must constantly be reminded through the preaching of the Good News that our Salvation is Christ-centered and not man-centred. Pastors, evangelists, teachers and all other ministers and leaders of the church are called to preach the Good News through their various ministries and leadership roles. We are to lead believers or Christians to focus and totally put their faith in Jesus Christ who is the foundation and head of the Church. When we reduce the church to a human-centred entity there will be division in the Church and the preaching of the Good News will no longer be the attention or focus of the Church. Paul identified this weakness in the Corinthian Church and admonished them “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought…One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?… For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” (1 Corinthians 1:1,12-13,17). In other words, we are called to preach the Good News and win souls for Christ, this is the business of the Church and for that matter every Christian. A true Christian leader (pastor, evangelist, elder etc.) will always focus on his or her calling and be prepared to preach the Good News to bring people to Christ and not to himself or herself. There is division in some churches today because leaders have succeeded in dividing the congregation by focusing attention on themselves and not on Jesus Christ and the Salvation of the members. No wonder, James 3:1 warns us that “Not many of you should become teachers (Christian leaders), my fellow believers because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. “(James 3:1). Let us remain focused on Christ and His teachings and constantly prepare to preach the Good News, the reason for our salvation. Through the preaching of the Good News, we remain united in Christ and prepared for His second coming.

In summary, we have reflected on the theme “prepare to preach the Good News” We have espoused two important reasons we must always be prepared to preach the Good News. First, we must prepare to preach the Good News because it is the only way those who are in the darkness of sin will see the light of salvation on earth and second, we must prepare to preach the Good News because it constantly reminds believers that Salvation is Christ-centred and not human-centred. May the Holy Spirit continually empower us to be prepared to preach the Good News for the salvation of those who are still in the darkness of sin in the world. Amen.