Go Forward

Our Lord told us that the field is the world. In politics today men are thinking in terms of international affairs, in business all the continents are being combed for markets, and even in daily life every newspaper reader is becoming world-conscious. And yet, we, the people of God have not fully realized that we are to be a testimony to the world. We say that the door of heaven is shut to everyone who does not come through Christ, and while millions are dying without having heard His name, we are shamefully cold and indifferent toward foreign mission work.

Shall we beat a retreat and turn back from our high calling in Christ Jesus? Or dare we advance at God’s command in the face of the impossible? Let us remind ourselves that the Great Commission was never qualified by clauses that called for advance only if funds were plentiful and if no hardship or self-denial were involved. On the contrary, we were told to expect tribulation and even persecution, but with it victory in Christ. Surely His answer today is just what it was in Moses’ day, “Speak unto the people that they go forward.”

Our way is plain. We must not retrench in any work which we are convinced is in His will and for His glory. We dare not turn back because the way looks dark. Of this we may be sure, that if we have been redeemed by Christ’s blood, and our called into His service, His work done in His way and for His glory will never lack His support. We must go forward in the face of the impossible even if we know only the next step.

And whether we labour in the churches, or in evangelistic work, or in missions, we must all seek to answer the cry of this godless civilization by turning men to Him who saves from the penalty and power of sin. This bewildered age needs to know that only the foundation of God standeth sure. God is using these days to tear many a man loose from the things to which his heart has clung. It is ours to show them incorruptible riches which bank failures and economic conditions cannot touch. It is ours to show them in the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in personal communion with Him a joy unspeakable and full of glory that cannot be affected by any outside circumstances.

We too must press forward, for it is no time for delay when a million souls a month pass into Christless graves in China, with other countries adding their hundreds of thousands. We must bring them that message that will deliver them from the power of Satan and bring them into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

For every Christian there is this challenge of man’s need and of God’s command to make all haste in the propagation of the gospel. Let us be sure that we are engaged in what is really His work, and then despite the difficulties, the remembrance of His faithfulness in the past will give us renewed hope and courage for the future.

People of God, does it not thrill our hearts today to realize that we do not answer such a challenge in our own strength? Think of it! God Himself is with us for our Captain; the Lord of Hosts is present in person in every field of conflict to encourage us and to fight for us. With such a Captain, who never lost a battle, or deserted a soldier in distress, or failed to get through the needed supplies, who would not accept the challenge to “Go forward, bearing precious seed”?

~ John Stam, April 21, 1932