Today is a special Sunday. All Sundays are special but Gospel Sundays are extremely special. The reason it’s special is that it all began with evangelism. This glorious church that is supposed to go out there and possess the nations was birthed through evangelism. Somebody told somebody and that somebody told another somebody and the church grew. This glorious church cannot receive its promise unless we evangelize. The Bible says in Matthew 24.14 that this gospel will be preached as a witness to all nations and then the end will come. The glorious day of Jesus will never come unless we do what we are supposed to do. The pioneers of the faith never received what was promised because it was only through us that they were to be made perfect.
Beloved, this gospel must be taken seriously. No one person can do the work that Jesus has given to us. We knew we were supposed to bring people to church but not many of us made the effort to do so. Over the past six months, we are told over 500,000 people have died. When I see it I ask where these people are going. We will all die but at the end of it all, there is a bigger afterworld that we all need to go and face and the question is, “How are we treating the master’s assignment.”
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.” Then he said there are some sheep that are not in the pen and I must bring them in. When Jesus was saying that he had you and me in mind because he knew there would be a church like this with three million people who would go out and do the work. This world is not going to get any better for us. Let’s rise and do the work of the ministry. The glorious church can only possess the nations through evangelism.
Today I speak on the topic, “Everyone that calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Read Romans 10.8-15 and John 1.35-48.
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. This prophecy was first given in the book of Joel (2.32) when Joel prophesied about the end time. It was repeated in Acts 2.31 when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and Paul also repeated it. Our Lord Jesus is the last stop. He is the solution to every problem. It doesn’t matter what your situation is or how deeply you’ve fallen into sin. It doesn’t matter how society sees you but the Bible says if only you will call on the name of Jesus you will be saved. Jesus came with a complete package that is fully sealed and delivered. When you get him you have got everything you need. He came that we will have life and have it in abundance. If only you will call on the name of the Lord; if only you will acknowledge God’s only son and come to him, you will be saved; if not then the Bible is not true. You may be in this room or watching on social media; you may be contemplating many things; you may be thinking life has been hard on you; you may still be sleeping in your boyfriend’s room but I’ve come to announce to you this morning that if you will call on this name you will be saved. Jesus is calling to you. This salvation we are talking about is a big deal. It is a big deal because this earth is just a phase. Apostle Paul says the glory that is going to be revealed to us is nothing compared to what we see. It is a big deal because if you don’t go where God has prepared for his people there is a terrible place that you will go. Jesus who has his name on you will call you a child of God. if you are listening to me, you have found the solution to your problem. You have found your last stop. The problem is not Jesus’ ability to save. If only someone will call on his name, the person will be saved. The Old Testament prophets talked about it and the apostles repeated it but then Apostle Paul in Romans 10 began asking though-provoking questions.
How can they call on Jesus if they haven’t heard of him, he asked. How are they going to be brought in unless somebody deliberately brings them in? if nobody has talked to them about Jesus how can they know about him? Nothing is automatic. We read from John 1.35 that Andrew who was a disciple of John the Baptist got curious when he heard that Jesus was the lamb of God. He wanted to satisfy himself that he had got it. He followed Jesus and went to his house. The next thing he did was to go to Peter and tell him, “I have found the Messiah.” Peter was sitting somewhere minding his own business and somebody went to him with the message. This was Peter who was to become a pillar in the church. Can you imagine what would have happened if Andrew had not gone to him? There are several Peters in our homes and offices—great men of God that God can be used who have not even discovered that they can be used by God. How can they believe? As soon as Peter went to see, he was captured by the Lord.
The next day, Jesus called Philip but the next thing Philip did was to invite Nathanael. Even though Nathanael was skeptical, he went to see Jesus who told him things that confounded him. These people made it to the group of twelve but check how they came to believe.
We also have the story of Philip whom in Acts 8, when the church was being persecuted, was led by the Holy Spirit to join the chariot of a man who was reading the scriptures. He asked him “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man asked him, “How can I understand unless somebody teaches me?” (Acts 8.31) But this guy had gone to Jerusalem to worship. In fact, he was reading the scriptures. He had gone to worship. Who was he worshipping? What was he worshipping? There are many people going to church. They are looking for something in their lives. It is not enough to belong to a denomination. You may pass through the church and do all we do here but unless there is a Philip in your life who will teach you what all this is about you will never understand. As they were going they saw water. Then he asked, “What stops me from being baptized?” It was then that he got baptized. This is a man who had gone to worship but he needed Philip to help him.
Beloved let’s take this business of evangelism seriously. Let us get completely engrossed in it. You don’t need to mount a platform but there are Peters in your family. There are Nathanaels who do not know the Lord. Salvation is found in no other one but Jesus. There is no other name. What we have is the ultimate—the greatest gift of all. This is good news. When Andrew became convinced that he had found the Messiah he told his brother about him. Don’t you care that there is hell?
Main references
Romans 10.8-15, John 1.35-48