The Church’s Message to the World

So [as the result of the Messiah’s intervention] they shall [reverently] fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him and put him to flight [for He will come like a rushing stream which the breath of the Lord drives]. (Isaiah 59:19)

And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end.(Matthew 24:14) {Emphasis mine}

We are certainly living in extraordinary times – a worldwide pandemic, civil unrest, and men’s hearts failing them, filled with uncertainty, anger, and fear. What an opportune moment this is for the Church to share God’s message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18); His answer for all of the misdirection and destruction that Satan causes in the lives of men.

In Matthew 24:3 the disciples asked Jesus concerning future events :

Tell us, when will this take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end (the completion, the consummation) of the age?. (Matthew 24:3)

He spoke to them of wars and rumors of wars, lawlessness, earthquakes, famine, and rebellion against God:

And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred. (Matthew 24:10)

Certainly wars and lawlessness and earthquakes and famine are not unique to this moment in time. They have been plaguing mankind throughout history. And while we cannot know exactly when the Lord will return (Matthew 24:36), {although a careful study of Scripture will give us clear signs that will precede his second coming}, what we are experiencing today could correctly be regarded as the “beginning {the early pains of}the birth pangs” (Matthew 24:8) that usher in His return.

What then is the standard spoken of in Isaiah 59:19 that the Lord raises up against all of this evil? And how is the Church to represent this standard to the lost people of the world? Notice that Isaiah speaks of “the result of the Messiah’s intervention“. Jesus, the Messiah, is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14). He is the Word spoken that created all that we see ( Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:2-3). The Word intervenes in the lives of men causing a reverence for God and His ways and a defeat of the enemy and his ways. And Jesus, the Word, instructs us concerning the standard we are to offer the world.

In the face of turmoil and dissension and anger we walk in peace. This is not a suggestion or a trite Hallmark card message. It is our Lord’s requirement; it is meant to be the vantage point from which we operate:

Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right. Let him search for peace (harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts) and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!] (1 Peter 3:11) {Emphasis mine}

It is the church’s message to the world. This is what life in God, trust in God, looks like. In His care nothing can rattle us; no weapon of the enemy will prosper;

But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord. (Isaiah 54:17)

It is a peace that the Word says is beyond natural understanding:

And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”. (Philippians 4:7),

and it is a peace God wishes for the world and a peace they sorely need.

In the face of hatred and civil unrest and conflicting views, we show love – always. We are in Christ, children of God and He is love (1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:16). Jesus commanded it and taught that this is the way the world will recognize us, by our love (John 13:34-35). The most important thing the Church can do is lead others to salvation, to demonstrate the peace and the love that are meant to be our calling cards to the lost and our rebuke of the enemy’s tactics. Love effectively nullifies fear. Love is of God – fear is of the enemy.

Again I say, the most important work of the Church is to share the Good News of the kingdom of God. That’s why Jesus came – to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). That’s our mandate as well. Let us be purposeful and single-minded about this.

To the weak (wanting in discernment) I have become weak (wanting in discernment) that I might win the weak and overscrupulous. I have [in short] become all things to all men, that I might by all means (at all costs and in any and every way) save some [by winning them to faith in Jesus Christ]. (1 Corinthians 9:22) {Emphasis mine}