Mark 16:15: “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'”

February 11th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

“The Great Commission” is a penetrating command in Scripture, second only to “You must be born again.” The phrase “go into all the world” literally means, “as you are going.” So it doesn’t just mean, go to a foreign land and be a witness, but everyday, as you go about your life, be a witness for the Lord. The world needs to see authentic believers, in real life situations, living out a godly relationship with Jesus. There are few things that turn unbelievers off to the gospel more than phony believers. It is a major temptation to try and cover up our problems, to act pious and religious, pretending we are holy. But if we want to truly influence our friends who don’t know Jesus, we can’t give the false impression that we never fall. We must be honest, even with ourselves, and admit we’re no better than anybody else and if it weren’t for Jesus Christ, we’d be in big trouble.

Some years ago, a major Christian publication did a study that concluded that it took 1000 lay people and 6 ministers 1 year to lead a single person to Christ. It was also estimated that 95% of Christians today will never lead a single person to Jesus Christ. This is the exact opposite of Jesus’ command for New Testament evangelism. It is interesting to contrast these facts with the life of John Harper, a Scottish pastor who was on the Titanic. When the alarm was sounded that the boat was sinking, he quickly got his 6-year-old daughter into a lifeboat and then started calling out: “Women, children, and the unsaved into the lifeboats.” Other survivors said that he went throughout the boat, witnessing to anyone who would listen until it went down. Four years after the Titanic sank, at a meeting in Hamilton, Ontario, a man stood and said:

I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought Mr. Harper of Glasgow, also on a piece of wreck, near me. “Man,” he said, “are you saved?” “No,” I said, “I am not.” He replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”

The waves bore him away, but, strange to say, brought him back a little later, and he said, “Are you saved now?” “No,” I said, “I cannot honestly say that I am.” He said again, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” and shortly after he went down; and there, alone in the night, and with 2 miles of water under me, I believed. I am John Harper’s last convert.¹

“LORD, make us as urgent about souls today as John Harper was then. Please allow us to see someone come to You through us this day.”

¹Herbert Williams, Denial Ain’t the Answer to My Problems, (Xulon Press, 2010), p. 90.