PROOF of THE FACT

PROOF of THE FACT
by David Wilkerson

"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for
a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come"
(Matthew 24:14).

Many in the church today try to determine the nearness of Christ´s
return by reading the signs of the times. We see such signs in
specific events; for example, the return of the Jews to Israel. Yet
one of the clearest statements Jesus makes about His second
coming is contained in the verse above. The end will come only
after the gospel has been preached to all nations-as a testimony.

The word that Jesus uses for "witness" in this verse is the same
Greek word used for "testimony." It means, literally, "proof of the
fact." Christ is speaking here of not just preaching the gospel,
but presenting it as a testimony. In short, He says the gospel we
preach is effective only if it is backed up by a life that testifies to
its reality.

You would think that in America, a nation filled with thousands
of evangelical churches, there would be a strong gospel witness.
But many churches have compromised the true gospel of Christ.
The fact is, even with all the evangelical preaching in many of
these churches, there is very little testimony of Christ´s lordship
in the people´s lives to back it up. They are not a true witness
to the city or the nation.

Of course, there are exceptions. I think of a Baptist pastor who at
one time planned to build a huge new building. His congregation
was growing rapidly and he had begun studying the church-growth
movement. But then his wife was stirred to pray and seek the Lord,
and soon the pastor was doing the same. He quickly gave up his
dream of huge numbers and began to be a testimony of what he preached.

For a recent sermon, the pastor set up a big screen at the front
of the church. He told his congregation, "God´s Spirit has been
speaking to me about the sins of this church. And today we´re
going to see them in front of our very eyes!"

The pastor then flashed sin after sin on the screen-fornication,
adultery, alcoholism, drug abuse, pornography. Then he began
his sermon: "We´re not about to start building a big church right
now. We´ve got to get Christ´s living tabernacle straightened out
before we can do anything else. We have to live this gospel first!"
Today the Spirit of God is moving mightily in that church. People
are flocking to the Lord, getting their lives straight-because
they are hearing a gospel with a testimony behind it!

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/26074

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