Born for such a time as this.
By Elizabeth Jordaan
In a theatre play, the first act sets the stage, the characters, and the plot. It builds up an intrigue until intermission, the pause before the climax. Our stage is the world. The characters are God, people, and Satan. God walked on stage first in his First Act, Creation. Satan walked on the stage in the Second Act, the Fall. This act was full of tragedy and ended with a complete wipe-out of all humanity and earthly life, except those preserved with Noah in the Ark. There was a short intermission before God introduced his Third Act and called Abraham onto the stage. His faith was counted as righteousness. Through Abraham faith spread, first to a family, then to a nation. Sadly, by the end of Act Three, the Israelite nation was enslaved and trapped in Egypt.
Then Act Four! God miraculously delivered Israel from Egypt, led them through the wilderness, gave them his Law and bound Himself to them with an eternal covenant. Act Four lasted for hundreds of years as Israel and Judah first served God then slowly lost their knowledge of Him and served Baal. The act closed as the favoured nation was exiled to Babylon.
Then, four-hundred years intermission. Silence. Until John the Baptist burst on the scene in Act Five. He boldly claimed that he was the forerunner prophesied by Isaiah. Jesus, God in human flesh, walked onto the stage. Empowered through the Holy Spirit, He spoke truth, delivered, and healed. His passion for God and his compassion for humans turned the world upside down. Act Five came to a dramatic climax with the crucifixion of Jesus and the moment He cried out: “IT IS FINISHED!”
Act Six opened with the empty grave. His astonished disciples saw Jesus in His resurrected body! For forty days He walked on the earth and appeared to people. Act Six closed with another dramatic ending, the Ascension of Jesus into heaven.
His disciples waited for ten days in the upper room. Early the morning of the day of Pentecost, the Third Person of the Trinity, stepped on the stage in Act Seven. God poured His Spirit out, and the Church was born! The disciples, empowered through the Spirit carried his Name to the ends of the earth. We were born into Act Seven. We stepped onto the stage our our birthday, but the day we were born-again our role and character transformed. We are crucial in God’s completion of Act Seven. We don’t know who the last person will be to accept Jesus as Saviour. Then the end will come.Â
The year 2020 will forever be remembered as the year that the world stopped. No more business as usual. Traffic ceased. Airplanes were grounded. Tourism came to a halt. Church doors closed. Weddings were postponed. Schools closed. Home became the office and the school. Hospitals became the frontline battlefield where doctors and nurses were the heroes. People died alone and scared. Governments were unequipped. The Church was caught off-guard. But God is in control.
Born…for such a time as this! There is no better time to share the gospel. People are afraid to die and are searching for a Saviour. Christ is the way. He is the answer. Jesus is alive. Death is defeated. God planned that we would be alive today. “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwelling…” (Acts 17:26-27).
We live in a totally new world and must rethink our mission strategy. Covid19 changed the way we do church. Travel restrictions interrupted foreign mission work. Missionaries are stuck in their home countries. Mass people migration brought the unreached peoples to our doorstep. The gospel must reach them. Let us prepare ourselves and seize the opportunity to complete the Great Commission. Let us be filled with anticipation of the Next Act, the return and reign of Jesus Christ.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, You loved the world so much, that You gave your only Son, so that whoever believes in Him, will not die but have eternal life. All those who received Him are called children of God. Here we are, living in the year 2021. We consecrate ourselves to You as living sacrifices. Here we are, send us! Open our eyes to see the harvest You long for. Deliver us from fear and intimidation. Empower us with your Spirit to speak with authority and clearly share the gospel to every person we meet. To the glory of your Name!
MAY THE LAMB RECEIVE THE REWARD FOR HIS SUFFERINGS! – Moravian Missionary Movement.