A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day – June 5, 2019
This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).
I appreciate churches. I like big churches and little churches. I like churches that are built with a traditional look and I like contemporary structures. Some churches have pews, some have chairs. It doesn’t matter to me. I just love churches. One thing every church should have in common is this – it should grow.
In Matthew 25 Jesus told a parable of the talents. He said the master gave five talents to one, two talents to another, and to the third man he gave one talent. These talents were distributed according to the ability of the one receiving them. But what ability was Jesus talking about? He was talking about their ability to multiply what they had received.
When the master returned, the man who had been given five talents had traded wisely and multiplied them to ten talents. The man who received two talents multiplied them into four. But the man who had one talent hid it and when the master returned, he gave him back exactly what he had received – one talent (vv. 14-25). The master called this man a wicked and lazy servant (v. 26).
The point is, what God has freely given us, He expects us to share and multiply. Christians have been given the greatest gift in the universe. For those who receive Jesus as their Savior, they have been given eternal life and the availability of prosperity and health (3 John 2). In James 1:17, we’re told that God is a good God who pours out good gifts freely to all who will receive. Ephesians 5:1 tells us that we are to be imitators of God. God wants us to share the gift we have been given. When we do this, it can cause souls to be saved and lives to be changed.
If every Christian would live the life of victory that God has for us and share that victory with their friends, families, and co-workers, and if each Christian would only change the life of one person in a year, then our churches would double in size in twelve months. A church of ten would be twenty. A church of 100 would be 200. A church of 500 would be
1,000, and so on.
There is nothing wrong with a church with five members. But at some point in time, it should grow to ten. There is nothing wrong with a church of 50 people, but if the people in that church would share the good news of Jesus, then there is no reason why that church shouldn’t double in size in just one year.
Now don’t take me wrong. I’m not saying that every person has to act like a pastor or an evangelist or that you become bizarre in such way as to turn people off. I am saying that if each Christian would live their life according to God’s Word and lead one person to Jesus this year, then one year from today most Christian churches in the world would need an auditorium twice the size of what they have. Let’s begin this day to implement the principle of one and wrap this thing up so we can go home!
