MONDAY August 26, 2024

Rejoice, Yes, Rejoice!

Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.
Philippians 1:15-18

Paul knew of men who preached the Gospel for their own purposes. He preached God’s Word out of love with a pure heart. He had a call to preach the Gospel. Paul genuinely cared for where people were going to spend eternity. Yet he rejoiced knowing that whoever preached God’s Word, even with false motives, the Word had power to transform lives.

If Christ was preached by pretense, His Word would not come back void. It would take root in people’s lives. Paul knew what the prophet Isaiah wrote about the power of God’s Word:

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

Paul had a perfect mindset about his preaching. As he was appointed by God to preach, he took the responsibility seriously:

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16-18).

Today, we have the same issue. There are preachers who have false motivations in preaching the Gospel. I have seen, and maybe you have too, TV evangelists who preach for money and fame. Like Paul, I preach God’s Word because of the love of Christ––it burns inside of me. It brings me joy to see people respond to the message of Jesus Christ.

...Whenever a day comes when I see men and women coming down the aisles without joy in my heart, I’ll quit preaching.
~Billy Sunday~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!