Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I started my day in exterminating ants in our office. Several kingdoms of ants found refuge in our building during the storms, and decided to settle down in the pots of our indoor plants. It was horrible to see hallways covered with long line of marching ants. In no way I know that I can completely eliminate all the ants in and around our building; I can only remove them from my sight, just like the way we can only remove temptation from our sight. We can never eliminate them while we live on earth. Temptation will pop up in where and when we least anticipate. Hopefully we are as committed to eliminate temptation like we try to exterminate ants from our sights.

"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). The key to the Christian message is the atonement of Christ Jesus. Take any phase of Christ's work - the healing phase, the saving and sanctifying phase; there is nothing limitless about those. "The Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world" - that is limitless. The Christian message is the limitless significance of Jesus Christ as the atonement for our sins, and a missionary is one who is soaked in that revelation.

The key to the Christian message is the remission aspect of Christ's life, not His kindness and His goodness, and His revealing of the Fatherhood of God; the great limitless significance is that He is the atonement for our sins. The Christian message is not patriotic, it is irrespective of nations and of individuals; it is for the whole world. When the Holy Spirit comes in He does not consider my interests or preferences, He brings me into union with the Lord Jesus.

A Christian is one who is wedded to the charter of his Lord and Master, he has not to proclaim his own point of view, but to proclaim the Lamb of God. It is easier to belong to a group which tells what Jesus Christ has done for me, easier to become a devotee to Divine healing, or to a special type of sanctification, or to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Paul did not say - "Woe is unto me, if I do not preach what Christ has done for me," but - "Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel." This is the Gospel - "The Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world!"

When the Apostles wrote their letters to circulate among churches, they intended to speak to every believer but not an elite group of devoted Christians only. That’s why preaching the gospel or bearing witness for Jesus Christ is the calling for all Christians. There is no difference between clergy and laymen. There is no class difference in the Body of Christ. We may have different role according to our giftedness. Just as Paul said, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit…All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines” (1 Cor 12:4, 11). God expects each one of us to faithfully exercise the gifts that He has given us for the common good (v 7). The problem with institutional church is to “professionalize” the ministry of the Body that give excuse for “laymen” not to participate; a college professor does not want to teach an adult Sunday, or a CEO of a multi-million dollars company hesitate to serve on a church committee But most important of all, they all don’t want to actively serve as witnesses for their Lord Jesus at work, simply because they are not trained as professional clergy. If all Christians are willing to stand up for Christ in wherever they are, many will have opportunity to know Him as personal Lord and Savior. I like the mission statement of Golden Gate reformed Church: “Blessed to bless, saved to serve.” Indeed, if we live out this mission statement, we can change the world. Amen?

Seek to live out your blessedness as the servant of God today.

Love you with His blessings,
Lawrence