One Message
by Francis Frangipane
"The Lord alone will be exalted in that day." - Isaiah 2:11
Normally my Sunday sermon is prepared a few days in advance, but this week was different. All week the heavens seemed like bronze. Saturday morning came and still I was at a loss. Nothing seemed alive. It was now Saturday evening and I was pacing the floor seeking God. "Lord," I asked, "What is the message for tomorrow morning? What topic should I address?"
A dozen ideas filed through my mind, loitered momentarily in my imagination, and left as unanointed as they had arrived. I went to bed praying. When I woke Sunday morning, my prayer was still on my lips.
A half-hour before I had to leave for church, I had not quit pacing the bedroom floor. For the umpteenth time, I asked, "Lord, what is the message?" when suddenly the electricity to our home clicked off, reset, and then came back on. This, in turn, caused the answering machine on my desk to also reset. Perfectly synchronized with my prayer asking for a sermon topic, the machine replied in its computerized voice: "You . . . have . . . one . . . message."
When a voice comes out of the air and says, "You have one message," if your message is not centered upon the life and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, you have missed the purpose of Christianity! That morning I preached Jesus. People said there was more fire than ever in my sermon.
The fact is, the church has only one message. The proclamation of who Jesus is and what He has accomplished is the eternal message of the church; it is the only message the Father promises to confirm with power. To reveal Jesus through obedience to what He taught is to bring the life of His kingdom into our world. As we return to the simple "purity of devotion to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:3), we will find the most powerful manifestations of the Lord Jesus awaiting us. Indeed, at the end of the age, the church that loves Him will display Him. We will reveal His glory.
The Answer: More of Christ!
When we consider that America is plagued with abortion, violence, pornography, Satanism, drugs, national debt, sexual abuse, and the breakdown of the family structure, it becomes obvious we need more of the nature of Christ!
Indeed, how shall we deal with the terrors that have invaded our world? Should we move to Idaho, stockpile food, and wait for the tribulation? Perhaps we should simply close our eyes to the world and hope for the rapture?
Or should we find out what God is planning to do and throw our lives into His purpose?
My prayer is that God would give you a vision of what He’s planning to do before Jesus comes for His elect. The time is at hand when the works Jesus did, we shall also do, and even greater works (John 14:12). What is coming on the earth is "the day of [God’s] power" (Ps. 110:3). Beloved, think about it: great opportunities are set before those who seek conformity to Christ’s image in this day.
It is a time to simplify our lives and focus on our transformation. We truly have one message!
Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane
Email: francis1@frangipane.org
Francis serves as senior minister of River of Life Ministries in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Francis' heartfelt prayer is to see the Lord fulfill His call to His church, and that He will continue to give grace until, in every city, Christlike pastors and intercessors are standing before God for their communities. |
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