Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Who gave this commandment? Jesus did. “Go and teach all nations.” This is a message - a challenge for all of us: To teach not merely some, but all. Every human being must hear the message; everyone is to hear the word. The harvest time is almost closed; the opportunity for sinners to be converted will soon be past. You must preach the word of God. You must prove all things from the word of God. You must pray the word of God, love the word of God, and do all in your power to make others love the word of God.

“Behold, the Saviour comes. Lift up your heads ye saints. He comes, He comes, He comes.” Who spoke these words? William Miller.

Let us put forth our best energies in this cause. Let everyone, by the help and grace of God, win at least one soul. One more.

Do we ourselves need or feel our need of internal evidence that we are prepared to meet Christ - or are we still telling the Lord, “Not yet, wait a little longer,” because internally we don’t feel we are prepared to meet Him.

There is a difference between being prepared and not being prepared. We need to be prepared. Our character must be cleansed from all sins by the atoning blood of our Saviour.

By the grace of the Lord at the age of 16 I was asked, “Why do you read the Bible?” (That was even before I knew this message.) It was at a military camp before 400 people. Three of us were called to the front to tell the ten officers why we read the Bible. I was the last to be asked. I told them in my simple understanding of the word of God to the 400 there: That I read the Bible because it tells me about Jesus Christ, my Saviour.

What are we to proclaim? Christ, yes, for we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus. This is the word we must tell the world.

In the region where the Lord called me to preach, many asked me, “Who is this Christ Jesus you are talking about?” Some had never had the Bible in their hand. In Mongolia we had a problem finding interpreters. Thankfully, I had met a young lady in Beijing, China, who asked me, “Are you going to Mongolia too? I am Mongolian. I am an ambassador here and I am going home on vacation. If you need any help, let me know.”

When finally I met the believers in Mongolia, they said, “We have no translator.” I remembered this lady and called her, explaining that I was to preach and I needed her help to translate for me. She answered no, that she had never held the Bible in her hand and did not know the language of the Bible. I responded, “You will understand Bible language.”

Soon the lady arrived in a luxury car to the very poor area where we have our little tabernacle. No car like that ever comes to that area! I had a Mongolian Bible. I said to her, “Now you have it in your hands.”

I presented Daniel 2. The lady marveled; she never knew there was anything like that in the Bible. We gave her a Mongolian Bible as a gift.

We have to preach Jesus - the message of righteousness, the message of salvation showing that there is hope in Christ for every sinner.

Do we believe that? This is the message we must give to the world. Not everyone will accept the message of Jesus Christ, but the whole earth will be lightened with His glory, His character. We need to arise and shine. We must have this glory ourselves before we can have influence among the people.

This message of the righteousness of Christ, as given by the fourth angel of Revelation 18, must be brought to the world. This angel has great authority. Christ preached as one having authority - not the authority of degrees of great colleges or universities. In the eyes of the people, Jesus was a simple man, but when He spoke there was power because His life had power when He spoke.

Are we giving this message to the world? Or are we somewhat timid? Reluctant? Shy? If we proclaim the message and people see our life, they may think differently about the message. We need to know Christ by experience, if we want to talk about Christ. Many have lost sight of Jesus. Too often our eyes are directed to each other instead of to Jesus. We need to look at His merits.

There is no time to lose. In many places people do not know this message, yet every ear is to hear it. So until such time, if we ourselves are not Christlike in our characters and have not received power from above, we will not be able to give this message with power.

First, we must be a converted people who have had the upper room experience. Then we shall proclaim this message like a tidal wave. No power will be able to stop us.

In China, I was invited to speak at a church when suddenly the pastor said, “Stop - the police are here.” There were some 400 people there and they fled like a tidal wave. The policeman said to us, “You stay here.” I thought, “Lord, now I have to stay here.” I probably would have run away, too. The Lord gave me strength because I felt so hopeless in front of 10 police men. My only refuge was prayer.

We must love the word, we must study the word first before we can spread it.

As a young man, I was in prison for 8 months for the truth in the communist country where I grew up. The authorities took my Bible away. In the prison, the cement was peeling off the cell wall. So I found a piece of rock and started writing on the wall. I wrote the Ten Commandments, the fruit of the Spirit, God so loved the world, and so forth. It took me weeks. The prisoners began to ask, “What are you doing?” I said, “I am reading my Bible.” I left it for others to read.

“When we follow plans of the Lord’s devising, ‘we are laborers together with God’ (1 Corinthians 3:9). Whatever our position - whether presidents of conferences, ministers, teachers, students, or lay members - we are held accountable by the Lord for making the most of our opportunities to enlighten those in need of present truth. And one of the principal agencies He has ordained for our use is the printed page. In our schools and sanitariums, in our home churches, and particularly in our annual camp meetings, we must learn to make a wise use of this precious agency. With patient diligence chosen workers must instruct our people how to approach unbelievers in a kindly, winning way and how to place in their hands literature in which the truth for this time is presented with clearness and power.”1

We must look to Jesus first. Otherwise we cannot spread the truth. People learn how to give public addresses. And they do. I am not discouraging people from learning to give public addresses, but the best school is the school of Christ. He will qualify us to give this message to the world and spread it to everyone. The Lord gives us the commission and surely He will enable us to perform it. He will not leave us ignorant. If we follow the Lord’s way, He will put in our thoughts what to say and when. We need to trust the Lord. We have to have aim.

In every business there must be an aim. The majority of people think that business people are in business to make money. But when I studied managerial courses, I learned that people are in business because there is a need.

For example, being a tailor, why do tailors exist? If there is no one to make clothes, what would happen to us? The result is, of course, making money. Similarly, why are we to spread God’s word? Because people are in desperate need. The world is in a desperate situation. Just look around. There is terrorism and poverty.

What is our aim? Jesus has told us. “To His church God has committed the work of diffusing light and bearing the message of His love. Our work is not to condemn, not to denounce, but to draw with Christ, beseeching men to be reconciled to God. We are to encourage souls, to attract them, and thus win them to the Saviour. If this is not our interest, if we withhold from God the service of heart and life, we are robbing Him of influence, of time, of money and effort. In failing to benefit our fellow men, we rob God of the glory that should flow to Him through the conversion of souls.”2

A group of young people in Sydney, Australia, have been doing some wonderful work. They went to a place where you would not normally go. They set up tables with food and clothing and were singing and distributing leaflets and books. Many poor people came around, asking, “Why did you come to us? We are the outcast of society - everybody hates us.” The young people answered, “Jesus loves you. He died for you on the cross of Calvary and He sends us to you.”

Our goal is to proclaim the message and our goal is what? “The church of Christ is organized for service. Its watchword is ministry.”3

Somehow today the word “minister” has some meaning of authority. But what does “minister” actually mean? Servant. In the language where I come from, it is sluga, meaning servant. One who serves. What are we to do? Serve.

“[The members of the church of Christ] are soldiers, to be trained for conflict under the Captain of their salvation. Christian ministers, physicians, teachers, have a broader work than many have recognized. They are not only to minister to the people, but to teach them to minister. They should not only give instruction in right principles, but educate their hearers to impart these principles. Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessing can be retained only as it is shared.”4

After I left the country where I was born, I had to go to an interview with the civil authorities. “Why did you leave your country?” they asked. “Because of military service.” They then said, “You did not want to fight for a communist country. But if in America they call you to go to the army, what then?” I responded, “I would still not go, because I am a soldier of Christ.” I hope and pray this is my experience still. No matter what age we are.

The church is to be a training school. Every church is to be a training school for Christian workers. We need missionary schools, but every congregation is to be a missionary school.

Who is to be taught? Every member. I feel sad when members are complaining that the ministers and Bible workers are not working. They are failing to teach their congregations. When I went to this management course, I learned that an operator or machinist does not perform well because he has not been taught correctly. Whose responsibility is it? His supervisor’s! Likewise, in the church, the people are to be taught by ministers, elders, and leaders how to give Bible studies.

I was staying with a couple in Australia. At 4:00 p.m., the sister said, “Sorry I have to go and give a Bible study now.” She went every week, and some people were baptized as a result. She did not claim to be a minister or Bible worker.

What is a minister? A worker?

“The best help that ministers can give the members of our churches is not sermonizing, but planning work for them. Give each one something to do for others. Help all to see that as receivers of the grace of Christ they are under obligation to work for Him. And let all be taught how to work. Especially should those who are newly come to the faith be educated to become laborers together with God. If set to work, the despondent will soon forget their despondency; the weak will become strong, the ignorant intelligent, and all will be prepared to present the truth as it is in Jesus. They will find an unfailing helper in Him who has promised to save all that come unto Him.”5

The Spirit of Prophecy tells us how to spread the word. It starts in the home, in the church, and everybody is to be involved - even children. In past history children were proclaiming the message.

“Let ministers teach the truth in families, drawing close to those for whom they labor, and as they thus cooperate with God, He will clothe them with spiritual power. Christ will guide them in their work, giving them words to speak that will sink deep into the hearts of the listeners. It is the privilege of every minister to be able to say with Paul, ‘I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.’ ‘I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, . . . repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 20:27, 20, 21).”6

We are to help each other. To teach the families, visit the families, and show how to conduct meetings.

“Let some help the people to learn how to give Bible readings and to conduct cottage meetings. Let others bear the burden of teaching the people how to practice the principles of health and temperance, and how to give treatments to the sick. Still others may labor in the interests of our periodical and book work. And let chosen workers take a special interest in teaching many how to handle Christ’s Object Lessons and Ministry of Healing.”7

Like a tsunami, this message is to flow throughout the world. We have to be like that wall of water to spread this wonderful gospel to the people.

“There should be one hundred believers actively engaged in personal missionary work where now there is but one. Time is rapidly passing. There is much work to be done before satanic opposition shall close up the way. Every agency must be set in operation, that present opportunities may be wisely improved.”8

The prisons are getting bigger and bigger, as are the hospitals. Go to hospitals - just to talk with people. This is a form of health ministry. We all know some sick who need to be healed.

“The Saviour of the world devoted more time and labor to healing the afflicted of their maladies than to preaching. His last injunction to His apostles, His representatives upon the earth, was to lay hands on the sick that they might recover. When the Master shall come, He will commend those who have visited the sick and relieved the necessities of the afflicted.”9

“If there is one work more important than another, it is that of getting our publications before the public, thus leading them to search the Scriptures. Missionary work - introducing our publications into families, conversing, and praying with and for them - is a good work.”10

How do we spread the word? Multiple ways. The Lord has shown us how to do it. If we don’t do it, it is not for lack of instruction from the Lord.

“Papers and books are the Lord’s means of keeping the message for this time continually before the people. In enlightening and confirming souls in the truth, the publications will do a far greater work than can be accomplished by the ministry of the word alone. The silent messengers that are placed in the homes of the people through the work of the canvasser will strengthen the gospel ministry in every way; for the Holy Spirit will impress minds as they read the books, just as He impresses the minds of those who listen to the preaching of the word. The same ministry of angels attends the books that contain the truth as attends the work of the minister.”11

The Lord helped me to be in charge of quality control in a clothing industry. The boss asked me: “Brian, what are your plans to raise quality so that our products will be number one in the southern hemisphere?” I responded, “Everywhere in the factory, post big signs wherever the employees go, saying, ‘Quality first.’ The sign must be everywhere they go.” It was done. We spared no means to do that. In a similar way, we must do that. We must tell the world, “Christ first.”

“To those who were humbly seeking for light, [Christ] was always ready to explain His words. But Christ did not encourage criticism or caviling, nor should we. When men try to provoke a discussion of controverted points of doctrine, tell them that the meeting was not appointed for that purpose.”12

We also need to do personal work. We need to visit homes.

“There are families who will never be reached by the truths of God’s word unless the stewards of His grace enter their homes and point them to the higher way. But the hearts of those who do this work must throb in unison with the heart of Christ.”13

“Some ministers bearing the last message of mercy are too distant. They do not improve the opportunities that they have of gaining the confidence of unbelievers, by their exemplary deportment, their unselfish interest for the good of others, their kindness, forbearance, humbleness of mind, and their respectful courtesy. These fruits of the Spirit will exert a far greater influence than will the preaching in the desk without individual effort in families. But the preaching of pointed, testing truths to the people, and corresponding individual efforts from house to house to back up pulpit effort, will greatly extend the influence for good, and souls will be converted to the truth.”14

Let it be our goal to tell the world that Jesus is coming soon - that there is divine power to transform our life to enable us to stand in the time of judgment. When Jesus comes, who will be there to welcome Him? Let us listen to Jesus, the still small voice. Let us proclaim in every way every opportunity He gives us, so that when He comes He will take us to His beautiful home.