BYM ONLINE DESK August 2018 English Blessing E-magazine | Page 14

AUGUST 2018 throughout this country and beyond ? Of course not ! Yet God has chosen to limit His works , at least in some measure , to those things we trust Him to do through us .
Why is it that so few Christians ever accomplish great things for Christ ? I believe it is because we lose the ability to dream great dreams . For God to use us again , we need to confess our unbelief and say : “ Lord Jesus , renew my vision of Your power . Renew my confidence in Your abilities . Renew my trust in Your resources .” Then begin to dream again !
Christ Himself never limited His disciples ' vision . Even though He restricted His own public ministry to Palestine , He came and lived and died for all mankind . And after His resurrection , He commissioned His followers to “ make disciples of all nations ” ( Matt . 28:19 ) and sent them first to Jerusalem , then to all Judea and Samaria , and ultimately to the ends of the earth ( Acts 1:8 ).
Where have your own dreams stopped ? Have they been lost somewhere between your living room and the house next door ? “ If your dreams aren ' t greater than finishing your education , paying your bills , or raising your children , then your vision isn ' t divine .” Maybe it ' s time to consider how God could use you to make a difference in the lives of others .
The opportunities are great throughout the globe . But how can we impact our generation for Christ ? Is it really possible to preach the gospel to all nations ? I believe it is possible by taking God at His Word and making plans to accomplish great things by His power working in us .
Plan Great Plans
Jesus Christ declares , “ He [ who believes in me ] will do even greater things than these [ I have done ], because I am going to the Father ” ( John 14:12 ).
That is a fantastic , almost incredible , yet true promise . It came from the lips of the Lord Jesus and has been proved trustworthy many times . Christ promises we can do greater works than He did ! Perhaps a look at the ministry of Paul will help us understand what Christ is saying here . Without a doubt , God used Paul tremendously during the crucial , formative years of the New Testament church . Even his opponents admitted Paul had saturated entire provinces with the gospel ( Acts 19:26 ) and turned the world upside down ( Acts 17:6 ). Some scholars have even claimed that , from a human point of view , this Pharisee-turned-preacher influenced history more than Jesus Christ Himself .
What was Paul ' s secret ? Simple . “ He dreamed , but he wasn ' t just a dreamer .” He also planned great plans and carried them out in the power of the Holy Spirit . These plans included utilizing ministry teams , traveling extensively , taking advantage of opportunities to witness for Christ , and establishing local churches to nurture new believers .
You see , Paul wasn ' t content to saturate one small area with the gospel at the expense of the rest of the world . He had a strategy for reaching the entire Roman Empire ! He could say , “ But now that there is no more place for me to work in these
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