Getting Zealous for the Lord:  The Great Commission — Week 2
By Penelope Clevenger, Pastor's Wife, Family Fellowship Church of God, St. Charles, Mo.

Mark 16: 15-18; Matthew 28: 19, 20; Luke 24:47; John 20:21

Yesterday, I was on my way home and using the north side road which runs right alongside Interstate 70 through St. Charles County.  The traffic on the Interstate was bumper to bumper and actually stalled in several places for exiting vehicles.  I was traveling in the opposite direction.  They were coming out of St. Louis, most of them rushing home after a full day of work.  Suddenly, I was hit by a thought.  What if everyone were as excited about coming to the house of the Lord as they appear to be to get to their homes today?  Interstate 70 has four to six lanes in some places.  Imagine coming to your church on Sunday morning and vehicles lined up as far and wide as the eye could see, bumper to bumper, impatiently waiting to get into your parking lot.  Wow!  It excited me so much that I almost went off the road into the ditch!

My mind didn’t stop there.  What if all these people were as excited about meeting the Creator and King of kings as they were to get to their homes and see their families?  The traffic usually stretches from Highway N back into St. Louis coming out from three directions.  Imagine 60,000 cars or maybe more.  What an incredible revival this could be!!!  Our congregation would have a hard time providing the prayer warriors needed to pray with them.  It would take several churches to deal with such a revival.

Just as quickly, my mind began to wonder just how many of these people were unsaved.  I imagine that virtually all denominations were represented within those vehicles, but regardless of faith, I imagine the numbers are staggering at how many had never been truly “born again.”  Strangely, I wondered what they would think if I pulled the car to the side and stood on the roof proclaiming the soon coming King, Jesus Christ.  I have truly been obsessed with ideas on how to reach the lost of this huge city.  I know that many pastors and wives are doing the same.  Our time is so very short according to the signs of Revelations.

Then I am taken to the Word and Mark 16:15-18, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  The Great Commission is pronounced here and in each of the other three Gospels (Matthew 28:19, 20; Luke 24:47; John 20:21).  The obedience of Christ's disciples who went out and preached everywhere challenges us to engage in that same endeavor today. We can be confident that as the Lord was working with them, He will do the same with us today.

So . . . I wonder what would have happened if I had stood up on the top of my car and proclaimed, “JESUS SAVES!  THE KING IS COMING!”  And . . . do they arrest Christians in St. Louis for being zealous??

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