23/03/2023
Expand your horizon
“Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.” Isaiah 54:2-3
In 1792, a thirty-one-year-old Cobbler, an English Pastor preached a two-part sermon before a gathering of local pastors on the above scripture. He coined the title of the sermon as “Expect Great Things from God; Attempt Great Things for God”. It was a ground-breaking call for the church to see the vision of reaching beyond its national borders and into the “heathen lands” all around the world.
The message he preached catapulted him to travel to India to preach the gospel. A man with minimal education, Cobbler and Pastor came out from his comfort zone, travelled from Britain to what is called India, just to go and preach the gospel. While in India, he ensured that he lived among the locals, dressed like them, organized worship services at his work place and managed to come up with the translation of the Bengali New Testament.
Be encouraged you today that God wants to stretch you out and expand your horizon. It is high time you looked beyond your community, congregation, family, business, office and yourself. Christ charges us in Mark 16: 15 to Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Let us take hid and see how God will stretch us beyond our limits in order to do great things for the Living Christ. Amen!
Shepherd@heart