Facing the Unfinished Task - Part 2

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, July 18th. Today you'll get an opportunity to check on your spiritual heartbeat. Your answers to four important questions will help determine the health of your relationship with Christ. What is this unfinished task that we have as a church?

Not just our church, but as the whole church, the whole body of Christ. And why do we call it an unfinished task and why is it unfinished? Now let's clarify what the task is. The task is sharing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the task. So I want us to look at it and view it properly for a few moments and think about it in the way our Heavenly Father thinks about it because this task falls in the category of several things. First of all, it is a divine task.

Notice what He says. He says, As the Father sent Me, so sinned are you. And if you'll think for a moment why Jesus came. The Scripture says that He came, first of all, to reveal the Father. Secondly, He came to die a sacrificial atoning death at Calvary to pay for our sins. Thirdly, He came to seek and to save that which is lost. And fourthly, He came, the Scripture says, to give us an abundant life.

So He came for very specific reasons. The ultimate most important one, of course, was to die on the cross. So this task that we have is a task that Jesus certainly has done His part. In fact, He did what we could not do.

He finished His task. He came to reveal the Father, down the cross for our sins, seeking to save that which is lost and then to give us an abundant life. It is also and very evident a redemptive task so that all of us who become involved in this task become involved in God's redemptive plan for mankind. A redemptive task, which means that every single one of us who become involved become involved with Him in the very purpose for which He came.

But it is also a task that demands far more than you and I have to give. It is a task that is supernatural in its very nature because you and I don't have the wisdom nor the strength nor the knowledge nor the understanding to carry out the task He's given us apart from the Holy Spirit. And this is why He said to His disciples, He said, Tear ye in the city of Jerusalem till you are endued with power from on high.

Why? Because He knew that you and I, for example, we can't open blind eyes. We can't convict people of sin. We cannot forgive them of their sin.

We cannot save them. But we can share the truth. But even that is to be done in the power of the Holy Spirit. So it is a supernatural task. All the work of the church, all the work of sharing the gospel is a supernatural task demanding and requiring that the power of the Holy Spirit be evident and that He's doing the work. Now, it's very possible and very easy for people to do work to serve the Lord in their own strength.

But you know what? It doesn't have much effect. It's when we do it in the power of the Holy Spirit, when we rely upon the Spirit, when we depend upon Him, when we understand that it's what He's doing in us and through us and not what we do, then it becomes impacting. So what has He done? He came with a divine task, a redemptive task, a task that demands supernatural intervention of the Holy Spirit. But He also gave us a task that is a shared task.

Now think about it for a moment. One of the first things that Jesus did, now remember who He is. This is God walking among men. He didn't need anyone. He didn't have to have anyone. But here's what He did. One of the first things He did was to share the task that the Father had given Him with twelve others. Well, if He were God, could not He have done the whole thing Himself?

Well, it's possible. But He chose to share that task with others. And so our task is a task that is to be shared. There are no lone ranges in the preaching and the proclamation of the gospel.

There are no lone ranges in the church. It is what we do together, interdependently upon each other and dependent upon the Holy Spirit. But it is also an unfinished task. Somebody says, well, what I want to know is when is He going to get finished? Well, you know what?

That's not a good question. The reason I know it's not a good question is because Jesus said to His disciples on one occasion when they were asking Him, now when are these things going to come about? He was talking about His return and all the things that were going to happen.

And they said, well, when is this going to happen? He said, it's not for you to know the times or the seasons. He says, but what you to do is you to do what I've called you to do. So people sometimes will say to me, they'll say as if they thought I knew. And God knows I don't know. They'll say, well, now, Dr. Stanley, will you tell us, do you think Jesus is coming soon? And my answer is, they expect me to say, yes.

And my answer is, I don't know. I don't know when He's coming. It's none of my business when He comes.

My business is to teach the Word of God, proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit until He does come or until He calls me home. And so the idea of when is not the issue, the issue is it is an unfinished task. He finished His part, our part isn't finished. Somebody says, well, when will it be finished? When He says so.

When He says so, it'll be finished. Until then, you and I have a responsibility, a divine responsibility, a redemptive responsibility. Listen, an impossible responsibility apart from the Holy Spirit, a responsibility that is to be shared with each other and everywhere all over this world. This is a very important thing that God's called us to do. And if we don't understand what it is, and if we don't understand that we have a responsibility, we have a share in this, we'll try to shirk our responsibility. Now here's what happens. Many people go to church Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, and they are hearers.

Watch this now. They're hearers, but they're detached hearers. They listen as long as they hear something that will help them maybe be a little better or help them in some situation, some circumstance in life. But when it comes to responsibility, when it comes to commitment, all of a sudden, they become detached. And it's easy to listen to the gospel and become detached, not even realizing that's what you're doing, becoming detached when it requires something of you.

So what you have to ask is this. Am I an involved, interested, integrated listener? Do I hear because I want the Lord to change my life? Do I want God to change me so He can use me to impact other people's lives?

Or do I just want to remain detached? So let's look for a moment how people respond to this unfinished task. We say it's a divine task. It's a redemptive task.

Listen, it's a supernatural task. It is a shared task, but it's unfinished. Jesus parts finished.

Our part is unfinished. Now this is the moment in most sermons where you detach. So I'm asking you for God's sake and your sake and the people whom you love and people you don't love yet because you don't know them.

Don't get detached right now. Because you see, if I understand what the mission is, and I understand the nature of the task, which we've explained very clearly, there are four questions I have to face and you have to face. What can I do? What should I do? What is God telling me to do? And what am I willing to do? Now you ought to write them down. What can I do?

The task is very simple. I'm just sharing the gospel. What can I do? What should I do? What is God telling me to do?

What am I willing to do? You see, nowhere does it say that you are to save anybody or forgive them of their sins. You can forgive people who wrong you, but forgiveness of sin between them and God, you can't do that.

Here's what you can't do. You can share your faith. You can say to someone else, I know you're going through a difficult time. I've been through difficult times in my life. And I want to tell you what made the difference. I trusted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. And it made all the difference in the world in my life. And if you let me I'd like to share with you how that happened in my life. I'm here to tell you, people are more open to hear you explain what Jesus has done in your life than they have ever been. Listen, this nation is wide open. And many other parts of the world wide open to the truth of the gospel. What can you do?

You can tell it like God has worked it into your life. What should you do? On the basis of the fact that people without Christ are going to die and be lost and eternally separated from Him for all eternity, what should you do? Should you pass by people that you know are lost and never mentioned Jesus?

There's not a single one of us who would say, well, just walk right on by them. Just let somebody else tell them. You know that you should not do that. What is God telling you to do? Is God telling you?

Don't tell anybody. Religion and politics are not to be discussed. I've heard that so many times and I want to say religion and politics may be so, but Jesus is to be shouted.

Jesus is to be talked about everywhere we go. What is God telling you to do? I can tell you exactly what He's telling you to do. Stop keeping quiet about the most important thing in all of life, about the message that changes people's eternal destiny, about the message that keeps them out of hell and gets them into heaven, about the message that will absolutely transform their life. You cannot afford to keep quiet. He would never tell you to keep quiet.

He would never tell you, don't say anything else about that. What are you willing to do? Are you willing to share the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Are you willing to tell somebody else? You say, well, what will they think? Did Jesus ever say, you know, check their attitude? He didn't say that.

It's not a matter of what they think. You know what happens? If you and I share the gospel with somebody and they don't like it, mark this down. The day will come when they will wish to God they had heard you, listened to you, and done exactly what you told them they needed to do. That day will come.

So you know what? We plant the seed. Maybe they listen at that time. Maybe they don't. Maybe they believe.

Maybe they don't. That's not our responsibility. Your responsibility is to tell it. Your responsibility is to share it.

So let's think about this. Question number one, what can I do? Question number two, what should I do? Question number three, what is God telling me to do? And question number four, what am I willing to do? Now here's the big question.

What are you willing to do? You can't say, well, I didn't know what to do. Nobody ever told me what to do. You can't say, I shouldn't obey God.

What you have to ask is this. What is God telling you to do? Now listen carefully.

I would never tell someone exactly what they're to do in a given situation. I can say, here's what God says, but you have to make the choice. I can tell you this. According to this Word, you and I are to share the truth of the Gospel to people around us. And He will give you a sense of spirit. He will move you. He will stir your heart, especially when He wants you to deal with some specific person. And I know that if you and I walk obediently before God, He's going to speak to us. And what we have to ask is, am I willing to do what He says do?

Not when it's convenient, but when He says do it. Now I want you to think about it. He's already brought somebody to your mind while I've been talking.

I know He has. Somebody that you know is not a Christian. Somebody you know, they're unsaved.

They may be rough and haughty or they may be very gentle and very nice and very kind. You know they're not saved. What can you do? What should you do? What's God telling you to do?

What are you willing to do? And here's what's going to happen. The way you and I respond to those four questions is going to reveal something about us. Now we can all make mistakes and we can all falter at times and miss our opportunities, but we should absolutely repent before Almighty God. Now listen, it's one thing to make a mistake that has to do with money or material things.

It's something else entirely different. To make a mistake, to overlook, to disobey something that causes someone else to miss out on what God has for them. The way I answer those questions will reveal four things about me and about you. Number one, it'll reveal whether I love Him, Jesus my Lord, or by just paying lip service. It'll reveal whether I am walking in the Spirit or in the flesh. It'll reveal whether I am a true servant of His, a genuine servant, or if I just pay lip service to it, just talk about it. Am I a doer? Am I a servant or just a hearer? It'll also reveal something about whether I'm living for myself or I'm living for Him. It will also reveal if I'm a true follower of Jesus or just simply a name dropper.

I'm a Christian. He's not looking for name droppers. He's looking for people who are willing to ask the question, what can I do?

What should I do? Lord, what are you telling me to do? And Lord, whatever it is, I'm willing to do it. We claim Him as our Lord. You know what the Lord is?

The Lord means He's our boss. That He's the boss, He has a right to tell me what to do, when to do it and how to do it. And one thing I know for certain, He doesn't want me listening disconnected. He doesn't want me hearing and disobeying. He doesn't want me hearing and ignoring. He doesn't want me hearing and rationalizing. He doesn't want me hearing and shifting responsibility. He wants me to hear and to obey. Let me ask a question.

You've heard the four questions. At this point in your life as a believer, knowing according to the Scripture that each one of us has a personal responsibility to share our faith, what can you do? You can share it. What should you do? Share it. What's He telling you to do? Share it. What are you willing to do?

That is the big question. What can I do? What should I do? What is He telling me to do? What am I willing to do? You answer those questions honestly, and you know what will happen?

Your life's going to take on a whole new meaning, and the people around you are going to know something has happened to you that is very good. Thank you for listening to part two of Facing the Unfinished Task. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.