The Spoken Word

As Jesus gives the great commission in Mark 16 he says "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation...." The word for preach there means proclaim.

Proclaim means to declare or announce publicly.

Jesus never intended for the good news to be held tightly in your heart. The gospel was meant for all creation. Remember the Parable of the Talents? Five talents, two talents, one talent; no matter how many talents were given to the servants, they had a responsibility to use that talent to produce more. The talents were given according to their ability, but each one was to find a way to make that talent productive. To hide it away was not an option. So "for everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." Matthew 25:29

The Apostles were serious about fulfilling the commission that Jesus gave them. They could not help speaking about what they had seen and heard. Acts 4:20 They begged God to help them to speak His word with great boldness Acts 4:29 and God answered their prayer Acts 4:31.

I believe the key to our being fruitful and productive in getting the good news out to the world as the early disciples did, we must have that same passion and open our mouths with good news. Note Acts 5: 42 "Day after day in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." Paul said that he had not hesitated to preach...but taught publicly and from house to house. Acts 20:20 See the message: "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake." 2 Corinthians 4:5

Somehow we need to regain that same passion and open our mouths to declare it publicly. Let the same spirit that possessed these men and women take hold of us. "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..." Romans 1:16

Also note that this good news is to be shared among ourselves: " Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:16, 17

see also Hebrews 10:23-25:"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." See "the hope we profess"? Tie that together with 1 Peter 4:11: "If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God."

Let em conclude with this passage from 2 Corinthians 4:13-15:

"It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”Since we have that same spirit of[c] faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God."