Chart the Goal of the Gospel!

And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation, but as it is written: "To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand." (Romans 15:20-21 NKJ)

Recently, the Lord has given me a vision of what he is leading our church to achieve in his Kingdom. We are planning and working toward that goal. It is our goal to achieve everything that God has placed in our hearts to do.

And we ask ourselves these questions. What do we next? And even as we ask it, the Gospel gets in our way. That's right. We have made it our primary goal to preach the Gospel to unsaved people. We have made it our goal to go after un-churched people. And everything else takes a backseat to the Gospel.

Then we realized -- what we already knew -- that the Gospel isn't some glorified church growth tool. The Gospel is God's vision for the Church in this world. The Gospel is the engine driving the harvest vehicle. The Gospel takes precedence over all our plans, our goals and our initiatives.

This is what our great Apostle has taught me. Every time he made plans, he would look around him and see unsaved Gentiles, so he would stop and preach the Gospel to them. When he wanted to visit the saints in Rome, he was hindered by his "aim to preach the Gospel." When he planned to go to Spain, he was hindered by his "aim to preach the Gospel." He explained it to the Roman saints like this: This is why I have been hindered so many times from visiting you.

Christianity in the Western hemisphere survives today because the Apostle Paul was hindered by his "aim to preach the Gospel" and refused to "build on another man's foundation." I have heard the Gospel because Paul preached it where it had not been announced. I understand the Gospel because he preached it where no one else had.

Dear Father, thank you for the grace of your salvation through Jesus Christ. Give me a double portion of Gospel proclaiming power. I pray this in the name of Jesus. AMEN

What goals are you charting?