Fellow redeemed in Christ, We have just sung the following hymn stanza:

Thou hast, O Lord, returned,

To God's right hand ascending;

Yet Thou art in the world,

Thy kingdom here extending.

Through preaching of Thy Word

In ev'ry land and clime

Thy people's faith is kept

Until the end of time.

Perhaps these words will help you to recall what Holy Scripture taught us last time about the public ministry. We saw that the ministry of Christian pastors and teachers is a good thing in God's sight because it has been ordained by Jesus Christ Himself. When He ascended into heaven, He gave gifts to His Church on earth in the form of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These called servants are precious blessings from a loving Savior, by which He builds you up in your faith and knowledge, and thereby also equips you to serve as His witnesses in your own individual lives.

This same hymn stanza suggests a second reason why the public ministry is a good thing in the sight of God: It serves to extend the Lord's Kingdom here on earth. That is the clear teaching of the Apostle Paul in Romans 10:13-18:

Whosoever shall call upon the name of the

Lord shall be saved. How then shall they

call on Him in whom they have not be-

lieved? And how shall they believe in

Him of whom they have not heard? And

how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach, except they be

sent? as it is written, How beautiful are

the feet of them that preach the Gospel of

peace, and bring glad tidings of good

things! But they have not all obeyed the

Gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath

believed our report? So then faith com-

eth by hearing, and hearing by the Word

of God. But I say, Have they not heard?

Yes, verily, their sound went into all the

earth, and their words unto the ends of

the world.

Paul here underscores the fact that no human being can come to a knowledge of the Gospel of Christ by his own religious reasoning or scientific research. The Good News about the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Jesus Christ must be proclaimed to a person if he is ever to know it. And only that Good News has the power to create saving faith in the heart, and thereby make men the children of God and heirs of everlasting life. It is therefore by the preaching and teaching of the Gospel that the Kingdom of Christ is extended throughout this world of sinners! For what is the Kingdom of Christ but His gracious and saving rule in the hearts of men through the Gospel!

But don’t we find a problem here? For the number of Gospel witnesses has always been so sinful in comparison with the teeming millions of this world's population. How can so few accomplish anything worthwhile? Is it any wonder if thoughts of discouragement come to the pastor and lay members of a small congregation in an isolated rural area, or if questions about the usefulness of it all come to a Christian teacher in a little classroom with a mere handful of pupils? How can they be doing anything worthwhile in the extending of Christ's Kingdom here on earth?

When such thoughts arise, we need to think back to the early days of the New Testament Church. It was to a small handful of disciples that the Lord first spoke the words of the Great Commission: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). And yet so greatly did the Holy Spirit bless their preaching and teaching, that the apostle could say in our text less than 25 years later: "Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world."

The Lord Christ is still extending His Kingdom on earth through His little Gideon band of believers. We speak much about the billions of people who are still without the Gospel--and surely our hearts do go out to those sinners who have not yet heard about the grace and forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ. But perhaps we should speak more about how the Lord is capable of using small numbers of workers and meager resources to accomplish amazing things in His Kingdom. When you listen to the stories told by missionaries, beginning in the book of Acts, you begin to realize how the Gospel has been carried by Christians even to the most remote corners of this earth!

Then let the pastor and his flock, the Christian day school teacher and her lambs, busy themselves with the Gospel word, that they may together ” grow in grace, and in the knowledge of [their] Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:18). Never do they have reason for discouragement, for our text promises: "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” The Lord will most certainly use their preaching and teaching and witnessing to extend His Kingdom of grace here on earth!

What's good about the public ministry? It's good because the Lord Jesus Christ is using it to extend His Kingdom here on earth. Listen to how God in our text describes the work of even the humblest Christian pastor and teacher as they bring the Gospel to others: "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" Amen.