Psalm 99:3 Let them praise your great and awesome name – he is holy.

The expression, The Lord reigns, appears several times throughout the Bible, and it starts off this Psalm as well. Like a number of other Psalms, this one mentions various reasons God is special, so to speak, but it particularly focuses on what is mentioned in this verse: He is holy. Not only that, it calls on the peoples of the nations to praise His Name. That particular point doesn’t come out so clearly in the NIV, but the Japanese says, “Peoples of the nations, praise His great and awesome Name!” We must not forget that we worship a holy Lord, and that we are to invite everyone to worship with us. Too many people are satisfied to “live and let live” on this point. The problem with that is that it’s essentially saying it’s fine for everyone else to go to hell, so long as we’re headed for heaven. That’s not an attitude pleasing to God! The nation of Israel had a very hard time understanding that they were chosen to be God’s representative to the nations, rather than just be God’s special “pet,” so to speak. Time and again through various prophets God called them back to a wider vision, but they mostly ignored it. Then came Jesus, and His ministry culminated not only in the crucifixion and resurrection, but in the Great Commission, (Matthew 28:18-20) promising the Holy Spirit to provide power for the task. (Acts 1:8) We are to invite the peoples of the nations to know and worship the only true God, and Jesus Christ His Son, starting with our neighbors.

Growing up in a missionary family as I did, this point was a given in all our thinking about God. When He is so wonderful, and when the consequences of ignoring Him are so terrible, how could we be silent about Him? However, I have encountered countless Christians in the years since then who don’t seem to grasp that at all. It is a statistical fact that the vast majority of Christians have never shared the Gospel with anyone. I am not called as an Evangelist in the sense of Ephesians 4:11, but Jesus made it very clear in His definitive promise of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8 that every believer is called and appointed as a witness. Some witnesses are going to be more verbal and some are going to be less, depending on individual gifting, but all are called as witnesses: no exceptions. When “rank and file” Christians wake up to this reality, the Church sees explosive growth, and often persecution as a backlash. We call that “revival.” As a pastor, my prayer is that this congregation, and indeed every congregation, would come to life, as that word means, and be active as Christ’s witnesses, calling the peoples of the nations to life in Christ.

Father, You know how we are now, how we need to be, and what it’s going to take to get us there. I can pray no higher prayer than that Your Name would be hallowed, Your kingdom come, and Your will be done perfectly, right here, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!