Who is called to proclaim God’s glorious gospel of grace, and who is the message for? God calls all his people to proclaim the gospel so that those who have not accepted Jesus may hear the good news and put their faith in Him. All Christians are expected to share this message; this task is not solely reserved for those who are called into vocational ministries.
“Here am I; send me,” is the theme of Spurgeon’s sermon. This prayer is simple and honest. There is nothing special about the one raising the petition; they simply offer themselves wholeheartedly to God for the purpose of proclaiming His wonderful message. The Christian knows the gospel and its saving power in their life, and they are eager to share it with those around them in whatever vocation God has placed them.
Those who evangelize hope that some will respond in saving faith to the good news of the gospel, but this should not be the Christian’s main goal. All those who follow God proclaim the good news to bring glory to their Savior who redeemed them from their sins. Their posture should be the same as Spurgeon when he cries to the Lord, “Here am I; send me.”
Excerpt:
We would say to every church member, Come, come, you are not to employ a minister to do your work for you, you are not merely to give your half guinea or whatever it may be to the Missionary Society, and say, “I have done all;” no, but you are to answer this question for yourself, Will you go for God? Do you feel that you are sent by him, not to India, not to Jamaica, not to the South Seas it may be, but into those streets of London, into that court where you live. Will you go among those cottages where you dwell, or down in that street where you reside; will you go for God, feeling that God chose you, and that you chose his work cheerfully, and that now, by the grace of God, while you live and until you die, you will deliver the message of the great salvation which Jesus Christ has provided for the sons of men. Thus have we portrayed the men who are needed.
Read the rest of the sermon here.