Jesus said in Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” The interpretation is that the return of Jesus will happen when every people group on earth has heard that God sent His Son Jesus to take the punishment our sins deserve. All who believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord become part of God’s forever family and will live with Him eternally.
So that all may have the opportunity to hear, the gospel is being spread throughout the world by many international organizations. A large number of them are forced to work in secret because of intense persecution of Christians. Jesus is still in the business of performing miracles to awaken belief in Him as God’s Son and our Savior. A recent story shared by one of these organizations beautifully demonstrates this fact.
A young Asian couple met in 2012. They married and had three children while living in a rural farming community with his parents. One evening while riding his motorcycle home from work, the young man was struck by a car and abandoned on the side of the road. He suffered severe brain injuries and a badly broken leg. Taken to a hospital, he remained in a coma – despite unceasing desperate prayers by his family to the multiple gods on display in their homes and at the local temple.
Without a source of income, money ran out and the young mother was struggling to feed her family. The doctors said to take her husband home and be prepared for his death within three months.
A woman in their village was a Christian. She came and spoke about the healing power of Jesus, asking to pray for the comatose husband. His wife, in desperation and hopelessness, agreed. Soon other believers in the area began coming morning and night to pray for this man and to share Bible stories. The wife recalls that as they kept faithfully coming, even though she did not understand -- hope began to grow.
After being unconscious for more than 30 days, the husband opened his eyes. He was awake and back in the land of the living! His recovery was slow and difficult after being comatose for such a long time. But the faithful Christians did not just continue to pray … they were a constant support for the family and helped care for them. The demonstration of such unconditional love caused the man and his wife to want to learn about Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, their hearts were convicted and each of them believed in Jesus as personal Lord and Savior.
Once the man was healed, this couple felt a burden in their hearts. It was the Holy Spirit convicting them to tell others their incredible experience of the husband being brought back from the brink of death. They started by sharing in their village. Then the couple began going to other villages nearby to talk about how Jesus had miraculously healed this husband and father. Because of their witness, there are now Christian groups meeting in eight villages -- and two-house churches have been planted. They constantly rejoice to see others who are walking in darkness come to the Light of Jesus and find new life in Him. Each new believer brings the world closer to that glorious day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth to reign!
For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 13:47
