They know they are looking for something… but they don’t know The Name.
“Go spread the news of Emmanuel
Joy and peace for the weary heart
Lift up your heads, for your King has come
Sing for the Light overwhelms the dark
Glory shining for all to see
Hope alive, let the gospel ring
God has made a way, He will have the praise
Tell the world His name is Jesus”
Sing We The Song of Emmanuel, Stuart Townend
Jesus said to his followers, “Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone.”
Mark 16:15, NCV
I remember, as a teenager, long before the internet served to satisfy our music listening needs - before YouTube, Shazam and Spotify even existed - you would dedicate some very real time and resources to finding and owning copies of the music you liked. Sometimes it would take some very real effort tracking down a particular album, or even just the single.
Sometimes you wouldn’t even have the name of the song or the artist you were looking for, except for a vague description of whatever you could remember of its content or composition.
And so it is with the Gospel.
Deep down the world knows that there is something missing - deep down the world knows that it is looking to fill a gigantic God shaped-hole - but they don’t know The Name.
They only have the vaguest descriptions of what they are looking for - hope, healing, restoration, redemption, salvation, freedom… But they don’t know The Name.
Sometimes you would get lucky and would hear someone playing the song that eluded you, perhaps it would be playing on your local radio station and the DJ would mention the name and artist. Other times you could ask a friend or a friendly shop assistant and find what you were looking for.
Jesus made it very clear that, along with the power of His Kingdom, there was also a great responsibility on the part of every believer to go into the world and preach the Gospel.
The love of Christ compels us to go seeking after the sinner - to proclaim the good news of the Gospel, proclaiming freedom to the slave and liberty to the captive.
Once you have found the Song superior to all songs you cannot help but share it with the world.
The love of Christ compels us to sing the Song of Emmanuel - loud and from every rooftop.
Once you have heard that secret, sacred Song, emanating from God’s heart to yours, you can’t help but be transformed as it fills every nook and cranny of your soul, bouncing off every wall, and echoing in the deepest depths of your being - “Jesus loves me!”
Just like any good song gets stuck in your head, begging to be sung or hummed, how much more the Song of our Savior - it compels us to sing! As it floods our hearts and lives with the goodness of God it cannot help but overflow out into the world around us.
Jesus commissioned us to go and preach the Gospel to every creature - to share the Good News with the world… to go forth and sing the Song of Emmanuel, to let the Gospel ring, His glory shining for all to see!
The world knows it is missing something - it tries so hard to fill that hole with sex, drugs and rock’n’roll… With philosophy, politics and any number of other things…
They know they are looking for something… but they don’t know The Name.
Sing we the song of Emmanuel?
Prayer: Lord, let my every step and my every breath sing the Song of Your love and mercy. Let my heart be in tune with the Song of Heaven - the story of Your mercy and grace here in our midst. Let me be Your witness, let the Gospel ring and resonate in and through my life - and may the broken and the lost find what they are looking for through the word of my testimony and Your Spirit living and active in me. In Jesus Name. Amen.