Meditation

08/12/2022

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20 – God Commands Missions)

The Great Commission is a fitting ending to the gospel that begins with lineage of Jesus, the King of the Jews, and ends with a kingly command to extend His kingdom to all peoples. The central importance of this teaching cane be seen by its repetition. It appears in four different verses: Mark 16-15; Luke 24:47; John 20:21; Acts 1:8 and three locations: Jerusalem; Galilee; and the Mount of Olives. The Great Commission is given to the eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee are directed to His church and to all Christians; it teaches the power and authority for the church’s missionary task and is accomplished through the Trinitarian God. The authority is valid in heaven and on earth. People are baptized by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and then given instructions of Jesus; to obey Him, to confess to Him and to make disciples of all nations. Note, there is no requirement to make disciples on one nation over another, for they are all the same to Him.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Precious Abba, You have given us instruction to grow the kingdom and all we ask is wisdom, strength, and the right words to use with all people to help them find Christ and become fellow believers. Today we continue to pray troops serving in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, that a peaceful solution might be found and let the fighting be silenced. We also pray for those who are suffering in body, mind, and/or spirit, with friends, family, and for those we don’t know. Amen

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“God doesn’t make mistakes, but He can correct ours.”

KNOWING GOD:

“In the last year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’ Then one of the seraphs flies to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth had said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.; Then I head the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:1-8 – God commands Missions)

All Christians are called from sin’s darkness and dominion to salvation and service. This passage, along with others make it equally clear that God calls some to special ministry and mission. Paul and Barnabas are prime New Testament examples of this type of call. In time of national and personal crisis, Isaiah saw God as the holy Lord of the universe in a way he had never seen Him prior. The result in Isaiah is what Christians feel on drawing close to God, that we are sinners and unworthy. The prophet saw that we are sinners as individuals and as congregations. When we confess our sins, God takes the initiative in cleansing us. Cleansed and forgiven, we can hear God’s missionary call. He presents the need, and the Christian with a willing heart responds, “Here am I. Send me.”

I AM:

“But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:16 – God Commands Missions)

God raised up Pharaoh to demonstrated His power. Egyptian religion considered Pharaoh a god. The Exodus proved only the true God of Israel possessed divine power. God’s deeper purpose in the Exodus was that His name might be declared in all the earth. Knowing that God wants His name known in all the earth. Knowing that God wants his name known in all the earth provides authority for missions as Christians declared His name, love, and power. From the very beginning of the Bible, God is never presented as a tribal god or one who is confined in any way or any one location or a God who is without limitations of any kind. He is the God of all the earth, who acts so all peoples of the earth may know Him.

2ND THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you; everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.’ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He tole them, ‘This what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but sty in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:44-49 – God Commands Missions)

The Risen Lord explained to the eleven apostles the entire Old Testament as relating to Himself and the purpose of His life and ministry. He tied together all of he Old Testament and revealed its relation to all of he events leading to His death and resurrection; showing that the intent of the Old Testament and of His life; ministry; death; and resurrection pointed to the missionary purpose of the “sent one” or those who did missionary work and hat it proclaimed repentance and forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ to all peoples of he world, beginning with where they were and hen expanding out from that point. That conversation brought tremendous implications for Christ’s church and for Christians of all ages. Mission is not an activity in addition to the Gospel message, but reflects the very purpose of God from eternity. Missions is not based on a single passage but on a theme that permeates the Bible. Mission work is not just something we do for a few months or even on a limited basis but our task extends to the end of the world.