Have We Begun To Penetrate The Darkness?

What is the “Great Commission”, and what is our responsibility as believers and disciples of Jesus? When we study the Scriptures we can see the missionary heart of God. The latin phrase which was coined “Missio Dei” or Missionary God is an apt description of the heart of our Savior.

In Luke 19:10 we learn that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. In Luke 5:31-32 we see that Jesus did not come for the righteous but instead to call sinners to repentance. In John 13:20 we learn that God the Father sent Jesus the Son of God who in turn sends His children to bring the gospel to the nations.

It’s interesting to see that delivering the great commission to the disciples to be carried out was of utmost importance to Jesus. Here are some examples of the fortelling of this event.

The Foretelling of The Great Commission

When we take a look at Matt. 26:32 Jesus foretells that He will be in Galilee after His resurrection to give the great commission. He says this after He is betrayed by Judas, and just before He goes to the cross. In Matt 28: 7 an angel announces that Jesus will be going into Galilee ahead of  the disciples as well to meet them there to receive the great commission. Then in Matt. 28:10 Jesus tells Mary Magdalene and the other woman with her to gather the brethren to meet in Galilee as well for this significant meeting with the purpose of giving the disciples great commission.

It’s clear to see that Christ had an important message to share with the disciples after his ressurection. As a matter of fact I would say it was of utmost importance to Him as these were his famous last words before His ascension. Should it not also be of utmost importance to us to obey and carry out this great commission for those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ?

The Giving of The Great Commission

“But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Lostness in the World (estimated by the IMB)
6.8 Billion People in all the Earth
6  Billion are estimated to be lost
3.5 Billion are estimated to never have heart the gospel
6,647 Unreached people groups (estimated by Daniel Akin)
258 Million lost estimated in North America

We Have a Great Task Before Us

Act’s 1:6-8 reveals to us that beleivers have power from the Holy Spirit on high to accomplish this task. We cannot do it of our own human merit. We must trust this impossible task to our God who makes all things possible. For this is indeed a God sized mission that we can only fullfill in Christ, apart from Him we can do nothing. How are you fullfilling God’s “Great Commission”?

 In 586 BC was the fall of Jerusalem. Years of being in rebellion with God led to the Israelites greatest downfall. Despite all that had come to pass, God who is rich in mercy, according to his faithfulness fulfilled His promise to restore the city of Jerusalem and the Temple by raising up a Persian ruler named Cyrus to conquer the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BC.

Cyrus was God’s chosen instrument. He was an instrument of judgment and mercy to accomplish His will. God gave Cyrus a twofold mission, to bring His righteous judgment upon the nations and to free the Jews from their captivity. He even gave them back their treasure and the Lord’s holy temple possessions. The prophet Isaiah refers to Cyrus in the Bible as “His anointed” which is translated ”chosen one” a title that in the past was reserved only for Israelite and Judean kings. (1 Samuel: 10:1, 16:6) This was prophesied 150 years prior to actually taking place to signify God’s sovereignty and to foretell God’s election of him. Although God had planned him before he was born, raised him up as king, subdued nations before him and uniquely used Cyrus, to our astonishment the Bible says that Cyrus did not know God.   

How incredibly ironic this was! Yet Oh how those words ring true for those of us that don’t know the living God or give Him glory with our lives. There’s an old familiar saying that is often true, we can miss the forest for the trees. Stated another way, we can miss God in the midst of life when He’s been right there in front of us all along. Yet we would have to willingly do so. Creation, God’s Word, and our own conscience cry out to us each day in a manifold chorus testifying that there is a God in Heaven who knows our name.

Do you know Him? Have you lost sight of the very one who has breathed life into you and formed you so fearfully and wonderfully in wisdom and love? Cry out to Him in the midst of your life today. Repent of your sins and put your faith and trust in Christ and He promises to save you.

Have you ever considered living in a world where every inclination of mankind’s heart was evil. A world where no matter how long and how hard you searched there was not a righteous man to be found. It’s not too difficult to look back in time and imagine a world overrun by liars, thieves, blasphemers and murderers, a world in rebellion to God. This was the world in which a radically different man named Noah lived. The Bible says that Noah was a righteous man (Genesis 6:9) in a generation where evil abounded. He warned people to turn from their wicked ways and to put their trust in God. Yet regardless of the wrath and judgment that God was about to unleash in the greatest catastrophic event the world had ever seen, very few listened.

While the earth was still dry God commanded Noah to build a great ark. In faith Noah obeyed. He was given very detailed instructions down to the last cubit (Hebrew form of measurement) of just how the ark was to be built. It is said to have held approximately 32,000 species of animals. It was made of buoyant gopher wood and covered inside and out with pitch, which made it watertight and quite seaworthy. Interestingly enough the Hebrew word used in the Bible for pitch is “Kopher” which translated means “atonement” or “covering”. In the same way that God by His grace provided an atoning covering for the ark in order to save all of those inside of it, He would one day provide Jesus Christ as the atonement and covering for our sins for all of us who abide in Him.

Throughout the ages and despite our own depravity God has shown His grace and mercy to us all. But it is also true that He will not hold out his arms to an unwilling world forever. The LORD said, My Spirit will not contend with man forever (Genesis 6:3) There is a day coming when the door will permanently shut as it did upon the ark of God’s salvation when God will unleash his righteous wrath upon those who have not put their trust in Christ the Savior.

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved (John 10:9)

When we abide in Christ we are safely secured no matter how fierce the tempest rages, or how hard we are battered by the waves of this life. Have you given your life to Christ and entered into His all encompassing love and shelter? Don’t wait until the door is shut.

 For more insight into the geological evidence of the flood please visit: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n4/geologic-evidences-part-one

Alexander the Great was a fierce warrior and king. From 356-323 BC He conquered almost all of what was during his time the known world. His soldiers loved him because he was part of the horse cavalry and fought with them in battle on the front lines of war. He had won the hearts and the loyalty of his men. Not only was he king but he was the hope of his people. Many nations in the West welcomed his liberation who had been enslaved under the menacing Persian empire.

He was greatly acclaimed during his lifetime but like all men he would one day come to die. Soon after his death his kingdom was divided up like plunder between his various war generals and would never again be united as it once was. Though he had accomplished much, his kingdom was fleeting and his kingship came to a bitter end when he died a premature death at the age of 33 as a result of exhaustion and pneumonia. Alexander the Great is just one account of many who have come and gone.

There is only one King, and one Kingdom that is greater than all -Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the LORD of Lords and His Kingdom is everlasting. He will never fail, he will not falter. In the tireless strength of His might he fights for us. The powers of darkness and Hell tremble before His sovereign power and holiness. Yet in all of His unimaginable glory this great King stepped out of eternity and humbled himself to die for us. The Commander of the army of the LORD-Jesus did not stay behind enemy lines while the Angels of Heaven aided in the battle for our souls. He alone conquered sin and death upon the cross and burst forth through enemy lines three days later in glorious light and consummate victory.

Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.

Pslam 24:8

If you were to ask yourself “Who is my King” who or what would that be?  Where have you placed your hope and trust? Where would you spend eternity? Give your life to Christ the King and you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt. For He has already won the victory over sin and death and will prepare a place for you in His eternal Kingdom. Don’t wait because the kingdom of this world is passing away.

Just outside of Jerusalem there is a rock cliff that from a distance forms the eerie yet unmistakable appearance of a skull. This place is called Golgotha (place of the skull) and it sits atop the highest point on Mount Moriah. Evidence suggests that this was the location where God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son Issac. You might also know this place by a more familiar name –Calvary.

When God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his first born son Issac an Angel of the Lord cried out to prevent him from committing the act. Just as Abraham lifted up the knife that was to be plunged into the heart of his son the Lord stayed his hand. Not so with the Son of God. When the world sought to slay Jesus Christ the hammer stroke fell upon the nails that pierced His hands and His feet. The barbarous whip was unrestrained when it tore and ripped His back and body. The crown of thorns was inexorably pressed into His human flesh as He was beaten, bruised and spat upon by many. And finally in long awaited eagerness the world rejoiced as the cross was lifted up and the Son of God was crucified. Three days later His followers would come to rejoice after His glorious resurrection.

It is no coincidence that Jesus would one day come to be crucified on the same mountain height where Abraham testified of this sacred place by giving it the name “The Lord Will Provide”. In that very same place which we know as “Calvary” God provided the perfect Lamb to be sacrificed for the sins of the world.

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32