“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” 1 Corinthians 15:34
Dear Ones:
Age has nothing to do “The Great Commission” that the Lord Jesus gave to His disciples before ascending into heaven. Nor does time or circumstance. The commission to go into all the world to make disciples, teaching them to obey all that the Lord taught, is pending upon the church today, just as it was at the birth of the church at Pentecost. The thought and truth of the great commission can be strengthened and undergirded by the Lord’s command: “Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33) Even though the matter of the “kingdom of God” encompasses all that pertains to the Christ’s reign, an essential part of that kingdom is its expansion, and consolidation. As Isaiah put it: “Of the increase of His government, and peace, there shall be no end.” (Is.9:7) Why is it that the commission is not embraced, and not engaged in to fulfill it according to the calling and gifts which God has provided? It may be that we do not have a true vision of what the Lord is commanding us to do, and of the means In Him for the accomplishment of it. It may also be that we do not think it is time, or perhaps, that there is something more important to do.
Let’s deal first of all with clarity of vision. We know that without great clarity, there will never be the conviction essential for the commitment to the task. We must ever be renewed in our vision that Christ came into this world to SAVE sinners, to minister and not to be ministered to. His objective was primarily a spiritual one, that would never diminish in its purpose, scope, means, and objective…the ultimate glory of His Father. The Apostle Paul, understanding this, chose to become “all things to all men,” that he might save some. And so, we are called to BE light and salt, walking in fellowship with Christ, seeking to save the perishing. So, “How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?” (Romans 10:14) Do we have a clear understanding of the importance and motive of this commission? The importance lies in the fact that all men need to be saved. The motive is manifested in the fact that Christ suffered, died, and finished the work on the cross, that all men could be saved.
Through the prophet Haggai, the Lord rebuked Israel because, at one particular point in time, she had “settled down,” and had come to think that it was NOT the time for the House of the Lord to be built. The Lord’s response: “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your paneled houses, and this house lie waste (desolate)?” (Hag. 1:4) In Luke 14, though speaking of the great supper and the kingdom of God, Jesus would speak of those who would let the purchase of lands, the proving of oxen to till the land, and even recent marriage to a wife, be unacceptable “reasons” for not following Him. When Jesus addressed the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:17, He said that she had become “lukewarm,” a disposition of heart and mind that was illustrated by her own words: “…I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” (v.17) She had “settled down,” and so, was NOT going forward, living to serve, living and working in fellowship with Christ, to realize His great desire and will, the salvation of the lost.
Dear Lord, give us Your the vision of Your heart, and may our motive ever be love for Thee, in the seeking and saving of that which is lost. Our eyes are upon Thee. We thank Thee, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad