Matthew 28:16-20
After Jesus rose from the dead, He made several post resurrection appearances. The Bible says that Jesus remained on earth for a period of forty days after His resurrection.
Finally, it was time for Jesus to depart from this earth. However, Jesus still had some last words of instruction He wished to impart to His eleven remaining disciples. We find these words in our reading from Matthew's gospel.
As Jesus instructed, the eleven disciples went to a mountain in Galilee to wait for the appearance of the risen Christ. The first thing they did when Jesus appeared to them was they worshipped Him. These eleven men recognized that Jesus was God and man. They gave Jesus the honor and praise due unto Him for who He was and for what He had done.
What strikes me in this narrative is that some still doubted. They still weren't in full belief that Jesus was really alive. Even thought the risen Lord had appeared to them on numerous occasions, they still had questions lingering in the back of their minds.
It may seem odd, but this gives me encouragement. Sometimes when I see the hurt and the sorrow in the world it makes me wonder about God. I still believe, but sometimes I have questions. Knowing that at least a few of the disciples doubted even with Jesus standing right in front of them makes me feel that my faith isn't as weak as I sometimes think it is.
Even though some of the eleven doubted, they kept on going. All eleven of these men were in the upper room when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost. All eleven stood together and proclaimed the message of Jesus that day. All eleven, except for John, gave their lives for the sake of the gospel. They struggled through their doubt to find belief. That's what all of us must work to do in an age filled with many things which may cause us to doubt.
It was now time for Jesus' final words of instruction. He said, "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." This is known as the Great Commission.
Some theologians believe that this commandment of Jesus was only given to the eleven disciples who originally heard it, and those of us living today are not under its obligation. I believe that nothing could be farther from the truth. I believe that all Christians have the obligation to spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Let's look at what this commission tells us to do. Jesus tells us to make disciples, baptize, and teach. The commission contains three parts.
First of all, we are to go and make disciples. We are supposed to share the gospel. What is the gospel? The gospel simply put is that Jesus died for our sins, He is risen, and by placing our faith in His finished work on the cross we can be justified before God and born again.
Every Christian should be involved in spreading the gospel. There are many ways this may be carried out.
An important way that shouldn't be discounted is through giving. Giving to world missions and the mission of the church allows the gospel to be preached across the world in places many of us will never have the opportunity to go to.
I don't think we should leave it there, however. We should personally share our faith with others. If your like me, your circle of contacts contains many people who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many of these may be family members and close friends. These individuals are our mission field.
When a conversation about religion starts, we can use this opportunity to relate in a casual way what Jesus has done for us and the way a relationship with Him has transformed our lives.
Some may wish to become involved in evangelistic ministry. This may include doing door to door witnessing, or passing out tracts.
One important thing to keep in mind is that when you share your faith, don't be obnoxious. Don't come across with a superior attitude.
Another very important way to be a witness for the gospel is by the way we live. The Bible says that we should live in such a way that people will see our good works and glorify the Father in Heaven.
What you do very often speaks louder than what you say. As believers, when we live a Christ like life, those around us will want to know the difference a relationship with Jesus can make in their life.
The second part of the Great Commission involves baptism. Baptism is the first step of obedience in the Christian life following conversion. It is an outward sign of an inward work. Baptism is our public identification with Christ signifying our death to sin and the beginning of our new life in Christ.
The third component of the Great Commission is the one that is unfortunately often neglected. The new convert needs to be taught those things Jesus wants them to do and what not to do in life. They need to be taught the Bible and what the true doctrines and beliefs of the church are.
Sadly, there is a lot of Biblical and theological illiteracy in the church. This is a direct result of church leaders not teaching the people. Nothing saddens me more than seeing people who have been in church for years who have very little knowledge of what is in the Bible. They don't know what they believe, or why they believe it.
Jesus ended His last words by telling His disciples that He would always be with them. Instead of going into how meaningful I find this statement now, I'd like to talk about this later. Amen
Lord, thank you for the good words you gave us. Help each of us to spread the message of your love to the best of our ability. Amen
Friday, October 14, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Fall Color
I've been very surprised at the nice Fall color in my area. We had a very hot and dry Summer and Fall, so I wasn't expecting much, but the maples have been beautiful. The biggest surprise was my walnut tree. The leaves have turned a spectacular shade of yellow. It's the best I've seen in 20 years.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Weekend Sermon--The Sign of Jonah--Luke 11:29-32
In this section of Scripture, Jesus is speaking to a large crowd of people. I'm sure they didn't expect Jesus to begin His message to them the way He did. Jesus said that they were a wicked generation because they asked Him to perform a miraculous sign. In other words, they wanted Jesus to perform some kind of miracle that would prove to them that He was the Messiah.
Jesus said that He wasn't going to give them a sign except for the sign of Jonah the prophet. What I don't get is how these people following Jesus could still be seeking a sign from Jesus to prove Himself. At this point in Luke's Gospel, Jesus has already performed many powerful miracles witnessed by the crowds.
In chapter 4, Jesus drove out an evil spirit in the synagogue, healed Peter's mother-in-law, and healed many people with a variety of problems. In chapter 5, Jesus healed a man with leprosy and a paralyzed man. Chapter 7 finds Jesus in the town of Nain raising a widow's son from the dead. Jesus calms a storm, heals a demoniac, heals a woman with an issue of blood and raises Jairus' daughter. Five thousand were miraculously fed in chapter 9. What more in the way of signs did the people expect? No wonder Jesus reacted the way He did.
Jesus said that the same way in which Jonah was a sign to Nineveh, Jesus would be a sign to His generation. At this point we need to ask, what is this sign of Jonah that Jesus is speaking about?
If you recall, Jonah was a prophet from Israel. An Old Testament book of the Bible is named for him. God called the prophet Jonah to the city of Nineveh, the capitol of the Assyrian Empire.
Jonah had no intention of going anywhere near Nineveh. The Assyrians were the arch enemies of Israel, and as far as Jonah was concerned, God could just go ahead and destroy Nineveh and be done with the matter.
Jonah got on a boat and sailed in the opposite direction. God wasn't going to let Jonah get off the hook that easily. A great storm arose, and Jonah, knowing he was the cause, had the sailors cast him into the sea. As soon as Jonah hit the waves, the storm calmed and a great fish swallowed him.
Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the fish. He then repented and was vomited out onto dry land. He rushed to Nineveh and delivered a message of repentance as originally instructed by God. All of Nineveh turned to the Lord. Jonah, being the kind of man that he was, was angry with God for having mercy on the city.
The sign of Jonah Jesus was speaking about was the fact that when Jonah was in the belly of the fish it was as if he were dead then came back to the land of the living.
Jesus said that just as Jonah was three days and nights in the fish, He would be three days and nights in the grave. Then Jesus would rise from the dead victorious over death, hell and the grave.
The sign to Jesus' generation that proved His message was the fact that although crucified and put to death, He rose again conquering sin and its consequences forever. Truly, as Jesus said, He is the resurrection and the life, therefore whoever believes in Him will never die.
The resurrection of Jesus is our sign of who Jesus is and that His message is true. The resurrection of Jesus validates everything He said about Himself and the work of redemption accomplished at Calvary.
In spite of this sign, the vast majority of people in Jesus' day right up to the present day don't believe in Jesus' message of love and redemption.
Jesus told those listening to Him that the Queen of the South would stand up and judge them because she came from the ends of the earth to see Solomon, yet one greater than Solomon was among them.
This reminds me of many people today. They will follow innumerable spiritual paths, but they will not follow Jesus. Just look at the world we live in. Only one-third of the world's population holds to the Christian religion in any form. Two-thirds of this world is going in a different direction.
Here in my country, the United States, many different religious teachers preach a message contrary to Jesus and they have best selling books and are featured on programs of national prominence. All the while, the number of people who believe in the divinity of Jesus and in His resurrection grows smaller.
This makes me sad because I know in my life that my relationship with the Jesus of the Bible has made all of the difference. I hope that others will come to know the Savior I try to serve.
Jesus went on to say that the people of Nineveh would rise up in judgment because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and those listening to Jesus rejected God come in human flesh.
Jesus told the people then, and He tells us today to repent and believe in Him. Jesus' resurrection from the dead proves who He is.
There is no other historical religious figure who has died and risen from the dead. The empty grave is proof of the resurrection. The Bible says that over 500 people saw the risen Christ. And, why would all of the Apostles except one be willing to suffer a martyr's death if they hadn't seen the risen Jesus?
Jesus is the way. Only He can provide the answers for life and hope for the life to come. I urge you to believe in Him and follow Him today. Amen.
Jesus said that He wasn't going to give them a sign except for the sign of Jonah the prophet. What I don't get is how these people following Jesus could still be seeking a sign from Jesus to prove Himself. At this point in Luke's Gospel, Jesus has already performed many powerful miracles witnessed by the crowds.
In chapter 4, Jesus drove out an evil spirit in the synagogue, healed Peter's mother-in-law, and healed many people with a variety of problems. In chapter 5, Jesus healed a man with leprosy and a paralyzed man. Chapter 7 finds Jesus in the town of Nain raising a widow's son from the dead. Jesus calms a storm, heals a demoniac, heals a woman with an issue of blood and raises Jairus' daughter. Five thousand were miraculously fed in chapter 9. What more in the way of signs did the people expect? No wonder Jesus reacted the way He did.
Jesus said that the same way in which Jonah was a sign to Nineveh, Jesus would be a sign to His generation. At this point we need to ask, what is this sign of Jonah that Jesus is speaking about?
If you recall, Jonah was a prophet from Israel. An Old Testament book of the Bible is named for him. God called the prophet Jonah to the city of Nineveh, the capitol of the Assyrian Empire.
Jonah had no intention of going anywhere near Nineveh. The Assyrians were the arch enemies of Israel, and as far as Jonah was concerned, God could just go ahead and destroy Nineveh and be done with the matter.
Jonah got on a boat and sailed in the opposite direction. God wasn't going to let Jonah get off the hook that easily. A great storm arose, and Jonah, knowing he was the cause, had the sailors cast him into the sea. As soon as Jonah hit the waves, the storm calmed and a great fish swallowed him.
Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the fish. He then repented and was vomited out onto dry land. He rushed to Nineveh and delivered a message of repentance as originally instructed by God. All of Nineveh turned to the Lord. Jonah, being the kind of man that he was, was angry with God for having mercy on the city.
The sign of Jonah Jesus was speaking about was the fact that when Jonah was in the belly of the fish it was as if he were dead then came back to the land of the living.
Jesus said that just as Jonah was three days and nights in the fish, He would be three days and nights in the grave. Then Jesus would rise from the dead victorious over death, hell and the grave.
The sign to Jesus' generation that proved His message was the fact that although crucified and put to death, He rose again conquering sin and its consequences forever. Truly, as Jesus said, He is the resurrection and the life, therefore whoever believes in Him will never die.
The resurrection of Jesus is our sign of who Jesus is and that His message is true. The resurrection of Jesus validates everything He said about Himself and the work of redemption accomplished at Calvary.
In spite of this sign, the vast majority of people in Jesus' day right up to the present day don't believe in Jesus' message of love and redemption.
Jesus told those listening to Him that the Queen of the South would stand up and judge them because she came from the ends of the earth to see Solomon, yet one greater than Solomon was among them.
This reminds me of many people today. They will follow innumerable spiritual paths, but they will not follow Jesus. Just look at the world we live in. Only one-third of the world's population holds to the Christian religion in any form. Two-thirds of this world is going in a different direction.
Here in my country, the United States, many different religious teachers preach a message contrary to Jesus and they have best selling books and are featured on programs of national prominence. All the while, the number of people who believe in the divinity of Jesus and in His resurrection grows smaller.
This makes me sad because I know in my life that my relationship with the Jesus of the Bible has made all of the difference. I hope that others will come to know the Savior I try to serve.
Jesus went on to say that the people of Nineveh would rise up in judgment because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and those listening to Jesus rejected God come in human flesh.
Jesus told the people then, and He tells us today to repent and believe in Him. Jesus' resurrection from the dead proves who He is.
There is no other historical religious figure who has died and risen from the dead. The empty grave is proof of the resurrection. The Bible says that over 500 people saw the risen Christ. And, why would all of the Apostles except one be willing to suffer a martyr's death if they hadn't seen the risen Jesus?
Jesus is the way. Only He can provide the answers for life and hope for the life to come. I urge you to believe in Him and follow Him today. Amen.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Good Dog Program
There was a good dog program on "Nature" on PBS last night. I think that the name of it was "Dogs That Changed the World." Last night was just part one. Next week is part two. If you like shows about dogs, you might want to check it out.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Verses For the Day
John 14:15-17--"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you."
Monday, October 3, 2011
A Golf Surprise
I am a big fan of golf. I can't play much because after about 4 holes my shoulder goes out. But, I love to watch golf. I was very surprised to read this morning that for the first time in his career, Tiger Woods is out of the top 50 golf rankings. I would never have believed it. Maybe he will make a come back yet. The way things look right now, Jack Nicklaus' major's record is safe.
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