Building great people, because great people build great families and great families build great communities.
To God be the glory!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

What part of GO don't you understand?

When Jesus came back from the dead, why didn't He go to Herod or Pilate and say, “I'm back!”
In fact why did He make himself known only to those who believed?

To the women at the sepulcher the angel said, “Go tell his disciples”. Mark 16:7

The disciples were bewildered. Jesus had died; their dreams had faded; their hopes had vanished. They didn't know what to think. Some had gone back to their old ways. They were trying to live on the memory of a dead Christ. But there was a message for bewildered church:
“Go tell His disciples that He is going on before you!” The message is simply Christ is risen!
We need a new experience of the living Christ.

Listen to the result, Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord,

Is He really in our buildings? He is if He is in us! And if He is in us let us never be content with leaving our gathering together as if we been to a funeral - instead may we as the disciples were when they saw Jesus, “be glad”. Jesus Christ - victorious conqueror!

“Go tell his disciples AND PETER.” Peter was a backslider and the Lord singled him out as though he were marked “special”. Jesus wished to restore Peter. Unfortunately, many congregations miss the fact that Jesus can fire up the lost with new love and zeal.

What a field day for the gossips who heard about Peter denying the Lord! Can't you imagine them whispering, “Have you heard the low down about Simon Peter?” Ever wonder why they call it the “Low” down? Let us be know for our desire to lift up - not tear down.

"How are you?" "Great, since the resurrection!"

Jesus only had one question for him, “do you love me?” Not, “Aren't you ashamed of yourself?” He only asked, “Do you love me?” The issue is Christ. “Do you love ME?”

"Go into all the world and make disciples". Jesus is the Center: “All power is given to me; Lo, I am with you always.” When Jesus spoke with Peter, He was the Center: “Do you love ME?” But there was also the circumference: “Feed my sheep.” In geometry we use a compass. One prong is stationary, fixed. With the other we scribe our circle. Folks, Christ is the fixed Center, the same yesterday, today and forever. From that Center we make the sweep of the whole world as our circumference. Once we admit to loving Jesus, He sends us out to feed His Sheep. “We've a story to tell to the nations”.

Our story is not centered about “a way of life” “our church” or even “Christianity”, it must be centered around Jesus.

“All things are mine: Come, Believe, Go.” That is the full Christian experience.

We are to let our light shine and that light is Christ. It is a glow, not a glare, and we do not shine it, we let it shine. Before you start thinking of how hard this is consider the fact that, the disciples did not have any special advantage over us! It wasn’t any easier for them to believe the miracles than it is for us. True, they were eyewitnesses, but being an eyewitness to an extraordinary event doesn’t make it any easier to believe.

But Jesus didn’t care about their doubts! He gave the Great Commission to every one of them, even the doubters. The doubting disciples loved Jesus and that is all that really mattered.

Even if your not a Bible whiz the Great Commission still applies to you. You don’t have to have it all figured out, simply trust and obey the Lord Jesus. It’s as if Jesus is saying, “Hold your questions to the end. Right now your primary task is loyalty and obedience.”

Go ye therefore…… Before you imagine having to leave Osoyoos to do this understand that “Go” could mean next door or across the street. But make no mistake about it “Go” is an action word.

Mark 5:18-20 And when Jesus got to the boat, the man who had been possessed with the devil asked Jesus to take him with him. However, Jesus said, no, GO home to your friends and tell them about the great things the Lord has done for you. Tell them how the Lord had compassion on you. And he WENT, and began to testify about the great things Jesus had done for him: and all the people marveled.

Commission: an authorization or command to act in a prescribed manner or to perform prescribed acts: charge: authority to act for, in behalf of, or in place of another: a task or matter entrusted to one as an agent for another

No comments: