(part 1)
“Later Jesus appearedto the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith andtheir stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
Mark 16:14-15
I think it is important to recognize that the gospel of Jesus Christ did not end with the resurrection! As we celebrate Passion Week,there is a tremendous amount of attention given to Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, and rightly so! However, as the holiday draws to a close and people start back to work we tend to forget Jesus’ post-resurrection ministry.
After His resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for 40 days and
was seen by all of His disciples and many followers. In fact, 1 Corinthians
15:6 tells us that He was seen by as many as 500 people! These sightings were
not merely to give validation to His resurrection, but rather His presence on
earth was to commission His followers to carry out His kingdom purposes.
According to Luke 19:10, Jesus’ primary purpose in coming to earth was to save the lost:
“For the Son of man came to seek and save what was lost.”
Jesus was concerned about mankind’s eternal condition. He
came to earth to save them from the penalty of sin becoming a ransom for many.
His concern for souls surfaces, once again, in one of His last directives
before ascending into heaven:
“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Mark 16:15-16
This mandate has two important components to remember. First, the phrase-“Go into all the world” indicates that as a body of believers we are never to remain still! The gospel was never intended to be housed within the four walls of a church, but rather proclaimed to the four corners of the earth. As God’s Word is living and active, so must His church be! We cannot reach the lost by simply warming the pews on Sunday morning. We must be mobile! We must embrace Jesus’ imperative to “Go”!
The question then arises…Where do we go? Where do we go to find “lost” people? The answer is simple. Everywhere! Jesus directive to go into “all the world”, indicates that there are lost people everywhere we go! Everywhere could be as close as your next door neighbor or as far away as the jungles of Ecuador.Regardless of where you go, you will not find them standing still!
The second component to remember from Mark 16:15 is this-the method by which we reach them is through preaching! Romans 10:13-14 tells us:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in. And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
Preaching the good news is God’s chosen method for reaching the lost! Most people assume that the word ‘preach” means to deliver a sermon. However, the word preach is best defined as “to proclaim publically.” You and I have been commissioned by Jesus
Christ to go into all the world and to publically proclaim the good news. This
requires us to understand the gospel message!
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/
“Later Jesus appearedto the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith andtheir stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
Mark 16:14-15
I think it is important to recognize that the gospel of Jesus Christ did not end with the resurrection! As we celebrate Passion Week,there is a tremendous amount of attention given to Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, and rightly so! However, as the holiday draws to a close and people start back to work we tend to forget Jesus’ post-resurrection ministry.
After His resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for 40 days and
was seen by all of His disciples and many followers. In fact, 1 Corinthians
15:6 tells us that He was seen by as many as 500 people! These sightings were
not merely to give validation to His resurrection, but rather His presence on
earth was to commission His followers to carry out His kingdom purposes.
According to Luke 19:10, Jesus’ primary purpose in coming to earth was to save the lost:
“For the Son of man came to seek and save what was lost.”
Jesus was concerned about mankind’s eternal condition. He
came to earth to save them from the penalty of sin becoming a ransom for many.
His concern for souls surfaces, once again, in one of His last directives
before ascending into heaven:
“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Mark 16:15-16
This mandate has two important components to remember. First, the phrase-“Go into all the world” indicates that as a body of believers we are never to remain still! The gospel was never intended to be housed within the four walls of a church, but rather proclaimed to the four corners of the earth. As God’s Word is living and active, so must His church be! We cannot reach the lost by simply warming the pews on Sunday morning. We must be mobile! We must embrace Jesus’ imperative to “Go”!
The question then arises…Where do we go? Where do we go to find “lost” people? The answer is simple. Everywhere! Jesus directive to go into “all the world”, indicates that there are lost people everywhere we go! Everywhere could be as close as your next door neighbor or as far away as the jungles of Ecuador.Regardless of where you go, you will not find them standing still!
The second component to remember from Mark 16:15 is this-the method by which we reach them is through preaching! Romans 10:13-14 tells us:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in. And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
Preaching the good news is God’s chosen method for reaching the lost! Most people assume that the word ‘preach” means to deliver a sermon. However, the word preach is best defined as “to proclaim publically.” You and I have been commissioned by Jesus
Christ to go into all the world and to publically proclaim the good news. This
requires us to understand the gospel message!
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment