Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 6:27 a.m. – I woke with this song in mind:
Go Ye into All the World / James McGranahan
Far, far away, in heathen darkness dwelling,
Millions of souls forever may be lost;
Who, who will go, salvation’s story telling,
Looking to Jesus, heeding not the cost?
See o’er the world wide open doors inviting,
Soldiers of Christ, arise and enter in!
Christians, awake! Your forces all uniting,
Send forth the Gospel, break the chains of sin.
“Why will you die?” the voice of God is calling.
“Why will you die?” re-echo in His Name;
Jesus has died to save from death appalling,
Life and salvation therefore go proclaim.
God speed the day, when those of every nation
“Glory to God!” triumphantly shall sing.
Ransomed, redeemed, rejoicing in salvation,
Shout “Hallelujah, for the Lord is King.”
“All power is given unto Me,
All power is given unto Me,
Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel,
And lo, I am with you always.”
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Acts 24-26 (*chp 26):
My Understanding: This passage in Acts is one of my favorites, and is my favorite recording of Saul/Paul’s conversion and of God’s calling upon his life. I believe that these words to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus represent such a clear picture of the gospel message and of the great commission that Jesus gave his disciples before he left the earth to return to heaven.
Matthew 28:16-20: The Great Commission
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Between the words of this passage in Matthew and Jesus’ words to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus, we have a clear picture of what the gospel message entails and what it means to be a believer in Jesus Christ and to fulfill the “Great Commission”.
Go Ye into All the World / James McGranahan
Far, far away, in heathen darkness dwelling,
Millions of souls forever may be lost;
Who, who will go, salvation’s story telling,
Looking to Jesus, heeding not the cost?
See o’er the world wide open doors inviting,
Soldiers of Christ, arise and enter in!
Christians, awake! Your forces all uniting,
Send forth the Gospel, break the chains of sin.
“Why will you die?” the voice of God is calling.
“Why will you die?” re-echo in His Name;
Jesus has died to save from death appalling,
Life and salvation therefore go proclaim.
God speed the day, when those of every nation
“Glory to God!” triumphantly shall sing.
Ransomed, redeemed, rejoicing in salvation,
Shout “Hallelujah, for the Lord is King.”
“All power is given unto Me,
All power is given unto Me,
Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel,
And lo, I am with you always.”
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Acts 24-26 (*chp 26):
My Understanding: This passage in Acts is one of my favorites, and is my favorite recording of Saul/Paul’s conversion and of God’s calling upon his life. I believe that these words to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus represent such a clear picture of the gospel message and of the great commission that Jesus gave his disciples before he left the earth to return to heaven.
Matthew 28:16-20: The Great Commission
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Between the words of this passage in Matthew and Jesus’ words to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus, we have a clear picture of what the gospel message entails and what it means to be a believer in Jesus Christ and to fulfill the “Great Commission”.
- We must go in the authority of Jesus Christ, not in our own strength – only Jesus has the power to save lives. We are mere instruments to present the message, but it is the Holy Spirit who truly leads people to salvation.
- We are to go and make disciples of all nations. A disciple is “somebody who believes in and follows the teachings of a leader, a philosophy, or a religion” according to Encarta Dictionary, so we are to make “followers” of Jesus.
- We are to baptize them “in the name” of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “In the name” has a stronger meaning than merely just saying the words. Someone’s name meant their signature, their stamp of approval, and/or their character and baptizing symbolizes identification with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection. So baptizing “in the name” of our Lord means that we take his identity upon us in character, in actions, in thought, word and deed.
- We are to teach them to obey everything God/Jesus has commanded us. This is also part of “making disciples”. We are not merely to just invite people to have their sins forgiven, but we are to invite them to identification with Jesus Christ in every respect and we are to teach them to be obedient followers of our Lord, making him Lord of their lives, not just Savior.
- Going back to the Acts passage, we are also to be the Lord’s servants and his witnesses of what we have seen of him and have experienced in him ourselves and of what he shows us via his Word and what the Holy Spirit teaches us. As a servant, we are to serve our Lord in whatever he asks us to do. And, we are to share with others whatever he teaches us.
- Lastly, our Lord is sending us ‘to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' Again, this is part of “making disciples.” We are not called merely to give testimony or merely to get someone to pray a prayer of salvation, but we, as the Lord’s disciples and followers, are called to help others’ eyes to be opened to the truth of the gospel and to be turned from darkness to the light, i.e. to repentance, and from the power of Satan to God so that they may receive forgiveness. In other words, if one prays a prayer but continues to walk in darkness, then he or she has not really met our Lord in salvation. We need to lead them to the light and teach them how to walk in the light.