Galatians 3:28-30 (ESV) - The covenant (promise) is passed to us!!!
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
As a nation, Israel to a certain extent did fulfil its call and also fell short of fulfilling its call. It was mostly through individuals that Israel fulfilled its call to be a blessing to the nations; individuals who were blessed by God, and were in turn a blessing to the other nations. Joseph, for example (Genesis 45:7-8), was a blessing in the circumstances he faced; whether it was in Potiphar's house, or even in prison! He was a blessing to the nation of Egypt as a whole. Daniel, Nehemiah and Esther were also blessings to the nations they were in.
Genesis 45:7-8(ESV)
7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Daniel 6:25-27(ESV)
25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: "Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues; He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions."
And then there was a part where they missed it in fulfilling what God had for them as a nation:
Romans 9:4-8(ESV)
They were elected, given the privilege and responsibility with the mission in preparing the world for the coming messiah.
4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. 6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
Romans 11:11 -12(ESV)
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
2 Kings 17:6-18 (ESV)
The Israelites began doing what was right in their own eyes, they began missing and compromising through idolatry.
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. 9 And the people of Israel did secretly against the LORD their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the LORD carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger, 12 and they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, "You shall not do this." 13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets." 14 But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God. 15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only.
Understanding the Great Commission .
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"Answering a student's question,'Will the heathen who have not heard the Gospel be saved?' thus, 'It is more a question with me whether we who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not, can be saved.'"
- C.H. Spurgeon.
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Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Mark 16:15(ESV)
15 And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
For us to really see the Great commission being fulfilled, we need to understand what Jesus commanded us to do. If we do not understand, we miss a great deal on what we are supposed to do.
Mark 16
Go
Preach
Individuals
Matthew 28
Go
Teach
Nations (ethne)
Jesus commanded his Church to (a) to go – across boundaries/across cultures, (b) proclaim the Gospel message (evangelize); (c) to make disciples; (d) Baptize in the name (how to make disciples, new family members; and (e) teach to obey (how to make disciples and, productive family members. Evangelism and the making of disciples, two complementary tasks
When comparing the two scriptures, one focuses on Individuals - and preaching which can be measured, is quantifiable, and can be done in a short time - whereas the other focuses on Nations and teaching, which is qualitative and done over a long period of time. Jesus has given us all the authority we need to go to the nations, and He is with us through all we do as we reach the lost people groups.
Other Scriptures to read and meditate on the Great Commissions:
Mark 16:15-20(ESV)
15 And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
Luke 24:44-48(ESV)
44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repenta
nce and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
Acts 1:8(ESV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
John 20:21(ESV)
21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.
Acts 2:1-13 (ESV) – The Gospel is proclaimed in other peoples languages!
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13 But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine."
With the death of Stephen, persecution comes (Acts 7, 8) – and the persecution gets the gospel out of Jerusalem!
If we look again at Jesus' words in Luke 24, "Thus it is written that Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead on the third day; and that forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed to all the nations..." we can clearly see the connection between the Great Commission and the promise in the last line of the Abrahamic Covenant. What’s more is that this last verse of the Abrahamic Covenant is the biblical definition of the gospel.
Galatians 3:8 (ESV)
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed."
Luke 24:44-49 (ESV)
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Psalm 67:4 (ESV)
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, or you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
Greatness of God
In his book, ‘Let the nations be Glad’ John Piper says Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God. - Let the Nations Be Glad – John Piper, pg 11
He goes on to say that whoever cannot say from the heart, “I rejoice in the LORD. . . . I will be glad and exalt in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High” (Psalm 104:34; Psalm 9:2); as a missionary will never call out; “Let the nations be glad!” Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can’t commend what you don’t cherish.
We have to come to a place where we are amazed and overwhelmed by the greatness of whom God is. Without this overwhelming essence of God we lack the passion for missions. Our passion for missions oozes out of our passion for God, and passion for the things of God. It is out of this passion that our desire to declare his glory among the nations shines through. Put God first. The desire for missions flows from that.
Psalm 96:3(ESV)
3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous works among all the peoples! There is no way of anyone can declare God glory among the nations, without experiencing it first-hand.
William Carey, the father of modern missions, who set sail for India from England in 1793, expressed the connection: (Quoted in Iain Murray, The Puritan Hope (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1971), 140. For an introduction to Carey’s life, see Timothy George, Faithful Witness: The Life and Mission of William Carey (Birmingham, Ala.: New Hope, 1991)
“ When I left England, my hope of India’s conversion was very strong; but amongst so many obstacles, it would die, unless upheld by God. Well, I have God, and His Word is true. Though the superstitions of the heathen were a thousand times stronger than they are, and the example of the Europeans a thousand times worse; though I were deserted by all and persecuted by all, yet my faith, fixed on the sure Word, would rise above all obstructions and overcome every trial. God’s cause will triumph.”
Love and Compassion for the Lost
All of the early missionaries that left their countries were moved by the great vision of a multitude of peoples and tribes and nations worshipping before the throne of God. Our Compassion for the lost that springs out of our passion and love for God is a highest and most beautiful motive for missionary labour. It takes a supernatural strong feeling of love for the lost in order to be able to sustain the vision and call for missions. Without the love of God for people, it will be hard for us to stay on the field; especially when we come across difficulties, or don’t see any fruits to our labour.
The Moravians beautifully explain their motivation for missions in the following 1791 evangelical report. "The simple motive of the brethren for sending missionaries to distant nations was and is an ardent desire to promote the salvation of their fellow men, by making known to them the gospel of our Saviour Jesus Christ. It grieved them to hear of so many thousands and millions of the human race sitting in darkness and groaning beneath the yoke of sin and the tyranny of Satan; and remembering the glorious promises given in the Word of God, that the heathen also should be the reward of the sufferings and death of Jesus; and considering His commandment to His followers, to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, they were filled with confident hopes that if they went forth in obedience unto, and believing in His word, their labour would not be in vain in the Lord. They were not dismayed in reflecting on the smallness of their means and abilities, and that they hardly knew their way to the heathen whose salvation they so ardently longed for, nor by the prospect of enduring hardships of every kind and even perhaps the loss of their lives in the attempt. Yet their love to their Saviour and their fellow sinners for whom He shed His blood, far outweighed all these considerations. They went forth in the strength of their God and He has wrought wonders in their behalf."
The Moravians had learned that the secret of loving the souls of men was found in loving the Saviour of men. On October 8, 1732, a Dutch ship left the Copenhagen harbour bound for the Danish West Indies. On board were the two first Moravian missionaries; John Leonard Dober, a potter, and David Nitschman, a carpenter. Both were skilled speakers and ready to sell themselves into slavery to reach the slaves of the West Indies. As the ship slipped away, they lifted up a cry that would one day become the rallying call for all Moravian missionaries, "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering." The Moravian's passion for souls was surpassed only by their passion for the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. [i]
God’s goal is that his Son’s name be exalted and honoured among all. The one poin
t of focus in Matthew 19 (see below) for us is the phrase “for my name’s sake.” The motive that Jesus virtually takes for granted when a missionary leaves home, and family and possessions is that it is for the sake of the name of Jesus. That means for the sake of Jesus’ reputation.
Missions exist for the sake of the name of Jesus. The love of Christ compels us the power motivator behind missions is Love for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:13-15). Without this love, our love for the lost is weak. Without this love it will be difficult for us release our lives to God to fully use us. Without our coming to that place where we feel God’s heart for the lost, we will not be able to feel deep love for a nation, a people, or a person.
Matthew 19:25-29(ESV)
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." 27 Then Peter said in reply, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" 28 Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
After being in missions for over ten years, I was beginning to feel somewhat disheartened about my call, and even questioning whether what I was doing was worth it. I didn’t have much to show in the worldly sense of worth for what I was doing - no house, no car, no savings or retirement plan. It was in this emotional state that I went to the teaching on the Holy Spirit. As I was feeling worn out I needed to just spend some time in God’s presence. Then Stefan, who was teaching and has known of my love for nations called me to show an example for being in travail for a nation. As he prayed for me, I fell to the ground and started crying. I lay there for about an hour or more just crying. The whole time, God was showing pictures of people’s faces of different nationalities and tribes; and God was saying to me: “My heart aches for these people, they don’t know Me, they have never experienced my love and might never experience my love”. During this time, over and over again, I would feel God’s love for the people and His pain for their lost condition. By the end of the evening I was ready to go again. My mind was made up, even if I didn’t have anything to show for my ten plus years of missions. To be involved in sharing about a specific nation or people group, and mobilise people to go there, was worth it! And in heaven, I would have so much more of value to show for it than a car, house or any of the material possessions of this world.
The Whisper That Echoes Through Africa Page 3