If I’ve only learned one thing in this life, it’s that my capacity for knowing hope, love, and peace is directly proportional to how closely I follow God’s instructions. On that note, the last words out of the mouth of Jesus Christ after His crucifixion, resurrection, and just prior to His ascension to His throne in heaven as recorded in all four Gospels, (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) is as follows:
“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.”
Hmmm…I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe that things that are emphasized in the Bible in such dramatic fashion are done so by mere coincidence. This command was not buried somewhere in the midst of some obscure text where it might be overlooked; no, this important command literally screams out at us in the most prime section of the New Testament whereby it cannot be missed even by the most inattentive reader.
To me the importance of it cannot be overstated, and next to our personal salvation nothing should be of greater import than helping to fulfill it. It is commonly referred to as the Great Commission and our new church and worldwide ministry has chosen it to become our Great Mission.
So-o-o-o…When should we start?
Jesus answered that question for us in Matthew:
“Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”
The obvious answer based on this Scripture is that we should begin immediately, in part because there are no guarantees in life for tomorrow for any of us. Most everyone agrees that life is fragile and in spite of everything modern science can come up with, time on this earth is running out for everyone. God is telling us that the time is NOW to reap the harvest, because tomorrow might be too late.
This issue becomes all the more relevant as revealed by most Bible scholars, in that the return of the Jews to their homeland in 1945 after being scattered all over the world for some 2000 years began the Bible’s prophetic countdown towards God returning for His children to remove them from this world prior to its destruction which will culminate with Armageddon.
Jesus lovingly warned us through His Holy Word that we need to be ready, because that time will come upon us unexpectedly. The Bible compares it to being similar to a cat burglar striking in the dead of the night at a time when we least expect it.
Many Christians including readers of Words for the Day are actively praying for Christ to return for us, (Rapture), sooner rather than later. While I’m fed up with the increasing decadence that is overtaking our country, and I’m homesick and want to go to my eternal home to be with the Lord and enjoy my rest, I feel that I’m being selfish in that regard.
I keep asking myself, “What about all those billions who are lost in this world?” If the Lord came today, or a lost person just dies from natural causes, they will spend all of eternity separated from God.
Famous intellect and former atheist turned devout follower of Jesus Christ, C.S. Lewis put the urgency of our situation into perspective for us when he wrote the following commentary regarding those who are praying for the immediate return of Christ which will trigger the End Times:
“God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage the play is over.
God is going to invade, all right, but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else–something it never entered your head to conceive–comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choices left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side… That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not.
Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.”
Yikes! I get it, but how can we get God’s message of love and hope to those who so desperately need to hear it?
God said, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
Two things we can understand as we carefully review what He has said:
“I will pour out my Spirit on all people…
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
God has prepared the way and has promised to be with us every step of the way!
God will directly take care of providing the visions and dreams. News accounts of these miraculous events occurring in many closed societies and remote tribal areas all over the world such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are prevalent. But that is just part of the equation; He has charged us to be responsible for preaching His Gospel, (Good News), throughout the world using any channel that we can.
The Honey Lake Church and Worldwide Ministry is going all in to use every means and resource available to do just that. It will entail:
- Good old fashioned personal one on one witnessing
- Preaching
- Publically speaking
- Training disciples
- Small groups and Bible studies
- Printed media such as articles, blogs, and books
- Radio
- Television
- Internet including YouTube, and other social media outlets such as Facebook, Linked in, and Twitter
- Intense prayer
No matter how long it is until the actual end of the age, one theme the biblical writers emphasized is that it draws nearer every day, thus we cannot tarry. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is clear. We must do our part to use every resource that we can to fulfill God’s Great Commission.
You can participate by joining/supporting our ministry, and/or others with similar goals, and/or begin your own. Just get off the couch and do something. This mission is not impossible… This message will not self-destruct, but will stand forever….
Romans 13:11
Now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed”.