God's Calling

Jeremiah 1:1-10[i]

Jeremiah was born into the family of a priest, a man named Hilkiah.  His hometown, Anathoth, was about four miles north and east of Jerusalem.[ii]

[iii]

Jeremiah 1:2 says, “The LORD first gave messages to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.”  The thirteenth year of Josiah was 627 B.C.  The Assyrians conquered Samaria in 721 B.C., deporting all its citizens.  Therefore, Jeremiah began his ministry approximately 94 years after the Northern Kingdom of Israel ceased to exist.  Over the more than 40 years of his ministry, Jeremiah saw his beloved country lose power and eventually be conquered by Babylon, and Jeremiah was present when the city of Jerusalem was sacked.

Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet.  Jeremiah’s message brought him sorrow and sadness.  Three times, God tells Jeremiah, “Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah.”  (Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14, 14:11)  God had decided to judge the nation of Judah because of the evil of Josiah’s grandfather, Manasseh.  In fact, God told Jeremiah, "Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn't help them.”  (Jeremiah 15:1)  This broke Jeremiah’s heart.  He continued to mourn for his people and plead with God on their behalf as he delivered God’s message.

King Josiah was a reformer.  He zealously purged the land of Judah of idols and God had this to say about him:

Never before had there been a king like Josiah who turned to the LORD with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses.  And there has never been a king like him since.  (2 Kings 23:25)

King Josiah’s reign lasted 31 years.  Jeremiah’s ministry started in the 13th year of King Josiah’s reign.  Therefore, during the first 18 years of Jeremiah’s ministry, the king and the prophet worked together.  These would have been good years for Jeremiah.

However, after Josiah died, Jeremiah’s ministry was tough.  He faced opposition, imprisonment and attempts on his life.  But, he never lost his tender heart, and he continued to plead with God for his people.  He even tried to quit, but God’s Word within him would not let him remain silent.  (Jeremiah 20:9)

 Jeremiah’s message was primarily of judgment.  However, he also brought a message of hope.  Jeremiah 31:31 and following announces the New Covenant that God will make with His people.

Jeremiah’s ministry was unique, which is true of all God’s people.  Abraham, Moses, David and each person God used had a unique role to fulfill.  Before God gave Jeremiah a message for the nations, He gave Jeremiah a message for Jeremiah.

He gave Jeremiah a calling.

First, He said to Jeremiah:

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.  Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”  (Jeremiah 1:5)

Let me ask you question.  Is Jeremiah the only one of whom God can say, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb?”

In Psalm 139:16, the Psalmist says, “You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”  

The truth that God is pointing out to Jeremiah is a truth that should encourage us all.  Every person God has made was made for a unique purpose.  In Job 10:8 and Psalm 33:15, the Scriptures state that God’s hands have shaped every person.  For us believers, Ephesians 2:10 is especially meaningful.  It says:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  (ESV)

Jeremiah did not go out seeking to find God’s purpose for him.  God’s purpose found Jeremiah.

We all do what we do because of who we are.  If I may use a rather crude example, my dog does not behave like a bird.  In a similar manner, a person will behave according to his or her inborn nature.  God, who made us, is able to direct our steps. 

Therefore, it is more important to seek to know God than to seek to discover His purpose for one’s life.

Throughout Scripture, we have examples of God’s purpose in people’s lives.  Abraham, Saul, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Paul are some examples of God calling and setting apart people for His purposes.  It is evident that God shaped the individual for the role He intended for each one.

God will show His purpose.  Trust God.  Pray for His will to be done in all things, and be obedient to what He tells you. 

We do not always agree with God.  Abraham went from Ur to Haran and stopped there for a while.  Moses tried to refuse.  Saul hid.  Jeremiah said, “O Sovereign LORD, I can’t speak for you!  I’m too young!”  (Jeremiah 1:6)

Fighting against God’s calling is common.

Jeremiah objected, saying he was too young.  Later in his ministry, he complained that it was too hard, God wasn’t fair and that God had tricked him.  (fair – Jeremiah 12, tricked – Jeremiah 20:7)  It seems that fighting against God’s calling is not necessarily a once-and-done sort of thing.  As God’s servant grows, new objections come up.

At one point, Jeremiah says, “Lord, you know what’s happening to me.  Please step in and help me.”  (Jeremiah 15:15)  Then he says, “Why then does my suffering continue?  Why is my wound so incurable?  Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry.”  (Jeremiah 15:18)  God’s help seems fickle and unreliable, but when God responds, we learn what the problem is.  God says:

“If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me.  If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman.  You must influence them; do not let them influence you!”  (Jeremiah 15:19)

Apparently, the problem was with Jeremiah.  God used Jeremiah’s “incurable wound” to deal with something in the prophet’s life.

God’s calling, purpose, plan and message run contrary to the flesh.  By flesh, I mean merely human desires.  We all have appetites and desires.  These usually center on self.  My purposes and God’s purposes frequently collide and I end up fighting against God.  At these times, the flesh must surrender.  Negotiating and compromise are not an option.  Surrender is the only way through.

These conflicts serve to clarify and confirm both the calling and purpose of God.

God answered Jeremiah’s first objection with “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young.’”  Each subsequent objection met with an equally definite answer from God.  This is also true of all God’s servants.  Over time, God clarifies and confirms His calling.

However, God did address Jeremiah’s concern.  Jeremiah said, “I’m too young!”  Therefore, the Lord reached out and touched Jeremiah’s mouth and said,

Look, I have put my words in your mouth!  Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms.  Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow.  Others you must build up and plant.  (Jeremiah 1:9-10)

God put His message in Jeremiah’s mouth.  Jeremiah’s age had nothing to do with God’s calling.  It was not even a matter of whether or not Jeremiah was adequate for the job.  His provision, adequacy and strength were all to come from God.

The Apostle Paul spoke of his adequacy for the task God had given him and said,

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own.  Our qualification comes from God.  (2 Corinthians 3:5)

There is a great danger of trying to do God’s work in our own strength. 

God has shaped us from our mother’s womb for the purpose He has for us.  Therefore, it is natural that we should have an aptitude for our calling.  One might say it comes naturally to us.  However, when we try to do God’s work with human strength, it always meets with disaster.

For example, when Jeremiah suffered his “incurable wound,” he apparently was speaking worthless words and was being influenced by those he was sent to influence.  Another example is King Saul.  King Saul began well, but then stopped trusting God and let his flesh rule.  This ended in his losing the kingdom.

There are two elements to being adequate for the calling of God: Faith and the Word.

It was required of Jeremiah that he trust God and that He faithfully proclaim God’s Word.  It is required of all God’s children that we trust Him.  We can only do this in as much as our confidence is based on the Word of God.  Romans 10:17 explains to us that faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of God.  This really is the key to being faithful to the calling of God in one’s life, trusting God and being in the Word. 

The hymnist said it, “Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] biblehub.com/topical/a/anathoth.htm

[iii] http://cnbible.com/region/anathoth.jpg

The Day of the Lord

Read the book of Joel.

The day of the LORD is an awesome, terrible thing.

Who can possibly survive?  Joel 2:11[i]

The sun will become dark,

and the moon will turn blood red

before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives.  Joel 2:31

Dread and fear seize the heart at the mention of the great and terrible day of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord is the theme of the prophet Joel.  Joel is one of the Minor Prophets.  His book takes up only three short chapters.  Consisting of fewer than 2,000 words, Joel is about the length of a 30-minute sermon.  However, the brevity of the book does not lessen its importance.  Peter quotes it in the New Testament in explaining what happened on the Day of Pentecost, when believers received the Holy Spirit.

We all understand and expect that Peter spoke of a partial fulfillment.  There is a “yet to be fulfilled” part of this prophecy.  Frequently, in prophecy, an immediate fulfillment is a sign guaranteeing a future fulfillment.  For example, the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 saying, “The virgin will conceive a child,” had an immediate fulfillment in Isaiah’s wife, but this prefigured or pointed to the literal virgin, Mary, who gave birth to the Messiah.

Joel uses a local locust plague to prefigure or point to God’s future judgment of the whole earth.  Dating of these events requires conjecture and a bit of guesswork.  The best we can say is that since Isaiah and Amos both reference locust plagues, perhaps Joel prophesied shortly before these men prophesied.

Joel 1:2 says, “Hear this, you leaders of the people.  Listen, all who live in the land.  In all your history, has anything like this happened before?”

The point here is the unprecedented nature of the calamity.

Nothing like this had ever happened before.

Here, where it says, “you leaders of the people,” it is actually referring to the old ones among the people.  The word being translated is “old.”  This is where we get the idea of elders and elder leadership, and this is why some translators have translated it, “leaders.” However, the root meaning of the word is “old.” Joel is asking the elderly if they have any memories of anything like this plague.  Joel’s point is that in all their history, as far back as anyone could remember, nothing like this had ever happened before.

This was a devastating plague.  Every plant, living and dead, was consumed until there was nothing left.  The fruit, leaves and even the bark was stripped from every tree in the land.

Joel calls on people to mourn because there will be no food or wine.  He calls for fasting, mourning and weeping and says:

The day of the LORD is near, the day when destruction comes from the Almighty.  How terrible that day will be!  (Joel 1:15)

Since Joel’s time, other prophets, and even our Lord, have given us more information about the coming “Day of the Lord.”

Jesus says, “There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.”  (Luke 21:11)  He also says, “People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”  (Luke 21:26)  The book of Revelation tells of judgments that wipe out large portions of the earth.

We have seen terrible things.  Nazi Germany killed millions of its own citizens and made war on the rest of the world.  Communist Russia killed millions of its own citizens and exported its reign of terror to many other nations.  Communist China killed millions of its own citizens, and continues to oppress its own people.  Islam continues to spread terror, hate and war wherever it goes.  Coupled with this, we have seen earthquakes, tsunamis and natural disasters that have destroyed on never-seen-before scales.  However, the end has not yet come.  Joel’s warning of unprecedented calamity shouts to us, “You have not seen anything yet.”

 In World War II, over 60 million people died; that was about 3% of the world’s population.[ii]  Revelation 9:18 tells us that in just three of the Day of the Lord judgments:

One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses.

If we calculate by today’s population, that would mean 2.5 billion people will die.[iii]  This is roughly 42 times as many as died in World War II.

Truly, we have not seen anything yet.

What is the purpose of the “Day of the Lord?”

Listen to what the Lord says:

¹²That is why the LORD says, “Turn to me now, while there is time.  Give me your hearts.  Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  ¹³Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  He is eager to relent and not punish.  ¹⁴Who knows?  Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse.  (Joel 2:12-14)

God is eager to relent and not punish.  Jonah observed the same thing about God when he said, “You are eager to turn back from destroying people.”  (Jonah 4:2)

God has given the world an abundance of warnings.  However, people do not repent and change their ways.  Even in the midst of plagues, people will not turn from their evil and seek God.  Revelation 9:20-21 says:

²⁰But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.  They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!  ²¹And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

I hear complaints about God being too harsh, but murders, thefts and evil continue.  This nation, that I love, cannot continue, without consequence, to murder babies at the rate of over 3,500 a day.[iv]  The world cannot continue, without consequence, to murder babies at the rate of 125,000 per day.[v]  Moreover, this is just one evil and injustice in our world.  Do you know even one person who has not suffered injustice at the hands of another human being?  Does even one day pass without news of horrible injustice, thefts and murders?

Humanity mocks God and says, “Where is the promise of His coming?” 

God answers this.  He tells us in 2 Peter 3:9:

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think.  No, he is being patient for your sake.  He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

Once again, God says plainly that He does not want to destroy anyone.  However, He has made it clear that He will not let injustice, murder and evil go unpunished. 

There are enough godly people in this nation that our prayers may bring about revival, repentance and a turning to God.  The answer is not in the political arena.  The answer is in what God calls us to do in the book of Joel. 

“Turn to me now, while there is time.  Give me your hearts.  Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” (Joel 2:12-13)

Repentance is an individual thing.  We can repent in large groups, but it is the individuals in the group that must recognize his or her own offense against God.  This is why 2 Corinthians 5:20 says:

So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.  We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

The world for the most part will not repent. 

This is why God says:

Say to the nations far and wide:  “Get ready for war!  Call out your best warriors.  Let all your fighting men advance for the attack.  (Joel 3:9)

In Joel chapter three, God asks the nations, “What do you have against me?” He invites them to come and fight against Him.  Psalm 2 tells of this consistent attitude of the nations against God.  It says:

¹Why are the nations so angry?  Why do they waste their time with futile plans?  ²The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the LORD and against his anointed one.  ³“Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”  (Psalm 2:1-3)

Language and talk of judgment is viewed as hateful and angry.  It is not acceptable.  It never has been.  Even in ancient times, Zechariah said of the ancient Israelites, “Your ancestors refused to listen to this message.  They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing.”  (Zechariah 7:11)

God will meet with the nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.  Jehoshaphat means “God judges.”  Those who choose not to repent will have their chance to face off against God.  Joel likens the battlefield to a winepress.  Here is what Psalm 2 says:

⁴But the one who rules in heaven laughs.  The Lord scoffs at them.  ⁵Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury.  ⁶For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.  (Psalm 2:4-6)

God gives every chance for us to repent and do right.  He pleads with us.  He warns us.  He gives small demonstrations of His might, His power and His judgments.  And yet, three quarters of the world’s population has yet to acknowledge Him.

What about you?

Have you acknowledged Him?

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

[iii] www.worldometers.info/world-population/

[iv] http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/story/are-there-really-3700-abortions-each-day-in-the-us/

[v] www.worldometers.info/abortions

Three Days in the Deep

Read the book of Jonah first.[i]

“Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai.”  (Jonah 1:1, ESV[ii])

God speaks to His people.  We can assume this was not the first time the word of the Lord came to Jonah, and Jonah recognized the word of the Lord.

Jonah was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom.  He shows up in 2 Kings 14:25 in the account of Jeroboam II.  Jeroboam II was king of the northern kingdom of Israel during the ministries of Isaiah and Hosea.  2 Kings 14:25 says:

Jeroboam II recovered the territories of Israel between Lebo-hamath and the Dead Sea, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had promised through Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher.

In this account, we have evidence of some of the ministry of Jonah to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  In the book of Jonah, we have a historical narrative that teaches God’s concern for the nations, God’s concern for His messenger and God’s concern for His people.

Going back to verse 1 and 2 of Jonah 1, it says:

¹The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai:  ²“Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh.  Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”

Jonah is a Hebrew, a Jew, from Gath-hepher, which is in the same general area as Nazareth.  As a Jew in that time, the people of Nineveh would have been Jonah’s enemies.

Here is a little of what we know about Nineveh.  Nineveh, (abode of Ninus), was the capital of the ancient kingdom and empire of Assyria.  The name appears to be compounded from that of an Assyrian deity "Nin," corresponding, it is conjectured, with the Greek Hercules, and occurring in the names of several Assyrian kings.  It is first mentioned in the Old Testament in connection with the primitive dispersement and migrations of the human race.  Asshur, or according to the marginal reading, which is generally preferred, Nimrod is there described, (Genesis 10:11) as extending his kingdom from the land of Shinar or Babylonia, in the south, to Assyria in the north and founding four cities, of which the most famous was Nineveh.  Hence, Assyria was subsequently known to the Jews as "the land of Nimrod."[iii]

The early history of Assyria is involved in obscurity.  We know from the sacred narrative that it was a powerful nation.  Israel was subjugated by one of its monarchs in the period of the Judges, and during the reign of the kings the Assyrian power was an object of perpetual dread.

Jesus told us to love our enemies.  However, Jonah did not reflect that quality.  The violence of the Assyrian people is most likely behind Jonah’s reluctance.  In fact, when God decides not to destroy Nineveh, Jonah says:

“Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD?  That is why I ran away to Tarshish!  I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  You are eager to turn back from destroying people

Jonah wanted Nineveh to be destroyed, and feared that God would be merciful and compassionate, relenting on the promised destruction.

God speaks, and we are about to see God dealing with His messenger, Jonah.  God is good, and since He allows suffering, it must be necessary.  God needs to perform a surgery in Jonah’s life and it is going to take three days in the deep, in the belly of a fish, to perform that surgery.  It is painful but necessary.

Jonah had some sort of rebellion in his heart.  Jonah 1:3 says:

³But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD.  He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish.  He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish.

[iv]

The map shows Tarshish as being 2,500 miles from Joppa, or 3,000 miles from Nineveh.  The text tells us that Jonah’s ship met with a violent storm.  He was thrown overboard, swallowed by a fish and spit out on land three days later.  However, the text does not tell us where the fish spit Jonah out.  How far did Jonah have to walk to get to Nineveh? 

The first chapter of Jonah says Jonah went to get away from the Lord, and then says he was hoping to escape from the Lord.  Both of these phrases interpret for us the same Hebrew phrase that says Jonah was fleeing from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah recognized God is omnipresent.  However, this did not stop Him from renouncing His office of prophet, or from leaving his place of duty.

Don’t we all tend to do the same thing when faced with a seriously objectionable assignment?  The storm and the fish are not about the punishment of the prophet, but about God’s concern for His messenger and the lengths God will go to accomplish His work in our lives.

After three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed, and his prayer reveals the work God was doing in Jonah’s heart.

Jonah 2:2 says, “I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble.”  Jonah describes his situation as being one of great trouble.  He talks about being in the land of the dead, his life slipping away and being imprisoned in the earth.  In verse 4 he says, “‘O LORD, you have driven me from your presence.”  In chapter 1, he was trying to flee from the presence of the Lord.  However, when he got what he wanted, he was not happy.  His rebellion and hard heart toward his enemies took him to a place of suffering.  However, the suffering brought about repentance, and Jonah says, “I will look once more toward your holy Temple.” (Jonah 2:4) 

His statement in Jonah 2:8-9 is revealing.  He says:

Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies.  But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows.  For my salvation comes from the LORD alone.

Jonah refers to those who turn their backs on all God’s mercies.  This is what he had done by fleeing from the presence of the Lord.  Therefore, because he also mentions worshiping false gods, I assume that he had worshiped false gods, not idols made of stone, but idols of the heart. 

What is rebellion in our hearts toward God?  1 Samuel 15:23 tells us, “Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.”

When Jonah rebelled, God could have sent someone else.  He could have fired the rebellious prophet, chosen someone else and moved on.  However, He did not.  He worked with Jonah.  God’s messenger needed to grow, learn and change.  God used Nineveh to change His messenger.

God shows the same kind of grace toward all of us.  God does not have to work with any of us.  He chooses to work with us, to change us, to grow us and to confront the idols in our hearts.

Being convinced and spit out on dry land, Jonah finds himself on the way to Nineveh.  He delivers God’s message of coming judgment, and then sits outside the city to watch the judgment happen.

However, Nineveh repents.  Therefore, God does not carry out the destruction He had threatened, and Jonah is very angry.  He says to God:

“Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD?  That is why I ran away to Tarshish!  I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  You are eager to turn back from destroying people.  Just kill me now, LORD!  I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”  (Jonah 4:2-3)

The sun is terribly hot.  So, God causes a plant to grow and shade Jonah.  Jonah is very grateful for the plant.  However, God also arranged for a worm.  The worm ate through the stem of the plant and the plant died.  Jonah got so hot and uncomfortable that he wanted to die.  Then God says, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”  (Jonah 4:9) 

Jonah replies, “Yes, even angry enough to die!”  (Jonah 4:9)

God points out that there are 120,000 people living in Nineveh who do not know their right hand from their left.  Jonah had compassion for the plant but not for the people of Nineveh.

This, of course, teaches us of God’s concern for the nations.  Israel was concerned with Israel and did not share God’s compassion for the rest of humanity.  However, there is a lesson for the prophet and for each individual believer in this account.

What does Jesus mean when He says we are to love our neighbor as ourselves?

Jonah was concerned about how things affected Jonah.  He fled from his assignment, because he knew God would forgive Jonah’s enemy if they repented.  He wanted to die when this forgiveness became a reality.  He wanted to die when his shade plant died.  Everything for Jonah was about Jonah.

God did not tell Jonah to sit and watch to see the destruction of Nineveh.  Jonah had no business sitting and waiting.  If God was giving him a vacation, why did he not take the time to refresh himself and bask in the glory of some magnificent part of God’s creation?  Instead, he sat in one place growing angrier and angrier.

Twice God asks the question, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”

James 1:20 says, “Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.” 

What is our anger usually about?  Is it not centered on how things, circumstances and such, affect us?  This is why James 1:19-21 says:

¹⁹Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.  ²⁰Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.  ²¹So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

God speaks.  However, we do not always like what He has to say, nor what He wants to do.  Sometimes it takes three days in the deep to change our minds, and sometimes it takes the hot sun and considerable discomfort for us to see ourselves.

Rather than fighting God, as Jonah did, let’s resolve to humbly accept the word God has planted on our hearts, like James tells us.

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[iii] http://biblehub.com/topical/n/nineveh.htm

[iv] http://doctrine.org/jonah-the-angry-prophet/jonahrunswithdistances1/

All Nations

We, as a Church, exist to make disciples.

We have a commission from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

After He was raised from the dead, He met with His eleven disciples on a mountain.  At that meeting, He said, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”  (Matthew 28:18)  Then He said, “Therefore.”  “Therefore” based on His authority, based on His position, Jesus gives a command.  He assigns His followers a mission.  He says, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations.”  (Matthew 28:19)

The command here is to make disciples.  This is why we say we exist to make disciples.  Jesus commands us to make disciples.

This is not as mysterious as it sounds.  Jesus gives us an outline of the process.  He says, “. . . baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.”  (Matthew 28:19)

Baptizing them assumes conversion.  This is the preaching of the good news.  In Mark 16:15 Jesus says, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”  This is the first step in the disciple making process.

A disciple now is the same as a disciple was in Jesus’s day.  A disciple is a follower of Jesus.  A disciple is a learner, a student of a particular teacher.  In Luke 6:40 Jesus says, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.”  (ESV)  The point of discipleship is to become like the teacher, to receive training from the teacher and to become fully trained.

This is the second part of the outline that Jesus gives when He says, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.”

This teaching takes many forms.  It takes place in Sunday School, and in Worship.  It takes place in books and articles.  However, none of this is enough.  A disciple must be a follower of the Master.  In order to do this, each person must learn to follow the Master for his or her self.  Jesus challenged anyone who would follow Him with these words:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  (Matthew 16:24, ESV)

The Apostle Paul told his young disciple, Timothy:

Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval.  Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.  (2 Timothy 2:15)

Both Jesus and Paul are pointing to the need to follow Jesus daily.  This starts with making time to be with Him daily.  Make time to read the Bible every day.  It does not have to be huge chunks; even a little bit will help.  This will lead to correctly explaining the word of truth, and if we are listening to the word of truth, we will know what cross we are to take up.

Being a disciple is not a hobby, a career or an interest.  It is a decision and a commitment.  It is who we are when we accept Christ.  All Christians are disciples.  When a person accepts Jesus as Savior, he or she becomes His disciple.  Some are poor learners and there are plenty of wayward disciples.  No matter where you are on the journey, if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are His disciple.

The command or commission we have from Jesus is to make disciples of all nations.

What does He mean by all nations? 

The word translated “nations” here is the Greek word “ethnos.”  It is from this word that we get our word, ethnic.  It means forming a culture and refers to people joined by practicing similar customs or common culture.  The Jews of Jesus’s day used it to refer to unbelieving Gentiles (non-Jews).[i]

In Revelation 5:9, the angels and elders sing a song to Jesus saying, “Your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” 

This has been God’s plan all along.  Even as early as Abraham, God was already saying, “All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”  (Genesis 12:3)

The early church immediately set out to obey this mandate from Jesus Christ.  Thus, we have in Acts 13:1-3 the beginning of the first missionary endeavor.  Jesus had sent His disciples out in pairs to preach, and by this means had taught them how to do missionary outreach.  Then in Acts 13 we have this account:

¹Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul.  ²One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.”  ³So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

Although the history is long and complicated, our missionary movement started on that day.  Jesus told His disciples:

“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.”  (Acts 1:8, ESV)

It is our privilege to see in our day the gospel reaching to the ends of the earth.  However, the task is not finished.  Of the 16,300 ethnic groups in the world, 6,550 are considered unreached, and of those, some 3,000 are unengaged.  Unreached means less than 2% Christian, and no indigenous community of Christians able to evangelize the rest of their people group.  Unengaged means there are definitely no missionaries, in all likelihood no outreach, no church or fellowship of believers, no Christian materials, and few if any Bibles in these people groups.[ii]

Lest we think these are small insignificant people groups, the unreached people groups account for around 40% of the world’s population.

We, as a church, stay connected with missionaries because it is part of who we are.  We are concerned that our neighbors hear the gospel whether they are near or far.

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[i] http://biblehub.com/greek/1484.htm

[ii] https://joshuaproject.net/resources/articles/has_everyone_heard

Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.