Tuesday, July 8, 2014

GO - GOING - GONE

From My Perspective - - - 

The World Dictionary lists 83 definitions and usages for the word "GO." According to first usage definitions, it means: “to move or proceed; to leave a place; depart." The Synonyms are: “walk, run, travel, advance.” It’s interesting that the Antonym has only one suggested usage: “to stay.” 

Just one illustration that should serve as a motivation for the Biblical Christian to avoid being either static or a spectator is: Luke 14. Immediately preceding his discourse on the cost of discipleship, Jesus gives a very practical instruction about inviting guests to the come to the banquet table. In particular, verses 21-24 convey the sense and force of a required mobility implied in the word "GO".  “Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you,none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’" 

When Charles Spurgeon preached on this text - Compel Them To Come In, he began his sermon with these words: "I feel in such a haste to go out and obey this commandment this morning, by compelling those to come in who are now tarrying in the highways and hedges…” We need this level of urgency and activity today. 

Rather than reinterpreting the Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ, we should try to understand it in terms of what the Apostles understood it to mean in The Book of Acts. The particularization of the commission of Acts 1:8 includes reaching "the uttermost part of the earth." When Paul began his ministry, it entailed Missionary Journeys to all parts of the known world. Should we do anything less in these days of cultural chaos? Are there no cultural captives who need to hear the message of deliverance by and through Jesus Christ alone today? What is the consequence if we rationalize and/or ignore the intent of Jesus Christ for His followers? There will be a moment in the future when the separation of sheep and goats (Matthew 7) will occur. In which flock will you/we be? Will we be with those who did what they could for "one of the least of these"? Or, will we be with the clueless and oblivious who ask: "when did we see  You" with needs?  

Consider these things with me!

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