 AFTER HIS RESURRECTION, Jesus commanded His disciples to go into the whole world and preach the Gospel, making disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them. Another time, as He was about to ascend into heaven, Jesus told His disciples they would soon receive power from on high and thus become His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. After the Holy Spirit came upon the church at Pentecost, they began to go out and spread the good news – eventually. It was a full ten years later that Peter received a vision from the Lord to get up and do something unthinkable for a kosher Jew: go take the Message into the home of a Roman Centurion. The Gospel had finally reached the Gentiles. Four more years passed until Saul (the Apostle Paul) took the Message of salvation beyond the borders of Judea, and the rest, as is said, is history. At this juncture a significant question surfaces: while Paul preached around the Mediterranean world, where were the other apostles? They continued in Jerusalem, the place where Jesus did not intend them to stay…
CONCERNING MISSIONS, the Lord Jesus did not set forth a command for Believers to invite people to come to church, but He did tell them to go. He did not send His Holy Spirit powerfully upon His church that they might feel good about their fellowship and be warmed and filled. He told His people to go, and He has not yet rescinded the command. Whether it is our neighbor standing across the fence or a native standing on the opposite end of the Earth, the world desperately needs Jesus Christ. Whether near or far, we, His church have been entrusted by God with the charge, the empowerment, and the open door to carry to our lost and waiting world His Gospel, His encouragement, and His gifts.
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WE GO OUT to the Georgetown Divide because we are surrounded by lost and needy neighbors, who, having heard of Jesus Christ, also need to see and know His grace and truth through the lives and words of His people. This is our Jerusalem.
WE GO OUT to surrounding towns, cities and regions to encourage our brothers and sisters, preach the Gospel, teach the Word, and make life better for others. These places are our Judea and Samaria.
WE GO OUT to the uttermost parts of the earth because there, unlike our Jerusalem, the vast masses of the world’s people have never heard of Jesus Christ or His great Salvation that we know so well. In these far-off places, so many of our brothers and sisters, laboring hard in the distant and remote fields of the world, desperately need our encouragement, our fellowship and our resources.
WE GO OUT because the Lord Jesus has not commanded His church to be missions “minded”. He commanded them – us – to go. We are missions... |
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"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?
And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
And how can they preach unless they are sent?
As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Romans 10:14-15 |
