LIGHT TO ALL NATION

Sunday, 7th August 2016 (Trinity 11)

Isaiah 49:1-6 (NKJV)

“Listen, O coastlands, to Me, and take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; from the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.

2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.”

3 “And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.’

4 Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God.’”

5 “And now the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, And My God shall be My strength),

6 Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

The world would be in total darkness without the Gospel. Before the Messiah was born, God had chosen Him to bring the light of the Gospel (the message of salvation) to the world (Acts 13:47).Christ offered salvation to all nations, and His apostles began the missionary movement to take this Gospel to the ends of the earth. Missionary work today is a continuation of Jesus’ Great Commission, God’s heartbeat, which is taking the light of the Gospel to all nations (Matt. 28:18-20).

When one is dying or leaving us, his or her last words are very important. Jesus left the disciples with these last words of instruction: to make more disciples, baptize and teach them to obey Christ. He also promised to be with them always to the end of the age. In an earlier mission, Jesus had sent His disciples only to the Jews (Matt. 10:5-6), their mission now would be worldwide. We are to go, whether it is the next door or to another country, to make disciples. It is not an option but a command to all who call Jesus “LORD”. We are not all evangelists in the formal sense, but have all received gifts that we can use to help fulfil the great commission.

Thought: Do you support evangelism and missionary efforts with your money? Do you have a talent or other resources to help spread the message of Christ? How can you help, God wants you to be involved.