20/12/13

Christian - A Man on a Mission

Matthew 28:19,20 - Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.


Yesterday I was traveling back from work and I caught the train and quickly caught a seat. Seated opposite me was someone who stayed nearby to my place I had not seen him, he attracted my attention and so I greeted him and started to talk to him.

Soon I saw him do some fast funny actions then I realized he was doing the sign of the cross and that too about 4 or 5 each in less than 2 seconds. It looked like I was watching Bruce Lee doing the nunchaku in action. Later he removed his beads and started his religious prayer and at short periods he did his Bruce Lee action that too sets of 2 to 3 in sets of 4 to 5 signs at every 10 beads and also in between when we passed by any Church near the tracks. Seeing the speed and aggression of him doing those signs I was afraid he would hit me or anyone else and knock that person out (just joking) but I did keep safe distance from him. I did not say anything to him until after he finished, I started talking to him again and spoke to him about prayer and he was surprised to hear what prayer really is.

Today's scripture has given religious Christians a ritualistic action which they think opens doors to God and exits doors before God. They do it before a prayer and after a prayer as if by doing it they come before God and after doing it again they go far away from God, looks like they love being far from God. David said even in Hell he could not be far from God for no place or time there exists where God is not there.

Today's message does not give any ritual or action but a mission which Jesus gave us and which the Lord spoke to us in yesterday's message of carrying the Cross for It gives us the right order of doing the mission (I had missed this important scripture and God wanted us to understand and I had not put the mission in the right order yesterday).

The scripture is divided in 3 parts

1) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations - this refers to us preaching the Gospel to all. The main reason we do it is that His voce reaches the children of God - His sheep and they come to Him, since we cannot identify who His sheep are among all the people of the world until they hear His voice and respond to it that is why we reach out to all. People mistake to understand that unless we preach to every soul in this world the end will not come. We need to realize many died without hearing the Gospel.

The Shepherd looks only for His lost flock and knows them by their name (spiritual name - inner-man - and their names / finished product are already written in the Book of Life). Bible says God will not allow any of His sheep to perish for He is a Good Shepherd therefore waits till each and every lost sheep is gathered.

2) Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit - there is a very important thing to learn from this part and is something most Preachers and Christians who witness Christ make mistakes. Understand this is not an order of who is who; the Son is not greater than the Holy Spirit for the Spirit of the Son is also the Spirit of the Father, therefore the Son cannot be before the Spirit. On earth the Son called the Holy Spirit Father for He as man was born of the Holy Spirit.

The reason it is put in this order is because it is the order in which who reveals who. We Christians make mistake of preaching Christ to people who believe in many gods or do not believe in God. When we do that we give them Jesus as another god (put it in small g because this Jesus they know is not the Jesus we know) among other gods. We should first tell them about God and Who He is and then knowing Him the person repents and realizes they cannot come before Him. That is where Jesus Christ becomes The Way. But as they accept Christ they realize it is impossible to walk The Way and this is where the Holy Spirit comes in the picture. This is where we tell them of the Holy Spirit and how the Holy Spirit will help them walk The Way. This is where we baptize the person when he or she accepts God the Father repents accepts the Son and His Spirit and desires to seek life. This baptism is not just of water (Jesus Christ) but also of the Holy Spirit, Whom we impart through laying of hands or praying over normally after their water baptism. The Father reveals the Son and the Son reveals His Spirit.

3) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you - the teaching here is not about giving the Gospel but teaching them the Word of God. Most Christians pass through the 1 stage and half of the second stage and rarely the third stage. Many a times when I share about Christ through the books of Moses and the Prophets most Christians think I am a heretic or come from another world. Paul was a Jew who became a Christian he preached Jesus Christ and the Jews who heard him confirmed his teaching with the scriptures. That time there was no Gospels or New Testaments, the scriptures that confirmed his teachings were the Old Testament. Jesus Himself stated Moses and the Prophets wrote about Him. One may be surprised the whole Bible is all about Him and His people. The Old Testament is not what people think of it or understand by reading its text. God is the same and His Word does not change only since sinful man cannot understand His Word one shot and still exist therefore it was / is revealed in stages. Bible is called Word of God and not words of God.

The Gospel and Word of God should not be confused as the same. In simple words the Gospel is the trailer and the Word of God the whole movie. Gospel is the good news of hope of salvation through Jesus Christ; the Word of God is the confirmation of how God executes it, it also gives an insight of what this salvation holds for us, things which eyes have not seen or heart has imagined.

We need to know to understand or keep the Word of God (walk in the instructions of salvation) we need the help of the Holy Spirit and we receive the Holy Spirit only when we accept Jesus Christ and His sacrifice and His sacrifice becomes our sacrifice when we come to God the Father and reach out to Him.



[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, Your Word is complete and your plans are complete. Man fails because they do not follow your plans and then things all crazy things that it is your will that they fail. Lord we pray You open their eyes, un-harden their hearts and strengthen them, that they may see, understand and follow...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference ]
Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

Acts 17:10-12
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

Acts 18:28 For he mightily convinced the Jews publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.



The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others.
(All rights are with God)