And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20 NASB.
Jesus has paid the price for our sins, and has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He commands all who are His to go and make disciples of all men. And He is with us until the end of the world. This is a wonderful promise! If we wish to go out and tell others about God’s love and the salvation that Jesus bought for us, Jesus will be with us until the end of the world! It is because of the price that He paid for our sins, that we can go out and help win others for the kingdom. Let us rejoice and be glad for the great salvation He bought for us!
This command that Jesus gave us is a promise, that He would give us the power to make disciples of all men. When Jesus said this it was very near Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit would be poured out without measure upon His people who were gathered there in that upper room, and would be given to all Christians who would repent and be baptized. This same power is also available to us now, if we wish to be Jesus’ disciple! Acts 1 also talks about this same event where Jesus gave His last message to His disciples before He ascended back into heaven. He said to His disciples, “He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.’” Acts 1:7-8 NASB. Here is the secret to how they could preach the gospel to the whole world: they would receive power from God, the Holy Spirit to do so!
Many people do not fully realize what Christ has been given since He died on the cross, and provided the victory for us. They don’t live their lives like they fully, really believe that He won the victory on the cross for them, and has now been given all power in Heaven and on Earth. They want to say that Christ only forgives them when they confess their sins, or that they are just saved, with not much of a change or difference in their life after their conversion. Many don’t realize the power from Him that they can claim. If anyone desires to do Christ’s bidding and go tell the good news of the gospel to the world, Jesus will be with them, even until the end of the world! He will provide them with the power to preach this message with power, and will help the hearers of the message want to be saved. The power to bring honor and glory to Jesus and His Father has been promised to all Christians, not just grace to forgive us after we sin. The power to not live a hypocritical life, the power to live a righteous life for Him and the power to give His testimony to the world. These were all promised to us by Jesus, since He was victorious over sin and death, and paid for our sins, now all power has been given to Him both in Heaven and on earth! Let’s live our life, like we believe what He said! Let’s not live our lives, barely eking out a spiritual existence, and feeling guilty that we are not doing enough for Him or the Father. Why should we starve or thirst, when the fountain flowing from the river of life is within our reach, and when we have been provided with the bread of life? Just take the bread of life and a deep drink from the river of life that He has provided for you, and have a new life with Him! But take this every day, and every time you hunger and thirst, and you will be filled and satisfied with the goodness of God! Don’t starve yourself or let yourself go thirsty, but be filled with God’s love, you need it!
Let us also believe that He will give us the power to be His witnesses, both in Jerusalem, and all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest parts of the earth as He said in Acts 1:8. We don’t have to be worried, or worry if we are good enough to be saved, or whether we are a good enough preacher to preach the word to others, or good enough at whatever gift God has given to us that He wants us to use for Him. No reason for guilt or fear. Just trust and believe Jesus when He said that all power has been given to Him in Heaven and on earth, and go out with joy, and help others see how much He and His Father love them! This is the gospel message! This is the good news! It’s not about how good we are, or what we can do for Him, it’s about what He and His Father and the Holy Spirit can do for us! Just cooperate with God, yield your heart to Him, and be filled with the Holy Spirit! Pray for this, breathe this, and live for this! Then go forth with great joy and great power, after you have received power from on high, and bring honor and glory to God! He deserves it doesn’t He? What brings honor and glory to God? When someone is saved by the blood of Jesus and transformed from a son or daughter of perdition or a son or daughter of sin, into a son or daughter of God! But what even brings more glory to God, is when His own children reproduce is character of love and want to go out and show this to the world! Then He is delighted to grant them the full power, love and joy that the Holy Spirit brings to the soul who is devoted to Him; this is the power to make others the son or daughter of God too!
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all! Amen.
By John Foll
©Copyright 2017 by John Foll
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Originally posted 2017-01-28 20:07:00.
Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.” Luke 11:23 NASB. What does it mean to be ‘for Jesus?’ It means to be His disciple, to bear much fruit for Him and His Father; this is to tell the wonderful news of salvation to those who don’t know. If you are ‘for Jesus’ you will be unable to help yourself from doing something for Him, whom you love. What does it mean to be ‘against Him?’ This is the status quo. All who are not fully His or those living their life for themselves, who look to have their own way will sometimes or always be against Him, whether they are in the Church or in the world. For those in the Church like this, this is a halfway conversion to Christianity: one foot in the Church and one foot in the world. Read this article to find out more about what it means to be 'for Jesus' and to 'scatter'.
Are you tired of hurting yourself and others? It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. “And it happened that as He [Jesus] was reclining at the table in the house, behold many tax-gatherers and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, ‘Why is your Teacher eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners?’ But when He heard this, He said, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE, 'for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” Matthew 9:10-13 NASB77. Why are all of God’s people today not seeking healing from Him? Aren't we all sick? This is God’s message to His people in our day too! There needs to be a balm in Gilead and help from the Great Physician, because many of His people in our day are in as much need of healing from the sickness of sin as they were when Jesus was dining with the tax collectors and sinners.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 KJV. The key here is that ‘He is faithful’. Who is faithful? God is faithful. Our salvation and all the good things now and forever depend on the love and faithfulness of God to keep His promises to us, to forgive us and to help cleanse us from all unrighteousness and to provide all the other gifts that He wants to give us.
We want to help you love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. Matthew 22:38. We want to share with you the good news that God really loves you, even if you don’t love Him back. We want you to not be afraid of Him. There is no reason for anyone to be afraid of God, if they would allow Him to work in their life and would cooperate with Him. He will make this easy for you, if you will just let Him do it for you and find out how much He loves you! But even if someone will not let Him do this for them, there is no reason to believe that He will treat them unfairly. God is not like that. He is kind, loving and merciful, and gives people time to get to know Him and make their choice of where they want to go in life. We think you will get much comfort and peace when you find out how much God loves you, and everyone who has ever lived or who will ever live, and how fair He is. To use common vernacular, ‘God has been given a bad rap.’ The enemy of our souls has stacked the deck against God with his falsehoods and half-truths, or so he thinks. But he can only deceive the unwary and those who want to be deceived or those whom he can blind to the truth or poison with his malignancy. Many people seek religion or seek to obey God out of guilt or fear, rather than out of true love and devotion to Him; this should not be. It’s a place to start, but all need to get beyond this in their relationship with God. He should be your dearest friend! This is what we have been striving to do, to tell all who will listen how much God loves them, so that they can fall in love with Him! Our enemy is trying to make people so disgusted with all of it that they abandon their belief in God, and some have no religion whatsoever but hedonism. And others try to make it too easy to be saved and never be lost, because they don’t like the consequences. (They preach a religion without the need of continued repentance or without the need of carrying a cross or making changes or sacrifices.) And others yet live under a burden of guilt, never knowing if they are good enough to be saved, and are worried about what lies ahead of them. And others still are just blind to the direction of their life and the consequences of their actions, and some think that they are “good enough;” that everything will be all right in the end, without making sure that they are walking in the path that God wants them to go. But never fear! Where sin abounds, God’s grace abounds even more! Romans 5:20. You don’t have to stay stuck in going the wrong direction, be misled by wrong beliefs, or stay under a deep load of guilt or fear anymore, because God has made provision for your salvation! He knows just what you need and has a plan to save you, if you will let Him. So have faith and take encouragement! If you continue to seek for the truth with a desire to please Him, He will reveal it to you and it will all make sense! Then you will have no fear of the future, because God will be your guiding light.
No Tears in Heaven: There will be no tears in Heaven. Isaiah 25:6-8; Revelation 7:13-17; 21:1-6. How can there be no tears in Heaven if loved ones of the saved […]
“But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 NASB. This text is so true. This is looking at the truth in a different way. We need to contemplate what this means, it is so important! Those who are walking in the light as God is the light will not be thinking that they do not need to be too concerned about their behavior or whether they are free from all enslavement and entanglement with the sins and things of this world. Many surround themselves with preachers and others who believe that they do not need to be concerned very much about their behavior or entanglement with sin and the things of this world, and little mention is made of the sinner’s need of walking in the Light of God, to repent and have a change made in them. And others think that they believe in ‘the truth’ while they are not walking in the Light and have not His abiding presence in their heart. It is every Christian’s privilege to choose to walk in the Light as God is the Light, whether they will listen to His sweet Spirit when He whispers to their heart or not.
Conclusion of the wonderful passages and promises showing God’s great kindness and mercy towards His created beings whom He loves: Yes! These bear repeating, with descriptions added where needed to […]
Sin will not Rise a Second Time: Evidence that sin and sinners will not rise up a second time after their destruction: (We are giving this to you from several […]
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:12-19 KJV.
So what is the cure for unbelief? Faith. Faith is the opposite of doubt or unbelief. Unbelief in what? Unbelief in the promises of God. The children of Israel had been given a promise by God that He would give them the land of Canaan and help them to possess it, if they would follow His lead. Caleb and Joshua told the children of Israel that they were well able to enter the Promised Land, that God would open the way for them and give it to them. But the 10 other unfaithful spies lied to the children of Israel about this, saying many discouraging things to them, so that they did not believe the promise of the Lord.
