Finishing the Work On Earth God Gives Us
How are you doing at finishing the work God has for you to do on earth? Most people probably never give that a thought. They are too busy doing what they want to do. However, in John 17:4 Jesus told the Father that He had finished the work on earth that the Father had given Him to do. That is quite a statement to make, isn't it? What was Jesus talking about, since He had not yet been to the cross? The answer to that question was the main topic of our Monday morning men's Bible study this morning at 5 AM. I am glad to report that the men were gripped by the answer, and God touched all of us who were there.
Jesus had definitely finished letting the people see God through His life. He had manifested the very person of God to those who saw Him and heard Him. He was the Word made flesh. He also had finished living a sinless life, so that He could go to the cross and give His life as the Perfect sacrifice for our sins and to die in our place. He had to do that before He went to the cross. However, the main points of the text up to verse 9 point to Jesus finishing His mission all except for the cross. His mission was to relate to His 12 disciples in such a way that they received the Word of God and became ready to carry out the delivery of the Gospel to the world. If Jesus had gone to the cross, but He had not prepared a way to get the Good News to the world, no one would have been able to believe in Him for salvation. These men were the nucleus of the church, and our mission is the same as theirs. We are to mentor disciples who will spread the Good News of Jesus to others, and mentor them, too.
How are we doing? I am afraid that our churches do a lot of things, but we are failing at making disciples who spread the Gospel. I told the men that 5,000+ Southern Baptist missionaries around the world who have adopted the strategy of Jesus, have won over 700,000 people to the Lord each year for the last several years, while 16,000,000 Southern Baptists in the USA have won about half that many. Even though we know the language, the culture, and we have every aid to knowing the Bible and evangelism known to man. We fail because we do not accept the ministry God has given us, which is to be like Jesus. Read Ephesians 2:10 and notice that God has a mission for each believer. It is not up to us to decide what to do. It is up to us to finish the work on earth He has given us. Who are the people you are discipling and sending out like Jesus?
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 36-37 and Acts 15:22-41.
Jesus had definitely finished letting the people see God through His life. He had manifested the very person of God to those who saw Him and heard Him. He was the Word made flesh. He also had finished living a sinless life, so that He could go to the cross and give His life as the Perfect sacrifice for our sins and to die in our place. He had to do that before He went to the cross. However, the main points of the text up to verse 9 point to Jesus finishing His mission all except for the cross. His mission was to relate to His 12 disciples in such a way that they received the Word of God and became ready to carry out the delivery of the Gospel to the world. If Jesus had gone to the cross, but He had not prepared a way to get the Good News to the world, no one would have been able to believe in Him for salvation. These men were the nucleus of the church, and our mission is the same as theirs. We are to mentor disciples who will spread the Good News of Jesus to others, and mentor them, too.
How are we doing? I am afraid that our churches do a lot of things, but we are failing at making disciples who spread the Gospel. I told the men that 5,000+ Southern Baptist missionaries around the world who have adopted the strategy of Jesus, have won over 700,000 people to the Lord each year for the last several years, while 16,000,000 Southern Baptists in the USA have won about half that many. Even though we know the language, the culture, and we have every aid to knowing the Bible and evangelism known to man. We fail because we do not accept the ministry God has given us, which is to be like Jesus. Read Ephesians 2:10 and notice that God has a mission for each believer. It is not up to us to decide what to do. It is up to us to finish the work on earth He has given us. Who are the people you are discipling and sending out like Jesus?
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 36-37 and Acts 15:22-41.