It's Our Turn

 After His resurrection, Jesus met with His disciples and commissioned them. This is especially necessary to be reviewed so we may always be reminded that being saved opens us to discipleship.

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 NIV

 

While this passage is for His disciples, Jesus is in its the center, front, and back.

The authority of Jesus.

Jesus died and rose again. He has defeated death. He has proven that nothing is over Him. All authority has been given to Him.

He did His part. He went through all that He came to do. Now salvation is available because of what He has done on the cross.

 

The commission from Jesus.

As the authority, He has the right to commission.

The commission is, 

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Matthew 28:19-20a NIV

This is exactly what the disciples did. The book of Acts is full of all they did in obedience to Jesus Christ.

 

The assurance of Jesus.

When Jesus commissioned His disciples to make disciples, He gave them an assurance.

"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b

He assured them that His presence will go with them.

 

What does the Great Commission have to do with us?

 

Jesus did His part.

Jesus did the hard part. He took the punishment so we don't have to. As His word declares, "It is finished."

After the disciples' first preaching, the people asked what must they do after hearing about Jesus.

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 NIV

As His followers, the disciples passed on what they heard and learned. It was passed on and on. As it reached us, it is our turn to preach this same gospel.

 

Jesus expanded the family.

We have been saved when we received Jesus as Lord and Savior. The story becomes more exciting as we become part of His family. We now win people for Him. Even before His death on the cross, He has expressed the truth that there are still others who must be brought to salvation

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:16 NIV

When we became part of God's family through Jesus Christ, the family naturally expanded. This shall continue expanding until Jesus returns.

 

Jesus chose His people.

It was not an accident that the gospel was shared to us, and we were saved. God planned it. Jesus chose us.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16 NIV

This passage must encourage us to keep moving forward by sharing the Good News. Imagine, the God who created all things saw us and said to Himself, "I am choosing these people, and I will use them. They will bear fruit."

 

Conclusion:

Today, the people may hear about Jesus through us, because now, it's our turn.

 

On Social Media

The urge is too great not to respond to something you strongly believe was meant for you, specially when it is something bad and it did not specifically mention your name, but just the very situation you are at.

BUT HEAR ME OUT.

Publicly confronting an unnamed individual anonymously behind one's keyboard is NOT a display of courage. If anything, it is one of the lowest coward moves in today's generation.

A truly strong, brave, loving, courageous individual would confront in private. His/Her goal is to mend, not worsen an already bad situation.

So, IF you would listen, this is my advice. Or you can stop reading here.

Do not respond the way they want you to. Do not fall into their trap. If they did not name you, do not assume it was you. For they can easily say, they were not talking about you. (One of the lowest coward moves, remember?)

Instead, move on with your life. Keep doing what you are doing. Your real friends, your family, the ones who really love you will say something if there is any concern about your attitude. Consider what they say. You don't have to believe it right away, but if you count them as closest to you, or if you discern sincerity in them, at least give it a thought.

You are loved. Remember that.

People's opinion of you becomes a background noise that can be cancelled when you know who you are in GOD.

Jesus Christ died for you. You are loved. Remember that.

May the power of the Holy Spirit strengthen your patience and self-control, so you may never engage in an ugly battle where no one wins.

Lastly, because God loves us, may we be able to declare by actions, words, and thoughts, "I love You, too, Lord."

As posted on my facebook profile:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16Eoey6K7i/

Between Death and Resurrection

7th of the Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross

Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23:46 NIV

Some observations about the passage:

• Jesus consciously entrusted His Spirit unto God the Father.

• He knew exactly what He was doing.

• As such, He could have remained alive on the cross if He chose to.

• He was conscious and aware of what was happening.

• He willingly chose to die on the cross.

• In fact, during His arrest, Jesus stopped His disciples from using violence to stop what was about to happen.

• ⁵³Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” Matthew 26:53-54 NIV

What was going on between His death and His resurrection?

1. Jesus retained the power He has.

Jesus's power and divinity were not affected by His death. He has the power to lay down His own life. He has the power to take it up again.

¹⁷The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” John 10:17-18 NIV

The death of Jesus did not mean He ceased to exist. It was part of His plan. Through this, He proved what He once claimed.

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 NIV

2. Jesus restored the way things were.

⁴⁴It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Luke 23:44-45 NIV

The Israelites used to go through a high priest for the forgiveness of sins. He enters to the Most Holy Place to offer sin offering. The Holy Place and the Most Holy Place are divided by a veil. This veil was torn through Jesus Christ from top to bottom. This means we may now go directly to God the Father for repentance. We do not need a high priest to represent us before God anymore. Praise be to Him who reconciled us to God the Father.

We can pray directly to God the Father, in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ restored our line of communication through His life.

3. Jesus revived the life they had.

Jesus Christ revived the lives of the holy people.

⁵¹At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵²and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. Matthew 27:51-52 NIV

Eternal life is now possible because Jesus defeated death. This is the same reason why we do not fear death. The Apostle Paul once said,

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21 NIV

Even between His death and resurrection, Jesus chose to complete His mission.

Conclusion:

Jesus knows who to trust. He knew that the only safe place for His Spirit is in the Hands of God the Father while He completes His mission.

Amid His suffering as He hang on the cross, Jesus never thought  of ever stopping. He chose to go through the most horrible way to die for our sake.