In the third part of our series, “O Come Let Us Adore Him”, I want us to look at what Jesus commanded us to do. Because of Who Jesus is (week 1) and what He has done for us (week 2), the only proper response is to do what pleases Him, which is the very reason for our existence (Revelation 4:11).
While the Bible does not lay out for us specific information, like whom we should marry or where we should live, it does lay out for us the purpose for our being here, and that is to bring glory to God in all that we do (1 Corinthians 10:31). So today I’d like to take a look at the “last words” of Jesus before He ascended up to heaven. The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) all end with what is known as “the great commission”. In short, those passages of Scripture command us to preach to all creatures and all nations the gospel of repentance and belief in the crucified, buried, risen and exalted Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15,16; Luke 24:46-49). John’s gospel ends with Jesus restoring and commissioning Peter to go and feed His sheep (John 21:15-17).
As we saw last week, those sections of Scripture, carefully read, reveal the compassion of Jesus for both the lost and for His own people. And His last words reveal that His will for each and every one of His children is to be His witness and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of The Holy Ghost (Acts 1:8). This commission calls us to be ambassadors of Jesus in a fallen world with a message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Just like salt was used for medicinal purposes, as well as preserving and adding flavor to food, you and I are meant to impact others as the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13) by living and proclaiming the gospel. While not every person in the body of Christ is called to serve Him and preach His word vocationally (Ephesians 4: 11-12), every person in the body of Christ is called to serve Him and bring forth His truth as they go about their daily lives (Acts 8:1b-4).
May The Spirit of God touch our hearts today with a fresh sense of our responsibility and privilege of bearing and proclaiming the Name of Jesus. Jesus prayed for laborers (Matthew 9:37,38; John 4:35). Reader, is that you?
