THE RESURRECTION : The mission and the Promise - final

in #steemchurch6 years ago

INTRODUCTION

It has been a week of manifold blessings from the Lord to us and we ought to give praise to His Holy name. Also, we have to thank Him for opening our eyes to His word about the resurrection. Today too let us continue as we consider the final aspect of this series entitled The mission and the promise. As we can see from the title, we are having two objectives for today and I pray God gives us understanding. Here we see Christ sending them to perform the work of an evangelist, to preach repentance and forgiveness in His Name to every creature. And they were specifically to start from Jerusalem. >Thus, For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God;(1 Peter 4:17, ESV)

With that said, let's start by reading the verse before us. It says;

46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:46-49, ESV)
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THE MISSION

This part will cover verse 46 to 48. In verse 46, we see the end of his words pointing them to the Old Testament to search about Him for proof that He was the Messiah. This ushered Him to give them the call. The call to preach the gospel to sinners for salvation. " and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem."

Since we have gone through the proofs of His resurrection, let's go straight to verse 47. One thing we must notice in verse 47 is that it's a continuation of verse 46 which kind of moves the conversation to the mission. This explains to us that without a personal conviction of the resurrection of Christ, one cannot do the work of a missionary.

So the transition must be maintained to preserve the truth in this message. ..and that... we should preach the gospel about his Person, death, and resurrection to all sinners for them to repent and believe in the One whom the Old Testament talks about that He's coming to save his people. He added that it must be preached " in his name to all nations". This means the gospel isn't for only the people of Israel but also for those at the uttermost parts of the earth. It's not going to be for only Jews but also to the Gentiles. That's why I am saved even though I am a Ghanaian (Gentile).

Without this provision from our Lord and Savior, I would have been a lost wretched man in the mouth of hell.
Let's also make no mistake about the fact that it must start from home, Jerusalem. This gospel must be preached to the Jews first and also to the Gentiles. With this in mind Paul wrote to the Romans saying;

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16, ESV)

This was the judgment of God upon them. Because God knew that they wouldn't believe the message as expected of his people. The message of John is confirmed in the Jews by their unbelief. 'And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.' (John 3:19, ESV). This judgment that begun at home set the new standard for God's people. He was telling the Jews that the Lord their God isn't going to save them based on the law anymore, but rather He's applying the perfect method, which is the reality of the shadow they had believed in for generations- salvation through faith in Christ.

We must understand why this was a stumbling block to the Jews. They still wanted to be justified by the old covenant. And that was the judgment, that the life-giving covenant has come but men loved to be in the darkness of the covenant that gives power to sin and death.

23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:23-24, ESV)

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THE PROMISE

From there Jesus promised them the coming of the Comforter. Remember that these people had received peace from Jesus for troubled souls. How can they overcome the fear of the Pharisees who are waiting to kill them if they mention the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? Remember that Jesus had told them to preach in 'his name'. This made his call a tough one for them. But God had to provide the power and the means. That's through the Holy Ghost. How relieving this must be for these cowards!

But at the moment, God needed them to do one thing. That is to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.' Without this command, they would've gone out In haste to do the work of God expecting fruition. But God said sit down Peter, sit down Matthew. You need to be enabled inside. It's always good for us to obey the Lord if only we want to have the infilling of the Holy Ghost. We must adhere to the word of God concerning the teachings of the Holy Ghost. Tarry till He comes.

But how do we tarry? Do we just sit there and eat and drink and sleep? Not at all. Remember what doctor Luke recorded in the book of the Acts of the Holy Ghost chapter 2. "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place." (Acts 2:1, ESV). They were in fellowship. They were praying and waiting on God. They were reading the scriptures. They were with one accord. Fellowship with the Lord and brethren ignites the Holy Ghost in us. We must not quench Him with sin. And sin often comes when we distance ourselves from the Lord and His people. We become isolated and the channel of the flow of the anointing of God becomes impaired.

CONCLUSION

God bless you for your time and contribution in this series. I pray that you find understanding and become convinced about the resurrection of Jesus. I pray also that by reading these words, your faith in him will grow and be ushered into the preaching of repentance and forgiveness in the name of Jesus.

Links to the previous parts
https://steemit.com/steemchurch/@gadol/the-ressurection-peace-to-you-part-1

https://steemit.com/steemchurch/@gadol/the-resurrection-the-bodily-resurrection-of-jesus-part-2

https://steemit.com/steemchurch/@gadol/the-resurrection-inner-peace-and-personal-experience-part-3

https://steemit.com/steemchurch/@gadol/the-resurrection-back-to-the-old-testament-part-4-be7ad64bcfb24

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This is @gadol from @sc-g and @ghana
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