What if we are all called to, even commanded to, missions? How would this shape our living, our understanding of obedience? Can we allow this to change our perspective on purpose? If we cannot be the ones to physically go overseas, how can we live out this calling? Let us ponder these questions as we consider a mission calling.  

The Mandate For Missions

Scripture is full of God’s declared desire for all the nations to be reached with the message of salvation. The pinnacle of this desire is expressed in the Great Commission of Matthew 28. This Commission was not just for a select few, but for every person who has placed their trust in Christ. If we ever should question whether we have been called to spreading the Gospel among the nations, we may look to God’s heart expressed through this passage and know that we are to live in a way that mirrors His desire.  

Christ-followers are beckoned into a beautiful invitation from the Lord. We have been asked to join Him to share His glory and salvation among the nations. When we choose to ignore this invitation in our own lives, we miss a significant part of God’s heart and the relationship He desires to have with us. How remarkable is it, that the God of the universe has chosen to invite us into a relationship with Him that partners with him to see His plan fulfilled? If you are someone who has never considered your responsibility to missions, this should not be condemning, it should spur hope in you! There is infinitely more of God’s heart for us to learn, and by valuing missions we may grow in that learning. 

The Facets Of Missions

It would be naive to believe that every follower of Christ can go to the unreached to preach the Gospel among them. This is the goal of missions, yes. We live for the spread of the Gospel among every nation and language. But this is not the whole of missions. For missionaries to be sent and the Gospel to be spread, the Church needs people willing to step into distinct roles. For missions to be successful, there must be individuals willing to invest their finances into sending missionaries, their skills in supporting missionaries, their knowledge in mobilizing missionaries, and their prayers for upholding missionaries. As the body of Christ, we all have a part to play in building the church across the nations. Because of this, we can confidently say that we each have a mission calling placed on our lives. As William Carey famously says, “I will go down into the pit if you will hold the ropes.” As you evaluate the mission calling you have by being a follower of Christ, ask yourselves, “If I cannot go, how can I hold the ropes?” 

The Job We Have In Missions

The end of God’s grand narrative is that people from every nation and language both know and enjoy His glory. Therefore, this is the goal of missions. As those who have been called into a life on mission, we have been given the gift of sharing the gift we have freely received. This is our job, one that we can do with the utmost joy because it simply entails responding to the desires and love of the Lord. We cannot ignore the mandate to either go or to send. But the response to this mandate must overflow from a place of worship for the One who came to earth and bore our brokenness that we may have life in the Father, now and for eternity.  

We have all been called to God’s great mission and we will all be equipped by Him to respond. We have been created to live for the glory of God, and when we do, we will find ourselves experiencing deep joy and abundance. He has invited us in, allowing us to feel the weight of His commission and learn how we can partake in it. Draw near to the Lord and allow Him to lead you into a response that brings His salvation to the lost and His glory to the world! 

At Ethnos360 Bible Institute, we take time to learn about God’s mission and our role in it. Want to learn more about how you can be involved in reaching the nations? Request your free information packet today!

As believers, we are faced daily with the questions of how we are to respond to a world hungry for redemption, reconciliation, and peace.  

We know that God’s deepest desire is for His glory to be known among every nation. He promises to work through the events unfolding before us to lead more people and nations to Him. As we live in Him, we know that He makes the desires of our hearts echo His and then calls us to respond out of those longings.  

Every person who is united with God through Christ and who has God’s Spirit dwelling within them lives for the spreading of His glory through every event of the world. Because this is the mission we are on, it should be a significant aspect of our prayers.  

How do we practice these prayers, making them a part of our daily communication with the Lord?  

Jesus graciously revealed specific ways we can pray throughout His ministry on earth. By His teaching, we can intentionally and effectively grow in our means of praying for the nations.  

Pray For Laborers Among The Nations

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

Matthew 9.37-38

To reach the unreached, people need to be sent. We can pray each day for the Lord to raise up laborers in every nation who will go and share the Gospel. In addition to praying for laborers, we can pray for their ministry: for protection, reception, and the joy of living radically for Christ and His Kingdom! 

Pray For The Unreached Among The Nations

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

Luke 15.4

Pray that the Lord would graciously work through the laborers to reach the unreached with His Word of salvation. Pray for entire communities to be transformed by the Gospel, and for a thriving church to be established everywhere it is not yet. Pray for individuals, families, communities, and nations to be reached and to receive. We have been commissioned to be the disciple-makers of every nation and the foundation of this is prayer. Daily, we should be going before the Lord to pray for those who have not yet heard of the salvation that He yearns for them to know.  

Pray For The Persecuted And Oppressed Among The Nations

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

Matthew 5.10-12

We must be diligent in prayer for the poor and persecuted among the nations, asking for the Lord to draw them near to Him in their present circumstances. He is the God of all comfort, and we can pray earnestly for His comfort to strengthen and provide for those who need to be reached by it. Pray that through their suffering, they draw near to the Lord and can glorify Him, building up the church and reaching those around them as they witness the Lord strengthening and faithfully walking with every suffering individual! 

Pray For The Poor And Forgotten Among The Nations

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

Revelation 21.4

For those who are poor and forgotten, we can pray that they know God as the One who sees and provides for every need: both physical and spiritual. Pray for their tangible needs to be met in a way that points to the provision and sufficiency of the Lord. Pray that in the lack, their faith is strengthened, and they know the abundance which comes from Christ. Pray also that we may come alongside those who are poor and forgotten, humbly learning from what it means to depend not on our physical possessions but on Christ alone.  

Pray For God’s Glory To Be Spread Among The Nations

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 

Revelation 7.9-10

For this reason, we have been created. As children of God, living vessels of His Holy Spirit, we yearn for His glory to be known and enjoyed throughout all the earth. God has graciously given us a glimpse of the end when every nation knows His glory, and we should be diligent in prayer now for that to come to completion. Pray for His glory to be spread in every circumstance that the nations face, whether it arises out of tragic or triumphant events. Pray for the idols of the world to fall away as every nation comes to acknowledge God as the One worthy of all our praise and devotion. And pray that the believers within every nation will have boldness and desire to fearlessly make known the Gospel of salvation to those around them!  

We have been made for so much more than simply praying for the things that are a part of our lives. We have been invited into a beautiful, ever-present communication with the Creator and King of all the earth. We should be so compelled to learn His heart cries and echoes them in our prayers. There is so much joy that comes from partnering with God to daily pray for the nations He desires to draw to Him. Let us rejoice in and be moved by His invitation to us! 

At Ethnos360 Bible Institute, we desire to partner with God in reaching the nations for His glory. Want to learn more about how can be involved? Request your free information packet today!

This hope does not void the pain of the present age, though. Humans face their finite nature in so many ways, one of the greatest being chronic illnesses. A person who has a chronic illness is no stranger to the constant understanding of suffering. Though those who are in Christ may hope for the day that their pain will be no more, they face a great battle each day on earth. As the body of Christ, we must understand the importance of walking alongside those with a chronic illness that we all may see and know the glory of God working through every circumstance.  

Geordan Ogg is no stranger to days of facing the pain and trial of chronic illness. With a lifelong illness, Geordan is someone who has been brought deep into the heart of the Lord and His heart for her suffering. She has also gained immense wisdom on how the body of Christ can uplift the suffering in prayer and encouragement and is passionate about sharing that wisdom. When I asked her about what she would want to share about practically walking alongside those who are sick, she gave me 8 prayers we can pray for and alongside the chronically ill.  

Often, our first desire is to pray for complete healing from illness. God is a powerful healer, and these prayers are good to pray. But, for so many who are chronically ill, their greatest hope may not be healing on this side of heaven. Continued prayers that are only for miraculous healing may be hard for someone with illness to hear, which is why Geordan would suggest many other ways to pray over the suffering.  

8 Prayers for Chronic Illness

Pray that the good days will feel long, and the bad days will be short 

This prayer is not naive to the understanding that there will be challenging days, yet it also brings remembrance of and hope for the days that are good. There is such significance in the ability to acknowledge that someone with chronic illness faces both.  

Pray for peace amid pain 

Chronic illness is not only physically draining, but also mentally exhausting. Because of this, there is a great battle for contentment in suffering. Continuous prayers for God’s absolute peace are significant, leading a person to be grounded in that peace though the circumstances are frightening and painful.  

Pray for relief from pain

Chronic illness comes with an immense amount of pain, and prayers for relief are powerful. We can trust that the Lord responds to these prayers, and when there is any kind of relief it can bring such encouragement and thanksgiving.  

Pray for rest 

Those with chronic illness need a significant amount of rest for continued healing, yet their quality of rest can be affected by the sickness. This prayer can be for physical rest as well as a constant rest in the Lord regardless of their physical condition.  

Pray for wisdom for the medical care team 

God can work mightily through a medical care team as He knows exactly what every individual needs and can give wisdom to those treating an illness. Continued prayers for this wisdom are powerful as He guides the hands and minds of the doctors.  

Pray for their relationship with the Lord  

As someone endures suffering, they come to understand their deep desperation for strength beyond their own. To pray for a chronically ill person’s relationship with the Lord to ever deepen in the trial is a crucial way to uplift them. In this, we may acknowledge His strength for all our weaknesses and His love and faithfulness that is boundless.  

Pray for every opportunity for the Lord to use the sickness for His glory 

Something so remarkable about suffering is the promise that the Lord can and will use it for His glory. It is in our very weakness that He reveals His surpassing power, and it is in our need for His comfort that He equips us to comfort and encourage others. When we pray for someone with chronic illness, we can pray that they are continuously surrendering their circumstances to the Lord that He may bear the testimony of His glory in them.  

Pray for perseverance  

Prayers for physical endurance are important, but even more significant is the prayer for the perseverance of hope. Chronic illness can deplete the mind and heart of hope, as it can be hard to look beyond the moment of pain and weakness. We can pray for perseverance that is not rooted in human ability, but in the knowledge and hope of the Lord.  

With these simple prayers, we can enter the suffering of another, and both be led deeper into the hope and promises of Christ. If you are or someone you love is facing the pain of chronic illness, know that it is in this place of trial and weakness that the Lord is revealing His glory and faithfulness in the utmost of ways. Let us all remember that our very Savior, Jesus, who is more holy than we can comprehend described Himself as “gentle and lowly” (Matthew 11:29). By His nature, we may come to Him and lay our burdens and suffering down knowing that He will bring us rest.  Do not lose heart, friends. We have a faithful Father who is working “all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).  

Scripture teaches us so much about the faithful promises of the Lord in every circumstance. If you would like an in depth understanding of God’s Word and how it applies to every aspect of life, request your free information packet here:

Imagine life without God’s Word. To be without it is to be without the knowledge and hope of His promises, the revelation of His character, and the truths which root us in Christ. The translation of Scripture into native languages is an essential aspect of Christian Missions. As the Church, we must be compelled to see this part of missions fulfilled. 

The Necessity Of Bible Translation

Translating the Bible is not just one part of Christian missions, it is vital to all Christian Missions. Romans 10.17 emphasizes this, as Paul says, “faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ.” To live out the Great Commission of “making disciples of every nation,” we must make it our aim to bring the Word to those who do not have it that they may grow in faith. Scripture translated is essential for people to understand the Word of Jesus which cultivates faith and brings salvation.  

Around 2,000 languages do not have one word of Scripture in their tongue. There is a great imbalance between the languages that have an abundance of translations and languages that have none. Because we have access to that which was translated for us hundreds of years ago, it is our responsibility to bring that to the people who do not yet know the Word of God.  

As we the church read and respond to the Great Commission of Matthew 28, we need to understand that a crucial aspect of “making disciples of every nation” is bringing Scripture to them in their tongue that they may read and understand every word and declaration of the Lord.  

When we read the Word, we are compelled into a heart of worship. This is the ultimate purpose of our existence, as we have been created to worship the Lord. Revelation 5:7 and 7:9 shows us that one day people from every tribe, tongue, and nation will stand before the throne and worship the Lord. We are invited into God’s plan to bring all peoples before Him in praise. To do this, we must bring the written Word, which compels us to Him, to all people in every language.  

How To Join The Mission Of Bible Translation

Not everyone can or desires to be the ones physically translating Scripture, yet everyone can play a part in seeing the Word translated in every tongue.  

Here are ways that you can respond to the need and mission.  

1. Find cross-cultural missionaries to partner with in prayer and financial support. To go, missionaries need to be sent. There is so much significance in someone’s devotion to supporting missionaries that they are equipped to share the Gospel and bring the Word across the nations.  

2. Pray for every tribe, tongue, and nation to receive the Word of God in their native language that they may know salvation. We are invited by the Lord to partner with Him in prayer. If the deepest desire of God is for all people to come to worship Him by knowing His Word, this should be our deepest desire. If this is our desire, we should aim to be in prayer for it to be fulfilled.  

3. Read and Respond to Scripture. We have the gift of possessing the Word. Let us never take for granted our ability to know the Lord through Scripture in ever increasing ways. We may be filled with His Word so that we can go and share with the world.  

4. Share the need. There is a great lack of knowledge about the need for Bible translation. Because Scripture is so easily accessible for us, we can fail to recognize that it is not that way for others. By sharing about this need we may be actively mobilizing others to respond! 

The Joy Of Bible Translation

To be able to bring the Word across the nations is an honor and joy! When people encounter the Word of God, their lives and hearts are transformed. If you are a follower of Christ, you have experienced and are experiencing this very thing through the Word coming into your heart and mind. Just as we have received Scripture, we must count it as an honor to share it. There is immense importance in people of every tongue knowing the Word in their language, and we have been given the gift of partnering with God to bring it. As we read, study, and hear the Word, let us consider how we can partake in sharing that which brings life to those who are longing for it.   

Ethnos360 Bible Institute is a college wholly devoted to teaching through Scripture with an emphasis on cross- cultural missions and bringing the Word to every language group. Want to learn more? Request your free information packet today!

“Let the goodness of the Lord be the measure of your contentment” 

As believers walk in faith, we find ourselves facing a shift in what we see true contentment to be. Humans are inclined to define contentment as having that which is needed to feel comfortable and happy. We all yearn for a life that fills us, and we strive to create that life by creating our own definition of contentment. This often leaves us in a place of loss, as we endlessly seek contentment that is easily disrupted by the loss of physical things or the ever-increasing yearning to have and to be more. 

The Lord knows our desire for contentment, as He is the one who gave us that very desire. In this, He has not left us without the means for fulfillment in a lasting and unwavering way.  

Biblical Contentment Is Not Situational

The Apostle Paul gave us profound insight into His understanding of true contentment in his letter to the Philippian church.  

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” 

Philippians 4.11-13

Paul was one who knew suffering. He lived a life that was abundant with trials, one that many would do everything in their power to avoid. Yet, within this suffering, Paul reveals the secret to contentment. True, lasting contentment is not situational. It is something that is not rooted in abundance or need, plenty or lack. Rather, true contentment is found in the knowledge of God’s absolute goodness and power working in and through us. With this understanding, we can endure through the trial and rejoice through the suffering because we know that no matter what Christ’s power will be our strength.  

As those who have fellowship with Christ, we can rest in this knowledge. Though it may be easy to feel as if our contentment is determined by circumstance, we know that our unity with Jesus is not. By His graces, we have an unwavering peace with our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord. Even if all else has fallen away, His love for us remains. In this alone, we can find absolute contentment just as Paul did.  

Biblical Contentment Is Trust

To experience the contentment of Christ, one must be able to trust in the eternal goodness of God that is for them. This goodness is not determined by us, but by an eternally faithful God. Colossians chapter 3 tells believers to “seek the things that are above, where Christ is…” and to “set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (3.1-2). Our trust in the goodness of God as the sufficient measure of our contentment comes from our minds and hearts being set on Him. As we seek the Lord and that which is of Him, we find that knowing Him and being in His love is our sufficiency. Our human emotions may change within seasons and even days; our eternal contentment does not.  

There is so much we do not know and cannot comprehend about the world and our human condition, but we can entrust ourselves to a faithful God who does know. To be able to rest in His wisdom and strength rather than our own brings deep and lasting contentment. To do this, we must know His Word and cling to His promises. We cannot trust in that which we do not know, and we cannot know that which we do not seek after. To know the Word and promises of God along with His absolute faithfulness is to have all access to an eternal perspective. This perspective roots us in deep satisfaction that is not shaken by the things of the world.  

Biblical Contentment Is Understanding

One of the most challenging concepts is that true contentment comes from a sober understanding of one’s sinful and broken condition. Throughout Jesus’s ministry on earth, this was a truth He relentlessly taught by declaring “blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 5.3).  

The greatest problem humans face is sin. The Bible teaches that the wage of our sin is death, meaning eternal separation from a God so holy and perfect that He cannot abide with the sin within us that opposes Him. We have a depth of brokenness that no man can heal on their own.  

But God, abundant in mercy created a solution for our deepest need. By the salvation offered to us through the Cross, we have been reconciled to God. Romans 5.1 tells us, “Therefore because we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This knowledge of both our sin and God’s salvation leads us into the brokenness Christ calls blessed. Because we know our deep need for salvation beyond ourselves, and we know God’s eternal solution for that need, we may be entirely content. To those who have given their lives to Christ, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.  

When we are struggling with contentment, we can choose to see what we have in Christ that we are not deserving of. Our sober understanding of sin allows us to be deeply impacted by the knowledge that we are given the imperishable inheritance of peace with God and dwelling in His Kingdom. When we pursue contentment in Christ, we find the fullness of His mercy in a million little ways each day.  

To know lasting contentment, one must be rooted in the Word and promises of God. At Ethnos Bible Institute, we study Scripture so that we can learn to apply it to every aspect of our lives. Want to learn more about our program? Request your free information packet here.

A boy built a toy boat, set its sails, and scratched his name onto the bottom, and took his treasure to a river to sail it where, in an unlucky moment, the boat drifted out of the boy’s reach and floated away into the distance.  A month later, as he walked through town past a discount store’s window, he spotted his boat propped near the glass. Overjoyed, he went inside. 

“Hey mister, that’s my boat in the window. I lost it on the river. See? It has my mark on the bottom,” the boy said to the proprietor behind the counter. 

“Someone brought that in a few days ago and I bought it from him. I’m sorry, but if you want the boat, you’ll have to buy it for $2,” replied the man. 

The boy ran back home and gathered the money he had earned from small jobs and careful saving and returned to the store, where he bought back his boat. As he clutched the boat to his chest and ran his finger along the bright paint, he said: “You are twice mine. First when I made you and then when I bought you.”* 

Our identity in Christ is not a theological point of debate, but a soul’s searching question: “Where do I belong? Where do I stand with God?” 

Are you restless, flitting about seeking approval and security from other people, from your own efforts, from the pursuit of possessions or job status? Where is the rest we are promised in Christ? Confusion and unease about our identity in Christ can prompt us to ask questions about God’s character or doubt our faith:  

Is God mad at me? 

Is He disappointed in me and tired of hearing me pray for help? 

Is God involved in my life? Does He care what’s happening to me? 

Am I doing “faith” right? 

What if I miss my purpose and waste my life? 

God’s answer to “Where do I stand with God?” and “Where do I belong?” are “You belong to Me. You are created by My hands, bought with My blood, beloved, known, and highly favored.” 

When our souls are secure in our identity in Christ, we operate from a shelter of rest. We release the slavery of effort, not returning to “works of the law” but to the easy yoke of grace, knowing our identity as children of God, loved simply for who and Whose we are. 

There are three keys to living in the security and shelter of our identity in Christ: Our new name recognizes the accomplished work of salvation; good works means who we are is not what we do, and the purpose of our new identity is intimacy with God. 

A New Name

No matter who you were before you followed Jesus, God has met you and given you a new identity. 

The Lord renamed His friend, Abram, and his wife Sarai in preparation to become parents of a people too great to number. 

Hagar received Ishmael’s name in a moment of God’s compassion for her. 

God christened Isaac before he was conceived. 

Jacob became Israel and lent his name to a nation. 

An angel announced the name of the promised Messiah to a virgin. 

Jesus forgave his friend, Peter, for Peter’s betrayal and called him the Rock on which Jesus would build His church. 

Believers who remain faithful to Jesus during the tribulation will receive a new name from the Lord that only the believer and Jesus will know. 

Every time God gave or changed a person’s name, or identity, it represented a change in trajectory. A name is a person’s most intimate identifier, the first answer to “who are you?” that most people would give.  

No matter who you were before you followed Jesus, God has met you and given you a new identity: 

You were an enemy of God transferred to an heir in Christ. 

You were a sinner refashioned to a servant of Christ. 

You were a body of death that has died to sin and will one day rise to everlasting life. 

You were a prodigal son or daughter and now you are a prince or princess of the King. 

Now you have a new name: 

Created. 

Bought. 

Forgiven. 

Known. 

Beloved. 

Child. 

Heir. 

We belong to Christ and receive our identity in our relationship with Him. Christ’s death, His payment for our sin, provided everything God’s holiness required to bring you and me from our previous positions as enemies of Christ into His kingdom as treasured sons and daughters.  

John said of Jesus: “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12 

Changing the trajectory of your life and giving you a new identity was His idea and deepest desire. You cannot earn your position, just as a baby does not earn his sonship. A baby doesn’t strive or wrestle – he is received and loved and given a name. 

Our position in God’s family, in His heart, is as accomplished, finished, and complete as Christ’s propitiation for sins on the cross. “Who we are” is “Whose we are”. 

Good Works: What We Do Is Not Who We Are But A Sign Of Whose We Are

When artist Paul Gustave Dore (1821-1823) lost his passport while traveling through Europe, he hoped to pass through a country border on the strength of his fame. The guard, however, had encountered many frauds and impersonators trying to do the same. The guard offered Dore an identity test of an unusual nature: he handed Dore a paper and pencil and instructed him to draw a group of nearby peasants. Dore drew with such speed and skill that the guard accepted Dore’s self-identification and allowed him to pass. * 

Like Dore, we act of our identity, out of who we are. Among nonbelievers, or Christians apart from their true identity in Christ, this can be a recipe for either striving or boasting: “I am a doctor…a writer…a mother…a failure.”  

We can confuse what we are and Whose we are with what we do. 

In Christ, what we do is not who we are, but as believers, our actions are signs of Whose we are. The grace that conducted us into God’s kingdom and bestowed a new identity on us invites us to share in His kingdom work.  

Paul wrote to believers in Ephesus:  

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  Ephesians 2:10 

Because we are beloved children, we celebrate His goodness through good works. In our secure place in God’s heart, we no longer strive to prove our worth or earn our position, but we become fully who we are and act out of our secure identity. His transforming power through the Holy Spirit brings out the best in us.   

Life Purpose: Our Identity Ushers Us To Our Purpose

God calls us His children and invites Him to call Him “Abba, Father.” Christ calls us His bride. Our identity in Christ ushers us to our purpose. The relationship between parent and child or husband and wife is close, intimate. Who knows us better? Who loves us more? In intimate fellowship with God, we rise to the purpose of our identity: to know God, to be known by Him, and to make Him known to others.  

Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3 

In His grace, God sent Jesus to die for us so He could bring us back to His family the way He intended us to know Him when He created Adam and Eve before sin corrupted and separated us from perfect fellowship. 

Embracing the truth of our identity in Christ is key to living in spiritual rest, putting away effort-based approval, and dwelling in God’s grace. Who you are is Whose you are. 

The Lord commands us to “be still and know that I am God.” That’s welcome rest for the restless soul.  

Be still and know that He is God, are you are His. 

*Stories referenced from SermonIllustrations.com and paraphrased in my own words. 

To know grow in your knowledge of Scripture is to grow in your understanding of who you are in Christ. If you would like to learn more about God’s heart for you and who you are in Him, request your free information packet here:

What is goodness? 

As humans, we are inclined to seek the answer to this question, hoping that when we find it we can become it. 

Our society has led us to define goodness by action and character. If we do and act a certain way, we are good. 

Yet, as believers, we must come to know a staggering truth about goodness: it is something that we are not. 

There is a story in the Gospels, one where Jesus brings the issue of man’s inability to be good in contact with the absolute goodness of God to show us a truth our souls desperately need: God’s delight is not in our strength or ability to be good. No, God’s delight is in the understanding that His goodness alone is our strength. 

“A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 

Luke 8:18-27

There is much we can learn from this interaction between Jesus and the ruler. This Gospel account reaches directly into the hearts of man to show us who we are, who God is, and how meets us there. 

No One Is Good Except God Alone

Jesus’s response to the ruler addressing Him as “good teacher” is shocking. Right away, He is reaching the depths of this man’s question of how he can be good with a simple response. Jesus, the Son of God, challenges the man calling Him good. 

We know that Jesus is perfect, without sin. Yet, in His response, He desired to show the man the truth we must grasp if we receive the salvation of Christ. No human is good, because no human is without sin. We have been born into a depraved nature because of the rule sin has over the world. Only God is good, holy, and right. 

Therefore, without the work of God in man, man cannot be good. No matter how great their actions, nor how insignificant their sin may seem, every human is unrighteous, unholy, and broken. 

The ruler failed to understand this. When he approached Jesus, he asked what actions he could do to inherit the kingdom. He was placing himself in the position of being able to save himself by his strength and goodness, rather than understanding that no matter how great his strength may have seemed, it would never be enough to achieve salvation without the work of Christ. 

Like the ruler, none of us can achieve goodness in our strength. He thought that he had lived a righteous life that upheld the commandments Jesus listed. So often, we do too. We base our idea of how good we are on the actions we have done, yet Jesus was peering into the heart. 

God’s Goodness Says “You Still Lack One Thing”

Imagine being face to face with Jesus, desperate to hear His approval of the life you have lived, and He says this: you still lack. 

Those words are certainly not what anyone would want to hear, especially one who believes they have achieved that which God desires. 

But, these words from Jesus are not condemning. They are encouraging. He calls the ruler to do the one thing he knows will challenge the man’s heart. The emphasis on the ruler’s works is diminished as Jesus brings forth the truth: God desires our hearts. He does not want all that we think we can do, but He wants us to understand that on our own we cannot do anything besides surrender ourselves to Him. 

Jesus knew what would reach beyond the ruler’s ability. He asked him to give up the riches he clung to, not because that act in itself would achieve the man’s salvation, but because the act would strip the ruler of all that he believed made him strong so that he could come to realize that the only true strength is the Lord’s. 

As we see Jesus’s desire for the ruler, we understand that God’s delight is in our surrender. This is often counter to our delight, which is placed not in the surrender of our weakness but the evidence of our perceived strength. 

What Jesus was holding out to the ruler, and what he is holding out to all of us now, is something so freeing. 

No matter how great our works may seem, without Him, we will always lack what we need for salvation. We are weak, and we are pursued by a God who delights in becoming our sufficiency. 

God’s Goodness Makes All Things Possible

If it was left up to us, salvation would be impossible. Romans 3.23 tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. 

All have sinned, all have fallen short of the glory. We still do, daily. The ruler did not understand this. He believed that he had done all he needed to uphold righteousness in the eyes of God. “All these things I kept since I was a boy,” he said. By believing that he had kept the standard that God had set for holiness, the ruler was deceived. No one could uphold the standards of perfection except for God, which is why Jesus went to the cross. The purpose of the laws Jesus spoke to the ruler are to reveal the inability of mankind to achieve their righteousness, to point to the truth “what is impossible with man is possible with God”. 

What we cannot do, Christ has done. What we cannot be, Christ has been and has allowed us to identify with Him. Like the ruler, we have a responsibility. We must acknowledge and embrace how little we can do to rejoice in how much He can do and has done for us. 

JJ Packer says, “we have nothing and have never had anything that we have not received, nor have we done anything good apart from God who did it through us.” 

The delight of the Lord is not in our ability to be good and to save ourselves but is in our humble understanding that we have not done one good thing apart from God that does it through us. We have been freed from our insufficiency by The Lord’s gracious choice to allow His goodness to consume us.

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“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”

Matthew 28:18-20

From front to back, the Bible is filled with the evidence of God’s deepest desire: that He would be known and enjoyed by every nation and people. This is His end goal, and He has revealed it to us in every act of His grace and sovereignty. 

When Jesus spoke the commissioning words of Matthew 28:18-20 to His disciples, He spoke words of importance to those who heard them then, and to all of us who read them now. 

When the disciples heard these words from the mouth of Jesus, they understood something that we believers often fail to understand. The Great Commission was not, and is not, simply an invitation for Christians to participate in global missions. 

No, it is so much greater than that.  

The Great Commission Matters Because Of Who Gave It

The importance of making disciples for Jesus stands on the words “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”. 

Jesus, as God the Son, has existed for all eternity. John 1:1-4 tells us this when it says, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the Word was God. He was at the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

The Son had all authority from the beginning, but Jesus the Son of God as the man had not yet come and died for sinners. Satan’s rule had not yet been overcome by the cross. When Jesus Christ, the Son of God as the man was crucified and resurrected, He triumphed over Satan. After Jesus’s death and resurrection, God exalted Him as the redeemer, the risen-one, seated at the right hand of God. The authority of salvation has been placed into the hands of Jesus, who dwelt as a man to redeem the sins of the world. 

This authority given to Jesus is not partial, nor is it exclusive. All authority is given to Him, meaning all flesh and all affairs are subject to His sovereignty. The mission of the church, to make known the Gospel of salvation, is under the authority of Jesus. Every breath and act of humans are under the authority of Jesus. Even the sin of man is now under the redemptive authority of Jesus. 

So, when Jesus gave this Great Commission, we can know that He gave it with all power, enabling believers to live out the message of the Gospel in a way that is entirely subject to He who has made salvation possible. 

The mission cannot fail because the authority of Christ cannot fail. This is hope-spurning to every believer who participates in the Great Commission. We are invited to join in on doing the victorious work which only God can do: Making disciples for the One who holds all authority. 

The Great Commission Matters Because Of What Was Said

Jesus was not suggesting how believers could live. He was giving a command. The life of Jesus was an example of how to make disciples of every nation, and it was time for all those who had learned from Him to follow in His footsteps. 

We must look at these words and remember that Jesus was not simply commanding world-evangelism, but He was commanding that disciples be made. To make a disciple is to teach a Christian what their new identity in Christ means, and how they are to live in it. Jesus made disciples by years of teaching His followers how to live in Him. 

There are two parts to this, which Jesus tells believers to lead others into (1) public proclamation of faith, baptism, and (2) teaching the new believers all that He taught. 

This is for every nation, every tribe, every tongue, every individual. There is not one person whom the Lord does not want to be made known to, and there is no one place where a believer should not go and aim to make disciples. 

This is not something men can do on their own accord, which is why Jesus says: “I am with you always.” The Great Commission, the command for believers, is not left without a promise. What God has purposed will be accomplished, He will be “exalted among the nations” (Psalm 46). Because He is unfailing and His mission is unfailing, and because He promises to be with us as we live out His mission, why would we hold back in joining Him? 

The Great Commission Matters Because Of When It Was Given

The Great Commission is not only important because of its content. It is also important because of its timing in Biblical history. 

The entire narrative of Scripture is building to point to the coming Messiah. Jesus’s life is building to point to His death, burial, and resurrection. Over Jesus’ ministry, he talked about many things to teach believers about living a faithful life. 

Just as His messages before the resurrection are intentional, the focus of His message after the resurrection is intentional. Over his life, he had taught his followers how to be disciples, and now he is instructing them what to do as His disciples.

This is a pinnacle point in Biblical history, as Jesus commissions His disciples and all believers to take on His ministry on earth. By this, the church age had begun leading to the spreading of the Gospel to every nation. 

The Great Commission Matters Because Of How The Disciples Responded

When Jesus gave this commission, the disciples responded in ways that reflected the power behind His words.

The disciples knew Jesus. They had spent years following Him and partaking in His ministry. They watched as He lived out the heart of God. They were changed by His radical expressions of love and desire for people to come to know Him. They witnessed the devastation of His death and the victory of His resurrection. They knew Jesus. 

Because of the disciple’s relationship with Jesus, their response to this Great Commission was absolute obedience. He told them to go, and they went, living radically for this calling. 

Most of the disciples were persecuted and martyred for their response, yet this did not hinder the spread of the Gospel. 

The obedience of the disciples should be an example to all of us as we read the words they heard. Just as they knew Jesus, we know Jesus. Just as the disciples responded- taking on the Great Commission as their mission, as should we. 

Response

As we consider what the Great Commission is and why it matters, we must ask ourselves: does it matter if someone hears the Gospel in their lifetime? 

If the Gospel is how eternal salvation is received and we are given the call to share this salvation should the Great Commission matter to us? How should we respond? 

The hope for the lost individual, whether next door or in the most remote part of the earth is acceptance of the Gospel. Jesus entrusts the spreading of this hope to us. 

God’s ultimate plan is revealed in Revelation 7:9 which says, “After this, I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands“. 

One day, we will stand before God, praising His name with all of the nations. What a privilege it will be to know that each of us played a small role in hearing His name exalted in new languages, tribes, and people.

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What Bible verses come to mind when you think of missions? 

For most, missions is a distant concept, emphasized only by the occasional mention of the Great Commission in Matthew 28.18-20.

And while these verses are pinnacle to the call of all believers who have been witness to the saving work of Christ, they are not the only verses that compel us to take on God’s mission. 

The Bible does not simply speak about missions, rather the Bible is about missions. From the account of Creation to the final Revelation, every word of Scripture is evidence of the longing of God for every individual to turn to Him and know unity between God and man.

This is God’s mission, and we can see it woven throughout the entire narrative of Scripture. 

No matter your understanding of missions, these verses will challenge you to see that the whole Bible is our mandate for missions. 

Bible Verses in the Old Testament about Missions

1. Genesis 12:1-3

“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, andin you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”

When the nations were created, God had already formed a plan to draw them to Him. He destined one nation, Israel, to be a light to all the rest, blessing them with His presence and word that they may spread it. 

2. 1 Chronicles 16:24

“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!”

From then on, God established His call for all those who know Him to declare His glory to the world. He did mighty works through the nation of Israel to show the surrounding nations that He alone was God, and He called those who did know to continuously testify to His power. 

3. Isaiah 25:1

“O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”

In His perfect love, God had made plans to draw His creation to Him far before we can imagine, and in His divine graciousness He has beckoned us into those plans.

4. Psalm 22:27

“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.”

The words of the Psalmist look beyond the first coming of Christ, into the day in which the whole world will be before the Lord in worship. This reveals the fulfillment of God’s promise to bless all of the nations spoken of in Genesis 12:1-3, and this is the vision of missions.

New Testament Bible Verses about Missions

5. Matthew 28:18-20

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus commissioned the disciples to testify to all that they had witnessed in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. 

6. John 17:18-21

“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me”

When the Son of God took on flesh to walk among humanity, He became the conduit of God’s mission, seeking to bring salvation to all who hungered and to make hungry all who did not realize their need for what He was bringing. As Jesus became the way for salvation, He made disciples, raising them up to be His body of believers on earth for the coming generations. 

7. Acts 1:8

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”

When Christ fulfilled salvation by His death and resurrection, He opened the door to a new age, one in which He gives His Holy Spirit to those who receive salvation. calling them to be witnesses to the work of the Lord proclaiming the Gospel to the world. 

8. Romans 10:13-15

“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 

Now, God’s call to those who have heard and believed is to align their mission with God’s mission, which has remained the same throughout the ages. 

9. 2 Peter 3:9

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Salvation is destined for all. God’s heart longs to bring every individual into relationship with Him through repentance and faith. Because of this, He is patient, willing to endure that the ends of the earth may hear the Gospel and be offered the opportunity to receive His salvation. He has entrusted believers to spread the Gospel message throughout the world. 

10. Revelation 7:9-10

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 

This is the mission of God: that every tribe, tongue, people, and language be before His throne confessing His salvation and sharing His glory. As those who are freely and graciously reconciled to Him, we cannot ignore His longing for the Kingdom of Heaven to be revealed, not solely by His own life and ministry, but also through the multitude of those here on earth who confess their salvation in Him. 

His mission is that we believers make it our heartbeat to go and find as we have been found, making disciples who truly know the living God. Scripture unfolds the mission of God before us so that we can join Him in fulfilling it. 

Are you interested in learning more about God’s commission for missions and how it is woven throughout the entirety of the Bible? Request your free information packet here: