THE PASSION TO MAKE CHRIST JESUS KING - 4 THINGS
1. THE COMMAND OF JESUS
Matthew 28:18-20 “All power and authority has been given to “Me” in heaven and on earth. 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 things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age, Amen”
• Note – All power and authority given to Me in heaven and on earth!
• Go and make disciples of all nations!
• A world wide commission
• Given to them by King Jesus Himself –
Matthew 5:14 Jesus said,
“You are the light of the world a city on a hill cannot be hid”
With these words ringing in their ears, they could have no doubt what was required of them
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In addition, note the words of
Luke 24:47 “And repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem”
• An interesting touch – it all began in Jerusalem, suggesting that our witness for King Jesus begins where we first meet Him”
• Also interesting, is that Jerusalem had been the place where they had first deserted Him in His hour of need; became a scene of failure and shamefulness on behalf of the disciples. Yet out of that failure we saw such a demonstration of forgiveness and love, even when things go wrong.
• Today, over two thousands years later, all Christian service has that command behind it. The King does not ask His friends as a favour to bear witness. He claims it as a duty! John 15:14, “You are My friends, if you do what command you”
2. THE URGENCY OF THE SITUATION
• The disciples were convinced that once the Messiah came, all ‘end time’ prophecies would happen in their lifetime.
• After all they had the words of Jesus Himself.
Mark 13:30,
“Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass away till all these things have been done.”
• We must be mindful they were thinking in terms of the Messiah setting up His earthly kingdom, of Jesus sitting on His throne in Jerusalem – and the eternal state to come. But we must be fair to them – they did not have the full picture.
• Today we have both Old and New Testaments; we are living in a day when we know Jesus could come back at any moment. We have the understanding of Calvary, the atonement for our sins and the resurrection.
• We understand the implications of Israel being back in the land.
• We can see the effects of apostasy on our churches, it’s as though they had a visit from the Dam Busters!
• And despite the fact they never had the New Testament printed in any language -
THEY KNEW WHO JESUS WAS!
3. THE GLORY OF THE MESSAGE
• Those early disciples found something in their newly acquired faith, the likes of which has never been seen before –
• First, there was the wonder of forgiveness -
• Other religions might point to the hard and painful efforts one must go through, such as penance and punishment in the extreme, then add on extras such as sacraments and priesthood to forgive sins. One of the biggest burdens of the Christian life comes from the religion; they pack you down with so many things you can’t move. They give you more kit than they do when you join the army!
• However, the message of Christ was to everyone irrespective of background – to the lowest of the low in society. It did not matter if you were high ranking theologians, tax collectors, carpenters, or fisherman, even priests, prophets or kings.
• Secondly and lying at the heart of the message was love, it was a message they had never heard before, but it was a message that now gripped their hearts with pure joy.
• Here was a reality beyond their wildest dreams!
• And that was the gory of the message.
4. THEY KNEW THAT JESUS WAS THE LORD
Throughout the bible the term LORD is associated with kingship, sovereignty, grace and mercy, being divine and royalty.
These early disciples knew all of these descriptions and titles belonged to Jesus Christ!
It was a conviction embedded in the depth of their hearts
The very first sermon preached by Peter in
Acts 2:36 “God has made this same Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ – Messiah!”
Paul in
2 Corinthians 4:5 “We preach Christ Jesus as Lord”
• This was a truth which ran through the New Testament –
• That was around two thousand years ago!
• Is Christ Jesus really the Lord of your life?
• Do you know Him as your Lord and Saviour?
• Does He live in your heart as King
• Do you have that same spirit of passion running through your veins?
