God Does Not Call The Equipped; He Equips The Called
The Proclamation of God’s
Glory Worldwide
19 “I will perform a mighty miracle against them, and I will send those who escape, as missionaries to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal, Javan, and to the lands beyond the sea that have not heard my fame nor seen my glory. There they shall declare my glory to the Gentiles. 20 And they shall bring back all your brethren from every nation as a gift to the Lord, transporting them gently on horses and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain, to Jerusalem, says the Lord. It will be like offerings flowing into the Temple of the Lord at harvesttime, carried in vessels consecrated to the Lord. 21 And I will appoint some of those returning to be my priests and Levites, says the Lord” (Isaiah 66:19–21).[1]
When Christ Returns,
There Will Be a Great Proclamation of God’s Glory
Throughout the World.
a. Note the reference to God’s revealing, a sign for the whole world to witness.
Most likely, this is the blazing appearance of Christ in the clouds at His
Second Coming (Mt. 24:30). When Christ returns, all the earth will
clearly see His coming and acknowledge Him to be the Son of Man. The blazing
light of His holiness—the great splendor and brightness of His glory—will easily
manifest throughout the entire universe at that time (Mt. 24:30).
b. Once Christ has returned, a number of Jews will become ministers to share the message of God’s glory with the world (vv. 19–20). Isaiah naturally mentions several major countries of the known world at that time but also note his reference to “the distant islands,” This term, distant islands, refers to the outer reaches of the world. In other words, these Jewish ministers will blanket the earth with the message of God’s glory.
1)
Their purpose will be to bring the Gentile
believers, their spiritual brothers, to worship in Jerusalem (v. 20).
2) Their missionary efforts will reap such a vast harvest of worshippers that every means of transportation available will have to be used. Isaiah mentioned the method of transportation in His day, but whatever forms of transportation will be in use when Christ returns will be used.
The picture being painted is that people from all nations of the earth will make periodic journeys to worship the Lord in Jerusalem. Stationed throughout the world in various locations will be Jewish ministers or representatives giving strong witness to God’s glory and to His wonderful works performed on behalf of Israel.
c. In addition to these representatives, there will be Gentile believers appointed as His ministers (v. 21). Thus, the Lord will have both Jewish and Gentile ministers scattered all over the world during the Messiah’s kingdom on earth. Apparently, their task will be to lead the people in worshipping the Lord and in giving strong testimony to His wonderful works in their lives.
Whatever the case, it appears that life during the Messiah’s kingdom will be just what the term eternal life suggests. That is, eternal life will be life involving all the good activities of this present world, with two exceptions: life in the Messiah’s kingdom will be both perfect and eternal. As people carry out their daily activities, they will be in constant communion with the Lord. Moreover, when they meet for joint worship with others, the Lord will have appointed ministers to lead them in worship, praising His glory and the wonderful works He has done on their behalf.
V “Now the God of patience and consolation
grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That
ye may with one mind and one mouth
glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro. 15:5–6).
V “What? Know ye not that your body is the Temple
of the Holy Ghost, which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore,
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which is God’s” (1 Co. 6:19–20).
V “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath
made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12).
V “By him [Christ] therefore let us offer the
sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (He. 13:15).
V “But ye are
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that
ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light” (1 Pe.
2:9).
V “Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in
Zion: declare among the people his doings” (Ps. 9:11).
V “Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him
with the psaltery and an instrument
of ten strings” (Ps. 33:2).
V “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all
the people praise thee” (Ps. 67:3).
V “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise be
thankful unto him and bless his name” (Ps. 100:4).
V “And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare his works with rejoicing” (Ps. 107:22).
V “Let them give glory unto the Lord and declare his praise in the islands” (Is. 42:12).[2]
God will never
call us into something for which He is not already prepared to equip us. He
never leads us into a battle that He is not ready to dress us for accordingly.
He never demands something of us without already considering how He will
“cover” for our insufficiency.
2 “In
the last days Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord will become the world’s
greatest attraction, and people from many lands will flow there to worship the
Lord. 3 “Come,” everyone will say, “let us go up the mountain of the
Lord, to the Temple of the God of Israel; there he will teach us his laws, and
we will obey them.” For in those days the world will be ruled from Jerusalem.”[3]
1 “The
year King Uzziah died I saw the Lord! He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the
Temple was filled with his glory. 2 Hovering about him were mighty,
six-winged angels of fire. With two of their wings, they covered their faces,
with two others they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 In
a great antiphonal chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is filled with his glory.” 4 Such singing it was! It
shook the Temple to its foundations, and suddenly the entire sanctuary was
filled with smoke.
5 Then
I said, “My doom is sealed, for I am a foul-mouthed sinner, a member of a
sinful, foul-mouthed race; and I have looked upon the King, the Lord of
heaven’s armies.”
6 Then
one of the mighty angels flew over to the altar and with a pair of tongs picked
out a burning coal. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “Now you
are pronounced ‘not guilty’ because this coal has touched your lips. Your sins
are all forgiven.”
8 Then
I heard the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send as a messenger to my people? Who
will go?”
And I said,
“Lord, I’ll go! Send me.”
9 And
he said, “Yes, go.”[4]
19 “I will perform a mighty miracle against them, and I will send those who escape, as missionaries to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal, Javan, and to the lands beyond the sea that have not heard my fame nor seen my glory. There they shall declare my glory to the Gentiles.”[5]
Missionaries’ Mission (Assignment, Orders, Work)
What is God’s mission for us?
Bible
reading: John 2:1–11
Key Bible Verse: The
next day Jesus’ mother was a guest at a wedding celebration in the village of
Cana in Galilee. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.
(John 2:1–2)
Pleasure can be part of our mission. Jesus was on a mission to save the world, the greatest mission in the history of mankind. Yet he took time to attend a wedding and take part in its festivities. We may be tempted to think we should not take time out from our “important” work for social occasions. But maybe these social occasions are part of our mission. Jesus valued these wedding festivities because they involved people, and Jesus came to be with people. Our mission can often be accomplished in joyous times of celebration with others. Bring balance to your life by bringing Jesus into times of pleasure as well as times of work.
Bible
reading: John 20:19–23
Key Bible Verse: He
spoke to them again and said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so
I send you.” (John 20:21)
Preaching the Good News is our mission. Jesus was giving the disciples their Spirit-powered and Spirit-guided mission—to preach the Good News about Jesus so people’s sins might be forgiven. The disciples did not have the power to forgive sins (only God can forgive sins), but Jesus gave them the privilege of telling new believers that their sins had been forgiven because they had accepted Jesus’ message. All believers have this same privilege. We can announce the forgiveness of sins with certainty when we ourselves repent and find faith.
Bible
reading: Romans 1:18–32
Key Bible Verse: God
shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the
truth away from themselves. For the truth about God is known to them
instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the
world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made.
They can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine
nature. So, they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. (Romans
1:18–20)
People throughout
the world are our mission. Some people wonder why we need missionaries
if people can know about God through nature (the Creation). The answer: (1)
Although people know that God exists, they suppress that truth by their
wickedness and thus refuse a relationship with him. Missionaries
sensitively expose their error and point them to a new beginning. (2) Although
people may believe there is a God, they refuse to commit themselves to him. Missionaries
help persuade them through both loving words and caring actions. (3) Missionaries
convince people who reject God of the dangerous consequences of their actions. (4)
Missionaries help the church obey the great commission of our Lord (Matthew
28:19–20). (5) Most importantly, though nature reveals God, people need to
be told about Jesus and how they can have a personal relationship with God
through him.
Knowing that God exists is not enough. People must learn that God is loving. They must understand what he did to demonstrate his love for us (5:8). They must be shown how to accept God’s forgiveness of their sins. (See also 10:14–15.)[6]
When Christ said, “It is finished” (John
19:30) when He died on the cross at Calvary, what did He mean? Applied to
the believer’s call to go out and share what He accomplished through His death,
it means there is nothing more we can do to secure Salvation. Christ did all
that was necessary for sinful man to receive eternal life.
Now, thinking of Isaiah’s comment, “for
I am a foul-mouthed sinner, a member of a sinful, foul-mouthed race,”[7] of
which we are all a part, we too are exactly like Isaiah and, despite our sinful
nature, still have the opportunity to be used by God sharing the message of
hope, which indeed is a privilege. We can share with others the forgiveness of
sins as secured by the death of Christ on the cross as our mission to this lost
world. We can offer the same hope we have received through faith to others by
being a witness to the love of God.
Being a
missionary does not have to mean going to some far-off land where we will feel
alone and on our own. Being a missionary in God’s economy is as simple as a
conversation at a wedding reception. We live the life of a missionary without knowing
it because people watch us and how we live. People that know we are believers
in Christ look at how we respond to the pressure, stressors, trials, and
everyday frustrations. People look to see if we are living above our circumstances.
The problem with that attitude of the non-believer is that when the finger points
back at them, they too fall short of their idealized perfect expected behavior with
which they try to hold themselves. The point is knowing that we are human. We
are all broken people who need hope precisely because of our weaknesses. We can
cite numerous examples in the Word of God where men of God fell short of the
ideal. Being called to share with another soul in need of hope is simple in
that we are one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.
The next time
you feel inadequate or “not holy enough” to share your faith in God, remember
you are not holy enough, you never were, nor will you ever be in this body of
flesh, living on this planet. Nevertheless, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit,
we are more than capable of sharing what Christ has done for us in our lives.
In Christ, we are more than conquerors. Know that God sees us as finished work.
He sees us at our best, always. Again, know that “He who began a good work in
you will complete it” (Phil 1:6). All we need do is walk in faith,
accepting the privilege of speaking up for Christ, explicitly sharing what He
has done in our lives. The hope we have is all Christ asks us to share.
Prayer: Father God, we ask you to give us the strength to speak for you. We
ask that you provide the opportunity to share with others what you have done in
our lives and how we were once blind, but now we see. We ask you to send us
those ready to receive your Word of hope. We ask that we share honestly what has
occurred in our past and who we are today. We may not see any fruit of souls
come to faith, but we can water the seed implanted into the hearts of others.
May we be faithful in what you have called us to do. May we seriously take the
mission of witnessing so that others will accept the reality of your life, death,
and resurrection and soon return.
We praise you, Father God, for allowing us the privilege to receive Salvation made possible by the death of your Son, our Lord, and Savior, Christ Jesus.
God Does Not Call The Equipped; He Equips The Called
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[3] (Isaiah 2:2-3 TLB) Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[4] (Isaiah 6:1-9 TLB) Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[5] (Isaiah 66:19 TLB) Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[6] Wilson, Neil S. 2000. In The Handbook of
Bible Application, 408. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc.
[7] (Isaiah 6:5 TLB) Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
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