Scripture
45Then He opened their minds to [help them] understand the Scriptures, 46and said, “And so it is written, that the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and that repentance [necessary] for forgiveness of sins would be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49Listen carefully: I am sending the Promise of My Father [the Holy Spirit] upon you; but you are to remain in the city [of Jerusalem] until you are clothed (fully equipped) with power from on high.” Luke 24:45-49
Observation
The disciples were hiding behind closed doors fearful for their lives. They were certain that at any moment the same Roman soldiers who just crucified Jesus would be breaking down their door to do the same to them. Instead of being face to face with their enemies they found themselves face to face with their Risen Lord, “Jesus Himself [suddenly] stood among them and said to them, “Peace be to you.” 37But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a spirit. 38And He said, “Why are you troubled, and why are doubts rising in your hearts?” (Lk. 24:36-38). Jesus patiently showed His disciples the holes in hands and feet. He even ate some cool leftover fish just to prove He was really there among them. Then, He led them through Scripture, reminded them of their one job- preach the gospel, and promised they would have everything they needed to do the job once they received The Holy Spirit (Acts 2). Notice whose name we are to preach in… “His name to all the nations.” They were so focused on themselves and Jesus had made it clear this wasn’t about them, it was about Him! In fact, as Jesus walked them through the Scriptures He no doubt reminded them again that their walk of faith would determine their fate on this earth, 'For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake.' (Mt. 24:7-9). You don’t hear these verses quoted very often do you? These once fearful disciples picked up what Jesus was putting down and went out in to the world to do one thing, preach the gospel. Historian Michael Licona captures the key point in his book The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach: “After Jesus’ death, the disciples endured persecution, and a number of them experienced martyrdom. The strength of their conviction indicates that they were not just claiming Jesus had appeared to them after rising from the dead. They really believed it. They willingly endangered themselves by publicly proclaiming the risen Christ.”
Application
I was listening to a podcast recently to the famous Christian author, speaker, podcaster Annie F. Downs of the “That Sounds Fun” podcast and she quoted Count von Zinzendorf who said, “Preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten.” Zinzendorf sent missionaries around the globe including to the North American Indians. He know his one job. “I have but one passion—it is He; it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.” When Carey Nieuwhof asked Annie why she wants influence her answer was also focused on her one job: “Im not interested in being more famous. I don’t see that serving anyone. I keep seeing that’s what take people further away from who they want to be. And so my prayer is, Lord, I don't want one more follower than my, then my character can handle. I don't want one more follower than my integrity can handle, then my health can handle. I'm not looking for Annie to get famous. Because I, I don't wanna drink my own Kool-Aid. I, I can do that. I've done it. I had, I spent about a year, 2013 ish drinking my own Kool-Aid and thinking I was kind of a big deal. And the Lord humbled me. I'm grateful and it was gross and awful, and I don't wanna do that again. And so, so that's why I'm chasing influence, Carey, because in the end we wanna bridge people to Jesus…Preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten.” Then Carey followed up with this statement that floored me, “And you're right. Like nobody 50 years from now is gonna know who I am. And if you doubt that, it's like name your great, great great grandfather can't do it. Well you're descended from him. I am. But I don't know. I'm probably have five of them. I have no idea who they would be. Yes, yes. And my great-great grandchildren will have no idea who I am, nor will anyone else. Yeah. and that's fine.” The only thing eternal I can do with my life is to preach the gospel and point people to Him.
Prayer
Jesus, last night during prayer and worship, You showed me a picture of crowns on the ground. Then, I remembered the scripture from Revelation 4:10-11, “And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what You pleased.” There’s only room for one crown in Your throne room. There’s really only one job You’ve given me to do. Forgive me for the times when, out of my insecurity, I’ve made Your message about me. Keep me focused like Zinzendforf was with the time I’ve been given. That my goal in life would be crystal clear: “Preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten.” Let me not only live for You, but be willing to die for You because it's only when I'm willing to die for You that I'm truly loving for You.
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