Title: Jesus' Last Request
Contents
Word: Mark 16:14-20
Title: Jesus' Last Request
You may be familiar with the story of the tree frog you heard a lot when you were young. He was a rotten tree frog who usually listened to the opposite, but he said his last will against his will because he is a son of a tree frog who listens to everything when his mother dies. “When I die, make my grave by the river.” The tree frog did not understand his mother's will, but he wanted to fulfill his mother's last request with a heart for forgiveness for his mistakes that had only been reversed by his mother's words, so he built his mother's grave by the river. But when it rained, his mother's grave was swept away by the overflowing river. The tree frog wept as it saw its mother's grave swept away. So, when it comes to obesity, you can hear frogs croaking, “gae-gae-gae”.
Even a child who usually complains a lot to his parents, he listens to his parents' last request before he dies, and tries to put into practice or practice his will. If we do not listen to the last words of Jesus, who gave Himself to death on the cross to save me, to lead me from eternal death to eternal life, and to save me, if we do not put into practice or even try to put it into practice, this is what it is. Ingratitude and not treachery, what is it?
So, what is Jesus' last request? After Jesus was resurrected, he stayed with people on this earth for 40 days, and when the time came, his body was taken up to heaven on a cloud. Jesus, who ascended into heaven in the flesh, comes to this earth again in the flesh. At that time, he does not come to die on the cross again, but as the Judge to judge the earth.
Before ascending to heaven on the cloud, Jesus left a message to the disciples who were with him. If you look at the contents, in the Gospel of Matthew, “Make disciples of all nations!”, in the Gospel of Mark, “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” The book of Acts says, “Receive the Holy Spirit, and receive power, to be witnesses of the Lord to the ends of the earth.” To summarize Jesus' last request to us, "Evangelize!"
With today's text, we would like to share the grace of God with all of us, earnestly wishing that we all have a passion for evangelism and what evangelism is, while deeply engraving the words, “Evangelize!” that our Jesus last asked us to do.
1. Evangelism is a mission.
(Look at the song lyrics of the mission first)
What is your mission? It is a mission that we cannot refuse and that we must assume. The last word that the Lord has asked us to do is “evangelize!” It is a mission that we cannot deny and that we must bear. The mission of evangelism is our beautiful mission that is not finished until the day the Lord comes back to this earth.
In Matthew 16:26 it says, "For what profit does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? What will a man give in exchange for his life?" Even if you have everything in this world, if you do not gain salvation, you will end up having nothing.
God wants everyone to be saved. 1 Timothy 2:4 says, “God wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to accomplish God's holy will because he wanted all those who had turned away from God because of sin to be freed from sin and to be saved. And before Jesus ascended into heaven, he entrusted us with the unfinished work of preaching the gospel. We are missionaries who have to carry out the work of evangelism that Jesus has entrusted to us.
People find evangelism very difficult. Evangelism is not a gift. It is a mission that no one can escape from as a child of God and must be able to bear. (Let's shout together: I am the missionary of evangelism)
We are called to be children of God and are alive because God has a mission to save souls for us. The fact that I am alive means that my mission of evangelism is not over.
At this time, I heard a radio sound in the car, but it was a Far East broadcast. He continued. He said that while driving while listening to such a good hymn, he could evangelize sometimes, so it was better to live while driving.
He also asked, “Are there many annoying things while driving?” Of course, he answered yes, saying that there were people who had no money when they arrived at their destination, and there were people who stopped their car and asked for 10,000 won worth of rides. He said that people like that will also give you a ride, and in that case, you will break the meter at the point where 10,000 won comes out. Anyway, I decided to drive him to the destination with that money, but if the number of the meter keeps going up, it's because it only burdens the person.
We must become a ‘scattered church’ in our own home. The fragrance of Jesus must be revealed through my words, and the love of Jesus must be conveyed through my actions. Even if he doesn't say a word to believe in Jesus, if he lives as a quietly scattered church in his life, then he can be said to be a missionary of evangelism who faithfully fulfills the last words of Jesus that pleases God.
I hope that you and I will be able to carry out the beautiful mission of evangelism that is not finished until the day when the Lord comes anytime, anywhere in our hometown.
2. Evangelism is paying off debt.
We hate debt. However, there are times in life when you have to be in debt. I want to pay off my debt very slowly, and those who owe me want to pay it off quickly. (Example: Matthew 18 - The debtor of ten thousand talents and the debtor of a hundred denarii)
We are the ones who owe the Lord a debt of love that we will never be able to repay even if we pay for it for the rest of our lives. Jesus died on the cross for me to die. How can I repay that kind of love? Romans 13:8 says, “Do not owe anyone except the debt of mutual love.” As those who owe the Lord a debt of love that we cannot repay even if we repay it for the rest of our lives, the only way to repay the debt is to repay it with love.
First, loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself is the way to pay off your debt of love to the Lord. Therefore, we must love your neighbor with the love we have received from the Lord. Who are your neighbors? I mean everyone else but me. Evangelism is the culmination of love to love your neighbor.
And we are debtors to the gospel. Romans 1:14-15 says, “I am indebted to both Greeks and barbarians, both wise and foolish. The meaning of these words is that preaching the gospel, that is, evangelism, is the natural duty of those who have received the gospel first. The duty of preaching the gospel is to come together from the moment each receives the gospel. Therefore, the evidence of those who are saved lies in preaching the gospel without ceasing.
Debt is something that must be paid off. If you have a debt and you can pay it back, but you don't pay it, it is a scam We are indebted to the gospel that we received first, and we are indebted to the love that received great love from the Lord. To repay that debt, even a little, is to share the gospel I have received with others and to show love. Evangelism is preaching the gospel while giving love.
I hope that I will become a diligent and faithful child who strives to pay off the debt of love and the gospel that I received from the Lord through evangelism until I fulfill my mission.
3. Evangelistic saints and evangelizing churches are revived.
Acts 5:42 says, “Every day whether they were in the temple or at home, they did not cease teaching and preaching that Jesus was the Christ.” As a result, the word of God became more and more prosperous, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly. Evangelism is the secret of church revival. A church that does not evangelize cannot be revival. The foundation of all revival is correct evangelism.
The evangelist is a spiritually alive and active member, and the evangelizing church is a vibrant and growing church. There are no young people in the countryside these days. only old people The old people gather at the village hall when they finish farming or when they have a little spare time, but they say and do the same thing every day, so it's just boring. But one day, a young couple moved to the countryside. As the young couple moved in, new conversations arose, and the old people who used to only play Chinese cards had a great time using the computer the young couple had taught them. When a young couple moved in, the village became lively. Then, around the time the energy had cooled down, a child was born to the couple. After the birth of the child, a big feast was held in the village, saying it was a blessing in the village for the first time in ten years. I hoped that three weeks would pass and everyone in the village enjoyed entering the couple's house. Like this, when new people come in, a new vitality comes to the village, so does the church.
In the book "Resurrection" by Martin Lloyd-Jones, there is a passage that describes the revival of Isaac. Isaac started a new life by digging again his father's well, which had been buried by the Philistines. There was water in the well. But no more water came out because of the trash filled by the Philistines. At this time, Isaac wisely dug the well he had dug in his father's day without looking for it elsewhere. Then water poured out of it.
The same is true of our revival. Revival occurs when the fire of evangelism in the early church is revived, and when our faith and first love for the Lord are restored, our spiritual revival occurs. The evangelist is the living saint, and the evangelizing church is the living church. We hope that we and our church will grow every day through evangelism.
Evangelism is the mission that God's children cannot refuse to bear. We hope that the number of saved souls will increase day by day as we become a scattered church with the fragrance of the Lord, as a messenger of love in our hometown. I hope that the number of believers will increase every day and that the church will become a revival fire. We wish and bless God's holy fruit of salvation through us and our church.