Landmark Missionary Baptist Church Rose City

09/13/2026

As we start this new two week Devotional and Prayer series, here is our investigative principle again.

Assumption says: We know where HE is from.” Scripture tells us to weigh the information against the HOLY WORD;

“Check the evidence.”

The crowd’s confusion about Galilee and Bethlehem is especially important because JESUS had indeed been born in Bethlehem, just as Micah 5:2 foretold. Their conclusion was wrong because their information was incomplete.

CALL TO WORSHIP SUNDAY 09/13/2026 MORNING DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYER DAY 1
“THIS SPAKE HE OF THE SPIRIT”

Scripture: “(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” John 7:39 KJV

Yesterday JESUS declared: “He that believeth on me… out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Today John tells us exactly what our LORD meant: “This spake he of the Spirit…”

There is no need for speculation.
Scripture interprets Scripture.

The Greek word translated “Spirit” is πνεῦμα (pneuma), meaning spirit, breath, or wind.

John is speaking of the HOLY SPIRIT. The rivers of living water are not human enthusiasm. They are not personality. They are not emotional excitement. They are the life-giving work of the HOLY SPIRIT within the believer.

John Gill explains that JESUS was speaking of the gifts and graces of the HOLY SPIRIT that would be poured out upon believers.

Matthew Henry likewise sees the living water as the inward work of the HOLY SPIRIT, producing spiritual life and blessing through those who believe.

Notice carefully: “…which they that believe on him should receive…”

The HOLY SPIRIT is not a reward for elite Christians. HE is promised to believers. The same Gospel that calls us to Saving Faith also promises the indwelling presence of the HOLY SPIRIT.

And then John writes something that requires careful understanding: “…for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.”

John is not saying that the HOLY SPIRIT did not exist before Pentecost. The HOLY SPIRIT is eternal. HE was active in Creation. HE empowered prophets. HE worked throughout the Old Testament.

Rather, John is pointing toward the distinctive outpouring and indwelling ministry associated with the glorification of CHRIST and fulfilled at Pentecost. JESUS would go to Calvary. HE would die. HE would arise. HE would ascend. Then the HOLY SPIRIT would come in this promised New Covenant fullness.

Our LORD later said: “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you…” John 16:7 KJV

Do you see the redemptive order? Calvary. Resurrection. Glorification. Pentecost.

The rivers of living water flow because CHRIST completed the work the FATHER sent HIM to accomplish. There is also something deeply personal here.

We do not live the Christian life by our own strength. We cannot manufacture holiness. We cannot produce spiritual fruit by willpower. We cannot disciple effectively apart from GOD’S power. We need the HOLY SPIRIT. The same SPIRIT who inspired the HOLY WORD works within believers to conform us to CHRIST. This is why discipleship must never become mere self-improvement. It is surrender. The believer says: “HOLY SPIRIT, live through me.”

Divine Providence

The promise of the HOLY SPIRIT was not an afterthought. It was part of YAHWEH’S eternal redemptive purpose. The SON would accomplish redemption. The HOLY SPIRIT would indwell and empower those redeemed.

The FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT remain perfectly united in the salvation and sanctification of believers.

Turning Points For Today:

The living water represents the HOLY SPIRIT.

The HOLY SPIRIT is essential to Christian life and discipleship.

CHRIST’S glorification prepared the way for the promised outpouring of the SPIRIT.

We cannot live victoriously through human strength alone.

True disciples depend daily upon the HOLY SPIRIT.

LET US PRAY:

YAHWEH, our eternal FATHER, thank YOU for sending YOUR SON to accomplish our redemption. Thank YOU for the promise and presence of the HOLY SPIRIT.

HOLY SPIRIT, fill our hearts with truth. Guide us through YOUR inspired HOLY WORD. Convict us where we sin. Comfort us where we hurt. Strengthen us where we are weak. Produce within us the character of CHRIST.

ADONAI, let the living water of YOUR presence flow through our lives into our families, our churches, our communities, and a generation desperately thirsty for truth. May we never attempt to accomplish spiritual work through human strength alone. Teach us to surrender. Teach us to listen. Teach us to obey.

(For we know that a true disciple is not identified merely by the words he speaks about JESUS, but by the life that JESUS lives through him by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT.)

We pray all these things to YOU YAHWEH, our FATHER, through YESHUA HA’MASHIACH our LORD and SAVIOR, by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN!

09/12/2026

SATURDAY 09/12/2026 MORNING DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYER DAY 14 “RIVERS OF LIVING WATER”

Scripture: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38 KJV

Yesterday JESUS invited the thirsty soul: “Come unto me, and drink.”

Today HE reveals what happens to the one who truly comes. “He that believeth on me…” There is Saving Faith again.

The Greek phrase ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ (ho pisteuōn eis eme) means: “the one believing in ME,” “the one trusting in ME,” or “the one placing faith in ME.”

Not merely believing something about JESUS. Believing on JESUS. Notitia. I know who HE is.
Assensus. I believe the testimony is true. Fiducia. I trust HIM. What happens?

JESUS declares: “…out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

The Greek word translated “rivers” is ποταμοί (potamoi). Not drops. Not a trickle. RIVERS.
And ὕδατος ζῶντος (hydatos zōntos) means: “LIVING WATER.”

The picture has changed. Yesterday the believer was thirsty. Today the believer becomes a channel. He receives from CHRIST. Then something begins flowing outward. John will explain in the next verse that JESUS is speaking of the HOLY SPIRIT.

Spurgeon emphasized this progression: believers do not merely receive spiritual life for themselves; the indwelling work of the HOLY SPIRIT is intended to overflow and bless others.

That is discipleship. The Gospel reaches me. Then the Gospel moves through me. Grace comforts me. Then grace should make me gracious toward others.

CHRIST forgives me. Then I learn to forgive. CHRIST loves me. Then I love. The HOLY SPIRIT teaches me. Then I help teach another disciple. The water does not terminate with us. It flows through us.

Think about the twelve. JESUS poured truth into them. They carried the Gospel outward. Jerusalem. Judaea. Samaria. The uttermost parts of the earth.

An Amen eventually: The Gospel reached us. Someone told us.
Someone preached. Someone taught. Someone prayed. Someone carried the living testimony of CHRIST into our lives.

Now the question becomes: Where will the river flow next?
Our homes, children, grandchildren, neighbors, coworkers, churches, communities?

The disciple was never intended to become a spiritual reservoir that receives endlessly and releases nothing. We are called to become channels. This does not mean that we produce spiritual power ourselves. A dry riverbed cannot create water.

The SOURCE remains CHRIST. The POWER remains the HOLY SPIRIT. The GLORY remains YAHWEH’S. Our responsibility is surrender.

JESUS says: “He that believeth on me…”

Saving Faith produces a changed relationship with the ETERNAL SOURCE. When the HOLY SPIRIT fills a surrendered disciple, others should encounter something of CHRIST through that life. Love. Joy. Peace. Longsuffering. Gentleness. Goodness. Faith.
Meekness. Temperance.

Not because we manufactured them. The HOLY SPIRIT is at work within us.

What a conclusion to this series.
We began with people saying: “We know this man whence he is.”They thought they understood JESUS.

Verse by verse their assumptions were exposed. Now JESUS stands before them and says: COME. DRINK. BELIEVE. When you do: RIVERS WILL FLOW. That is not empty religion. That is transformed life.

Divine Providence

The living water promised by CHRIST was never intended for one generation. From Pentecost forward, the HOLY SPIRIT would empower believers to carry the Gospel across nations, languages, cultures, and centuries.

The river continues flowing. The Gospel reached us because YAHWEH faithfully worked through generations of disciples before us.

Now we become part of that same Divine purpose. We drink. We believe. We follow. We witness. Then by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT: The river keeps flowing.

Turning Points For Today:

Saving Faith rests personally in JESUS CHRIST.

The believer receives spiritual life from CHRIST.

The HOLY SPIRIT is the source of spiritual overflow in the disciple.

GOD’S blessings are not given merely to terminate with us.

True disciples become channels through whom CHRIST reaches others.

LET US PRAY:

O YAHWEH, our eternal FATHER, thank YOU for the LIVING WATER given through YOUR SON. Thank YOU for calling thirsty sinners unto CHRIST. Thank YOU for saving us by grace. Thank YOU for giving us the HOLY SPIRIT.

ADONAI, never allow us to become satisfied merely receiving. Let YOUR grace flow through us. Into our homes. Into our churches. Into our communities. Into another generation.

HOLY SPIRIT we plead, remove every obstruction of pride, selfishness, fear, bitterness, and disobedience. Instead ABBA, Fill us. Lead us. Teach us. Use us.

May those who encounter our lives see something unmistakably different, not because we are worthy, but because JESUS lives within us.

Let the Gospel that reached us continue through us. Let the children we teach become disciples. Let the disciples we mentor become witnesses. Let those witnesses carry CHRIST farther than we ever could. When our earthly time is finished, may the river still be flowing through lives that were touched by YOUR grace.

(For we know that a true disciple is not identified merely by the words he speaks about JESUS, but by the life that JESUS lives through him by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT.)

We pray to YOU YAHWEH, our FATHER, through JESUS our LORD and SAVIOR, MAY THE RIVERS OF LIVING WATER CONTINUE TO FLOW! To GOD alone be the glory, AMEN!

******You are invited. Breakfast this morning 09:00 AM at the Church.******!

09/11/2026

FRIDAY 09/11/2026 MORNING DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYER DAY 13 “IF ANY MAN THIRST”

Scripture: “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” John 7:37 KJV

What a transition. Yesterday: Confusion. Today: Invitation.

John tells us that this occurred: “In the last day, that great day of the feast…” The Feast of Tabernacles was reaching its climax. In that setting, JESUS: “stood and cried out.”

The Greek verb ἔκραξεν (ekraxen) means to cry out loudly, proclaim openly, or call with a raised voice.

This was no private conversation. JESUS wanted to be heard. What HE proclaimed contains the Gospel in remarkable simplicity: If any man thirst…” —-ANY—-Notice the invitation. Not: If any scholar thirst. If any Jew thirst. If any religious leader thirst. If any morally impressive person thirst. But: “IF ANY MAN THIRST.”

Spurgeon emphasized the breadth of that invitation: whoever recognizes the thirst of the soul is invited to come directly to CHRIST.

What is spiritual thirst? It is the realization, the epiphany: Something is missing. Sin has left me empty. The world cannot satisfy me. Religion cannot cleanse me. Good works cannot save me.I need something I cannot provide for myself. I need CHRIST.

Thirst is powerful because the thirsty person knows he needs something outside himself.

Pride says: “I am sufficient.”

Thirst says: “I need help.”

That is where grace meets us. JESUS does not say: “Create your own water.” HE says: “COME UNTO ME.”

The Greek ἐρχέσθω (erchesthō) means: “Let him come.”

Then: “AND DRINK.”

The Greek πινέτω (pinetō) means: “Let him drink.”

Come. Drink. Receive. What a picture of Saving Faith. The thirsty sinner does not purchase the water. He receives it. He does not manufacture salvation. He receives CHRIST.

Isaiah had already proclaimed: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters…” Isaiah 55:1 KJV

The invitation of grace has always been: Come. Now the SOURCE OF LIVING WATER stands before Jerusalem saying: “COME UNTO ME.”

Matthew Henry sees here a Gospel invitation to those who spiritually thirst, with CHRIST Himself as the satisfaction they need.

What does the world offer the thirsty soul? Another possession. Another relationship. Another achievement. Another experience. Another distraction.

After every worldly drink: Thirst returns. JESUS offers something different. HE offers eternal life. HE had already told the woman at the well:

“Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst…” John 4:14 KJV

There is only ONE who can satisfy the deepest thirst of mankind. JESUS CHRIST.

Yet look where HE is going. Calvary. The ONE offering living water will soon shed HIS blood for sinners. This invitation is free to us. It was unimaginably costly to HIM.

Divine Providence

The Feast was reaching its climax according to the calendar of Israel. But YAHWEH was revealing something far greater than ritual.

The symbols pointed toward CHRIST. The ceremonies could remind people of GOD’S provision. Only JESUS could satisfy the soul. Divine Providence brought the thirsty world face to face with the LIVING WATER.

Turning Points For Today:

Every human soul has needs this world cannot satisfy.

JESUS invites anyone who thirsts to come to HIM.

Saving faith receives what grace freely provides.

Religion cannot replace CHRIST.

The invitation is free to sinners because CHRIST would pay the price at Calvary.

LET US PRAY:

O YAHWEH, our gracious FATHER, thank YOU for sending the ONE who satisfies the thirsty soul. LORD we confess that the world cannot give us what only CHRIST can provide.

HOLY SPIRIT, awaken spiritual thirst within every heart that does not yet know JESUS. Strip away false satisfaction. Expose empty religion. Reveal the emptiness of sin. Please LORD GOD point the thirsty soul toward the SAVIOR.

ABBA FATHER, for those burdened by guilt, let them hear:
“Come unto me.”

For those weary from trying to save themselves: “Come unto me.”

For those searching for purpose: “Come unto me.”

For those who know they are lost: Come unto me.”

ABBA, those of us who have already drunk deeply of YOUR grace, never allow us to forget the SOURCE. Our satisfaction is CHRIST. Our hope is CHRIST. Our salvation is CHRIST. Our life is CHRIST.

(For we know that a true disciple is not identified merely by the words he speaks about JESUS, but by the life that JESUS lives through him by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT.)

We pray in the precious Name of YESHUA HA’MASHIACH, our LORD and SAVIOR. TO YAHWEH BE ALL THE GLORY! AMEN!

PS:
1. Friday Night is not only Movie Night, but it will also be a Remembrance and Memorial Service in recognition of the events of 9/11/2001. It is hard to believe it has been 25 years since that heinous attack on our Country. Please join us, we will never forget! We will also be serving dinner at approximately 5:30 PM. The movie to follow.

2. Saturday Morning 9/12/2026 will be our monthly Prayer Breakfast/Service. We start breakfast at 9:00 AM. This Breakfast will also be in recognition of all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice since 9/11/2001 fighting the Islamic Goal of world domination. The menu for breakfast is Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Biscuits and Gravy, Hashbrowns, and who knows maybe some Pancakes and donuts. Please join us in breaking bread and rejoicing in fellowship!

09/10/2026

In Remembrance of Charlie Kirk

“LOVE YOUR ENEMIES”

Scripture: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19:18 KJV

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” Matthew 5:44 KJV

ALMIGHTY YAHWEH, our Heavenly FATHER, we come before YOU with heavy hearts. We live in a world where violence can become entertainment, where another person’s suffering can become something to mock, imitate, celebrate, or exploit.

LORD, guard our hearts from becoming hardened by what we see. Teach us again the command YOU gave long ago:
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Take us farther, LORD, preparing our hearts, minds, and spirits to love as YOU love, and to forgive as YOU forgive.

Take us to the words of JESUS: “Love your enemies.”

That command is difficult for the flesh. Our flesh wants retaliation. Our flesh wants anger answered with anger. Our flesh wants hatred answered with hatred. JESUS calls HIS disciples to something higher.

HE tells us: “Bless them that curse you.” “Do good to them that hate you.” “Pray for them which despitefully use you.”
FATHER, give us the strength of the HOLY SPIRIT to obey.

Today we pray for grieving families whose wounds may be reopened by cruel words, images, mockery, or reenactments of violence. Surround them with YOUR comfort and mercy.

LORD, EL ELYON, the MOST HIGH GOD, we also pray for those participating in hatred. We pray for those laughing. We pray for those mocking. We pray for those whose hearts have become so hardened that another person’s death has become entertainment. We ask LORD GOD that YOU open their eyes, mind, and spirit to their horrific acts.

Not because we approve of what they are doing. Not because evil should go unchallenged. Because JESUS commanded us to pray for our enemies. Convict their hearts. Open their eyes. We pray ABBA, that YOU break through bitterness, hatred, anger, and spiritual darkness.
Bring them to repentance. Bring them to the Cross. Bring them to JESUS CHRIST.

And LORD, while we pray for THEIR hearts, examine OUR hearts also. Do not allow righteous indignation to become hatred. Do not allow disagreement to become contempt. Do not allow grief to become vengeance.

Remind us: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Romans 12:19 KJV

We surrender judgment to YOU YAHWEH. Make YOUR Church different from this world. Where the world curses, let us bless. Where the world hates, let us love. Where the world celebrates destruction, let us proclaim LIFE.
Where the world demands vengeance, let us point toward the CROSS.

For it was there that our SAVIOUR, suffering beneath the cruelty of sinful men, prayed:
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

LORD JESUS, teach us to love like THAT. May our words bring healing rather than injury. May our actions demonstrate CHRIST rather than the flesh. May our prayers reach even those we struggle most to love. May a watching world see that the answer to hatred is not greater hatred.

The answer is JESUS CHRIST. We pray for repentance. We pray for reconciliation. We pray for healing. We pray for revival. We pray for our neighbors. In our
obedience to JESUS CHRIST, we pray for our enemies.

In the precious, saving, and sovereign name of JESUS CHRIST our LORD, AMEN!

09/10/2026

THURSDAY 09/10/2026 MORNING DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYER DAY 12 “WHAT MANNER OF SAYING IS THIS?”

Scripture: “What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?” John 7:36 KJV

The people repeat the words of JESUS. They still do not understand them. Earlier they asked: “Whither will he go?”
Perhaps HE will travel among the dispersed Jews. Perhaps HE will teach the Gentiles.

JESUS was not speaking merely about another earthly destination. HE was speaking about returning to the FATHER.
Now they ask again: “What manner of saying is this?”

The Greek word translated “saying” is λόγος (logos), meaning a word, statement, message, or declaration.

They had heard the logos, the spiritual reason, but they had not grasped the truth contained within it. This is one of the continuing themes of John’s Gospel. JESUS speaks spiritually. The natural mind responds carnally.

Nicodemus heard: “Born again.”
He thought of physical birth. The woman at the well heard: “Living water.” She thought of ordinary water. The multitude heard: “Bread of Life.” They thought of physical bread.

Now JESUS speaks of returning to the FATHER. They think of geography. The problem was not that JESUS had failed to speak clearly. The problem was the condition of the hearers.

Paul would later write: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God…” 1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV

That truth should humble every disciple. We can read the words of Scripture and still miss their meaning if we approach them only through human reasoning. That is why Bible study requires more than intelligence. It requires humility. Prayer. Context. Patience. Dependence upon the HOLY SPIRIT.

There is a dangerous temptation to assume: “I read it, therefore I understand it.” Reading and studying are two different animals. Sometimes the proper response is: “LORD, I have read YOUR Word. Now teach me what YOU have said.”

This is why we continue verse by verse. Slowly. Methodically. Carefully. We do not rush past difficult verses simply because their meaning is not immediately obvious. We pray first for wisdom. We investigate. We compare Scripture with Scripture. We search for the context. We ascertain the original audience. We seek the historical setting. We examine the words, from origin to modern translation. We listen to faithful teachers.

And ultimately we place every conclusion beneath the authority of GOD’S HOLY WORD. Haste can produce error. Pride can preserve error. Humility allows GOD to correct error.

The crowd asked: “What manner of saying is this?” That question itself was not wrong. The tragedy was that many continued questioning without surrendering to the ONE speaking.

There comes a point when investigation must become decision. When truth becomes clear, the disciple must respond.
Not merely: “What does this mean?” But: “LORD, what must I do with what YOU have revealed?”

Divine Providence

Even the confusion of the crowd became part of the inspired testimony preserved for us. Their misunderstanding teaches us the danger of approaching spiritual truth with merely carnal reasoning.

YAHWEH used their questions to prepare the stage for one of the clearest Gospel invitations JESUS would ever give. Tomorrow the confusion will be interrupted by a cry: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”

Turning Points For Today:

Hearing Scripture is not the same as understanding Scripture.

Human reasoning must remain beneath Divine revelation.

The HOLY SPIRIT is necessary for spiritual discernment.

Difficult Scripture should lead us to deeper study, not careless conclusions.

Understanding truth should ultimately lead to obedience.

LET US PRAY:

O YAHWEH, our FATHER and AUTHOR of THE TRUTH, thank YOU for YOUR HOLY WORD.

Forgive us when we read hurriedly. Without reverence. Without guidance by the HOLY SPIRIT. Most of all when we read without intent. Forgive us when pride causes us to assume understanding before we have carefully listened.

HOLY SPIRIT, illuminate the Scriptures. Where we misunderstand, correct us. Where we are confused, teach us. Where tradition has clouded truth, clear our vision. Where human reasoning has become our authority, bring us again beneath YOUR WORD.

ABBA, FATHER GOD, give us patient minds and teachable hearts. When YOU reveal truth, give us courage to obey it. May we never be satisfied merely asking: “What manner of saying is this?”

ADONAI lead us onward until we know CHRIST, trust CHRIST, follow CHRIST, and love CHRIST with all of our heart, mind, and spirit.

(For we know that a true disciple is not identified merely by the words he speaks about JESUS, but by the life that JESUS lives through him by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT.)

We pray all these things through JESUS CHRIST our LORD, by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT. Amen!

09/09/2026

We have a full week at the Church and you are invited to attend.

1. Wednesday Night Discipleship/Bible Study, break bread at 5:30 PM, meeting at 6:
2. Friday Night is not only Movie Night, but it will also be a Remembrance and Memorial Service in recognition of the events of 9/11/2001. It is hard to believe it has been 25 years since that heinous attack on our Country. Please join us, we will never forget!
3. Saturday Morning 9/12/2026 will be our monthly Prayer Breakfast/Service. We start breakfast at 9:00 AM. This Breakfast will also be in recognition of all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice since 9/11/2001 fighting the Islamic Goal of world domination. The menu for breakfast is Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Biscuits and Gravy, Hashbrowns, and who knows maybe some Pancakes and donuts. Please join us in breaking bread and rejoicing in fellowship!

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

LMBCRC.COM

Connected with Landamrk Missionary Baptist ChurchRose City

09/09/2026

WEDNESDAY 09/09/2026 MORNING DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYER DAY 11 “WILL HE GO UNTO THE DISPERSED?”

Scripture: “Will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?” John 7:35b KJV

The people continue trying to interpret spiritually what JESUS has said. Perhaps, they wonder, HE plans to travel among: “the dispersed among the Gentiles.”

The Greek word translated “dispersed” is διασπορά (diaspora), meaning “dispersion” or “scattering.”

It referred to Jewish communities living outside the land of Israel among Gentile nations. Their speculation makes sense geographically. Jews lived throughout the wider Mediterranean world.

Perhaps JESUS intended to leave Judea, travel among those scattered communities, and even teach Gentiles. But once again: They are looking earthly while JESUS is speaking of Spiritual things.

HE is not discussing another earthly mission field. HE is speaking about returning to the FATHER. Yet there is an extraordinary irony in their question: “Will HE…teach the Gentiles?”

They meant it as speculation. But after the death, resurrection, and ascension of CHRIST, what would happen? The Gospel would go to the nations. JESUS would command: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…” Matthew 28:19 KJV

And: “Ye shall be witnesses unto me…unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8 KJV

They misunderstood the immediate meaning of HIS statement. Yet their question unintentionally points toward something YAHWEH would indeed accomplish. The Gospel would reach the Gentiles.

What Divine Providence!

JESUS came first in fulfillment of the promises given through Israel. The apostles were Jewish. The early church began in Jerusalem.

Salvation in CHRIST would never be confined to one nation. The promise to Abraham had already been prophesied: “…in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:3 KJV

The prophets announced it. Isaiah declared concerning the Servant of YAHWEH: “I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles…” Isaiah 49:6 KJV

And eventually men like Paul would carry the Gospel throughout the Gentile world. What the crowd asked in confusion: YAHWEH would accomplish in sovereign grace.

There is a missionary heartbeat hidden inside their misunderstanding. We should hear it. The Gospel is not ours to hoard. JESUS CHRIST is not merely the SAVIOR for people who look like us, live near us, or share our culture.

HE is: THE LAMB OF GOD, WHICH TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD. John 1:29 KJV

Our responsibility remains: Go.
Teach. Witness. Make disciples.
The message that reached us must continue through us.

Divine Providence

The crowd imagined JESUS physically traveling through the dispersion. Instead, after CHRIST returned to the FATHER, HIS disciples would carry His Gospel throughout the nations by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT.

What they asked unknowingly pointed toward the worldwide mission already present within YAHWEH’S redemptive plan.
From Abraham’s promise to Isaiah’s prophecy to the Great Commission: YAHWEH always intended the Good News to reach the nations.

Turning Points For Today:

JESUS was speaking of returning to the FATHER, not merely traveling elsewhere.

Human misunderstanding cannot prevent Divine Truth from being fulfilled.

The Gospel of CHRIST is intended for every nation.

Every believer has a responsibility to bear witness.

The Gospel that reached us should continue through us.

LET US PRAY:

O YAHWEH, our loving FATHER, thank YOU that YOUR plan of redemption reached beyond borders, nations, cultures, and languages. Thank YOU LORD that the Gospel eventually reached us.

Thank YOU for every missionary.
Every preacher. Every teacher.
Every parent. Every friend, and
every faithful disciple YOU used to place the truth of JESUS before us. Surround each one with YOUR Mighty Hand of protection.

HOLY SPIRIT, now make us faithful witnesses. Do not allow us to become merely consumers of the Gospel. Make us carriers of the Gospel. Give us hearts for the lost. Give us compassion for those far from CHRIST. Give us courage to speak. Give us wisdom to teach.

ABBA, wherever YOU send us, across the street or across the world, may we faithfully proclaim: JESUS SAVES.

(For we know that a true disciple is not identified merely by the words he speaks about JESUS, but by the life that JESUS lives through him by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT.)

We pray these things in the HOLY NAME YESHUA HA’MASHIACH our LORD and SAVIOR, by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT. TO YOU ALONE BE ALL GLORY!
AMEN AND AMEN!