God’s purpose for His Church is to spread the fame of His honor and glory throughout the whole world. It is the Church’s responsibility to make His greatness known in the world in which we live.
6Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
8Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name. (Psalm 96:6-8 NASB)
Nature does this beautifully. The Almighty’s creation shouts unashamedly from the top of its lungs the greatness of its Creator. Read what David wrote,
1The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
4Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun. (Psalm 19:1-3 NIV)
The important question is, “How are we doing at proclaiming the greatness of our Creator?” This is the life-line of the Church; it is what keeps us connected to God. When we cease from doing this we no longer have a reason for existing.
Another question just begging to be answered is, “How do we spread the fame of God’s honor and glory in the world?” Specifically I believe we need to answer that question in light of Calvary Baptist, “How can Calvary spread the fame of God’s honor and glory in our world?” or, “Are we making His greatness know in our neighborhoods?”
I believe one way we spread the honor of God’s greatness is by obeying the commission He gave us in Matthew 28:18-20 (cf. Acts 1:8). This lays out, at least in part, God’s Vision for Calvary g Spreading the fame of God’s honor through reaching the lost with the gospel.
I Love this Place,
Scott
The last conversation we have with someone is very important. I remember the last “talk” I had with Dad and even the last words he said to me and I said to him…”I love you.” These are important to me; something I will never forget. As I was thinking about this, my mind wandered (not surprised?) to the last words of Jesus to His closest followers—His disciples.
All 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 the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-29 NASB)
These words not just for His disciples “back then”; they are also words for His disciples “right now.” Historically we call them the great commission. It’s what was in Jesus’ heart for His Church to do while He is away. Call them final instructions…the master plan…the play book…or whatever. We cannot and must not get away from them. The great commission is what Jesus expects us to do; these words are not an option, they are obligation!
Impacting lives for eternity was such an important responsibility for the Church that just before Jesus ascended to heaven He gathered His disciples together one more time and said,
You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. (Acts 1:8 NASB)
These words from Jesus provide the backdrop for God’s vision for Calvary. I will unfold this vision next week.
Grace & Peace,
Scott
Too often God does something ordinary or spectacular and we just go along our day without sharing what He has done. When God does something ordinary we must not ignore it; these are everyday events such as the rising of the sun, the air we breathe, the flowers that bloom, or the relationships we enjoy (the list is endless). God deserves to be honored for these acts of His grace. Now God will also do things that are spectacular and miraculous; things we cannot explain away other than by His hand. These events include, but are not exclusive to, the salvation of someone we have been witnessing to for years, the provision for a bill that we had no way of paying, the recovery from addiction, or the healing of a body. Please let me share one of these miraculous workings of God’s grace this last week. As most of you know Doris Sawyer had surgery on Friday. It’s bad enough to go through a nail-biting day like that, but to receive bad news in the middle of it is literally heart-wrenching. Well, about half way through her surgery the doctor called with bad news…they found cancer on her bladder and pelvis. They told her kids that they would finish the surgery and then later treat the cancer with radiation in the hopes of shrinking it, but they could not operate to remove it. They were just hoping to shrink the cancer and buy more time. After agonizing tears from the family we prayed and asked the Lord to make the doctor’s diagnosis incorrect. I left. Later that day one of Doris’ daughters called and said the doctors were mistaken and they removed all the cancer. The one concern they had was a spot on the liver that looked suspicious. As Nehemiah said, The LORD is great and awesome!
We can’t miss this! We must understand that no matter who we are our Father is waiting and wanting to hear from us. He is pleased to answer our prayers when we ask with the right motives and seek to honor Him. This is the desire of Doris Sawyer and her family. They wish to give God all the praise and honor due Him and to thank you for faithfully praying for her.
This is something to think about as we go about our day. I write this with Doris’ permission. I hope it has been an encouragement to you as it was to me. It was just something God used to touch my life this week.
Grace & Peace,
Scott
