To Whatever End pt. 1

 To whatever end...

As I have been walking through my day-to-day life, the Lord has placed this phrase on my heart numerous times. It wasn't hard for me to figure out what it meant, to whatever end means, to what end, what length are you willing to go for Jesus? My heart has been pulled to those who have yet to hear the name of Jesus. Those who may never get the chance to hear His name on this side of Heaven, therefore meaning they won't spend eternity with us. Every time I think about it, I get to emotional, but I believe that God is speaking through this new series to show and challenge us in our evangelism.

The Great Commission. We have all probably heard it numerous times before, but I want to look at it again because I believe it was spoken and there is power in it. Let's look at The Great Commission in the book of Matthew. 

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28:16-20

The first thing I notice about this passage is that the disciples listened to God, they obeyed Him and went to the place He asked them to meet. This holds value, God wants each and every one of us to listen to Him, but we have to make the decision ourselves to be available and ready for what He has. They worshiped Him. Our God is a God who is worthy of all of our praise and worship. There will be times in our lives that we are walking through things that are hard, but that does not mean we have a reason not to worship our Creator because He is always good. There is a song I love by Benjamin Hastings called, That's The Thing About Praise. Here are the lyrics of the bridge. 

"It don't always fix your problems, but it'll tell you how small they are, 
That's the thing about praise, that's the thing about praise. 
It won't always move the mountain, but it's good for the heart, 
That's the thing about praise, that's the thing about praise. 
You'll never know what it's gonna change, but it'll always leave a mark, 
That's the thing about praise, that's the thing about praise.
I might see walls start falling, or it might just change my heart,
That's the thing about praise, that's the thing about praise."

I love those lyrics because they show that praise does not yield perfection. What I mean by that is, by praising God, we shouldn't expect everything to change and be good, and life to be perfect. We shouldn't praise God because we want Him to do something for us. Praise is quite the opposite; we praise God no matter our circumstances because we believe that He is good in the midst of it.

Some of the disciples doubted God. It is so easy to read things the disciples did and assume that we wouldn't react the same way. I know that if I were a disciple at the time, I would fall short, I would have my share of doubts because I have them now. Just because we have doubts, and we don't know all of the answers doesn't mean that God can't or doesn't want to use you. 

Then comes the call for our lives, to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." We could spend our whole lives devoted and dedicated to sharing God's love with people and never see anyone accept Christ. We could spend our whole lives preaching and teaching about God's love, and no one believe it. If this is a fear of yours that may be holding you back from responding to the Great Commission, rebuke it. The last part of scripture says that He will be with us always. That doesn't mean He is with us only when someone accepts Jesus, but He is there with us when people reject Him, when they make fun of Him, and even when they may turn against you. That gives us the hope that we need to respond to His calling. To whatever end... let us all go and share the good news of Jesus!