and His passionate pursuit to find volunteer lovers of God whom He
transforms to become deliverers of men.” Jim W. Goll
His purpose on earth was complete. The reining God of the universe,
God Almighty, the King of Kings broke powerfully from the heavenly
realm, and was born of a virgin. He came and lived in this place we
call earth. The
disciples were his right hand men. They had witnessed miracle after
miracle after miracle. They walked with Jesus and talked with Jesus.
They asked him questions and spent time with him. They left careers
and jobs and families to follow Him. They gave up everything to follow
Him. Now he stands before His disciples about to ascend back into
heaven. Can you see Him? Hear His command as he speaks in boldness. See His eyes? Feel blazing sun was beating down on his back.
China 2008 These are the very last words he speaks
on earth. Jesus said to us in Matthew 28. “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.” Then
he was gone
And there you have it. These were the profound final words. The
last command issued by the true King. The command is to make disciples
of all nations. The nations need disciples, don’t they? The nations
desperately need true disciples. One cannot ignore that we live in a
horrible world. Here are just a few statistics taken from the “State
of the Gospel from Momentum magazine”
- Nearly 34,000 Japanese businessmen commit suicide each year because of business losses.
- Alcohol plays a role in nearly a third of Russian deaths, killing 40,000 Russians each year (Moscow News).
- Jamaica
has the worst murder rate in the world: some 1,700
people were killed in 2005, or 1 every 6 hours (Jamaica
Gleaner).
More than half of Ukraine’s Pentecostal pastors have had no formal pastoral training (Assemblies of God).- A Swaziland newspaper reports that a 15-year-old today has only a 20 percent chance of reaching the age of 30.
-
Of the 2million children in Russia 800,000 are orphaned
- Approximately 17percent of Africa’s labor force is children.
- About 80 percent of the world’s children under the age of 15 who are living with HIV are from Africa.
-
North Korea has 70 bronze statues (including one valued at $80
million), 40,000 plaster figures, 250 monuments, 350 memorial halls
and 3,500 towers of eternal life—all honoring former
leader Kim II Sung.
Nigeria accounts for 70% of the world’s polio cases.
Life
is painful, and pain is real. Lives are broken, and lose is great.
Daily tears flow in abundance. Diseases abound. Bitterness and
unforgiveness are harbored. Lies are hidden. Morals are an option, not
an expectation. Death cannot be ignored. In the era of terrorism and
war, we are remote control away of daily report of the ever-present
evil engulfing every faucet of life.
But do not be disheartened, discouraged or alarmed.
We have a Savior who is Great.
We have a hope that is real.
Often
I have been asked why I decided to go on the World Race. I could list
off numerous reasons. Adventure. Purpose. Obedience. Craziness.
Desire. Desire to know God more. Desire to love well. Desire to be
radically transformed by the power of God. Desire to commit my life to
a purpose that will have ramifications that will echo in eternity. In
all those reasons, though it really it comes down to one reason. But
the bottom line is this-Christ said it.
Christ has called us to go. Personally, Christ has called me to
go. Christ has called me to go and be Him to a world that bleeds.
Christ has called me to love the unlovable, to touch the untouchable
and to hear the unheard. He has commissioned me to venture where storms
will show is majesty.
Simply put, Christ has called me to go
make disciples of the nations.
So I am going.
