Day 21

Week 3:  The Greatest Prayer Ever Prayed

Jesus Prayed That the World May be Saved

 

SCRIPTURE

• Luke 19:10 (NIV) ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

• Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV) ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹  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, ²⁰  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

OBSERVATION

Jesus’ mission was to seek and to save the lost and when He left earth He asks all of His followers to continue in that mission.  Anyone who becomes a follower of Christ automatically has been assigned the task of continuing Jesus’ mission.

UNDERSTANDING

Jesus prays that we will remain in the world.  Even though the world will hate us He does not remove us from this world because He has a job for us to do – He is sending us into the world to share the good news that God loves mankind and wants to restore them to relationship with Himself.  For everyone of us who are followers of Christ we have been given this mission – preach the gospel, leading people back to relationship with the Father, teaching them to obey the commands of God and encouraging them to go and do the same.  Sounds familiar?  At DSC the great commission is summed up in our strategy statement of…

Reaching out to lost people

Recruiting them into the family of God (salvation) and the family at DSC (fellowship with believers)

Resourcing (equipping) them so that they grow up in their spiritual maturity (teaching them to obey)

Releasing them to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

If you are growing as a disciple then you will be able to see the progression in these areas.  You will find that you are growing in your intimacy with God, His people and your desire to see people come to know God will also be increasing.

LIFE APPLICATION

We are “sent ones” sent by the Sent One.  This should be the priority of our life.  This mission is obviously close to Jesus’ heart, the question is, “Are you living on mission as a sent one of the Sent One?”

What changes need to be made in your life so that you can live more on mission?

Pray today and ask God to give you His heart for the lost.