Bella Vista Church of Christ
LIFELINES
June 13, 2001 Randall Caselman
Things Most Important
Jesus spent six weeks, 40 days, with His disciples between His resurrection and ascension. One would think that in such a short time, Jesus would address only those things which were of utmost importance in life, right? Note with me the post-resurrection narratives and let’s see what we can learn about things which are most important.
First, we notice His authority.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore...” You see, if Jesus has all authority, then He as the right to instruct us on how to live. If Jesus has all authority, then His voice must be heard over the din of the world. The question becomes, who regulates my life and yours? Does His authority impact our daily walk? Let’s see:
- Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
- I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish;
- Confess me before men;
- Seek you first the kingdom of God;
- Do not worry about your life what you will eat, drink, wear;
- Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth;
- Do not do your acts of righteousness to be seen of men;
- Love your enemies.
Secondly, we notice His emphasis on sharing the Gospel with others.
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them - and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Jesus’ priorities, His agenda, must become our priorities, our agenda. He came to seek and save the lost, to call sinners to repentance. It is amazing to me that we can go through life claiming to be His disciples yet never mention His name to anybody. This command was not just given to the apostles, but to disciples - the church - those of us who believe. The early church went everywhere preaching the Word. They understood this commission was to them.
The Great Commission is called great because it is of foremost importance. It is a must!! Peter said that salvation was found in no other name. This necessarily infers that we share Jesus with others, with our children, with our family, with our neighbors, with our friends and with the world, or - OR - they will be lost. Does this sound important to you? Share Jesus; He is the only answer to our sin problems.
Thirdly, we notice that knowledge of Jesus is important.
Luke’s post-resurrection narrative is found in two places, Luke 24.44-45 and Acts 1.3-9. In both these readings, the focus of Jesus’ teaching is upon Himself. Clearly, we must know Jesus.
1.
We must be able to prove His deity from the Old Testament scriptures. Jesus spoke of what had been written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Can we take a casual opening of the Old Testament and bring an individual to Christ, resulting in his or her baptism? Phillip could! We must become better Bible students. Know Jesus from the Old Testament.
2.
We must know Jesus from the New Testament. He said to them,
"These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you." Jesus came to teach us how to live. We know a lot of church doctrine, restoration history and the opinions of great men, but do we know Jesus? Do we know His heart, His mind, His disposition, His attitudes? How can we be like Him, how can we conform to His image, if we don’t know Him? Read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John-- know Jesus.
3.
We must have open minds. Luke says that Jesus
“opened their minds.” The Jews of Jesus’ day approached the scriptures with a closed mind and thus missed the greatest event in their history--the blessing of knowing Jesus - Messiah. What great blessings are we missing because we come to the Bible with a closed mind?
4.
We must accept the resurrection to know Jesus. In Acts, Luke says that Christ
“gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.” A dead Jesus, an occupied tomb, makes Christianity just another world religion, just another faith system to be espoused. But the resurrection proves that Jesus was really God in the flesh. The resurrection proved that He has power over death - His and ours. His resurrection is proof that He will come again. Know Jesus!
You see, some things are important. Some things just have a higher priority than others. What is important in my life and yours? Let us pray that it includes His authority, sharing salvation in His name and knowing Him so that we can be more like Him in heart, attitude and disposition.
RANDALL CASELMAN
