He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.[1 John 2:2]The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”— that is limitless (John 1:29). The missionary’s message is the limitless importance of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and a missionary is someone who is immersed in the truth of that revelation.
The real key to the missionary’s message is the “remissionary” aspect of Christ’s life, not His kindness, His goodness, or even His revealing of the fatherhood of God to us. “…repentance and remission of sins should be preached…to all nations…” (Luke 24:47). The greatest message of limitless importance is that “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins….” The missionary’s message is not nationalistic, favoring nations or individuals; it is “for the whole world.” When the Holy Spirit comes into me, He does not consider my partialities or preferences; He simply brings me into oneness with the Lord Jesus.
A missionary is someone who is bound by marriage to the stated mission and purpose of his Lord and Master. He is not to proclaim his own point of view, but is only to proclaim “the Lamb of God.” It is easier to belong to a faction that simply tells what Jesus Christ has done for me, and easier to become a devotee of divine healing, or of a special type of sanctification, or of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But Paul did not say, “Woe is me if I do not preach what Christ has done for me,” but, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). And this is the gospel— “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth.[The Place of Help, 1005 R]Bible in One Year: Isaiah 45-46; 1 Thessalonians 3
Isaiah 45:1 Thus says Adonai to Koresh, his anointed,
whose right hand he has grasped,
so that he subdues nations before him
and strips kings of their robes,
so that doors open in front of him,
and no gates are barred:
2 “I will go ahead of you,
levelling the hills,
shattering the bronze gates,
smashing the iron bars.
3 I will give you treasures
hoarded in the dark,
secret riches hidden away,
so that you will know that I, Adonai,
calling you by your name,
am the God of Isra’el.
4 It is for the sake of Ya‘akov my servant,
yes, for Isra’el my elect,
that I call you by your name
and give you a title, although you don’t know me.
5 I am Adonai; there is no other;
besides me there is no God.
I am arming you, although you don’t know me,
6 so that those from the east and those from the west
will know that there is none besides me —
I am Adonai; there is no other.
7 I form light, I create darkness;
I make well-being, I create woe;
I, Adonai, do all these things.
8 “Heavens above, rain down justice;
let the clouds pour it down.
Let the earth open,
so that salvation springs up,
and justice sprouts with it.
I, Adonai, have created it.”
9 Woe to anyone who argues with his maker,
like potsherds lying on the ground!
Does the clay ask the potter, “What are you doing?”
or, “What’s this you’re making, that has no hands?”
10 Woe to him who asks a father,
“Of what are you the father?”
or who asks a woman,
“To what are you giving birth?”
11 Thus says Adonai,
the Holy One of Isra’el, his Maker:
“You ask for signs concerning my children?
You give orders concerning the work of my hands?
12 I am the one who made the earth!
I created human beings on it!
I — my hands — stretched out the heavens,
and directed all their number.
13 I am stirring up Koresh to righteousness,
I am smoothing out all his paths.
He will rebuild my city;
and he will free my exiles,
taking neither ransom nor bribe,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
14 Here is what Adonai says:
“The earnings of Egypt, the commerce of Ethiopia,
and men of stature from S’va
will come over to you and become yours;
they will come in chains and follow you.
They will prostrate themselves before you;
they will pray to you:
‘Surely God is with you; there is no other,
other gods are nothing.’”
15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
God of Isra’el, Savior!
16 The idol-makers will be ashamed,
disgraced, all of them;
they will go dishonored together.
17 But Isra’el, saved by Adonai
with an everlasting salvation,
you will never, ever, be ashamed or disgraced.
18 For thus says Adonai, who created the heavens,
God, who shaped and made the earth,
who established and created it not to be chaos,
but formed it to be lived in:
“I am Adonai; there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants of Ya‘akov,
‘It is in vain that you will seek me.’
I, Adonai, speak rightly; I say what is true.
20 Assemble, come and gather together,
you refugees from the nations!
Those carrying their wooden idols are ignorant,
they pray to a god that cannot save.
21 Let them stand and present their case!
Indeed, let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
announced it in times gone by?
Wasn’t it I, Adonai?
There is no other God besides me,
a just God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22 Look to me, and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God;
there is no other.
23 In the name of myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has rightly gone out,
a word that will not return —
that to me every knee will bow
and every tongue will swear 24 about me
that only in Adonai
are justice and strength.”
All who rage against him
will come to him ashamed,
25 but all the descendants of Isra’el
will find justice and glory in Adonai.
46:1 Bel bows down, N’vo stoops low;
their idols are borne by animals, beasts of burden.
The loads you yourselves were carrying
are now burdening tired animals.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but themselves go into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, house of Ya‘akov,
all who remain of the house of Isra’el:
I have borne you from birth,
carried you since the womb.
4 Till your old age I will be the same —
I will carry you until your hair is white.
I have made you, and I will bear you;
yes, I will carry and save you.
5 To whom will you liken me and equate me?
With whom will you compare me, as if we were similar?”
6 They squander the gold from their bags
and weigh silver on a scale;
they hire a goldsmith to make a god,
before which they fall down and worship!
7 It is borne on shoulders and carried,
then set in its place; and there it stands.
From its place it does not move.
If one cries to it, it cannot answer
or save anyone from his troubles.
8 Remember this, and stand firm.
Keep it in mind, you rebels.
9 “Remember things that happened
at the beginning, long ago —
that I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 At the beginning I announce the end,
proclaim in advance things not yet done;
and I say that my plan will hold,
I will do everything I please to do.
11 I call a bird of prey from the east,
the man I intended, from a distant country.
I have spoken and will bring it about;
I have made a plan, and I will fulfill it.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn people,
so far from righteousness:
13 I am bringing my justice nearer,
it is not far away;
my salvation will not be delayed,
I will place my salvation in Tziyon
for Isra’el my glory.
1 Thessalonians 3:1
So when we could no longer stand it, we agreed to be left in Athens alone 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker for the Good News of the Messiah, to make you solid and encourage you in your trust; 3 so that none of you would let these persecutions unsettle him. For you yourselves know that these are bound to come to us; 4 even when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were about to be persecuted; and indeed it has happened, as you know. 5 That is the reason why, after I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your trust. I was afraid that somehow the Tempter had tempted you, and our hard work had been wasted.
6 But now Timothy has come to us from you, bringing good news about your trust and love, and telling us that you remember us well and are always longing to see us, just as we long to see you. 7 Because of this, brothers, in spite of all our trouble and distress, we were comforted over you — because of your trust; 8 so that now we are alive; since you continue to stand fast, united with the Lord.
9 Indeed, how can we thank God enough for you or express to our God all the joy we feel because of you? 10 Night and day we pray as hard as we can that we will be able to see you face to face and supply whatever shortcomings there may be in your trust. 11 May God our Father and our Lord Yeshua direct our way to you.
12 And as for you, may the Lord make you increase and overflow in love toward each other, indeed, toward everyone, just as we do toward you; 13 so that he may give you the inner strength to be blameless, by reason of your holiness, when you stand before God our Father at the coming of our Lord Yeshua with all his angels.
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My Utmost for His Highest in Crewe, England [Great Britain], United Kingdom "The Key to the Missionary’s Work" by Oswald Chambers for Friday, 14 October 2016
My Utmost for His Highest in Crewe, England [Great Britain], United Kingdom "The Key to the Missionary’s Work" by Oswald Chambers for Friday, 14 October 2016
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…"[Matthew 28:18-19]The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the lost will never be saved if we don’t go— He simply says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations….” He says, “Go on the basis of the revealed truth of My sovereignty, teaching and preaching out of your living experience of Me.”
“Then the eleven disciples went…to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them” (Matthew 28:16). If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him myself. I must take time to worship the One whose name I bear. Jesus says, “Come to Me…”— that is the place to meet Jesus— “all you who labor and are heavy laden…” (Matthew 11:28)— and how many missionaries are! We completely dismiss these wonderful words of the universal Sovereign of the world, but they are the words of Jesus to His disciples meant for here and now.
“Go therefore….” To “go” simply means to live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say in this verse, “Go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria,” but, “…you shall be witnesses to Me in [all these places].” He takes upon Himself the work of sending us.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” (John 15:7)— that is the way to keepgoing. Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings.
“None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus…” (Acts 20:24). That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is an easy thing to argue from precedent because it makes everything simple, but it is a risky thing to do. Give God “elbow room”; let Him come into His universe as He pleases. If we confine God in His working to religious people or to certain ways, we place ourselves on an equality with God.[Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L]Bible in One Year: Isaiah 43-44; 1 Thessalonians 2Isaiah 43:1 But now this is what Adonai says,
he who created you, Ya‘akov,
he who formed you, Isra’el:
“Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you;
I am calling you by your name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through water, I will be with you;
when you pass through rivers, they will not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched —
the flame will not burn you.
3 For I am Adonai, your God,
the Holy One of Isra’el, your Savior —
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and S’va for you.
4 Because I regard you as valued and honored,
and because I love you.
For you I will give people,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
I will bring your descendants from the east,
and I will gather you from the west;
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Don’t hold them back!
Bring my sons from far away,
and my daughters from the ends of the earth,
7 everyone who bears my name,
whom I created for my glory —
I formed him, yes, I made him.’”
8 Bring forward the people who are blind but have eyes,
also the deaf who have ears.
9 All the nations are gathered together,
and the peoples are assembled.
Who among them can proclaim this
and reveal what happened in the past?
Let them bring their witnesses to justify themselves,
so that others, on hearing, can say, “That’s true.”
10 “You are my witnesses,” says Adonai,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you can know and trust me
and understand that I am he —
no god was produced before me,
nor will any be after me.
11 I, yes I, am Adonai;
besides me there is no deliverer.
12 I have declared, saved and proclaimed —
not some alien god among you.
Therefore you are my witnesses,”
says Adonai. “I am God.
13 Since days began, I have been he.
No one can deliver from my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?”
14 Here is what Adonai, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Isra’el, says:
“For your sake I have sent [an army] to Bavel
and knocked down the fleeing Kasdim, all of them;
their songs of triumph are now lamentations.
15 I am Adonai, your Holy One,
the Creator of Isra’el, your King.”
16 Here is what Adonai says,
who made a way in the sea,
a path through the raging waves;
17 who led out chariot and horse,
the army in its strength —
they lay down, never to rise again,
snuffed out and quenched like a wick:
18 “Stop dwelling on past events
and brooding over times gone by;
19 I am doing something new;
it’s springing up — can’t you see it?
I am making a road in the desert,
rivers in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
because I put water in the desert,
rivers in the wasteland,
for my chosen people to drink,
21 the people I formed for myself,
so that they would proclaim my praise.
22 But you haven’t called on me, Ya‘akov;
because you have grown weary of me, Isra’el.
23 You have not brought me sheep for your burnt offerings,
you have not honored me with your sacrifices.
I didn’t burden you by requiring grain offerings.
or weary you by demanding frankincense.
24 You have not spent money to buy me sweet cane
or filled me with the fat of your sacrifices.
Instead, you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your crimes.
25 I, yes I, am the one who blots out
your offenses for my own sake;
I will not remember your sins.
26 Remind me when we’re in court together —
tell your side, make the case that you are right.
27 Your first father sinned,
and your spokesmen rebelled against me.
28 Therefore I repudiated the officials of the sanctuary,
delivered Ya‘akov to the curse of destruction,
and subjected Isra’el to scorn.
44:1 “Now listen, Ya‘akov my servant,
Isra’el whom I have chosen:
2 Thus says Adonai, who made you,
formed you in the womb, and will help you:
Don’t be afraid, Ya‘akov my servant,
Yeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit on your descendants,
my blessing on your offspring.
4 They will spring up among the grass
like willows on the riverbanks.
5 One will say, ‘I belong to Adonai.’
Another will be called by the name of Ya‘akov.
Yet another will write that he belongs to Adonai.
and adopt the surname Isra’el.”
6 Thus says Adonai, Isra’el’s King
and Redeemer, Adonai-Tzva’ot:
“I am the first, and I am the last;
besides me there is no God.
7 Who is like me? Let him speak out!
Let him show me clearly what has been happening
since I set up the eternal people;
let him foretell future signs and events.
8 Don’t be frightened, don’t be afraid —
Didn’t I tell you this long ago?
I foretold it, and you are my witnesses.
Is there any God besides me?
There is no other Rock — I know of none.”
9 All idol-makers amount to nothing;
their precious productions profit no one;
and their witnesses, to their own shame,
neither see nor understand.
10 Who would fashion a god or cast an image
that profits no one anything?
11 All involved will be ashamed,
but more than anyone else, the people who made them.
Let them all be assembled, let them stand up;
let them fear and be shamed together.
12 A blacksmith makes a tool over burning coals;
with his strong arm he shapes it with hammers.
But when he gets hungry, his strength fails;
if he doesn’t drink water, he grows tired.
13 A carpenter takes his measurements,
sketches the shape with a stylus,
planes the wood, checks it with calipers,
and carves it into the shape of a man;
and, since it is honored like a man,
of course it has to live in a house.
14 He goes to chop down cedars;
he takes an evergreen and an oak;
he especially tends one tree in the forest,
plants a pine for the rain to nourish.
15 In time, when it’s ready for use as fuel,
he takes some of it to keep himself warm
and burns some more to bake bread.
Then he makes a god and worships it,
carves it into an idol and falls down before it.
16 So half of it he burns in the fire;
with that half he roasts meat and eats his fill;
he warms himself; says, “It feels so good,
getting warm while watching the flames!”
17 With the rest of the log he fashions a god,
a carved image, then falls down before it;
he worships it and prays to it.
“Save me,” he says, “for you are my god!”
18 Such people know nothing, understand nothing.
Their eyes are sealed shut, so that they can’t see;
their hearts too, so they can’t understand.
19 Not one thinks to himself or has the knowledge
or the discernment to say,
“I burned half of it in the fire,
baked bread on its coals, roasted meat and ate it.
Should I now make the rest an abomination?
Should I prostrate myself to a tree trunk?”
20 He is relying on ashes!
A deceived heart has led him astray;
so that now he won’t save himself, just won’t say,
“This thing in my hand is a fraud!”
21 “Keep these matters in mind, Ya‘akov,
for you, Isra’el, are my servant.
I formed you, you are my own servant;
Isra’el, don’t forget me.
22 Like a thick cloud, I wipe away your offenses;
like a cloud, your sins.
Come back to me, for I have redeemed you.”
23 Sing, you heavens, for Adonai has done it!
Shout, you depths of the earth!
Mountains, break out into song,
along with every tree in the forest!
For Adonai has redeemed Ya‘akov;
he glorifies himself in Isra’el.
24 Here is what Adonai says, your Redeemer,
he who formed you in the womb:
“I am Adonai, who makes all things,
who stretched out the heavens all alone,
who spread out the earth all by myself.
25 I frustrate false prophets and their omens,
I make fools of diviners,
I drive back the sages
and make their wisdom look silly.
26 I confirm my servants’ prophecies
and make my messengers’ plans succeed.
I say of Yerushalayim: ‘She will be lived in,’
of the cities of Y’hudah, ‘They will be rebuilt;
I will restore their ruins.’
27 I say to the deep sea, ‘Dry up!
I will make your streams run dry.’
28 I say of Koresh, ‘He is my shepherd,
he will do everything I want.
He will say of Yerushalayim,
“You will be rebuilt,”
and of the temple,
“Your foundation will be laid.”’”
1 Thessalonians 2:1 You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not fruitless. 2 On the contrary, although we had already suffered and been outraged in Philippi, as you know, we had the courage, united with our God, to tell you the Good News even under great pressure. 3 For the appeal we make does not flow from error or from impure motives, neither do we try to trick people. 4 Instead, since God has tested us and found us fit to be entrusted with Good News, this is how we speak: not to win favor with people but with God, who tests our hearts. 5 For, as you know, never did we employ flattering talk, nor did we put on a false front to mask greed — God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek human praise — either from you or from others. 7 As emissaries of the Messiah, we could have made our weight felt; but instead, we were gentle when we were with you, like a mother feeding and caring for her children. 8 We were so devoted to you that we were glad to share with you not only God’s Good News but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 9 For you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship, how we worked night and day not to put a burden on any of you while we were proclaiming God’s Good News to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless our behavior was in the sight of you believers; 11 for you know that we treated each one of you the way a father treats his children — 12 we encouraged you and comforted you and appealed to you to lead lives worthy of God, who calls you into his Kingdom and glory.
13 Another reason we regularly thank God is that when you heard the Word of God from us, you received it not merely as a human word, but as it truly is, God’s Word, which is at work in you believers. 14 For, brothers, you came to be imitators of God’s congregations in Y’hudah that are united with the Messiah Yeshua — you suffered the same things from your countrymen as they did from the Judeans who 15 both killed the Lord Yeshua and the prophets, and chased us out too. They are displeasing God and opposing all mankind 16 by trying to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles, so that they may be delivered. Their object seems to be always to make their sins as bad as possible! But God’s fury will catch up with them in the end.
17 And as for us, brothers, when we were deprived of your company for a short time — in person, but not in thought — we missed you and tried hard to come and see you. 18 We wanted so much to come to you — I, Sha’ul, tried more than once — but the Adversary stopped us. 19 For when our Lord Yeshua returns, what will be our hope, our joy, our crown to boast about? Won’t it be you? 20 Yes, you are our glory and our joy!
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My Utmost for His Highest © 1927 in the U.K. by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. © 1935 by Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. All rights reserved. United States publication rights are held by Discovery House, which is affiliated with Our Daily Bread Ministries.
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