Reverend Ron Craig
The best way to understand why God is not personally righting wrongs and fixing the world’s problems today is to realize that He has commissioned others to do those things. To discover what may, or may not, be done regarding world problems, we must consider our Savior’s last words to His followers just before He ascended back to heaven. Matthew 28:18-20 is a good place to start. There, Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. You go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations: Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you: And behold, I am with you all of the days, even to the end of the age.” This is a literal rendering of that passage. Let us analyze it. Jesus Christ delegated the same authority to His followers (not just the twelve apostles) that had been given Him both in heaven and on earth. All authority in heaven and on this planet. That is a lot of authority! So why would God come to earth to accomplish the tasks He has commanded His Christian followers to do? Matthew 28:18-20 is just packed with clear instructions for the modern church. You see, when Jesus commanded to make disciples of all nations,
He expanded His commission beyond the twelve apostles. In that commission, He authorized all of His followers to minister in the very same way He and the twelve had done while Jesus was still on earth. How do I know that? In Matthew 28:20, the Lord commanded those original disciples to make more disciples, and teach them to minister the same way He had taught and commanded those twelve to minister. Where do we find those commands? In Matthew 10:1 and 7-8. Jesus solved the problems of every individual who came to Him and petitioned Him for help with their problems. He trained certain of His original followers to do the same. Then, He commanded those originals in Matthew 28:20 to train following generations of Christians to continue the supernatural ministry our Savior had established. (We have just begun this enlightening, promising, and challenging journey. Are you ready to see some of the world’s most challenging problems solved today?)
(If you are not a committed member of some other Christian fellowship, you are invited to visit Living Way Fellowship at 2041 County Road 73, in Killen area. From Killen, going north on US 43, turn right on County Road 73 and go 2 and 1/2 miles. We are on the right. You can’t miss the sign out front—Living Way Fellowship. Sunday 10:00 A.M., Wednesday 7:00 P.M. Ron Craig is the pastor, teacher and Christian book author. Contact us at ronwritercraig@gmail.com, or log onto our church website at www.livingwayfellowshiponline.org.)
