Genesis 12:1-3 (NIV) 1The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Amos 9:11-12 (NIV) 11“In that day “I will restore David’s fallen shelter— I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins— and will rebuild it as it used to be, 12so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,” declares the LORD, who will do these things.
Acts 15:12-18 (NIV) 12The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: 16“‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, 17that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’— 18things known from long ago.
The prophecy in Gen. 12:1-3 becomes a reality after Jesus’ death and resurrection as the church begins to grow. The church starts in Jerusalem, restoring the nation Israel, and then it moves form Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
On the day of Pentecost, there were Jewish people from all parts of the world who had come to celebrate the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and they heard the gospel - that Jesus was fully God and fully man, and that He died to pay for humanity’s sin. The message began to spread to the outermost parts of the world through these first Jewish missionaries. The good news began to be received by Gentiles who were God-fearers; the Holy Spirit confirmed that the message was even for the Gentiles.
When Jesus was born, the wisemen represented the Gentiles from the most farthest reaches of the world coming to Jesus. Today, the message of God’s great love for His creation continues to be proclaimed to the least reached people of the world. International workers are being sent out to the hardest to reach places, while, at the same time, people from around the world are coming to us ... to your neigbourhood.
As you enter the Christmas week, your world (neighbours, friends, co-workers and family) is engaged in celebrating this holiday season called Christmas. Is there a way that you can present the gospel, in a compelling way, to those in your world who do not understand the gospel? Spend some time in prayer for those in your world who do not know Jesus personally, and ask God to show you how you can be used by Him to present the gospel.
Memory Verse: Romans 10:14 (NIV)
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?