Discipleship & Worldwide Witness预览

God's heart

In the last book of the Bible - Revelation - you come across impressive scenes in which we can see what is to come and the result of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Today the focus is on Jesus and the people He bought with His blood:

“Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered (5:5)”

“And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.’” (5:8, 9)

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (7:9, 10)

And then there will come a time when a loud voice will sound:

“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (12:10, 11)

Can you picture it? A large group of people from all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages worship God together. How cool will that be!

Do you see the powerful testimony that comes from the people who were oppressed for sharing their faith in Jesus in words and deeds, by the way in which they lived? Impressive what it meant for them in real life was that Jesus was more important than their lives.

Do you see yourself standing there? You also stand somewhere in between - because you belong to the Lamb, right? And standing next to you are all these other people. You don't know them, but you know that all of you belong to the Lamb. Someone from a nearby village. Someone from your street. But also someone from the other side of the world. A motley crew - but all full of and for Jesus.

That group of people exists even now. It is not as visible yet, and we do not yet see the Lamb with our own eyes - but it is no less true. Your brother in the Lord in a village in Africa, your sister in an apartment in a suburb of New York, your brother serving as a missionary in India, your sister in a clothing factory in Bangladesh, your brother in Amsterdam with his good job, your sister in the University Medical Center, your sister in Cambodia who was sold as a prostitute, your brother in Thailand working as a slave on a fishing boat, or your sister as a cashier in a big supermarket in New Zealand.

In Jesus, we are all - everyone who believes in Him - one big family. One day we will all meet before the throne and worship the Lamb together. But even today we may already live in that reality.

Take the following questions to think about:

• How do you experience the global connection with your brothers and sisters in Christ?
• How do you make that practical this week?
• How do you care for your brothers and sisters? How can you take a step in this (and can you bring others into this)?

Prayer:

• Pray (along with someone else) for your brothers and sisters worldwide and think about how you can do that not just once, but as a rhythm that you build into your life, into your prayer life. Be creative. How can you involve brothers and sisters in your community in this? Ask God for this too!