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Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV – all emphasis mine)

Our Savior did not set limits on how many people to pass His “Commission” to. Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am among them.

In John 20:21-23 we read, “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.'”

Acts 1:4-5, 8; “And while staying with them, He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father which He said you heard from Me. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now…. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Right after this statement, Jesus was “Raptured” back to Heaven.

John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3; “A voice cries in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” John himself acknowledged that he was the one preparing the way in Matthew 3:11, saying, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” It should be noted that John was a cousin of Jesus.

God has given each of us talents, though not the same ones to everyone. Romans 12: 3-5, “For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function; so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

Continuing with Romans 12:6-8, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them; if prophecy, in proportion to your faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with clearer fulness.”

The purpose behind all of this is not only to bring us closer to the Lord but to literally “Rescue” those who do not have Jesus as their Savior. Anyone who takes their last breath on this earth without Jesus as their Savior fwill go into the lake of fire forever. This is why we have God’s love letter to us (Bible) so that we may be saved, and to be able to try and Rescue the Perishing around us.

If this sounds familiar, In 1869, Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) wrote a hymn titled “Rescue The Perishing”. It is a call for all believers to honor the Savior’s call for a “Great Commission.”

1.) Rescue the perishing; care for the dying; snatch them in pity from sin and the grave. Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen; tell them of Jesus the mighty to save.

Ref.) Rescue the perishing, care for the dying; Jesus is merciful; Jesus will save.

2.) Though they are slighting Him, still He is waiting, waiting, the penitent child to receive. Plead with them earnestly; plead with them gently; He will forgive if only they believe. (ref)

3.) Down for the human heart, crushed by the tempter; feelings lie buried that grace can restore. Touched by a loving heart, weakened by kindness; chords that were broken will vibrate once more. (ref)

4.) Rescue the perishing, duty demands it; strength for thy labor the Lord will provide. Back to the narrow way, patiently win them; tell the poor wanderer a Savior has died. (ref)

When we understand what the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15 is all about, our concern should be for all our loved ones, that they should not be in attendance there. Sometimes, all we can do is pray that the Holy Spirit would touch their souls to make them aware they need Jesus as their Savior. Some of our loved ones won’t let us talk to them about Jesus. We ask daily that the Holy Spirit will touch their souls.

God will force no one to accept His Son, but He has given resources for those who truly want eternal life in Heaven. He also understands that the word of the cross is foolishness to those who have chosen this world over eternal Salvation. (1 Corinthians 1:18) The Savior Himself said there would be more on the road to destruction than on the narrow path to eternal life. (Matthew 7:13-14)

The only time it is too late to call on Jesus for forgiveness and be saved is after passing from life to death without ever having received and accepted Him as your Savior. Keep in mind Jesus was on that cruel cross being crucified between two criminals. One ridiculed Jesus and would not accept Him as Messiah. The other asked Jesus to “remember” him from that time on. One of those criminals is already in torment as the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus described. The one who called out for Jesus to save him was with Jesus before that day was over and will be with Him forever, just as Jesus promised.

No one has to do numerous works or perform any special deeds or pay any specific fee for their Salvation. None of this will work anyway. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works so that no one may boast.”

Romans 3:10; 3:23 6:23 and 10:9-13 state that we must admit we are sinners and confess that we believe in Jesus as our Lord, who the Father raised from the dead to conquer sin and death for us. Also, this applies to every single soul on this earth, as God will accept all who truly call on His Son to save them.

Likewise, all who refuse the free gift will spend eternity in the lake of fire with satan and all his demons.

There are no other options, no matter what any false preacher may tell you. It’s totally your decision, and now would be a great time to make your call for Salvation. No one is guaranteed another day on this earth.

God’s word is absolute truth, and His promises are pure. Titus 1:2 states He cannot lie. Just know that all who truly call out to be saved will have the Holy Spirit come to live within them. This is being “baptized” by the Holy Spirit, as John and Jesus said would happen.

Our greatest wish is that we will see you at the Rapture. That is right after we are able to stand after seeing our Savior in all His splendor and glory for the first time. It just may take the full 7 years of the tribulation for me personally to stand again.

Come, Lord Jesus – We are waiting for You!

huebshma46@gmail.com

(Also, see raptureforums.com Home/Featured Articles)

Let’s Take a Break

I reserve the right to, from time to time, write about something other than Israel’s perpetual wars (forced on the Jewish state by her neighbors, of course). My trips to Israel can give some different perspectives.

Also, I am frankly tired of some observers that only give us dark, scary forecasts.

You know me, I never worry that Israel will disappear. Scripture tells me she won’t. Others though traffic in fear and dread and skirt the issue of whether “Israel will survive or not.”

Not for me.

Today I want to take a real departure from our regular topics and present something I’ve wanted to do for some time. I’m preparing a longer version of this article for my Patreon page, so be looking for it.

The topic today is, Visiting Israel on a Budget!

Of course, some are more adventurous than others, but I’m here to tell you, you can go to Israel solo and save money. I am not discounting tours—no pun intended—because they are fantastic. It gives you a great overview and if you are blessed to go with a teaching pastor, a deluxe teaching pastor like Chris Quintana, then you will never forget it.

But if tour money intimidates you, let me explain some things to you. I’ve been to Israel 10 times, almost always on my own. Rent a car, book my hotels as I go, and do my own customized trip. You can also see some places not normally included on tours, such as Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, or the Haganah Museum (military museum) across the street.

It’s not really that hard, and unless there’s a war on—cough, cough—you’re as safe as you are at home.

One of my favorite things is to try as many different hotels as I can. I tend to stay away from international chain hotels (we can do that at home) and look instead for historical places or culturally interesting. Now, I am presenting this as a budget trip, but that doesn’t mean you eat bologna sandwiches all week. In fact, you can have a lot of fun splurging here and there based on money you’re saving elsewhere.

For example, let’s start with accommodations. I’ve stayed in most of the nicest hotels in Israel, and I highly HIGHLY recommend you save your pennies and stay at least one night at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. You will never regret it. It’s very expensive ($500 or more per night), but absolutely worth it. See if you can get an “Old City” view, which means your room will face east and the beautiful Old City is so close you feel like you can touch it. The breakfast is extraordinary; the room is so big you’ll think you’re in a warehouse. The architecture is Old World, in fact so Old World it will remind you of a Babylonian city.

Others that are wonderful are the American Colony Hotel, just north of the Old City. Here though you will be in Palestinian neighborhoods, but you’re very close to such sites as Gordon’s Calvary, etc. The building originally belonged to an Arab sheik, but was taken over by American missionaries in the 19^th century. Such luminaries as Winston Churchill, Marc Chagall, and Mark Twain have stayed there. Like at the King David, I stayed three nights and enjoyed it immensely. A great pool and a gathering place frequented by international media types. Never know who you’ll run into!

The Mt. Zion Hotel is also close by and the amazing feature is, it overlooks the “fabled” Valley of Gehenna, spoken of in the Bible. A few yards away is the traditional site of Judas’s hanging.

But let me spring something on you here. On my last trip, exactly a year ago, I found the courage within myself to stay in a…pod! I had read about them and decided I wanted to try it, if I could stand it, so that I could report back to my friends.

It was a fantastic experience. I found one in Tel Aviv, right across the street from the beach and two doors down from the luxurious David Intercontinental Hotel and the Dan Panorama. I figured if I couldn’t stand living in a commune for a night, I could switch! I didn’t want to. What you get is a large, box-shaped sleeping quarters, with a locking door. Each unit has air-conditioning and lighting. Also charging stations. Three feet from mine was the private shower. Listen to me: if I could do it, you can do it. I’m a private person but I never felt uncomfortable. It was a great experience. The selling point? I stayed for $40 per night! Amazing.

I wanted to be able to stay I’ve stayed everywhere in Israel!

Before I forget, at the time I got my plane ticket through Expedia, I only paid about $1,000—the cheapest ticket I’d had in 25 years. So, add that expense to your hotel stuff and you can get there and have lodgings for about $1,000 if you play it right. I rented a car for a couple hundred dollars and was able to eat economically. Remember, almost all hotels have a free breakfast.

Souvenirs are cheap, too. You can fill a suitcase with t-shirts for not a lot.

As I said, not everyone is adventurous, but don’t worry about your safety. I drove all over the country. I simply avoid Palestinian areas and the rest is a picnic. Dead Sea, the Galilee, Jaffa, Jerusalem…all within easy driving range. Use the GPS or rely on old-fashioned printed maps…the highway signs in Israel are good and easy to understand. All signs in the country are printed in Hebrew, English, and Arabic.

I would recommend noting the phone number and address of some official channels, such as the U.S. Embassy, but I’ve never used such. I want to keep reiterating the point that Israel is a very safe country to visit.

So think about it: for around half what a tour would cost, you could go solo to the Land of Israel. Something to think about.

One last thing for now. If you want to know my no. 1 site to visit in Israel, it is the Temple Mount. It’s the spiritual center of the universe and where the Jewish Temples once stood. Very few people will be able to say they’ve been there, this side of heaven, but when I go, I spend hours up there. It’s usually not hard to get up there. You just go early, then get in line by the security checkpoint to the right of the Western Wall. You then head up the ramp and before you know it, you’re walking where Jesus and the apostles walked. Where David bought the threshing floor. Where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice Isaac. And don’t forget to look east, to the Mount of Olives. I always imagine Jesus coming through the clouds and standing on the Mount of Olives, then walking through the Kidron Valley, to enter the Temple Mount and take His rightful place.

Well, I hope this has been beneficial to you. If you’d like to know more, as I said, I’ll be posting something soon on my site, with more detail.

Happy travels!

Our Great Commission :: By Dennis Huebshman

10 Jun 2024