(Nuggets from Isaiah 49:6)
“And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth."
Isaiah 49:6 KJV
Seven hundred years before Bethlehem’s manger, while Jewish exiles sat weeping by Babylon’s rivers (Psalm 137:1), God dropped a MIND-BLOWING news of hope through Prophet Isaiah. The coming Messiah would not be a tribal Savior; He would be a global one. Restoring Israel alone? “Too small a thing,” God says.
Imagine the sun, 93 million miles away, yet blazing glory, reduced to lighting one backyard.
Totally Absurd, Wasteful and Pointless!
That is exactly how God saw salvation limited to one nation, Israel.
Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2) was destined to rise with healing in His wings for every continent, every nation, every tongue, every tribe.
This was no afterthought.
Before Abram was called and became Abraham, before Jacob became Israel, God had already declared, “In thy seed shall ALL the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18; 26:4);
Fantastically, there are 42 GENERATIONS from Abraham to Jesus; PROPHECY FULFILLED!
The COVENANT with Abraham was always GLOBAL. Paul later explodes with joy: “The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by FAITH, and announced the GOSPEL in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." (Galatians 3:8). The Jews were chosen not to monopolise salvation, but to midwife it to the world.
Fast-forward to when Jesus stepped onto history’s stage and announced, “I am the LIGHT OF THE WORLD.”
(John 8:12). Not just the LIGHT OF GALILEE, not just the LIGHT OF JUDEA; but THE LIGHT OF THE WHOLE WORLD.
Then, before He ascended, He handed the torch to every believer: “YOU are the light of the WORLD", Let your light shine before others.” (Matthew 5:14-16).
The baton is in your hand right now! The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you to push back darkness in your street, campus, office, village, and even the corners of the earth that are yet to be reached. (Romans 8:11; Acts 1:8).
Think of the Samaritan woman in John 4. Someone perceived as immoral and a Gentile who should not have any close ties with the Jews. But guess what? She met Jesus at a well, and In one conversation she got transformed, and an entire village streamed out to meet the Savior (John 4:39-42).
One life ignited—many saved.
That is exactly how THE GOSPEL LEAPS BORDERS.
Think of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. A high-ranking African official who was reading Isaiah 53 in his chariot. Philip, obedient to the Spirit, runs alongside, explains Jesus, baptizes him on the spot, and disappears. History has it that the eunuch carried the gospel back to ancient Ethiopia and lit a flame that still burns till today. Christianity stands as the largest religion in Ethiopia today; because of one obedient believer, another nation got touched.
Think of Cornelius in Acts 10.
He was a Roman centurion, a Gentile. God sent Peter across with the words, “What God has cleansed, do not call common, unhallowed or unclean.” (Acts 10:15). The Holy Spirit descended on the Gentiles while Peter was still preaching! The shocked Jewish believers exclaim, “God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life!” (Acts 11:18). The borders just crumbled again.
In the Middle-East, satellite TV and social media are smuggling the gospel past every checkpoint. In secular Europe, Iranian and Afghan refugees are meeting Jesus and planting churches faster than anyone can track. Salvation still has no borders. Christianity is making waves in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Sudan with thousands converting from Islam to Christianity.
SALVATION STILL PROVING TO BE BORDERLESS.
But there is a tragedy:
while the plan is GLOBAL, the response is often LOCAL and LAZY. There are still “Jacobs” among us, once blazing believers now backslidden, cold, wandering far from God. The same chapter that promises light to the nations also speaks of restoring “the preserved of Israel”, those who once walked with God but have stumbled. We must chase them like the Good Shepherd chases the one lost sheep
(Luke 15:4-7).
Place that phone call, visit them, go on follow-up, hold prayers, even go an extra mile by shedding tears to God seeking their immediate restoration.
Dear child of God, whatever it takes, bring Jacob home, but never let restoring the backslidden make you forget the billions who have never once heard the name of Jesus. More than 3.4 billion people today live in rural areas where the GOSPEL MESSAGE cannot be transmitted digitally, hence the need for MISSIONARIES. Thankfully, there are missionaries in most hinterlands, but the ratio of the laborers to the souls yet to be harvested is appalling.
Over 7,000 languages still have no Scripture, showing the urgent need to bridge this communication gap and get more translations of the Bible in both digital and paper formats.
“How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” (Romans 10:14). Someone must go, someone must sacrifice time, talent and resources, someone must pray. Someone must be ready to pay the price.
Jesus finished His part; He died, rose, and commissioned His disciples then and now, the mission is for you and I.
“As the Father has sent me, so send I you.” (John 20:21).
The Great Commission is not a mere Suggestion, it is the MARCHING ORDER of the King.
Your salvation was never meant to terminate on you. You were saved to be a searchlight. The same power that shook Babylon’s exiles with hope is shaking YOU today. Will you hide your candle under a bushel, or will you lift it high until the ends of the earth see it?
You don't need a megaphone now to reach the ends of the Earth.
At the time our Lord Jesus gave this GREAT COMMISSION, there was no technology, no internet, no social media. But today, from the comfort of your home, school, business place or office space, you can reach out to the world.
SALVATION HAS NO BORDERS.
The tomb is empty.
The throne is occupied.
The Spirit has been poured out.
The clock is ticking.
The nations are waiting.
Shine forth and let the whole world see the light in you.
DELAY NO FURTHER!
Be a radical evangelist, and run with this mandate till the knowledge of the glory of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)
This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE
DAY 329 OF 365 🔥
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