Christianity — The Greatest Movement in History

Christianity - The Greatest Movement in History

Time has proven the greatest movement in history has undeniably been the sustained growth and expansion of Christian faith, despite extreme persecution of its followers by oppressive regimes to eradicate it.

The ministry of Jesus spanned three short years. Yet today, roughly one third of the world’s population profess some form of Christianity — about 2.38 billion people according to the last count. Rather than a diminishing belief, people are coming to faith in Jesus Christ in greater numbers now than ever before.

Shortly after Jesus’ crucifixion, women approached his tomb to mourn and give Him a proper burial. How shocked they must have been at the angel’s announcement,

” . . . Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”
Matthew 28:5

Many people still believe Jesus to be dead, buried, and gone. Oh, how wrong their perception! Both He and His church are alive and well!

Just As He Said

On multiple occasions, Jesus forewarned His disciples about His death and ressurrection. He prepared them for the future, telling of many things yet to occur. Rather than the church weakening or becoming just-another-religious organization in His absence, He said Christianity would become a powerful, unflinching force that would neither cower nor bow.

“And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.”
Matthew 11:12 NLT

All the original apostles, except for Judas, Jesus’ betrayer, gave their lives for the sake of the Gospel. Faith in Jesus, rather than fear of political or religious leaders, drove them to ferociously defend and advance the Kingdom of God.

“We are certainly not those who are held back by fear and perish; we are among those who have faith and experience true life.”
Hebrews 11:39 TPT

The same attitude embodies Christians around the world today. Christianity remains the greatest movement throughout history.

Greater Works

It is difficult to comprehend Jesus’ promise that His followers would continue and exceed the ministry He began.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
John 14:12

Greater works than Jesus? Since Jesus said it, we can confidently believe.

Jesus didn’t leave us powerless. The indwelling Holy Spirit continues to flow through those who follow Him. Holy Spirit working within believers accomplishes the same things Jesus did when He walked among humanity. Now, with Jesus’ followers numbering in the billions, greater works are being done. Billions of Spirit-filled believers actively carry out His mandate around the world.

Much Fruit

The greatest movement in history continues to flourish and dominate social cultures and political landscapes, not apart from Jesus, but through Him, by Him, and for His glory.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5

In a recent dream, I saw a large, open field. I knew the land was once rolling terrain, dotted with sandy hills in some areas and wasted swamp in others. Yet, now the flat field produced an extremely thick crop of plump wheat. The ripe heads of wheat were thicker and fuller than any natural wheat heads. It was a supernatural crop. As the legal owner of the land, I knew it was my responsibility to bring in the harvest — an impossible task to accomplish on my own. This supernatural harvest would require a supernatural team, including Jesus and others.

Together

John records Jesus’ prayer — first for Himself, then for His followers, and finally for future believers (like you and me).

” . . . I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
John 17:20-23

This unity between believers from diverse denominations, complex cultures, and numerable nations creates a synergy, adding momentum to the greatest movement in history and bringing in the supernatural harvest. Christian unity offers people everywhere a visual demonstration that Jesus is alive.

Jesus continues to visit people through dreams and vision, supernatural healings, signs, and wonders. Borders cannot stop His entrance. Governments cannot stop His movement. His is alive! His church is growing exponentially in numbers and maturity. He compared it to yeast working through dough,

” . . . The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Matthew 13:33

Do Not Be Afraid

Sixty pounds of flour is a whole lot of flour! Once blended in, yeast can never be separated from the dough

The first words the angels spoke continue to resonate, “Do not be afraid!” Jesus continues to lead His church to victory! Rather than standing off in obscurity, He actively moves among us, drawing the prodigals home, opening the ears and eyes of the spiritually deaf and blind, while softening even the hardest of hearts.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9

Oh, precious reader, take courage! You are not alone! Wherever you live, God is with you. If you have declared Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you belong to His amazing powerful Church, the greatest movement in history.

**********

Worth, Benefit, Profit, or Value? Is It Worth it? Jesus is Worth It!

Missions

Is it worth it? This is a question we commonly ask when weighing the cost of a particular decision.  The “it” we are referring to when we pose this question can refer to a number of different things, such as our time, our money, our strength, our safety or our comfort.  We weigh the potential gain against the necessary risk to determine if we deem something to be “worth it” and decide accordingly.

Is it Worth it?

I remember telling a family member about our plans to do YWAM in 2012.  Their response sort of shocked me.  After sharing with them all the details of what we’d be doing, they said “well that’s a waste”.

It was during our time with YWAM that I first heard of missionaries who were serving in in the Middle East, and initially, I too was disinterested, and my heart was unmoved.  I thought “who would want to go there?

Lamp

Often when we first tell people about our plans to move to the Middle East, they have a similar reaction; an unmoved heart that questions whether what we’re doing is really worth it.

“Foolishness!”

“You’re going to waste your life in a country where many people will reject you and the message you are there to share?”

“That’s foolish!”

“A waste!”

Middle East

A Beautiful Thing

The disciples had the same reaction to a young woman when she poured her alabaster jar of costly perfume on to Jesus the week before he would be crucified.

Indignant, they said, “Why such waste? This perfume could have been sold and given to the poor!

When a room full of disciples, the very men who would establish the early church, looked down upon a young woman for what they saw as foolish devotion, Jesus does not stay silent.

He says “what she has done is a beautiful thing to Me”. 

And then the Son of God goes on to commemorate her act of extravagant devotion in saying that wherever the gospel is preached, so should the story of what Mary has done be told.

So then, is it worth it for us to move to there?  Is it worth it to leave the relative safety and comfort of Canada for the Middle East? What about spending years learning a new language and adapting to a foreign culture? Is it worth it?  Is it worth it to be thousands of miles apart from loved ones?

Middle East

No, it isn’t.  “It” is not worth it.

Then what motivates us to go?

It isn’t the need for workers, it’s not rules or commands, not our own compassion, nor is it statistics, or even a miraculous call.  All of these reasons have validity and play a part in why we are going, but none of the reasons above will be able to sustain or fulfill us.

Jesus is Worth It

We are going because our hearts are gripped by the realization that Jesus is worth it. 

He is worth it.  

We all have a choice to make when it comes to following Jesus.  Like the rich young ruler in the book of Matthew, we can choose to hold on to our treasure or follow Jesus.  That treasure will vary for each of us, but one thing is certain – if it is anything other than Jesus, we must lay it down to follow Him, for “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21).

Is it Worth It? Middle East

Give it Away

We can choose to hold on to something inferior to Christ and walk away sad and dejected, or we can believe that He is worth more than anything we could gain in life, and more precious and valuable than anything we could lose in death.

I want to be like the man who found a treasure in a field, then joyfully went and sold all that he had to buy the field.  I want to be like Mary, who upon realizing the worth of Jesus liquidated her inheritance as she poured expensive perfume over his head.

What has Jesus been calling you to give?

Go ahead, give it away.  You’ll find out that He truly is worthy of it all.

__________

(Posted with adaptations from A & A who are leaving for the Middle East within the next few months. If you would like to support them prayerfully or financially contact them @ ourambition@outlook.com )

__________

Here is another great blog!

The Ends of the Earth! No Small Task – Salvation to all Nations

The Ends of the Earth! No Small Task – Salvation to all Nations

Evangelism

The reach of the gospel of Jesus Christ is too small! Our prayers for the nations are too small! The Lord is worthy of the worship of every nation, tribe and tongue.

“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob

and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, 
that my salvation may reach to the 
ends of the earth.”
Isaiah 49:6

“It is too small a thing” for only God’s chosen people to obey and worship the Lord. He is too big, too awesome, too amazing for that! When we grasp how worthy our Saviour Jesus Christ is, we also begin to recognize how worthy He is of ALL worship and adoration.

The Need

We need a Saviour because of the sin nature that is within us all. God has set a plumb line of holiness; it is a standard unreachable by humanity.

  • Man has sinned and under the penalty of death (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).
  • Man’s sin exposed him to divine punishment (Rom. 1:18Isa. 53:6Jer. 17:9Psa. 14:3Rom. 1:18-325:108:7Col. 1:21).

Crucifixion

The Solution

God has a solution for our problem. Although, we all stand guilty before a holy God, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for both our sins and our sin nature (Rom. 5:68). Jesus took the punishment for our sins upon Himself on the cross.  (Gal. 3:13Rom. 3:25-265:8).

Christ, who was sinless, suffered and died for sinful men (2 Cor. 5:21). The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that God accepted this payment on our behalf.  (Rom. 1:4)

Resurrection

The Hope

My hope is not because I am not a sinner,
but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died.
My trust is not that I am holy,
but that, being unholy, Christ died for me.
My rest is, here, not in what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know,
but in what Christ is and must be,
–in what Christ did, and is still doing as He stands before yonder throne of glory.”
C. H. Spurgeon

I am impressed again by the reality that these truths. The fullness of the salvation that I know, though personal, is too wonderful to be kept to myself.

God longs for “...everyone to be saved and to understand the truth”. His goal is for salvation to reach to the ends of the earth.

One Worthy

Unless we believe for all people on earth to know this truth, we are thinking, praying, and believing too small.

“After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count,
from every nation and tribe and people and language,
standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.
They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.
And they were shouting with a great roar,
Salvation comes from our God
who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”
Revelation 7: 9-10

The greatness of God commands worship beyond our comprehension.

Heaven and Earth

“And all the angels were standing around the throne and
around the elders and the four living creatures;
and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying,
“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and
thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
be to our God forever and ever Amen.”
Revelation 7:11-12

Not Small!

May we pray big until all come into relationship with Jesus Christ. For me at least, I don’t think big enough! I’m not praying big enough!

Only when all the nations of the world resound together is glorious praise will worship and adoration be worthy of our God.

__________

Further Reading:

Are We Willing To Put Everything On The Line? What Would it Look Like if We Did?

__________