“In this way, I will make known my holy name among my people of Israel. I will not let anyone bring shame on it. And the nations, too, will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel."
(Ezekiel 39:7)
God’s great purpose is to make Himself known. This is the great
emphasis of the Bible. God’s program of missions centers upon Himself. God’s
great concern is to glorify Himself and to make Himself known to all.
There is little room for God's glory while we
fill the earth with violence and oppression and while sin and death remain. A
great change is obviously necessary to bring about this wonderful time of
blessing, which we read of in many Bible prophecies (Psalm 72; Isaiah 32).
However great the change, its realisation is certain! This is the message of the
gospel (good news) which is taught throughout the Bible. Few realise that the
promise made to Abraham 2,000 years before Christ, is the foundation of the
gospel!
In
the New Testament, the book of Acts presents the gatherings of the churches that
met in homes, rather than at locations built for exclusive religious
expression. I Corinthians 14
addresses a great deal about anticipated activities, when the church is
gathered for meetings. There
are many listed activities, such as praying, instructing, speaking in tongues,
giving thanks and
singing hymns. Neither evangelism nor edification of God was the purpose of the gatherings.
This passage indicates that the purpose of all these shared activities was to
edify one another,
the Christians, themselves which brings glory to God. If, however, a non-believer were
to be present, although (s)he might not understand what is happening and why,
the observations
of and testimony of the believers will draw him/her to repent and worship God.
The Lord Jesus taught us to pray to our Father: “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We are to pray for God to be glorified in every place on earth and for people everywhere to serve him with joy.
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