"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “ All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:19-20
We as Christians often throw around the word, "lost." To the unbeliever, our usage of the word escapes them. They don't understand that we are talking about them, people who don't know God. In worldly terms, "lost" is defined as someone who is unable to find one's way, someone who does not know their whereabouts, or someone who is unable to be found. It can also be defined as something no longer retained or possessed. So to the world, they know who they are and where they are so they think it ludicrous to be called "lost."
Since we are discussing people who don't believe in Jesus, let's look for "lost" in the new testament. The word is used sixteen times in the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible. Except for one occurrence where lost is mórainó (I make foolish, make useless), the Greek word used is apollumi. This Greek word for "lost" is defined as destroyed, lost, perished. To further explain the meaning, apollumi is properly, fully destroyed, cut off entirely, violently and completely perished. It implies permanent and absolute destruction or cause to be lost (utterly perish) by experiencing a miserable end. Let's look at two verses that use apollumi to bring better understanding.
For the Son of man came to save [from the penalty of eternal death] that which was lost.
Amplified Bible Matthew 18:11
"for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
New King James Version Luke 19:10
In Matthew, Jesus is discussing that we must have the faith of a child to enter the kingdom of heaven. He also stresses that if anyone causes a child to stumble spiritually that there will be dire ramifications. Finally, we come to verse eleven where Jesus summarizes and begins the parable of the "99 sheep." Jesus tells us that He has come to save from the penalty of eternal death (separation from God) that which was apollumi, to be destroyed, perished, lost by experiencing a miserable end (hell).
In Luke when talking about how salvation has come to the house of Zacchaeus (tax collector, sinner), Jesus again summarizes that He has come to seek and to save from the penalty of eternal death that which was apollumi. This Greek word for "lost" is more than the worldly definition of someone who doesn't know their way. The word has spiritual meaning. Apollumi paints a picture of certain miserable destruction and an eternity separated from God. In a sense, a person is unable to know the way home and is doomed.
As we pray the F.L.O.C.K. acrostic, it is very important to understand who we are praying for when we come to "L" or "lost.". The basis of this prayer for the lost is in the two main passages tonight. These are Jesus' instructions to the believer. Through the study of these Scriptures, we will see that our instructions (mission) are very simple but can be very intimidating. Let's dig deeper into Acts.
Before returning to heaven, Jesus tells the disciples that they will soon receive "power" to help them. The Greek word is dunamis which is physical power, force, might. It is the source of the English word, dynamite. Dunamis describes a believer who is able to do powerful deeds and marvelous works by applying the Lord's inherent abilities. But how can we as sinners receive the power through God's ability? When God's holy, sacred, breath of life, the Holy Spirit, "has come upon you" (dwells in you).
Only through the dynamite of the Holy Spirit can we as believers fulfill Jesus' instruction to be "witnesses" of Him. The Greek word here is martus or an eye- or ear-witness who after His (Christ's) example have proved the strength and genuineness of their faith in Him by their belief and obedience to His instruction. Believers are to tell everyone about Jesus to the eschatos, remotest part of the ghay, the earth or the area we live which God uses to prepare us for eternity. RULE ONE: Tell the story.
In tonight's verse from Matthew, Jesus first establishes where He gets His authority or in the Greek, exousia. His power, moral authority, influence, conferred power, delegated empowerment comes from God. With that exousia, Jesus directs us to journey the world to all the nations. The translated word here for nations is ethnos which is race, people, the nations, heathen world, Gentiles. As believers, we are travel throughout the heathen, unbelieving world making disciples. More specifically, mathéteuó, we are to help someone to progressively learn the Word of God to become a matured, growing learner, a true Christ-follower. We are to train the new believer in the truths of Scripture and the lifestyle required, helping a believer learn to be a disciple of Christ in belief and practice. RULE TWO: Teach the life.
Pray authentically, personally, from the heart for the people in this world who are headed for a certain miserable destruction and an eternity separated from God (THE LOST). Pray that the lost will have open ears and hearts to hear the Gospel of Jesus. Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict us to proclaim the Gospel to the lost. We are all sinners. There is no one perfect. The result of our sinful, imperfect lives is death and separation from Christ. But the gift of God is Christ, His death, and His resurrection. By simply believing that Jesus died for our sins yesterday, today and tomorrow, we can be saved and live eternally with God. Pray the Holy Spirit will convict the lost of their need for a savior, our savior Jesus. In the end, we do not save. Our job is to Tell the story and for the lost who repent and believe - Teach the life.
