Bible and Church History

The only authentic historical record of the beginning of time is the first chapter of Genesis. There was no man there until the sixth day. So how do we know what took place? God Himself has told us through the prophets and scribes with whom He shared the information. They wrote the information down, and now we have the facts from our Creator Himself, written in the Bible. So that's where we will begin here; at the beginning.

The Beginning - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Read the first chapter of Genesis for the details) And God made Man in His own image (male and female). But they sinned against the Lord and brought a curse on themselves and on all of the earth. All people have inherited the sin nature from that first man and woman (Adam and Eve). But God had a plan and He made a covenant of salvation with Adam and Eve (See the third chapter of Genesis).

Growth of the Human Family - Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren, etc. until there were many families of people on earth. But sin was increasing as the population on earth was increasing, and eventually God got fed up with the extreme wickedness everywhere, and He sent a great flood to destroy everyone but one family, the family of Noah (See Genesis 6,7,8).

The Flood and Covenant - The Lord told Noah to build an ark in which he and his family, along with two of every kind of animal, would survive the great flood. Noah and his family obeyed the Lord, and were saved in the ark. Then after the flood was over Noah worshipped God's way, and the Lord blessed Noah and his family and told them to "be fruitful and multiply". Also, God established His covenant with Noah and his family, and promised to never destroy the earth like that again. Then people began multiplying again.

The Tower of Babel - As the human family grew once again, they were all of one language and one culture. Within just three or four centuries, those who lived in the area called Babel started building a tower by which they thought that they could go to Heaven. But the Lord confounded their language and scattered them all over the earth, creating 70 different cultures from the one human race. People could no longer unite in rebellion against God.

The Beginning of a Holy Nation

Abram - Then the Lord spoke to a man named Abram and told him to go to the land of Canaan, where He would bless him and make of him a great nation. God promised to bless Abram and make him a blessing to every family in the earth. Abram believed the Lord and it was considered righteousness for him. So the Lord established His covenant with Abram and changed his name to Abraham, signifying that a new thing was happening in him, and that he would be the "father of many nations".

Isaac - Jacob - Israel - Then Abraham had a son named Isaac with whom the Lord established His covenant; …and Isaac had a son named Jacob with whom the Lord established His covenant, and God changed Jacob's name to Israel; and Jacob had 12 sons who became known as the children of Israel.

Israel in Egypt and God's Covenant with Israel - A great famine came in the land, and the whole family of Israel (70 souls) moved to Egypt where there was food. Then after the famine was over the Israelites stayed in Egypt, and eventually they became slaves to the Egyptians. It was 400 years before the Lord used Moses to deliver Israel from their bondage in Egypt. The Lord then established His covenant with Israel, but most of Israel died in the wilderness because of unbelief (not trusting the Lord), and the next generation went back to the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their "seed".

Israel's Sin in the Promised Land - When Israel finally settled down in Canaan, they began to sin against the Lord and worship other gods, and the Lord was angry and let their enemies rule over them. Then they cried to the Lord, and the Lord raised up judges to save them, but after a while they would go back to worshipping other gods, and the Lord finally got fed up with them and let their enemies rule over them continually. Then the Lord allowed kings to rule over them, but they would not stop sinning. Some of their kings were good kings, and some of them were evil kings.

King David and King Jesus - During this time the Lord anointed David, the son of Jesse, to be the king of Israel, and Israel was much better off during David's reign. David was a "man after God's own heart". David loved the Lord, but he also made some serious mistakes …yet he never worshipped other gods. So the Lord promised David that his "Son" would rule over the house of Israel forever, …and many prophets foretold the coming of the Kingdom of God in all the earth some day. The people thought that Solomon, the son of David, was the king that the Lord was talking about, but it wasn't him. Solomon became an idol worshipper. It was actually Nathan, one of David's other sons, which produced the linage in which Jesus Christ was born. Mary, Jesus' mother, was a descendant of David's son Nathan, not Solomon. And Jesus' father is God, making Jesus the King of Israel forever.

Jesus and the Kingdom of God - So in the fullness of time, Jesus was born, the "seed of a woman" as foretold in the third chapter of Genesis. Jesus lived on earth for 33 years …He died on the cross as the atonement for man's sin …and He rose from the dead to be the Savior, Lord, and King of all creation. Most of the Church knows these facts about Jesus, but many people are not aware of God's plan to fill the earth with His glory, by having His Church send missionaries to share the gospel of Christ with all nations, which means all people groups …all families in the earth, as He promised in Genesis 12:3.

Great Commission/Commandment - In Matthew 28:19 our Lord says, "Go and teach all nations (meaning all people groups) to observe whatsoever I have commanded you." In Mark 16:15 Jesus says, "Preach the gospel to every creature". The Church has been calling this the "Great Commission" for years. Actually …it's a commandment. It's not an option. The church that fails to obey this commandment will eventually become a spiritually "dead church".

The Holy Ghost and Missions - In Acts 1:8 our Lord promised to send the Holy Ghost to empower the Church to take the gospel to the "ends of the earth". The Holy Ghost was given so that the Church would have the power, the authority, the ability to obey Christ's command to share the Kingdom of God with the whole world; …to disciple all nations; …to fill the earth with His glory; …so that every knee will voluntarily bow and every tongue voluntarily confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father …amen! This is nothing more than what the Lord promised Abraham in the book of Genesis. It's the same covenant …"In your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed". In Galatians chapter 3 the Apostle Paul calls this "the gospel preached to Abraham", …and in verse 29 he says that if we are Christ's, then we are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise".

To Be Continued - (Church History of the Last 2000 Years ...coming soon)

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Brothers and sisters, we Christians have the opportunity and the responsibility to plant the Church in every people group on earth.

Get Involved - So here we are today. I do hope and pray that all of us will fully comprehend the will of the Lord and get involved in Christ's Global Mission. Each of us can do something. We may not be able to go as missionaries to an unreached people group, but at the very least we can pray for the people groups who so desperately need to hear the gospel, and we can pray for the missionaries who are targeting them for the gospel.

Recent research shows that there are 24,000 people groups on earth today, and 1/3 of them (8,000 people groups) still do not have a church movement among them that can evangelize their own people without outside help. They need missionaries. Will you go and take the gospel of Christ to them? …if not, …will you send someone in your place? There are thousands of missionary candidates preparing to go to them, and many are ready to go now, but they need our help in order to go.

Funds for Missions - I recently heard of a pastor who told his congregation that he had some good news and some bad news for them. The good news was that they had more than enough money to fund their missions program. The bad news was that the money was still in their pockets. Please don't let that be the case with you. Ask the Lord to show you what He would have you do …and do it.

Let's pray. ……. Our Father in Heaven ...Hallowed be Your name ...Your Kingdom come ...Your will be done in earth as it is in Heaven ...Give us this day our daily bread ...Forgive us our sins ...as we forgive those who have sinned against us ...Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil ...For it is Your Kingdom, and Your power, and Your glory forever. ...Amen!

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