Go is a word that should bring action. There must be a movement for us to fulfill its meaning. It may bring all sorts of pictures to your mind. I think of being at a stop light behind someone who is on their phone; the light turns green, and they sit still. I want to yell out go! It was a word I loved to hear when I ran track in high school. Nothing is worse than being on the starting block and waiting to hear the word that would allow me to move. In most cases, it is a very welcomed word, but for some, it will mean they must do something they really do not want to do. In the Bible, we see the word used over and over when God is seeking to accomplish His will in one of His children’s lives.
In the Old Testament, God first used this word in Genesis 7:1, “Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.” Noah obeyed, and God’s creation was preserved. God could trust Noah to obey because he had lived a life of obedience long before the Ark was built.
Genesis 6:8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”
Genesis 6:22 “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.”
An example in the New Testament is Acts 8:26, in which an angel tells Philip to go to Gaza. There was an Ethiopian reading the book of Isaiah while riding in a chariot. God instructs Philip to catch up with the chariot and ask if he understands what he is reading. In verse 31, the man replies, “ How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.” Because of Philip’s obedience, a man was saved, and the gospel was taken to another country. This is God’s plan for us today.
Act 8:26 “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.”
Act 8:29 “Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.”
Act 8:30-31 “And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.”
Noah and Philip both were faithful to go and do as God had instructed them. However, we are also given the command to go. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus appeared to the 11 disciples after His resurrection and told them to go into all the world and teach them about Him when they believed they were to baptize them. He then taught them to observe all He had commanded them. They were to win them and disciple them. But the first command was to go!
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
This was the command left to us. We are to go, tell, and when they repent and receive Jesus as their Savior, we are to disciple them.
While this command was for all Christians, few follow it. God wants us to be like Isaiah when he hears the voice of the Lord saying, in Isaiah 6:8, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” In Acts 1:8-9, Jesus was giving the disciples His last words before He went back to Heaven. He tells them again to go to Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth. We could say our city, state, country, and the world. We are to GO and tell. Everywhere we go, there are people without Jesus. In the grocery store, at school, at work, and in the neighborhood. We come in contact daily with those who don’t know about Jesus. Yet, we pass them by because we are too busy or too shy, and they die without Christ and spend eternity in Hell. We need to rethink our purpose for being left on earth after we are saved. While there are many things that keep us busy, our primary job is to tell others about Him.
Act 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.”
We have a command to go, not a suggestion. However, God gives you a choice to obey or disobey. He will allow you to be a Jonah. He received the call to go to the Ninevites, but he refused to go. His disobedience warranted him a ride in a whale for three days. God got his attention; does He have yours?
