Going and Going and Going
"All nations will be blessed through Him," Ps. 72:17.

I nominate the Energizer® Bunny as a Christian symbol.

Let me explain. When we celebrate the Magi coming to worship the Christ
child, we often read Ps. 72:10: "The kings of Sheba and Seba will present him
gifts." Many a preacher (including myself) has stated in an Epiphany sermon,
"When the Magi presented gold, incense, and myrrh to Jesus, the prophecy of
Psalm 72 was fulfilled."

I agree and I disagree. When the Magi came, the prophecy began to be
fulfilled, but it was not completely fulfilled. You see, the fulfillment of
many mission prophecies keeps on going and going, just like the Energizer®
Bunny.

Ps. 72 promises the coming of an eternal king who will bring ongoing and
global peace. "He will rule from sea to sea and from the River [Euphrates] to
the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies
will lick the dust. The Kings of Tarshish [Spain] and of distant shores will
bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba [southwest Arabia] will
present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve
him. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one
to help." (8-12).

What kind of monarch can accomplish such wonders? Only King Jesus, our
eternal, all-powerful and holy King. Down through the centuries and still
today, whenever rulers and power brokers trust in Christ as their Savior,
Ps. 72 is fulfilled once again. Whenever believers, in the name of Christ the
King, serve the needy, rescue the oppressed and preach to them the Good
News, Ps. 72 is still being fulfilled.

God's mission promises are still being fulfilled today. Try to fathom what
this means. You and I have the honor of participating in the fulfillment of
God's mission prophecies! We do so in two ways. First, when we ourselves were
led by the Holy Spirit to trust in Christ, our conversion fulfilled in part
the promises of world evangelization. Second, whenever we share Christ with
others and they are blessed by Him, we witness a renewed fulfillment of the
promise: "All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him
blessed" (Ps. 72:17).

To participate with the Holy Spirit in the fulfillment of such prophecies is
the highest joy and honor. May God's ongoing mission prophecies energize you
to keep on going and going and going--

• in prayer for unreached people groups,
• in serving the needy and oppressed,
• in witnessing to the lost, and
• in church planting near and far.

Now can you picture the Energizer® Bunny in a stained-glass window?

1. If you were one of the Magi, what phrases from Ps. 72 would convince you
   to go and worship the Christ Child?
2. If the Magi (and other God-fearing Gentiles who were awaiting the promised Messiah) were the "first-fruits" of the non-Jews who would trust in Christ, which number fruit might you be?
3. What promises in Ps. 72 encourage you to keep on going and going in mission?