Mark 16:15 – “And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world (the Gospel of Christ is not merely a western Gospel, as some claim, but is for the entirety of the world), and preach the Gospel to every creature (‘preaching’ is God’s method, as is here plainly obvious; as well, it is imperative that every single person have the opportunity to hear; this is the responsibility of every Believer).”

This Verse that I will be using as my Text for this article is known as “The Great Commission,” in that it was given by the Lord Jesus Christ to all who are His Followers, with the sole purpose being that of World Evangelism.  In fact, World Evangelism is the very heartbeat of this Youth Ministry.  God has Called Crossfire Youth Ministries to reach the four corners of this globe, and by the help and Grace of the Lord, we will do it.  As many of you know, we are living in uncertain times.  This beloved Nation of ours is in a mess, Spiritually speaking, and it will not get any better until the Lord comes back, bringing His Heavenly Headquarters down from Planet Heaven to Planet Earth, and then all the Earth will be changed back to its rightful and original state.  But until then, we must be about our Father’s Business.

Psalms 84:5-6 – “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You; in whose heart are the Ways of them. (Over and over again, the Ways of God are contrasted with the ways of man. ‘Blessed is the man’ who follows the Ways of God [His Way is in His Word]. There is no blessing to the man who follows the ways of man.)

“Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also fills the pools. (The ‘valley of Baca’ actually means ‘the valley of weeping.’ It produces a well of tears. If the spirit of the Believer is carnal, this valley will only be a ‘valley of weeping,’ but to the Spiritual Heart, it will be a new nature and unfailing reservoir of strength and refreshment.)”

The word “Baca” has a double meaning. First of all, it means “a garbage dump,” and secondly, it means a “place of tears,” or a “valley of weeping.” In regards to this first meaning, we have to admit that this world has become, and presently is, a garbage dump. Satan has taken that which God has created and turned it into a massive mess, in his effort to control the world system. Everything that God had created, Satan has made into a massive garbage heap. A place that is so vile, filthy, and ragged, with a stench that stings the very Nostrils of God. Secondly, “Baca” means a “valley of weeping,” and this can be indicative of every Child of God who has had to pass through a place of tears, suffering, and sorrow. But thank God that we do not have to stay in this place of weeping, we can make it through, and I would like to address how in a moment. First though, I would like to dive a little deeper into the double meaning of this word “Baca.”

I Chronicles 18:6 – “Then David put garrisons in Syria-damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought gifts. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went (it is the Will of God, and even the insistence of the Lord, that we subdue not just some of our spiritual enemies, but all; we must rule the sin nature, and not the sin nature ruling us [Rom. 6:3-14]).”

David is one of the greatest Bible characters found in the Word of God, and is one of my personal favorite persons to read about. In this particular Chapter, you will find David, the king of Israel, bringing Israel into a place where there are no enemies around them, for he had subdued them all. Likewise, we also find in this Chapter exactly how the Child of God should live, with all enemies subdued, living in a state of complete Victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil. We need to understand that this is not just a Bible story, but it can be the story of every person who names the Name of Jesus Christ, Victorious!

SUBDUING THE “INWARD FOES” IN OUR LIVES
Before we get into how this story can be applied to our lives, I would like to deal with a very important point that is the case of so much failure in the life of a Believer, the death of Saul at the hands of the Philistines. The last picture we see of Saul, the people’s king, is a man lying on the battlefield, dead from a self-inflicted wound by his own sword, in other words, he committed suicide. The Philistines were known as an “outward foe,” meaning that they were an enemy outside of the territory that God had promised Abraham, many years before, and this enemy had to be defeated. But, since Saul could not defeat the “inward foe,” which was the Jebusites, this “outward foe” defeated Saul. Before we can have Victory over the external foes in our lives, the internal foes must be defeated.

II Kings 13:17 – “And he said, Open the window eastward (why eastward? The sun rose in the east; therefore, the Lord, through Elisha and this symbolism, was telling the king of Israel that if true Repentance would be forthcoming, Israel’s sun would not be setting, but rather rising). And he opened it (thus far, the king operates in faith). Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for you shall smite the Syrians in Aphek, till you have consumed them (what a promise!).”

 THE CROSS IS THE DIVIDING LINE

 Once again, we must stress that the Cross of Christ is the dividing line, and has always been the dividing line, between the true Church and the apostate church. You can read about this “Dividing Line” in the very first pages of human history, in the story of Cain and Abel. Abel, a type of the true Church, offered his sacrifice that came from the flock. The lamb was inspected minutely, and was declared pure and spotless, and was offered as the sacrifice upon the Altar. The Altar was a Type of Calvary, and the lamb was a Type of Christ, Who was Pure, without spot or sin, and offered as our Substitute upon the Cross, to satisfy the demands of a thrice-Holy God. With this sacrifice, the Bible tells us that God accepted his offering.

II Kings 13:17 – “And he said, Open the window eastward (why eastward?  The sun rose in the east; therefore, the Lord, through Elisha and this symbolism, was telling the king of Israel that if true Repentance would be forthcoming, Israel’s sun would not be setting, but rather rising).  And he opened it (thus far, the king operates in faith).  Then Elisha said, Shoot.  And he shot.  And he said, “The arrow of the LORD’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria:  for you shall smite the Syrians in Aphek, till you have consumed them (what a promise!).”

Syria had made several strikes against Israel, and even at the time of this Text is pressing in one more time.  Joash, who was king of Israel, the Northern Kingdom (for the Nation of Israel is divided) not knowing what to do seeks out the Lord’s Prophet, Elisha.  First of all, this was not something that was usually done by kings, for kings did not wait upon the Prophet.  It was usually reversed; the Prophet would wait upon the king.  But because of the decline in health of the Prophet of God, Joash had no other choice; he had to come to where Elisha was.

John 16:7 – “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away (the Mission and Ministry of the Holy Spirit to the Body of Christ depended upon the return of Christ to the Father):  for if I go not away, the Comforter (Holy Spirit) will not come unto you (concerns the respective Office Work of Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit — Jesus as the Saviour of men, and the Holy Spirit as the Power of the Church); but if I depart, I will send Him unto you (a Finished Work on the Cross was demanded of Christ, before the Holy Spirit could be sent).”

THE CROSS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

Calvary was the single greatest Event that has ever happened in human history, for it was there where, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law (He did so at the Cross), being made a curse for us (He took the penalty of the Law, which meant death) . . .” (Gal. 3:13).  It was there at Calvary’s Cross where the sin debt, which was a debt man owed to God, was satisfied by “The Man,” Christ Jesus.  It was there where everyone who would simply say, “Yes,” to Jesus would be cleansed from every stain, and free from the bondage of sin.  It was the single greatest Event that the world has ever known!  This was what Christ came to do, that Redemption would be carried out through the Cross, thereby, granting mankind Eternal Life.

 The second greatest Event in human history was the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit that fell on the Day of Pentecost.  For it was on that Day, when the Holy Spirit came in a new Dimension, that was never before known on Planet Earth.  And it was all due to the Cross, the Price that Christ paid.