Day 1 - Week 84 - Continuing on with our Directions!!

We are now starting WEEK 84 --- before you know it, our journey will be finished.  But I hope we will continue putting God's Word into our hearts on a regular basis.  As I've said before, I know that I will be going back and reinforcing so many of these verses, firming them up in my memory, as I know so many of them have slipped through the cracks of my aging brain!  At first that really bothered me, that not all of them were staying put, but I became content with knowing that I'm adding Biblical thoughts and principles to my head through this process, and if I need to go back and review and reinforce later on, that's just fine.  Feeding my brain with the Words of God has been just what I have needed, and I plan to stay on this diet the rest of my life!

Let's do a quick review of our recent weeks:

Faith: Trusting God and Resting in His Word (12)
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift."
Ephesians 2:9 "Not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."
Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns
and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."
Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
Romans 1:17 "For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."
Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I will trust in You."
2 Chronicles 16:9 "The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."
Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

The Great Commission (4)
Matthew 28:18 "Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."
Matthew 28:19 "Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."


This week we'll add the third of our four verses regarding the Great Commission...the directions Christ gave us, as His disciples, before He left this earth.

So far we have Matthew 28:18, the affirmation of Jesus' authority to commission His followers.

Matthew 28:19,  Our "marching orders"...go and make disciples...everywhere.
Now adding on Matthew 28:20, "Teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.". 

On the previous post, I included a quote from David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary-explorer to Africa.  Robert J. Morgan includes this entry from Livingstone's journal dated on January 14, 1856 (almost exactly 100 years before my birth on January 13, 1956!) which shows his dependency on the words of Matthew 28:20...

I felt some turmoil of spirit in the evening a the prospect of having all my efforts for the welfare of this great region and in teeming population knocked on the head by savages tomorrow...But I read that Jesus said, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and on earth; go ye, therefore, and teach all nations...and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."  I took this as His word of honor and then went out to take observations for latitude and longitude, which I think were very successful.
 

Morgan adds, "The promise of God's presence is a potent reality for every Christian worker.  It was originally given to the eleven disciples on a hillside in Galilee; and it is so deeply impressed on one of them---Matthew---that he chose to end His Gospel with these words rather than by recording our Lord's ascension into heaven or the promise of His return.  What a joy to practice constantly the presence of the Lord!"

I am with you always...what a promise!  What a comfort!  What a God!  He is with us...what have we to fear?






 

Day 3 - Week 83 - Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

"If  a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"  David Livingstone

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."  Jim Elliott

"There are three indispensable requirements for a missionary: 1. Patience 2. Patience 3. Patience."  Hudson Taylor

"The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless." Billy Graham

"There are four things that we ought to do with the Word of God - admit it as the Word of God, commit it to our hearts and minds, submit to it, and transmit it to the world."  William Wilberforce

The above are quotes by disciples of Christ who took the Great Commission very seriously.

David Livingstone was an Scotchman who forsook his comfortable home in Glasgow in order to take the Gospel to Africa as a medical missionary in the mid-1800s.  He once said, "I place no value on anything I have or possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ."   He spent from 1840-1873 devoted to bringing the joy of Jesus to the interior of Africa.  Many of the time he spent away from his wife and five children.  He died an English hero, buried in Westminster Abbey.  Did he consider his commission to service to God a sacrifice?  Not at all, even though he sacrificed much of what we would consider the "good life."

Jim Elliot was a young man who graduated from Wheaton College in 1949.  While at Wheaton, Jim felt such a compulsion to share the Gospel with those who had not come to know Jesus that he would take the train into Chicago and spend the afternoon at the train station, ready to share with anyone that he could the good news of salvation.  Eventually, Jim felt called to travel to Ecuador to take God's Word to the Quichua Indians and specifically the Waodani tribe that lived in the deep jungle interiors.  Jim and the other missionaries of Mission Aviation Fellowship spent months preparing and learning as much of the Waodani language as they could from a young Waodani woman who came to them for help.  The Waodani's were an extremely violent and vicious people who had been cut off from society for centuries.  But Jim and his team were "commissioned" to take the Word to them, and they took their commission deadly serious, as they were massacred by the tribe upon their second arrival.  But the seeds planted on their first meeting, as well as with the Waodani woman whom had converted to Christianity through her relationship with the team, brought salvation to this tribe who now serves as light in the dark Ecuadoran jungle. Steve Saint, son of Nate Saint who was the pilot for Mission Aviation Fellowship continues to work with the Waodani's.  He calls Mincaye, one of the tribesman who killed his father, one of his closest friends.  "I came to speak God's carvings," Mincaye says, as Steve translates from Wao tededö into English. "Carvings" is the term the Waodani use for the Bible. "God tells us to teach the other people."  Disciples making disciples.

Billy Graham is a household name in the United States and in many other parts of the world.  He has been the primary proclaimer of God's Word in the 20th Century.  His evangelical crusades have brought the word to millions of people.  He has said, "My one purpose in life is to help people find a personal relationship with God, which, I believe comes through knowing Christ."  From the late 1940s up until today, he continues to stand for the Gospel.  He has spent the majority of his life away from his family in order to ensure that others have the opportunity to know that they are loved, forgiven and saved through the blood of Jesus.  He knew his commission, and he fulfilled it.

These three, Hudson Taylor and William Wilberforce quoted above, along with many, many more dedicated evangelists have responded to the Great Commission with absolute dedication and resolve. 

Have we all been called to commissions of this magnitude?  Probably not.  But we have all been called.  Are we taking our commission seriously?  Do we realize that eternal futures are at sake?  Or are we too self-minded to care enough for others to ensure that they have the knowledge necessary for them to understand the love, joy, and peace that is available to them? 

I pray to love others more, and to be ready to share, at any opportunity, the reason for the hope that I have within me.

Day 2 - Week 83 - Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

In Robert J. Morgan's book, "100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart", he recommends understanding the five great components of the Great Commission to better enable memorization. He lists the five components as:
 

1. Power

"The Great Commission begins with Christ's assertion of authority over heaven and earth. He has the right to send us even to those who don't invite us to come. We're authorized to go with the full backing of His unlimited power and authority."

I love that "He has the right to send us even to those who don't invite us to come." Jesus' authority overrides etiquette. We don't have to wait for an invitation...but where we go, we are to go with His grace, mercy and compassion.

2. Purpose

"We're to make disciples...A disciple is someone who confesses Christ as Lord, is actively growing in His Word, and is fully committed to His purpose of making other disciples."

If we allow it to be, the above should be convicting to those of us who have been Christians for a long time. Are we still showing the evidence of being disciples? Are we still actively growing in God's Word? Are we fully committed to His purpose of making other disciples? Or have we grown complacent in our discipleship. We certainly can't be enthusiastic about going out and "making disciples" if we aren't actively being disciples.

 

 

3. Place

"Our zone of ministry is the world: 'all nations.' Jesus predicted the gospel would be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations before He returns."

There is nowhere in the world that we are not to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No place should be beyond our concern. Whether we are physically going, or enabling others to go through our financial and prayer support, we should be passionate about the spread of the Gospel throughout the world.  With that being said, we should also be passionate about the Gospel being conveyed to every person living within our neighborhoods, our cities, our states and our country.  In fact, our immediate surroundings should be our primary place of influence.  It's sometimes easier to send money to others to spread the Gospel to the far corners of the world, than it is for us to take the courageous step of sharing our faith with the person who lives at the end of our block.
 

4. Plan

"Disciple-making involves two simple steps---baptizing and teaching.  Baptizing implies we've shared the Gospel and led someone to receive it.  Then we must teach that person."

"Discipleship isn't just a matter of book learning, but of lifestyle transformation."

 

Making a disciple does not end when you hear the person you've been talking to make their own personal profession of faith...that's just the beginning of their discipleship, and of your discipling of them.  To disciple means that you're willing to invest the time and energy that it will take to teach this new convert of what it means to be a Christian, and how their life is going to impact others, and that they too are to be passionate about discipling. 
 

5. Presence

"Just as Jesus began His Commission by asserting His power, He ended by promising His presence.  He'll abide with us always, to the end of the age.  He's a very present help, a Friend who sticks closer than a brother, and the unseen Partner in all our efforts for His Kingdom."
 

We never have to fear striking out on our own when we begin the adventure of discipline others.  Jesus has commissioned us, He has authorized us, and He is with us, always.  Whenever we have fears, doubts or uncertainties, we are to remember that He walks with us, that He is encouraging us, and that He is pleased when He hears us sharing Him with someone else.

Our lives here on earth, once we have become a Christian, are to be focused on discipleship...our own discipleship and making disciples of others, near and far.

Day 1 - Week 83 - Back after THANKSgiving!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful time of thanksgiving this past week.  Our family enjoyed a good times of eating, visiting and just "hanging out."  It was good to have our daughter and son-in-law here from Tulsa, and always fun to be around grandkids.  But most of all, it was good to take time to realize just how much we truly do have to be thankful for.  Even though the past months have been the hardest of our lives, we realize that God has blessed us with loving family, wonderful friends and so many people who have kept us in their prayers.  I know these prayers have made, and continue to make, a difference in our lives as we slowly, ever so slowly, make progress in this healing process that we will continue to go through.  And most importantly of all, we always give thanks that we have a Savior who, out of His love for us, took all of our sins with Him to the cross, died and through the power of God the Father, rose again.  Because of His testimony, we are assured of eternal life where we will never suffer the pain of death.  Hallelujah...that is cause for THANKSGIVING every day of every year!

Now, back to the Great Commission...remember our last verse?  It's been a few days since we've practiced it, so...do you remember?  Remember that before we can accept a commission, we need to be assured of the authority of the one issuing the directive!  So Matthew 28:18..."Then Jesus came near and said to them, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.'"

We are following the One of supreme authority.  Are we ready to receive His commission to us...it follows His statement of authority in the very next verse:

Matthew 28:19  "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Jesus entrusted the message of salvation to a band of uneducated nobodies, simply telling them to "Go"...if we stay seated, if we don't get up and move, if we stay in our comfort zones, we will miss the opportunities to make disciples. 

It is very easy for us to avoid the commission to be makers of disciples, excusing ourselves by saying that "evangelism is not our gift"...but Jesus didn't put that caveat in His commission.  He didn't say, "For those of you gifted to evangelize, you go and make disciples...."  No, He said it to every one of His group of vagabond followers who would "Go" and who would turn the world upside down.  None of them ignored His commission to them.  None of them failed Him.  They did it.  They went. 

What's your excuse?  It doesn't count.  "Go!"

Day 3 - Week 82 - Matthew 18:16 "Then Jesus came near and said to them, 'All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.'"

Who do you view as your authority figure?  Your boss?  Your parents?  Your teachers?  Government officials?  Judges? 

All of these are definitely authorities in our lives.  But who is your ultimate authority?  If it is anyone other than Jesus, the Son of God, you have misidentified your commander in chief.  For Jesus has been given ALL authority, not only over our earthly lives, but also over our eternal lives. 

Consider these verses...

Matthew 10:32  "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven."

Matthew 15:16-17  " 'But what about you?'  he asked. 'Who do you say I am?'  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."   Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah..."

John 20:31  "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

1 John 5:5  "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

Surrendering to the fact that Jesus is the authority over our lives is the faith step that takes us from mortality to immortality.  Here it is that we begin our "rebirth" into the realization that we were made for something more than this earth alone, we were designed for eternity, and Jesus is ready to begin to open our eyes to all of His truth.

When we recognize Jesus' authority over us, His Spirit comes to live within us.  His Spirit is now ready to teach us because we have put ourselves in a position of submission to His will over us.  Until this happens, the Holy Spirit will not force Himself upon us as unwilling participants.  We have to submit with our hearts to the authority of Christ.  

ALL authority has been given to Him...in heaven, on earth.  ALL will eventually acknowledge Him as King....

Philippians 2:9-11  "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

 

Get all excited go tell everybody that Jesus Christ is king!
I said get all excited go tell everybody that Jesus Christ is king!
Get all excited go tell everybody that Jesus Christ is king..
Jesus Christ is still the king of kings!

Let's get excited about our King...when we do, the Great Commission becomes our natural commission.  When we are excited about our news, we will be excited about sharing this wonderful, good news.  We have a great King and He is over all!   If we aren't excited, we should be...if we aren't excited, Holy Spirit please revive us to a spirit of excitement...light Your fire within us!

Hallelujah, Thine the glory...Hallelujah, Amen.  Hallelujah, Thine the glory, Revive us Again!
 

Day 2 - Week 82 - Matthew 28:17 "Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth."

"The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed." ~ Hudson Taylor.

Many of you will know who Hudson Taylor was, but many of you may not.  Hudson Taylor was the great evangelist to the Chinese.  He was born in 1832 and went to his heavenly home in 1905.  Hudson Taylor took the Great Commission seriously, spending 51 years of his life in China, spreading the gospel.  If it were not for Hudson Taylor's passion for spreading the Word of God, the church would likely not have a presence in communist China.  But because of the seeds he planted long ago, there remain faithful Chinese Christians...many of whom have been persecuted and imprisoned for their faith. 

Listen to the true zeal of Hudson Taylor's words... "If I had a thousand pounds, China should have it—if I had a thousand lives, China should have them. No! Not China, but Christ. Can we do too much for Him? Can we do enough for such a precious Saviour?"

That's the kind of zeal we should have...to carry in our hearts the impetus that Taylor carried, knowing that even though we can never do enough for such a precious Savior, we will give everything we have to show Him our gratitude.  And since Jesus' parting words to His followers were the commission to take the message of His love and forgiveness to the world, that is what He wants most from us as His followers of today as well.  It is the one thing that we can do that truly shows Him that we have listened to His words, that we have accepted His call, and just like His disciples, we are responding to His request to follow Him. 

Jesus, through His obedience to the cross and through His resurrection from the dead, declares His authority in heaven and on earth.  He is in the glorified position of authority, with everything and everyone under His command.  We either respond in submission or rebellion.  If we have claimed Him as our Savior, why would we want to do anything other than what He asks of us? 

Then why aren't we?  I know that many of us will say that we are not gifted evangelists.  Jesus didn't seem to give anyone an exemption, did He?  We are all called to share our faith...to go and make disciples. 

 

"Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere...go tell it on the mountain,

that Jesus Christ is born!"

 

Day 1 - Week 82 - On to the Great Commission!

We finished up our twelve verses of faith, and now we embark on the next leg of our journey.  It's a short leg - just four verses - all centered on the commission that Jesus gave to all who follow Him in faith to spread the gospel throughout the world.   I don't know about you, but I am feeling a greater compulsion than in the past to speak of my faith.  Maybe it is a part of getting older and not being as concerned about what people may think of you, and maybe it is growing in conviction of faith and realizing the urgency of letting people know that there is reason for hope, and that reason is named Jesus. 

What holds us back from sharing our faith?  Fear?  Fear of what?  Disapproval?  Well, would we rather have the disapproval of people or of our God?  Jesus has commissioned us to spread the Word...it is our job as His followers.  How are we doing?  How am I doing?  I know I have missed many opportunities, and that makes me very sad and it also makes me more determined not to miss future opportunities.  So maybe I'll become known as a "Jesus Freak."  I hope so!  Reminds me of the dc Talk song....

What will people think
When they hear that I'm a Jesus freak
What will people do when they find that it's true
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak
There ain't no disguising the truth

 

Let's throw away our fear and let's get bold in our witness.  Time is running out for someone you know, for someone I know.  Let's not miss the opportunities we are given...we have no assurances that we will have others.

 

We'll drop off the sections of verses on the Holy Spirit and on Joy to make room for our verses on The Great Commission:

Faith: Trusting God and Resting in His Word (12)
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift."
Ephesians 2:9 "Not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."
Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns
 and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."
Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
Romans 1:17 "For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."
Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I will trust in You."
2 Chronicles 16:9 "The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."
Hebrews 11:6  "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:18  "Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."

I can hear you saying, "That does not sound like a verse on spreading the Word to the world to me."  Well before someone accepts a commission, they need to know that the person sending them out on the mission to be accomplished has the authority to do so.  We need to be confident that Jesus is the One with the authority to send us forward.  When we have that confidence, we will not hesitate to do what He asks of us.  He is our commanding officer...we are His foot soldiers!  Let's march!