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A Passion for the Great Commission By Massimo Lorenzini The Lifesaving Station An unknown author wrote that on a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks were frequent, there once existed a little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted volunteers kept a constant watch over the sea. With no thought for their safety they went out day and night, tirelessly rescuing the lost. Many lives were saved, and the station became famous. Some
of those who were saved, along with others in the surrounding area, wanted to
become associated with the station. They gave time, money, and effort to
support its work. They bought new boats and trained new crews, and the
lifesaving station grew. Some
of those who volunteered at the station soon became upset that the building was
so crude and poorly equipped. They felt a more comfortable place should be
provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. So they replaced the
emergency cots and beds and put better furniture in a new, larger building. As
a result, the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its
volunteers. They decorated it exquisitely and began to use it as a club and
even charged membership dues. Because fewer members were now interested in
going to sea on lifesaving missions, they hired lifeboat crews to do the work.
The lifesaving motif still prevailed on the club emblems and stationary,
however, and there was a symbolic lifeboat in the room where club initiations
were held. At
about this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews
brought in loads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. Because these survivors
were dirty and sick, they soon messed up the beautiful new club. So the
property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where
the shipwreck victims could be cleaned up before coming inside. At
the next meeting there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members
wanted to stop the lifesaving activities altogether because they thought it was
a hindrance and unpleasant to the normal social life of the club. Other members
insisted on lifesaving as their primary purpose and pointed out that, after
all, the club was still a lifesaving station. But those members were finally
voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of various people
shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down
the coast, which they did. As
the years went by, the new station gradually faced the same problems the other
one had experienced. It, too, evolved into a club, and its lifesaving work
became less and less of a priority. The few members who remained dedicated to
saving lives founded yet another lifesaving station. History continued to
repeat itself, and if you visit that coast today you’ll find a number of
exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent, but most of the
people drown. Application To Us . . .
So what is our purpose anyway? What should be our driving passion and purpose as followers of Christ and as His church? Let’s consider that by first looking at some lessons Jesus taught His disciples. What The Disciples Learned About Discipleship
Before
we go on to discuss the Great Commission, we need to be clear on the basic
truths of discipleship. This is really prerequisite for involvement in the
Great Commission. Before we can be making disciples we have to ask ourselves,
“Am I a disciple?” What are a few of
the things that Jesus’ disciples learned from Him about discipleship? 1) They learned to make the kingdom of God their
priority. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matt 6:33, NKJV). In
the context, Jesus is teaching on not worrying about our physical needs. While
these are important, they are not the most important things we should give
attention to. As Americans, we have to fight this hard because we are
constantly bombarded by advertising to want more and better stuff. Our culture
teaches us to seek the “American dream” of getting a good education and a good
job, owning a home, having 2.3 children, having nice things and great
vacations, and retiring early and comfortably. While there is nothing wrong
with any of those things in themselves, they can become a snare to keep us from
the best thing which is to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. So,
to be a disciple of Jesus you must make the kingdom of God your priority above
everything else in your life. 2)
They learned that Jesus is the King of God’s kingdom. He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ [God’s anointed, the King], the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt 16:15-17, NKJV). Notice
that Peter didn’t say, “Some people say you are the King.” No, he said with
full confidence, “You are the Christ [the Messiah, the anointed of God, the
Davidic King].” And this truth was given to him by the revelation of God. In
fact, “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor
12:3b, NKJV). Have you confessed that Jesus is the King? Do you truly believe
and submit to the truth that He is Lord? You can only do so by the power of the
Holy Spirit. The natural man will not submit his mind to this truth. But the
renewed man does heartily. He willingly confesses that Jesus is the Lord, the
King. He is not just a king. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is
the One that we owe full and unswerving allegiance to. Anything less is
treasonous, cowardly, and deceitful. 3) They learned that Jesus was establishing His
church. And I also say to you that you are
Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall
not prevail against it (Matt 16:18, NKJV). Jesus,
the King, is building His church on the confession of faith that He is the
Savior-King. The church of King Jesus is manifestation of the kingdom of God in
the present age. Local churches are really outposts of the kingdom. They are
not just religious organizations that exist as one among many communities in
the “global village.” No, a church is made up of kingdom citizens who will one
day live in the fully-realized and established kingdom of God during the
Millenial reign of King Jesus. God the Father has promised to Jesus, the
Davidic King, the right to rule the world: “Ask of Me, and I will give You the
nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall [rule] them with a rod of iron” (Ps 2:8-9b, NKJV; Cf. Rev 2:26-27). Do
you realize that you are citizen of the kingdom of Jesus? Does your life show
that you are preparing for life in that kingdom rather than living for this age
that will perish? This is what a disciple does. 4) They learned that to follow Jesus would entail
great commitment and sacrifice on their part. 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone
desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what
profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or
what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of
Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will
reward each according to his works. 28 Assuredly, I say to you,
there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of
Man coming in His kingdom (Matt 16:24-28, NJKV).” From this teaching of Jesus, the disciples learned
four truths about discipleship:
First, they were to submit
to the requirements of discipleship, v. 24. Verse
24 reads, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after
Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.’ ” Here are the terms for being a disciple of Jesus. If
you want to enter God’s kingdom, you must enter by Jesus. And if you want to
enter by Jesus, you must come on His terms. Denying self is not self-deprivation,
self-inflicted pain, or asceticism. Denying self means to forget yourself, to
disown yourself, to disregard yourself. It means to get your attention off of
yourself and your own ambitions, desires, and ideas. It has to do with denying
your independence from God or your autonomy, your self-government. One way to understand the
idea of denying self is to contrast it with its opposite. The heart of Satanism
is to exalt self—doing whatever you want apart from God. One of the goals of
Satanism, according to The Satanic Bible written by Anton LaVey, is to
reach your highest potential as a human being (independently of God). On the
other hand, the disciple of Jesus must conform himself to the will of God and
that means denying self not exalting it. Denying self also
has to do with denying the sinful aspect of self—the flesh. Your flesh is
corrupt. You cannot do anything good in your own flesh. You cannot save
yourself. You cannot be righteous in your flesh. Your flesh cannot contribute
anything to your redemption. By living according to the flesh you are condemned
to eternal destruction and in your self you can do nothing to change that fact.
So you must look outside of yourself to the Savior. You must realize that you
are spiritually bankrupt, spiritually dead. You must deny your sinful self. You
must repent of your sins and follow Jesus. Paul wrote to the Ephesians
about “putting off the old self” and “putting on the new self.” So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that
you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God
because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so
as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. You,
however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were
taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught,
with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which
is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of
your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:17-24, NIV, emphasis added). Denying self is the way into
the kingdom and the way of life within the kingdom. Paul declared this truth of
denying self in order to allow Christ to be his source of life in Galatians
2:20: “I have
been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The
life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave himself for me” (NIV). “Take up your
cross” – This does not mean bearing some common trial or hardship. It’s not
just putting up with an angry boss or having a physical handicap. It’s not
having a difficult family member and just resigning to accept it as “my cross
to bear.” What did the disciples think of when Jesus said this? They knew it as
a cruel instrument of execution used as a strong deterrent against insurrection
and other serious crimes. Not many years before this, 100 men had been
crucified in the area. A century earlier, Alexander Janneus had crucified 800
Jewish rebels at Jerusalem, and after the revolt that followed the death of
Herod the Great, 2,000 Jews were crucified by the Roman proconsul Varus. Many
others were crucified during Jesus’ lifetime. It was a common sight. When Jesus said, “take up
your cross,” the disciples pictured people carrying the cross beam of their
execution stake. They were walking to their death. To follow Jesus means to
follow Him even if it brings hardship or death knowing that we are partakers of
the suffering that Christ endured for us (1 Pet 4:12-14). “Follow Me” – This means we
must imitate Jesus in loyal obedience. The Message Bible reads, “Then Jesus
went to work on His disciples. ‘Anyone who intends to come with Me has to let
Me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat, I am. Don’t run from suffering, embrace
it. Follow Me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all.
Self-sacrifice is the way, My way, to finding yourself, your true self.’ “ This call to discipleship is not an obscure teaching.
It is a recurring theme in Jesus’ teachings. There are parallel passages of
this text in Mark 8:34-38 and Luke 9:23-26. Similar teachings are found in
Matthew 10:38-39; Luke 14:25-35; Luke 17:33; and John 12:25. So the first truth
the disciples learned is that they were to submit to the requirements of
discipleship. Second, they were to understand the reason for
discipleship, vv. 25-26. “For
whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole
world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his
soul?” This paradox about losing
one’s life in order to find it illustrates the previous demand for self-denial.
Life and soul are the same word in the Greek. It means self or the real you. I
see two ways to apply verse 25. First, I see a present application (not
exegetical): You will find life here. Isn’t it your experience that living the
Christian life is so much better than living as an unbeliever? However, we must
be careful here because the Lord has not promised a higher quality of life in
this world. On the contrary He promised tribulation and persecution which has
been much more common in church history than our experience as Americans. But
even if tribulation should come to us, I think there is still a definite inward
peace and joy, regardless of our circumstances, that far exceeds anything we
ever experienced apart from knowing Christ. Second, I see, and the text
declares, a future application (exegetical): You will find life in
glory. You may experience great loss in this life as a result of following
Jesus. But you will gain so much more in the life to come by inheriting eternal
life. This eternal life is not merely quantity of life, though it certainly
includes that. Eternal life is a far superior quality of life than we can ever
imagine (Eph 3:20). The Amplified Bible reads, “For whoever is bent on
saving his (temporal) life (his comfort and security here) shall lose it
(eternal life); and whoever loses his life (his comfort and security here) for
My sake shall find it (life everlasting).” Do you desire to live life on
your own terms? Are you wanting thrills, romance, success—all apart from
surrender to Christ? If you chase that, you will lose it all. You will lose
your soul. You will get an eternity of true independence from God—the Bible
calls that Hell. Matthew Henry said, “Many a
one has ruined his eternal interests by his preposterous and inordinate care to
secure and advance his temporal ones.” We need an eternal perspective in order
to guard against forfeiting our eternal well-being and perfect happiness for
temporary comforts and pleasures that never truly satisfy. If you reject
discipleship, what you’re really saying to God is, “I know this is your
program, but I’m better than that. That may be for some people, but there’s
something bigger and more important in life to me, and I’d rather give myself
to that.” Well, Jesus goes along with that for a moment and says in verse 26,
“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses
his own soul?” This is hyperbole, an
extreme exaggeration. Let’s follow the Lord’s logic here. What do you consider
life to be? Now assume that you could have that a million times over. Suppose
you had everything you want. Suppose you had the whole world! What do you
profit when in the process you lose your own soul, your life, your true self
and end up separated from God for eternity in Hell? Continuing on in verse 26
Jesus says, “Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” There’s no way
to buy salvation, even if you possess the whole world. You cannot obtain
eternal life on your own terms. You must submit to Jesus’ requirements for
discipleship. Are you willing to forfeit
your soul for material things? Is there anything you are willing to forfeit
your soul and eternal life for? Is there anything that is more important to you
than following Jesus by accepting His terms of discipleship? Don’t let anything
stand between you and Christ. The cost is too great! Do you trust Jesus
enough to surrender your life to Him? Do you trust Him enough to follow Him
even if it means suffering here on earth in order to follow Him? How about
suffering enough to say no to some things you like to do that keep you from
doing the things He wants you to do? Are you willing to deny yourself enough to
attend church consistently and lead your family according to God’s will? Are
you willing to deny yourself enough to make time to serve Christ in ministry to
others? Remember, Jesus didn’t say following Him would be comfortable and
convenient. He said you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him! So the second truth Jesus’
disciples learned is to understand the reason for discipleship. Third, they were to realize
the reward for discipleship, v. 27. Now consider verse
27, “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His
angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” Nothing goes unnoticed with God. Matthew
Henry said, “The rewarding of men according to their works is deferred till
that day. Here good and evil seem to be dispensed promiscuously; but in that
day all will be set right.” By keeping that day in view, we can remember the
importance of following God’s agenda, not ours. William McDonald said, “The
only way to have a successful life is to project yourself forward to that
glorious time, decide what will be really important then, and then go after
that with all your strength.” There’s
going to be a payday someday. Jesus will reward you “according to your works.” Have
you committed yourself and all your energies and resources to following Jesus?
Or do you only serve yourself? If
you are saved, you will spend eternity with God. But for all that time you will
not be able to do anything to extend the Kingdom of God or gain rewards. You
only have one chance to do that, and that is during your life here on earth.
Meditate on that thought sometime. Think about how you will feel when you stand
before Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for what you did
with your short life. Imagine the joy you will feel when you can say to Him
that you lived your life purposefully to serve Him. Imagine how you will feel
when He rewards you for your faithfulness and labors. On the other hand, imagine the pain and regret you will feel when you
have to stand before Him with shame that you weren’t faithful with all the time
and resources He gave. Imagine the pain of entering glory with nothing to show
for your life. Your only opportunity to do anything to extend the Kingdom and
earn rewards is what you do with your time here and now. That’s a powerful
motive for wanting to make your life count for eternity. Let me add another aspect about rewards. Do you love Jesus? Do you want
to show Him how grateful you are for what He has done for you? Don’t you wish
sometimes that you could do something in return for all He has done for you?
When we receive our crowns in heaven, that is the only thing you will be able
to offer Him. . . . the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who
sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast
their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord to receive
glory and honor and power; for You created all things and by Your will they
exist and were created” (Rev 4:10-11, NKJV, emphasis added). The only thing you will wish for in that day is that you had a bigger
crown to cast at Jesus’ throne. Now is your opportunity to serve Him and get
the biggest crown you can get to just turn around and offer it back to Him in
praise and thanksgiving. Is that incentive or what? Thirdly, the disciples were to realize the reward for
discipleship. Fourth,
they were to remember the royal source of discipleship, v. 28. Finally, verse 28 reads, “Assuredly, I
say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they
see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
What does this mean? See Matthew 17:1-9, the transfiguration of Jesus. I
believe Jesus gave three of His disciples this preview of His coming glory to
encourage them in continuing in the real messianic program. Peter, James, and
John were there and both Peter and John refer to it in their writings. In 2
Peter 1:16-18, Peter said he was one of the “eyewitnesses of His majesty.” John
wrote in John 1:14 “we beheld His glory.” We must remember that Jesus is the
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He has the absolute right to make demands of
us and we have no right to refuse Him. His kingdom, His plan is the only one
that matters and we need to get on with His program. So
we’ve learned four truths about discipleship:
Now, we turn our attention
to two final lessons the disciples learned from Jesus. 5) They learned that Jesus
gave His life to redeem sinners. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Matt 20:28, NKJV). In this passage, Jesus was teaching against having unbridled self-centered ambition. To counter this mindset He used Himself as an example of selfless servanthood culminating in the giving of His own life “in the place of many” as a substitutionary atonement for sin to satisfy the justice and wrath of God against guilty sinners. 6) They learned that Jesus’ plan for them after His
crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension was for them to go and make disciples
of all the nations by the proclamation of the gospel. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt 28:18-20, NKJV). And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15, NKJV). The disciples learned to find their place in God’s
universe and God’s plan to redeem it by following Jesus and teaching others to
follow Him as well.
So, What Is A Disciple Anyway? Disciple is a term that applies to every believer. It is someone who is a learner and a follower. And just as disciple refers to every true believer, so the Great Commission is Jesus’ mandate for every believer—the pattern of the normal Christian life. One author wrote, “The word ‘disciple’ occurs 269 times in the New Testament. ‘Christian’ is found only three times and was first introduced to refer precisely to disciples . . . . The disciple of Jesus is not the deluxe or heavy-duty model of the Christian—especially padded, textured, streamlined, and empowered for the fast lane on the straight and narrow way. He stands on the pages of the New Testament as the first level of basic transportation in the Kingdom of God.” God’s Eternal Purpose So, what’s the point of being a disciple and making disciples? What’s this all about? What does God want us to learn from Him concerning His purpose in history? And, how does His purpose affect our purpose? God created the universe to be the stage whereupon He would display His glory. You can think of God’s glory as “the beauty of His manifold perfections” (John Piper, Desiring God, p. 43). God’s purpose in creating the universe and redeeming fallen mankind is to display His glory through the manifestation of His divine attributes. God created the human race and has so orchestrated the events of human history including the fall, the flood, the formation of the nation of Israel, the incarnation and atonement of Christ, the creation of the church, and the coming end times events of judgment and restoration of creation all for the purpose of demonstrating His attributes. Through the fall and redemption of man God has manifested His righteousness and His love. In the one act of Christ dying on the cross, God demonstrated His justice and His mercy. It was all in God’s infinite wisdom that He has orchestrated all of the events of history and it was all done to the “praise of His glory.” All of history is moving to the day when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14; Cf. Isa 11:9). God is so glorious and He finds so much joy in His own glory that He wants others to behold Him and rejoice in Him as well. He doesn’t need His creatures, but He created man to take part in His own perfect happiness. It was out of the overflow of the joy that the Triune God possesses in His own being that He wanted others to participate in it and rejoice in it with Him. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires (2 Pet 1:2-4, NIV). The Apostle John refers to this participation in the divine nature as “eternal life” or simply “life.” In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God
in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was
made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of
men (John 1:1-4, NIV). After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began (John 17:1-5, NIV). That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete (1 John 1:1-4, NIV). 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 (John 20:31, NIV). So God’s plan to manifest His glory and share His joy with us concentrates on what I call the Messianic program. This refers to God’s plan to send Jesus to be the substitutionary atonement for sin in order to obtain a “bride” made up of a multitude from every people group who would worship and glorify and enjoy Him forever. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth” (Rev 5:9-10, NASB). This is what the Abrahamic Covenant is all about: God is calling out a people for His name. Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:1-3, NASB). From Abraham, God created the nation of Israel, out of which came countless descendants. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore (Heb. 11:12; cf. Gen. 15:5, NIV). But this isn’t just fulfilled by Abraham’s physical descendants. The Apostle Paul tells us: You
see, then, that those who have faith are Abraham's real descendants. Because
the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles by faith, it announced the
gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, “Through you all nations will be blessed.” Therefore, those who believe are blessed together with
Abraham, the one who believed (Gal 3:7-9, ISV). God is blessing the nations through Abraham’s seed—Jesus Christ. And we are called to take part in this through the Great Commission! God’s desire to bless the nations is powerfully communicated by Jesus in the parable of the great supper. When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner’ ” (Luke 14: 15-24, NASB). So from the divine perspective, the Great Commission is the greatest priority in this present age. If we believe that, then we should make it our greatest priority. Now someone may object saying that the primary purpose of the Christian is to glorify God and the Great Commission is only one way of glorifying God. In essence, I agree. But what’s the best way to glorify God during this life on earth? John Piper said, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church, worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When people from all nations are before the throne, missions ends. Missions is a temporary necessity, but worship is eternal.” The Need For On-Going Personal Revival On-going personal revival is necessary to personal evangelism and disciple-making. If you aren’t actively following Christ and experiencing His life in you, then you cannot pass it on to someone else.
If
this doesn’t describe your present Christian experience, God wants to change
that. Take some time in the coming days to get alone with God and just pour out
your heart to Him in adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication
(ACTS). Ask Him to change you to become a man after God’s own heart. Tell Him
that you want to be a disciple; you want to be a learner and a follower; you
want to follow Christ in His Great Commission. So
what is this Great Commission anyway? The One Command Of The Great Commission Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:16-20, NIV). The heart of the Great Commission is one command explained by three participial phrases. The only command of this passage is to make disciples. The three participial phrases are: going, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey. These phrases describe the process of making disciples which includes evangelizing, edifying, and equipping. going – tells us that making disciples is a matter of lifestyle that takes place as we move about in the world and proclaim the Gospel to those we meet. This phrase describes the lifestyle of continually working to evangelize the lost for Christ. We don’t baptize unbelievers, so it is implicit that we first evangelize as we are going so we would have some people to baptize and teach. “Going” doesn’t only refer to those who go to a particular place to proclaim Christ, such as missionaries who go to a particular country. This word, “going,” really describes more the idea of “as you go through life.” It’s not about going to a particular place. Rather, it tells us to be witnesses for Christ wherever we go. Some other translations translate this word as: having gone, when you go, wherever you go, as you are going. Now does this mean that we don’t go to particular places and preach Christ where He hasn’t been named? Absolutely not. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (NIV). That phrase, “ends of the earth” is literally “to the last part of the earth” (eschatou). So we haven’t fulfilled the Great Commission until we have witnessed for Christ and made disciples among every people group until we have done so in the “last part” of the earth. However, we don’t start there. We begin with our own Jerusalem. That is, we faithfully minister the gospel in our own city or town, then we move on to our own Judea and Samaria which would correspond the regions around where we live. Then we are to take the gospel to those far away places until we have reached that very last part. So what we learn from understanding that this word “go” means “wherever you go” doesn’t diminish international missions at all. Rather it calls us to have a missions mindset for all of life whether we are talking with a neighbor or traveling overseas to do pioneer missons. Baptizing them – is a reference to the formal act of publicly demonstrating repentance and faith in Christ through water baptism. The word “in” is literally “into” which signifies that the subject of baptism is brought into fellowship with and under the authority of Him in whose name he is baptized as God’s own possession. For us, the phrase, compels us to help people become rooted and established in the faith after they come to salvation in Christ. It means edifying or building them up in their spiritual growth as new believers. Teaching them to obey – is the process of equipping people to put their faith into action. A disciple is one who chooses to follow his master and desires to become like him. Equipping goes beyond teaching someone the Bible. It involves developing skills, attitudes, and actions consistent with the life of Christ. It includes equipping people to make disciples of their own peers. Are you beginning
to catch the dynamics of these words? They cover the entire process of making
disciples: evangelizing, edifying, equipping. This process begins when we go to
where people are, explain the Gospel to them, gather those who repent and ground
them in the faith, and teach them to share Christ and His truth with others.
There is a profound balance in this process; nothing dominates to the exclusion
of other priorities. Now let’s bring
this all together and paraphrase the Great Commission in order to see what we
have learned. As you are going throughout the world [anywhere and everywhere during the course of your lives], make disciples [as a matter of habit, lifestyle, and constant priority], baptizing people who choose to follow me [as part of the process of establishing them in the faith]. And make it your habit to be teaching them to observe all of the things I have worked to teach you [equipping them to carry on these very priorities in their lives, obeying and serving me fully] (from Dann Spader and Gary Mayes, The Everyday Commission: Discovering the Joy of Partnership with God!).
Disciple-Making As
Reproduction And Multiplication It has been said that, among Bible-believing Christians it takes fifty Christian years to lead one unbeliever to Christ. That is, on the average, it takes fifty years for a Bible-believing Christian to win one person to the Lord, or it takes fifty Christians to win one in a year. At this rate, if each believer lived fifty years after his salvation, he would leave only one believer to replace himself (not considering any children or grandchildren that may, or may not, be/remain in the faith). Truly, this is a statistic of failure. It represents a dismal failure to obey The Great Commission. Healthy disciples, like healthy cells, reproduce themselves. Reproduction and multiplication is something that God has ordained as a natural part of the life cycle. After creating Adam and Eve, God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 2:28). In other words, reproduce and multiply. Walter Henrichsen, in his book Disciples Are Made Not Born, wrote: “Let’s say for example that a gifted evangelist is able to lead 1,000 people to Christ every day. Each year he will have reached 365,000 people, a phenomenal ministry indeed. Let’s compare him with a disciple who leads not 1,000 people a day to Christ, but only one person a year. At the end of the year, the disciple has one convert; the evangelist, 365,000. But suppose the disciple has not only led this man to Christ, but has also discipled him. He has prayed with him, taught him how to feed himself from the Word of God, gotten him into fellowship with like-minded believers, taken him out on evangelism and showed him how to present the Gospel to other people. At the end of that first year, this new convert is able to lead another man to Christ and follow him up as he himself has been followed up. At the start of the second year, the disciple has doubled his ministry—the one has become two. During the second year, each man goes out and leads not 1,000 people per day to Christ, but one person per year. At the end of the second year, we have four people. You can see how slow our process is. But note, too, that we do not have only converts, but disciples who are able to reproduce themselves. At this rate of doubling every year, the disciple leading one man per year to Christ, will overtake the evangelist numerically somewhere in the 19th year. From then on, the disciple and his multiplying ministry will be propagating faster than the combined ministry of dozens of gifted evangelists (Walter Henrichsen, Disciples Are Made Not Born, 141-42).” God's plan in the Great Commission is for believers to reproduce in a manner that is significantly similar to human reproduction. The world's population is exploding. God's plan, as set forth in the Great Commission is for explosive reproduction of believers by discipling each new believer to reproductive maturity. What Did This Look Like In The New Testament?
Paul’s relationship with his younger disciple Timothy is a good model for us. Paul set the pattern that he wanted Timothy to follow. “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2, NKJV). Consider the following passages of Scripture written by Paul in which he mentions Timothy. The following samples are from letters the apostle Paul wrote to local churches. (The following Scriptures are from the NASB.) Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him . . . (Acts 16:1). Timothy my fellow worker greets you . . . (Rom 16:21). For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. (1 Cor 4:17). Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am (1 Cor 16:10). Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia (2 Cor 1:1). For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him (2 Cor 1:19). Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus . . . (Phil 1:1). But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition . . . (Phil 2:19). Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by
the will of God, and Timothy our brother . . . (Col 1:1). Paul and Silvanus and Timothy . . . (1 Thess 1:1). . . . and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith . . . (1 Thess 3:2). But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you . . . (1 Thess 3:6). Paul and Silvanus and Timothy . . . (2 Thess 1:1). To Timothy, my true child in the faith . . . (1 Tim 1:2). This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight . . . (1 Tim 1:18). O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you . . . (1 Tim 6:20). To Timothy, my beloved son . . . (2 Tim 1:2). Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother . . . (Phlm 1:1). What immediately strikes you about the previous passages? Did you get the impression that Paul was very involved in Timothy's life? If so, then you're getting the picture. Paul discipled Timothy, not with a discipleship workbook, but by bringing him into his ministry, passing his faith on to him to duplicate it in the lives of others who would then also reproduce themselves. This is primarily a relational endeavor. Where Do I Start?
Look around and see if the Lord has already put someone in your circle of influence that you can begin to disciple. Maybe that person is already a believer, but has not matured in his/her faith. Or, it may be that the person is not a believer and you can begin to spend time with that person just hanging out and over time patiently and persistently share the gospel with them. Either way, spend a lot of informal time with the person. Just get to know each other. Then take the person into your life. Take him/her with you when you go to church or Bible study. Take him/her witnessing. Pray with the person. Share the wisdom God has given you in your walk with Him. Encourage the person to cultivate spiritual disciplines in their own life. As a help to this end, you can go through a book on Christian growth with them such as Fundamentals of the Faith (published by Grace Community Church and available at www.gbibooks.com), or Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life by Don Whitney, or Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes. Teach the person to become a committed disciple of Jesus. Then eventually encourage this person to begin to do with someone else what you’ve done with him. When we think about the way Jesus trained the twelve or the way Paul mentored Timothy, it wasn’t just a formal program of teaching like we do today in schools and classrooms. Jesus said to His disciples, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour (John 1:37-39, NASB, emphasis added). And He appointed
twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out
to preach (Mark 3:14, NASB, emphasis added).
Someone said, “Christianity is more caught
than taught.” While I believe teaching is absolutely necessary, there’s some
truth in that statement. The seeing eye is always a better pupil than the
hearing ear.
Recognize The Brevity Of Time Christ may return at any moment. Will He find us faithful to our calling? If He doesn’t return in our lifetime, we will all die and go to be with Him if we are saved. And we don’t know when we will die. We don’t get to schedule a convenient time for death. We need to be living everyday as if we could die today. But whenever it happens it will be sudden, unexpected, irreversible, and permanent. Then we will be judged for how we have invested our lives for the kingdom. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames (1 Cor 3:8-15, NIV). Lord, Give Me Another Ruben! No, I’m not talking about a Rueben sandwich. I’m
talking about a young man I discipled a few years ago. He was very shy and
would never speak during Bible study. I began to meet with him one-on-one. In a
short time he was transformed. He became a very zealous and passionate witness
for Christ. He became president of the Christian club on his college campus and
began to be an effective leader among his peers. All I did was touch his life
with my life and he blossomed. Have you ever heard of the Venus Flytrap? This is an
insect-eating plant that has parts that stay open until a fly lands on it and
then like a big mouth it closes and traps the fly and consumes it. So it
remains opened until it is touched. Well some people are exactly the opposite.
They are closed until you touch them. You may find that if you touch a life
with the love and truth of God, that person will just open up and become a
faithful disciple of Christ. Would you join me in praying for God to give you a
Ruben? Ask the Lord to give you one person you can disciple over the next year.
It may be a new believer or it may be someone you lead to Christ. But make a
commitment to reproduce yourself just once a year. Impacting a life for time
and eternity is a reward in itself. A Closing Challenge What’s keeping you from
giving priority in your life to the Great Commission? Most of us would probably
say we lack time for investing in other people. Our days and weeks are too full
to take the time to get acquainted with a stranger or to disciple a new
believer. In his devotional book Quiet
Talks with World Winners, S.D. Gordon recounted a story of a group of
amateur climbers who planned to ascend Mount Blanc in the Swiss Alps. On the
evening before the climb, the guides outlined the prerequisite for success.
They said that due to the difficulty of the climb, one could reach the top by
taking only the necessary equipment for climbing, leaving all unnecessary
accessories behind. A young Englishman didn’t
listen and proceeded up the mountain with a blanket, a small case of wine, a
camera, a set of notebooks, and a pocketful of snacks. On the way to the summit
the other climbers began to notice various items left along the path—first the
snacks and the wine, a short while later the notebooks and camera, and finally
the blanket. The young man managed to reach the peak, but, just as the guides
had predicted, he did so only after discarding all his unnecessary
paraphernalia. Gordon made this application
to the Christian life: “Many of us, when we find we can’t make it to the top
with our loads, let the top go, and pitch our tents in the plain, and settle
down with our small plans and accessories. The plain seems to be quite full of
tents.” Fellow Christian, where is
your tent pitched? Have you settled on the plain? Or, are you still following
Christ in obedience to the Great Commission? What changes do you need to make
to follow Christ in this area? The church is the bride of Christ. The church is
of infinite value to Him because He paid an infinite price to redeem her. He
willingly endured the pain and shame of the cross to redeem us. How much it
must grieve Jesus when we don’t esteem the value of the church and the Great
Commission. Let’s not insult our Lord by living as if our goals and plans are
more important than His. Let’s follow His example by living sacrificially in
order to carry out the work of disciple-making. Let’s recommit ourselves to the
great task of making disciples by evangelizing, edifying, and equipping the
people around us. |
