"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." (Matthew 28:18b-20, TNIV)
I have been quite obsessed with this passage of scripture, known as "the great commission." The part that has been on my mind is the word "go."
Go.
As in: move it, leave, get outta here, start walkin', get on a freaking plane already, etc.
Jesus words this interestingly, he has
all authority, therefore (that is, "because of this") GO. Preach. Make disciples. Baptize.
What is the authority? For Christians to do what Jesus did:
- teach with authority
- preach with authority
- baptize with authority
- cast out demons (and demonic influences) with authority
- heal people (physically and spiritually) with authority
- manifest Spiritual Gifts with authority
Whose authority? God the father's.
How? With the power that all Christians receive from the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)
When we do these things, what will happen? We will make disciples, not converts. A "convert" is someone who claims to have received faith in Christ, but it is strictly an emotional decision that may not last. A disciple is a student, someone who studies and learns with both emotion and intellect. A disciple's faith is secure.
The disciples we make will first be
ours, not Christ's, because they will not know him well. A disciple does not have to be a Christian, just someone we are
teaching. Once this person matures in faith they will become
Christ's disciple.
Of course, the key here is "go." In order to do all of this we must GO. The word "go" is an imperative, a commandment, we must do it. To "go" is not simply to move; it is to move to a specific place with intention. The intention is to "preach the gospel."
Where to go? "all nations"
That includes:
- your neighbour
- your room mate
- your parents
- your friends
- your co-workers
- that person who always sits alone
- that person who smells bad
- that drunk person at Tim Horton's
- your teacher
- every city
- every country
- every continent
How
far are you going to go? Next door or Asia? That's up to you and God. But I will say this: 90% of Christians minister to 10% of the world (North America, Britain). That leaves 10% of Christians to minister to the other 90% of the world. Who needs you most?
"But if we all became foreign missionaries there would be no one left here."
Well, with the above figures I can say with complete confidence that if
every single Christian who read this post became a foreign missionary there would still be enough people to minister in North America. More than enough. I promise. Therefore, well, do it. Seriously.
I guess that means I need to put my money where my mouth is too, eh? Expect me to teach English as a missionary in a foreign country at least temporarily as soon as possible after I graduate. That means within three years... until then I hope to go on at least one short term missions trip.
Remember, our calling is not a specific job or position, our calling is to preach the gospel, how and where you do that is mostly irrelevant, as is your profession. The right job and place for you is the job and place where you can most effectively preach the gospel to all nations.
There is a great song by Reuben Morgan (of the Hillsong church in Australia) that discusses missions from a very biblical perspective (in fact, almost every line is an allusion to scripture). I will end with this.
You Said
(Music & lyrics by Reuben Morgan)
You said, Ask and you will receive whatever you need. You said, Pray and I'll hear from heaven and I'll heal your land. You said Your glory will fill the earth like water the sea. You said, Lift up your eyes the harvest is here, the kingdom is near. You said, ask and I'll give the nations to you O Lord, that's the cry of my heart distant shores and the islands will see Your light, as it rises on us. O Lord, I ask for the nations.When I sing that last line as a prayer, the Lord says to me "I already have, you just need to go to them."
God bless.
