go
"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
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
"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.
7 Comments:
Noah,
I've always known that words had the power to make me cry, and since April (when you wrote a poem for me), I knew your words could make me cry. Thank you for using God's words to make me cry, and to challenge me.
Ash
I agree, we need to listen up and do what God wants us to....but I don't think God wants every Christian to go overseas, not saying it isn't a good idea for lots of us to do that.....but aren't some of us used to minister to very specific people that nobody else can reach right here? Every one person reached is important...frankly I don't think I have the gifts to go and convert thousands at once....I'm no Billy Graham...I'm not super speaker. I minister best one on one...not that I've been putting my gifts to use lately....something I dislike about me more each passing day. Robbie and I were talking today actually about how we can minister to others more in the coming school year. Continue to challenge me. I need it.
I wish more people would go (or in my case, COME--there's plenty to do in Holland, and no surpluss of volunteers for some of what God is laying on our hearts as a team to see happen in the Netherlands!).
As for a response to Amber (as someone who used to speak the same words a few years ago):
I ask if you have ever had the chance to travel to another nation and minister? Almost 90% of the people I know who are missionaries, all are ministering in the nations they are because they took a short trip there and God gripped them that they were to labor there indefinitely there until HE told them otherwise.
You never know sometimes unless you step out and see. As Noah said, many people feel called to minister "here" but not "there". I actually loathe the idea of having to live in North America unless God wants me to, and I've noticed, most *people* feel they are called to stay where they are.
You are right, God doesn't want most Christians to go overseas, but too few are compared to how many God does want--I guarantee you of that! Also, I am not "converting thousands at once" either. I'm simply making a few disciples. Some are already saved when I meet them. So you're stripped of that excuse. :P
Blessings and fire of God on your heads.
I think something got mistaken in my babbling...or else I didn't come off as I wanted to...or something...maybe I was in a weird mood. If God tells me to go, you better believe I will go. When God calls me to do something it's impossible not to listen....no matter how stubborn I may try to be to begin with. I guess I haven't felt that pull yet. This isn't to say that I wont or that I don't plan to travel and minister to people along the way.
God already told you to go...
...
... I like being difficult.
Arrghh. Yes you do and I know you are being difficult for the sake of being difficult. Go doesn't NECESSARILY mean to travel 30 000 miles is all I'm saying. Go, as you said before, could mean next door. We each have to listen to God and pray to him and ask where he wants us to go to best use the gifts he gave us and nurture the gifts that aren't as strong in us (for me talking to people as opposed to doing for/with them)
Noah you're still here...
...I like being difficult. :)
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