Thursday: Organizing for Mission
As we have seen throughout this quarter (and which bears repeating), as a church we have been organized and unified for mission, for outreach. We are not just a social club for like-minded people to get together and affirm each other in what we believe (though that can be important, as well). We have been brought together to share with the world the truth that we, ourselves, have come to love.
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gave His disciples final instructions for their mission to the world. Identify the key words of Jesus’ command. What do these words imply for the church today?
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
Jesus’ great commission to His disciples includes four key verbs: go, make disciples, baptize, and teach. According to the Greek grammar of these verses, the main verb is to make disciples, and the other three verbs indicate how this can be done. Disciples are made when believers go to all nations to preach the Gospel, baptize people, and teach them to observe what Jesus said.
As the church responds to this commission, God’s kingdom is enlarged, and more and more people of all nations join the ranks of those who accept Jesus as Savior. Their obedience to Jesus’ commands to be baptized and to observe His teachings creates a new universal family. The new disciples also are assured of the presence of Jesus every day as they themselves make more disciples. The presence of Jesus is a promise of the presence of God. The Gospel of Matthew begins with the announcement that the birth of Jesus is about “God with us” (Matt. 1:23) and ends with the promise of Jesus’ continued presence with us until His second coming.
“Christ did not tell His disciples that their work would be easy. … He assured them that He would be with them; and that if they would go forth in faith, they should move under the shield of Omnipotence. He bade them be brave and strong; for One mightier than angels would be in their ranks-the General of the armies of heaven. He made full provision for the prosecution of their work and took upon Himself the responsibility of its success. So long as they obeyed His word, and worked in connection with Him, they could not fail.” – Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 29.
| Reflect on the meaning of the promise of Jesus’ presence with His people until His second coming. How should the reality of this promise impact us as we seek to fulfill the commission that we have been given by Jesus? |
(23)
If you are on a sinking ship and you need to get into the lifeboats before the ship goes down, you become entirely focused on getting people into the lifeboats. If you are mean and selfish you will probably think only of yourself, but if you have even a smidgen of altruism running in your veins you will probably try and help others into the lifeboats as well. The intense focus on the goal of saving lives will affect everything you do. You won't be going back to your cabin to get your iPad, or your wallet. You won't be arguing about who should handle the oars - it will be a case of anyone up to the task and willing to pull together can do it.
Is salvation any less urgent? Are we organized to save lives? Or are we still arguing about who is allowed to pull an oar?
The story of Esther has a lesson for us:
Without ceasing, we must all be part of this "domino-effect" that is commanded to us in the "Great Commission". As I have mentioned before as "remnants" we are not set-aside to sit, watch and wait, but it is clear that once we are chosen to be remnants; that, without delay, we should take upon the action of 1) Go-ing 2) TEACH-ing 3) BAPTIZ-ing which should result to 4) MAK-ing DISCIPLES who will in-turn take into the chain reaction that is to go on into the ages until Christ's second coming. The urgency is immediate and continuous, we have no point to hold back and gloat or murmur or look for faults or lax; this command lives us in motion and action to reach out to not only ourselves, but to all Nations, tribes, cultures and people. This has been a consistent message from the prophets, the apostles and from God, that we are part of the instruments of salvation of humankind. You see! God could just do this alone, but His love and mercy, allows us to be part of this process; co-owners (if we wish) of this process of salvation, that God alone designed and put into motion. What more could prove that God is love? He has taken us out of bondage as slaves to become his partners in mission.
For this reason alone we; the people of God; the church should unite. God knows we're not or never the same in intelligence, strength, energy, talent, language and creed, but we have one single platform and mission bound by one God in the name of Jesus Christ; to go into the word and preach the evalasting gospel so that God's church would get all it's people. God selected us in sin, convicted us from sin and and cleaned us off sin, just to do His mission and give a chance to all the world.
As Remnants, we deserve not to boast like the Rich Fool of Luke 12:13-21; we are not to double-guess for God his mission like King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:15; we are not "warehouse for show" God's mission like King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:14-19; we are not select for God like Prophet Jonah; but we are to take the mission with the urgency in the words of young Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:10 and react in the spirit of Isiaih 6:8 "Here I am! Send me!" because we never chose ourselves but God did, and we are to only do His bidding and nothing else.
That's the seriousness our mission is all about. The in-fighting, the blame shifting, the chest-thumping, the posturing, and the scripture-spurring are only causing delay in relaying the mission we have been given. The Pharisees had the law in their fingertips, but who did they convey to? While the poor widow's two small copper coins worth a penny enhanced God's mission, didn't it contribute to outreach? It's important that we realize that today, we are too be part of this only mission, so how about - us all - starting to be part of the unity of the people of God; the church.
I accept your invitation. Thank you for your insights into gold mining precious truths, and using our precious metal refined in the fire, to educate others of Christ our righteousness, who are in need of a Saviour.
Or were we perhaps called to share the truth that we, ourselves, have come to LIVE?
Mark 1:22 is interesting. The teachers of the law taught the truth they loved - but they only taught it verbally as 'doctrines'. Yet the wider Truth behind the doctrines didn't characterise their lives and the way they interacted with/treated others.
Jesus was the polar opposite: the principles behind the 'law and the testimonies' (Isa 8:20) and the "law and the prophets" (Matt 22:36-40) characterised the way He lived and interacted with others. And what was the outcome? Jesus 'teaching' was received as authoritative because it reflected how He lived and treated others.
Neither authoritative nor permissive will genuinely draw people - but authoritative will (the "draw" referred to in Jn 12:32 comes as an inherent outcome/consequences of Jesus living out the truth of the 'Kingdom of self-renouncing love' - even unto death as per Isa 53:12; Phil 2:8; Jn 15:13).