Are we making disciples and establishing churches in the way that Scripture instructs us? As I was again meditating on Matthew 28:19-20, the words in verse 20 struck me as being equally important as verse 19: “make disciples of all nations [ethnê] …teaching them to observe [to obey or to keep] all that I have commanded you.”
In general, the Church has followed the first part of the Great Commission and emphasized evangelism. Where we fall short is in “make disciples of all nations [ethnê or every people group].” With over 7,000 people groups that have less than 2% Bible believing Christians, the task is not finished. That represents 42.0% of the total world population or 3.29 billion people. If we followed the rest of Jesus’ command in verse 20, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you,” every convert would become a disciple and they in turn would follow Jesus’ instructions to make disciples of others in every ethnê. This would become a movement of God that could not be stopped until there were people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9) represented in the Church. Such a movement of obedience will not happen by demand or church programs. It will become a powerful movement of the Spirit when we want to accomplishing God’s purpose more than our will.
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“We should be “jealous” . . . for the honor of his name—troubled when it remains unknown, hurt when it is ignored, indignant when it is blasphemed. And all the time anxious and determined that it shall be given the honor and glory which are due to it.” (John Stott, Romans: God’s Good News for the World (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1994), 53).
“O for the day when more pastors and scholars and missionaries would not just say that but feel it as the driving force of their lives! The apostle John applies this Christ-exalting passion to all missionaries when he says, “They have gone out for the sake of the name” (3 John 7). My friend and comrade in the Greatest Cause for over thirty years, Tom Steller, wrote an afterword for this book based on that text in 3 John. As we get closer and closer to the finish line together, we want to give our lives to creating, sending, and sustaining world Christians who live and die “for the sake of the name.” Increasingly, what burns inside us is the question, “Where do such God-centered, Christ-exalting, missions-driven people come from?” We believe they come from God-besotted, Christ-addicted, Bible-breathing homes and churches and schools and ministries.” John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!: The Supremacy of God in Missions, 3rd ed., Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2010. (Randy) Due to Covid, Malaysia has been closed to international travelers. Once it opened on April 1, we immediately made plans for my return. I work with two churches in this country where evangelical Christians make up only 3.5% of the population. It is illegal for them to witness to Muslims, and there has been an “unofficial ban” on printing Bibles in the language of the people. Despite these conditions, God is using His Word to strengthen the Church to be a clearer and powerful witness. Please be in prayer for this visit that it will accomplish God’s purpose.
Occasionally we receive an unsolicited email from another country that gives us a window into what God is doing. This short report from Myanmar along with the pictures is very encouraging! I have done very little editing so you will get a sense of the devotion in these people. “It is wonderful to do ministry with you all. Thanks for your information about GPYD (God’s Plan for Young Disciples) in Zomi language (same as Chin). During this week April 11-15, 2022, God open a way to train His people with GPHD (God’s Plan for His Disciples). There are 18 people attending. People study His word willingly. God is so good to us. They are new believers. Thank God for them. They study His Word with GPHD after they are converted. Thanks for your commitments in Myanmar.” This dear brother has been a faithful “Timothy” since 2009 when I first met him. In addition to training the indigenous people, he has translated all our training material into Burmese and some into Chin languages. We are so thankful that God brought us together for His work and His glory. Remember the Christians in Myanmar in prayer. Persecution has increased so that churches are burned, and many have been killed. I will return tomorrow with exciting news about how our training material is being used in Myanmar. The pictures alone tell the story. For now, I desire to rivet your attention on the resurrection of Jesus and the implications if the resurrection may not have happened.
As Paul did in his day, we face many who deny any resurrection of the dead. Paul addresses this question with powerful rhetoric. “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God... For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:13–17). Those who have a materialistic view of life say that everything ends at death. Some in the Corinthian church doubted there was a resurrection which came from the teaching of the Sadducees. Earlier in chapter 15, Paul gives visible proof of Jesus’ resurrection, even that “He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive” (15:6). In other words, these witnesses could be interviewed to resolve any doubt. Beyond the question of whether there is a resurrection, all faith in Christ and the forgiveness of sins is dependent on the resurrection of Jesus. “In fact, Christ has been raised from the dead!” (15:20). What worship should flow from our hearts since we know this truth! The tradition of most Christian churches is to celebrate Good Friday as the day that Jesus was crucified. Many who rarely attend any church will come Good Friday or Easter Sunday as a show of religious observance. If Jesus were here, is that what He would expect us to do?
Just before His crucifixion, Jesus gathered His disciples around the Passover celebration, a time to remember how Israel was delivered from Egypt. It was in that celebration that Jesus took two elements used in the Passover feast (bread and wine) to be used from that time on as symbols that the Church will always use to remember Him (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:18-20). Luke and Paul record Jesus’ words; “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). In neither instance does Jesus or Scripture prescribe what day or how often this “remembrance” should be done by disciples or the Church. Paul adds the comment in verse 26, “as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” Have we forgotten our deliverance from sin and made a certain day a ritual and mixed it with layers of tradition to the point that our love for Jesus is diminished to a day and a ceremony? Let us rekindle a love for the Person so we remember Him “OFTEN!” Coming from the heart, it will answer the question, “how often?” Because discipling is a very important part of my ministry, I look for statements that reflect accurately the principles of Scripture on this subject. Henry and Richard Blackaby have played a role in developing my thinking on this topic.
Based on Matthew 28:18-20, “God’s will is crystal clear. Churches are not simply to make converts; they are to make disciples. Disciples are not people who merely believe in Christ; they are people who followChrist. Disciples are committed to doing everything Christ commanded. Churches are called to reach out worldwide, not just to the people in their zip code. God designed churches to be world mission strategy centers. With Christ as its Head, one local church can extend God’s kingdom around the world. Churches that are failing to fulfill this mandate are falling short of God’s purpose.” (Flickering Lamps - Christ & His Church, page 9, emphasis mine). When we allow God’s missionary Spirit to seize hold of our minds and hearts, we will also see our churches fulfilling Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” God’s purpose will be accomplished! The question is whether you and I will participate in getting it accomplished. “In the early decades of the Industrial Revolution, an Englishman named William Carey moved himself and his young family to West Bengal, India (not too far from where John Chau died a couple of years ago). His life provoked the church and mobilized a fresh wave of laborers committed to reaching what missiologists call “unreached” and “unengaged” people (meaning, they have either never heard of Jesus, or there is no active or sustainable indigenous church planting effort). For his impact and legacy, Carey is largely considered the father of modern missions.
Hudson Taylor entered the world just a couple of years before Carey went to be with the Lord; by the end of the nineteenth century, both men had led thousands of young adults to give themselves to the glory of Jesus overseas. Many, facing a single-digit life expectancy on the field, loaded their modest possessions into coffins instead of suitcases, sailed across the world, and never saw their families again. It was a powerful (and perhaps tragically unique) hour in the life of the church.” [Stephanie Quick(@quicklikesand)] What will mobilize the Church today? Will we leave the work of missions at the ends of the earth to the John Chau’s of our day? Why have so few today never realized that the call to be a disciple is also a call to be a missionary? They are one and the same. This picture tells the story! Fourteen Quechua believers in Quito, Ecuador have studied through God’s Plan for His Disciples in the last couple months and graduated this last weekend. Other Christians live in Riobamba and will be graduating this week. This is taking place in many other towns throughout Ecuador. Rejoice with us in what God is doing to establish believers in the authority of Scripture and the Holy Spirit. This gives them confidence in sharing the gospel with others. Already we hear of new boldness in their witness to others. As I read John 21:4-14, it hit me that Jesus planned this event but did not tell the disciples ahead of time what he was going to do. By not telling them, Jesus created an impact they would never forget. None of these verses indicate how many days had passed since Jesus revealed Himself the first time, but we do know that it was early dawn. The sun had not risen which no doubt contributed to the disciples not recognizing who Jesus was.
I also wonder if going back to “normal life” as fishermen also meant that their expectancy of seeing Jesus again had diminished? He had not become the supreme center of their lives. Yet, there were small factors that were unusual in this event. No one but Jesus calls fishermen “children.” No one but Jesus could get fish, build a fire and cook them to be ready just at the right time. No one but Jesus could tell these fishermen, “cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some” fish. Jesus wanted these men to recognize Him anywhere at any time and under any conditions. This is a question we must ask ourselves, ‘do we recognize His presence in our ordinary events of life? If not, it may be that we have not spent enough time getting to know Him in the ‘ordinary’ events of life. It’s vital that you get to know Him and recognize His presence so you can learn from Him. |
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