"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
- Matthew 28:16-20
One time I was beginning a new ministry job. A friend offered some advice, "Begin with the end in mind".
My friend was encouragined me to ensure that I wasn't starting too 'hot', but doing what was necessary so that whenever my role finished I was still following Jesus, loving + leading my family and enjoying life!
The same advice applies to following Jesus. Begin with his end goal in mind.
When Christians typically read, preach or teach The Great Commission in Matthew 28 we easily get stuck on the beginning, GO!
We realise that yes, Jesus has called us to a life of mission and he may be specifically calling us to leave our local area and go to a new one where we can share the light and love of Jesus. While this mindset has resulted in the transformation of the globe, some Christians get stuck on 'GO'.
As we often say when playing Monopoly, "Do not pass GO, do not collect $200, go straight to Jail!" If you can roll with the humour, you may also have wondered, if I don't feel called to GO to another region, state or country, what do I do?
On Sunday I shared that for some of us, it can be helpful to keep the end in mind...loving obedience to Jesus.
If we read The Great Commission in reverse we get a simple understanding of how 100% of Christians can engage in God's great plan:
- Lovingly Obey Jesus
- Teach others to lovingly obey Jesus
- Baptise all those who put their faith in Jesus
- Go to other people and nations and start making disciples there too!
I want to encourage you that if you want to participate in God's great plan for the world, it really does start with you and I finding joy and freedom in submitting our lives to him!
In fact, if you and I are to one day consider GOing to another country to start a church from scratch, it's essential to our charater and faith that we be fully surrendered to him in loving obedience. If not, in our desire to help others meet Jesus we may come unstuck ourselves.
Want to know what a "discipled" nation/tribe looks like? Read below regarding Nagaland, India. This region is almost 90% Christian!
So, to keep the end in mind, "What's one way you can loving obey Jesus today?"
Cheers, God Bless and see you Sunday!
Dan
P.S. This Sunday we read Jesus' gift of the Holy Spirit. Please make every effort to join us not just to 'learn' about the Spirit, but to seek to be people who 'live' by the Spirit. Without God's Holy Spirit, God's mission (above) is impossible!
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" - Jesus speaking about the Holy Spirit in John 7:38
Nagaland, India
On Sunday I shared that Martine and I heard two speakers from Nagaland, India. I shared that one speaker said some estimates are that between 90-99% of the state is Christian! However, I was doing more research and the official figure is technically 87% 😄 and I wanted to make sure that was clear.
One question I had last week that I've since answered was, "If almost n entire state is Christian, how does it's crime rate compare to other states?
ANSWER: Incredibly low crime, almost the lowest in all of Inda. In most categories of crime, most notably, violence against women and children, it's the safest place to be in the whole country!
What a joy to hear of the change in lives and nations that the Gospel of Jesus Christ makes! Makes sense of Matthew 28:16-20, above.
As we heard from a beautiful, elderly Indian Christian, before the gospel came to her 'nation', her family were headhunters! May we understand that what's at stake in the gospel is not simply truth and eternity, but freedom from evil and violence.
Links below:
Contributors to Wikimedia projects
Contributors to Wikimedia projects
Coming Up
July
Mondays - Young Adults - Marcello + Mariela 0428 986 423
Thursdays - Dads Coffee, Bible + Prayer - Dan 0402 301 568
Fridays - 6am Men's Prayer - Fred 0431 437 080
Sundays - Home Church - Marcello + Mariela 0428 986 423
Sun 20 Beach Gathering at Moffats + Baptisms
Sun 27 Beach Gathering at Moffats
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