Matthew 28:18-19
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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
As many of us know this is the great commission. Jesus gives us the mission of the church and the mission of our lives, to preach the gospel and make Him known. To give the transformational power that only Christ can do. To save the sinner, loosen the chains of the oppressed, to make peace with God. All of this is true, However as I was reading this it struck me, I saw something that I never saw before. Truly, I have read this, preached this, and tried to live this the best I can, as I am sure many of you have also. What I saw was three things, three things that will help us as we are transitioning and positioning ourselves as a church.
First Jesus gives us the what, the what is “Go and make disciples of all nations” this is what Jesus wants us, yes, each of us to be doing. Sadly in many churches this has become the Great omission, replaced with programs and meetings, we have set aside the commission for comfort and easy. Let us get back to the work that He has told us to do.
Secondly Jesus gives us the where; the where is “all Nations”. God did not look down on the earth and say my Son is only for this set of people or that country, rather He said he died for the whole world. He told us to go to the whole world.
I love the fact that we have had missionaries here, reporting on what is taking place in the country they are serving. We have taken the opportunity to partner with them so that the gospel can be spread. Here is the problem, what about your neighbor, your family member that does not know Him. It is one thing to love a person you will never meet, it is quite another to Love you enemy and share the gospel with them.
I have seen these all before, they are great for preaching and will make a life worth living, so they did not stop me in my reading. Here is what did, Jesus gave us the what, He gave us the where, but did you see, He did not give us the how.
Thirdly the how, it is blank. No mention of how, no blue print, no 5 steps or 10 steps on winning them, just Go and Preach. Here is why I think it is. In every nation, every community, every one on one encounter, the style it is given will change with each encounter. Yes that does mean a church, a people, a denomination IF it wants to be relevant to the community will need to change in the way it reaches the community. There are no blue prints because it is constantly changing, the gospel does not change, but the way we present it does.
I am excited about the new service that will begin on September 10th at 6:30 pm. As many of you know, Park View Christian Church will begin a modern service, this will not conflict with our traditional serves, this will give us a greater opportunity to reach this community, be doers of the great commission. We will continue our what, we will continue our where, and we will always look at our how.
God bless you all, it is an exciting time to be a part of the church, if you are not currently plugged in get plugged in. Invite someone and let us make History together, for His glory.
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