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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am Won KIM, voicing Pastor Caleb Soo Lee Chong. Shalom. Today, we will continue on the topic “Mission View of a Disciple”. During our last lesson, we learned that “evangelism” refers to dissemination of the good news aimed at an individual or a group of people. Include social care or social action and you’ll get the broader concept -- “mission”.
Today, we will take a step further and talk about the Great Commission from Jesus Christ. What are the levels or elements that are indispensable and deserve our attention in this directive? Let us go to the Bible in the book of Matthew chapter 28 verses 17-20.
Matthew 28:17-20 (NIV)
17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
One, the first key element of worship takes the lead. Verse 17 records that when the disciples saw Jesus, they worshipped him. Jesus then came to them and proclaimed the Great Commission. From these lines, it is clear that a mission should start off with worship, rather than plans or fund-raising activities. The person or church leading the effort needs to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and is to submit to His sovereignty.
During worship, we will get to know God’s desires and draw power from Him. In the Bible in the book of Acts chapter 10 verses 9-16 tells us the Apostle Peter saw a vision in his worship before his response to a call to spread the good news to Cornelius, a righteous and God-fearing man. In addition, the church of Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas on a mission trip amongst the gentiles during its worship in a later chapter (in the book of Acts chapter 13 verses 1-3). It must have been difficult for the church leaders in Antioch! Most churches tend to retain the best people within their own church. Nonetheless, we see Antioch sending out its best leader as they hear God’s mind in their worship.
Not only are prayers the starting blocks for missions, they are also what the missions set out to achieve -- that all nations will prostrate themselves and worship God. Only a missionary who worships God and is clear-minded about His sovereignty will have the drive to bring people to Him, lead them to worship Him the way we do, honour Him and follow the direction He points to.
Dear brothers and sisters, there was only one group of people in worship in the closing vision of the Apostle John on the Island of Patmos -- no evangelizing, no mission works, none of these! Evangelism can come to a close, but worship never ends. See in the Bible the book of Revelation chapters four, five and fourteen.
(2) The Key Element of Power
Second, the key element of power. In the book of Matthew chapter 28 verse 18 Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” as He used this power to send his disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Today, the church must take up this power to serve the Lord and do mission work, for it is this power that enables us to emerge as conquerors in our battle against the forces of Hell. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12 in the Bible expresses this best: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Power is also a type of ability to create life. The message in scripture tells us the truth on God’s plan to redeem the sin of Man in history, while the Holy Spirit transforms this accomplished truth into the personal experiences of believers so that they become the New Man, or as the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17 puts it “… if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…” Thus, anyone spreading the Gospel without the power of God would be no better than delivering a logical and brilliant piece of oratory, but unable to transform the lives of others to take after Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is not like that. As recorded in the Bible in the book of Luke chapter 4 verse 36, “All the people were amazed and said to each other, ‘What words these are! With authority and power, he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!’” And in Luke chapter 4 verse 39: “He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.” In the book of Mark chapter 4 verse 39, “And he …rebuked the wind, and … the sea ‘(became) still’. And the wind ceased.” In Mark chapter 1 verses 16-20: “As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, …He saw James and his brother John (and) called them, ‘Come, follow me’…At once they left their nets and followed him.” Jesus has the power to pardon and give life and did exactly that to the paralyzed man in Mark chapter 2 verses 8-10. Dear brothers and sisters, such is the power of Jesus Christ and He used it in the course of his mission very frequently. Likewise, our people in the harvest fields are also to bear in mind that we, too, need power to spread the Word.
Jesus Christ gave this power to the church during the days he walked the earth, saying, “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” in the book of Matthew chapter 16 verses 18-19. He said of the church in the book of John chapter 14 verse 12: “…and they will do even greater things than these.” The question we should be asking is this: Is today’s church humble enough to accept the anointment by the Holy Spirit (as we see in the book of Acts chapter 1 verse 8)? Has the power of Jesus Christ been truly received to accomplish the Great Commission?” The “Word” needs “power” from the Holy Spirit to propel it forward.
(3) The Key Element of Action
Third, the next key element is that of action. In the Greek text, the word “go” takes the present tense in the Great Commission declared by Jesus when he said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations…”. He is urging us to take action and spread the gospel of the Lord now, -- wait no more.
Churches in the past used to talk too much and do too little, and many plans failed to see daylight. As someone said rhetorically, “This tree should have been planted ten years ago. Plant it right away, if that’s not the case!” Yes, we need to spread the gospel right away and not mark time on planning and setting targets. Evangelism is of utmost importance; as such, deserves to be carried out right now. Of course, we have no doubt that a plan implemented on the ground right away would show its effectiveness. And that is truly good.
In the book of Acts chapter 16 verse 10 records they got ready at once to leave for Macedonia after Paul had seen the vision. The gospel made its way from Asia Minor into Europe and many churches were set up along the route. These include the churches of Colossae, Philippi, Thessalonica, all of which became churches that went on to spawn other churches (as we see in the books of Colossians chapter 1 verse 6 and Philippians chapter 1 verse 5). As Paul put it in the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 8 “The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.” Now, that’s the “go” chain-reaction at work! These churches stand out as the standard bearers of the great Commission. Thanks be to God! Saying that we want to spread the word today isn’t good enough. Just do it! Act to care for others and evangelize the world around us without further ado!
(4) The Key Element of Universality
Fourth, the key element of universality. English translations mentioning the Great Commission usually goes like this: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” which appears as pan ta (all) and ethne (ethnicities) in the original language. The gospel is obviously not limited to the Jewish people; it applies to the gentiles as well. Jesus Christ our Lord is the Creator of all; He is also the Saviour of the entire human race. Today, Chinese churches must go beyond ethnic and language barriers as we take up our roles in universal ministry works. The church needs to sit up and recognize the key element of universality.
Chinese churches would be doing large volumes of mission work in time to come. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of evangelists would be sent out to undertake gospel ministries across the face of the earth. This is what we can see today. As such, Chinese churches need to equip believers in various ways today, so that those called would be well-prepared to carry out universal evangelism. I feel sorry when I see some Chinese churches sending poorly equipped people to the Middle East countries. The result: many evangelists come back crest-fallen and give up for lack of courage. That is not doing any good at all.
Being adequately equipped is a must for those going out to carry evangelism works, as a universal view is inadequate on its own. They must have a good grasp of religion, fluency in languages and sensitivity to cultural issues. All of these are crucial to fruitful missionary work. May God help the churches of the day in their efforts.
(5) The Key Element of the Church
Fifth, the key element of the church. We need to have a church where people have a sense of belonging. To this end, the major ritual of “baptism” plays an important role in the Great Commission, through which one takes on his new identity as part of the church or becoming a part of Christ’s body. In his bestseller “Purpose-driven Life”, Rick Warren said that as Christians, we are called to belong. Now, if a person is willing to accept baptism and proclaim that he belongs to the church, that is because within church life there is already a sense of fellowship provided in-place. By extension, if a church is incubating an “intention” to send missions abroad, that is because it has gone some distance in building up the mission spirit within itself. In practice, its church life would be one where bonding, mutual support and love for one another is healthy and robust – a foretaste of missionary spirit, if I may venture to say.
Today, some churches have not been successful in their mission efforts as they lack the mission spirit within themselves; they are merely looking forward to and planning for mission work. Such do not suffice, however. The spirit of missionary work is love! There must be love within church-life, one of fellowship and mutual support. Only then can one talk about successful mission works. If one can feel the love of God the moment he steps into a church, that would be a sign that there is mission spirit. It impinges upon the visitor who accepts the faith of Christ not long after he pays a visit to the church and is willing to become part of the family.
We find that the rate of attrition amongst newcomers in churches is very high; it is indeed common to see people coming in from the front gate and slipping out by the back door. According to studies carried out by missionary schools, if a non-Christian fails to find any friends within six months after his first visit, he is certain to leave for good. On the other hand, if he is able to find more than seven friends within the same period, then the chances of him staying on would be higher. Thus, when we have accepted Christ and invite people to the church, we have to see to it that he becomes part of the church family. When visitors find that there is love in the church, this would go to build up his sense of belonging. The Great Commission would thus move forward with heightened momentum. May God help us.
(6) Key Element of Guidance
Sixth, the key element of guidance. Once a person makes up his mind to accept Christ, the church needs to provide training for him to enter discipleship. This would grow him into a mature Christian who understands the Truth – and he becomes more and more Christ-like in thinking, emotions, resolution and behavior. He would show competence in evangelism skills and feel at home as he shares the gospel with others. That would accelerate the progress of the gospel mission with more equipped people joining the ranks in this ministry.
These days, some churches work toward leading people to Christ, but fail to show them how to spread the word to others. That is not enough. The American evangelist and publisher Dwight L. Moody once said that he would rather put a thousand men to work than do the work of a thousand men. If only our church leaders would endorse such a spirit! We need to mobilize all our fellow believers, all those who have accepted the Word, all those who have experienced God – and willing to share all their blessings and the goodness they are soaking in. It is my profound belief that churches like these are able to hold high the banner of the Great Commission.
(7) The Key Element of Eternity
Lastly, we have the seventh key element of Eternity. In the book of Matthew chapter 28 verses 18-20 records these words from Jesus, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This is the promise in the Great Commission – God wants to be with the disciples and churches that continue to spread the gospel. In other words, a church that takes up the mission to spread the gospel would certainly experience and enjoy the Presence of the Lord for eternity! The Lord will be with us as long as the church continues to carry on mission work faithfully to the end of the age, this is the key element of Eternity -- and an important one at that, because nothing is more important than His Presence.
Someone once asked Napoleon Bonaparte what is the key element in fighting a war? Napoleon’s answer: “Money.” When pressed to identify the second and third elements, Napoleon repeated the same answer. That is because money enables one to recruit soldiers, procure horses and shop for the best and latest weapons to help win the war. That is a worldly view. However, in the war theatre of Christian faith, spreading the word is no less than spiritual warfare, where the key element is the Presence of the Lord!
Let’s pray
Dear Heavenly Father,
We thank you for promulgating the Great Commission through Jesus Christ. In this Commission, we see the key elements needed to do the job. O, Lord, may you provide for us, have mercy upon us, shower your blessings unto us and enlighten your church so that we know how to magnify you in every way, worship and obey you, even to do your work according to the power that you have provided for us. Because of Your Presence, O Lord Jesus Christ, all that we do will certainly bring people into your church, inside right where your love can be found. Dear Lord, let us continue to carry out your Great Commission to spread the gospel without end and guide our believers to offer themselves on your altar. O God! May you raise up different peoples within the church to bear the ministry as one body. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
Recommendations by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong
The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong are worthy books to edify disciples. In order to minimize differences in the qualities amongst Christians, our churches need to set up basic courses to address these issues. In turn, this will enable all disciples to incorporate their faith into their lives and allow changes to take place through renewal of minds. May God make use of these basic courses to edify more disciples to strengthen His soldiers and claim victory on His battle-ground!
The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” are suitable course materials for anyone who wish to acquire understanding of the Christian faith in a more comprehensive manner. The contents are easy to grasp and relate to the real world that we are living in. They are written with an eye for the man-in-the-street and explore how to make our faith come alive in our daily social interactions.
In particular, these are suitable if you
1. are someone who wants to understand the Christian faith or,
2. are someone who has just accepted the Christian faith or,
3. have been a Christian for many years but still hungering for a firmer grounding in the faith or,
4. are a pastor or co-worker who plans to use these materials for teaching purposes.
If you need to take up learning or use these materials in a systematic manner, please us contact at this email address.：xybkc@outlook.com