ListenDaily - 12 June 2009: Matamoros, part 5: Making
"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:16-20 NIV (find any passage at www.Biblegateway.org)
Tomorrow morning, I will be leaving Delaware, along with a group of youth and adults from my church, for a week of serving Christ in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico., the first of two trips this summer. The second is to Goldsboro, North Carolina. The Matamoros trip is planned for the 13 - 19 of June. During that time, may I ask you to pray for the following?
For our safety
For each of us to grow in Christ
For His Name to be glorified and His Kingdom expanded
In preparation, I thought the "Great Commission" passage was an appropriate one to study.
"Therefore go and make disciples..."
"...make disciples..."
I made a cake.
Did you ever make a cake?
I have made cakes from mixes, and from scratch. But even from scratch, I did not milk the cow or grind the wheat. From scratch or from a box, I brought ingredients together, followed the tried and true instructions for mixing them, and when to stop mixing and put the new combination into the oven. The instructions told me how approximately how long to bake it, signs to look for that it had baked long enough, andhow long to leave it alone when I removed it from the heat.
Did you ever make a disciple?
Remember, Jesus said “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed." (from John 8)
So how do we "make disciples"?
Ingredients:
The Word of God, a person, yourself
Instructions:
Take yourself and person, mix well (relationship), add ever-increasing amounts of the Word of God ("teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you")
Place mixture into the Hands of God. "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God can make things grow." (from 1 Corinthians 3)
Never remove, and don't let it cool.
Jesus has given you a commandment, and His authority...
"Therefore go and make disciples..."!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Questions:
1. Will you pray for our mission trip? 2. What do you think of this perspective? 3. Are you involved in any disciple-making?
INTERESTING THOUGHTS:
It will not do to say that you have no special call to go to China.
With these facts before you and with the command of the Lord
Jesus to go and preach the gospel to every creature, you need
rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay at home.
Hudson Taylor
No comments:
Post a Comment