Monday, February 26, 2018

The Commission (3)

Scripture records that Jesus gave his disciples a commission to go to every people group in the world, and make disciples from every people group.

Scripture, giving us a sneak peek of heaven, proclaims that representatives of every people group, will worship together before the throne of God.

It is obvious the Commission is not a command that the Twelve are going to complete by themselves. Too much area to cover … especially by foot. Too many people groups. Too much time for each people group. It is a command to every disciple.

The goal of disciplemaking is to instill obedience to the commands of Jesus in the hearts of every disciple. All the commands. Every command. Including this one.

It is also obvious that this will involve crossing borders, both geographic and cultural. And it is the cultural kind that will probably be the most difficult. One person getting inside the mindset, the perspective, the values, the motivations, of another person takes time, patiences, and stubborn persistance.

For a natural point of view, this close understanding is required to position the gospel in a way that speaks to the heart of a new people group.

For example, those following Jesus from the West tend to understand sin in terms of breakinjg standards, guilt, and punishment. Those form the East tend to understand sin in terms of honor, shame, lost relationships, and lost value. I do believe that Scripture speaks to both, but the message giver and the message receiver need to see the same perspective.

Generally, except for those inside the people group, those who understand a people group the best are those from a different, but close, people group. Next door neighbors, so to speak.

I sometimes think that God intended each people group to impact its "next door neighbor," setting off a chain reaction of "going next door" and a ever-growing tsunami of disciple making.

The political situation does not seem to allow that today. There are governments who will not allow the necessary freedom for political reasons. There are governments who will not allow the necessary freedom for religious reasons.

I suppose there are people planning, and strategizing, about how to impact the people in those countries. And there is also testimony about God himself, taking initiative, by sending dreams to people in those countries. My focus at the moment is on the "every man" follower of Christ -- though I may broaden the scope of this picture in the future.

What can I do, right now, in my context, to create disciples in every people group?

Obviously, we can give financially. I don't want to give the impression that giving is bad, but I also don't want to give the impression that is the only thing. But there are people positioned (culturally, geographically, and politically) better than we are, but may not be positioned financially as well. As we are all part of the same kingdom, we can certainly support thos on the "front lines."

We can pray. There is an entirely spiritual component to this work, as the enemy seeks to keep millions in darkness. We can pray to bind the enemy, to open eyes, to send dreams and visions, and to open hearts. There are web sites that list unreached/unengaged people groups. We can pick one to engage in prayer. Lastly, Jesus specifically command us to pray for workers in the harvest.

Lastly, we can reach across cultural lines in our current context. In the US, there are cultural lines all over. There are different racial communities. There are ethnic communities. There are the unchurched. There are the immigrants and the internationals. Right now, at a university, not even a mile from my house, are several thousand Chinese, attending class and doing research. And there are students from other countries as well, including Muslim majority countries.

Finally, we must remember that we are not citizens of our country only. We are citizens of God's kingdom. Whenever, we walk out our door, we are crossing cultural borders, to act as an ambassador, and represent our King. In every personal encounter, we can present God in a positive light. We can illustrate his character, act out his values, and his message. And maybe even speak that message.


Tuesday, February 20, 2018

The Commission (2)

When a person gives his allegiance to Jesus, he becomes a part of God's family. And when a person becomes a part of God's family, he also becomes a part of God's army.

All armies have ranks: private, captain, general. God's army has two ranks: priest and high priest. And there is only one high priest. And his name is Jesus.

A priest's basic job is to represent people to God, and God to people. A priest must be able to explain God's message. He must be able to explain God's character. He must be able to intercede with God for any need a person may have: body, soul, or spirit. He must be able to help people enter into a relationship with God. He must be able to help anyone improve his realtionship with God, his walk with God, and his practice of how God designed him to be. (And we are all designed differently.)

And not just able to, but ready and willing, day or night, at the first sign of need.

When God created the world, he intended to be personally involved in it. To rule it. To grow it. But Adam and Eve sinned, and rejected God. Now, God is in a war to win back his creation, to win back his family.

Theologians define God's Kingdom as anywhere God rules. So, God, through his army, seeks to extend his rule, and gain back everything that is rightfully his. Every institution. Every business. Every art. Every science. Every life.

Indeed, this war is usually fought one life at a time. And the weapons used, are not the usual weapons of war. God's weapons are:
  • Prayer.
  • Scripture.
  • Acts of love, service, and grace.
  • The unity that surrounds this army of priests.
  • Transformed lives.
  • The lives of heroes, who regard the truths of God, as more real and more important, than the reality of this world, that they willingly sacrifice their claim on this world. Up to, and including, their lives. 

There are approximately 325 million people living in the US. Approximately, 25% of them (80 million people) consider themselves to be evangelical Christians. What if each one took seriously their role as a priest in God's army?

What if 80 million people:
  • Prayed for God's presence in government, schools, universities, and corporations.
  • Sought, not only to learn, but to freely share God's message of love, and forgiveness. To encourage. To give hope.
  • To reach out in love, and service to the homeless, the foreigner, the disabled (whether physical, mental, or age), the lonely, and outcast.
  • To honor other Christians, other churches, other groups of Christians, believing the best about them, speaking well of them, being supports, resources, and solutions for what they face.
  • Spending as much time, if not more, being solutions, and positive influences, instead of critics, and complainers.


Mother Theresa moved into the slums of Calcutta to care and comfort the dying. During the Middle Ages, man and women, motivated by the love of God, moved into plague infested neighborhoods to care for the plague infected. Followers of Jesus have put themselves into impoverished situations to share Jesus' good news, and to provide health care, education, and clean drinking water. And during Roman times, God's family amazed people by how much they loved one another.

As God's priests, and God's family, we walk our way upstream, against the cultural flow. The media highlighted the visit of Vice President Pence (a follower of Jesus) to the Olympics games, and his ignoring / snubbing of the sister of the North Korean dictator. I'm sure his intention was to avoid seeming to give approval to North Korea, its policies, practices, and treatment of its people. But what if he viewed this woman like Jesus viewed the tax gatherers, and prostitutes? Not as one condemned by God's law, but one who God loves, and one who Jesus would (and did) sacrifice his life for. The media probably would never notice. But like the prostitutes, maybe she would.

Monday, February 19, 2018

The Commission

When we chose to give allegiance to Jesus, it was basically because we were convinced that what he taught was true. Meaning:
  • That his death on the cross was effective to deal with the brokenness of the world. Including my personal brokenness.
  • That he is part of the triune God-head.

Because his death was effective, the penalty for my sin was satisfied. I have peace, a relationship, and fellowship with the God of the Universe.

Because he is part of the God-head, he is Lord and Master of the Universe. He is designer, and creator of the Universe, and all that is in it. Including each, and every, person.

And he is designer, and creator, of a way of life that is in harmony with his character, the nature of people as they should be, which gives him glory, and which gives human beings the most peace and joy.

And he has given us the Scriptures to describe what that way of life should look like. He has given us stories to act as illustrations. He has given us principles to act as guidelines. And he has given us commands to promote specific actions.

It is the commands which usually give us the biggest problems. It is usually assumed that God's commands are universal. That is, everyone should be obeying them. And some of them give people difficulty in believing God wants everyone to obey.

The tithe gives some people trouble. "Love your enemies" is a problem for others. Then, there is the Great Commission.

At the end of Jesus' ministry, as he is just about to ascend to heaven, to return to the Father, he gives the disciples their commission. The commission is:
  • To connect with every people group in the world.
  • To think, speak, and act in such a way that people are convinced to become disciples of Jesus.
  • To baptize them, as a public declaration of that choice.
  • To help these new disciples know, understand, and practice everything Jesus taught … which includes this commission.

Of course, the question that gets asked is: does this really mean everybody who follows Jesus? Is the paraplegic, who can't move anything below his neck, expected to live in a hut among the Digo of south Kenya? Is the 80 year old retiree supposed to learn Chinese, go to Guizhou province, and launch a disciple making movement among the Miao? Surely, those who go have a special gift? Surely, someone needs to stay, and provide funding for those who do go?

Scripture does say that there is only one body of Christ. And as we are all part of this body, each with different functions, we each do complete a different facet of God's mission.

But Scripture also commands all of us to love. Are some of us supposed to provide funding for those specially gifted in patience, to be patient for the rest of us? No, we are all required to practice patience, and kindness. And we are all required to practice all aspects of our commission.

Some focus on the word "Go" in the commission. In the original language, "Go" is a present participle. Which means, it could be translated as "while you are going." We are all going somewhere. We go to work. We go to the store. We go home. We go through life. And we are always living in the middle and probably close to many others, of one of the world's people groups.

The operative part of the commission is: to make disciples of all people groups. We are to live as disciples -- live with Jesus, and walk as Jesus -- so people who are not disciples may learn, understand, and become convinced in their hearts and minds, whether by our words, or by our deeds, (and most likely both) to become disciples of Jesus.

Thursday, February 08, 2018

Sin's Power

Scripture says that, when Jesus died, he broke the power of sin. Sine does not rule over the Christian any longer.

Except we keep sinning.

There is a reality of what God did on the Cross. And there is a reality of what goes on in our lives.

The penalty for sin was broken in our lives. So, if we have given our allegiance to Jesus, we are assured that we will be with him for eternity.

The power of sin was broken in our lives. Sin does not command us anymore, even if we are not 100% fully free yet. Even if we will never be 100% fully freein this life. But without Jesus breaking the power of sin, here and now, there is no hope of ever overcoming sin in this life.

I, personally, do not think a follower of Christ will ever be sin-free in this lifetime. But I do think there can be substantial growth in this lifetime.

There can be, and there will be, habits and practices that we have, that we know are wrong in God's sight, that will be replaced with God-glorifying habits and practices.