Here in the islands, we have an airline with the simple name of go! It’s a small airline that offers daily inter-island flights at reasonable fares. I like the design of their logo and the simplicity of their name for it says it all, “seats are available, prices are low, what’s holding you back? Just go!“
I like that word “go” for its the last word Jesus gave to us. Remember?
“And Jesus spake unto them saying, all authority hath been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in to the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things which I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:18-20
Simple and straight forward, right? You would think. But, sadly, the state of our culture and our world today reflect a huge lack of understanding on the part of the Church, when it comes to the great commission.
This past week, I was privileged to hear and meet Joel Rosenberg, who was speaking for the first time here in the islands at the annual Calvary Chapel End-times Out Reach Conference. And, as fascinated as I was about his expertise on the middle-East, his take on Bible prophecy and the latest book, Implosion – the message that really struck my heart was his strong admonition for the Church to fulfill what Jesus has called us to do – to go!
According to Joel, statistics bear out that “the average Christian today shares his faith with a non-believer about once per year.” About once per year! Can you believe that! But, when you look at the state of our world, our country for goodness sake, it’s easy to see that this is true. In a country, where a majority of people still identify as Christian, it is obvious that the Church (in this generation) has fallen down on the job. We have failed at the task to which Jesus has called us to, and failed miserably.
The question we have to as ourselves is why? Why have we failed so miserably at what Jesus has called all believers to do.
The simple truth is that we are either too lazy, too fearful or perceive ourselves to be ill-equipped for the task. And, this is where discipling comes in. Too many believers have not been discipled in the faith and therefore, have never grown to the point, where they can share their faith in a simple but, clear and concise way with others. Babies who lack the ability and motivation to do anything more than “play with the rattle” because, they have never been shown otherwise. They have never been discipled to maturity.
It is important therefore that each of us (no matter how old we are in the Lord) be discipled ourselves as well as discipling others. It’s a God designed process for strengthing and growing those in the faith. My friend Nan is that person to me. She is very wise and helps me to stay focused in my walk with the Lord. We all need someone like that in our lives.
One day, and, maybe very soon, we will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and he will say, “show me your disciples” – “show me those you have nurtured and taught, I would like to meet them” – when, we stand in front of him will we hang our heads in shame, stammer that we didn’t really understand the meaning of the word “go” – plead ignorance or complain for of lack of time. Or, will we hear –
“Well done, good and faithful servant, enter in to the joy of the Lord”.
There may not be many days left, the rapture could be very soon. Let’s make sure that we make the most of these last days and go! – as Jesus said. This is his heart, these were his last words to us. If we want to please Jesus, this is how we do it. go!
And, as always,
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee” Psalm 122:6
Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus! Cindy
Heaven Bound 
Agreed, as a whole the church does a poor job of making disciples. Although many church mission statements have disciple-making as a goal, the stark reality is that the church makes converts who often do not mature to become disciples. I recently came upon this description of the goal of the church by Ron McGatlin: “The primary goal is not a bigger group, more activities or better services…and not even more and better evangelism…all of these and more are the results. The goal is Christ formed by the Holy Spirit in a people becoming His character and His nature in the world producing the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
Only by reproducing mature disciples can we then proclaim and expand the kingdom of God upon a fallen world. In our orthodoxy we proclaim the universal priesthood of all believers, yet in our orthopraxy we perpetuate the tradition of the clergy vs. laity system. We have conditioned people in the pews to remain spectators while we pay the clergy to do what all believers should have a part in doing. Potential ministers in Christ sadly remain babes in Christ. Others depart for other churches seeking “to be fed” or worse yet, fall away. The greatest spectator sport in our nation today is not to be found in NFL stadiums on Sundays; instead it is found in our churches.
[Well said! I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for adding to today’s discussion, Stu. I really appreciate it! C]
By: Stu on August 31, 2012
at 11:31 pm
Thanks for your insights, which made my job easier on today’s program (and also today’s homework!) Stu also put a few points on the board.
The points I raised in my discussion were that seeing people get saved, or having the Holy Spirit use our efforts to bring souls from death to life, is a serendipity. It will happen naturally when Christians are about the business of building disciples, which is the core of the Great Commission.
Once again, Americanized churchianity has bamboozled us. Our job is not to get people saved; that’s the Holy Spirit’s arena. I heartily recommend a reading of Ephesians for clarity on this. It’s all about edification, and as physically mature people replicate, even so spiritually mature people do the same. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are given in order to equip the saints for works of ministry, NOT to do the works themselves while we listen to them at weekly meetings and support them financially.
I think we can get this right, but there isn’t much time left.
[Thanks Steve! I am once again humbled that you would add me to your homework page and I appreciate you taking the time to add your thoughts to this discussion. This has been a point of discussion between my daughters and my self lately and as my one daughter phrases it – “we take people to the foot of the cross and then leave them there” – and, yet we know Jesus wants so much more for them. And, that requires effort and diligence on our part. Something I’m thinking a whole lot more about lately. Thanks so much for writing! A pleasure as always to hear from you! C]
By: stevekerp on September 1, 2012
at 2:52 am
By: Mike on September 2, 2012
at 12:24 pm
Cindy, this is a wonderful article and strong reminder of our Great Commission! I would just like to share what your own articles have meant to me over the years. I have enjoyed your stories of witnessing to the lost on the island, and have been deeply touched by your testimony. Through sharing your own experiences, you have helped me to be more bold in approaching people here on the streets of Houston, whereby previously I wasn’t living my faith the way I was supposed to. I owe this in large part to your fine example!
Please be continually aware that you are doing a wonderful work for Christ and His Kingdom both in witnessing to the lost and in sharing your testimonies with the Body. God only knows how many thousands of lives you have touched! Our Lord and Savior certainly has you where He needs you to be for a time such as this! God bless you, dear sister, and thank-you,
Your brother,
Carlos
By: CARLOS MONTAÑA on September 2, 2012
at 11:57 pm
Love it!!!!!! Thanks for the powerful reminder Cindy – now let’s GO!!!!
By: Linda on September 3, 2012
at 2:50 am