What’s your only goal as a Church?
The obvious answer, most of us will give could be “to make disciples of Jesus Christ.” Sometimes, I feel like we show it more on paper, but not in real life.
You may probably disagree with me on that. But, let me ask you: “how many disciples of Jesus Christ have you made?” Or, “how many disciples of Jesus Christ do you think our Church has made?”
I know there are a lot of arguments stating that it’s not about the numbers or quantity, but quality. I’m with you on that to some extent. But, in God’s eyes, numbers also matter. The reason is that God wants to save as many people as possible.
Let’s read this scripture,
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.
Before we reflect on the above piece of scripture, I would like you to understand that even though Jesus had called only twelve disciples to be his closest friends, He wanted to save many more through this small group of early Christians.
The way to do it was through the Church. Go to Matthew 16, and focus on verses 13-20.
Two fundamental questions to show we are disciples of Jesus Christ
There, you find two fundamental questions that represent the foundation of what our goal should always be:
- Who do people say the Son of Man is (Matthew 16:13)?
- Who do you say I am (Matthew 16:15)?
In this text, the disciples first told Jesus that people think that He is Elijah, or one of the other Old Testament prophets. Others even think that He is the Messiah.
Then, Jesus would ask them what they thought of who Jesus is.
Their answer, especially, to the second question is very important. And, while no one was able to answer the right way, Peter would say: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).
That’s it. That was what Jesus was expecting to hear. A disciple is someone who, not only says what people think of Jesus.
[bctt tweet=”A disciple is someone who believes, confesses, and proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah (the Christ), and the Son of the living God. ” username=”emmanuelnaweji”]
Jesus’ response to Peter’s answer is that,
… you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:18-20.
A thriving Church is that, which has people who believe, confess, and proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah (the Christ), and the Son of the living God. It’s a Church that Jesus, Himself, builds!
With that in mind, let’s now go back to Matthew 28:16-20.
The story in this scripture is about Jesus meeting with the disciples at a place before He ascended into heaven.
As you begin reading this piece of scripture, you notice that some disciples were still in doubt, which is a natural and human feeling.
We all struggle with times of doubts and unbelief. Don’t we?
But, what matters is our obedience to God and God’s word. That’s exactly what these disciples did. Even though some doubted, they still went to the place of meeting with the Lord.
Jesus builds His Church when we show obedience to Him and His plan!
The Church Jesus is building only has one goal, which is to go and make disciples of all nations
Read Matthew 28:19,
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.
We go and make disciples of all nations under divine authority (read Matthew 28:18).
Before Jesus sending the disciples, He told them that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him.”
You and I, for as long as we believe that Jesus is the Christ and the son of the living God, we have divine authority.
That’s where we all should start from, before doing anything else.
Read Matthew 28:19-20,
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.
Notice that there are two ways we will make disciples of all nations: baptism and teaching.
The order should be as follows though:
- Start with Divine authority.
- Baptize them.
- Teach them.
Before doing anything even when it sounds like a great Church task, ask yourself (yourselves) this question: “is God walking with me(us)?”
A lot of times, we skip the first step (Divine authority) and jump right onto steps two (Baptism) and three (Teaching).
Guess what?
The early Church didn’t have a Church building, Sunday schools, youth groups, a paid pastor (academically trained), small groups, etc. They sometimes were in hiding because of fear to be arrested due to their faith in Jesus Christ.
While being a disciple of Jesus meant that they had to believe, confess, and proclaim that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), and the Son of the living God, that was a real crime in the Jewish communities. It was also like sacrilege in non-Jewish nations (Gentiles) too.
The question is “how did they then make disciples of all nations?” I’m glad you asked.
Making disciples happens through your everyday living.
Everything, Jesus taught the disciples was to equip them to make disciples of all nations. That’s the great commission He gave them in the end, and before ascending into heaven as stated in Matthew 28.
Even though the early Church people met in homes, they witnessed their faith as they interacted with everyone else in society.
They didn’t hide who they were as disciples of Jesus Christ. They used every opportunity possible to talk about their faith.
When you read the book of Acts, you’ll find lots of stories about how they made disciples of all nations.
What we have today, Sunday schools, youth groups, small groups, etc., are a way to equip you to make disciples through your ordinary way of life.
[bctt tweet=”Jesus is building His Church through how you interact with every single person you meet. He does it through your relationships, work, and you conduct yourself, on a daily basis, in society. ” username=”emmanuelnaweji”]
You are the hands and feet of Jesus all the days of your life. That’s your mission, and God uses you in your everyday living to draw more people to Himself through faith in Jesus Christ.
