“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age.”—Matthew 28:19-20
A good student takes the assignment
that a teacher gives seriously. The student does what is required, going the
best that they can and completes the assignment in the time allotted.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave His followers a
commandment—an assignment—to share
the good news of the gospel. Are you taking the assignment seriously
and are you using your best efforts in completing the task?
Christ told His followers to share the good news about
salvation and make disciples of all nations. Are you praying and waiting for God to do what
He told you to do? The Scripture tells us that “the glorious gospel…has been committed to
our trust” (1 Timothy 1:11).
Jesus told us that we are to follow His example and when we
do then our actions and words should touch people as His did, “For I have given you an example, that you
should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15). Recipients
of Christ’s love were forever changed. As
His followers, we have the Holy Spirit residing within us, which means we have
access to the same power that raised Christ from the dead, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).
God ordained that ordinary people like you and like me are to
communicate the good news to every creature, to all the nations. God depends upon us to communicate the good
news to every creature in all the nations, and sadly, if we do not, people will
not hear the message of Christ and His love will not be communicated. However, Paul speaking by inspiration of the
Holy Spirit wrote in 1Timothy 1:12, “And
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me
faithful, putting me into the ministry.”
Christ wants to visit the incarcerated, the sick, the lonely,
the infirmed of our community, but He needs human beings to function through. He
has enabled us to do what He
did. When we visit those in prison, He visits them. When we visit the lonely, those in the
hospitals, those sick at home He
visits them. We are impacting lives by
allowing Jesus to touch through us,
to love through us, to heal through us, to encourage through us, to bring
assurance, deliverance and so much more—it is all done through Jesus loving and
living through us. If we can not go personally to other nations, we can assist those
who do go by financially and prayerfully supporting kingdom efforts on foreign
soil.
Our Lord was serious about telling His followers to share the
gospel. Consider how you spend your time
and your money. Does this indicate obedience to the most
important assignment you have ever received? What changes must you make to give Jesus’
commandment top priority?
Prayer—Father I thank
You for helping me to refocus my priorities this year. Holy Spirit I ask you to show me any areas of
my life that I need to make adjustments so that I can fully cooperate with Your
plan in sharing the gospel to all the world.
Lord, I surrender a new to You today, to use me as an instrument of Your
peace and love to ministry love in a hurting world, in Jesus Name. Amen.
