MAY 2023

HOW WELL ARE WE DOING WITH THIS COMMISSION TO DISCIPLE NATIONS?

To understand what we mean, let's start by looking at the Greek term for disciple in the New Testament. This word means "mathetes", which basically is a student or a learner. 

A disciple has been shown to be someone who follows the teachings, life and aim of another, until the person becomes like the master. 

Discipleship in the Christian sense is the process of making someone become like Christ. So in my mind, there's first a sense of replicating the model in every way, and secondly teaching the model in turn, to replicate others. What a wonderful way the Lord desired that we would replicate His Image on this earth, so we were told to go forth and multiply (Genesis 1 v 28).

Another rather comprehensive definition is entering into the lifelong process of becoming that person who not only lives that way, but shows others how to do it also. The person must learn to do it and show it. That really is the Great Commission (Matthew 28 v 16-20) put simply. We must be clear about who our model is so we are not learning from the wrong person, and thereby completely miss the mark. 

So we should introduce people to the model, who in this case is Jesus Christ, thereby making disciples as we go, wherever we go, and with whoever we come across.

In its fullness, as in the Great Commission we really are not only to have discipleship classes and teach a few, NO, the call on each child of God is to disciple Nations of the world. 

You may say that this sounds too big. But, read the Bible again, because this is what it says. When you consider this from God's perspective, anything less would be too small for Him to ask of us. After all, He is the God of the Universe, and we must be careful that we don't reduce Him to a god we can fully comprehend and maybe control. Rather, with this great commission, He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us, and we never have to do anything He asks us to do alone.

Now that we understand the Assignment a little better, we can go on to look at some aspects. There is a great cost to discipleship and Jesus was always very clear about this. In Luke 14 v 25-27, Jesus first lays out two of the costs of discipleship, then He gives two parables, (Luke 14 v 28-32), that stress a similar point. Jesus wants us to understand that it involves a total commitment. We need to be ready to freely give Jesus complete authority over our lives. We must forfeit our own rights in order to serve Him in whatever capacity He chooses. This is why in writing the first stanza of Psalm 23 (The Lord is My Shepherd), King David starts by saying that we first have to give the Lordship of our lives over to God Almighty before He can Shepherd us. Sometimes we wonder why we don't seem to be completely under His covering. We forget that we have not trusted Him, or placed Him on the Throne of our lives, for Him to effectively shepherd us. 

Also, "Bearing our Cross" means submitting to Him. If we really believe He is the All-knowing God, then, that should help us submit, especially if we trust Him completely. 

Jesus in Mark 8 v 34 also speaks of self denial. Jesus says this kind of self denial results in obedience to His commands. It also gets us involved in serving others happily, as Jesus did and then positioning us to put ourselves out to suffer for Christ's sake.

Paul said in Philippians 1 v 29 that it had been granted to you and I, that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in Him, "but also suffer for His sake". 

When we speak of suffering, we often think of physical suffering, but there are emotional, mental, relational and spiritual suffering. As Christians, we need to realise that there is a cost. It's definitely not as heavy as Christ suffered, but we need to be prepared to carry our cross.

Jesus encourages us by letting us know there is glory after the suffering. Hebrews 12 v 2 reads that He endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him. Like our model Christ, we should endure the suffering by thinking about the joy that awaits us. 

Jesus wants us to understand that not only is there great sacrifice involved, we also need to be teachable learners. In other words, we can't just read the Word, but we have to hear Him, and obey what He tells us to do. It's the only way that we get to look like Him. 

We all know that Jesus walked in love and power. We thus need to ascertain if the make up of our discipleship courses will produce models like Jesus. Jesus healed the sick and drove out demons. Most of the gospel is about Jesus healing the sick. He even raised the dead. He then went on to teach His disciples and sent them out to do exactly this (Matthew 10 v 7- 11). Is this included in what we teach. Have we looked at how Jesus prayed for the sick and those hurting, and are we filled with compassion and pressing into this area, so we produce disciples that look like Jesus. Are we modelling the full gospel when we run discipleship courses.

Are we teaching people to love God with all their hearts, mind, soul and strength, and to love others as they love themselves. How are we helping them to enter into intimacy with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. How are we encouraging them so they spend time in the Presence and Father God can mould their hearts into that heart of Jesus. This is the Father's desire, but He looks to us to yield ourselves to Him. 

Finally, how do we get from the desire to discipling a person, to discipling nations? With the help of the Holy Spirit, as we show people how to work out the full gospel, and under the loving guidance of Jesus, people will receive a new heart, and enter into the fullness of how Jesus walked and thus, the spiritual state of Nations will be changed and impacted.