The Great Commission

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."

Many of us know this as the Great Commission, where Jesus tells us to go out and tell all people of the good news of Him. As Christians this should be something we want to do, wishing all the same security and love in Christ of which we have. Note that the verse doesn't say hangout and I'll bring people to you, it says GO. I do think that a gift God has given me is the comfort of telling people I know and don't know about God and the Bible. I have heard and know others that are very uncomfortable to bring up the name of Jesus to others. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and we ought always be in prayer thanking God for our strengths and asking to lift up the areas where we are weak. The commission is for all of us, I know I know, people this day are always saying don't speak of politics or religion. How though, are people who don't know Christ supposed to hear of the eternal reward that lies in Jesus and the cross? Sure there is church, but how are we to get people in the church if we never bring up God.

I have gotten many people to attend our church and not all of them still attend. That's fine, all we can do is plant the seed as Jesus tells us. Some people will not respond the way you did or how you want them to. In the end, it's all in God's timing, we need to just keep sowing seed liberally.

I have a relative who is fourteen, and most fourteen year old boys have sports and girls on their minds. Now his parents are not bad people at all, I know the father is a Christian but I am to the understanding that God and the Bible is not really discussed in their house. They don't attend church which would help them to communicate better on the topic of God, but I know that the dad has had some bad experiences at a church he used to be a regular at in the past. (Not to get off track , but isn't that the same ole story, why are there so many churches out there giving people such bad experiences? I have said it in a post before, if that happens, move on. Don't give up on church altogether, there are many out there that are worth attending and teach the good news of the Bible as it is. ) So I decided to take this relative of mine (I will refer to him as L for the rest of the post) to that movie Evan Almighty when it came out in theaters a while back. I wanted to see the movie, and my wife thought it would be a good idea to take him with me since I had bought him a Bible and didn't know how to go about giving it to him. What a icebreaker, a movie of a modern day Noah and the ark. I figured I could show him in the Bible where the story was and tell him that I actually got the Bible we are using for him. It worked out pretty well to. I had also put a slip of paper in the bible with a reading plan starting in the book of Matthew to get him familiar with the gospel and the life of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

I took him home and told him that if he ever had any questions to call and I would help explain and answer if I could and if not we could tackle the question in a Bible study. Well as you know and I was worried, a teenage boy with minimal exposure to the Word is not going to start reading the Bible like crazy and forget all other things like video games and girls. So I just had to wait, I planted a seed that I needed to let God grow. I could water it at times when I ran into him here and there, but I also didn't want to be pushy on the subject leading him to completely ignore it because of me "shoving it down his throat".

Well God hears the prayers of His children, this we all know is true, and I had been mentioning L to the Lord in my prayers. All in God's timing, and that timing came this past weekend for the hand of the Lord is doing work in L's heart. I was taking him home Saturday night and he turned down the radio in the jeep to talk. He said "do you remember that Bible you got me? I started reading it in Matthew like you said" I was astonished and asked him what he thought. He seemed to be enjoying the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount and has been talking to a friend online about the Bible and God. How awesome is that?! So we talked about it another ten or so minutes until I got him home and he just seemed curious and I hope hungry for the Word. I will keep praying that God keeps working His awesome love and will in this young man's heart. I told him again that if he has any questions to call anytime and we can tackle them, and I also mentioned that he is more than welcome anytime to come to church with us. (he has been to church with us two times before and seemed to like it)

I just love seeing God's hand at work in the younger generation, I am not that old by the way being only twenty seven, but I am much older now then when I was in those shoes as a fourteen year old. God is always at work. Are we willing to slow down in our fast paced multi-tasking lives, see His work in progress and submit ourselves by taking time to tell people the great news of Jesus and the gift of salvation through His Grace? (Ephesians 2:8-9) And always remember not to become discouraged if God is not working at the pace you think He should. 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise: as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but everyone all to come to repentance." I have found this saying to be O so true; God is never early but ALWAYS on time.

I pray for all those out there that God shows Himself to you and strengthens you for the work He may have for you. I pray we all learn to love Him and one another for His glory, and that we may lead lives pleasing in His sight. Lean on Him in trouble and in victory. With blessings and love always.
C.