"Lighting the Fire"
Jotting – Week 41

GO!

Go and Make Disciples

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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.’ Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20).

One way to make disciples, Jesus said, is to teach... “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations ... teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.”

Teach others of God’s love in Jesus Christ. “I want you to know that no matter what you’ve done, no matter who you are, no matter where you’ve gone, God loves you. He loves you so much that He planned from the beginning of time to send His only Son Jesus to be born into the world, to grow up and die a hideous death on a cross so that we might be forgiven. Jesus took all our sins to the cross with Him. All your sins are washed away. When God looks at you, He sees you through Jesus. He knows that His Son paid the price in full and that you are free and forgiven.”

“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Teach others to observe. “Read the Bible. See how God brought His people through slavery in Egypt, through times of tribulation and bondage, through joys and sorrows. He guided and guarded them. He protected and preserved them. He would not let them go when they turned away from Him. He called them back again and again. When they were taken captive into Babylon, God brought them back to their own land because He had a plan for them–and a plan for saving the world.  Discover how God showed His mercy time after time, and how He kept His promise of a Savior, how that Savior lived and died and rose from death so that we might have eternal life forever with Him.”
God told Abraham: “‘I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Genesis 12:2-3).

God told Jacob: “‘Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you’” (Genesis 28:15).

God told Moses: “‘I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And the LORD said: ‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey...’” (Exodus 3:6-8).

Paul wrote: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4).

Teach others what God has done in HIStory. “God’s story starts at the beginning of time. He created a perfect world, but when the crown of His creation–the people He had made–were disobedient to Him and did what He had told them not to do, that perfect world was changed forever. But God did not let despair rule. He made a promise to our first parents that He would send a Savior, Jesus, who would take our sins upon Him and crush death, sin, and Satan forever. Throughout history, we can see God’s hand at work for His people, the Israelites, and for His people, those who believe on His Son as their Redeemer.”

God told Adam and Eve: “‘I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel’” (Genesis 3:15).

The prophet Isaiah foretold: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

The apostle John writes of Jesus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:1-5).
Teach others what God has done in your story. Tell how God’s grace reached you as an infant through your Baptism or through His Word later in life. Tell how the Holy Spirit has grown faith in your heart throughout your life. Tell how the Spirit still works through you as you live as God’s child. Tell how the promises of God have been fulfilled for you and your family. Tell of your hope of heaven forever with God.

Peter wrote: “Baptism does also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21).

Jesus tells us: “‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life’” (John 5:24).

Paul wrote: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17). ...

“We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). ...

“We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;
because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel” (Colossians 1:3-5).

Teach others to make God’s story their story. “God wants you as His own dear child. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will guide you through life, answer your prayers, be with you when you fail, and forgive your sins. He waits for you. He longs for you and loves you with an everlasting love.”

God told Joshua as He tells us: “‘Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go’” (Joshua 1:9).

God tells us: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15).

Jeremiah wrote: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 29:11-14a).

The psalmist says: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Psalm 103:2-4).

Teach others to observe all things I have commanded you. “God is a holy God. He demands our obedience, but we fail so many times. Because we are sinful, we cannot live in perfect obedience. Jesus came to fulfill all that we could not do. Now we obey and follow God’s commands because we are His children. We do what He asks, not to earn heaven, for that is ours through Jesus’ sacrifice, but because it brings God joy and gives us happiness. We get to do what God wants now. We get to love God above all things. We get to love our neighbor as ourselves. We get to worship and forgive and love and honor our parents and help our neighbor–just as Jesus did. And God gives us His Holy Spirit to empower us to live as His children.”

God said, “‘...Earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul...” “Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God’”  (Deuteronomy 11:13; 12:28).

King David wrote: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

We can say with the psalmist: “Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth” (Psalm 96:8-9).

Jesus said: “‘Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God’” (Matthew 5:9).

In the Acts of the Apostles, we read: “And when the [high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests] had brought [Peter and John], they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, ‘Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!’ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men’”  (Acts 5:27-29).

Paul wrote: “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26).

Teach others to go and make disciples. “You can tell others what God has done for you. God wants all people to be saved and to know Jesus as Savior. Without Jesus, they are lost. They will not know the joy of having their sins forgiven. They will not know how much God loves them and what He has done for them. We are chosen to tell others the Good News of Jesus. Go tell someone. Go tell someone now.”

God told Moses: “‘Go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say’” (Exodus 4:12).

Jesus said: “‘For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost’” (Luke 19:10).

Jesus prayed for us: “‘As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth’” (John 17:18-19).

Jesus said: “‘Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you’” (John 20:21).

“‘But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’” (Acts 1:8).

Pray: Dear Lord Jesus, Help us teach. Imprint Your image on our hearts so that all we do and say may reflect You and Your love. Give us hearts that yearn after the lost, that mourn for those who sit in the midnight of sin, that long to teach with words and actions all we have observed of You. Make us true disciples who follow You in how we think, what we say, and how we act. Give our voices the joy of heaven as we go and teach others, making disciples as we go. In Your strong and precious name we pray, Jesus. Amen.