Tag: Great Commission

How can we go “on mission” without leaving the community?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.” (3 Jn 1:8)

How is it possible for us to go on mission without leaving our job, home, or family? Besides the fact that we are all called to be missionaries in our own communities by living life “on mission”, we do so through our giving.

When we give to support the work of missionaries around the world, we participate in their mission. Our giving provides them the opportunity to remain on the mission field to do the work of ministry, seeking to reach others for Christ.

It is important we support missionaries.

God has gifted and called each of us to a certain task. We each have a part in furthering the kingdom of God. Those called to domestic and foreign missions are the front line workers whom God has gifted in such a way that they are able to start ministries and reach the people to whom the Lord has given them a heart.

The Lord has also gifted you in certain ways so that you can participate in those ministries. He has not only given you spiritual gifts you are to employee, but he has also provided your current job and finances. In fact, everything we have is a gift of God. We are called to be good stewards of God’s gifts. Investing them in the kingdom. When we serve and give to support kingdom ministry, we are stewarding our resources well.

Be a good steward of the resources the Lord has provided, support your local ministry, as well as international missionaries.

Proclaim Your Salvation through the Supper

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Cor 11:26)

The Lord’s Supper is an opportunity for those who are believers to proclaim the salvation they have experienced in Jesus to the world. It is a way for a group of people to not only come together to remember what Jesus has done, but it is also a way for a group of people to show their unity in belief.

As a church, we are to believe the same thing in regard to what Jesus’ sacrifice accomplished. The Supper is an opportunity to learn, remember, and proclaim a unified position in regard to Jesus’ death.

Since the Supper is a proclamation of salvation in Jesus it is reserved for professing believers. Because it shows unity, those who partake in it should be unified with one another. Unity should progress past belief to life lived in community with one another. In other words, when we come to the table, we should come unified in understanding as well as action.

We should also be in right relationship with the Lord when we partake of the Supper. Those living in unrepentant sin should allow the Supper to remind them that they have been freed from the bondage of sin by Jesus’ sacrifice. They need not bow to sin and its demands any longer. Instead, they are free to cast off its chains. As well as they should be reminded that when when they came to Christ, they repented of their unbelief and professed trust in Him as their Lord and Savior. They turned from an unrepentant rebellious life to follow and serve the Savior. They should now daily continue to turn from their unbelief to follow the Lord.

The Supper should not only draw us together as a community, it should also draw us to God in worship and practice.

You are God’s Fellow Worker

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Cor 3:9)

What a privilege it is to be called God’s fellow workers. As believers, we have not only experienced salvation but we are also used as God’s instruments to bring others to faith in Christ as well as to help others grow as disciples of Christ. We are His fellow workers.

If God thinks of us as His fellow workers, we must think of ourselves in the same way. We must not shrink back from Jesus’ command to make disciple-making disciples. We must get to work.

While we must get to work, seeking to accomplish the mission Jesus has set before us, as God’s fellow workers, we don’t work alone. The God of the universe, the All-Sovereign, Creator, and Sustainer of all things works alongside us as we seek to work for Him. We work with the power provided us by God Himself.

Do you recognize you are counted as God’s fellow worker? Do you trust God to empower you for the task of making disciple-making disciples?

Are you prayerfully depending on the Spirit to build your church?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, EvangelismLeave a comment

“And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”” (Acts 8:29)

The book of Acts follows directly from the gospel of Luke. It is a continuation of the story. One of Luke’s purposes is to show how the promised Spirit guides and directs Jesus’ disciples so that the church is built.

In Acts 8, the church is scattered as Paul begins his reign of persecution. Philip finds himself on the way to Gaza. As he travels, there is a man, a Eunuch, who worked in the Ethiopian queen’s court. Traveling in a chariot, he was reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit directs Philip to join the Ethiopian in his chariot. He has the opportunity to explain the passage he was reading, connect it to Jesus and the good news of Jesus life and death for us. The man believed and was promptly baptized as a public profession of faith. After baptizing the Ethiopian, Philip was directed once again by the Spirit to another place.

Today’s passage teaches us to rely on the Spirit. He is the One directing and guiding us as we live “on mission” for Jesus. If we are going to be disciples who make disciples, we need to prayerfully depend on the Spirit to guide and direct us to those in whom the Lord is at work. We are Jesus’ instruments used by Him to build His church.

Are you prayerfully depending on the Spirit to build your church? Are you praying that the Spirit would provide you an opportunity to minister to someone today? Are you hopeful that the Spirit is at work in your life, your family, and your community, drawing people to Christ? Do you long to be a part of the work the Spirit is doing?

To whom is He directing you today?

Be sure in your witness for the Lord is with you

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

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

In the same way that the first witnesses were empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring the gospel to the world, we are empowered as well.

When you go out “On Mission”, you do not go out in your own strength. You are empowered by the Holy Spirit. As you speak His Word, He drives that into the heart of man, convicting and calling them to Himself.

Be sure in your witness for the Lord is with you.

The Unified Mission, Devotion, and Power of the Church – Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical2 Comments

Growing up I played a lot of team sports. Mainly, I played baseball and soccer. On most of the teams I played, there was a fair amount of camaraderie and unity. I’m sure if you’ve ever played team sports, you have felt that as well.

The cause of that camaraderie and unity comes from a singular mission and devotion. You are all in it together. You are all working towards the same goals — to win the championship and to become the best athlete you can be. Those goals bring a team together. I’ve experienced that, and I’m sure you have experienced that as well.

But for all the camaraderie and unity I have experienced as a part of a team, nothing brings us together like Jesus. When we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become the people of God. He is our Father and we are His children, which makes us all brothers and sisters in the Lord. It makes us all a family. If you think about it, that is amazing in and of itself because the people of God, the church, is comprised of people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. We are a diverse yet unified group.

I don’t know about you, but I feel that unity when I meet another Christian. It doesn’t matter where I’m at. I could be half-way across the world or down at the local Starbucks. When I meet a fellow believer, there is an instant connection and bond that’s formed. I immediately feel comfortable and connected with them. The reason we feel that connection is not only because we are brothers and sisters in the Lord, but because we share a common mission and devotion.

What’s the unified mission and devotion of the church?

Over the next several posts, I’m going to answer that question, as well as I’m going to look at what empowers our mission and devotion.

What is the Unified Mission of the Church? (vs. Matt 28:18-20)

In Matthew 28 Jesus gives our mission. In verse 19 He says,

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” (Mt 28:19a)

Our mission, then, as believers are to “make disciples”. That’s what we are to do.

What’s a disciple?

A disciple is someone who follows a specific teacher or leader. When Jesus tells us that we are to “make disciples”, what He means is that we are to cause others to follow Him.

The way we make disciples is by telling them the good news about Jesus so that they would want to follow Him too. You see, we aren’t in the business of forcing anyone to follow Jesus. Instead, we are to convince others that following Jesus is what’s best.

Following Jesus is what’s best for us. 

Jesus has saved us from the Father’s punishment by taking our punishment for us. That’s necessary because we are sinners, who live in rebellion to God. We rebel against God and sin when we forsake His commandments and way of doing things for our way. As rebels, we deserve God’s punishment, which involves the Father’s wrath being poured out on us for an eternity in Hell.

The good news, however, is that we don’t have to experience Hell, nor do we have to live at odds with God now. We can experience eternal life and a relationship with the Father now that involves His blessing, protection, and Fatherly care. As well as we can experience freedom from the bondage, the stranglehold, that sin has on our lives. The best part is that we don’t have to pay or work for these benefits. They are freely given by God. All we have to do is humble ourselves, which we do by believing that it’s Jesus work that provides eternal life, a restored relationship, and freedom from sin’s bondage. Specifically, His work on the cross, where our sins were placed on Him and He was punished in our place. Isn’t that amazing? Jesus, the Son of God, God incarnate, the perfect God-man, who deserved no punishment because He never once rebelled against His Father, was punished in our place so that we can experience the benefits of the gospel!

When we realize and experience what Jesus has done for us, we should want to tell others the good news so that can experience what we have and are experiencing. Freedom from sin, hope in the future, joy in a restored relationship, Fatherly care and blessing, true love.

Not only should we want to tell others the good news, but that’s the mission Jesus has given us. He tells us that we are to be disciples who make disciples.

We make disciples by going, baptizing, and teaching. 

Going
The first of those is “going”. Again, in the beginning of verse 19, Jesus says:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” (Mt 28:19a)

Going tells us that we aren’t to sit stagnantly. We aren’t to just let folks come to us. Instead, we are to go and find folks to tell the good news.

When Jesus tells us to go, He doesn’t just mean for us to go on a mission trip, or go and be a missionary in another country. Those things are necessary and we should do them, but that’s not all that Jesus means when He tells us to go.

Instead, He has in mind that we are making disciples as we are going about our day. So whether we are living in Africa, China, or Decatur, we are to make disciples as we are going about our day.

Baptizing

Along with going, we are also to baptize those who believe the gospel. That’s what Jesus tells us in the remainder of verse 19 when He says,

“baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Mt 28:19a)

Now, you have to know that Jesus doesn’t tell us to baptize others because baptism saves. Instead, He tells us to baptize because Baptism shows a person’s commitment to follow Him. In other words, it’s a way of telling the watching world that we are aligning ourselves with Jesus as His follower. That’s why baptism is done publicly instead of privately.

Teaching

Along with going and baptizing, we are also to teach those who believe the gospel to obey all God has commanded in His Word. Look at the beginning of verse 20. There Jesus says that we are to:

“[teach] them to observe all that I have commanded you.”” (Mt 28:20a)

This command isn’t just for Pastors. It’s for everyone. We are all commanded to teach others how to follow Jesus. That tells us, then, that making disciples isn’t just about leading someone to make a profession of faith. Making disciples involves much more. It involves us teaching others what it means and how to follow Jesus.

Before you start to rethink my earlier comment that this isn’t just a command for pastors, know that you can teach in many different ways.

  • You may teach in a formal setting like a church service, Bible study, or Sunday School class.
  • Or you might teach your family through conversation at the dinner table or a regular family devotion.
  • You might also teach others at the church by joining the discussion during Sunday School or Bible study.
  • Or you might get together with another church member for lunch or coffee and talk about what God is doing in your life.

There are a number of different ways you can teach others, which means it’s possible for all of us to be teachers. In some sense that’s encouraging, but in another sense that’s scary because it means that we are all either teaching others how to be or how not to be disciples of Jesus.

So that’s our unified mission and how we can accomplish it.

Looking Forward

But you know, we don’t accomplish that mission in our own power. Instead, we receive a power outside ourselves that help us make disciples. We will talk about what empowers us as believers next time.

Question for Reflection

  1. Are you a disciple who makes disciples?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon The Unified Mission, Devotion, and Power of the Church

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