The Great Commission
Matthew 28:18-20
Message #11
In the last message, we touched briefly on the life of “Jesus The Messiah,” and I begged you to get to know Jesus IN the Gospels because the incarnation – life – sacrificial death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the absolute fulcrum of human history. I did all I could in one message to inspire you to read the Gospels and absorb the life of Jesus Christ.
I recommend a book called The Story, which is the four Gospels put together in a super easy “readable” format.
In that message, we said Jesus was the culmination, the fulfillment, the epicenter of God’s Plan of Redemption for Mankind. Jesus Christ came to save us from an otherwise unconquerable eternal enemy – sin! The Great Reconciliation between a Holy God and sinful Man was fully accomplished in the life, death, resurrection of Jesus.
And he also came to transform us in this life by giving us his own life and his own power to live in us, and we must make a connection between those two things.
Jesus Christ came as the fulfillment of God’s plan to redeem us from sin and restore us to God. And he also gave us his life and the power of his Holy Spirit – right now – for the remainder of our lives here. What is the connection between Jesus coming to save us and Jesus giving us his life, and his power – right now? What is the connection between us being saved and God’s plan of redemption?
After we were saved by faith, why did Jesus give us his life and his power for our lives here? Why God? Why did you save me through faith in Jesus and then transform me by giving me your life and your power?
Is it for my own good, Lord?
Is it for my own benefit?
Is it for all the blessings you want to give me?
Do I have the life of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit for my own benefit and blessing?
Please take a minute to answer this question… If you’ve put your faith in Jesus, been saved from your sin, and been given his life and his power to transform you… is it for your own benefit???
And if the life and power of Jesus Christ living inside you is not for your own benefit, then who is it for?
There are two correct answers to that question.
1). For God to enable us to do what he has called us to do for GOD’S GLORY!
2). For other people – as we do our part in the Great Commission
If you are saved today, you’ve been given the life of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit… to enable you to join God in his Great Plan of Redemption, and your part in God’s Plan of Redemption is called – The Great Commission.
One of the many things that absolutely blow my mind about God is how individual he is.
He created you – individually
He knows you – individually (since your mother’s womb)
He saved you individually
God started Mankind with an individual – Adam. He could have started with a million as easily as with one. God started his Plan of Redemption with an individual – Abraham. And when God revealed himself to you, he came to you individually! God saves people individually – one at a time!
How? How does God do this? Most often, God comes to an individual through an individual. Meaning – God uses individuals who’ve been transformed by his life and power… to bring the Good News of salvation to other individuals. THAT is what the Book of Acts is about, individuals who’ve been transformed by the life of Jesus Christ, bringing the Good News of salvation to other individuals.
Dave, Dave, Dave – you’re killing me with this word individual. You’ve said it so many times, it’s ringing in my head! Exactly!
Because the Great Commission is about you – individually.
Here is a self-focus shocker… God DID NOT save you for YOUR OWN benefit!!
You and I were saved
1). For God’s Glory
2). To be part of God’s Plan of Redemption
But those benefits come AS we are joining him in his work, and his work is summed up in the Great Commission.
So. If you are saved today, when we read the Great Commission, will you receive it – individually? This is the last command you personally received from your Commander-In-Chief. If you belong to Jesus, these are the all-encompassing marching orders from your Lord.
Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The last command – the all-encompassing marching order is for YOU – individually – to be making Disciples!! Now, for some of us, that statement seems radical – that God has called you personally to be making Disciples. It may seem radical… but it is absolutely true. Jesus commanded his Disciples – to be making DISCIPLES, and the only way you get out of this command is to not be a disciple.
Biblically – a Disciple is a FOLLOWER of Jesus Christ, and if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, he has commissioned you to be involved in making other followers. And you can be, you should be, and we – as a Church – must be!
Let’s review what a Disciple IS. In its simplest form, a Disciple is “a learner and a follower. One who is learning from and following another.”
The two words used in the New Testament for Disciples
One means “to learn” – used three hundred times
One means “to follow” – used ninety times
And so, the simplest definition is:
“One who is learning from and following Jesus.”
And so, the process of making Disciples means (most simply) “Sharing about Jesus Christ with others and helping them follow him.”
The definition we use in our Mission Statement here is:
We are committed to helping one another become fully devoted reproducing followers of Jesus Christ.
Being a Disciple – is following Jesus
Making Disciples – is helping others follow Jesus
Sounds simple enough, right? But one of my favorite sayings is, “It’s simple, but it’s not easy.”
How do you make a disciple – one who is learning and following Jesus? The way for you personally is as individual as you are personally. You have to do what God made you to do. In some way, how you are part of sharing Jesus with someone else and helping him follow him?
They are committed to helping one another become fully devoted reproducing followers of Jesus Christ.
The first reason we exist is to glorify his name. To bring him glory. To worship him. The second reason we exist is to help one another become radical followers.
If you’ve been here a while, you’ve heard this story – please hear it again, to continue to grasp the significance. In the second half of 2008, the elders of this church met regularly for sixth months to evaluate how we were doing as a church. At that time, we had been in existence for seven years; we had been clinging to the strength and the protection and the Rock of Jesus Christ. We had been through some full-scale frontal attacks by the enemy to destroy this church.
We looked very closely at what we were actually doing compared to what Jesus, Our Commander, had called us to do, and we kept coming up with a very concerning discrepancy. We could not easily define (point to) where, how, and even if we were purposefully making Disciples. We were giving our lives for the Lord in this ministry. But still, we could not clearly point to exactly where and exactly how we were making Disciples. And it freaked me out!
At that time, it had been seven hard years of ministry here. In the strength of the Lord, we had faced numerous direct attacks of the enemy to destroy this church. By God’s grace, we had survived – but were we making disciples? It wasn’t clear enough, and we couldn’t tell for sure. And so, I freaked out, and I probably overreacted a bit.
In January 2009, I called a huge meeting of seventy leaders and key people in this ministry. And I shared with them (with possibly a bit too much intensity) that we were either going to start clearly and purposefully making disciples or we were going to shut the church down.
And I really thought that decision and commitment would be strongly supported as Biblical, godly leadership. Instead, in six months, one-third of our people and one-third of our income had disappeared. In my intensity, I certainly mishandled that refocus, and for a time, I thought we really were going to shut the church down. But it was not only my mishandling of our total refocus on making Disciples.
Our spiritual enemy (already trying hard to kill this church) seemed to have a real problem with us recommitting (with intensity) to be making Disciples. And that spiritual enemy inspired another large-scale attack on the church – again from the inside. And by the way, in our church culture, almost all major enemy attacks on the church come from the inside. Remember that the next time someone starts feeding you poison that would turn you against the church (attacks from the inside).
But no matter what, we held on to our renewed commitment to make Disciples, and today, four years later, I can easily point to area after area where Disciples are truly being made on a regular basis! This church is becoming a disciple-making ministry, an environment where disciples are making disciples. Every day of the week, I can point you to a group in this church that is truly and purposefully making disciples. And I’m so grateful for every person God has brought to Nuevo to join us in our all-encompassing commitment to obey the Lord’s command to be making disciples. Thank you all very much.
The enemy doesn’t care if you’re in church. He’s here. He doesn’t mind if you’re here. What he doesn’t want is for you to be a full-time follower of Jesus. He doesn’t want you to be a disciple. You can sit in church all you want as long as you’re not actually following Jesus. But when a church says listen, we’re here to help you follow Jesus, 24/7, the enemy seems to have an issue with that.
Now, if some (or all) of that is new to you, let me help you catch up to where the Lord has brought us.
We have a series called “Why Discipleship,” and you can get that on the wordbymail phone app or at wordbymail.com. We made this refocus commitment in January 2009, and it took until the first of June for the enemy to stir up trouble over this crazy idea of a church actually following the Great Commission. I taught this message in the spirit of 2 Corinthians 2:11 which says, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs (schemes).
I would really encourage you to read the message and listen to the message “Why Discipleship?” If you really want to grasp what God is teaching us about joining him in the Great Commission, search “Discipleship” in the search bar, and messages will come up on this topic.
Alright, there’s the background for us personally as a church. Now, let’s read those verses again and break them down.
Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus begins with an all-powerful statement. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. This is the foundation for the Great Commission. Jesus, who has all authority in heaven and on earth, has given us this commission to be making disciples. That should give you confidence that you’re in the will of God when we’re involved in helping others follow Jesus. And remember, this is the King of kings who gave his life for you, who wants to use you to give others new life.
And the Lord of Heaven and Earth says, therefore because of who I am… go therefore and make disciples of all nations.
Because ALL have sinned and are under the judgment of God
Because I came to give them the only way of salvation
Go therefore, and make learners and followers. Tell them about me and help them follow me.
The tense here in the original language is AS YOU ARE GOING – be making Disciples.
Maybe you’re going to Africa to the ends of the earth
Maybe you’re going to work down the 91 freeway
Maybe you’re going home where your family is at
As you are going Jesus says be making disciples! Tell them about me and help them follow me.
Our salvation is not for our benefit only. It’s for the benefit of the people God puts in front of us!
Whether that’s on the other end of the earth
The other end of the freeway
Or at the other end of the dinner table.
And then, verse 19 says, AS you are making followers of Jesus… baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The first order of obedience for a believer is to be baptized. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward miracle. When a believer puts their full faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, what Jesus accomplished becomes ours through identification. By faith, we are identified with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and his victory over sin and death – becomes ours. And in baptism, we put on display that identification. Baptism says to the world, I have become identified with Jesus Christ and with his Body – the Church.
Plus, there might be a little bit of a wordplay here. The Greek word for Baptism is BAPTIZO – which means “to immerse to bring on a permanent change.” And in the Bible, “The Name” means “according to the character and nature of a person.” And so, using those definitions, there may also be the idea of immersing a disciple in the character and nature of the Father, Son, and Spirit (which is cool).
And then, in verse 20, we were called to help those Disciples observe all that Jesus commanded.
All that Jesus commanded us is found in the New Testament
The Gospels and Acts are the historical accounts
The General Epistles are written to help the first churches and believers through the same problems we have today
The Pastoral Epistles are written to help church leaders
Revelation is written to help us know – Jesus wins!
And guys, learning and teaching all these things encompasses our entire lives as Disciples. There is no “ticket punch” salvation in the Bible. This is a life-long learning and growing process.
Francis Chan says,
Salvation is not like receiving a train ticket to heaven, where the ticket gets us aboard, but after that we can put it in our pocket and forget about it. Rather, it is like a marriage, where we enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ and become a part of His family, the church. The Christian life is a process of . . . learning to apply [Jesus’] teaching in our everyday lives, and then teaching others . . . to do the same.
Be a disciple – make disciples – Disciples making Disciples
And the greatest part of it all is the end of verse 20, And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
That’s really it – that Jesus Christ will be with us – always to the end of the age. When a soldier goes into battle, if he knows his highest general is right there with him, it gives him confidence. And our High General is the Creator and King of Heaven and Earth! And he is with us.
And the work of salvation is finished. The victory is absolutely and completely won. It’s already finished and won!
Hebrews 10:12 (ESV)
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
The work of salvation is finished! But there is still work to do. In 1 Corinthians 3, verse 9, Paul says of he and Appollos,
1 Corinthians 3:9 (ESV)
9 For we are God’s fellow workers . . .
2 Corinthians 5:20 (ESV)
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
God chose to use us – to bring the Good News to the world
God chose to use us – to help others follow Jesus
God does not have a backup plan
God will use his Church to reach the world with the hope and salvation of Jesus Christ. But here is the part each of us must personally come to grips with. If you belong to Jesus Christ today, he has commissioned you to take part in his only plan to bring salvation to the world.
Are you willing to say this? – Yes, Lord! Where you place me, I will be willing to be used by you to invite others to follow you and then help them do that.
I recommend a book called The Story, which is the four Gospels put together in a super easy “readable” format.
In that message, we said Jesus was the culmination, the fulfillment, the epicenter of God’s Plan of Redemption for Mankind. Jesus Christ came to save us from an otherwise unconquerable eternal enemy – sin! The Great Reconciliation between a Holy God and sinful Man was fully accomplished in the life, death, resurrection of Jesus.
And he also came to transform us in this life by giving us his own life and his own power to live in us, and we must make a connection between those two things.
Jesus Christ came as the fulfillment of God’s plan to redeem us from sin and restore us to God. And he also gave us his life and the power of his Holy Spirit – right now – for the remainder of our lives here. What is the connection between Jesus coming to save us and Jesus giving us his life, and his power – right now? What is the connection between us being saved and God’s plan of redemption?
After we were saved by faith, why did Jesus give us his life and his power for our lives here? Why God? Why did you save me through faith in Jesus and then transform me by giving me your life and your power?
Is it for my own good, Lord?
Is it for my own benefit?
Is it for all the blessings you want to give me?
Do I have the life of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit for my own benefit and blessing?
Please take a minute to answer this question… If you’ve put your faith in Jesus, been saved from your sin, and been given his life and his power to transform you… is it for your own benefit???
And if the life and power of Jesus Christ living inside you is not for your own benefit, then who is it for?
There are two correct answers to that question.
1). For God to enable us to do what he has called us to do for GOD’S GLORY!
2). For other people – as we do our part in the Great Commission
If you are saved today, you’ve been given the life of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit… to enable you to join God in his Great Plan of Redemption, and your part in God’s Plan of Redemption is called – The Great Commission.
One of the many things that absolutely blow my mind about God is how individual he is.
He created you – individually
He knows you – individually (since your mother’s womb)
He saved you individually
God started Mankind with an individual – Adam. He could have started with a million as easily as with one. God started his Plan of Redemption with an individual – Abraham. And when God revealed himself to you, he came to you individually! God saves people individually – one at a time!
How? How does God do this? Most often, God comes to an individual through an individual. Meaning – God uses individuals who’ve been transformed by his life and power… to bring the Good News of salvation to other individuals. THAT is what the Book of Acts is about, individuals who’ve been transformed by the life of Jesus Christ, bringing the Good News of salvation to other individuals.
Dave, Dave, Dave – you’re killing me with this word individual. You’ve said it so many times, it’s ringing in my head! Exactly!
Because the Great Commission is about you – individually.
Here is a self-focus shocker… God DID NOT save you for YOUR OWN benefit!!
You and I were saved
1). For God’s Glory
2). To be part of God’s Plan of Redemption
But those benefits come AS we are joining him in his work, and his work is summed up in the Great Commission.
So. If you are saved today, when we read the Great Commission, will you receive it – individually? This is the last command you personally received from your Commander-In-Chief. If you belong to Jesus, these are the all-encompassing marching orders from your Lord.
Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The last command – the all-encompassing marching order is for YOU – individually – to be making Disciples!! Now, for some of us, that statement seems radical – that God has called you personally to be making Disciples. It may seem radical… but it is absolutely true. Jesus commanded his Disciples – to be making DISCIPLES, and the only way you get out of this command is to not be a disciple.
Biblically – a Disciple is a FOLLOWER of Jesus Christ, and if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, he has commissioned you to be involved in making other followers. And you can be, you should be, and we – as a Church – must be!
Let’s review what a Disciple IS. In its simplest form, a Disciple is “a learner and a follower. One who is learning from and following another.”
The two words used in the New Testament for Disciples
One means “to learn” – used three hundred times
One means “to follow” – used ninety times
And so, the simplest definition is:
“One who is learning from and following Jesus.”
And so, the process of making Disciples means (most simply) “Sharing about Jesus Christ with others and helping them follow him.”
The definition we use in our Mission Statement here is:
We are committed to helping one another become fully devoted reproducing followers of Jesus Christ.
Being a Disciple – is following Jesus
Making Disciples – is helping others follow Jesus
Sounds simple enough, right? But one of my favorite sayings is, “It’s simple, but it’s not easy.”
How do you make a disciple – one who is learning and following Jesus? The way for you personally is as individual as you are personally. You have to do what God made you to do. In some way, how you are part of sharing Jesus with someone else and helping him follow him?
They are committed to helping one another become fully devoted reproducing followers of Jesus Christ.
The first reason we exist is to glorify his name. To bring him glory. To worship him. The second reason we exist is to help one another become radical followers.
If you’ve been here a while, you’ve heard this story – please hear it again, to continue to grasp the significance. In the second half of 2008, the elders of this church met regularly for sixth months to evaluate how we were doing as a church. At that time, we had been in existence for seven years; we had been clinging to the strength and the protection and the Rock of Jesus Christ. We had been through some full-scale frontal attacks by the enemy to destroy this church.
We looked very closely at what we were actually doing compared to what Jesus, Our Commander, had called us to do, and we kept coming up with a very concerning discrepancy. We could not easily define (point to) where, how, and even if we were purposefully making Disciples. We were giving our lives for the Lord in this ministry. But still, we could not clearly point to exactly where and exactly how we were making Disciples. And it freaked me out!
At that time, it had been seven hard years of ministry here. In the strength of the Lord, we had faced numerous direct attacks of the enemy to destroy this church. By God’s grace, we had survived – but were we making disciples? It wasn’t clear enough, and we couldn’t tell for sure. And so, I freaked out, and I probably overreacted a bit.
In January 2009, I called a huge meeting of seventy leaders and key people in this ministry. And I shared with them (with possibly a bit too much intensity) that we were either going to start clearly and purposefully making disciples or we were going to shut the church down.
And I really thought that decision and commitment would be strongly supported as Biblical, godly leadership. Instead, in six months, one-third of our people and one-third of our income had disappeared. In my intensity, I certainly mishandled that refocus, and for a time, I thought we really were going to shut the church down. But it was not only my mishandling of our total refocus on making Disciples.
Our spiritual enemy (already trying hard to kill this church) seemed to have a real problem with us recommitting (with intensity) to be making Disciples. And that spiritual enemy inspired another large-scale attack on the church – again from the inside. And by the way, in our church culture, almost all major enemy attacks on the church come from the inside. Remember that the next time someone starts feeding you poison that would turn you against the church (attacks from the inside).
But no matter what, we held on to our renewed commitment to make Disciples, and today, four years later, I can easily point to area after area where Disciples are truly being made on a regular basis! This church is becoming a disciple-making ministry, an environment where disciples are making disciples. Every day of the week, I can point you to a group in this church that is truly and purposefully making disciples. And I’m so grateful for every person God has brought to Nuevo to join us in our all-encompassing commitment to obey the Lord’s command to be making disciples. Thank you all very much.
The enemy doesn’t care if you’re in church. He’s here. He doesn’t mind if you’re here. What he doesn’t want is for you to be a full-time follower of Jesus. He doesn’t want you to be a disciple. You can sit in church all you want as long as you’re not actually following Jesus. But when a church says listen, we’re here to help you follow Jesus, 24/7, the enemy seems to have an issue with that.
Now, if some (or all) of that is new to you, let me help you catch up to where the Lord has brought us.
We have a series called “Why Discipleship,” and you can get that on the wordbymail phone app or at wordbymail.com. We made this refocus commitment in January 2009, and it took until the first of June for the enemy to stir up trouble over this crazy idea of a church actually following the Great Commission. I taught this message in the spirit of 2 Corinthians 2:11 which says, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs (schemes).
I would really encourage you to read the message and listen to the message “Why Discipleship?” If you really want to grasp what God is teaching us about joining him in the Great Commission, search “Discipleship” in the search bar, and messages will come up on this topic.
Alright, there’s the background for us personally as a church. Now, let’s read those verses again and break them down.
Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus begins with an all-powerful statement. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. This is the foundation for the Great Commission. Jesus, who has all authority in heaven and on earth, has given us this commission to be making disciples. That should give you confidence that you’re in the will of God when we’re involved in helping others follow Jesus. And remember, this is the King of kings who gave his life for you, who wants to use you to give others new life.
And the Lord of Heaven and Earth says, therefore because of who I am… go therefore and make disciples of all nations.
Because ALL have sinned and are under the judgment of God
Because I came to give them the only way of salvation
Go therefore, and make learners and followers. Tell them about me and help them follow me.
The tense here in the original language is AS YOU ARE GOING – be making Disciples.
Maybe you’re going to Africa to the ends of the earth
Maybe you’re going to work down the 91 freeway
Maybe you’re going home where your family is at
As you are going Jesus says be making disciples! Tell them about me and help them follow me.
Our salvation is not for our benefit only. It’s for the benefit of the people God puts in front of us!
Whether that’s on the other end of the earth
The other end of the freeway
Or at the other end of the dinner table.
And then, verse 19 says, AS you are making followers of Jesus… baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The first order of obedience for a believer is to be baptized. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward miracle. When a believer puts their full faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, what Jesus accomplished becomes ours through identification. By faith, we are identified with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and his victory over sin and death – becomes ours. And in baptism, we put on display that identification. Baptism says to the world, I have become identified with Jesus Christ and with his Body – the Church.
Plus, there might be a little bit of a wordplay here. The Greek word for Baptism is BAPTIZO – which means “to immerse to bring on a permanent change.” And in the Bible, “The Name” means “according to the character and nature of a person.” And so, using those definitions, there may also be the idea of immersing a disciple in the character and nature of the Father, Son, and Spirit (which is cool).
And then, in verse 20, we were called to help those Disciples observe all that Jesus commanded.
All that Jesus commanded us is found in the New Testament
The Gospels and Acts are the historical accounts
The General Epistles are written to help the first churches and believers through the same problems we have today
The Pastoral Epistles are written to help church leaders
Revelation is written to help us know – Jesus wins!
And guys, learning and teaching all these things encompasses our entire lives as Disciples. There is no “ticket punch” salvation in the Bible. This is a life-long learning and growing process.
Francis Chan says,
Salvation is not like receiving a train ticket to heaven, where the ticket gets us aboard, but after that we can put it in our pocket and forget about it. Rather, it is like a marriage, where we enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ and become a part of His family, the church. The Christian life is a process of . . . learning to apply [Jesus’] teaching in our everyday lives, and then teaching others . . . to do the same.
Be a disciple – make disciples – Disciples making Disciples
And the greatest part of it all is the end of verse 20, And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
That’s really it – that Jesus Christ will be with us – always to the end of the age. When a soldier goes into battle, if he knows his highest general is right there with him, it gives him confidence. And our High General is the Creator and King of Heaven and Earth! And he is with us.
And the work of salvation is finished. The victory is absolutely and completely won. It’s already finished and won!
Hebrews 10:12 (ESV)
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
The work of salvation is finished! But there is still work to do. In 1 Corinthians 3, verse 9, Paul says of he and Appollos,
1 Corinthians 3:9 (ESV)
9 For we are God’s fellow workers . . .
2 Corinthians 5:20 (ESV)
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
God chose to use us – to bring the Good News to the world
God chose to use us – to help others follow Jesus
God does not have a backup plan
God will use his Church to reach the world with the hope and salvation of Jesus Christ. But here is the part each of us must personally come to grips with. If you belong to Jesus Christ today, he has commissioned you to take part in his only plan to bring salvation to the world.
Are you willing to say this? – Yes, Lord! Where you place me, I will be willing to be used by you to invite others to follow you and then help them do that.