Matthew 28:19 - 20
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (NIV)
Therefore, go…
Jesus gave the above
statement to His disciple. In other words, whosoever that will adopt this great
commission must be ready to pay the price tag. The price tag is - you must
accept to be His disciple.
To “go,” you need to know the provision on ground. Jesus gave this
commission because; all power in Heaven
and on earths belongs to Him. This commission is general to all believers
but there is a specification required for it. You need the knowledge of Grace
that is backing you up. There was a knowing the disciple knew that enable them
to believe and obey this instruction.
Are you a disciple? Do
you have a relationship with your Heavenly Father? What do you know about the
Jesus you gave your life to? You must come to the place of knowing and in that
place, you will be empowered to believe, and obey.
Less I forget, even
after this command, they didn’t lunch out immediately, they had to wait for
forty days for them to receive the promise (Holy
Spirit). Having the knowledge of this is not good enough and does not mean
you are fit to carry it out. There is a principle in God’s kingdom. In this
kingdom, there are times, and seasons. Within these times and seasons lies a
time to get the instruction, a time to get prepared for the carrying out of the
instruction (understanding) and a
time to carry out this instruction. Your duty is not just to go; there are
specifications and patterns you must understand.
For you to go, you must
understand the plan, the specification (details),
the time and season (phases), and the
pattern (principles) attached to this
commissioning. You must come to a point where you must be empowered with the
knowledge, understanding, and wisdom but for each phase of this reality, there
is a time attached to it.
At first, I WROTE
that, there is a knowing required of you. In that knowing lies your
acknowledgement of who Jesus is to you personally, the understanding of the
personality of the Lord, and the courage to accept the commission willingly.
The issue of the time
and season that holds the different phases in ministry has a pattern it
operates with and that pattern is located in John 1:1. There is the Encounter period; a period the Holy Spirit will open
up the plan to you, there is Transformation period; a time the Lord
will prepare you with His words, and there
is Maturity stage; a time to handle the responsibilities of your Heavenly
Father.
The word “go” is like a container, you must
extract the content within it. In this content “go” lies the Encounter, Preparation,
and Maturity stage.
With the information at
your reach, you must come to understand that every instruction is a well of
treasure and life. It will demand from the patience to access, and experience.
And make disciples…
If you are to “go” then, the next question is, from
where to where? In addition, if you are to make disciple of all nation then
how?
To everyone that has
adopted this commission by Faith and Grace is given a location. Before we dwell
on location let us go a bit deeper –
“MAKE.”
After getting all the
content within the instruction “go”,
here comes your assignment – “to make.” It takes grace, and experience to make.
If you are not made through the word of God, you cannot make others. With these
two points, you must accept the truth that your assignment is more of influence
than authority or title.
What does the word
“Make” mean? To make is to construct,
build, create or transform a material from one stage of nature into a
better stage. To make, will demand from your time and patience, it will demand
from you a pattern to be followed, it will demand for you specification of
God’s plan, and your experience with the Word.
All the explanations
above are the conditions every disciple must experience during their personal
relationship with the Holy Spirit. You can only produce after your kind. Are
you a disciple? Have you been made with God’s word?
If you are not made
through the word of God, you will find it hard to make others. The set of
people Apostle Paul was able to make were not the same set of people Apostle Peter build through God’s word.
We are called to one specific assignment but within that assignment lies our
individual experience, and pattern required for making disciples.
The truth here reveals
that your mistakes are your message, your struggles are your experiences, your
pains are your passion, and in your failures lays the map to your future. Where
God saved you from will determine the set of people God will send you to rescue
and disciple into God’s kingdom.
In other words, God
will only assign you to make people of your own kind; people with the same
story as you and people with the same struggles, pains, mistakes, and failures
you once experienced. They will be the set of people who are presently at the
spot where God picked you from, and made you into His disciple. Your experience
during the time God was making you is the same specification required for you
to use in making others into God’s kingdom.
Making disciples
becomes easy when you have been made into the personality of His (Jesus) disciple. It will be as easy and
simply as pouring out your own experiences with the Father into the lives of
those God has demanded you to make. Just as God saw, the best in you while you
were still in the process so you like wise must learn to see the perfection in
the imperfection of the people the Lord will bring your way. This is the
pattern set, and this is the specification needed as a disciple making others
into becoming Christ disciples.
Baptizing them in the
Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…
What is Baptism?
Baptism is a process of you been deep into another kind of lifestyle. This is
the process of you been adopted into a nature you have never experienced. It is
your ability of been pressed into a higher life or into Eternal Life.
The context of this
instruction lies within the stage of being deep into water but I will also love
to dwell on this word from the perceptive of your impact on them. I want to
view baptism beyond the water area. I want to go deep into what it really
expresses as a lifestyle.
Baptism is a change of
identity and the process of been adopted into a kingdom with the sense of
belonging. This has nothing to do with you forcing people to identify with you,
your church or ministry through baptism. There is a specification given. This
is about them gaining the sense of belonging to the whole body of Christ.
The direction for the
baptism is stated. Everything must be towards the identity of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is not about your name or about the name of your
church or ministry. It is the experience of the Revelation of Christ revealed
into the hearts of men.
As you baptize them,
you must bear in mind that it is all about CHRIST
dwelling in their lives as their lifestyle.
Let us break it down a
bit. In the name of the Father is all about the Divine plan of God for your
life. In the name of the Son is all about the impact and experience of His
word. In the name of the Holy Ghost, is all about the Life of the Father dwelling
in you or gaining divine nature.
His divine plan, His
Nature and His words are the foundation for a personal relationship with the
Father. These are the resources for constant growth. These are the pillars of
strength in God’s kingdom. These are platforms for ministry. These three
personalities of God must be their first experience they (those you are making) must experience.
The above must become
an experience in the lives of those that you are making. This is the spot where
you must lead them to a place of a Personal Encounter with the fullness of
CHRIST (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost).
During the making period, they must come to the place where of Encountering
CHRIST.
And teach them all I
have commanded you…
This point has much
more to do with the point of “makings.”
What you are expected to teach them must not be your own ideas. It must be the
extension of what God has taught you in your personal relationship with His
Word. This is more of sharing and pouring out what God has given to you through
your fellowship with the Word in your personal relationship with The Holy
Spirit.
Your ability to teach
still dwells with you been able to listen, communicate and patiently guild
those the Lord has given you from the place of ignorance to the place of
Revelation in Christ. Remember, the teaching process is not all about you, it
is all about expressing Christ to them through your words and in your attitude
or the way you treat them.
And, lo, I am with you
always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
You must never forget
this revelation here. The Holy Spirit is always with you. It’s not about what
you feel alone, even in the absence of the feelings, He is with you. It’s about
what you believe.
Do you feel you are not
good enough to obey this great commission? Do you feel you are well educated
for this? Do you feel people will insult you? Do you believe people will not
listen to you? Do you afraid of people rejecting you? Are you afraid of loosing
your friends? Are you afraid you will be isolated? Are you afraid your parents
will not take care of you? Whatsoever it is, I want you to know that you are
not alone in this, Jesus is with you and He will never leave you. He said, till
the very end of the world, either you have made any mistake or backslide,
either you have lost your virginity or not, either you have failed your self or
God’s promises, remember, He is always with you.
Are you insulted and
rejected? Have your parents stopped taking care of you due to your faith in
Jesus, you are not alone. You don’t have a roof over your head or even have any
food to eat, you are not alone. Have you lost a relationship due to your faith
in God, you are not alone. Do your children hate you due to your faith in God,
you are not alone. Wherever you are present with this book in your hand, Jesus
is with you. The Holy Spirit dwells in you. Hold on and fight for your faith.
Don’t give up or give in. Don’t compromise or sell your birthright. Protect
your virginity. Jesus is with you.
Jesus is with you! Yes! He is. Even in the dark,
even when no body sees you, even in your tears, pains and struggles, He is with
you. You don’t have to pray for his presence. He’s committed to you already.
Even as you are reading this book, Jesus is with you and the Holy Spirit dwells
in you. Praise God! All things are working together for your good. Your present
situation is not here to stress you; they are here to stretch your faith to be
stronger. Even if you are presently walking through the valley of the shadow of
death, He is with you. Don’t let any thing hold you back. Don’t allow any thing
to depress you. Am not saying that pains will not come, am not saying you will
feel depressed neither am I saying, things will always be smooth. All am
saying, be conscious of the truth that Jesus is with you and the Holy Spirit
dwells with you. Know it, believe it and experience it. Break out of any thing
that is holding you bound. Arise from your fears, worries and doubt, put on
this revelation, get prepared and WALK into your destiny in Christ. Yes! You can.
Be Inspired!
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