“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus.”Acts 4:13
The mission of God has always been in the hands of ‘ordinary’ people, rather than in the hands of the professionals.
When Peter and John were brought before the religious rulers, there were several things that were noted about them.
Firstly, they took note of their courage. This is worthy of our extra attention. After all, it was only several weeks since Peter, out of fear, had denied even knowing Jesus (Luke 23:54–60), and since all the disciples hid in the upper room behind locked doors “because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders” (John 20:19).
Secondly, they noted that they were unschooled and ordinary men. These were not professional priests, nor were they formally educated. These men had been fishermen.
Thirdly, they could tell that they had been with Jesus. Their fear and unschooled ordinariness had been transformed by their being with Jesus.
It appears to me that the average Australian Christian has an internal narrative that is defeatist when it comes to being able to help another person put their faith in Jesus. For many, they associate trying to share their faith with failure and even trauma. Hence, they aspire to simply being willing to invite a friend to an environment where someone else can do it.
It was not so with the first disciples. Their courage came from time in Jesus’ presence, which resulted in them “teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 4:2). May it also be so for us today.
The issue is not whether we are trained or somehow ‘special’. The mission of God is in the hands of ordinary people just like us.
Unfortunately it is not according to a Barna Survey. 51% of American Christian parents surveyed “expected the church to take the lead.” Only 49% of parents considered teaching their children about reason, faith, and Biblical Christianity to be their responsibility. Correctly children’s ministry leaders state that discipleship should begin at home.
The findings reflect another concerning trend, which shows 86% of parents “feel under-equipped” to teach their kids the Bible and basic theology.
There’s a deep challenge here, Barna stated. “If children’s ministry is going to be healthy, pastors must help both parents and their ministry leaders find common ground.” Discipling children should be a joint effort. For example, the Gospel is lived out in the home, alongside the Church, not just taught on Sundays.
The church needs to encourage parents to embrace their primary role, by teaching them how to have everyday faith conversations. Properly discipled mums and dads will be better prepared to disciple their kids.
Families, Barna continued, should be encouraged “to practice their faith together in everyday life—serving others, praying as a household, and applying Scripture in real situations.” This is “so the next generation grows resilient and ready to follow Jesus in the world beyond church walls.”
Barna’s insights are nothing new. They point back to the Puritans, who understood that every home was to be a little church. “A family is a little Church, a little commonwealth,” said William Gouge in 1622. “It is a school where first principles and civics are learned; whereby men are prepared for greater matters of Church and State.”
Or as Charles Spurgeon preached in 1875, “Men are as much serving God in looking after their own children, and training them up in God’s fear, as they would be if they had been called to lead an army to battle for the Lord of hosts.” This includes “minding the house and making their household a church for God.” “It is a grand event when a family is saved!” Spurgeon cheered. “Oh, if households enter into Christ, the very bells of Heaven may ring again and again and again with a joy that has many joys within it!”
Author and evangelist Nick Vujicic spoke with CBN’s Tré Goins-Phillips, delivering a bold message for America, urging the Western church to embrace the “basics” of the Gospel, prioritise discipleship, and embrace counselling for those suffering and struggling with sin. He urgently warned the “most crippling season” for the U.S. is impending, unless it turns back to God.
The nation needs to repent and return to God and His word, acknowledging that it is inerrant from Genesis to Revelation. Only then will it realise it is not practising church as Jesus intended, as described in the Book of Acts – house churches with disciples making more disciples.
After Jesus’s resurrection but before He ascended back to heaven, Jesus repeated His Great Commission five times. Christians are to reachcities, nations, and the world!Every Christian, not just church leaders, were tasked with the Great Commission.
“Go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt.28:19).
“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark16:15).
“Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke24:47).
“As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you” (John20:21).
“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts1:8).
The first Great Commission verse in Matthew in its entirety is foundational and covers the most, so we will look at it.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the very end of the age!’”Matthew 28:18-20
Let’s look at each point that Jesus said:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”
“ALL authority… on earth” certainly has to include all civil authority on earth in all nations. If you truly comprehend the first thing Jesus said here, we can stop right here. No one should need any more than this to see Jesus’s Great Commission is a civil mandate for all nations on earth.
The words “all authority” are also translated as “all power.” And you don’t need ALL power or ALL authority on earth to be able to disciple a few Christians! But you definitely do need all power and authority on earth to be able to do what Jesus then commands us.
“Therefore, go and teach all nations.”
“Nations” are by definition: “A group of people led by the same civilgovernment.” Nations are NOT a group of churches or a group of disciples. Nations are civil governments. Therefore, this is Jesus’s civil mandate, to go and teach all nations, exactly as the verse says. The rest of the Great Commission Jesus tells us exactly how to successfully accomplish His civil mandate.
“Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Contrary to what many assume, this sentence is NOT referring to water baptism for the New Covenant Believers, for a lot of reasons:
First, the context of the verse right before has no basis for being that.
Second, the pronoun in “baptizing them”, has to refer to a nounin the previous sentence. And in the previous sentence and according to the literal Greek, there is only one noun, and it is the word – “NATIONS”.
Third, but how do you baptize nations? In the Greek language, the word “baptize” is more often used in other ways than water baptism. It was used – “to immerse, to wash, to cleanse and even to overwhelm.” In fact,most of the time in the NT this word is NEVER used for water baptism new believers. For example, Matt. 3:11: Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Matt. 3:11: Baptism of fire, Matt. 28:19: Baptism of nations, Mark 7:4: Baptism of food, Mark 7:4: Baptism of cups, Mark 7:4: Baptism of pots, Luke 3:3: Baptism of repentance, Luke 7:29: Baptism of John, Luke 12:50: Baptism of suffering, Rom. 6:3: Baptized into Christ Jesus, 1 Cor. 10:2: Baptized into Moses, 1 Cor. 12:13: Baptized into one body, 1 Cor. 15:29: Baptized for the dead, Gal. 3:27: Baptized into Christ.
The ONLY time water baptism for New Covenant Believers was ever referred to in the New Testament was after Pentecost in the book of Acts. Moreover, every time it was used there for new Believers, the phrase – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – was NEVER said. The Book of Acts actually records what was said, and this is what was said every time: Acts 2:38: “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ”, Acts 8:16: “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”, Acts 10:48: “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ”, Acts 19:5: “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”
Contrary to what some may think, Jesus’s Great Commission was not talking about water baptism of New Covenant Believers, but rather to cleanse and overwhelm“all the nations” with the teaching and authority of the whole God-Head – theFather, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So how then did Jesus tell them to cleanse and overwhelm all nations?
“Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Jesus did not say, teaching them to “to know all” but “to obey all.” That is exactly what is required for all civil law – “to obey all” that Jesus commanded. One of the first things Jesus commanded was to “do and teach” all God’s Law in His “Sermon on the Mount” (Mat. 5:17-19).
“And behold, I am with you always, to the very end of the age!”
BEHOLD! The end of the age has not yet come — so God’s new Jesus Family today can and is to still carry out Jesus’s Great Commission – His national civil mandate!
BEHOLD! Jesus is with us today — to carry outHis national mandate!
“Therefore, go and teach all nations… And behold, I am with you always, to the very end of the age!’”
To practically go and teach any nation, which by definition is civil government, and to obey all that Jesus has commanded may seem impossible. But Jesus said:
“With God all things are possible!”Matthew 19:26
In the next post, we will look at how successful Christians have been with the task they have been given – The Great Commission.
For more information on the Great Commission and the church as God intended, visit Jim McCotter’s website, http://www.jimsbookstore.com.
Listen to how Jim Caviezel lives out his faith in a hostile environment. How he deals with Hollywood. Taking the role of Jesus in Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ was costly for him in terms of the roles he was then offered by producers. In fact, they dried up. Mel Gibson told him in advance of Jim taking the role that this would be the result. It is costly to be an obedient servant of Christ but Jim would have it no other way. This is an inspirational video and is a challenge to all believers.
Jesus told eleven unremarkable people with no platform of any kind to go find other people in every nation. When they found these people, they were to teach them to be the same kind of disciples they were. He was telling His disciples (then and now) to influence culture, not from the top down, but from the bottom up. Jesus’ plan is to change the culture through you and me – not a professional class of priests, pastors, full-time ministers, or cultural elites.
Paraphrasing Scripture Jesus says to us: “I have all the power and authority in the universe. The master of the universe and beyond is your friend. I picked you to be on my team. Now since I am the master of the universe, I want you to report directly to me. I’m giving you an assignment that is of the utmost importance—to find others just like you in every nation, 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“. Teach them my protocols.
“In the last days perilous times will come … evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse…” (2 Timothy 3:1,13)
The Bible doesn’t say that things will get better in the last days, but “worse and worse.” That tells us that humanity will become more corrupt. Rotten will become putrid. The issue is deeper than what concerned most of us leading up to the US Presidential election—abortion. Christians are the big hindrance to same-sex marriage, the normalization of homosexuality, gender identity, euthanasia, assisted suicide, sex education, and many other issues.
This is why we mustn’t forget our agenda. Jesus said to preach the gospel to every creature. This is because the gospel is the power of God to salvation. It not only saves from wrath, but it can transform sin-loving sinners so that they love righteousness.
The following is a tough Scripture we would all like to overlook but that is impossible. God requires total commitment.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:34-39
“And Jesus said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag, knapsack, or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” He said to them, “But now let the one with a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. For, I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.”Luke 22:35-37
Our greatest weapon is always theGospel. But there may be a time to heed all of Jesus’ instructions, even to buy a sword.
“Allauthority… on earth has been given unto Me, therefore go and make disciple of all nations… and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus did not say disciple churches or disciple disciples but rather disciple “nations” – civil rule, civil governance. For this reason and mission, Jesus said – “I am with you!” Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to guide our every step.
For what excuse will we give King Jesus for not completing the great commission?
The Bible does not teach us to pray and hope things get better. “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22). We must be “doers” – like the leaders of Issachar who understood thetimesand what God’s people should do(1 Chronicles 12:32).
Note God does not use those who think they are wise by worldly standards.
“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”1 Corinthians 1:26-29
We must keep God’s commandments and get God’s vision for His King and Kingdom! “Where there is no vision, the people perish. But happy are those who keep God’s Law!”Proverbs 29:18
Also, if not you, who? If not now, when? We must unite and go forth – “For the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness!Psalms 45:4
Despite the lack of Scripture engagement among America’s youth, about half of Gen Z respondents in the American Bible Society’s State of the Bible USA 2023 study agreed with the statement that “the message of the Bible has transformed my life.” Among Gen Z adults between the ages of 18 and 21, 49% agreed that the Bible had a transformative effect on their lives. That number rose to 52% among Gen Z respondents between the ages of 22 and 26.
Reacting to the findings of the research in a statement, American Bible Society’s Chief Ministry Insights Officer John Farquhar Plake described Gen Z as “a generation struggling to find their footing with faith.”
After noting that “scripture engagement rates for Gen Z have been on a steady decline over the past three years,” he expressed gratitude that “this generation still shows significant interest in the Bible and the message of Jesus.”
“Ministry leaders may be surprised to find how open Gen Z adults in their communities are to discussion about God’s Word,” he added. “And if the trends we’re seeing continue—it’s crucial to be having those conservations now.”
We are fast approaching the last seven years prior to Jesus’ return to rapture the Saints and pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world so we need to share the Gospel message with as many people to whom we are led by the Holy Spirit. He will guide and direct our steps if we allow Him to do so. Jesus knows who will respond to the Gospel message and who will not so it is imperative that we follow the Holy Spirit’s lead. Jesus’ instructions to the 72 disciples He sent out ahead of Him into every town and place where he himself was about to go (Luke 10:1-12) is helpful.
“But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’” Luke 10:10-11
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” Luke 10:2-9
It is important to know what the 72 said when they returned after having been sent out “as lambs in the midst of wolves“.
“The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”Luke 10:17-20
“Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:21-22
This hard saying of Jesus addresses our priorities and makes us consider our attachments to people and things. The request of the unnamed disciple actually seems quite reasonable. It could be argued that he was simply working out the biblical command to honour father and mother. In Jesus’ day, the duty to bury one’s relatives had become so important that it took precedence over all other religious commandments, so this saying of Jesus is even more striking.
As with several other statements of Jesus, hyperbole is used to make a point, but this saying was recorded to underline the fact that discipleship is meant to be radical – it requires that we are flexible in our attachment to things as they stand.
When God calls us to embark on a particular course we can usually find a good reason to be otherwise occupied. God may require us to embark on an actual journey or it might involve a new departure, a new venture. Whatever the call, a flexible attitude is needed; it also requires us to create those spaces of prayerful attentiveness, listening to the Holy Spirit so that God can redirect us. The combination of attentiveness plus freedom from attachments is key to effective discipleship.
John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer says it all: “‘I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low for You. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are mine, and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen”
Attaining freedom from attachments is often a very gradual process, completed over many years. This process is aided hugely by having a rhythm of prayer, which constantly redirects our gaze Godward and allows him to bring about the necessary changes in our lives.
It is important to remember that God goes before us and is working in people’s lives before any encounter we might have with them. All mission is really God’s mission. We are called to join him in what he is already doing. Even Jesus said that he can do nothing by himself; only what he sees the Father doing (John 5:19). When we believe that God is already working in the world, already fulfilling his mission, our task is then to keep in step with the Spirit.
Understanding these principles will be even more important as we get closer to the last seven years (the last week of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy given by the Angel Gabriel)
“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks, it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end, there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week, he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”Daniel 9:24-27
What an amazing prophecy. Concerning the prophecies given to Daniel, he was told “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.” Now we are living in those days, we can see that the book of Revelation unpacks much of what Daniel was told would happen in the last days before Jesus returns to restore righteousness and rule and reign with the Saints for the prophesied Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom on this earth.
“They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4-6
We observe in Acts 10 and 11, God, rather than the apostles, took the initiative in most situations. The apostle’s involvement invariably requires their availability in prayer. God had heard Cornelius’s prayer and He also, with some considerable difficulty, sought to guide Peter as he prayed. Both Cornelius and Peter experienced the presence of God in a vision (Acts 10:2-3 and 9). Peter was rather slow to understand what was going on, trying hard to keep up with the God who had already gone before him. He eventually realised that he should visit Cornelius, but was astonished to find that God had already been working well beyond the bounds of the Church. To Peter’s amazement, he got halfway through his talk when the Spirit took over. The account reads as if the Spirit is rather impatient, perhaps even bored by Peter’s sermon, and doesn’t wait for him to finish (Acts 10:44)!
Even on the day of Pentecost, Peter was simply keeping up with God’s action and he did not initiate anything himself. He just happened to be present and took the opportunity to explain the events unfolding before his eyes, starting with a disclaimer to drunkenness (Acts 2:15).
God often makes his presence known to people, despite our slowness to ‘cotton on’ to whatever He is doing. We play our part, but very much as junior partners who are trying to keep up.
Our partnering with God is good for our mental health. It saves us from feeling we have the overwhelming responsibility of carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. It releases us to walk with the Lord, in the confidence that He has both gone before us and that we carry His presence with us. Our part is to be attentive and to look for signs of the Holy Spirit’s activity as we fulfil our call to have an impact on people and communities. Doing this by seeking to discern the presence and activity of the Spirit is a different approach to what most of us have been taught which seemed to put the onus on us.
On occasions, walking with God means we have to ‘walk on the water’. Like the disciples, as we set out from the security of the shore, we do not realise all that the journey will entail. The story of Peter walking on water revealed how rash he was, but it also shows us the level of his faith in Jesus compared to his companions who stayed in the boat ‘Peters’ are people who are more desperate to join Jesus than those of us who always weigh up the risk. We need to avoid recklessness, but when it’s in response to having heard the prompting of the Holy Spirit, faithfully stepping into a vulnerable situation will get us closer to Him.
Much of this post is extracted from Richard Brown’s book Cultivating God’s Presence
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 