"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everthing I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20
Here's a good clarifying question: If Mooresville Church of God ceased to exist...who would miss us? In other words, are we making such an impact in the lives of people, in our community, and in the world that if we vanished, people would be impacted deeply by our absence. This is simply one of many good questions that we MUST ask ourselves if we are to stay focused on the mission that God has called His church to!
So what IS our mission? What did Jesus command us to do as His body? In the above verses Jesus could not be any clearer! Our mission (if we choose to accept it) is: TO MAKE DISCIPLES! Can you remember that? If not, here's an abbreviation: 2MD! Yes, it really is that succinct! Our mission is to make disciples through every aspect of life and ministry at our disposal. Worship? It's a tool to make disciples! Fellowship of the believers? According to Acts 2 as a result of their fellowship "the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved"! Service to our community? God told us to let our light shine so that people would see our good deeds and be led to praise Him (Matt. 5:16)! EVERY aspect of ministry and life is to be used to MAKE DISCIPLES! Start in Matthew and start working your way through the New Testament: Everything Jesus taught and modeled for His followers was designed to make disciples! Preaching, teaching, serving, healing, confronting, debating, loving, singing, enduring persecution...EVERYTHING was for the purpose of drawing people into discipleship with Jesus!
What must happen in each of us as well as in Mooresville Church of God in order for us to accomplish the mission of MAKING DISCIPLES? We can look back to last week's sermon for the answer to this question. As Jesus cleansed the temple in Matthew 21:12-15 he does three things. And Jesus does these three things if He comes into a individual life, into a family, into a business, or even into a church:
1. He cleans out what shouldn't be there: Sinful attitudes and behaviors, disunity, divisivness. All of it!
2. He changes traditions and habits: Any tradition or habit that is a barrier to making disciples must go!
3. He clarifies whose house it is: It's not my house or your house...It's Jesus' house...He sets the mission!
Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me...". In other words, we don't have a say in this! Jesus said it...we decide if we will follow...and if so, then we carry out the mission! And after declaring that all authority was His, He said, "Therefore go and MAKE DISCIPLES, baptizing them...teaching them to obey everything I have commanded"! And then He concludes by telling us to remember and to remind potential disciples that He will be with us throughout the process! He will never leave us or forsake us! He is as committed to us as He is asking us to be committed to Him!
Our Mission: TO MAKE DISCIPLES - 2MD!
Will you join us in this adventure? Will you get into this race? Will you run hard for His sake? Will you strive for the prize? We have a mission...it's a life and death mission for millions of people...ON YOUR MARK --- GET SET --- GO!
In His Grip,
Pastor John
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