Then I remembered something. I had loaned my iPad to a co-worker, and he had synced it up to his computer. All the games, apps, notes, etc. were synced to his computer and were different than what I had been expecting.
This is a lot like our lives. We are either synced to God's word or not. So when we are expecting one set of results from our life but receive another set of results, it might be time to evaluate what we are synced up to. What are we connected to that directs our lives?
Introductions
So I need to tell you that I’m a missions nut.
When I first began this walk with Jesus, I felt like he wanted me to go to Eastern Europe and smuggle bibles (yeah, it was before the iron curtain fell). But as time went on and life happened, the road went a different way. I became a graphic designer and went to school in Pittsburgh, got a job after college and began a career in marketing and graphic design.
Still, there was this desire to make sure people know the word of God and his love for them.
Fast-forward 20 some years to today. I'm the web manager for the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
For those of you that don’t know, The Alliance began as a movement of Christians set on doing two things, Knowing Jesus and fulfilling the Great Commission. And it’s my job to make sure that message is clear. Though not alone...it is a team effort for sure.
Right when I came on board, I was told that we needed to rework the website. (YIKES) When we redesigned the site, we were looking for a single quote that would sum up the mission of our organization. Here it is: The Alliance is a unique missionary denomination—a maverick movement into whose soul the Head of the Church breathed “Go!” from the very start.
At our heart is Jesus' Great Commission. This passage has held my heart and been my theme ever since Jesus found me and he planted a desire in my heart to tell His story. I “get a rush” when I hear stories of God moving around the world. I tend to get emotional when I hear of God reaching others like he has reached me. This is why I consider myself a missions nut.
So what is the great commission?
"God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." (The Message)
Plain and simple right? But what had happened up to this point? Let’s back it up by about 45 days.
John 19: 16-37 Jesus is crucified
John 19: 38-42 Jesus is buried
John 20: 1-10 Jesus comes back to life.
Matthew 28: 11-14 the soldiers guarding the tomb saw the resurrection,
John 20: 11-18 Mary was the first follower to see him
Matthew 28: 8 The women coming to prepare the body saw the empty tomb
John 20: 19-21 the apostles are in a locked room and Jesus comes in through the locked door,
Luke 24: 13-35 the men on the road to Emmaus encounter Jesus
John 21: 1-14 The fishing expedition
So here we are. 40 days after he has been seen alive again, with multiple proofs, Jesus is ready to "take off."
Think about this in the context of your friends or family, or if you’ve ever left loved ones behind and you wanted to leave an important thought with them. “Don’t mess this up. It’s all on you now. I’m outta here.”
What would you have done at this point if he had not given a command?
Let's think through. Imagine you've just seen Jesus blast off 40 days following His resurrection. He has gone up into the clouds. First, after I had recovered from seeing Him lift off the ground, I would have likely stayed in Jerusalem.
I would have gotten comfortable with that upper room, maybe carpeted it and gilded the table where the last supper had taken place, possibly elevate it higher in the room than anything else so people would be sure to see it.
I bet I would have bronzed the cup used for the last supper and used it on special occasions--maybe once a month to remember the meal we shared just before that terrible day he died.
I would probably put in a few rows of benches for those that had been around the day Jesus told us all those wonderful things on the mount just before he left.
But I would have kept it members-only--just us and no others.
What's the problem with this way of thinking? After all, Jesus will get the work done, won't He? I mean, it is His job, right? I'm just along for the ride. It's not really important that anyone else know about this sweet deal, because it gets messy when there are more people...
and there might not be enough for me when it is all said and done...
and I might not know what to say to someone...
and I might look foolish...
Sounds ridiculous, right? Who would actually live this way, right? Yours truly, that's who. I remember when this was my perspective. Comfortable. Easy. Dead.
I was completely unaware of what Jesus meant when he commanded "go."
So what really happened?
He is leaving this last recommendation. Ok, it's not really a recommendation. More of a strong opinion. OK, not that either. Read it again.
The fact remains that he did give this command because more often than not we need to know what the plan is.
The basic points are to go, to train everyone you meet, to baptize in the name, and to teach these new disciples the practices that Jesus has taught. Here are some specifics from the Greek. The language is so rich.
Go out
poreuō (po-ryü'-ō)
1. to pursue the journey on which one has entered, to continue on one's journey
and train (in this way of life, )
mathēteuō (mä-thā-tyü'-ō)
1. to be a disciple of one
a. to follow his precepts and instructions
2. to make a disciple
a. to teach, instruct
everyone you meet,
pas (pä's)
1. individually
a. each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything
2. collectively
a. some of all types
far and near,
ethnos (ethnos)
1. a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together
a) a company, troop, swarm
2. a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus
a) the human family
3. a tribe, nation, people group
marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
baptizō (bäp-tē'-zō)
1. to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk)
2. to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one's self, bathe
3. to overwhelm
Then instruct them
didaskō (dē-dä'-skō)
1. to teach
a. to hold discourse with others in order to instruct them, deliver didactic discourses
b. to be a teacher
c. to discharge the office of a teacher, conduct one's self as a teacher
2. to teach one
a. to impart instruction
b. instill doctrine into one
c. the thing taught or enjoined
d. to explain or expound a thing
e. to teach one something
in the practice of all
tēreō (tā-re'-ō)
1. to attend to carefully, take care of
a. to guard
b. metaph. to keep, one in the state in which he is
c. to observe
d. to reserve: to undergo something
I have commanded you.
entellō (en-te'l-lō)
2. to order, command to be done, enjoin
I'll be with you as you do this,
meta (me-tä')
1. with, after, behind
day after day after day,
aiōn (ī-ō'n)
1. for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity
2. the worlds, universe
3. period of time, age
right up to the end of the age
synteleia (sün-te'-lā-ä)
1. completion, consummation, end
It's not so complicated, huh.
I think that often we get this picture in our head that we need to go overseas to really do this work. But remember the term ethnos: a multitude of individuals associated or living together (your street, relief centers like springs rescue mission or the soup kitchen), the human family (the city, state, country), or tribe, nation, or people group (overseas missions)
And we are not doing it alone.
Meta ion synteleia.
I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.
The missionaries I know have typically started in their local church. They worked in their local community teaching and community outreach. And then the path Jesus put them on had them going overseas.
Now this is not meant to be a formula for overseas service. I know it can be rather overwhelming to consider overseas service.
But I also don’t want this to be an “out” for us. Often times people will say “I’m a sender, not a go-er” and miss out on what God may have in store for them.
How are you being a missionary right now? How are you living it out? How are you being pushed to do it on a larger scale? Do you sense the push to get a greater impact today? Then just take that next step.
So my wife helped me see that perhaps God has brought me full circle. From the early days of my walk with him and the desire to reach people in Eastern Europe to today being part of a team that reaches thousands of people daily with the good news of Jesus love, God has in fact been leading me on a missionary journey. And he will do it for you, too.