THEME:
To fulfill the work God has called us to, it will take courage. It will take perseverance. And it will take a deep conviction that “this is what I was born for.” Jonah and the prophets—though imperfect—did their part. Now it’s our turn.
KEY SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 28:16-20
Answering Our Call with Courage and Faith: Learning from Jonah’s Journey
Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The call to “go” is given to imperfect people like you and me
Matthew 28:18
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Jesus can command us to “go” because of his complete authority over heaven and earth
Matthew 28:19a
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”
To “go” to all nations means no boundaries – ethnic, cultural, linguistic, or social
To “go” means to embark on wholistic discipleship of the unreached
Matthew 28:19-20a
“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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
Discipleship:
Going to people
Baptizing them
Teaching them to obey
Matthew 28:20b
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Robert McCheyne Edgar (1831 to 1914)
It is I myself, I, God and Man, who am (not “will be”) henceforward ever present among you, with you as Companion, Friend, Guide, Saviour, God. I am with you in all your ministrations, prayers public and private, baptisms, communions, exhortations, doctrine, discipline. And this, not now and then, not at certain times only, but “all the days” of your pilgrimage, all the dark days of trial and persecution and affliction; all the days when you, my apostles, are gathered to your rest, and have committed your work to other hands; my presence shall never be withdrawn for a single moment.