Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, ...

Matthew 28:19 (a)

Volume 14, Episode VI

June 2013

Mark 16:15 (b) ... Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. PRAISE: For Gods protection during Central America Mission Trip. For Holy Spirits anointing to teach the Word of God. PRAY: For NEW provisions necessary for URFM in 2013. For NEW students/disciples to enroll into the ADT in 2013. For deep awakening regarding the Great Commission. Amen! Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.

A Closer look at the Great Commission (I)

INTRODUCTION: One of the great scholars of the Renaissance, Erasmus, told a mythical tale about Jesus return to heaven after His time on earth. The angels gathered around Him to learn what happened. Jesus told them of His miracles, His teaching, and then of His death and resurrection. When He finished, Michael the archangel asked, But Lord, what happens now? Jesus answered, I have left behind 11 faithful men who will declare My message and express My love. These faithful men will establish and build My church. But, responded Michael, what if these men fail? What then? And Jesus answered, I have no other plan. Hm! Jesus has no Plan B!!! It clearly suggests that He relies 100% on His original discipleship vision as stated in the Great Commission. No other plan just discipleship. God created the entire universe and governs it so everything runs according to His plan. Part of the universe is the planet Earth, which we all know very well since we inhabit it. Even before sin entered this world, God commanded the first family to multiply. Genesis states, Be fruitful and multiply, .. (1:28). If we search the entire Bible we cannot find any verse in which God canceled His first commandment given to humanity. We can conclude that even after the Fall this command was to be carried forward. The fact that there are people living in the twenty first century is a testament that Gods initial commandment still stands. In other words, multiplication is in the genes of human beings. THE GREAT COMMISSION CANNOT BE EVADED: Do not worry I am not writing an essay on demography. Even though the science of human population is important, my heart is passionate about the Great Commission. We all know that the Great Commission is the last message Christ gave to His first century disciples before He ascended to heaven. Everybody, at least in theory, knows it, Go therefore and MAKE DISCIPLES of all the nations, ... (Matthew 28:19-20). In a sense, similarly to how God commanded the first family in Genesis to multiply, Christ commands His apostles to reproduce disciples according to His discipleship model. In other words, spiritual reproduction should be in the spiritual genes of New Testament type disciples. In his book, Follow Me: A call to die, A call to live, David Platt writes, He has woven into the fabric of every single Christians DNA a desire and ability to reproduce. More than a married couple longs to see a baby naturally born, every Christian longs to see sinners supernaturally saved. All who know the love of Christ yearn to multiply the life of Christ. God has forms us, fashioned and even filled Christians with His own Spirit for this very purpose. (p. 207). If we search the entire New Testament we cannot find a single verse that states otherwise. Therefore, the Great Commission is still in effect. We can conclude that Jesus Christ is expecting His discipleship vision to continue. Back then He was looking for disciples; now He looks for disciples; and, I am confident that, even within seconds prior to His return, Christ will gather disciples. Every disciples of Jesus has been called, loves, created, and saved to make disciples who make disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus until the grace of God is enjoyed and the glory of God is exalted among every people group on the planet. And that day every disciple of Jesus every follower of Christ and fisher of men will

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VOLUME 14, EPISODE VI

see the Saviors face and behold the Fathers splendor in a scene of indescribable beauty and everlasting bliss that will nev er, ever fade way. (David Platt, p. 226). The bottom line is that the Church of the twenty first century is not exempt from the Great Commission; on the contrary, todays church is called to be actively part of it here and now. Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary to China, once said, The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed. Then, how are we supposed to respond to the Great Commission today? David Livingstone, the great missionary to Africa, once said, If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice ? Therefore it is an honor to make disciples for our King Jesus. Howard Hendricks, a longtime professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and speaker for Promise Keepers, writes in the foreword to Disciples are Made not Born that Make disciples is the mandate of the Master (Matt. 28:19-20). We may ignore it, but we cannot evade it. (p. 4). The question for us is what are we doing are we ignoring it? We know that we cannot evade it, so what are we waiting for? God has commanded every disciple to make disciples. No Christian is excused from this command, and no Christian would want to escape this command. (David Platt, p. 222). SIMPLE EXEGESIS OF THE GREAT COMMISSION: By doing a simple exegesis on Matthew 28:16-20, any serious student of the Bible can easily observe that Jesus placed the emphasis on making disciples not just spreading the gospel through evangelism, not just making converts. In other words, the Great Commission is about reproduction according to Christs model of discipleship. This is very clear if we analyze in detail the book of Acts. However , because of time and space in this essay we are not going to do a detailed analysis, we are just pointing out some important aspects. First, we notice that the apostles took to heart what Jesus commanded and implemented the Great Commission by making disciples. Luke writes, The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples DONATE ONLINE continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7). This speaks clearly of multiplication not just proselytism or [ Using Visa or PayPal ] just making a few converts. As Jesus commanded them in Acts 1:8, they started with Jerusalem, continued with Judea, moved into Samaria, and later on, they Go to www.urfm.org made disciples in the farthest parts of the Roman Empire. Click << DONATE >> Second, the apostles spent quality time making disciples. Dr. Luke Fill out your information states, This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks (Acts 19:10). Follow the instructions What caused all who lived in Asia to hear the Word of God? The process of discipleship. In the introduction to Follow Me, Francis Chan writes, The church began in Acts 2 when three thousand people were converted. By AD 100, estimates claim twenty-five thousand followers. By AD 350, estimates claim over thirty million followers. How could the church grow at this incredible rate especially under persecution? The fo llowers saw their obligation to make disciples. (David Platt, p. XV). Conclusion: The first century church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, URFM offers Advanced Discipleship Training made disciples not just converts. Are we, (ADT) over the INTERNET. Any person, anythe believers of the twenty first century, supposed to do less than what they did where in the world, can benefit from this in the first century? I dont think so! We are still called today to make disciples. life-transforming training. Get ready and enRichard Foster writes, Perhaps the roll into ADT for MODULE IV (which will start greatest malady in the Church today is converts to Christ who are not disciples in September 2013). of Christa clear contradiction in terms. This malady affects everything in church life. (Devotional Classics, p. 18). Dallas Willard writes, The last command Jesus gave the church before he ascended to heaven was the Great Commission, the call for Christians to make disciples of all the nations. But Christians have responded by making Christians, not disciples. This has been the church's Great Omission. (The Great Omission) I hope you agree with me that we are challenged to reverse this omission. For the first century Christians, as David Platt states, The Great Commission was not a choice for them to consider, but a command to obey . (David Platt, p. 179). Should we continue to perpetuate the current statistics or decide to obey God? Special Thanks!!! for your support for the Mission Trip (To be continued . . .) in El Salvador and Honduras: 619 of May 2013. God With LOVE in Christs Service,

Valy Vaduva
Spiritual Mentor

bless you ALL!!!

PS: As I said it last time, I choose to believe that you will continue your financial support for URFM for the Great Commissionto make disciples, so we can fulfill the destiny God called us to accomplish. Thank you very much!!! God bless you all!!!