The Great Commission Blessing
Thursdays have turned into a day I get to spend a lot of time on discipleship. I want to share a story about today. A couple weeks, ago, one of my church members (name withheld by request) was in the office looking for ways to serve more in the church. But she had a condition: she did not want to be involved in anything that might get tense or controversial. Luckily we do not have too much of that going on. But I understood the tender conscience. Somehow, things turned to evangelism, the need to share our faith with others. I gave her a small book, “Praying Effectively for the Lost.” We said we would meet again in two weeks after praying. Before I get to the follow-up discussion we had today, I want to say… we did not start the conversation with evangelism in mind. It was just where the Spirit led the conversation.
Today, she mentioned how much she enjoyed the book, and also that she had been reading another book that was featured by Aliatair Begg, “Before You Share Your Faith,” by Matt Smethurst. I will check it out. I was stoked someone was reading books on evangelism.
My church member had been convicted that she needed to be more open about sharing her faith. This was pretty exciting, because she is very successful in her business; she has a platform with a lot of people. One thing really pushed her, she said: feeling like she had missed so many opportunities, and we don’t know how much time we have on earth… either to share the Gospel, or for others to believe in Jesus and be saved! She made a decision that she was going to share her faith with a specific person who had been on her mind and in her prayers, someone who had specifically mentioned that she had not seen my church member in a while, and missed the times she came by.
But my church member was plagued by all the doubts and fears we have. Will it be awkward, will it be difficult, will we be rejected? But as she steeled her resolve to go, she sensed the Lord saying to her, “I am with you.”
I about lost it. I said, “you received the Great Commission blessing!”
See, we so often get caught up in the powerful challenge, the amazing call, and the direct command of Jesus to “go into all nations making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded,” (Matthew 28:19-20). This is powerful stuff. This has been pushing me forward in ministry for, well, longer than I have been a pastor. It’s the church’s mission. It is the job of every believer.
But we sometimes miss the next words. If we don’t miss them, we may not be impressed: “and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.”
My church member had all her doubts and hesitations erased by Jesus’ wonderful promise to be with us, to be with her. Isn’t that just like Jesus? To drop a life-changing mission on you, to command with all divine authority that you carry on His work… and then to gently, like a shepherd, remind you that you are not alone, you are not on your own, He is with you. Normally, we think of reminding people that Jesus is with them in tough, tragic, sad times. And He is! But He is also there when we are busy doing His work. I needed to be reminded of that, big time.
I am starting to see my bud’s wisdom. Some of you have heard me tell of one of my best friends who, if I start moping or complaining, or talkin bout poor me, will just ask, “Have you told anybody about Jesus today?” I won’t lie. the first few times that was kind of frustrating. Didn’t you hear what I was saying? This one person in my first church was trying to wear me out. And he would ask, “have you told anyone about Jesus?” I would shuffle off, muttering, and go tell someone about Jesus. And amazingly, telling people about Jesus is way more encouraging than any discouragement the meanest white woman in America can dump on you. The Great Commission Blessing— that Jesus is with you— is a great weapon against all Satan’s devices. So get out there and get some!
I had to laugh on my way home today. There are so many ways to be close to Jesus that don’t make any sense. You can be broken-hearted, and He will be close to you (Psalm 34:18). You can mourn, and He will be there to comfort you (Matthew 5:4). And you can get out there evangelizing, and He will be with you! (Matthew 28:20)