On A Mission For God

We are facing a new year with lots of challenges ahead of us. Personally and corporately, we are on a mission for God. Our mission statement in Makati Gospel Church is “Glorify God by Multiplying Biblical, Committed and Loving Followers of Jesus Christ.” This defines our church.

That’s why we will focus on an aspect of our mission statement in our Sunday messages starting today until February. Allow me to explain what I call the “M=GC3 Strategy.”

First, let me share Our Mission: MASTER’S GREAT COMMISSION. We read this in Matthew 28:18-20, “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 everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”[1]

Here it’s clear that the Lord promised us His power (“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”) and His presence (“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”) if, and only if, we fulfill His great commission. Now what’s the Great Commission? People think that the words “Go,” “make disciples,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” are four commands. But, in the Greek, the only command is “make disciples.” “Go,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” are participles or the means to make disciples. In short, “Matthew 28:18-20 has just one command with three supporting action words which explain how to accomplish the command.”[2]

Basically, a disciple is a follower. “In the NT this term becomes almost a technical term for the followers of Jesus...”[3] In the Greek, “make disciples” is an active, imperative verb. Imperative means it is a command. So, we are disobedient if we are not leading people to become followers of the Lord. It is in the active voice which means that we do the work of disciplemaking. God will not do it for us.

Was this command limited to the original Apostles? Acts 14:21 says that in the city of Derbe Paul and his companions “proclaimed the good news... and made many disciples”.[4] And Paul commanded Timothy: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”[5] Thus, the Great Commission applies to all of us.

Now, “going” has to do with winning or sharing the Good News to people. That’s how we start making disciples. Jesus did not command us to make converts. It’s God’s responsibility to convert or open up a person’s heart to Him. He commanded us to go and reach out to people with the Gospel. But, once the person accepts the Lord Jesus as Savior, it’s our responsibility to lead that person to grow as a follower of the Lord. That is why we are to make disciples, not converts. We are to lead the convert to become a committed follower. We baptize the person. Baptism means “pledging submission to His lordship.”[6] Then we build him up to maturity and teach him “to obey everything [Christ] have commanded [us].” Colossians 1:28 says, “We announce the message about Christ, and we use all our wisdom to warn and teach everyone, so that all of Christ’s followers will grow and become mature.”[7] We are to equip people to make disciples who will make disciples who will in turn make disciples. So our mission is the Master’s Great Commission.

Second, let’s look at Our Motive: MASTER’S GREAT COMMANDMENT. When asked what the greatest commandment is, “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”[8] Though we have two commands here, note that Jesus said that “the second is like it”. That shows these commands are a unit. We cannot have one without the other. We love God and people. We love God by loving people. 1 John 4:20-21 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

The Great Commission is the “what.” We are to make disciples. The Great Commandment is the “why.” We are to love God and people. We pursue the Great Commission because of the Great Commandment. We glorify God when we fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.

Third, let’s look at Our Ministry: MULTIPLY GODLY CO-WORKERS. Here in our church, we believe that every member is a minister. Every worshipper is a worker. God called and gifted all of us to serve Him. The Lord had set the benchmarks for His followers.