Sermon # 1- Go And Make Disciples Series

This is a series that I will be sharing based on the life of Jonah, and the lessons that the church can learn through this book. These messages are the sequel to the series of devotions that were shared with me by spiritual friend Michael Collins and is also found on Sermon Central entitled “The Church Called Jonah.”. As I read these studies I knew that there was much that we could learn from this and that this would be a great help to our spiritual growth.

For today’s message we will meditate on Jonah 1:1-2, One day the LORD spoke to Jonah son of Amittai. He said, "Go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak out against it; I am aware of how wicked its people are." (GNB)

God asked Jonah to go and speak to the people of Nineveh against their wickedness. With no one to admonish them, their wickedness had reached the heights. The people of Nineveh continued in their corrupt ways because they thought God was silent and not observing what was going on. At one point God had to intervene and he called out to Jonah to go and preach against the atrocities of the people of Nineveh.

Even today people continue in their evil ways simply because God is long-suffering, and does not punish them immediately. The first thing we learn from the above mentioned verse is that the evil and unrighteousness of mankind is certainly being noted by God in heaven, but He chooses to be patient for a period of time. It is therefore good for us to take stock of our lives, analyze all those things that don’t please God and be willing to let go of the same.

The people who lived in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were also similar to that of those in Nineveh. They too continued in rebellion and sin, until one day the Lord came down on them with strong judgement.

The similarity between the call of Jonah and The Great Commission

The first verse in the book of Jonah reminds us of the last verse in the gospel of Matthew.

This is the great commission as found in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” (GNB)

The command that Jesus gave to His disciples before his ascension, is so similar to the command that Jonah received from God. In the Old Testament, God called individuals and here He called Jonah to go and preach against Nineveh. However, in the New Testament the commission that Jesus gave, was to all of His disciples to go and preach the Gospel to people all over the world.

The ones who received this commission from Jesus were not those who just followed after Him for any and every reason. This was the selected group of those who had been with Jesus all through, right up to the time when He was crucified, buried, resurrected and ascended into heaven. There were many others too who followed after Jesus for a season, but when they heard His teachings they left Him, as they found they could not comply with them.

Oftentimes we forget that the focus of Christianity is discipleship. This is so lacking and therefore many are unaware as to the reason why Jesus came to the earth. We as the church have forgotten the focal point of the great commission of our Lord Jesus. The call of God is to make disciples, but it is also a fact that only those who are good disciples of Jesus, can disciple others.

Who is a disciple?

The word disciple comes from the Greek word ‘mathet?s (µa??t??)’ which implies one who is a student, learner and follower.

1. A disciple is a student

The moment we hear the word student, the thought that comes to our mind is discipline. Before imparting education to students, it is the goal of a school that they teach children to be disciplined. That is the reason schools have timings and when children come late to school they are not allowed in, in order to teach them to be disciplined. This is also why uniforms and shoes are checked so as to help children learn to be orderly.

As a disciple of the Lord Jesus we too need to be disciplined. For example we need to respect people, and when we tell them that we would meet them at a certain time, we must make every effort to do so. If we are unable to make it on time for some reason, we should have the courtesy to call and inform the person that we are delayed. When the pandemic struck, there were many who complained that they are unable to go to church and fellowship with others. Sadly, when the doors of the church were wide open, so many took this for granted, and did not bother to be there on time.