A Prepared Bride 16 - Discipleship 2 – Go

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 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." Matt 28:16-20

As a result of Jesus having received all authority from the Father, He now commissions or sends out his disciples with this same authority.

“Go!”

This word is used dozens of time in the New Testament.

Poreuoo: to lead over, carry over, transfer to lead oneself across; i. e. to take one's way, betake oneself, set out, depart

a. properly: go on one's way Acts 8:39

b. By a Hebraism, metaphorically,

1. to depart from life: Luke 22:22

2. to follow one, i. e. become his adherent Luke 21:8

3. to lead or order one's life*

Simply put, it is the opposite of stay. Go away from where you are to another place.

Some will say, “But didn’t Jesus tell the disciples to stay in Jerusalem?” Yes, He did - for a specific reason!

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:4-5 NIV

They were to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the baptism with the Holy Spirit to be exact. But then,

He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:7-8 NIV

Perhaps this is a good time to delineate for you the four different baptisms in which the believer must participate to function fully in the power and demonstration of the Spirit. (1 Cor. 2:4)

• 1. The Believer’s Baptism - Matt 28:18-20; Acts 22:16
• Elements
• Medium - water
• Baptizer - disciple
• Baptized - new convert
• Prerequisite
• Acts 2:38 - Repentance
• Purpose
• Death, Burial & Resurrection - Romans 6:3: Col 2:12
• 2. Baptism in the Holy Spirit - Acts 1:5
• Elements
• Medium - Holy Spirit
• Baptizer - Jesus Christ
• Baptized - Believer
• Prerequisite
• Relationship with God
• Purpose
• Power & life (Jn 7:38-39)
• 3. Baptism by the Holy Spirit - 1 Cor. 12:13
• Elements
• Medium - Body of Christ
• Baptizer - Holy Spirit
• Baptized - Believer
• Purpose
• Edification, Comfort
• 4. Baptism of Fire - Luke 3:16; Matt. 20:22-23
• Elements
• Medium - Fire (tribulation & persecution)
• Matt 13:18f; John 16:33
• Baptizer - Jesus
• Baptized - Disciple

I will go into detail on each of these with later posts. You can read more regarding the Baptism of Fire in an essay entitled “The Crucible”. However, for the time being, we continue with “Go!”

Again, go means to not stay, to head out. Jesus told His disciples that they would receive power to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, The city where they were, in all Judea which took in the countryside of nearly all Palestine, Samaria, a people with whom the Jews of Judea had a long standing animosity and to the ends of the earth, in other words, to everyone everywhere.

The Apostle Paul posed these questions.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?

And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?

And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Rom 10:14-15 NIV

To go, therefore, implies being sent. Jesus was indeed sending His disciples to preach, to teach and to make disciples.

Here is where much of the church has gotten weird. We wrestle with titles. Pastor, reverend, elder, deacon, apostle, prophet, and evangelist – everybody wants a title.

The definition for the word “apostle” for instance –

apostolos,

1. a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders, John 13:16

2. Specially applied to the twelve disciples whom Christ selected, Matt 10:1-4

3. In a broader sense the name is transferred to other eminent Christian teachers; as Barnabas, Acts 14:14*

Jesus was actually the first apostle because He was “sent from the Father” John 17:3 Then followed the 11 (minus Judas) and later were added men like Paul and Banabas. Even today, there are apostles – men sent out to preach, to teach to train. We call them “missionaries”!

In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. Acts 13:1-5 NIV

This is the account of Paul actually being “sent out” or “sent on their way” after having received the call.

There are many today who have received the call, the invitation to be sent and yet they refuse.

Jesus had a few things to say to concerning those who refuse.

For many are called, but few are chosen. Matt 22:14 KJV

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

He said to another man, "Follow me."

But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."

Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Luke 9:57-62 NIV

"A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'

"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'

"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'

"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'

"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'

"'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'

"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'" Luke 14:16-24 NIV

Do not whine and complain about your situation, your station in life if you received an invitation from the Almighty which you refused for some flimsy reason. It is time to repent and redeem the time!

What is the greatest hindrance to answering the call to missions in the United States today?

It isn’t war or the fear of war.

It isn’t the persecution of the church.

It isn’t a lack of opportunity or need.

It isn’t a scarcity of funds to support the work on the field.

It is DEBT!

Read the article entitled “Debt: the four-letter word that keeps missionaries at home”

Personal and corporate debt has a stranglehold on God’s people and His church. Check your church’s yearly budget. What percent is spent to pay the mortgage? What is the percentage spent on administrative costs including the pastor’s salary? What percent goes out to missions or other ministry outside the church? Very little!

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent everyday on television and radio broadcasts that have little discernable benefit to the Kingdom of God. What if these millions spent each year were redirected to the mission field, to actually preaching the Gospel and discipling, training new believers face to face?

What if the local church sent as much money to the field as they spent on themselves?

What if we kept the 10% and gave the 90% to see the lost reached for the Kingdom of God not a ministry or TV program with somebody’s name on it?

Many, many, many have received the invitation like Isaiah did.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

He said, "Go and tell this people… Isa 6:1-9 NIV

But so very few are chosen. So very few cry out as Isaiah did “Here am I. Send me!” So very few answer the call.

There is a passage that is often quoted or should I say mis-quoted because people use it as if Jesus were talking to the unsaved, to the sinner, to the lost but He is actually talking to the church, those of His family, His brethren, the called, the chosen!

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Rev 3:20-22 NIV

Jesus stands outside, hoping to gain entrance to the lives of His bride, His church, the called out ones. He promises that if we let Him back in He will commune with us. He will take what we have, as wretched as it is and give us what He has – life etenal.

I heard it once said,

“Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”

If you are comfortable and you have refused the call of God, I pray for your affliction!

If you are in debt, seek counsel, work hard, and cut up your credit cards!

If you hunger for the things of God and anguish over the lost, I pray for clarity of vision, fullness of funding and abundance of opportunity.

*(from Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 2000 by Biblesoft)