How to: 1. BE a disciple and 2.. MAKE disciples

Disciple: (from dictionary.com) "1 a. one of the 12 personal followers of Christ. b.one of the 70 followers sent forth by Christ. Luke 10:1. c. any other professed follower of Christ in His lifetime. 2. any follower of Christ. OR Person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower." What I found even more interesting, however, were the origins of the word: "disciple: Biblical borrowing from Latin: discipulus "pupil," from *discipere "to grasp intellectually, analyze thoroughly," from dis- "apart" + capere "take" . So I interpret this as to first, grasp intellectually, second, to analyze thoroughly, and finally to take hold of and to be set apart. Love it!

I have been pondering the Great Commission: what it means, am I doing it, and if not, HOW to do it! I don't think salvation tracts are the answer, sorry.

Matthew 28: 16- 20 reads, "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.”

But hold on a minute...look at the end of verse 16: "...but some doubted." What? Some of the 11 remaining disciples DOUBTED? Are you kidding me? These men who had been with him since day one DOUBTED? Wow. Back to dictionary.com: doubt="to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe." After all they went through with Jesus, some still doubted. Incredible. But look at Jesus' answer, and herein, I believe, lies the key to our motivation for the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go..." and His final promise, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We don't go it alone. We have Him right there with us, always. And because ALL authority has been given to him, and He's WITH us, all authority has been given to US.

So this is what I am convinced of today: 1) that to be a disciple means that we have grasped the truth of Jesus. That He is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE, and that no one comes to the father except by Him (John 14:6). And that we have taken hold of the truth and consequently have been set apart as followers of Christ. 2) to fulfill the great commission we must go and make other followers, empowered by the authority given to us by Christ, who is with us always.

Now the difficult part, am I making disciples? To be honest, I'd have to say, "not so much." Dead silence. Why? Why am I shirking the Great Commission? If my leader gives me one big assignment, how in God's name can I ignore it? Lame excuses like, "I'm not an evangelist," or "it's not my gifting," are essentially bunk. Jesus doesn't give me a loophole like that. He said "Go and make," period. As far as I can figure, I'm not doing it for three reasons: fear, preoccupation with my own life, and laziness/love of comfort. Those are horrible reasons, and it's embarrassing to face them. Fear of what? Loss of friendships, admiration, popularity? Philippians 3:8 has the answer for that: "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ." Preoccupation with my own life? Matthew 13 and the parable of the sower deals with that issue: "[and] The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful." Yikes! I don't want to be this one; I want to be this one: "Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." What about my laziness and love of comfort? John 12:23-26 answers that: "Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."

So I must change. I must become one who counts everything rubbish beside the great honor and prize of knowing Christ and making Him known. I identify with Paul in Romans 7:21-25 "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched [wo]man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

It is through Christ, by the enabling of the Holy Spirit, that I will GO and make disciples of all nations, including my coworkers, relatives, friends, acquaintances, and strangers. 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5b "For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction." The Holy Spirit will give me power to present the gospel, bringing deep conviction. I don't have to rely on my lazy, comforting-loving, approval-seeking self to convince others that they need Jesus. I only need to walk in the assurance that Jesus himself is with me, the King of authority, and I HAVE the Holy Spirit's empowerment to speak boldly, fearlessly, and convincingly. What a relief! Now to ask for opportunities and divine appointments-and then...GO!