The Call Of Every Christian

"And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” " - Matthew 28 vs 19-20

 I've heard one too many Christians say that the great commission is meant for leaders and pastors, evangelists and missionaries. Some respond by saying that Jesus gave the commission to the disciples who were the first leaders of the church and therefore that's how's it's supposed to be - leaders accomplishing the great commission. They couldn't be farther from the truth.

But the Bible reminds that, 

"In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120)..."  -Acts 1 vs 15.

There were more than 120 people in the upper room. Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers were there also. They all joined the disciples. So there wasn't just the disciples but other people who were connected to the disciples who were also touched by the Spirit. They too were accounted as being promoters of the great commission. We were all called at our conversions to be a part of this kingdom work. Every single Christian on planet earth is called to this work. Whether we're leaders or not we must partake in this. I would go so far as to say that it's not just a command but rather a demand from the Lord that we do this. We know who the Lord Jesus is. It is our responsibility to introduce as many people as we possibly can to him. 

We do ourselves great harm if we neglect this calling. In John 15, Jesus talks about the vine and the branches and the fruit. A tree is known by its fruit be it good or bad. We don't have to be a specific kind of leader to do this. This is a calling that we should have been involved in since the beginning of our walk with the Lord. The one thing I must stress is that it's done or should be done out love for our Lord rather than seeing it as an obligation. An obligation shows that we're reluctant in fulfilling this command from our Lord. And if this is the case  then our work in this matter is futile and only produces bad fruit and we might become like the religious leaders of Jesus's day when he said to them that they travel miles to convert one soul but only make that person twice a son of hell as they already are. We must contemplate this very carefully. Are we doing this out of love or just to show everyone we're 'Christian'? 

But in the case of love, the Bible says in Acts 2, 'God added to their number everyday.' So it's safe to say that the early church accomplished this out of love and that's what made them successful and that's why God added to them everyday. For whatever reason we choose to shy away from doing this, we must remember what the Scriptures say, 

" For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” - Mark 8 vs 38 (See also Luke 9 vs 26). If we are ashamed of doing this then the Lord Himself will be ashamed of us. The opposite is also quite true. If we aren't ashamed then the Lord won't be ashamed of us. Look at Stephen in Acts, 

" But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” - Acts 7 vs 55 - 56

Stephen was the kind of man that would never shy away from from fulfilling the great commission. But check what the Bible says about him. Jesus honoured him for what he said and did by standing up. Shouldn't that be an encouragement to us all ? It's a beautiful reminder that the Lord Himself would stand up and by doing so give recognition to this man Stephen before God the Father and all the angels in  heaven. I would say that is reward enough for me..l mean like WOW!!! Jesus actually standing up in in recognition of Stephen's deeds. That is spectacular. That should boost our drive and spur us on to do what God has asked of us. It doesn't matter what others think or say, just as long as we've preached Jesus to them. (On a sad side note, it would be devastating should they reject Jesus after all we've done to show them how real he truly is. This would be bluntly saying it that their blood would be on their own heads but that shouldn't stop us from completely reaching out to them and continuously praying for them). 

Back to Stephen. It's exciting and overwhelming at the same time. It shows more than recognition and reward. It's showed great honour that Christ gave him. I actually wouldn't mind Jesus standing up for me when I'm before him. I would really want that. But it also shows that on my part there has to be much labouring. Much hard work is needed and a humble spirit to do this work diligently. So we must pray earnestly for ourselves, God grant us the ability to love others including our enemies. We love out of God's love, for our love is insufficient, especially for our enemies. God's love is pure and only by being filled with His Spirit as Stephen was, can we accomplish loving others. 

So my dear family in Christ, Please don't shy away from what God has called you too. The work is hard but the reward is greater. 

Blessings,

Shane.

 

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