Then Jesus came near and said to them,  “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  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 everything I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:17-20 HCSB

This is the last scripture passage in the gospel of Matthew.  This occurs after Jesus has been crucified and is resurrected.  He meets with the 11 disciples in Gallilee.  Some are still doubtful, but he tells them that they are to go and make disciples of others.  He says here, all nations.  He is telling them to spread the word.

This week we have been talking about being obedient to God.  We have talked about his commandments.  In this scripture passage, he tells his disciples to make disciples of all nations and teach them to observe everything He had commanded them.  We are called to be disciples of God.  We are called to forsake all other things and put Him first in our lives.  When we do this, we will be so blessed.  Now I am not saying that we won’t go through hard times.  There is no escaping hard times during our lifetime, but I am saying that we will go through them with that peace that passes all understanding.  We will be strong in the face of tragedy.  We can stand firm knowing that our mighty God stands beside us.  We know that we serve a God that helped a young boy slay a giant.  We know that we serve a God that helped three young men walk around in a fiery furnace without a single burn and without their clothes even smelling like smoke.  We know that we serve a God who closed the mouths of lions and allowed a young man to spend a night in a lion’s den unharmed.  These men all had one thing in common, they served a mighty God.  They served the same God that we serve and they put Him first in their lives.

Now I hope if you are reading this that you have already made the decision to be obedient to God and put Him first in your life.  If you have not, then you have no idea what you are missing.  I hope that if you have not done so, that you will speak with a trusted friend of pastor and learn the necessary steps to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life.  If you have put God first in your life, then you know exactly what I’m talking about when I speak of a peace that passes all understanding.  You know what I mean when I say that I have an unspeakable joy.  You know what it means to experience the awesomeness of God.  Now if you know all these things, why would you keep them to yourself? I don’t care how beautiful you are, you were not put on this earth to be earth decor.  We were all put on this earth to serve a purpose.  We were put on this earth to serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Now once we start serving Him we begin to understand how He blesses us.  When we feel his presence in our lives, we can experience peace and joy.  We don’t have to be greedy with God’s love.  There is plenty to go around.  We are expected to get out there and share it.  Yesterday we spoke of the greatest commandments.  God expects us to love Him with everything we’ve got, wholeheartedly.  He also expects us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  I hope that you have accomplished these two things.  I hope that you are loving the Lord wholeheartedly.  I hope that you have a brotherly love for others that allows God’s love to shine through you.

When we love God, I mean really love God, we want to share His love with others.  We want to let our light shine.  We want others to experience the awesomeness that a life lived for God can bring.  We want to go out and make disciples of other people.  You may have heard me say that witnessing is like multi-level marketing.  We want to share God’s message with others so that they can go out and share God’s message with others and so on and so on.  Our pastor, Dan Munson, did a brief tutorial several months back on how to witness to others.  I hope he won’t mind me taking an excerpt from my notes from His sermon.  It was a great sermon and I am doing what he instructed us to do which is sharing it with others.  So,  first of all, we all know people that are living without Christ in their lives and we should begin by praying for that person.  Pray for the opportunity to speak with them and pray for the boldness needed to share your testimony with them.  If you are nervous about sharing your testimony or speaking to others about trusting Christ, pray.  You can invite people to church or to a Bible study.  Ask God what you need to say, keep it short, you should be able to give your testimony in 3-5 minutes, keep it simple and be realistic.  Don’t make any negative remarks about any person, church, or denomination.  Don’t use lingo, vague terms or big words that the other person may not understand.  Explain to them how you got peace and joy in your life.  Explain to them what God has done for you.  Find a way to start the conversation and get their attention.  You want to tell about your life before Christ, how you came to know Christ, and what your life has been like since you accepted Christ as your Savior.  If you are writing your testimony, you want to write it like you speak, especially if you will be reading it to someone.  It is a good idea to write it out and perhaps memorize it so that when the opportunity comes, you are prepared.  Now, if you have written it out and are preparing yourself to present your testimony to others, you want to ask yourself these questions.  Does is sound right?  Does it make sense?  Can I tell it in 3-5 minutes? Did I give the Lord enough credit for the changes in my life?

The bottom line is this, if you are not saved, I’m willing to bet that you know someone that has been saved.  Perhaps you see that light and love of Christ shining through in a friend or co-worker.  Perhaps you have seen a significant change in someone close to you.  If this is the case, ask them.  Maybe they haven’t brought it up because they are afraid of how you will receive it.  If they don’t feel capable of mentoring you in this process, I am sure they could guide you to someone that can.  If you are saved, then you were saved because someone shared Jesus with you.  It is now your job to share God’s love with others.

This scripture passage is referred to as the Great Commission.  Commission is defined in the dictionary as an instruction, command, or duty given to a person or group of people.  Jesus is instructing his disciples (which if you are a Jesus follower, that would be you) to go out and make disciples of others.  We are commanded to do this, it is our duty.  Remember as you do this to pay close attention to His last words in this scripture.  He is with us always, even to the end of the age.

Have a great day!