Fellowship through Worship
Study Scripture: Matthew 28:18 – 20, Hebrews 10:22 – 25
Background Scripture: Matthew 28:18 – 20, Hebrews 10:22 – 25
Lesson #12 May 30, 2026
Key Verse
Let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful
Hebrews 10: 23
INTRODUCTION
Our Lesson Study forces us to examine our hearts and your own desires to change the lives of men. We might certainly agree that the world is in a wretched shape, a desperate shape, and something has to be done for there is something desperately wrong with men.
Our Lesson Study today therefore should be focused on the only answer to the problems of the world in which we live for we know in our hearts that the hearts of men have to be changed. We also know of only one person the Lord Jesus Christ, who can change the hearts of a man.
We should therefore look at our past lives and ask ourselves that if God allowed us to live our lives over again, what would be the thing that is most precious to us? Would we make it our priority to work to change the lives of men?
Our Study focuses on what we call the Great Commission, but we should remember that this is really a call to arms for the Church, the congregation of the Living God. The Lord Jesus Christ here is not only addressing the 11 disciples alone but He is also addressing those that will believe in Him and so therefore His address has validity for all time, since they address us as well.
This Study Lesson therefore will give us a great opportunity to reflect on ourselves, and as well what the Church where we worship and sing sings of praise needs for we have to understand ourselves as people with a mission.
It will help us as we begin to look at the men that Jesus was addressing. There were only 11 of them and they went very likely with fears in their hearts for they know that the Jewish leadership would be looking for them to kill them as the leadership had succeeded in killing the Lord Jesus Christ.
They were not superhuman men and there were different levels of faith in them.
A few days before this meeting on the mountain earmarked by the Lord Jesus Christ for the meeting, they had seen their Master and Lord dragged before the court of Pontius Pilate, condemned to death, and crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem. They had been severely disappointed and even though Jesus had been resurrected and they saw Him in the flesh once again our Lesson Scripture tells us ” .. but some doubted”.
In their lives they had to live with the fact that they had had a traitor among them and they did not even realize that he was a traitor. They would have known that the Scriptures had predicted that there would be someone that would betray the Messiah and that that must have bothered them. So they doubted and we should remember that some of the doubters might very well have been among the apostles, among the most intimate friends of the Lord.
So would it be helpful for us to examine ourselves? Just as the disciples to meet Jesus had to be careful so do we have to be careful, for the same enemy, Satan, is still around and working extra hard for he knows his days are short.
The Jewish leadership were attempting to do everything they could to discredit the fact of Jesus’ resurrection. We see that the reaction of the disciples was contrasted with that attitude by the writers of the Gospels for the disciples were set against any attempt to dismiss the resurrection.
Out of obedience to their Lord they went to northern Galilee to meet the Lord there. The leading Jews in the nation had rejected Jesus, but they felt compelled to obey Him, heading out to meet Jesus on a mountain knowing that they would meet Him there.
We must be careful here when we talk about some doubted for the disciples were not necessarily lacking in faith though the level of faith among them would have varied. The word for “doubted” actually used does not suggest a loss of faith but rather one of hesitancy for these 11 disciples were uneasy. They still did not understand what the Lord Jesus Christ intended to do when He met them, but they knew that their hopes of establishing a kingdom on earth had been dashed.
But they had seen Him in His resurrection body and they knew that He was the victor, but clearly they would be hesitant and disturbed but they went anyway to the appointed meeting place.
They certainly seem to have faith for though their lives were on the line they knew their Master would not jeopardize their safety and so though they were uneasy,, were anxious, and likely were fearful they went anyway because they trusted Him.
So as we consider our part in the Great Commission let us look at what the passage is telling us about, for the writers of the Scripture were clearly contrasting the incredibly large extent of the Commission that the Lord gave them, the relative insignificance of this little band of men, who were only 11 men, and their human reaction to the facts of their environment.
These 11 or 12 men clearly insignificant men were told that they were to go out and conquer the world and lay it at the feet of Jesus One writer comments in very clear language what was happening.This is extremely relevant to us who think that we are going to accept the command of the Lord Jesus Christ and go about the Great Commission. He stated:
“These men were men who had never been more than 50 miles from home. They had probably never been outside the country of Palestine. They had ranged as far with the Lord in his ministry as they had ever travelled.
Jesus had no funds to carry out this assignment. He had no basis of political power. He had already been rejected by his own nation. And yet he told them, “ Go, and make disciples of all men”.
We realize now that the secret of his success was not the size or the power, or the material qualifications of the group,, but rather the divine authorization given to them by the Lord. In Verse 18 Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.. You go therefore”.
The Father had given the Son the authority, and the Son by means of the Holy Spirit, gave to the disciples the authority to go out and, for all time, bring men into a relationship with him.
They had a promise that all the resources, all the power of the Father, the authority of a Sovereign Lord who created men and by whom lives again could be recreated, was available to them if they would simply act upon it”.
As we look at this Study carefully let us therefore understand that the Lord Jesus Christ has given His followers the authorization and they needed no other authorization. These few men within 35 years had planted churches in every major centre in the Roman Empire. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and under his authority this little insignificant group had conquered the world, for as one writer reminds us they had all the power of a Sovereign Lord available to them and they accomplished and are still accomplishing what they set out to do.
We tend to measure success by way of numbers and we think that that gives us an estimate of strength and power. But we should note that God is not preoccupied with numbers. It is only us frail creatures that are preoccupied with numbers. In the program of God numbers have no consequence. No matter how you want to count people you should understand that in the program of God numbers are totally inconsequential. So God never is concerned about the size of a group for that size of the group has nothing to do with success.
What we tend to forget is that God sent Elijah and his servant Elisha against the whole nation of Israel and that did not bother God because God knew that His two servants could accomplish what He sent them out to do.
Then we should also remember that God sent Paul and Barnabas into Asia Minor to plant churches in pagan areas that have never heard the Gospel. And later Paul, Timothy the other missionaries took the Gospel all over Europe.
God sent this single man Jonah to evangelize the massively powerful city of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire.
Then we know that Jesus Himself only spent 3.5 years with these 11 men, preparing them to accomplish His program.
Do you think that we could accomplish that kind of feat? So note that size, even though we must never disregard it, it’s not to be equated with success.
The prophet Haggai had to remind Israel not to despise this tiny little Temple that they had built for God’s splendour would fill that little Temple and God would use that for His honor.
In every case God looks at the quality of people and He chose well.
They would hear the mandate from the Lord Jesus Christ and His imperative to go and make disciples.
They would subordinate their life to this main idea and literally the Scripture say, “ having gone, disciples by baptizing and by teaching”.
Some would disciple in their own nation while others would go out in the worldwide program of making disciples. They would make disciples not only by going, but by baptizing, and then by teaching.
Baptism was obviously very important for it’s a symbol of repentance, moving out from the great religion of Judaism and paganism and identifying themselves with the Messiah.So these disciples had to be taught. They had to learn how to walk.
All professing believers like to talk about worship but the issue that has to be faced as we examine ourselves is
1.Are we so temperamentally reserved that we cannot show our emotions and express our feelings about the sensitive matter of talking about our relationship to God? Do we feel deep down that it is somewhat uncouth to publicly air what seemed to be a personal matter?
2. Do we feel that we don’t like to impose ourselves on others because we don’t like them imposing themselves on us? Do we think that it’s only that we are trying to be gracious when we invite others into fellowship and so we don’t want to be pushy about it?
3. Or do we feel that we are elected by God so we can talk about His name and sing His praises and not concern ourselves with others for we cannot decide who belongs to the people of God but God alone?
Is there a mixture of faith and doubt in our fellowship, or are we still unsure of God’s faithfulness and His love?
Do we understand that doubt and faith often go hand in hand? When you think about it you know that we cannot prove the existence of God but we know that we believe in Him and we trust God, and we know that that is a very remarkable change in our lives that the Holy Spirit has brought. So do not be surprised that these disciples believed and they also doubted. Jesus looked at them as they were and gave them this Great Commission to make disciples of all nations and to teach the disciples to observe all things that He had commanded them.
So we should look at worship and fellowship in a new way for when we go to church on Sabbaths to praise God and listen to the Word of God we are not there to be entertained. We are there to study the Scriptures and find meaning and direction for our lives. We are there to, as one writer says, “Seek to be a blessing to others not because we have to but because we are grateful for the many ways God has blessed us”.
So when we talk about fellowship and worship it must always be done with the understanding that we are thanking God for His mercies and asking God to be with those in need for when we are in trouble, we look to God for comfort and strength and in times of uncertainty we are not afraid because we know that God is with us and we are not alone and His grace is sufficient for every need we have.
So the mandate given to us is to as one preacher states, “Go,…. Make Disciples, share the Good News with everyone you meet:
“Go, and make disciples of all nations: The gospel of Jesus Christ is inclusive. It’s not just for us, but for everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord.
Our tendency is to be attracted to those like us: “Birds of a feather flock together”
And it is true: If it were only up to us, the church would be a pretty homogeneous group. But Jesus commands us to reach out to those who are different, to people of other races, other nationalities and other religious backgrounds and work together for the common good”.
THE TEXT
Matthew 28: 18 – 20
notes on Jesus’ Appearances
There are ten recorded appearances of Jesus between the resurrection and His ascension. First, to the women, second to Mary Magdalene (in John and Mark), third to Peter, fourth to the two disciples going to Emmaus, fifth, to the Apostles except Thomas, sixth, to the Apostles including Thomas at Jerusalem, seventh, to seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee (in John), eighth, to the Apostles, probably also to five hundred brethren on a mountain in Galilee (in Matthew and Mark), ninth, to James and tenth, to the Apostles just before the ascension.
These appearances were in different circumstances, different times and to different numbers of people. No one could thus dispute the fact He was indeed alive.
He went to great pains to show He had a real flesh and blood body, and was not just a ‘spirit’. He showed the marks of the crucifixion.
Note He seemed to have appeared only to His disciples, and they only saw Him ten times in forty days and we are not told how long He remained at each appearance. His body was very different however, from our normal body, and He could appear in a room that had the doors closed (John 20:26). Sometimes He was not even recognized at first when He appeared (Luke 24:16, John 21:4).
Matthew deals with only two appearances. In verse 16, the disciples went to keep the meeting in the appointed mountain in Galilee. It is not recorded which mountain it was or at precisely what time this meeting occurred.
Verse 17, stated they worshipped Him but some doubted on the surface. Matthew seemed to indicate that some of the eleven doubted. Some however hold that at this meeting, the five hundred brethren who saw Him on one occasion were also there and it is among them, that there were doubters. Some have suggested that Jesus’ body had been changing in appearance between the time of His resurrection and the time of His ascension, and this accounted for the uncertainty.
Jesus drew closer to them however, probably to have the doubters make up their minds, that He was really their old Master.
Verse 18. All were assured that He had all authority in Heaven and in earth. This was universal authority, given Him by the Father (John 13:3, I Cor. 15:24-28). He was now seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. On the basis of that authority, He was sending them to bring the knowledge of truth to men. They were to preach the Gospel, bring non-Christians to a full willingness to become Christians, through repentance and faith.
All Nations must be taught to keep His commandments. Christianity must therefore of necessity be a missionary religion, and must be spread. Jesus has all authority and power, and has a perfect right to be believed and obeyed. There was to be no limit to this missionary work. All nations were to be discipled, brought into a relation of pupil to teacher, instructed, and baptized.
They are to be baptized, signifying a full and eternal consecration of the person to the service and honour of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Jews had baptized proselytes into the name of the Father, that is, into the profession of God whom they called Father. The Jews had never recognized Jesus as the true Messiah. It was therefore now necessary for the Apostles to ensure that all understood and be linked to the triune God in baptism. Jews would thus have to be baptized into the name of Jesus the Son, and Gentiles into the triune God.
Note that the name is the expression or manifestation of the essence of God. It thus signifies
- The ground
- The means, and
- The object.
To do something in the name of God, means not only upon His commission, but to do it in such a manner that the power and being of God Himself shall appear as working in the transaction as exemplified in; to bless in that name of the Lord (2 Sam 6:18, Ps. 129:8); to adjure one in the name of the Lord (1 Kings 22:16); to curse one (2 Kings 2:24); and above all, to pray in Jesus’ name (John 16:23). The person baptized is, accordingly; ‘fully committed unto the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; is consecrated and made over to experience the blessing, the redeeming and sanctifying influences, of each of the three Persons; hence, he is even named by the name of the Lord (Isa. 13:7; 63:19; Jer. 15:16)”. (Gerlach)
Verse 18 is very important for the all-powerful, all-knowing God who became flesh and had voluntarily restricted His power and knowledge, humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, now asserted His position.
Verse 19. Before a brief look at the verse, every Christian should as Spurgeon has mentioned,
- We do not seek any other power.
- We defy every other power.
- We know our powerlessness will not hinder the progress of His kingdom.
- We give all our power unto Him.
This should be the position in thought and duty of every Christian. We do not have to be born this way, but mature into these attainable ideals, just as the disciples did over time.
Also,
“If Jesus Christ were not equal with the Father, could he have claimed this equality of power, without being guilty of impiety and blasphemy? Surely not; and does he not, in the fullest manner, assert his Godhead, and his equality with the Father, by claiming and possessing all the authority in heaven and earth?” [Clarke]
With this in mind, we as Christians are sure and have full confidence that Jesus has all authority in all the universe to send whoever He wishes, to do whatever He pleases them do. His authority moves us to act and do His will. His authority guides us, and His authority is what empowers us no matter this situation or task given to us, as demonstrated throughout many instances in the bible.
All up to this point establishes Jesus’ authority to send His chosen people out to spread the gospel message.
We saw that all the disciples had different temperaments. However, they still maintained the same goal, bringing souls to Christ and His kingdom, and glorifying God. The lesson is that your background or origins is irrelevant, as long as you are in Christ, you have accepted and believed, and you have aligned your will with His; as all His children have, then you will be fit or useful to use in establishing His goals. With that, the power necessary to accomplish your commission will also be there, as it was with the disciples.
Now He says that those of the believing nation of Israel is right to move forward to make disciple of all nations. In general, His children, as in the right position to go out and make disciples of all nations.
Making disciples should remind us that this is an action and active process. It takes time, but with the right attention the product is a believer who is completely engaged in honouring, obeying and loving God.
This attitude will result in them wanting to do all they can to share Jesus and God with everyone they meet, and with the Holy Spirit inspiring and empowering them, only success will occur.
The discipleship is not only for Jews, but as can see, it is to extend towards everyone, everywhere without distinction. Even though the world has gotten small through technology and innovations in flight, still there are many that the Gospel has not yet reached. So even today, the Great Commission should still move forward with the same zeal that it had with the disciples when it was first issued to them.
Verse 20 points to the fact that baptism must be followed by lifelong obedience to His commandments and continuous teaching about these commandments. Men must be instructed thoroughly in whatever was commanded.
Note that the Apostolic commission and the command to baptize, teach, and disciple, all these, along with the previously instituted Lords’ Supper, complete the core of the essentials of the Church’s structure and mission. Along with the Commandments, the Church in its new structure, brought in by the completed atonement, was now almost ready for its missionary endeavours. All it awaited was the coming of the Spirit.
Jesus then assured the disciples of His continued presence; Always, or all the days through weakness, failure, sorrow, old age, death, as well as through the days of strength, joy and success.
This is assurance of His personal presence in the fullest sense. His presence abides every day, and through to the consummation of the age at His Second Coming. Then His invisible, but just as real presence will be exchanged for His visible and eternal presence.
Hebrews 10: 22 – 25
Verse 22. There are certain duties that bind us to God the Father, Jesus the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit, due to the privileges that we are open too as the children of God.
We should always remember that we should continually draw near to God in the right manner. God will draw near to us, if we draw near to Him. By our conversion, we draw near to God.
By taking hold of His covenant, we draw near to God. As we draw near to God we will find our holy conversation changes us and will be able to bring forth certain types of fruit, to great depths like what occurred with Enoch. As we draw near, we will exhibit humility, a level of holy dependence, a conformity to God, and communion with Him. All of this will transform us into that mature Christian which is able to do the things that Jesus said we are capable of doing.
“When we are in tough times, we should remember that many people have gone through worse times and have had a better attitude, and more joy, than you do now. What is the difference? They knew how to draw near” [Guzik, D]
Verse 23. It is best to start off with emphasizing that the only way to Heaven is by way of a crucified Saviour. This death is the death of the Messiah. The person of Jesus Christ and His death is to us the way to life. To those who believe this He will be precious.
In the Text the Apostle Paul, who some believe to be the writer of the book of Hebrews, proceeds to show the Hebrews the duties binding upon them on account of these privileges, which were conferred in such an extraordinary way.
We as believers of and in God are to hold fast the profession of our faith, to embrace all the truths and ways of the Gospel, to keep that hold against all temptation and opposition.
For this is the warning; our spiritual enemies will do what they can to wrest our faith, hope, holiness and comfort out of our hands, but we must hold fast our religion as our best measure. This will keep us on the path towards God, our heavenly Father and being with Christ in His Kingdom.
How to accomplish this is straightforward, as the Bible through Paul’s instruction says there was to be no wavering, no disputing, without dallying with temptation to apostasy. Having once settled these great things between God and our souls, we must be steadfast and immovable. For it is clear that those who begin to waver in matters of Christian faith and practice are in danger of falling away.
We therefore are now focused on perseverance in our faith or focus. The Dictionary defines perseverance as
“Persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success, “his perseverance with the technique illustrates his single-mindedness”.
Another tells us, The name “Fighter” implies that a person is suffering or have suffered hardship but will persevere. The name “Trooper” is someone who keeps going despite difficulty”.
So HOW will the community of faith or people in the world describe you?
We are to focus on our God who is trustworthy. He therefore is a God of hope. He tells the truth and so we are to confess, profess and testify how we hope in God and why Jesus is the object of our saving faith.
For us God is trustworthy and so we do not place hope in the circumstances around us, the people around us, or in any expectation that somehow life will get better. If we do that we will be disappointed.
But hoping in God will never disappoint us for we know that our suffering produces endurance, for endurance produces character, and character produces hope. The Holy Spirit in us tells us this constantly and shows us that God’s love has been given to us. The Spirit is constantly pouring into our hearts this love of God.
The story is told about the experience of Chrysostom an early Christian who was brought before the Roman Emperor:
“The Emperor threatened him with banishment, if he remained a Christian. This is what Chrysostom said in this little conversation with him.
“You cannot banish me for this world is my Father’s house”.
“But I will slay you,” the Emperor said. “No, you cannot”, said the noble champion of the faith, “for my life is hid with Christ, in God”.
“I’ll take away your treasures”, the Emperor said. “No, but you cannot, for my treasure is in Heaven and my heart is there”.
“But I will drive you away from man and you shall have no friend left”.” No, you cannot. For I have a friend in heaven from which you cannot separate me. I defy you. For there is nothing you can do to hurt me”.
We accordingly are encouraged to hold fast the confession of the hope that we profess without any wavering, for we are told, “for he who promised is faithful”.
The promises in the word of God are sure. Anything that comes from the mouth of God has the authority and power of God behind it. Do not forget chapter 4:12:
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”.
So we are told and it is emphasized that it is given to every believer to encourage others in understanding that He, God is faithful to that which He hath promised.
God has made great and precious promises to believers, and He is a faithful God, true to His word. For those who know God, we know there is no falseness, nor fickleness with Him, and therefore as His ambassadors there should be none with us.
God is faithful to all His promises, and we should be confident in that He cannot fail nor does He deceive. He is all wise and foreknowing of everything that comes to pass. God never changes His mind, nor forgets His word, and He is able to perform, and is the God of truth.
His faithfulness should excite and encourage us to be faithful, and we must depend more upon His promises to us than upon our promises to Him, and we must plead with Him the promise of grace sufficient, meaning this is a strong argument to hold fast a profession of faith.
Verse 24. Paul has pointed us in a particular direction, one in which will allow us to prevent any apostasy occurring in our lives, and it also has the purpose of promoting our fidelity and perseverance.
This is done as we consider one another, that is, to provoke to love and to good works.
Christians ought to have a tender consideration and concern for one another.
We should affectionately consider what their wants, weaknesses, and temptations are as to provoke as he says one another, but not to anger, but to something greater, that being love and good works.
He calls upon them and one another to love God and Christ more, to love duty and holiness more, to love their brethren in Christ more, and to do all the good offices of Christian affection both to the bodies and the souls of each other.
A good example given to others is the best and most effectual provocation to love and good works. Look at Jesus and what He did.
Note that we have not been told to spend a lot of time criticizing, viewing others with suspicion, and comparing ourselves to others and comparing one to another.
So ask yourself how much time you spent during the week criticizing other saints. We can be very sure that you did that and if you did it you should be ashamed of it.
Your faith must be other centered and you should be worshiping God and asking Him how you can contribute to the flow of agape love. There is an emphasis on supportive love of Christians and this must be done with spiritual vigour.
Verse 25. Now how can you store up above your good works? You certainly cannot do it by following the natural human tendency to move away from people and not toward them. Some in those days were apparently doing that and forsaking the assembling together.
Believers are privileged people in the privilege they have. They have the ability to worship God in spirit and in truth and to exercise the enablement of witnessing to others that are controlled by lives of immorality and fear, thinking all kind of strange ideas about the Lord God.
So let us consider why we have this tendency of not “assembling together” and thereby encouraging one another.
Do we make our many reasons and excuses not to do that, knowing that our excuses are just a front for refusing to invest our lives in people?
Are we afraid that our needs will not be met, that we would be rejected, that we will fail, or that we will just be giving up valuable time? We should be warned that our excuses and our staying away will become a habit.
It is the will of Christ that His disciples should assemble together, sometimes more privately for conference and prayer, and in public for the hearing and joining in all the ordinances of Gospel worship.
Union is strength and continual assembling together beget and foster love, and give good opportunities for “provoking to good works”, by “exhorting one another”.
Being with those of a like mind will also allow for the joy of healing among ourselves as part of the same family. There are matters that we will understand among ourselves that others that are apart from us will not.
As there were in the Apostles’ times, and should be in every age, Christian assemblies for the worship of God are for mutual edification. The communion of saints is a great help and privilege, and a good means of steadiness and perseverance, which allows their hearts and hands to be mutually strengthened. So clearly, the converse is true, that in times where those have forsaken the assemblies, we see the beginning of those who would apostatize religion.
Being together is important. It allows us to exhort one another,
-to exhort or compel ourselves and each other,
-to warn ourselves and one another of the sin and danger of backsliding,
-to put ourselves and our fellow-Christians in mind of our duty, of our failures and corruptions,
-to watch over one another, and be jealous of ourselves and with jealousy over one another with a godly jealousy.
By engaging and being guided with a true Gospel spirit, we would be able to show the best and most cordial friendship. This will allow brethren to watch out together for the approaching times of trial, as we look after each other and be thereby quickened to greater diligence.
There is an urgency in worship and the need for being watchful and aware. 1 Peter 4:7-11 tells us that the end is getting closer and we should be closer together and praying together more. Our concern must be for the good of the whole as we focus on the Lord Jesus and on God the Father to whom belong glory and honour.
One very experienced scholar warns that our danger always is that when you forsake the meeting of the saints it often signals declining faith, generally, decaying hope, and declining love.
CONCLUSION
The men of the first century followed the orders of the Lord Jesus Christ and they took the message of the Gospel to all, whether they were the scum of the earth or whether they were well off people. They baptized so that people would understand that they are at the start of a new relationship given what God had done for them in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then, given that they are in a battle zone which is a dangerous place and the price for being a soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ is high they should be motivated, committed, knowledgeable disciples.
Believers not only have the peace brought by assurance and the promise of the commander the Lord Jesus Christ, but they have the assurance of His presence, for He has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us.
When we focus on our new relationship with Christ and the glory of who He is, the hands of Jesus will propel us for our hearts are changed and we want to obey. We therefore will help people to find Christ and become immersed in who He is, so that they too will live out their lives exactly as He has commanded them to do.
As disciple makers our relationship to Jesus and our relationship to others have been decided and defined. We are called by God to make a difference in the world and to proclaim the gospel of God’s love.
Since we live in His comfort, His strength, His guidance, and all His resources, the relationship with others and the fellowship we will have with them is now made clear.
We are called on to be disciple makers and we are called on to live for others. We have to be engaged with other people and be less self-absorbed. We have to recalculate our priorities and our approaches to life and our decision making.
Fellowship and praise means that we have to spend time with people with a life reordered for us to live for others and bring them to the Lord. This of course means sacrifice for we have to learn to listen patiently, graciously and lovingly work with people over a long period of time, and overcome all the barriers to finding the love of Christ that are in their own lives.
We cannot change the entire world but we can certainly invest in the few or the many that are around us. We might be overwhelmed by the command to make disciples even in our neighbourhoods but this is really an overpowering sense of opposition which is the opposition of evil.
Under the power of the Holy Spirit therefore we can surely show our responsibility in extending the love of God to the peoples of the world
Fellowship through worship is to take on a new meaning but it isn’t really a new thing. For this is God’s purpose shown to us when He blessed Abraham.
Note that Jesus did not give the disciples a formula for there are more than one ways to make a disciple.
So let us remember that the love one for another can be very effective.
So also good works can be very effective.
So also can one preaching the Gospel be very effective.
So slowly and steadily expand your mission to teach each that you meet. You can pray the Father and ask Him to use you and direct you in reaching people with the Gospel.
There is no formula that He will give you but we know that He will answer you for He wants you to give up your fear and do a good job of it.
So, one writer advises, pray to God, seek His will, ask to be used, trusting that God has heard our prayers and will honor them.
Jesus has given us universal authority to make disciples, to baptize and to teach. Jesus want us to spread His love around the world and He wants people to come into a relationship with God and enter the Kingdom of God. He CHOSE YOU, for that is God’s plan.
Show God that you mean it when you worship Him. Show God that you are committed to Him. Show God that you are learning more and more about Him and that you are teaching the disciples and enjoying the fellowship that you have with them as children of God in the family of God.