Stand FirmSample

God Calls Us to Stand Firm on the Mission

Did you know that the word ‘go’ appears in the Bible over 200 times? Do you find it difficult to go and share your faith? Do you cringe at the thought of it? But do you realise that you carry a message that is hope for the world? A message of hope, life, and truth, and if we’re going to stand firm, we’ve got to be prepared to go. Why? Because in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus says, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations.’ This is known as the Great Commission. A co-mission is a dual thing. When you go to share your faith, you need to know you never go alone, you go with the Spirit of God who is living in you, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.

Who do we go to?

‘Go into all the nations’. You don't have to go to Asia, Antarctica or Africa to share the love of Jesus. Just start on your doorstep, that’s all he is asking of you.

How do we go, and what do we do?

You may not feel you have the confidence, but when you go, watch what Jesus will do. We’re all part of extending the kingdom, we just have to be willing to go.

So, here are some tools for how you can go:

1. Invite – Jesus did this all the time. In Matthew 4, Jesus says, ‘Come, follow me’. He gave them an invitation to come follow him. And you can do this, too, in any context of your life.
2. Tell – The Bible calls this proclamation. In Matthew 10:7, Jesus says, ‘As you go, proclaim this message’. This is where we open our mouths. Sharing our testimony only needs to be simple, even just using these 3 points to guide you. Think of 3 words that would describe you: Before you met Jesus / When you first encountered Jesus / Now you follow Jesus. The Christian faith is now becoming a minority religion, all because someone stopped telling.
3. Show – We need to be bold and raise our faith, to show our friends what happens when you follow Jesus.
4. Live – Matthew 5:13-16 talks about being salt of the earth, and how we have to live this, day in, day out. Live a life of integrity. When everyone is swearing, but you don’t, or everyone is partying, getting wasted, and you don’t - because you’ve got a higher purpose. You might be the only Jesus people ever meet, or the only Bible people ever read.
5. Pray – Prayer is this unseen force. People can turn you away and shut you down when telling them about Jesus, but no one can stop you from praying for them. So, who are you going to start praying for?
6. Plant – You may be reading this plan because someone has been brave enough to tell you the gospel, or because you’ve seen the power of God. These people were planting seeds in your heart. Are you going to plant something in someone, or somewhere?

The Great Commission is an invitation to one of the most beautiful adventures you can go on. So, when will you go?

Prayer

Holy Spirit, fill me with the boldness to go and share my faith. I pray I would be the same when I’m in a room on my own when no one can see, and when everyone can see. Jesus, help me to live out your Great Commission. Amen.