The COMMAND to

MAKE DISCIPLES of

ALL NATIONSMatthew 28:19-20

"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"

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“We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first.” 

Oswald J. Smith, Missions mobilizer

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Outline:

1) Many kinds of followers of Jesus

2) Marks of a True Disciple

3) Meaning of 'All Nations'

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To "make disciples" is the GOAL of evangelizing the world for Christ

Not converts / believersBut Disciples

No such thing as ‘instant disciple'

Believer vs Disciple• Accept Jesus as ‘Savior’ and ‘Lord’

• Many people claim to be ‘Christians’ but they do so on their own terms and not God’s terms

• Question is - Who is in the Pilot's seat of your life ?

• Luke 6:46 "Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?"

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Matthew 7:21-23

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?'And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.'

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Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.

Colossians 1:28-29

Paul's Goal in the ministry:From witnessing to discipling

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3 kinds of followers of Jesus:

Curious followers

Convinced followers

Committed followers

3 kinds of FollowersI. The Curious Followed JesusCrowds of people followed Jesus out ofcuriosity and for what they could get fromJesus.John 6:1-2 “After this Jesus went away to

theother side of the Sea of Galilee, which is

theSea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following Him, because they saw the signs

thatHe was doing on the sick”

3 kinds of FollowersI. The Curious Followed Jesus

For the curious seeing is not believing. They refuse to accept the teachings of Jesus. Their eyes were blind to truth.

Curious followers of Jesus may call themselves'Christians', but they are 'Christians' in name

onlylooking for personal gain

3 kinds of FollowersII.The Convinced Followed Jesus They were convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, but they refused to surrender their hearts to Jesus, to follow and obey His teachings. They found the call of Jesus too demanding so they turned away from following Jesus

John 6:60 When many of His disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" ( teaching on bread of life )John 6:66 After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.

3 kinds of FollowersIII.The Committed Followers of Jesus

John 6:66-69 “After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

Committed DiscipleCommitted to Jesus above everything else

In our hearts Jesus must come before our loved ones, self-interest, possessions, careers, hobbies, goals in life, and even our very lives.

In practice this commitment to Jesus will be tested and sometimes, in a moment of weakness, Jesus will not come first in our choices, but genuine disciples have made a sincere commitment in their hearts and will not continue to put other things before Jesus.

A committed disciple is focused on Jesus to finish the race.

Committed disciples say from their heart:

“If Jesus goes with me, I’ll go anywhere,I’ll do what He wants me to do. I’ll be what He wants me to be.”

Story of the Hen and the Pig ( level of commitment )

Billboard in front of a church building:

The LITE CHURCH:

24% fewer commitments, home of the 7.5% tithe,

15 minute sermons, 45 minute worship service;

we have only 8 commandments - your choiceEverything you’ve wanted in a church and

less!

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Outline:

1) Many kinds of followers of Jesus

2) Marks of a True Disciple

3) Meaning of All Nations

Definition of a Disciple•The term "disciples" occurs 269 times in the New Testament

•"The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch” (Acts 11:26)

• DISCIPLE... Greek: mathetes- a learner, pupil- a follower of a teacher / master- imitators of their teachers

What is Christian Discipleship?

•Christian discipleship is the transformational process that turns a believer into the person God wants them to be - a Disciple of Jesus

•The believer, with the help of the Holy Spirit:

- learns Christ's teachings- applies them to their life - follows them- teach others to be disciples as well

THE GOAL OF DISCIPLESHIP

Stated by Jesus in Luke 6:40 “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” To strive to be like Jesus : ‘Christlikeness’

God's goal in the redemption of mankind:Romans 8:29 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers”

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Disciple Others

2Timothy 2:1-2

"You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

( 4 Generations mentioned )

•God is calling you to transform the world

one person at a time, start now !

THE MARKS OF A TRUE DISCIPLE

A. ABIDES IN JESUS' WORDSJohn 8:31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, "If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples”

James 1:22 “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”

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"Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."

John14:21

B. LOVES THE BRETHRENJohn 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

THE MARKS OF A TRUE DISCIPLE

C. BEARS MUCH FRUITJohn 15:8 “By this my Father is glorified, that youbear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples”

Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”

Have a lifestyle which prompts people to glorify God!

THE MARKS OF A TRUE DISCIPLE

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"For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush." Luke 6:43-44

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self-control; against such things

there is no law."

Galatians 5:22-23

A.ABIDES IN JESUS' WORDSB.LOVES THE BRETHRENC.BEARS MUCH FRUIT

Question: Does your life manifest the marks of a true disciple of Jesus ?

THE MARKS OF A TRUE DISCIPLE

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Outline:

1)Many kinds of followers of Jesus

2) Marks of a True Disciple

3) Meaning of All Nations

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Definition of Nations

Merriam-Websters dictionary : ‘community of people composed of one or more nationalities and possessing a more or less defined territory and government’

In the New Testament Greek ‘ethnos’ is rendered "nations" (36 times)

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‘And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet, He is actually not far from each one of us.’

Acts 17:26-27

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The Beginning of the Nations:

The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed. Genesis 9:18-19These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood. Genesis 10:32

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Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech." So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:1-9

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The Times (May 8th 2007) stated: “latest research by geneticists at the University of Cambridge reinforces the theory that all modern human beings… are descended from a small number of Africans who left their home between 55,000 and 60,000 years ago

Study published in Nature Genetics, found that mutations in mtDNA occur about 20 times more rapidly than previously thought. Based on these measurements, they calculated Mitochondrial Eve lived only about 6,500 years ago.

Scientific findings on Mitochondrial Eve:

In 1987 studies on human mitochondria (mtDNA is a circular structure composed of over 16 thousand nucleotides) led to a surprising conclusion:"The mitochondrial DNA in each human being can be traced back to a single female who lived in Africa over 100,000 years ago."

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God Himself had designed the division of the peoples of the earth and had promised salvation to all the nations ( panta ta ethne ) fulfilling His mission to all the peoples of the earth.

Therefore, all the nations on the face of the earth are to be discipled, not one excluded

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ALL NATIONS - Biblical basis

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Genesis 12:2-3

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Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed."So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Galatians 3:7-9

So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Galatians 3:14

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"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Daniel 7: 13-14

Biblical Prophecy regarding "All Nations"

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And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."

Revelations 5:9-10

Biblical Prophecy regarding "All Nations"

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After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

Revelations 7:9-10

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"The Bible is the story of God's love drawing the worship and obedience of the nations that they might reveal His glory.

Today, the challenge remains to obey Jesus' command to go "into all the world" - to take His redemptive blessing to the remaining people groups of the world.

Only when the task is complete will God's worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshippers for Himself from every tribe, tongue, people and nation be realized."

"God, His Mission and His World" Kairos 4th Edition

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God's Redemptive Plan

To reach humankind:

Through chosen human agents - "Go"

In multitudes of separate cultural groupings - "Make disciples of all nations"

In scattered geographical locations - "Go into all the world"

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God's Redemptive Plan of reaching the whole world with the Gospel of Christ through the believers

"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2Corinthians 5:18-20

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..... "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’

Luke 24:46-48

The COMMAND to MAKE DISCIPLES of ALL NATIONS

Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!

1Chronicles16:23-24

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But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8

Acts 1 - JerusalemActs 8 - JudeaActs 8:4 - SamariaActs 10 - GentilesActs 13 - Ends of the earth

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And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 24:14

The Remaining Task:The Remaining Task:Joshua Project Report on World MissionsJoshua Project Report on World Missions

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Is it possible to reach the whole world for Christ?

Great Advances in Technology, Communication, Transportation It is estimated that Christian radio broadcasts cover at

least 91% of the world’s population

Worldwide Migration phenomenon - great opportunity to reach the unreached - many mission fields have arrived at our doorstep - 'Reverse Mission‘

Globalization - diminishing political, social, economic barriers among countries and cultures - 2015 ASEAN Economic Integration

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“A soft drink company has done a better job getting brown sugar water to the nations than the church of Jesus Christ has done in getting the Gospel to them.”

David PlattPastor and missions mobilizer

Vision of Coca-Cola:

“A can of Coke in the handof every person on the planet.”

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Cuba and North Korea

Disciple Making –Spiritual Multiplication

Jesus prayed all night and then began to gather His 12 disciples. He invested 3 years in these disciples who in turn would disciple others.

If each disciple gathered 12 in a 3 year period,

they would multiply from…1 to 13 to 156 to

1,872 to 22,464 to

269,568 to > 3 million in a 21-year period

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The great worldwide imbalance:

Manpower:90% of missionaries are working among the reached people groups

10% are working among the Unreached People Groups

Finances for Foreign Missions:87% of Christian financial resources are spent for work among

already Christian groups 12% are spent for Regular missions ( to Reached people groups )

1% are spent for Frontier missions ( to Unreached People groups )

Are resources available to reach the whole world for Christ?

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Available Resources to reach the 7000 Unreached People Groups in the world (UPG):

Worldwide there are about 4,500,000 Christian churches, = 640 church per UPG

About 700,000,000 dedicated Christians = 100,000 Christians per UPG

There are more than enough resources to reach the remaining 13 people groups in the Philippines

1949 – Less than 1 million Christians2013 – More than 90 million ChristiansOver 12,000 new Chinese believers every day!

Remarkable GrowthRemarkable Growth

Remarkable GrowthRemarkable Growth

Amidst an oppressive, anti-Christian regime

Each of us is a piece of the puzzle

Every follower of Christ has the responsibility and joy of participating in the Great

Commission

The Great Commission – A Double Edged Sword

The Unreach

ed Reach

ed

The Reach

ed Perfecte

d

As the Church

engages in the

Great Commission,

God gets a people

from every nation

in His Kingdom

and at the same

time, His people

are transformed

and matured.

“ The Great Commission

is not an option to be considered,

it is a command to be obeyed “

- J. Hudson Taylor

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“I have but one passion: It is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my homewhere I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.” 

Count Nicolaus von ZinzendorfFounder of the Moravians

Conclusion and Challenge

• To make Disciples of All Nations is the calling of every believer

• Learn Christ's teachings and Follow them!

• Disciple others as well• God is calling YOU to Transform the

World, one person at a time, start NOW!

• Lets DOH it !!!