What Your Life is About (Matthew 28:18–20)
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 28:18–20
The Great Commission, and it is a Great Commission. What words, if these are familiar to you. I think about our church family. We say these words to each other every Sunday when we’re about to scatter from our worship gatherings. They can become overfamiliar if we’re not careful.
Matthew 28:18–20 highlights the authority of Christ over all.
But just think about what Jesus just said. “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” What a statement! He’s Lord over everything. He’s Lord over life. He’s Lord over death. He’s Lord over sin. He’s Lord over suffering. He’s Lord over Satan. He’s Lord over every single person on the planet. He’s Lord over history. He’s Lord over it all. And we know him as Lord, for all who are in relationship with God through faith in Jesus. We know him personally, the One who has all authority in heaven and earth. You know him today. So go, therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations. What a commission!
Every single one of us has a part to play in making disciples of all the nations.
Go throughout all the world, to all the peoples—all the ethnic groups of the world—and lead people to know Jesus. Lead people to trust in Jesus as Lord. Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them, leading them to unite their lives with Jesus. Total transformation of who they are; helping them, teaching them to observe all of his words that we have; knowing that He is with us, in us, by his Spirit dwelling inside you and me today—always to the end of the age with us.
Matthew 28:18–20 encourages us to take an active role in obeying the Great Commission.
Oh, this is your commission today and every day. This is my commission today and every day. Every single one of us has a part to play in making disciples of all the nations. And this is what your life is about today. And I just want to encourage you in a fresh way not to settle for any other purpose, goal in your life than this; any other plan for your life than this. You are a disciple-maker of the nations. This is who you are. This is what Jesus has called you to do, entrusted you and me to do. So let’s do this faithfully, today and every day.
Oh God, we pray that you would help each of us by your grace, your presence with us, your Spirit in us, to play our parts in making disciples of all the nations. God, help us to play our part today in pointing people around us to you from the nations. Lord, give us eyes to see the people around us today, including people from different ethnicities. God, help us to be intentional about sharing the gospel with the nations right around us. And, God, we pray that you would help us to go, give, do whatever you call each of us to do to see disciples made among all the nations–specifically even thinking about nations, ethnic groups, people groups where the gospel is not yet gone.
Prayer for the Warain Berber People
God, we pray today for the nations. We pray specifically for the Warain Berber people of Morocco, this Tamazight-speaking people group; Muslim men, women, and children who don’t know the good news of your salvation and lordship over all. Jesus, we pray for the spread of the gospel to the Warain Berber people of Morocco, and thousands of other people groups like them. And, God, we pray, use our lives however you desire, however you desire to see disciples made among all those nations.
We pray that you would raise up many more laborers, much as Matthew 9 said, for the harvest field to go; you would raise up many more people to give, to support the spread of the gospel among all the nations. God, help us to be faithful in the little bit of time we have on this earth to live, to see disciples made in all the nations, just like you commissioned us to do. I pray this over my life. I pray this over every single person who’s listening to this right now. Lead, guide, direct us today, tomorrow, every day, to however we can most faithfully and effectively make disciples of all the nations. I pray this, we pray this together, in Jesus’ name, straight according to your Word in Matthew 28:18–20. Amen.
