A Southern Baptist pastor recently recalled the story once told him about seeing an abandon church building with the following sign prominently displayed on its front lawn: “Gone out of business because we didn’t know what our business was!” May this tragic account be burned deeply into our hearts and minds, for we, Grace Baptist Church, must never forget what our business is! So, what is our business? Making disciples (that is, faithful followers of Christ, the Son of God)! Jesus spoke this truth so plainly to His disciples on that mountain in Galilee two thousand years ago—“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20; “The Great Commission”).”
So, what exactly do authentic disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ look like? Jesus gives clarity to this question as well. Citing the above Scripture, true disciples have been told the Good News (the gospel) of salvation through the Cross of Christ; they have responded in genuine faith; they have been baptized by immersion as a public profession of Jesus as their Savior and Lord; they are growing strong in their faith, desire, and ability to serve God with all their hearts and minds, even to the bloody end if need be. Moreover, Jesus said that anyone who dare trust Him as Savior and Lord must “deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me (Luke 9:23).” To “deny oneself” means simply to put Jesus first (instead of self) in all things, to hold God’s interests with the highest regard and priority. To “take up your cross daily” means that every day, yes, every hour and moment, you recognize that “the path is narrow” and you are willing to suffer all things for the cause of Christ. To “follow Him” is to strive to walk every step that Jesus walked in the grace of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.
And to what end? To hear those hallowed words on that great and final day, “Well done, good and faithful servant . . . enter into the joy of your Master!” Then we gasp, yes, gasp deeply, as we peer into the boundless, untold glories and blessings of Heaven—our new, eternal home. As that old hymn so boldly proclaims, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, Than when we first begun.” Amen!
Looking for Others to Join Me,
Dennis
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