Matthew 28:19-20 Follow Jesus and be disciple - Sermon Wilfred
The world is in turmoil, people are anxious. Do we as Christians have an answer?
I was at a conference of church leaders, pastors, elders, deacons, and Sunday school. Around 200 people were present. The speaker began his introduction by asking questions and asking to raise hands:
- Which of you was on social media, hotmail, Instagram, YouTube today? Most hands went up.
- Who was on social media for more than 1 hour? Approximately 60% respond positively.
- Who was on social media for more than 3 hours? Approximately 20% of the present raised his hand.
- Who spent more than 10 minutes with God through Bible reading and prayer? A 98% answered positively.
- Who more than 20 minutes? The number decreased to 15%.
- Who has ever read the Old Testament? Only 20% responded positively.
- Who reads the entire Bible, Old and New Testament in 1 year? An embarrassing 3% raised his hand.
Brothers and sisters, these are the people who lead the church, they themselves have no knowledge of the Bible, do not intercede for their members and hardly have a personal relationship with God. They spend more time on social media than in their relationship with God.
The next question was, "What is the essence of Matthew 28: 19-20?" Is that baptism?
The majority shared this opinion. This opinion is true of because the churches are keen to baptize and win members. THE ANSWER IS WRONG. The essence of Matthew 28:19-20 is TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU.
The essence is to learn everything that Jesus taught His disciples and to TEACH this to all nations on the whole earth and to ensure that they also bring this IN PRACTICE.
Brothers and sisters my decision is to spend this year through video preaching to fulfill this assignment. The goal is for the believer to come along with the rapture of the church and not be left behind. This year I want to post a video every week so that people don't get left behind. But that doesn't depend on me. It is the personal choices that believers MUST make individually to belong to those who are accepted by the The Rapture of the church (Matthew 24:39-42).
So what is the teaching mission of Jesus and means it to be a follower (disciple) of Jesus?
Jesus started His Work with His baptism. What baptized John the Baptist: Confession of sins. That is the beginning that I miss in churches and evangelism: the confession of sins. People are asked to come forward and accept Jesus. But rarely do I hear the confession of sins and thereafter the acceptance of Jesus. Often the person does not even know what one is doing, is emotional, and rarely is there a follow-up by the church with a visit by an elder and an invitation to become acquainted about the meaning of being a Christian.
Jesus began His work with the proclamation of sins, the interpretation of the law including the Ten Commandments. In addition, He used examples from daily life and quotes from the OLD Testament. How sadly few preachers have a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament, while in the time of Jesus, the disciples and Paul, this was the only scripture available.
What is the start of the education?
Is the gospel and begins with the proclamation that man is a sinner, separated from God by sin for eternity, and man falls under God's judgment and receives his or her punishment after death on earth. But luckily God loved mankind and that is why Jesus came to earth to take the punishment for sin and die on the Cross. By the resurrection from the dead after three days, God the Father confirmed that He had accepted this sacrifice. BUT the condition for receiving forgiveness of sin is the recognition of guilt, the acknowledgment of being a sinner or being unable to bear the penalty of sin. RECOGNITION of Jesus Christ as a personal savior. A confession of sin is essential. Someone can have a light past. Others have a heavy past or even present of drugs, alcohol, abortion, suicide attempt, sexual abuse, incest, satan worship, under the power of satan and demons, consciously or unconsciously in the parents and/or family. Without this confession one remains bound and the newly converted often falls back into worldly life. Here lies the task of the pastor, evangelist, elder, deacon, and Sunday school.
Remained the teaching of Jesus with conversion?
NO. It clearly indicated that after the conversion one became a child of God the Father and like being a baby through the child grows to ADULT. This requires education, as a baby and child need their parents to grow. Here too Jesus used examples from daily life. 1 Corinthians 13 is the clear proof of what love is and WITHOUT love, everything is NOT WORTH. The believer has the clear task of saying no to temptations, no to life in the world and to live under the control of the Holy Spirit to the honor and glory of God the Father. On the basis of Galatians 5:17-23 the believer can test himself or herself in which world he or she lives. Does the choice have an impact on his or her life? Yes, definitely the consequences we read in 1 Corinthians 3:10-18. The believer receives wages or not. That is something which I hardly hear preaching in the churches. But apart from this, currently the most important preaching is the Rapture of the Church, namely Matthew 24 and Matthew 25. Jesus teaches to heed the signs of the times. These signs are clearly present today, so that the Coming of Christ is imminent. First, there is verses 40-44, one is taken, the other is left. Do people receive this education in the church? This is a very serious education. It is not about the unbelievers who are left, it is about the Christian who is taken or left and who will pass through the horror of the Great Tribulation, verses 9-31. This horror was later extensively revealed to the apostle John and described in Revelation. Is revelation taught in your church?
Verses 40-44 are explained in more detail in Matthew 25. The foolish virgin is left. These are the Christians who, after having accepted Jesus, do not continue to live in the Spirit (the oil), they have returned to a life in the world. For them the door to the Wedding Feast in Heaven is closed. The Christians who after accepting Jesus and put their lives under the control of the Holy Spirit, are taken and go to Heaven at the first Coming of Christ, the Rapture of the Church. They are the wise virgins who had enough oil, they lived by the power and control of the Holy Spirit. But if one literally takes the 5 foolish and 5 wise virgins, it means that HALF of the believers in Jesus will be left and pass through the Great Tribulation, where again the choice for Jesus has to be made and refuse the mark 666 of the Beast. That will not be an easy thing.
It is the task of every leader in the church to proclaim this teaching. That is not a noncommittal thing, every leader will have to give account to God, Hebrews 13:17.
Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you.
How to account if people spend more time on social media, YouTube, Instagram, hotmail and not in Bible study and prayer. This year we have been confronted with the facts of the importance of prayer. Is prayer being taught. This pray for the leaders of the government, the peace in the world, against attacks, the education in schools, the teachers and teachers, for Israel, for the persecuted for their Christian faith, the Muslims who wish to convert to the Christian faith, the missionaries , the church leader, the unbelievers in your area, and so on.
How is the education?
About life in the world, the influence of satan and demons in personal life and in the world. That one distinguishes oneself from the unbeliever and the unbeliever can see that one is a Christian. Or is the Christian a mockery and just doing the things of the world. Or did the Christian hold the royal priesthood 1 Peter 2:9?
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Explains what this royal priesthood means. Does the church leader know what this means? In this time when the Rapture of the Church is near, a heavy task rests on every church leader, every church member, every preacher and evangelist. The time is still short. What if you are left? Can the abandoned church leader or pastor answer for the abandoned church members? NOW is the time of reflection, NOW is the time of labor, NOW is the time of EDUCATION and the fulfillment of the commission of Jesus Christ.