There are 4 aspects to making disciples mentioned by Jesus in Matt 28:16-20:

1. Obedience

The ‘Great Commission’ is a command, not an optional extra. Our love for God is proved by our obedience to actually doing what He says (see John 14:15, 1 John 2:3-4). We need to understand that we are not our own, but have been bought at a price (1 Cor 6:19-20) and therefore have an obligation towards God.

2. Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

We are not called to make disciples in our own strength. There are many things that we are good at doing, but making disciples on our own isn’t one of them! The disciples were radically transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit which enabled them to be the witnesses they were called to be (Acts 1:8). Only as we are filled daily with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18) will we too be radically transformed.

3. Be Baptised

Baptism in water is the outward sign of the inward change God has made in our lives. Paul says to the Romans ‘We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.’ (Rom 6:4) Baptism in water is a sign of our allegiance to Christ and a sign of our obedience to Him.

4. Teach Others to Obey

To be a disciple of Christ is to be involved in a lifelong learning experience! We learn, not simply to have head knowledge, but to grow in obedience and in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Being able to give a reason for the hope we have means having some understanding of what Christ has done for us!  We have hope because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8) and brought us into a relationship with the living God, giving us eternal life and showering blessings upon us. Although it is good to seek to understand more about our faith and to be able to defend what we believe, a witness is someone who reports what they have seen and heard. All who are called by Christ have a testimony of His transforming power and saving grace to share.

Everyday witness is part of our everyday lives. Being a disciple of Jesus means that we live to please Him. We take His commands seriously and so we don’t ignore this final command to go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything He has commanded. Instead of believing that this means forcing our beliefs onto other people, we ask God to s; we work for Him form His character within us and ripen His fruit in our lives; we work for Him with all our might; we look for opportunities to minister grace and love to people because we know that mirrors His heart. We evaluate everything we say and do according to His word, not being squeezed into the world’s mould, but allowing God to re-mould our minds. (Rom 12:2, J. B. Phillips) We pray for the courage to be mouthpieces for truth and justice because we know He is a God of truth and justice and we ask for opportunities to give a reason for the hope we have. One of the most amazing reasons we have for hope is found in this final verse. ‘And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ (Matt 28:20) Jesus doesn’t ask us to go forth in our own strength, on our own. He promises to be with us always: ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ (Heb 13:5) However daunted we may feel, however inadequate we may feel, we can have confidence because all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus and He is the One who is with us always, empowering us by His Spirit. The resurrected Jesus who defeated death is the very One who accompanies us on our journey to go and make disciples of all nations. We’re not on our own.

If we are to be ‘fruitful on our frontlines’ (a phrase used by LICC in their ‘Imagine Church’ project), we need to see that our whole lives count for God and are to be used in our everyday witness.

Model godly character

God is interested in who we are, not just what we do! We need the fruit of the Spirit to grow in our lives: ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.’ (Gal 5:22-23) Spiritual growth is essential to our witness, but this work is often unseen by us as God works deep within the roots of our lives.

Make good work

. Paul tells the Colossians ‘whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’ (Col 3:17)The quality of our work and our attitudes towards work are all part of our everyday witness.

Minister grace and love

God seeks us to receive His undeserved grace and favour and love and then pass it on! We are called to show grace and love to everyone, to reject the world’s ‘dog-eat-dog’ philosophy and to be merciful to others (see Matt 5:46-47). This makes an impression on people, who are unused to grace and mercy.

Mould culture

If we are serious about praying ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matt 6:10), we will find we cannot go along with so much in our culture which shuns God’s ways of doing things and His values. Instead of simply saying ‘that’s the way we do things round here’, we find ourselves saying ‘what would Jesus do?’ and reacting accordingly.

Be a Mouthpiece for Truth and Justice

Moulding our culture often means taking a stand for what is right against all the many things that are wrong. God is a God of truth and justice; He is ‘a faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.’ (Deut 32:4) Moses told the people ‘Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.’ (Ex 23:2) Micah made it very clear that the requirements of God are ‘to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8) As we speak out for the underdog and become a mouthpiece for truth and justice, opportunities to explain why we say what we say and believe what we believe will come about.

Be A Messenger for the Gospel

We ask God for opportunities to explain the reason for the hope we have (1 Pet 3:15) and accept our God-calling as His ambassadors (see 2 Cor 5:17-21). We do so confident that God wants people to be saved (see 2 Pet 3:9) and that angels rejoice when they are! We can be utterly confident that God wants us to be messengers of the gospel. This is His plan for us all. Equally, however, we must be very aware that it is God who saves people, not us. The wonder of everyday evangelism is that He wants us to have a part in His great saving work. He allows us to become partners with Him: ‘as though God were making his appeal through us,’ Paul says. (2 Cor 5:20)

Our service last night looked at the subject of ‘Everyday Witness’, focussing on Jesus’s words to His disciples known as the ‘Great Commission.’ (Matt 28:16-20) Even after the Resurrection, there was a mixed response amongst the disciples, with some worshipping but others doubting. They needed these instructions to give shape and purpose to their lives and it was only after the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost that they were equipped to go forth and make disciples of all nations.

Often, we feel inadequate to this task, but we need to understand that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus, and therefore we have all we need to witness in Him. The Jesus who gives these final instructions to His disciples speaks with the total authority of the Godhead, for He speaks as the resurrected One whose resurrection proves our faith is not futile, whose resurrection becomes, therefore, the motivation for how we live our everyday lives.

Everyday witness involves more than speaking; whether we are gifted in this area or not, our very lives are called to be light for God. ‘Imagine Church’ (a project run by the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity) talks about the 6Ms which we all need in our lives to be effective witnesses:

1. Model godly character
2. Make good work
3. Minister grace and love
4. Mould culture
5. Be a Mouthpiece for truth and justice
6. Be a Messenger of the Gospel

Our everyday witness must involve our character and our actions as well as our words.

This provocative title was chosen by Mark as he continued his series on Joseph this morning, looking at Gen 46:28-34 and then at Gen 47:1-12. It might be said to sum up the Egyptians’ attitude to shepherds and sheep, which was potentially bad news for Joseph’s family, since looking after livestock, and sheep in particular, was what they knew best. However, God’s care for them meant that, rather than being condemned for their role and for the fact that their sheep would take precious grazing land in Goshen, Pharaoh not only allowed them to stay in this fertile land, but even gave them authority over his own herds!

The reunion between Joseph and his father Jacob after thirty long years of separation was obviously emotional, but it was also the fulfilment of the dream he had had as a teenager. Joseph is a vivid reminder to us that no matter how long it takes, God will fulfil His promises and purposes in our lives. As Hab 2:1-3 reminds us, we have to wait on God for the arrival of the vision; we have to keep on looking for God to answer, and must also learn to listen to Him. Writing down the vision as a reminder can keep it fresh in our own lives and help others to remember God’s promises. Not only do we have to wait for God, we must also wait for the vision to be fulfilled, recognising that there is an anointed and appointed time for God’s dreams to be fulfilled. God is not slow concerning His promises (see 2 Pet 3:9), but often works to a different timescale to ours!

God was able to turn the Egyptians’ antipathy and resentment to generosity and grace. He is able to do exceedingly more than all we ask or imagine (see Eph 3:20) and we need to learn to trust His ability to turn situations around and make us a blessing (Jacob, the elderly, wandering shepherd was the one who actually blessed the mighty ruler Pharaoh, not the other way around!)  Joseph’s family eventually settled in Goshen, and were given permission to stay in that lush land. God’s provision for our lives lacks nothing and He is able to work all things together for good. (Rom 8:28)

Services will be at the usual times this weekend, but don’t forget some of the special events coming up in May. The church day out to Bridlington is on Monday 4th May. We will be leaving church at 8.45 a.m. and will leave Bridlington at 5.30 p.m., so hopefully we will have plenty of time to enjoy the day, including fish and chips for lunch!

The ‘Churches Together’ meeting is at GPCC on Saturday 16th May, starting at 7 p.m. All who can help with the buffet supper should see Julie as soon as possible about this. The theme will be ‘Pentecost’ and as always it will be great to meet with Christians from other local churches.

The funeral service for Angela Craven will be held at GPCC on Wednesday 29th April at 9:30 a.m. Further details to follow.

We are very grateful for the many volunteers and workmen who help to keep our building up-to-date, especially those who recently painted some of the toilets. This past week, Dave has been supervising specialised work in the community room as joiners provided a board around the middle of the room to prevent chairs scuffing the walls:

Pipework has also been boxed in to give the room a smarter appearance:

This work is in preparation for the decorating work in the community room which will be done in the summer holidays. We are hoping we have enough church volunteers to complete this task swiftly!

Workers were busy sweeping up the evidence of their labours at the end of the day: