Matthew 28: 18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”"
They were commanded to go to all nations in their generation… Jewish fishermen, tax collectors and a killer of tax collectors (Simon the zealot) were to go to every nation. I can’t imagine the feeling these guys had in the pit of their stomach when Jesus was lifted up into heaven after those words. I believe the reason they didn’t go straight back to fishing and hiding behind closed doors is right in the passage. Firstly they realized that their problem was a lack of obedience. Secondly that they didn’t need to worry about tomorrow, Jesus was with them every step of the way. Obedience to the mission without worrying about tomorrow… that’s how amazing things get done. Since the age isn’t over, the promise still stands and that is so encouraging.
Romans 8: 35-39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered…”
Paul didn’t write this because he was a fat cat minister “preaching the word” from a nice safe pulpit on Sunday and driving a Cadillac. In fact we know from Acts that Paul faced everything he writes about here. That is not to say he was somehow superhuman and did not bleed when he was cut or tremble with apprehension every time he faced the horrors Satan was throwing at him. As he writes above, its just means he didn’t think these things would take him away from Jesus. To him being close to Jesus and being sure of his eternal destination was of greater importance than the terrible consequences of his present. As Christians we love to think about the first century church and we love to try to imitate it. Well here are is a sobering fact about the first century church: Almost everyone God used powerfully died violently.
We as Christians believe we have a commission to take personal responsibility and go to all nations in our generation. We believe that because we are the disciples who were made and taught to obey everything Jesus commanded. As we consider this our hearts fill with excitement as we think of planting churches as the base of Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower. However then our hearts sink when we think about some of the other places that are also part of the “all nations” commission. According to Forbes Magazine 7 of the most dangerous 11 countries in the world are in Africa. Also, 11 countries out of the 54 countries in Africa are considered “too dangerous to visit”. The third most dangerous country in the world is Congo with more civilians killed than Darfur, Rwanda and Iraq put together. If all goes as planned thats where I will be in two weeks. Jesus’ promise that he will be with me is not far from my mind… I won’t be going alone.
This is a picture of me trying to look like a tough diamond dealer so I don’t make myself a target on my last trip!
So I won’t be going alone, but why am I going? Well, the plan in Congo is simple and direct. Make disciples and feed disciples. We want to be able to feed every member of our church who is homeless, jobless or otherwise unable to feed themselves. We also want to be able to send all the children of disciples to school so that they can have a chance at a better future. We need to raise 12400$ to hit those simple goals. We have right now hit the 6600$ mark for the year. With your prayers, commitment and help to raise awareness we will raise the final 5800$!
The one thing I am pretty sure of is that there will be some kind of serious trouble on my journey. I’m normally a short crier but as far as I can remember I have never cried so much in my life as when I had to leave the disciples behind after my last trip there. I’ve missed them so much and any danger is obscured in my mind by the excitement of our joy when we see one another again. I have weekly skype meetings with my blood brother Lola but its just not the same… I can’t wait to see him and pray together on our knees. He is a genuine warrior of the faith and a man who absolutely loves prayer. The church in Kinshasa has grown from a little under 10 at services to over 100!
I have to admit I am nervous about the trip, I’ve woken up in a cold sweat a few times in the last few weeks as my mind prepares psychologically for the danger that lies ahead. I know these things are not cowardice but normal biological functions. That being said what excites me is that I know I will be followed by many more disciples. As a movement time is short and the 11 “most dangerous” countries of the world must be evangelized. My prayer is that we do not fail to make disciples of these nations and that we begin a trickle and then a steady flow of disciples to these countries. Here is a mp3 of sermon I preached in London when I returned from my last trip.
Not only do we need zealous and passionate “do or die front liners”, we also need the financiers and the logistics people who will make this battle possible. I would like to lift up the mighty Eugene Church for their incredible sacrifice of thousands of dollars to make the African mission possible. Also I would like to lift up the great hearts of the London Church, Phoenix Church and Syracuse Church for their very generous support and their prayers for the mission in Africa. Jeremy, Matt and Andrew are dangerous men. They plan, they crunch the numbers, they rally the maniacs and they make things happen. Your hero’s in heaven already.
I would like to encourage all the disciples around the world to help us as we engage this battle once again. There are so many remnant disciples in Africa and so many millions of lost who need to know the word of God. Please help us in our projects as we bring food to the hungry and hope to a place where there is no solution but Christ. As we advance forcefully we must always remember that we must obey and we can leave tommorrow until tommorrow because Jesus is with us, “to the very end of the age”.
Jesus is Lord,
Tim Kernan
Amen, faith building article, I guess you’re there now, we are praying for spiritual success and divine Holy spirit protection, hope these scriptures help, Joshua 1v5-9, 2 Corth 6v3-13
Tony
November 29th, 2007