The Great Commission, Verge Network

5 COMMON MYTHS ABOUT THE GREAT COMMISSION by  JS Shaw,  Verge Network

 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 ESV)

This passage is “The Great Commission.” Jesus spoke these words to his followers before ascending back to heaven to be with the Father. His followers were left to discover the Holy Spirit and to change the world through one simple process—making and multiplying disciples [learners] of Jesus. Many people teach on this passage, most of us don’t regularly obey it. Below are five of the more common myths about the Great Commission that lead us to miss out on disciple making.

Myth 1: It will just happen.

Many Christians think, consciously or unconsciously, that we can make disciples without changing anything in our daily lives; that as we go about doing our own thing, disciples will be almost accidentally made. This comes across in phrases like, “I will just live my daily life and if someone wants to ask about the Gospel, I will share it,” or, “I just ‘do life’ with others and pray that they will start becoming interested in Jesus.” Many Christians are willing to talk about or declare the Gospel, but only if opportunities pleasantly come their way. They are waiting for the perfect moment to drop from the sky upon them to actually verbalize the Gospel or start demonstrating the Gospel. The myth here is that merely “doing life” with others is a straight path to making disciples.

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The Lions Den Family Presents: Shelby Frank " Lord You Carry Me"

PAUL MCCARTNEY WE ALL STAND TOGETHER (THE FROG SONG) -HQ

The charities that are more like quangos: Taxpayer funding may account for half of the top 50's annual income by Steve Doughty Social Affairs Correspondent for the Daily Mail

Scale of state subsidy to largest charities may run as high as £6.5 billion

Some may be receiving around nine tenths of income from public

 sector

Report states eight of top 50 charities are really public bodies

Think tank: 'Taxpayers should know when charities rely on their money'

The country’s biggest charities are getting so much money from the taxpayer that some are effectively part of the government, a report on the funding of voluntary organisations warned yesterday.

It said the scale of state subsidy to the largest charities is often hidden but may run as high as half their income - £6.5 billion a year according to the most recently available figures.

Some – including Mencap, Leonard Cheshire Disability and Action for Children – may be receiving around nine tenths of their income from arms of government and the public sector, the report said.

Others do not identify the amount of money they get from the taxpayer, particularly those that operate services paid for by the public sector. 

One, Marie Stopes International, fails to say in its most recent accounts where £86 million paid for abortion and contraceptive advice services came from.

And some organisations that are registered as charities are really state-run quangos in disguise, the report from the Centre for Policy Studies said.

It said eight of the top 50 charities are really public bodies, including the Arts Council, the Big Local Trust which distributes National Lottery good cause money, the British Council which promotes British culture around the world, and organisations running academy schools.

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Transparency Begins at Home Report from the Centre of Policy Studies

Words for the Wise, The Spirit of the Lord has Anointed Me, Isaiah 61 The Voice

Isaiah 61 The Voice (VOICE)

61 The Spirit of the Lord, the Eternal, is on me.

    The Lord has appointed me for a special purpose.

He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

    He has sent me to repair broken hearts,

And to declare to those who are held captive and bound in prison,

    “Be free from your imprisonment!”

2 He has sent me to announce the year of jubilee, the season of the Eternal’s favor:

    for our enemies it will be a day of God’s wrath;

For those who mourn it will be a time of comfort.[a]

3 As for those who grieve over Zion,

    God has sent me to give them a beautiful crown in exchange for ashes,

To anoint them with gladness instead of sorrow,

    to wrap them in victory, joy, and praise instead of depression and sadness.

People will call them magnificent, like great towering trees

    standing for what is right.

They stand to the glory of the Eternal

    who planted them.

4 And they will rebuild this place from its ancient ruins;

    they will restore the ages-old, once-splendid structures;

They will renew Israel’s ruined cities

    from the ashes and debris that laid untouched for many generations.

5 And people will come from all over to serve you:

    Outsiders will tend your flocks, plough your fields, and prune your vines.

6 You will be known as the ones specially chosen by the Eternal as priests;

    people will speak of you as ministers of our God.

    And the wealth of nations will come to you for your delight and enrichment.

7 Many called you disgraced and defiled and said that shame should be your share of things.

    Yet you suffered doubly and lived in disgrace;

So double will be your share, and with joy everlasting.

8 Eternal One: For I, the Eternal, love justice.

        I hate stealing and all manner of wrongdoing.

    In faithfulness to those who do justice, I promise they will be rewarded for their work;

        and I will establish an everlasting covenant with them.

9     Furthermore, I will promise them My support for their children,

        so that all nations and everyone around

    Will see that they are the children blessed by the Eternal God.

10 I am filled with joy and my soul vibrates with exuberant hope,

    because of the Eternal my God;

For He has dressed me with the garment of salvation,

    wrapped me with the robe of righteousness.

It’s as though I’m dressed for my wedding day,[b]

    in the very best: a bridegroom’s garland and a bride’s jewels.

11 The whole earth sprouts newness and life in the springtime,

    and green shoots break through the well-seeded garden soil.

That’s what it is like with the Eternal’s victory—

    the Lord will cause justice and praise to sprout up before all the nations, for all peoples to see.

The Bible Panorama

Isaiah 61

V 1–3: MISSION OF MESSIAH Jesus, the Servant, will later apply this passage to Himself to show that He is Messiah. He says that ‘the Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me’, and that ‘the Lord has anointed Me to preach glad tidings to the poor’. This will result in the benefits of salvation for Israel and also for all who will trust in our Saviour and Lord. Those benefits include healing for the broken-hearted, liberty for captives and prisoners, seeing God’s timing in His salvation and judgement, comfort for mourners, and God’s giving joyful praise and righteousness. 

V 4–7: REJOICING OF RESTORED There will be restoration and repair of both buildings and people. The children of Israel will rule over the Gentiles, possessing double and experiencing everlasting life. They will be known as God’s priests and servants again. ‘Instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.’

 V 8–9: LORD OF LOVE Not only does the Lord love justice, which directs His righteous actions, but He also loves His people and will make an everlasting covenant with them. Gentiles will recognise that these are people blessed by the Lord.

 V 10–11: ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS Every person counted righteous before God through the death and merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, is foreseen in these verses. Security in God will not be because of our own poor efforts at righteousness but because the righteousness of Christ adorns every Christian as a robe. This is the garment of salvation which is worn by those cleansed from sin. All nations will praise God and rejoice in His wonderful provision in Christ.

Words for The Wise, E Stanley-Jones Quote

E Stanley-Jones,  Missionary to India

The emptiness of the modern man is the greatest mission field we have ever faced. And it won't get better -- it will get worse -- until Christ fills it!

So I've sung my Song for years, in many climes, among many people, high and low, rich and poor, princes and peasants; and down underneath these differences I've found the same basic human nature, with the same possibilities and the same desires. It is no "hit song" which makes a momentary hit and passes away.

 It has the "music of the spheres" behind it -- and more -- the sum total of reality is in that Song. I sing because I can't help it; it sings itself. If I held my peace, "the stones would cry out." The hard, bare facts would cry out for just such a song to sing and such a creed to believe.

From "A Song of Ascents: A Spiritual Autobiography" by E. Stanley Jones

5 Things to Consider About Your Calling to Ministry

JANUARY 3, 2015 CASEY CEASE 0 COMMENTS, from Before you plant a church

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. — 2 Corinthians 5:14–15

The call to vocational ministry is a true joy and privilege. God calls us in various ways and it often takes time to think through, process, and discern. There are often great cost and sacrifice that go along with a calling that shouldn’t be taken lightly. For some people, they mistake the apathy in their current life situation as a sign that they should do vocational ministry, but this often ends badly for the individual and for those whom they exercise their calling on.

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Isaiah 6:8New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Isaiah’s Commission

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”