Did The Great Commission Envision Poverty and Illiteracy?

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19, 20)

What was the scope of Christ’s last order in Matthew 28: 19? What did He actually mean when He asked His followers to teach (disciple) all nations? Who was included when He said all nations? Did that exclude anybody?

What were the qualifications of those needing discipleship? Was there any small print in that command that we can use to excuse ourselves from some extremities?

Who did Christ issue that command? We know that for most they were illiterate, at least officially.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

He also called them from professions that did not need much letter education.

Why then did he issue that order to such a team? How can He issue such a difficult order to such an unskilled team? What did He expect from their labors?

But we also need to ask the kind of discipleship He expected from them. We are able to see it when we see how He also discipled them. The key to it is here.

And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach (Mark 3:14)

He therefore did not send them to colleges or universities. He simply called them to Himself. It is as they saw Him in ministry that they were being discipled into His likeness. The discipleship was therefore a learning of the life of Christ at close quarters. They therefore would not second guess anything He needed them to do as they had had enough time to see how He handled it.

We will argue that we do not have as much time as he had due to our overwhelming schedules. And I do not think there is much argument concerning that.

But we need to realize that relationship needs and challenges are as pressing now as then. Man has not changed from the man he was since creation. That we are social beings is indisputable. That we need close relationships to grow properly is beyond question. That Jesus was able to accomplish the level of effectiveness because of those relationships is very clear even to those opposed to Him. And no wonder that no religion disparages Christ or His methods. The only thing they choose to argue about is His assignment and divinity. That is why they want to have Him as a great prophet and teacher since they realize that facing His divinity has clear implications and expectations on their daily living.

Assuming that we do not have the time to do it like Christ did, what are we then supposed to do to accomplish that kind of discipleship? Is there a way we can disciple to such an extent as to produce people who are as close to Christ’s model as possible. (Please note that I am talking about attempting, not attaining)

Over the years several church fathers (and I am not talking about Roman Catholics) discovered that they could do it by offering close instruction to those who joined their churches. (I know that as I come from a Methodist background.) Those materials have such a deep spiritual content as would spur one to great spiritual growth.

But as the denomination grows and generations become more removed from the preparers of the materials, the classes end up becoming meaningless as they are just a means of attaining this or the other qualification (baptism, confirmation, full membership etc.) Lessons are then memorized to pass the requisite examinations to qualify. Incidentally you find many who have no relationship at all with the living Christ passing those tests which were meant to deepen their salvation experience.

Let me here state that I have discovered that even in evangelical congregations where salvation preceded baptism and were the basis of church membership have also become the same. Another time I heard young people discussing church membership with some saying that they are members of a church that I have known required believers baptism before accepting membership saying that they became members by attending classes and that they were not even saved. Why did they do it? They just wanted to have their wedding in church. We have gone full circle.

Then not very long ago some people discovered a better method to grow. It is the interactive method where a group studies the Bible together instead of listening to a teacher and responding to his questions. This time materials are made to stretch our thinking and deepen our spirituality as we interact with the Bible and one another in small groups.

This time not only our fellowship grows but also our appreciation and appropriation of the Bible. We are able to help one another through our collective revelation. The level of growth is not only wholesome as it is tempered by relationship but it is deep as lessons are not only learnt but are practiced due to that context.

But there was one problem though. Each member of the group will need the material to really participate in the growth. This means that very many books will need to be printed. Incidentally only someone who has gone through that kind of discipleship appreciates it enough to want to spend money purchasing those books. Another thing I need to mention is that preparing that kind of material requires so much input that quantifying it in monetary terms is impossible. It therefore means that even subsidizing the book might still make it quite expensive. Now imagine selling that book to someone who has no experience of discipleship!

That is why I propose we go the pearl of great price way.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:45, 46)

Does the world need to be discipled? Was the commission binding on our generation? Am I expected to be part of Christ’s team to disciple the nations? Am I willing to spend and be spent to make that discipleship possible?

But I want to take us even farther. Do you know that most of these discipleship materials are in English? Do other languages need them? Is that really a question I should ask if I have Matt. 28: 19 in mind?

Did Christ include indigenous languages in the command to make disciples of all nations? Can we make disciples of them without giving them what is helping our discipleship in a language they can understand? Are we willing to be used of God in making that a possibility in our generation?

You see not everyone understands English. In fact not everybody who speaks it can read it. Only those with some level of education can use it. And even those who can speak it are a minority in the world.

I know Christians who have never gone to school who for their love of God and His word learnt to read the Bible in their indigenous language. I ministered in my youth with people who got saved in the East Africa revival of 1949, many of who fit that description. My father in law briefly went to school in Ethiopia where they used Amharic which is similar to Hebrew. He came to Kenya and can read Borana very fluently due to his love for the Bible. He has been an evangelist for very long, still is. I saw a man who could barely write his name after seven years of primary school start reading the Kimeru Bible quite well when he got saved.

Do these people need to be discipled? Can we enrich their intake of the Word? Does God expect us to do so? Will we do it?

We MUST have discipleship materials for them too. Each language on planet earth must have such materials in the language closest to their hearts.

But there is something foundational we must tackle. It is important to realize that this will not make investment sense. We are investing in a venture for the obedience in it. Like I have said only someone who has been discipled will understand the need to spend on discipleship materials. But there is another reason. We might find communities that are not in a position to fund the purchase, leave alone publishing of those materials. Again let us look at Christ.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (Luke 4:18)

We are investing in this for the furtherance of the Kingdom of heaven. We are investing in heaven. We are placing our money where our heart is. We are funding the translation and printing of the discipleship to GIVE to those people who need it as opposed to looking to get our money back.

I did not look for materials to translate, though there are very good materials on the market.

Why did I have to prepare a new material? I am sure someone is asking. Over two years ago we went for a month long mission to Mozambique where we more or less covered most of the country. We were teaching discipleship for the most part. Their cry for discipleship and especially materials was heart rending. Wherever we went we met the same cry that were it not for the distances we covered we could have thought they were reciting things. They told us that less than 5% of pastors have any training at all, and that is not even theological. Very many are illiterate. They pleaded with us to look for materials for them and we promised to do so.

But we did not find any materials in Portuguese even on the internet. And we felt the urgency deeply.

We therefore took a basic discipleship book and God provided an interpreter. We then went to the publisher for permission if they could not print the translation. We were given verbal permission. To date we do not have official permission.

As an aside when the translation was done, I sent the work to the partners who had invited us to proofread and give us their assessment of the same. I waited and waited and got no response though I severally asked for it. It was after we printed it that they told us what had happened. When they got the soft copy, they were so excited that they made copies and started using it. They could not ‘waste’ time doing anything else.

In Kenya the material is used to disciple new believers but there it was used on pastors and bishops. That is the kind of privilege we enjoy. But I believe it is more than that. It is a stewardship we have been entrusted with, a stewardship we will one day give an account of.

It is for the challenge of permissions that I decided to prepare this material. This was so that anyone who will need this material has my permission in advance to translate it in any language without fearing any legal reprisals provided they do not alter it. The target was missions. But then God challenged me to the nations in the land of Kenya who need to be discipled in their languages.

What will we need to do this? We will need a translator for each language. Then we will need the resources to print the translated work.

Now suppose a church adopts a language group in this line of thinking. It will require 50 churches to have all the languages in Kenya fully covered. Some churches even have structures to facilitate that discipleship.

Please contact me if you are interested in being part of this initiative. I already have translators for some languages and am still looking for others. If you can translate you can also contact me so that we can avoid duplication should more than one person be available for one language.

I trust God to raise a team for this whole project that can come from the sponsoring churches and individuals to ensure that the materials we provide are utilized in a way that will maximize the impact. It will also oversee the training that may be required to set the process up.

If you are in Nairobi you can call me for your copy (0722 220 147). Otherwise I could send you a soft copy of the same. Support this initiative as God prompts you.

Of course I will have it translated into Portuguese as this is where it all started. Plus of course French and other languages that need such materials especially to reach Africa.

Taking a Break

I want to notify you that I intend to take a break from posting messages on the social media for some time.

I want to be able to rest, refocus and be refreshed to be able to offer the best with the messages God gives me to share.

Preparing a message a week has been draining (spiritually) and I feel the fatigue. So much that I can see that I am not giving the best some of the times due to that. In fact I have shelved all the book projects I was working on.

I want to get adequate time to pray and experience the fullness that God gives.

I also want to hear whether God has any new orders for me.

Of course I will still be on internet a day a week. What I will not promise is a message every week. Of course I will not hesitate to post if God gives me an urgent message. But on the whole I will be developing the messages slowly so that the other ministries I am involved in will also get their time.

I also want to pursue the translation of a discipleship material I have prepared into languages that do not have any such and the printing of the same. I can send you a soft copy if you want to translate it into your language or a language that needs it.

I am also praying to know whether God would have me put my books on the internet and the logistics and resources for the same as I do not intend to sell them.

I am telling you all this because I have enjoyed your fellowship as I have been sharing these messages. Though we have not had personal interaction I know there are many who are always waiting for my posts when I look at the traffic. That is the reason I had to post this so that my silence does not disappoint these friends.

The other reason is that I really appreciate the prayers you offer for me. In fact that is the reason I have been able to continue for so long in this intense labor. Pray that this break will be as fruitful as God intends.

But it is a break in the blog direction as the other ministries go on. I am still encouraging and teaching. In fact we are planning a two week mission to Congo (DRC) toward the end of this month. I also intend to at least complete the pending books that I was working on.

Please pray that I will get the money to print a book that came out of some blog posts (August to first week of November 2013) as I feel it is needed (I can send you a soft copy of the same if you request). Of course the discipleship materials also need money to reprint and also print the various translations.

But pray for me as God leads you.

Who will take me to China?

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)

I woke up with this huge cry in my heart.

The Gospel needs to be taken to China even as it needs to be taken to Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. It is not only the unreached and the irreligious that need the Gospel. Anyone who has not accepted Christ as His savior needs the Gospel, and that very urgently.

Who will take me to China with the Gospel? Who will take me to Afghanistan with the Gospel? Who will take me to India with the Gospel? Who will take me to Iraq not only with the Gospel but the message of hope to the persecuted believers? Who will take me to the seat of Islam with the only message that they need, the only message that can change their eternal destination?

Who will go with me where the Gospel is urgently needed though resisted? Who is willing to undergo persecution and deprivation to hasten the second coming of Christ? Who will leave their comfort to make possible God’s will to be done on earth as it is being done in heaven?

You see the world is yearning for the revelation of her Savior and King. Are we part of this Kingdom? Do we care to further the agenda of that Kingdom or are we content because this present kingdom is too cozy to think of another kingdom, even an eternal one?

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. (Romans 8:19)

How prepared are we for Christ’s second coming? Is it really true that we seek to hasten His coming? Do we really want this world to end so that His Kingdom is revealed? Is there another way to hasten His coming apart from taken His Gospel to the whole world?

Are we desperate enough with the Gospel to be ready to suffer deprivation for its furtherance? Are we mourning for the lost world to sacrifice our comfort and resources for it? Do we like Christ so love the world that we are willing to offer our lives for the same world to experience what we have?

… I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh (Romans 9: 2, 3)

What are we ready to give up so that the world can receive the Gospel? Is there anything in the world so great as to divert our attention from the only thing that can hasten the second coming of our Lord and King?  What does any earthling have that can be exchanged with what the Gospel offers?

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)

Do we believe these words from our Lord or are they just platitudes to make us look spiritual? Do we see the wealthy in the light of what Christ said or do we think that their wealth is a fortress even where spiritual realities are being considered?

Pray with me that I will get a clear picture of the kind of responsibility God has for me in this respect.

Pray that God will give us a strategy to reach this global village with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Pray that God will give us a strategy to reach those from countries closed or hostile to the Gospel who are coming to the ‘free’ nations with this Gospel of the Kingdom. Pray that as they flood our nations for opportunities that they will get the only opportunity worth taking advantage of, which is hearing and responding to the Gospel.

Where are the advocates of the Spirit’s fullness? Is it only a partial outward show or does it result in what Christ envisioned?

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

Did Christ die only to give us inward fulfillment or was it meant to lead to outward fruitfulness?

Where is our witness? What is our witness?

Are our colleagues at work just friends or witness opportunities? Are our business partners and opportunities sources of comfort or are they witness opportunities? Are our neighbors unnecessary joys or pain or do we see them as witness opportunities?

Who will train us to make use of all these opportunities for sharing the Gospel instead of wasting all of them for serving Mammon?

Who will take me to China with the Gospel?

The Wise Fools

For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. (Hosea 8:7)

We are a generation that behaves as if it is wiser than God. That is why we are doing things that are standing in the way of God’s revelation through nature and especially the scriptures. It is no surprise then that we are experiencing frustration where we expect to get the most fulfillment. Our wisdom is continually proving worse than folly when we are reaping the fruit of our exertions.

I know I am very offensive to some of you because I am pointing at Biblical worldview in direct opposition to a worldly wise way. I hope you will bear with me when I point out some of those wise decisions we are constantly making and some of the outcomes we expect, especially because we are able to see some older wise people as they reap the harvest of their decisions.

Our generation is obsessed with self. To say that I am God is what my decisions mean though my mouth speaks otherwise.

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (Matthew 15:8)

My mouth can be so spiritual even as my decisions point people to the other direction.

The sad fact is that I may be actually deceived that I am pursuing the right spiritual goals. I might be even very visible as an advocate of the scriptural way of life as I might have a wide array of verses that speak very loudly concerning my choices.

Mammon is not money but the god who uses money to pursue his goals. This he does by slowly diverting our attention from the sole focus on the Divine to any other object, which object does not even need to be the devil or anything devilish to satisfy him. His objectives are met by simply diverting something slightly larger than 0% from the object of my ultimate worship.

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. (Joshua 24:19)

Anything less than full commitment of my whole being is actually an abomination to Him. It therefore means that I can be almost full of His worship yet live as an insult to Him.

I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. (Isaiah 42:8)

I will not repeat the things I have written on recently. I will lightly touch on our time and priorities as I develop this thought. But I want our running thought to be, ‘how prominent is God’s revelation to my daily life?’ By revelation I do not want us to become mystical as if God is so hidden that only a select few can access that revelation.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (John 10:27)

God is not hidden to those who seek Him. He actually seeks them so that He can have fellowship with Him. It actually is His desire to constantly commune with His people.

But probably your pastor preaches that only a select few like him/ her can hear the voice of God. But I will have to burst your bubble because that is not what the Bible teaches. That pastor of yours is taking you back to the dark ages when the Bible was hidden and available only to the select few who were the pastors of the day, otherwise called the ecclesiastical class or clergy. It was therefore an offense for the laity to read, leave alone know the Bible. In the history of inquisitions the greatest crime for the Catholic Church was to know, read, believe, practice and preach the Bible. Yet I see a great many churches behaving alike, even churches whose statements of faith declare the belief in the sufficiency of the Bible for all one requires to live their faith.

We are very wise parents nowadays. Or are we?

Many parents understand parenting to mean material provision. Thus a successful parent is one who can get their child the best comforts and toys. This is the reason we must trim our family (refer to the post ‘abortion’) and have as many parents as possible to work. Sadly for most only two parents are available though at times, especially in some single mother families there has to be a steady supply of working ‘uncles’ to supplement that single income. Most parents treat a parent as abnormal if they insist on one parent being available for the children. It is treated as utter deprivation for the children.

Time is money is a mantra for our times. Many parents will therefore replace their parenting time with the equivalent, even more in toys and comforts.

We have parents who will buy a TV that occupies a whole wall, buy enough movies to watch for a lifetime and subscribe to satellite and cable TV to ensure the family is thoroughly entertained in their absence. Though a child needs to attain the age of majority to qualify for a cell phone, I see children younger than ten having very expensive handsets. A parent is buying his time with the equivalent in toys.

But the sad part is that this parent is deluded by Mammon into thinking that he does all these things due to his love for them when the fact is that he so loves himself that he is looking for any way to run away from the bothersome pests. He is so full of himself that he will (many are women) pay any price to be left alone.

You see children demand too much love from their parents. They demand too much time also. They ask too many uncomfortable questions that a parent feels safe looking for money instead of confronting those questions. This parent may therefore buy encyclopedias and internet so that the child can get their answers there instead of disturbing him.

These children will grow up with alternatives to living parents because they are flying all over the world to keep them in comfort. They will therefore internalize selfishness even better than those parents.

Fast forward to the time these parents will have to retire either because they feel they have made it or because their health cannot compete with all that greed. By this time their children are all grown with their own children who must endure the torture they went through.

These parents now desperately need the company of their children and grandchildren. But their children reciprocate perfectly. A cry for company is interpreted as a need for a toy, only that these toys are now much more expensive than the ones they bought their children. In fact the children might go to complain to their parents that they are too demanding, even more demanding than their children.

‘What have we not given you?’ they will sometimes boldly ask when the parent asks for more time with them. ‘We recently bought you a talking encyclopedia that cost an arm and a leg. Why aren’t you content?’

You see to these children any cry for attention is interpreted as the need for a new toy. Your continued cry for their company will eventually cause them to employ somebody to keep you company so that you stop disturbing them. They cannot afford to take you into their residences as you will disrupt the order of their organized lives as they do not have time to waste with these old bothers.

Should you start showing signs of senility, which are accelerated by the lack of stimulating company, they will very quickly dispatch you to the most expensive old people’s centre because to them that is the ultimate toy for your age. At least they have demonstrated their love exactly the way you taught them by sparing no cost to keep you away from them.

I need to also highlight that even as you were buying your absence from your children, you most likely were doing the same with your friends so that all your pillars will appear to have let you down at the same time.

And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. (Luke 16:9)

This is not a sermon. I just want us to think about our parenting with the big picture in our mind and that is the reason I am not giving any solutions. But I am sure the solutions can be found when you read the Bible and take it seriously. But there are some other posts that have looked at these issues wholesomely.