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 28:18-20¹

For the last twelve months or so I have been engrossed in studying the Cold War. We could say that the Cold War was a clash of cultures – capitalism on one side and communism on the other – and certain components contributed to each culture. A capitalist economy is based on private ownership, private profit and free competition. It encourages private individuals to own businesses and make profits. A communist economy, on the other hand, is controlled by the government. A country’s wealth and resources are owned by the state or government. The state controls and plans all economic activity so that everybody benefits.

Every culture has unique components. I believe the Great Commission calls the church to have a disciple-making culture. A disciple-making culture is the product of many different components or traits. Here are three . . .

THREE TRAITS OF A DISCIPLE-MAKING CHURCH

First, a prayerful trait. Earlier in Matthew Jesus talked about how the fields are ripe for the harvest, but the laborers are few. What should his disciples then do? “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Faithful disciple-making is marked by a prayerful disposition before the Lord of the harvest. I wonder if you have ever noticed how Paul often calls churches to pray for him, that doors would be opened for him to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. Our sovereign God is not only the one who saves sinners, but sends His laborers to proclaim that salvation. Thus, disciple-making people are praying people. This is a reason why, at our church, we pray so much in our gathered worship and spend much of our time praying for things outside of our body. This is why we regularly post links to Operation World to encourage our members to pray for the nations each day. Let us also be encouraged tonight to let our prayers have a particular accent on the glory of God being made known to all nations.

Second, an intentional trait. Disciple-making is ordinary Christianity. Like learning to count and say your alphabet in the natural realm, there is scarcely any part of the Christian life where discipleship does not touch. In his wonderful article Disciple-Making is Ordinary Christianity Erik Raymond provides the following examples of intentionality in disciple-making:

• Intentional disciple-making happens when a guy wants to be married but doesn’t have a game-plan for how to go about it. He asks another brother for guidance and help. This brother takes him out for lunch and talks through some biblical and practical principles. He then commits to pray for him, to be available for questions, and to meet occasionally to talk about his progress.

• Intentional disciple-making happens when a mom with two toddlers drops something off that she borrowed from another sister at church. During the exchange they get to talking and the young mom expresses her feelings of fatigue and failure to measure up to her perceived standards of motherhood. The other woman listens to her, reminds her of Scripture, prays with her, and then continues to come alongside of her for encouragement in the gospel.

• Intentional disciple-making happens when a brother notices another brother is running hard after his job and neglecting his family and ministry. He comes alongside of his brother to remind him of the true and lasting treasure, and the proper perspective on work.

• Intentional disciple-making happens when a mom is at the park with her children. At one point the kids become unruly and she patiently, graciously but faithfully, disciplines her children. There are many watching eyes around her. Both the believing and unbelieving women are intrigued. Conversations begin and soon the fruit of the Spirit points to the matchless worth of Christ.

• Intentional disciple-making happens when a home-school mom breaks away with free time only to go to the same coffee house hoping to make new friends and open doors for sharing the gospel.

So, faithful disciple-making includes a prayerful trait and an intentional trait.

Thirdly, a disciple-making church will have a sacrificial trait. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” That means that Jesus is Lord over every one of our lives and therefore has the right to do whatever He wants with our lives. You often may hear someone say, “I have decided to make Jesus the Lord of my life.”  Now that statement is often a sincere way of professing truth faith in Christ, but at a certain level it’s not true.  For Jesus says that he is already the Lord of your life. You didn’t really have a choice in the matter. The real issue is not if Jesus is Lord of your life, but if you will submit to His lordship over your life. Will you do it now or will you do it after it’s too late? What does it mean to surrender to the lordship of Christ? It means that we have surrendered – we have sacrificed – every right to determine the direction of our lives. No longer do we get to call the shots in our lives.  Men, if you have surrendered to Christ you no longer have the authority to call the shots as to what career you have, what you do with your money, in what direction you lead your family. As your Lord Christ looks at those rights and says, “Mine.” The glorious news from Matthew 28 is that we know what Jesus wants to do with your life, He wants you to make disciples of all nations! The sacrificial trait comes into play when His Lordship calls you to sell a house to give the money for a church plant, to take a job in a foreign country to be a Christian businessman bearing witness to our Lord and King, to leave the DFW to help with a church plant in another state, or to take the gospel to an unreached people group that are so hostile that you may lose you life in the process.

He is Lord of your individual body and Lord of this collective body. In what ways might he be calling you and calling us to live sacrificially for the glory of Christ in all nations?

Christ’s authority, command, and presence call us to be a disciple-making church. Those things ought to stir up within our midst prayerful, intentional, and sacrificial head, hearts, and hands. Henry Martyn, the great missionary to India said,  “The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions, and the nearer we get to Him the more intensely missionary we must become.” He promised to be with us to the end of the age, therefore a faithful church will be “intensely missionary.” Prayer, intentionality, and sacrifice are aids to such a disciple-making culture.