Why is there misunderstanding?  When you read the promises of God, it looks as if, in each and every situation, that God is obligated to always grant any and all blessings of the Kingdom in every situation.  To do less either means we lack the faith or He doesn’t mean what He has promised.  This is not the true situation.  God always keeps His promises.  But there is a context in the Bible.  There is definitely a sense of timing in how He acts that is according to His will.

Here are several examples.  Healing is in the Atonement.  But in light of where we are in the Kingdom realization, healing may or may not happen in every situation prior to the second return of Jesus. It is up to His will whether the person prayed for will be healed today.  You see, saints still die.  Sometimes they die from old age, other occasions death may come from a disease, or persecution may bring martyrdom.  So we still suffer.  Yet, on many occasions, He does heal.

As seen earlier, the same Kingdom promised by God in the Old Testament has arrived.  Jesus made that clear.  The Kingdom is still present when He heals and when He doesn’t heal.   Sometimes God gives faith, other times He withholds the gift of faith.  If He chooses to show mercy and other times He doesn’t, it is still God who decides how to answer according to His specific will in the situation.

Again, let me restate: there is no question that healing is in the atonement.  So we shouldn’t pray “heal if it be your will.”  Rather we should pray “heal according to your will” and trust God in the timing and means He chooses. In redemption healing is His will.  We know that because Christ has conquered death by His resurrection.  For the believer, the final resurrection is the ultimate healing of the body.  However, even Lazarus who was raised from the dead only had a temporary resurrection from the dead (a kind of resuscitation of the body).   He didn’t have a final resurrection body like Jesus was going to receive a few days later.  So we can say healing is God’s will, but also recognize when He chooses to heal, and under what His conditions will be for that to happen.  There are many mysteries surrounding God’s will.  Sometimes He allows saints to suffer, become ill and even die.  Not everyone gets saved.  Sometimes Satan is allowed to persecute us.  This doesn’t mean we are defeated.  This doesn’t mean  our faith failed us nor does it mean we should be weak in our faith!  We must disciple people to understand the great power Christ possesses and trust God’s application of His power in our lives and ministries as He wills.

God has allowed us to experience the brokenness of the curse for our own sanctification.  God’s ultimate plan is unfolding.  At times we experience great miracles, other times we don’t. God is allowing some things to happen in the world today that He doesn’t like in order to bring to completion His ultimate Kingdom plans. So there is a great mystery to the Kingdom.  As believers today, we live with a kind of “dual citizenship.”  We are citizens of the Kingdom of God first, but we are also citizens of the present world which isn’t yet perfected.

In the story of Job, there was a spiritual battle taking place that only God and Satan knew about.  It led to Job’s suffering in order to vindicate the glory and character of God.  If Job had gone to a miracle service, would God have given him a miracle?  No, not at that very moment.  Vindication and blessing would come later.  In the realm of our spiritual warefare, we do not know all that God is doing.  Therefore, we must trust Him while being armed with the assurance that His Kingdom power is with us and it will surely triumph in the end.

Here are some further verses that reveal God’s progressive plan which allows struggles, conflicts, and difficulties in the present day:

• Romans 8:14-39 …¹⁶ “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” ¹⁷ “and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” ¹⁸ “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” ¹⁹ “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” ²⁰ “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope” ²¹ “that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” ²² “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” ²³ “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” ²⁴ “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?” ²⁵ “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” ²⁶ “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness….
• 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep….” ^{21 22} “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” ²³ “But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” ²⁴ “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.” ²⁵ “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” ²⁶ “The last enemy to be destroyed is death….” ²⁷“When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.”
• Revelation 21:1-6 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”…” ⁴ “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”" ⁵ “And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”…

As we said earlier, the Kingdom has arrived, but there will be stages, greater manifestations of it in the future.  There is progression, movement forward, and ever-increasing experiences of it.  Yet, it is the same Kingdom today that will be there in eternity.

The Arrival of the King brought the arrival of the Kingdom: A Summary…

• · “And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,” ¹⁸ “”The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,” ¹⁹ “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”“ ²⁰ “And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.” ²¹ “And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”" (Luke 4:17-21)

• “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28)

• · “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD.“ ¹¹ “And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people…. (Zechariah 2:10-11)
• “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

• · “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” ¹⁷ “For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it….” (Matthew 13:16-52)

• “The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his Kingdom rules over all.” (Psalm 103:19)

• “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 8:11)
• “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34)
• “Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed,” 21 “nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”" (Luke 17:20-21)

• Hebrews 6:5 “and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,”

A gate is not an offensive weapon, it is defensive.  Jesus has called on us to be aggressive in the work of the church.  The target is the very place where Satan wields his influence.  The gates of Hell is a place of conflict.   When you share the gospel with others you enter the area of Spiritual warfare and opposition.  Satan doesn’t give up his property easily.   Only a strong faith based on Christ will enable success.  However, often the church that begins with this understanding and power will forget its foundations.

A word of warning and encouragement is in order.  This pattern of strong beginnings followed by spiritual and functional decline has been experienced throughout the history of the church. We see it in the west.  We have learned this over and over again.  Today, your churches in Africa are growing, they are very active.  Praise God for that.   We want to warn you about the future.  Without the principles of discipleship continually at work, the threats of ungodly leadership, wrong doctrine, and neglect will always follow.  In the NT we have examples of this.

When the Gospel entered Ephesus there were difficult political and spiritual forces brought against the Christians and the local church.  Spiritual warfare was a very real situation for the early church.  But they weren’t afraid to confront it.  After Paul brought the Gospel to Ephesus and planted the church,   He committed himself to biblical instruction, mentoring and leadership development. In fact,  Paul spent more time in Ephesus building a disciplemaking church than anywhere else.  He was there for close to three years.  But the church would forget the foundations Paul had laid and decline would happen.

There is a biblical picture given in Acts and Revelation that addressed the people and the church as it entered spiritual decline. The attacks of Satan came from two strategic directions:  Attacks came from the outside through persecution, and they came from the inside through leadership (Acts 20:17-28).   Another major biblical reason for revitalization is “the loss of vision” (24).  The final reasons are theological (25) refers to Ac 17 – 20, 1 Ti, and Rev 2:1-7.  In Ac 17-20, Paul spent three years in Ephesus involved in explosive ministry.  The letter to the Ephesians was circulated (Asia Minor, other churches) in the areas which had been impacted deeply.  Paul gave a warning in Ac 20:17-38 about the coming spiritual battles and conflict.

• “Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.” ¹⁸ “And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know… ²⁰ “how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,” ²¹ “testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:17-21) …“for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” ²⁸ “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” ²⁹ “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;” ³⁰ “and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” ³¹ “Therefore be alert,… ³² “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:26-32)

Twenty-five years after the founding of the church, Paul wrote 1 Timothy to detail the necessity of revitalization and how to go about it (I am grateful for the insights of Dr. Harry Reeder in this area).  In it, he set priorities for a young minister, Timothy, in building leadership, practicing sound preaching, teaching strong doctrine, and ministering effectively.

Approximately 35 years later, Jesus spoke to the same church in the Revelation.  As Reeder observes, “Timothy’s teaching had taken hold through sound doctrine, leadership development and church discipline.  This isn’t a matter of technique or form.  It is the guts of the church, (its) love.  It isn’t the institution”.

“”To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:… ² “”‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.” ³ “I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.” ⁴ “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” ⁵ “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent….” “ ⁷ “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches… (Revelation 2:1-7)

So the church must continually remember the first things by returning to first things. The basics that God has given never change.  The foundation remains the same.  So we begin with the foundations set in place by Jesus Himself.

1. An understanding of the Kingdom of God must come first as the church creates disciples (Matt 28:18).
2. Creating disciples is a command from our Lord (v. 19-20).
3. Making disciples is the main verb of the sentence in 28:19; it is the main calling upon the life of the Church and of the individuals in the church.
4. Disciplemaking involves a big vision:  All nations.
5. The means of discipling people is Baptism (marked by ownership of the Trinity) and Biblical instruction (content and mentoring).
6. The continued presence of Christ is our confidence.  He is with us to the end.

This relationship between the Kingdom of God and making disciples continues.  It is recorded in the very beginning of the book of Acts (the only inspired church history book).  Jesus focused His final days on several important matters:

1. The Kingdom of God
2. Evidence of His Resurrection Triumph over death and the world
3. The Great Commission
4. The Power of the Holy Spirit

“In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, ² until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³ He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴ And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” (Act 1:1-8)

1. It involves an Intimate relationship with the Living Jesus.
2. It grows from a Kingdom way of thinking.
3. It requires the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is a supernatural work, success isn’t humanly possible without the Spirit working through us.  All ministry is supernatural.
4. You are made a witness, witness isn’t what you do first, it is who you are in Christ.  As a witness we go out and bear witness to Him.
5. There is movement outwards, the spreading of the Gospel is to happen on three levels at the same time.
   This isn’t a ministry strategy that you should pick and choose.   You should do all these things at the same
   time.

This means that you are called to disciple your world in the following regions:

1. Jerusalem is your village or city
2. Judea is your region, your tribe and culture.
3. Samaria is national ministry: move beyond your own tribe,
   language group or culture within your nation
4. End of the earth is International ministry beyond your own nation.

So the stage is set.  Let the great drama of the church explode before us.  Let the church re-focus on what is most urgent.  Continue with me in this great passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

African pastors continually tell me that they have not taught their people.  They say, “We hold big crusades.  We do evangelism.  We have not discipled our people.”  In fact, one group indicated fear in making disciples.  After all, if we as pastors disciple the young men, will they not become stronger leaders than we are?  Young pastors complained that hindrances are placed in the path of younger ministers who want more training.

I began to teach them the biblical foundations of making disciples.  When they saw Jesus’ perspective they completely changed in their outlook.  It was a shift of paradigms.  Suddenly they saw the business of making disciples.  When you create followers of Jesus, the “threat” of a young follower going further than an older leader was removed.  We don’t make them followers of men, we make them followers of Christ.  When that happens in the church it becomes stronger and God is glorified.

So where do we begin…?  I think I know Someone who got it correct from the start…

BEGINNING WITH JESUS

It was the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  His focus with the disciples had become sharper than all that proceeded.  His message had always been clear and consistent, but this statement concludes it all.  The church heard it.  The Lord of the Church has never retracted what He said:

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” ¹⁹ “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,” ²⁰ “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)

There is something very important here.  Jesus had identified the mission of the church after he had modeled disciplemaking to His followers.   In other words, the church is to keep doing what He was doing with His followers.  But there is something even greater here.  Jesus gave this command in the context of His teaching on the Kingdom of God.

The command of Jesus comes from the continuity of the OT and NT.  God is King, He is the God Who Rules.  The OT prophetic expectation is “The God who Comes”.  When Jesus comes, He announces the arrival of the OT promise because He is God, the God who comes.  Wherever the King is present, so is His Kingdom (rule). This is why the  “Kingdom of God” was on Jesus lips throughout the Gospels.  This is why the Kingdom teaching continue in the Epistles.

• “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
• “”Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:23)

When Jesus arrived, God had truly come to His people.  We will begin to explore what this means.  Obviously it meant something significant to Jesus.  Otherwise, He wouldn’t spend so much time talking about the Kingdom.  We will begin to see the connection between His Kingdom Teaching and the Making of Disciples.  This becomes an exciting adventure for the Church.  Join me in this discovery…

Joel McCall