When asked how he could be both an Endocrinologist and a Christian, Dr. Michael responds, “Have you ever read your Bible?” It was news to me to learn that ¼ of the Bible was written by Dr. Luke, who was NOT an ordained minister, but rather an educated fellow. Dr. Michael is a close friend of Pastor Ronnie Johnson, one of the co-pastors of Miracle Baptist Church, and was our guest speaker for Bible Study on Tuesday morning.
Topic at hand: Discipleship.
Bible passage used: Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission)
Basically, it’s broken down like this. The Great Commission was Jesus’s command to his disciples and was one of the last statements he made on Earth. Effectively, it’s the guideline we are to use in evangelizing Christ. Within these verses, there are 7 calls to action, which Dr. Michael broke down for us like this:
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Go!
- Simply put, He said we are to get moving, get active and be willing to get up and go when we are told!
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Make Disciples!
- A concept is not whole-heartedly “learned” until it can be re-taught. Therefore, what we have accepted (salvation) and what we understand (Biblical principles) should be passed on to others.
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Baptize.
- There are three kinds of baptism – Baptism by Water, Baptism by The Holy Spirit and Baptism by Fire. The baptism spoken of in this context refers to Water, and the public profession of faith that is made after one has accepted the Spirit of Christ into their life. Baptism DOES NOT save us. Jesus, Himself, was Baptized as a representation of taking on OUR sin debt (Humanizing himself). Romans 8:9 says “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” Therefore it is the SPIRIT of Christ in us that saves us, not the presence of sprinkling or dunking in water, but still, we are called to encourage that profession!
- Teach.
- Obey
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Have Commanded
- These three string together – Christians are to be taught to obey God’s commandments. Although we are no longer under the Old Law (of the Old Testament) we are still expected to live by the morality implied by the law. We are to live a life of example.
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I Am With You, Always!
- In doing these things, we are insuring that God is with us, no matter what. And as Dr. Michael said, when you begin your efforts of serving as a disciple for Christ, you’ll start to see “supernatural” things – those things that can only be explained as “God Things” – start to happen!!!
Learning these concepts has proved quite useful in today’s evangelical efforts. We spent much of the afternoon in a fairly “rough” part of town – so rough that tonight during our service, there was an actual gang arrest less than a mile away. After yesterday’s encouragement from Bro. Marty, I was ready and willing to approach people with the gospel! God gave me that opportunity early on in the afternoon! One of the gentleman I spoke with assured me that he was going to Heaven because he was “living right.” While I did talk with him and his friend and explained that even the best by man’s standards wouldn’t pass with God and that I believe the only way to Heaven is through salvation, neither of them opted to make a profession of faith at that time. They allowed Caleb, Lydia, Paige and me to pray with them before leaving. I ask that you please keep these two young men – Cordello and Lorenzo – in your prayers. It would be great to run into them again and be able to continue what God began in their lives tonight!
All in all, our team saw 41 people make professions of faith today!!! Even just one would have been worth all of our efforts! Looking forward to a group devotional with our Bellview crew tomorrow, then more Bible study with the entire group, more evangelism in another sector of Memphis and ultimately seeing more souls saved!
We’re making great friends along this journey; we’re sharing Miracle Baptist Church’s Inner City Outreach Center (gymnasium, kitchen, classrooms) with another youth group from Branch, Arkansas. It’s amazing to see how on fire for God and willing these teens (and their leaders) are! “Papaw” is 71 and has been coming for this annual crusade week over the past 17 years! His son, Wendell, and his grand-daughter, Amanda, are part of the group this year! What an awesome way to spend time with family. Pastor Tim has two of his teenaged children, Hannah and Caleb, along with him, as well. I had the chance to play basketball with several of the guys from Arkansas (and a few from the Memphis youth group) this afternoon and aside from observing how out-of-shape I am (for the record, I did hit ONE three-point shot!) I loved seeing how sportsmanlike these guys were. No cursing. No mouthing at one another. Picking each other up. Congratulating after a good shot. That’s Christianity in action, full-time! LOVE IT!
LOVE THIS TRIP! LOVE WHAT GOD IS DOING! LOVE THAT YOU ARE PRAYING FOR US! Keep them coming, please?!?!
(Internet is still SLOW) so I’ll keep trying on the pictures… may just upload to Facebook if I can manage that! Stay tuned!)
Be Blessed,
Ashlee
