Authority to Disciple the Nations

George R. Foster

“All authority is given to me… Go make disciples of all nations.”

That Jesus Christ is Lord over all is fundamental to faith and to missions. He is our sovereign Lord! But for Jesus to reign as Lord of our lives, we must receive Him, surrender to Him, and daily seek to do His will. He made that clear by asking, “Why do you call me Lord and do not do what I say?” Though Jesus may not force His will upon us, He does expect us to obey His commands and act on His Spirit’s leading. Lordship and disobedience are incompatible. Submission to lordship brings rewards. Disobedience brings loss to us and to God’s kingdom.

Under Authority

When we make Jesus Christ Lord of our lives, we submit to Him our personal Rights – – the right to decide what we will do, where we will do it, when we will start, how long we will continue, what method we will use, what our standard of living will be, and with whom we will be teamed. We may still have preferences, but we keep them yielded to Him. When our will conflicts with His, we pray as Jesus did, “Not My will, but Yours be done… “We seek to know and do what He wants us to do. Missions is on His heart-and it gets into ours!

For Authority

Not just “sent ones” surrender to Him; the ones to whom He sends us were also created by Him and for Him to live under His lordship. There’s no one who should not receive Christ, belong to Christ’, and surrender to Christ as Lord. The Holy Spirit is preparing people everywhere to become His followers. Our task is to pray for them, go to them, love them, serve them, and point the way to Him. He leads us as we go.

With Authority

Jesus does not just send us under authority to people destined for authority; He sends us with authority. He grants authority to all who go in His Name. We do not withdraw from the world.. We go into the world to reclaim it from darkness. Nor do we withdraw from battle. He promises us victory over Satan, evil spirits, powers of darkness, and all spiritual opposition. We have authority in Jesus’ Name, and in His Name we go to disciple the nations.

Please click here to read the article in Printer-Friendly version.