Jesus draws us to others for a “divine appointment,” in which we tell them what Jesus has done for us. He will do the rest.

1. Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out its seven pillars [the Spirit knows what He is doing].

Matthew 28:18-20 is called The Great Commission, in which we get our marching orders to make disciples across the globe. The problem is that it doesn’t tell us what to initially tell them. Let’s look at it:

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

There is an implication of shared authority as we go. Jesus says that He is in control now and He is sending us out as His ambassadors (Ephesians 1:9-10 and 2 Corinthians 5:20). We are to go and make disciples–but what do we say?! How do we get them to listen? For the answer to these questions, we must go back into Matthew to chapter ten when Jesus sent out His 12 disciples/apostles (“apostles” means “sent ones”). Let’s look at what Jesus told them:

⁷ As you go, declare publicly that the kingdom of heaven has arrived. 

1. How are we to go? As we go about our daily lives.
2. What are we to do? Declare.
3. How are we to declare? Publicly.
4. What are we to declare? That the kingdom of heaven has arrived.
5. What is the kingdom of heaven? It’s not a “what,” but a “He.” It’s Jesus!

Jesus IS the kingdom of heaven. I love the hymn, Heaven Came Down, in which the refain says,

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul,
When at the cross, my Savior made me whole;
My sin were washed away, and my night was turned to day;
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.

Jesus is God; wherever God is, that’s heaven. Jesus is in our hearts, therefore, heaven is in our hearts. Thus, the kingdom of heaven has arrived in us! This is the message that we are to proclaim:

1. Jesus came from heaven to earth,
2. Lived His life in complete obedience to His heavenly Father (something that no one else could do),
3. Died in our place so that we could have eternal life, life that begins the moment that we turn to Him and acknowledge Him as our Lord and Savior, turning from our darkness to His marvelous light. In fact, Peter tells us, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Did you catch it? Peter told us to tell people what Jesus did for us! It really is that simple. What has Christ done for you? To you? With you? Our testimony is our soapbox. Somebody out there needs to hear it.

Abba, may we ponder the questions, “What has Christ done for us? To us? With us?” and formulate a simple, straightforward testimony to tell people. Since it’s our story, there’s no way for a person to convince us otherwise or to contest it. After that, it’s up to You, Holy Spirit. We leave them in Your capable hands. Amen.