Episode 48

This episode is only partially transcribed below due to the dialog interaction with our guest. Please click one of the following links to hear the show in its entirety…

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Hello and welcome to the show! As has been stated numerous times, our great calling as believers in Christ is to replicate ourselves – to witness to others and make more disciples. This is what the Great Commission is, the clear instructions that Jesus laid out to His disciples (and to us who would follow). However, we often tend to place undue limits upon ourselves. We make excuses and convince ourselves that we can’t really do that much. We let the enemy whisper discouraging lies in our ears like, “You’re just one person, you can’t make any real difference in the world, reaching people is too hard, and you don’t have what it takes.”

But while we often think of witnessing as this monumental task that’s too big for us, the TRUTH is that 1) The devil is a liar; 2) Witnessing is our duty; 3) It’s more than worth the effort; and 4) You are neither alone nor underequipped for the task. And on this episode, I’m pleased to have my good friend and pastor here to help us better understand this. So first of all, I want to welcome Pastor Aaron Zielinske from my home church, Grace Pointe in Dacula, GA – thank you, sir, for being on the Kingdom Hero Show.

PLACE HOLDER FOR PASTOR AARON

Now I find it interesting when God seems to be speaking about similar topics or even the same exact ones to different people at the same time, almost like it’s a kind of season of learning, like He’s saying, “Okay THIS is what I want you to learn about right now,” so He then drops a particular biblical concept in my head and compels me to study about it, and then in the same week, He has you preaching on almost the exact same thing with a somewhat different viewpoint. I’ve noticed this happens fairly often, actually, and it’s always great when God orchestrates things in such a way that I end up learning more than I perhaps would have on my own.

So, you’ve been preaching a series on “Leadership” during this month at church. And this past Sunday you dealt specifically with this topic of discipling others. It’s a favorite topic of mine, and I want to start off by reading the familiar passage known as The Great Commission, found in Matthew 28. I’ve often said that these words that Jesus spoke to His disciples are a directive to us today as His followers. Verses 18 through 20 tell us…

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.”

This, of course, is our calling as Christians today – to be witnesses of Jesus to those around us and lead them into their own relationships with Him. And unfortunately, we can let a lot of things get in the way of that. So my first question to you, Pastor Aaron, is this: What are the typical things that we allow to become roadblocks to being effective witnesses?

PLACE HOLDER FOR PASTOR AARON

Earlier, I mentioned some of the lies that satan will tell us. He’ll try to convince us that we are somehow inadequate or ill-equipped, but I think we have to recognize who we truly are in Christ. And having a real sense of who and what God has created us to be, I believe, is essential to recognizing the enemy’s lies and overcoming them and reaching our potential. Would you agree?

PLACE HOLDER FOR PASTOR AARON

So then, if witnessing is our duty as believers, and the devil is just lying to us because he’s a low down dirty rotten deceiver [chuckle] – and we’re literally talking about altering people’s eternal destiny here, right? Making disciples would seem to be perhaps the most important job we have. Shouldn’t that be a defining part of who we are as Christians?

PLACE HOLDER FOR PASTOR AARON

Okay, we’ve pretty well established the importance of witnessing. But for those who still might think that they need to be, like, a Bible scholar or theologian of some type in order to lead people to Jesus, what would you say to them? Or someone who is afraid to witness because people may ask questions that they don’t have the answers to, how would you encourage them?

PLACE HOLDER FOR PASTOR AARON

I want to read that last part of The Great Commission again, with regard to anyone who might feel like the task of evangelizing is just too big to handle alone – the key here is that you’re NOT alone. Listen to what Jesus told the disciples after giving them this charge to go and make disciples of others…

He states plainly, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

I think we too often forget that He didn’t just tell us to do something without equipping us, and He certainly didn’t give us this great commission and follow it up with, “Okay, and now you’re on your own.” No! He’s with us all the time, and so His help is always available to us. Even though we know that, we many times act like we are expected to tackle everything alone. Sometimes, maybe, it’s even a prideful thing. Like the hubris of man is this notion that we should be able to handle stuff by ourselves. “I don’t need to read the instructions. I don’t need to stop and ask for directions. I’m perfectly capable of doing this on my own.” Uh, NO. It really is okay to ask for help.

It has certainly been a blessing for me to cultivate relationships over the years with godly people who can help me better understand the scriptures and the concepts of walking with the Lord. Just like it’s been great having you on the show, Pastor Aaron. I really do appreciate it. So before we go, I want to give you the opportunity to offer any final thoughts on making disciples and to encourage those who have perhaps been timid or hesitant in the past to share the love of God with others. What would you like to say to them?

PLACE HOLDER FOR PASTOR AARON

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