Proclaiming the Good News
A 5-DAY DEVOTIONAL
Day 1: Called
Verses: Mark 3:13-14; Ephesians 4:11-14
When Jesus called His disciples, Luke records that He “called them so that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach.” As Christians, we are all called to be with Jesus and testify of Him to others.
According to Paul, the role of an evangelist (along with apostles, prophets, teachers, and shepherds) is to equip the church for the work of ministry. It’s a service role, to build up and encourage all believers until we attain unity of the knowledge of the Son of God and are able to share the good news with others. An evangelist equips laypeople, and laypeople are the workforce of evangelism. The responsibility to share the gospel and make disciples rests on all Christians—not just those in leadership positions.
Let’s ask the Lord to develop in us passion and vision for sharing His amazing news with people who have not had a chance to hear it yet.
Day 2: Entrusted
Verses: 1 Thessalonians 2:3-4; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 1 Peter 2:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
If you are a Christian, you have already been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. That makes us stewards of the mysteries of God. And as stewards, it is required that we are found faithful with what we’ve been entrusted. Whether we are grocery store clerks or overseas missionaries, at the end of the day, we are the ones God has chosen to tell others of His incredible story and help them fall in love with His Son.
We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people for His own possession that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. We are ambassadors. And, as Christians, we are the only ones who have been given this call. No one else is going to do the work that God has already entrusted to us.
God will help us become more confident in our role as we step out in faithfulness and steward the great news we’ve been given by giving it to others. Let’s ask Him to remind us how much we enjoy belonging to Him and allow that to motivate us to help others belong to Him too!
Day 3: Commissioned
Verses: Acts 14:21-22; 2 Timothy 2:2; Matthew 28:19-20
Being a faithful witness of Jesus should result in actively making many disciples. If it doesn't, we humbly ask the Lord what we need to adjust and He is faithful to show us. Sometimes, we may need to exchange formerly held beliefs in order to effectively obey the commission we’ve been given to make disciples.
“What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2)
Notice the generational language in this verse. Paul (generation one) tells Timothy (generation two) to entrust what he learned to faithful men (generation three) who will be able to teach others (generation four). That’s what it looks like to make disciples who obey Jesus’ command to make disciples.
With God’s help, we too can follow Paul’s advice to Timothy. Let’s ask the Lord to give us that kind of vision to not only disciple one person, but multiple generations of reproducing disciples.
Day 4: Obedient
Verses: John 14:15; John 14:24; John 15:14; Acts 8:26-40; Acts 6:3-5
If we love Jesus, we obey Him. If we don’t obey Him, it’s because we don’t love Him. Our role as Christians is to model to new disciples how obedience to Jesus is motivated by our love for Him. Discipling the lost means that we teach them how to be friends with Jesus by obeying everything He commanded.
In Acts chapter eight, the Lord told Phillip to rise and go toward the road connecting Jerusalem to Gaza. When Philip heard this, he rose and went. No hesitation. Then when the Lord told him to join a man traveling on the road, he was so quick to obey that he literally ran to catch the moving chariot! When Phillip met up with the man in the moving chariot we read that, “Philip opened his mouth and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.”
This is such a great example of urgency and obedience and how to begin to disciple a lost person toward Jesus. It’s important to note that Phillip was just a regular man. He had a good reputation and was full of the Spirit, but he wasn’t a full-time minister. He was a layperson with a service job. But Phillip understood that, as a believer, occupations come second to obeying Jesus and His command to tell others the good news.
What it would be like if every Christian understood what Philip understood? May the Lord help keep us lovingly obeying His great commission no matter where we live or work.
Day 5: Worthy
Verses: Revelation 5:9-10; Ephesians 4:1-3; Matthew 28:19; Revelation 7:9-12
The greatest news for Jesus’ disciples is that there will be people from every nation, tribe, and language, worshipping Jesus forever in the age to come. So we can have great courage in our commission to make disciples because we know it will succeed. To that end we pray, Lord, make us worthy of the calling to disciple all nations so that You will receive worship from all nations.
God, would You help us cherish Your word, obey Your Son, and steward the good news You’ve entrusted to us. Make us worthy of our calling and teach us to do the work of evangelism. We love You and we want to be faithful with what we’ve been entrusted. Amen.