Week #1: Making God “Famous”
Blog Series Intention Recap
This four-week series for March will focus on what it means to be on mission with Jesus and living with the ends in mind. We examine why we should make God famous, how to make God’s fame increase, and what benefits derive from seeing God’s fame increase. Join us as we look at Missio Dei.
This post is part of the series “Missio Dei.” Click here to check out the other posts.
Let’s jump into Week #1:
Making God famous fulfills Jesus’ last command and can be accomplished in the way we talk about God and live in light of our beliefs.
Why it matters:
Two scriptures guide my thinking on this topic:
Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,
we wait for you;
your name and renown
are the desire of our hearts.Isaiah 26:8 (NIV)
and
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.
- Jesus, Matthew 28:19-20
Being on mission with Jesus matters because
God’s people desire God’s fame and recognize their lives can make God famous.
When God is famous, people want to be in realtionship with him.
Jesus modelled his command by coming to earth, living a sinless life, dying on the cross, and rising from the dead while pouring into twelve followers and preparing them to do the same.
Jesus commanded his disciples to go into the world and make God famous and help people live in relationship with Him.
Go Deeper
Isaiah 26:8 forms a national lament as pilgrims were returning from exile. As they walked to their destinations and ultimately to Jerusalem they could see the effects of God’s judgement all around them. They traveled as a people on their way home telling others about God. In verses 1-6 of Isaiah 26, the psalmist gives a picture of God’s care for those who trust him. “You (God) keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you…vs. 3” Then the psalmist implores the listener to trust in God because he is an everlasting rock forever. In this way, they waited for God while actively making him famous.
The exile of the Jewish people came at the end of the long history of a repeating cycle. God intended the Hebrews to be a group of people who could live in Theocracy while the plan of redemption could be executed. However, God’s people would commit to the covenant between them and God. They would forget the commitments and live in a way contrary to the covenant and finally, God had used their unfaithfulness to scatter them to the nations.
In exile, they learned to focus on God and to trust him. Trust became a key term. The goal of making God’s faithfulness took center stage and they started their long wait for a messiah to fulfill the promises of God. Enter Jesus. He would show up on the scene. He would live a sinless life. He would live to fulfill his stated mission. In Luke 4:18 & 19, Jesus goes home to Nazareth and quotes Isaiah, too.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”- Luke 4:18-19
Jesus’ entire mission was to proclaim liberty, recover sight, set at liberty, and proclaim the Lord’s favor. The whole point of these actions came in the form of God’s fame and a return of humanity to a relationship with God. Jesus wanted to proclaim the good news to everyone. Everyone lacking a relationship with God is poor. He died on the cross and rose from the dead.
In the second selection, Jesus has been meeting with his disciples after his resurrection. He informs them he has been given all power and authority. He desires for them to go into the world, make God famous, and teach people to follow everything he has already commanded them. He wanted them to live out his mission. He gives tells his disciples what to do in what would become known as the Great Commission. He commissioned his disciples to preach the good news.
The Great Commission is full of active words. Go. Teach. Baptize. Make. Observe. Jesus’ command provides direction for followers of Christ who find themselves waiting in an environment hostile to Jesus (John 15:18-21). Our response is to live on mission. Go. Teach. Baptize. Make. Observe. Do the things Jesus told us to do. Do the things we see Jesus do.
Evangelism is more than preaching the gospel. Evangelism means to bring good news, specifically the good news about God wanting to be in a relationship with us. We shouldn’t feel ill-prepared. Evangelism is just telling our story of how God has done great things for us. D.T. Niles, a Sri Lankan pastor and theologian, phrased evangelism this way, “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” Let us tell people where to find the bread of Life (John 6:35).
How do we do this?
First, we observe everything Jesus did and told us to do and remind ourselves of everything God has done for us. When we do these two things, we prepare ourselves to share the gospel. We cultivate a life of gratitude to God and our gratitude naturally overflows. When gratitude overflows, we find it easy to talk about how good God is and how much he loves us.
Second, people often think pastors have it easy when it comes to finding conversations about Jesus. However, most people only want to argue with pastors. We don’t want people to feel cornered or condemned. Romans 2:4 tells us humans don’t often realize God’s kindness leads to repentance. Humans by nature distrust and create an image of a vengeful God. Our mission becomes finding opportunities to share the kindness, mercy, and grace of a just God who sent Jesus to die for sin so we could live free in this life and safe from the consequences of sin in the next.
