This is Chapter 6 of the book "The Salt Factor."
“KINGDOM KEYS TO THE DISCIPLESHIP OF NATIONS”
Salt is used for its ability to bring change. It contains the
power to make something that is unappealing become full
of flavor. Saltiness flavors food by suppressing other taste
responses such as sweet, sour, and bitter. Its value, therefore,
is in its power and not in its color. When salt loses its power
to effect change, it loses its value and becomes worthless.
In the same way, the church loses her value when she lacks
transformational ability. The essence of the salt life, therefore,
is found in its power to transform nations. The transformation of
nations is the primary assignment of the Church as well as the
fundamental requirement of the Great Commission given by the
Lord Jesus Himself.
THE GREAT COMMISSION DEFINED
“All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth
has been given to Me. Go then and make disciples of all
the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Teaching them to
observe everything that I have commanded you, and
behold, I am with you all the days…to the very close and
consummation of the age. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20
AMP)
Most Christians have been taught a one-dimensional view
of the Great Commission. Even in my own life I had difficulty
understanding it as an adolescent growing up in Africa. The
reason is that the Great Commission was taught solely in the
context of soul winning and evangelism. At the early age of
12, I was the evangelism coordinator for the Scripture Union
organization in my village. This organization was deeply rooted
in the belief that the Great Commission meant going from
house to house, knocking on doors, giving tracts, and telling
the good-news. I was also taught that this mandate included
holding open-air crusades with the sole intent of bringing
people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Because this
concept was wrong, it limited my effectiveness, yet I grew,
and so did my understanding. It was several years ago that a
new understanding of the Great Commission took hold of my
heart. It is more than soul winning or evangelism. It is more than
open-air crusades. There is so much more substance to this
mandate.
To understand the discipling of nations it must be properly
defined. This will help lift the veil and cause the body of Christ
to see the truth. It is paramount that the church understands the
intent of Jesus’ statement so she can accomplish it accordingly.
The Great Commission, according to Matthew 28:18-20,
includes two main characteristics 1) The Discipleship of Nations
and 2) The Baptism of Nations. It is the call to transform the
systems and structures of this world with the character of the
King and the values of His Kingdom.
THE DISCIPLESHIP OF NATIONS
The discipleship of Nations not only deals with the salvation
of a person’s soul, it also includes the transformation of ones
environment. Nations like Guatemala, Romania, Armenia, and
Nigeria strongly validate this point. These nations have as many
as 90-95% of their population professing Christianity. Some
have even had Christian presidents, heads of state, senators
and other top members of parliament. Yet, systemic corruption
and poverty exists so rampantly in these nations. The social,
political, educational and economic structures are some of the
weakest in the world and as a result, citizens are suffering at
an alarming rate. In many parts of Africa there are very vibrant
churches. Nigeria, for example, has a reputation for pulling
in the largest crowds in evangelistic campaigns, some even
numbering in the millions for single, one-night events. It is a
great achievement for any country to cross such thresholds in
the history of Christianity, but the gospel is meant to transform
not only mankind, but also the very structures upon which
nations are built.
Take for example, a man who has lived under a bridge for
25 years in a community infested with drugs, prostitution and
crime. For someone like this to come to Christ is a tremendous
victory, but if he is returned to the same environment it will be
but a temporal change. The gospel must transform not only
him, but his environment as well. The gospel is designed to
affect both the person and the society where he or she lives. As
previously stated in this book, the Great Commission addresses
structures and value-systems of any given society. This is
what Jesus meant when He gave the mandate to disciple the
nations of the world. It is displacing the values of this world and
replacing them with the values of the Kingdom of God. Every
nation is built on seven structures and these structures must
be built and established on kingdom values in order to have
sustenance and lasting prosperity.
THE BAPTISM OF NATIONS
When Jesus said to baptize them into the name of the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, it means to immerse the values of this
world into a three-fold baptism. It is a baptism into the life,
nature and character of the Godhead. Nations are to be
fully immersed through this baptism until all of its structures,
systems, values and culture are transformed. The government
of Christ must permeate and dominate the kingdoms of this
world. Every fiber of a nation’s life and operation must be seen
reflecting from within it the very values of Christ. Just as the
taking on of Christ’s nature and character reflects Christ in
every way, so must nations take on the values of the kingdom
to reflect God’s rule in every way. The values and virtues of
Christ are to be stamped into the very DNA of every nation until
it becomes the culture and standard of that nation (Gal 3:27).
THE POWER OF THE SALTED LIFE
Salt is only as useful as its ability to bring about change. Its
relevance lies solely in its power to transform. The outward
color, as beautiful as it looks, is of no value without its functional
abilities. The church, as the body of Christ, should measure
true evangelical success not only by the number of people
who commit their lives to Christ, but also by the wealth of
the values and virtues of the kingdom that are represented
in their communities, cities, state and nation. The Great
Commission requires the transformation of every nation into a
kingdom culture and a baptism of its values into the character
of Christ. The relevance of the New Testament church is in
her ability to transform nations. She is to be known for her
works and not her religious clichés. “If I do not the works of
my Father, believe me not.” (John 10:37 KJV) Every Christian
needs a fresh understanding of the Great Commission. The
ability to effectively reach the world for Christ lies within this
understanding. Remember that wisdom is better than strength
and wisdom is better than weapons of war (Eccl 9:16, 18).
Often, the church has little measurement of success as it relates
to the Great Commission and this ignorance has cost her
wasted efforts, energy, time, and resources. Furthermore, it will
take humility, a teachable spirit and a willingness to adjust ones
mindset and shift the old concept of the Great Commission to a
more complete view of this heavenly mandate.
THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD
“Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy
possession.” (Psalms 2:8 KJV)
God has literally given His church the power needed to change
the world. In the Great Commission, Jesus said that all authority
has been given to Him and to go into the world and make
disciples of all the nations. Christians are to go forth with the
authority of Jesus, which is His royal and legal right to rule
the world. Through His death and resurrection, He conquered
Satan, hell and death. He paid the price for the salvation of
man and for the redemption of creation. In the fall, Adam lost
both himself and his God-given authority over the earth, but
Jesus, in the Great Commission, restored that authority back to
the church. Believers are now the managers of the earth and
have a responsibility to exercise dominion, meaning the right to
rule and the power to execute God’s justice and righteousness
throughout the earth. God has given to every child the right and
power to reign in any and all spheres of life.
KINGDOM KEYS TO TRANSFORMING THE WORLD
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease
among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion
on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no
shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the
laborers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth
laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:35-38 KJV)
“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? Behold, I say
unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”
(John 4:35 KJV) Until a person puts on the eyes of God, they cannot see as He sees.
God gave His children the ability to see the true condition of the world. Every believer,
every church, must lift up their eyes beyond self and see the multitudes, see the widow,
the fatherless, and millions of orphans with shattered dreams. See the sick and afflicted
and millions who won’t live to see another year. They must see the world, the Muslim
world, the Hindu world, the New-Age world, the Buddhist world, and the Arab world.
The eyes of the church must be opened. The world is destitute when millions are living
in bondage to the power of sin. Take a look at the depth of systemic corruption and
poverty, injustice and lawlessness in the world. If people could see as He sees, they
would understand the true value of a soul. They are God’s only treasure and they
are priceless. It took God’s very own Son to pay for them. Listed below are the keys
needed for every believer to be an agent of change.
The heart must be moved: “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit
was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry” (Acts 17:16
KJV). Something moved in the heart of Paul when he saw the godless condition
of the land. Likewise, the believer’s heart must be moved at the condition of
humanity today and their value-system. It is important for believers’s to guard
themselves against hardness of heart and to become sensitive to the needs of
others. “For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.
For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” (Phil 2:20-21
KJV). The Christian life can be summarized as loving God and loving people.
The truth is that the church needs a heart transplant; she needs to receive the
heart that Jesus had for people. It was a love so strong that He offered His very
life for it. This is what living is truly all about and those who have experienced
it understand the joy and power that comes from a Christ-centered life. For a
person’s heart to move, their eyes must be able to see. Pray that God would
open your eyes to see the true condition of what is going on all around you.
Be moved with compassion: Compassion is more than feeling sorry for someone
or having pity for someone. Compassion is always accompanied by action. The
actions of compassion go beyond providing temporary relief; it strives to deal with
root causes. It contains a strong desire to make life-changing differences in one’s
life. It is easy to measure the difference that can be made in a person’s life by the
amount of money one has, but what is even more important is the size of one’s
heart and the size of his or her faith. The Bible is full of people who changed
the world through their faith in God. A good place to start is to take on the
burdens of others in prayer. As a strong and disciplined prayer life is cultivated,
the Holy Spirit will deposit His emotions for the lost in ones heart. They will
able to feel what He feels and sees what He sees. The Holy Spirit will teach
a person how to co-labor with Christ, the great Intercessor, over the condition
of humanity and creation as a whole. Christians will discover a new power in
prayer and will accomplish great things as they gain new levels of authority in
the spirit. Furthermore, this prayer will compel one to action. Remember that true
compassion must transcend mere emotion of the soul. It has to be imparted by
the Holy Spirit, into the human spirit, with tangible deeds that transform.
Understand the gospel of the kingdom: “And Jesus went about all the cities
and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the
kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people”
(Matt 9:35 KJV). The gospel of the kingdom involves the healing of all sickness
and disease. It is easy to think only in terms of bodily ailments such as cancer,
diabetes, etc. However, it also includes political and educational diseases, social
and economic diseases, systemic corruption and systemic poverty. It includes all
human and societal ills, everything affecting people and society at large. In-fact,
all social diseases either directly or indirectly affecting mankind needs the healing
touch of Jesus. This is why Jesus went to different villages and cities, preaching
the gospel of the kingdom. He didn’t choose which sicknesses to heal; He healed
all manner of diseases among the people. By healing the sick, Jesus destroyed
and displaced the works of darkness that came upon humanity as a result of the
fall (Rom 5:12). So the gospel of the kingdom enthrones the rule of Christ in man
and in society. Just as the lordship of Christ should have full sway in man’s spirit,
soul and body, so also should the government of God have full sway in every
sphere of society.
Pray to the Lord of the harvest: “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that
he will send forth laborers into his harvest” (Matt 9:38 KJV). This statement,
when understood, contains a very powerful truth that will shake kingdom of
darkness at its core. The word “Lord” actually means “Owner.” As believer’s pray
for the lost, they must pray with the understanding the Jesus is the Lord of the
harvest. He is the owner of the harvest. Why? He paid for the salvation of man
and for the redemption of creation. Remember, He bought the field and the field
is the world. He bought the field and the treasure in the field (Matt 13:44, 38).
The field represents the cosmos and the structures upon which a nation is built,
while the treasure represents the people who live in the world. The blood of
Christ is the price that was paid and the ground on which creation shall be
delivered into the liberty of the sons of God (Rom 8:21). The same price that paid
for the soul of man paid for his environment; therefore God places equal
emphasis on both. The former governs the latter. So Christians should pray with
a fresh revelation that because of the blood of Christ, all souls potentially belong
to Christ. He died for all, and therefore, all should live for Him (2 Co. 5:14-15).
Imagine knowing that the forces of darkness no longer determine the harvesting
of souls, although people may be under their spell (1John 5:19). Imagine
knowing that God determines the harvest of souls based on the prayer and the
labor of the saints. The prayer is for laborers to be sent out into the harvest field,
while the laborers work and reap the harvest. It is a labor in a field that belongs
to Christ. Begin to see the unsaved in God’s harvest field and not in the hand of
Satan. Ask the owner of the harvest to give you the harvest. They belong to Him
because the price has been paid.
KINGDOM KEYS TO THE DISCIPESHIP OF NATIONS
Understand that every nation is built on seven structures
Understand that to transform a nation, every structure must be transformed
Understand that the local church is to raise saviors to bring change
Individuals must pursue Christ-likeness
They must discover their specific assignment
It must translate into a specific area of influence
This influence must be a platform to bring the Kingdom of God
This area of influence must be related to one of the seven structures of the nation
Their assignment must address and transform a specific societal ill
They must understand the specific structure they want to change
They must access the wisdom of God for the specific blueprint on how to bring about transformation
They must find a like-minded team to work together
They must work hard at executing the plan
They must set up kingdom structures and value systems to sustain godliness and lasting prosperity
They must set up ancient landmarks for the next generation
