Becoming A Marketplace Disciple

Matthew 28:18-20 AMP - Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in 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 lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”

Do you feel like God is calling you into a new season? He is. He's calling all of us to become Marketplace Disciples.

So many have missed or misunderstood this calling. Have you? Let's explore.

If you are a Christ-follower, you are a disciple. And a disciple — disciples. And because you are part of the global workforce or an entrepreneur, you are exactly like the first century christians. They made the marketplace the focal point of their ministry. God called them and anointed them for this ministry.

The book of Ephesians lays it out.

- you have been chosen

- you have the spirit of wisdom inside you

- you have the same power inside you that raised Jesus from the dead (yup)

- you are to live a life worthy of the calling you have received

So if you are a marketplace disciple, what is your assignment? It's to make disciples of nations.

Matthew 28:19-20 AMP - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in 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 lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”

What is the importance of the marketplace? The marketplace is heartbeat of every city and nation. This is our place of ministry. The first century disciples were apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in the marketplace. There wasn't a distinction as there is today between clergy and laity. The role of the pastor as we know it today didn't exist until about 100 years later. All of the disciples were considered minsters. They were in the army of the Lord.

Here's why this is so important. The great commission was directed to all of us, not just the modern day pastor. Pastors may help equip us, but at some point the church (people) needs to leave the building and take the Kingdom of God into the marketplace. Ask yourself, how much influence does your pastor have at your workplace? Probably zero.

Jesus hijacked the dinner table because it's where people already gathered, so He and the disciples took the Kingdom into homes. In the book of Acts, the marketplace is where 39 of the 40 supernatural events occurred.

We are in the beginning of the third great awakening. God been shaking things up in our personal lives, in our churches, and in our nations. Why? He wants our attention. We (the church) have been asleep and allowed evil to have its way.

Many Christ-followers have experienced an unusual shaking in their personal lives. A dear friend of mine stated it this way:

"The utopias they've set for careers, wealth, purpose, life, health, or relationships have experienced setbacks. They feel this has some correlation to the unexplainable widespread pivotal shifts that are splintering current social, political, economic foundations; something is amiss where personal know-how does not solve it, the answers illusive, leaving us surviving but not thriving."

Throughout scripture, God makes it clear that He wants to bring peace and prosperity to our lives. Yet, when I look at what's happening to believers throughout the globe, I see so much defeat. So much lack instead of abundance. What in the world is going on? What's going on is God is rousing our attention. How? By allowing our peace and prosperity to be disrupted.

When God wants to get our attention, He often yanks our economic chain. Why? Because when we become uncomfortable, we tend to cry out to the comforter with a surprised "Lord, what are you doing? Why is this happening?"

Too often we seek God for deliverance before seeking His direction. The shaking is designed to awaken us.

As you study the Bible, you'll see a pattern (a template) revealed as to why history often repeats itself. In the book of Haggai, fifty thousand Jews left Babylon to rebuild the temple and restore the nation. Notice the keywords, rebuild and restore. They had started to rebuild the temple but their work stopped when they ran into opposition. Rebuilding God's house and restoring the nation was placed on hold. Sound familiar?

Distracted, their priorities shifted towards building their own houses instead of the house of the Lord. So God yanked on their economic chain. God used His prophets Haggai and Zachariah to deliver this message to His people.

Haggai 1:2-11

A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.”

Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?”

And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again:

“Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over. You have spent a lot of money, but you haven’t much to show for it. You keep filling your plates, but you never get filled up. You keep drinking and drinking and drinking, but you’re always thirsty. You put on layer after layer of clothes, but you can’t get warm. And the people who work for you, what are they getting out of it? Not much— a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that’s what.”

That’s why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said:

“Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over.”

Then God said: “Here’s what I want you to do: Climb into the hills and cut some timber. Bring it down and rebuild the Temple. Do it just for me. Honor me. You’ve had great ambitions for yourselves, but nothing has come of it. The little you have brought to my Temple I’ve blown away—there was nothing to it.

“And why?” (This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, remember.) “Because while you’ve run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That’s why. Because of your stinginess. And so I’ve given you a dry summer and a meager crop. I’ve matched your tight-fisted stinginess by decreeing a season of drought, drying up fields and hills, withering gardens and orchards, stunting vegetables and fruit. Nothing—not man or woman, not animal or crop—is going to thrive.”

The people were ..

#1- first shaken

#2- then awakened to God's call to rebuild His house and restore the nation.

Now fast-forward to the New Testament in Matthew 28 when the church was given our marching orders, The Great Commission, to make disciples of nations.

Jesus gave His church, His disciples (us), His full power (the Holy Spirit), and the authority to transform people and nations with the Kingdom of God (God's government, His way of doing things).

We have been given this power and authority to TEAR DOWN satan's strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:4)

And to DESTROY the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

First, let's understand the Problem.

When we look at the seven marketplace mountains responsible for transforming the culture of every nation, the church has allowed God to be removed from virtually every mountain. Politics and power have driven the removal, and Christians are famous for staying out of politics. Instead, hunkering down in our church buildings. These are the seven marketplace mountains that shape sheep or goat nations:

1. Business
2. Media
3. Education
4. Arts & Entertainment
5. Government
6. Religion
7. Family

Instead of the church discipling nations, satan is actually discipling nations with his counterfeit religion, the satanic progressive marxist left. He is well on his way to creating a one-world order. Globalism. A modern-day Babylon.

Look around, what do you see?

+ fear

+ lawlessness

+ out-of-control inflation

+ supply shortages

+ rioting and looting (peaceful protest)

+ cancel culture

+ crt and division by race

+ the politicization of covid

+ covid lockdowns, masking and the endless jabs

+ covid mandates

+ fake news

+ love of abortion

+ gender wars

+ globalism, one world order

+ election fraud

+ big tech censorship

+ us vs them

+ woke Christianity

+ loss of constitutional freedoms

+ open borders

+ church shutdowns

+ global division and chaos

In case you haven't noticed, much of the globe including America, has been highjacked. Evil is in the cockpit. And the church has gone along — to get along. We thought we were on a cruise ship and were surprised to learn it's actually a battleship.

But the weapons of our warfare are of the Kingdom of God

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 AMP - The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ, being ready to punish every act of disobedience, when your own obedience [as a church] is complete.

Jeremiah 1:10 AMP - “See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To uproot and break down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant.”

Kingdom is calling. You've been deployed. Will you answer the call? And how will you play a part in discipling nations? The solution becomes less complicated when we just do what the first century church did. They actually transformed Jerusalem in just weeks. Jesus called them His Ekklesia.

Here's what you and I can do:

1. Understand the problem and solution
2. Learn how to fight and resist evil
3. Understand our marching orders
4. Accept your role as a Marketplace Disciple
5. Discover your specific marketplace calling and assignment
6. Leverage your home and dinner-table to bless, fellowship, minister to needs, and share the gospel
7. Use your voting power to remove anti-God people from local, state and federal offices

What I've described is already happening throughout the world.

Let's stop ONLY going to church, let's begin HAVING church (gathering in-person & online) in marketplace, transforming everyone, everything and everyplace with the Kingdom of God.

In this third great awakening the church will leave the building to disciple nations. Goat nations will become sheep nations.

Kingdom Is Calling. Become A Marketplace Disciple.

-Gerald