The Holy One calls to me this morning. Out of the early hour brain fog I hear Him speak something of the Great Commission.
With the world in such turmoil, I wonder what His message will be for me today. Guilt descends with an "Oh No! I am in trouble now" reaction as I turn to my mental file cabinet for evidence in the defense that I am fulfilling my part.
He repeats what I only half heard a moment ago, "The Great Commission is to go and make disciples of all nations and it is a team effort".
Relief floods my heart as I feel His love and not a rebuke. I am immediately drawn to Matt 28:18-20 NKJV, which is where I can read and remember my commission. These are among the last words the Lord spoke to His disciples before He left planet earth and entrusted His life message into their care and keeping.
The scriptures read, "And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, "All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on Earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age".
These parting words of our Lord should be burned into our minds since the commission has been given to all who believe and have received the gift of eternal life from and through the Savior Son of God, who is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Meditating on His words brings things to light and therefore to life.
The Holy Spirit made it clear that the "Great Commission" is a co-mission and a team effort, so the burden is not ours to carry alone. We have a part to play in the carrying out of the Lord's spoken will, but it does not rest entirely on us individually or alone.
He reminds me here that due to His son submission to the Father's will and the glorious resurrection that came as a result, Jesus now can claim all authority in Heaven and on earth. This is the great news we have to share. It is a blessed day when we come to terms with the knowledge that it is the love of God and not the hatred of an evil dark being that rules over our lives.
Our Savior and Lord has given us the commission and it is not to "save" the world for He has already made a provision for humanity's salvation by and through His death on the cross. We talk about going out and getting people "saved" when our role and commission is to make disciples.
To BE a disciple is to follow the precepts and instructions of the one we call our "Master". To MAKE a disciple is to teach and instruct in the ways of the "Master".
Many questions begin to flood my mind as I ponder the commission. Self-assessment comes as the Holy Spirit does His work in me.
Am I making disciples of my church or of my Master?
Am I focused on saving a soul (not my job) rather than making a disciple of the soul I am in line to share the gospel with?
Is my belief system so caught up in legalism that I judge rather than instruct?
There are so many questions that must be answered in truth. The truth does not allow for self-deception or lame excuses for following independent, self-serving, flesh glorifying agendas.
Baptizing and being baptized in the name of someone signifies a total immersion and agreement in their authority and is a public proclamation that it is according to our will to be changed into a new and different persona who emulates the life of the Master in whose name we are baptized.
A more humorous description of baptism is when a cucumber is "baptized" (immersed) in a solution and becomes a pickle.
We are to baptize in the name (singular) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which speaks of the Trinity as our three-in-one Sovereign Creator God which is His unique identity and is foundational to our faith. The Trinity works in concert with each other and yet as One. Via the Holy Spirit we are brought into that Divine community to work in concert with them as well. Yet more evidence of the co-mission we have been given.
I am told to go, baptize and to teach the ones I am sent to make disciples thereof, to observe all things that Jesus commanded of His followers.
How can I teach others to observe what I so carelessly ignore?
How can I justify ignorance when I have the Heavenly Counselor dwelling within whose job it is to teach me and lead me into all truth?
Truth can be brutal especially when it reveals the dark side of me. But the proper reaction to truth allows for the Divine purpose of transformation to take place in the lives of all who come to Jesus as Savior and Lord and that includes me.
Once truth has been revealed, a choice must be made either I embrace it and go to the next level of obedience and begin correcting what has been exposed with the help of the Holy Spirit. Or...I run away in denial and continue in self-deception until the next wave of truth comes crashing on my shoreline.
Today, I come to confess (agree with) what the Holy Spirit has shown as potential weaknesses to fulfilling my part in the Great Commission. His questions send me deep to find where carnal thinking must be eliminated in order to continue to walk on the highway of Holiness.
His final word in the verses today reminds me that I do not have to go it alone: "and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age (entire completion, forever, the perpetuity of time eternal)". He is with me and always will be with me in life and in the "Great Co-mission" so that with and by His Spirit I can live and fulfill my part.
The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
With the world in such turmoil, I wonder what His message will be for me today. Guilt descends with an "Oh No! I am in trouble now" reaction as I turn to my mental file cabinet for evidence in the defense that I am fulfilling my part.
He repeats what I only half heard a moment ago, "The Great Commission is to go and make disciples of all nations and it is a team effort".
Relief floods my heart as I feel His love and not a rebuke. I am immediately drawn to Matt 28:18-20 NKJV, which is where I can read and remember my commission. These are among the last words the Lord spoke to His disciples before He left planet earth and entrusted His life message into their care and keeping.
The scriptures read, "And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, "All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on Earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age".
These parting words of our Lord should be burned into our minds since the commission has been given to all who believe and have received the gift of eternal life from and through the Savior Son of God, who is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Meditating on His words brings things to light and therefore to life.
The Holy Spirit made it clear that the "Great Commission" is a co-mission and a team effort, so the burden is not ours to carry alone. We have a part to play in the carrying out of the Lord's spoken will, but it does not rest entirely on us individually or alone.
He reminds me here that due to His son submission to the Father's will and the glorious resurrection that came as a result, Jesus now can claim all authority in Heaven and on earth. This is the great news we have to share. It is a blessed day when we come to terms with the knowledge that it is the love of God and not the hatred of an evil dark being that rules over our lives.
Our Savior and Lord has given us the commission and it is not to "save" the world for He has already made a provision for humanity's salvation by and through His death on the cross. We talk about going out and getting people "saved" when our role and commission is to make disciples.
To BE a disciple is to follow the precepts and instructions of the one we call our "Master". To MAKE a disciple is to teach and instruct in the ways of the "Master".
Many questions begin to flood my mind as I ponder the commission. Self-assessment comes as the Holy Spirit does His work in me.
Am I making disciples of my church or of my Master?
Am I focused on saving a soul (not my job) rather than making a disciple of the soul I am in line to share the gospel with?
Is my belief system so caught up in legalism that I judge rather than instruct?
There are so many questions that must be answered in truth. The truth does not allow for self-deception or lame excuses for following independent, self-serving, flesh glorifying agendas.
Baptizing and being baptized in the name of someone signifies a total immersion and agreement in their authority and is a public proclamation that it is according to our will to be changed into a new and different persona who emulates the life of the Master in whose name we are baptized.
A more humorous description of baptism is when a cucumber is "baptized" (immersed) in a solution and becomes a pickle.
We are to baptize in the name (singular) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which speaks of the Trinity as our three-in-one Sovereign Creator God which is His unique identity and is foundational to our faith. The Trinity works in concert with each other and yet as One. Via the Holy Spirit we are brought into that Divine community to work in concert with them as well. Yet more evidence of the co-mission we have been given.
I am told to go, baptize and to teach the ones I am sent to make disciples thereof, to observe all things that Jesus commanded of His followers.
How can I teach others to observe what I so carelessly ignore?
How can I justify ignorance when I have the Heavenly Counselor dwelling within whose job it is to teach me and lead me into all truth?
Truth can be brutal especially when it reveals the dark side of me. But the proper reaction to truth allows for the Divine purpose of transformation to take place in the lives of all who come to Jesus as Savior and Lord and that includes me.
Once truth has been revealed, a choice must be made either I embrace it and go to the next level of obedience and begin correcting what has been exposed with the help of the Holy Spirit. Or...I run away in denial and continue in self-deception until the next wave of truth comes crashing on my shoreline.
Today, I come to confess (agree with) what the Holy Spirit has shown as potential weaknesses to fulfilling my part in the Great Commission. His questions send me deep to find where carnal thinking must be eliminated in order to continue to walk on the highway of Holiness.
His final word in the verses today reminds me that I do not have to go it alone: "and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age (entire completion, forever, the perpetuity of time eternal)". He is with me and always will be with me in life and in the "Great Co-mission" so that with and by His Spirit I can live and fulfill my part.
The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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