What's so great about the Commission? The final words of Jesus to His disciples before leaving the earthly scene map out the scope of the great work entrusted to His followers. It's a monumental task with far-reaching implications.
"And Jesus came up 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 and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
There is no work that is more clearly entrusted to us by Jesus than this. His clear Commission is based upon His God-given authority. That authority was directly given, in response to Jesus' sacrifice, by the Father Himself. Based upon that authority, Jesus directs His followers to the task of making disciples from all nations - an all-encompassing work. The responsive are to be baptized in water and the Spirit in the name of our Father, YAHWEH, and Jesus, and in the power of Holy Spirit. This begins the life-long journey of obedience to the entire instruction of Jesus.
Jesus is not "hit-and-run" with His Commission ("here's the huge task I have for you; now, get busy, because I'm leaving town!") No, he promises His continual presence amidst it all: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Often Jesus' Great Commission is a source of guilt for His followers. The task seems so huge that no matter how one is involved, it just isn't enough. After all, how do you make disciples of ALL nations?
Years ago I learned about "the power of compound interest" - the rapid rate of growth of money invested long term. The same principle applies to making disciples: disciple just one person in a year's time, train them to disciple another person for a year while you do the same thing again, etc, and the entire population of the world will become disciples in between 30-40 years (if this process is 100% successful). The Great Commission is literally do-able in our lifetime through "the power of compound interest".
Who is that one person who is most receptive and responsive to you? How could you partner with them for a year of intensive training is discipleship? What would you teach them? What do you need to personally learn in the process? These are fundamentally important questions to consider.
I'm not a disciple-making expert, but I rejoice in the people I have partnered with over the years who are out multiplying the harvest through their disciple-making efforts. And I'm looking for that one responsive, receptive person now that the Lord can make the focus of my disciple-making efforts over the next twelve months.
May the Lord unleash an army of disciple-makers today.
Steve
"And Jesus came up 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 and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
There is no work that is more clearly entrusted to us by Jesus than this. His clear Commission is based upon His God-given authority. That authority was directly given, in response to Jesus' sacrifice, by the Father Himself. Based upon that authority, Jesus directs His followers to the task of making disciples from all nations - an all-encompassing work. The responsive are to be baptized in water and the Spirit in the name of our Father, YAHWEH, and Jesus, and in the power of Holy Spirit. This begins the life-long journey of obedience to the entire instruction of Jesus.
Jesus is not "hit-and-run" with His Commission ("here's the huge task I have for you; now, get busy, because I'm leaving town!") No, he promises His continual presence amidst it all: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Often Jesus' Great Commission is a source of guilt for His followers. The task seems so huge that no matter how one is involved, it just isn't enough. After all, how do you make disciples of ALL nations?
Years ago I learned about "the power of compound interest" - the rapid rate of growth of money invested long term. The same principle applies to making disciples: disciple just one person in a year's time, train them to disciple another person for a year while you do the same thing again, etc, and the entire population of the world will become disciples in between 30-40 years (if this process is 100% successful). The Great Commission is literally do-able in our lifetime through "the power of compound interest".
Who is that one person who is most receptive and responsive to you? How could you partner with them for a year of intensive training is discipleship? What would you teach them? What do you need to personally learn in the process? These are fundamentally important questions to consider.
I'm not a disciple-making expert, but I rejoice in the people I have partnered with over the years who are out multiplying the harvest through their disciple-making efforts. And I'm looking for that one responsive, receptive person now that the Lord can make the focus of my disciple-making efforts over the next twelve months.
May the Lord unleash an army of disciple-makers today.
Steve
posted by steve @ 1:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home