Don't Forget the Premise and Promise
In a recent conversation with a ministry leader, he mentioned a powerful statement that got my mind spinning as I considered it's ramifications. I want to share what we discussed and considered:
1. Our Purpose
Many Christians know and understand the principle of the Great Commission. In Matthew 28, Jesus laid out the master plan for his Church to "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
This commission of Jesus speaks of Christ's purpose for the Church, and his purpose for every single, individual follower of Jesus Christ.
But it's not enough to know our purpose. We must also know the premise and the promise of God for our lives.
2. Our Premise
In Matthew 28:18, "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."
Do we really comprehend what Jesus is saying here? He is saying that everything in all of creation is by Him, and for Him and because of Him.
Until we understand the authority and the priority of Jesus over all things, we will "go" in weak-kneed, apologetic, blubbering witnessing.
The premise of the authority of Jesus establishes the only foundation upon which to fulfill our purpose in going into all the world.
And this is not as simple to understand as we may assume. The authority and priority of Christ must be understood in the heart. The Holy Spirit reveals this to our hearts by faith. We have spiritual eyes and ears that must be unstopped in greater and greater ways to understand this premise. Colossians 2:3 tells us that: "In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." This Christ is not understood as a simple Sunday school depiction, but rather, as we go deeper and deeper in this understanding of Christ, we find the true treasures of all the world's greatest wisdom are revealed in greater and greater ways. Ask God to reveal this to your heart by faith. We need to preach the gospel to ourselves every single day.
The more deeply our hearts comprehend this authority and priority of Jesus over all things, the greater our conviction for our overall purpose to "go" will be.
3. Our Promise
In Matthew 28:20, Jesus promises to his early followers and those throughout all ages: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The message of evangelism is not just "go," but "I am with you always."
Christ goes with us!
The Christian life was not meant to be lived without God. We are called to daily dying to ourselves, and dependancy and leaning in steadfast and wholehearted trust on God's assistance on our behalf.
We can do everything Christ calls us to do, but only with his power. He promises his power to us as we fulfill his purposes on this earth.
This means that we know when we step out to do the things He has called us to do, his power will be there within us at just the right time in our moment of need. As we follow and learn from Christ, we will find that we will continually see His help at just the right moment, his grace rising up within us to meet the challenges of the day. We will learn instinctively to move forward into the unknown as He leads us, knowing He is right by our side, and will fill us and help us.
