Commissioned

I cant help but to keep thinking about the fact that we have been COMMISSIONED by Jesus to make a difference in our world. Many of us know the words in red found in Matthew 29:18-20 (which is known as the Great Commission"):

¹⁸ Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,^a]">[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The word COMMISSIONED is defined this way:

The act of committing or giving in charge

An authoritative order, charge, or direction

Authority granted for a particular action or function

Here is a few thoughts on what that COMMISSION includes for us as followers of Jesus:

POWER

“But you will receive power…”

In Acts 1:8 Jesus tells His disciples that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on them. That POWER had PURPOSE! It was to be witnesses for Him.

AUTHORITY

“All authority has been given to me…”

In Matthew 28:18, Jesus commanded and commissioned His disciples to go because of the Authority He had been given. As believes, having the Holy Spirit in us, we too can walk in Authority!

DIRECTION

“…therefore go…”

Jesus is literally saying, "...as you are going...". The assumption is that we are going. All too often I see people waiting for "direction" when we have already been given it - go into our world and make a difference!

PRESENCE

“I will be with you always…”

What an awesome promise for us: He is with us always! Jesus reminds us that we are not COMMISSIONED to go out in our own strength, wisdom or ability - but that He will go with us and before us!

Recognize that as a Christian, you have been COMMISSIONED to make a difference in your world. We are COMMISSIONED to share the Love, Truth, Hope and Grace that we have found in Jesus. Lets do it!

Get Together

Unity is one of those ideas that is easy to talk about, but in too many cases, harder to live out. But unity - being together - is vital!

This weekend I have had the privilege to speak at "UNITED WINTER CAMP" for my good friend, Pastor Andy Jones (youth pastor at Fairwood Church). In our morning chapel he talked about being unified. It was powerful! Here are some thoughts that I jotted down and wanted to pass along about the power of UNITY:

Genesis 11
The people were speaking the same language and going the same direction - but it was all rooted in selfishness. As a result, God brought confusion.

John 17
Jesus prays for us! He prays for unity in His people, that we would be ONE, just as He and the Father are ONE. This is huge for us to recognize that Jesus prayed that we as His church would operate with unity - that we would be ONE in heart and purpose.

Acts 2
The church operates in UNITY. The confusion that was brought in Genesis 11 is turned to bring unity. And look at what is accomplished! People were saved, healed, restored, and the work that Jesus had commissioned them to do went forward!

Philippians 2
We must get selfishness out of the way if unity will ever come about in our lives. A lack of UNITY is a sign of SELFISHNESS.

Ephesians 4
The goal: that we would grow up in the faith and be unified together.

Strive for unity with each other. With it great things can be accomplished in our churches and communities. Without it, we wont get the work done that we have been commissioned to do.