Word of the Week - Great Co-Mission

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

God’s Heart – God loves us so much that He gave us Jesus so that we can be restored to relational fellowship with Him through the Cross.  This is the gift of salvation and God desires for all to be saved.  “This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who want everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man of Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:4  Everything God has done and is doing is for this one main purpose, for all to come to know Him and have eternal salvation through personal relationship with Jesus.  If this is God’s heart and primary focus then it should be our heart and primary focus.  Though our walk of faith is tremendously beneficial to us and our personal lives, God’s purpose is to bless us with spiritual health and blessings so that we can be ambassadors for Him to share the good news with others and build God’s Kingdom.  As we abide in Christ, we should bare good fruit that makes our lives attractive and fruitful to those around us in our sphere of influence (family, friendships, workplace, community etc.)  The greatest fruit of God’s spirit is bearing witness to God by sharing with others what God has done in our lives, which is our God story (our testimony).  This is how we encourage others who may not know God and have a personal relationship with God, to pursue Him and come to know Christ.  This is the heart of God and the most important thing to know Him, abide in Him and to live with purpose on mission to share the Good News of the gospel with others, especially those who are lost and don’t know God.

The Great Co-Mission – God has commissioned us to partner with him in this great Co-mission (God and His church (you and me)).  What an amazing opportunity and privilege for us to partner with God in this most important mission for all mankind, that has eternal implications.  This is our opportunity to truly change the world by influencing those around us.  I am often blown away by the reality of what God has done in my own life over the past 20 years since my salvation experience.  Even though I grew up in a good family going to church, I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus and thus my life was not fruitful.  I was not living on mission.  From a spiritual perspective, I was lost and just trying to work my way through life hoping I could do enough good works to be accepted by God.  My spiritual condition had meaningful negative implications on my mind, emotions and physical health, which impacted every area of my life.  I was not living to my God given potential and I didn’t really know how to get there.  By the grace of God and the fruit of others who did know Jesus were abiding in Him and were on mission to share His good news, I had a host of Jesus followers reaching out to me, praying for me, sharing their testimony with me, and inviting me to trust God and make Him Lord of my life.  This gradually led to me surrendering my life to Christ and experiencing new life and new purpose.  If God can do this in my life then I know He can do it in others and I get to be part of the process, what an amazing opportunity.  If we understand the law of numbers and exponential compounding growth, the return on investment which I call Eternal Rate of Return (ERR) is exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ever imagine.  “He will do immeasurably more than we can ever ask or imagine by His spirit at work within us, for His glory” Ephesians 3:20.  We simply have to live on purpose willing to share with others what God has done and point to Jesus as the source.

The Opportunity – There is a huge opportunity for each of us to have a greater impact in our role in the Great Co-Mission. “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for harvest”  John 4:35  It starts with simply recognizing that no matter who you are and what you do, we each have a group of people around us in our sphere of influence that are lost and probably hurting and don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. 

My pastor Chris Hodges, who is probably one of the most gifted in this area of anyone I have ever known, he recently shared these simple and practical ways to share God’s love:

• Let’s open our eyes to where they are (family, work, small group, friend, neighbor etc.) We need to connect before we correct.
• Let’s open our eyes to who they are.  We don’t have to be like them, but we do have to love them.
• Let’s open our eyes to what they need.  We need to who people the same kind of love God showed us:  Unconditional love

We need to be salt and light to the world and help them experience the love of Christ.  We must build relationship before we can speak into someone’s life.  “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”.  John Maxwell  

Most people who don’t know God have a distorted view of God.  They think they are not worthy and have to do something to fix themselves to become worthy.  The truth is that God sent Jesus to meet us all right where we are and He is here to save and redeem sinners.  “For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God” Romans 3:23.  We simply need to share the truth and love of Christ so those around us can experience the free gift of salvation by the power of our testimony, the blood of the lamb and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Be encouraged, you are on mission in the greatest mission of all.  The Great Co-Mission with Jesus!!!!!!!!!!