Because we obey what we consider The Great Commission, and thereby excuse ourselves from obeying what we consider lesser commands we fail miserably at fulfilling the Great Commission because the “lesser commands” are part and parcel of fulfilling the Great Commission
Why haven’t we seen a great move of God in the past 20 years? Why aren’t we seeing a great harvest of souls today?
Too often we do not “see” God moving because of the confusing array of “out of focus teachings” in Christendom.
When we do not know how to keep divine things in divine order, we produce more Ishmaels and more obstacles to the very thing we wish to see accomplished.
We want church growth seminars and Bible based programs—things we can understand— instead of the Christ centered simplicity of being “in the Spirit.”
When Jesus—the creator of all—speaks, He always reveals what He is going to do, not what He wants us to do for Him (ref: John 1:1-3).
The center of Evangelical thought is based on the Great Commission, but this is diminished when other great commandments are not kept in their proper order.
Here are two of these major truths!
Jesus gave us the greatest of all commandments in Matthew 22.
“…Which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
37He (Jesus) said…, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
38 This is the greatest and most important commandment.
39 The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments." (Matthew 22)
In John 14: 15 Jesus said: "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Loving the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind is the greatest commandment, yet we Evangelicals treat the Great Commission as the greatest commandment.
18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28)
In the Great Commission passage Jesus commanded us to use His authority to make disciples of all nations, and to teach converts to observe all that He has commanded us to do. And the greatest of His commandments tells us to love Him with our whole being. Please notice that fulfilling the greatest commandment facilitates fulfilling the Great Commission.
We can never fulfill the Great Commission until we go beyond making converts. Our job is to transform converts into disciples who are taught to observe all the Lord has commanded us.
To obey what we consider The Great Commission, and thereby excuse ourselves from obeying what we consider lesser commands is still disobedience. Because of our disobedience, we fail miserably at fulfilling the Great Commission because the “lesser commands” are part and parcel of fulfilling the Great Commission.
Here is the other truth: The ministry of Christ in us. Being a Christian is more about who Christ is in us than who we are in Christ, as this passage in Galatians says:
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me …" (Galatians 2:20)
The Holy Spirit is called “the Spirit of Jesus Christ” in Philippians 1:19, and Acts 16:7. And Galatians 2:20 says Christ lives in us.
If Christ lives in you and me, does He indwell us passively or does He manifest Himself through us? This verse makes it clear that the indwelling Christ will continue to do the things He did on Earth.
Jesus said: "I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12)
If you believe in Jesus, then you are “the one who believes” in this verse. It is this aspect of “Jesus in us” that will do the works that He did, and even greater, when He walked on the earth.
Jesus prophesied this promise over you…if you believe in Him! But you may be wondering how you can apply this seemingly impossible prophecy to your life? As you read this verse, keep saying to yourself over and over:
“It is Christ alone who lives in me that can do what Jesus did, and even greater, and not of myself lest I have something to boast about.”
Because divinity indwells us, we can do divine things. Rather, the Divine can manifest Himself through us, the Divine being the Spirit of Jesus. Jesus is in us —collectively— continuing His ministry, and doing (as always) what He sees the Father doing (John 5:19-21). Since there are millions of us, His accumulative work through us certainly can exceed what He did in person.
As with all Spiritual truths, if anything is of God, it is God who did it, with or without our involvement. It takes a sovereign act of God to accomplish what only God can do, whether it be salvation or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, or a healing, it is because God did it — in us and through us! It never is ours, it is always God in us. Because this is a divine truth we do not need to strive to do the things that Jesus did, because Jesus is in us to do the things that He did through us!
The presence of God is what makes the Great Commission work. The presence of God that He wants to pour out on His people will convict others of their sin and draw them to Him. Only those who truly encounter God can teach others how to encounter Him.
In the same way Jesus Christ was conceived within Mary, He was also conceived within every born again believer at the moment of salvation. Because He indwells us we now have a move of God living within us. I believe that this will be the greatest move of God the world has ever seen, and will usher in the Bride Groom!
