The Commission Flanked with Power and Presence

The “Great Commission” has been used to the point it has faded into familiarity for many believers.  In some ways it has for me simply because so many have miss used it, calling themselves “Great Commission Churches” but seeming to leave out the foundation of the “sending”; that all power was given to Jesus.  It’s as if they are saying, “we have the commission, so let’s go, we got this!”  The commission is not “power” but direction, and not even complete direction.

One element of the commission discussed ad nausem is the grammatical structure. It’s a difficult structure to disentangle.  But the meaning is fairly straight forward, regardless of how the grammatical structure is understood.  It seems like a procedural command, laying out the process used to reach the world.  In Luke Jesus gave the geographical picture, here He gives the procedural.  Regardless of how the grammar is understood, one element not open for debate is the foundation that all power in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus.  That much is crystal clear.

So, when I read the procedures, I see procedures that stem from the power of my Master.  It’s not my ability or talent for making disciples (or even going), but His power.  It’s not my knack for teaching or communicating that transmits what I have been taught, but the power of my Master.  And it is not my presence in the lives of others that tips the scales of their heart toward Jesus, but the powerful presence  of Jesus; right up to the completion of this age.

The power wielded by Jesus sends me out, enables all peoples to become disciples, emboldens all peoples to be baptized, opens hearts and minds to learn, and awakens souls to the presence of my Master.  I have little to do with it.  I am a spectator of the power at work around and through me.  It is and always has been Jesus saving the world; including my community.  The question is not “can He” or “will He”, but will I join Him obediently, will I submit to His sending me out into the community.  It is when I go obediently that I witness the power of my Master at work in the lives around me, and in my own.

The going, the discipling, the baptizing, the teaching all enables me to behold that Jesus is with me all the way; that it is Him at work all throughout.  Without His power and presence there would be very little of the discipling, baptizing, teaching and no witnessing of the power of my Master.  It can’t be about me, my church, my pastor, or my small group.  It must be about my Master and stem from my connection to Him; that my name is written in the book of life.

So, when the Great Commission is again pulled out and examined, let me start with the power of my Master, and end with His presence.  The stuff in the middle is encompassed in those two things.  Very little else is important.  Jesus is Master and King, let me be the servant introducing others to an audience with Him, bowing out and shutting the door, allowing them to speak together in peace.

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, October 27

One of My Weaknesses

“I am weak, but Thou art strong,” starts my life’s theme song.  Jesus keeps me from wrong not my own ability, knowledge, strength, or even my own will.  I am weak.  He is strong.  But can I, or will I, be satisfied as long as I walk close to Him?

Jesus called His disciples to Himself and told them to go.  But the first words were not “go”, but rather, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”  It was a statement of fact.  It is still true.  He has the authority over me, and anything I choose besides Him is rebellion.  It sounds crazy, but that includes myself, my family, my job, or anything else in my sphere of experience.

All authority has been given to Him, so nothing else is supposed to have authority in my life.  But stuff does.  I feel emotions, and as a guy, I have little or no idea what to do with them, or even what they are.  I have to consciously inventory my emotions before they become manageable.  How sad is that? (which is an emotion by the way)

But I have also found that there are elements to me that are not emotion, but something else.  I have physiological problems, and one of them includes depression.  I thought depression was emotional, but for me, it’s chemically driven.  Not driven by chemicals I take, but those loose in my brain.  An excessive amount of neurotransmissions clutters my mind, but also drives my emotional state down.  Those aren’t thoughts, at least not conscious ones.  I’m not sure what they are, but they aren’t good.  So, I take a medication for them.  I don’t think it’s able to keep up though.

Right now, I am in depression, emotionally, and probably physiologically.  I feel it, but can’t tie it to normal daily life.  There are things in my life out of my control:  I have a niece and her husband who are experiencing a severe trial of their faith.  My wife’s aunt is dying.  These things play at my mind, seeping into and through my thoughts, and I am sad.  For me, these things are dangers I must be aware of and deal with.  I can’t afford to ignore the signs.  I must weep, whether it’s manly or not.  I must grieve and that is a process not just one feeling.  I must feel these emotions or they will destroy me.  (that sounds dramatic doesn’t it?)

I don’t mean that I will die from them, I mean that all that my Master has done in my life lately will become undone.  I’d have to start over, which is not the same as being destroyed, so I was being overly dramatic.  I can start over, or rather, my Master begin again with me.  But this time in my life is no surprise to my Master, he engineered the setting I would experience it in.  He engineered the timing, the resources available to my family, and the new found devotion to Him.  I am living now more than I have in a long time.  And so, now I must feel as I have never felt, experiencing emotions to a degree I have avoided my entire life.

Experiencing emotions is not being ruled by them, but rather it is an immersive experience.  It is when I don’t experience them intentionally that I am ruled by them unintentionally; at least for me anyway.  But, since I haven’t a lot of practice at this, I fumble around with it.  I don’t know how to do it really, I just try to figure it out.  I have a busy morning, but a free afternoon.  And now I have an important task.

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, October 14