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Posts Tagged ‘Great commission’

Great Commission: The Master of One

04 Sep

Source of the Article: Devotional from the Church of God International office regarding the Great Commission written by Dr. Culpepper and P. Douglas Small.

THE MANDATE – Matthew 6:33 says, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon”.

THE MEDITATION – In a culture where personal freedoms are the measurement of all things, the idea of a master is so out of place. Imagining ourselves free, we have become slaves to impulse, materialism, self-ingratiation, leisure, and greed. The Apostle Paul warned that if we let sin reign, we will end up obeying it. We will fall back under the influence of the very thing from which we were redeemed. We see our relationship with Godin such static terms, such positional ways. “I’m saved!” we declare. But there is a behavioural dimension. Only by yielding ourselves as slaves to righteousness, only by doing right things, do we prove our liberty. Father, help me to embrace the disciplines that move me to obey from the heart what you ask of me.

So many, among us have been set, “free from”, something. But they have never been liberated enough to be “free to” – free to pray passionately, free-to worship with abandon, free to publicly declare their allegiance to You. Free to lay every potential idol on the altar, free to sell all and follow You. You are calling us to journey. Some of us you may be calling to abandon our nets and sell our boats – to a radical change – as you did the disciples. Set us free from this world. Set us free to follow you.

THE MISSION – 4 Steps to Becoming a Great commission Christian:

1)  If heaven were to have a bank account in your name, what would its value be? How much treasure have you hidden there?

2)  Imagine, wildly if possible, some life goals. What decade long goal, what legacy,  could you leave? Build a church on the mission field? Become the sole supporter of a foreign pastor? Stock a library in a seminary? Go preach in a dozen countries? Build a seniors home? Open a rehab center? Run a food bank?

3)  A penny doubled daily is worth more at the end of a month than one million dollars. What little thing can you start doing, and do consistently, to make a difference in the kingdom?”

4)  List five things you need to be “free from,” and five things you need to be “free to” do and believe God for it.

GREAT COMMISSION QUOTATION – He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. – Jim Elliot

GREAT COMMISSION FACT – Active persecution of Christians takes place in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, North Korea, Laos, Vietnam, China, lran, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, and Algeria. Over one hundred sixty thousand believers will be martyred this year alone. What are we doing???

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Great Commission: The Power Points of Life

02 Sep

Spiritual Condition of the BodySource of the Article: Devotional from the Church of God International office regarding the Great Commission written by Dr. Culpepper and P. Douglas Small.

THE MANDATE – Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

THE MEDITATION – The Kingdom is Your rule and reign. In Matthew 6, Lord, You touch the toughest disciplines of our lives – giving (vv. 1-4), prayer, (vv. 5-15), and fasting (vv. 16-18). This is heavy stuff.

These issues are the heart of being a disciplined follower. In them, the whole sphere of my existence is touched: giving – my relationship with all things material; prayer -my relationship with time and eternity, with the unseen dimension; fasting -
my relationship with all things internal, the flesh, my most powerful inner hungers. All things external, all things eternal, all things internal. The material things I own, the way I spend my time, the desires that control me. Here are the three power points for all of life.

I know that if I can’t give it away, I don’t own it: it owns me. If I don’t own have time to pray, I don’t have time to control at all. If the most important activity in which a human can engage, spending time with the Divine, is spurned, then my life is indeed out of control. I know that if I can’t say, “No!” to the desires of the flesh, the spirit-man within me will be forever crippled and powerless.

You called Your disciples to these three simple disciplines – giving, prayer, and fasting. Help me to hear Your call. My capacity to obey You and begin the journey as a serious soldier starts here.

THE MISSION – 4 Steps to Becoming a Great commission Christian:

1) Review your budget. Ask, Does my spending reflect the lordship of Christ?

2)  Review your time. Do you pray regularly? Daily? Do you have, as Jesus suggested in Matthew 6:6, a room or closet for prayer?

3)  Review your fasting patterns. Do you regularly fast? Wednesday and Friday were fasting days for the first-century church.

4)  Giving, praying, fasting – how are you doing as a disciples.

GREAT COMMISSION QUOTATION – Prayerlessness is sin. – Harold Linsell

GREAT COMMISSION FACT – Christian churches worldwide spend 85 percent of their resources on their own development – personnel, finances, tools, even prayer. Do you know that all 6400 unreached people groups could be evangelized of North American Evangelicals would give only 2% of their income to that cause.

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Great Commission: Radical Transition

07 Aug

Source of the Article: Devotional from the Church of God International office regarding the Great Commission written by Dr. Culpepper and P. Douglas Small.

THE MANDATE – Mark 16: 17-18 says, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

THE MEDITATION – In the early days of the Pentecostal movement we had marked-up Bibles. Fervent prayer meetings abounded. Everyone was expected to have a testimony. No one could be silent. Like the Acts 2 church, everyone was to be a witness, full of the Holy Spirit.

O God, have we backslidden as a movement? We are so clergy-dependent. We are so congregationally passive in terms of evangelism and mission.

In the early days, the saints could pray a prayer of faith. Now, it seems to take a special preacher. In the early days, power in the lives of ordinary believers was common. Now it seems extraordinary. It must not be, God. Fill us again with the power of the Spirit. Let your Word be like a fire shut up in our bones.
Forgive us when we have unwittingly taken prayer and ministry away from the people. Make us teachable, and give us leaders who will model ministry to others, who will impart all they have and know to equip the Body for ministry. Lord, may we follow the model of Jesus, who at first called the Twelve as disciples (learners), but at the end called them friends.

May we move us ourselves from a dependent spiritual status to being respectful co-labourers. May we make the radical transition – no longer passive members, all of us ministers for the kingdom purpose.

THE MISSION – 4 Steps to Becoming a Great Commission Christian:
1) Ask your pastor to begin a discipleship group. Help him or her recruit others to the group.
2) Volunteer to be a Partner to him or her in ministry first, to learn from him or her. Check your heart. Are you teachable?
3) Go with him or her on some kind of ministry venture.
4) First, you, watch. Next, you minister with a mentor watching. Then, you go with a watcher.

GREAT COMMISSION QUOTATION – It is possible for the most obscure person in a church, with a heart right toward God, to exercise as much power for the evangelization of the world, as it is for those who stand in the most prominent positions. – John R. Mott

GREAT COMMISSION FACT – Only two of the top ten reasons people leave a church are for spiritual reasons, and 14 percent say the church was not helping them to develop spiritually.

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Great Commission: Enduring Hardships

31 Jul

Source of the Article: Devotional from the Church of God International office regarding the Great Commission written by Dr. Culpepper and P. Douglas Small.

THE MANDATE – 2 Timothy 2:3 says, “Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”

THE MEDITATION – Lord, I did it again! I drove around the parking lot searching for a convenient spot. Inside, I looked for a soft pew. The words hardship, soldier, and endure are not my kind of terms. They don’t build Sunday attendance.

We see the church as a performance – the choir, the special music the praise band. Even the preacher is rated as a good or bad speaker. You want us to be a force; we prefer to be an audience. You want to deploy us as an army.

Sadly, our churches are not filled with disciplined soldiers willing to sacrifice and ready to obey. Like David, in a season of war we have decided to exempt ourselves and stay home. His choice was deadly. It brought heartbreak to him and judgment on the nation (2 Sam. 11:1- 12:15).

In a season of warfare, he acted like he was not in war. He let others go and fight; he chose the softer life. Repressing the discipline of a soldier he gave in to carnal delights. The choice became a stain on his record. It hurled him down a path of deception and murder, denial and cover-up. It affected his credibility, causing a national scandal. Forgive us for being spiritually out of shape and unable to be rapidly deployed to a place that needs a demonstration of Your love in action.

THE MISSION – 4 Steps to Becoming a Great Commission Christian:

1)     Take a survey. What percentage of those who attend your church are involved in ministry? Typical is 20 to 30 percent; ideal is 70 to 80 percent. Are you servants, or the served? Are you staff/pastor-dependent?

2)     Ask another question: How many of the roles and opportunities for service are beyond the walls of the church?

3)     If the church is a field camp, how many fox-holes does it support? Are activities focused on sustaining the church? On campus ministries?

4)     Establish a perimeter around your church-a block, ten blocks, a square mile. Research the needs in the neighbourhood around you. Are you a good neighbour? Does your presence “make any difference at all”? How can you become a force for good?

GREAT COMMISSION QUOTATION – God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him. – Hudson Taylor.

GREAT COMMISSION FACT – In one summer, fifty-six thousand Muslims came to Christ in Mombassa, Kenya. Over a six-year period, in one Muslim country, two million Muslims became Christians. Dozens of Christian groups are now planting small churches of former Muslims worldwide.

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Great Commission: Making Disciples

24 Jul

Source of the Article: Devotional from the Church of God International office regarding the Great Commission written by Dr. Culpepper and P. Douglas Small.

THE MANDATE – Luke 21:12 says, They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake”.

THE MEDITATION – Lord, we often hear about incredible breakthroughs around the world, and then of heart-wrenching setbacks.

We have heard about the great revival in Korea one hundred years ago. So powerful was that move of God that the capital city was called “the second Jerusalem.” And then Japanese rule came. Soon, pagan beliefs were introduced into the Korean culture.

Finally, ancient sun worship was imposed-full-blown paganism. Pagan shrines were then set up on church property. Pagan ceremonies were inaugurated in public schools to capture the next generation. Some Christian’s resisted. A few refused to bow at the Shinto shrines. And then on September 11, 1938, the last resisting Protestant church instructed its members to bow at Shinto shrines as a cultural concession. World War II followed, and when it ended, North Korea was in darkness.

O God, help us to remain faithful. Give us wisdom. Our lack of resolve may close whole nations to the Gospel-even our own. Our bold obedience may open doors that can never be closed. Here, in our own backyard we are being asked to bend and bow to cultural concessions loaded with moral and spiritual implications. We never expected these choices here in Canada and North America. Make us a worthy example to a watching world. Let us learn from the lessons of the past. Send a global revival.

See, the heart of the Great Commission is not in the going or the preaching. It is making disciples! That process of bringing men and women, not merely to a point of decision, but into a lifestyle that demonstrates the lordship of Christ in evident ways-that is discipleship. The Church is full of people who admire Jesus, but it needs people who are bond slaves to His every command! We must be disciples to make disciples.

THE MISSION – 4 Steps to Becoming a Great Commission Christian:

1.    Pray for nations resistant to the Gospel.

2.    Pick out a head of state from a nation that is not Christian. Print off a picture. Google facts about him. Adopt him for prayer.

3. Consider hosting a “pray for the nations” gathering. Bring a map. Share some simple facts. Pray-for at least five nations that God would open their doors to the Gospel.

4. Pray for the leaders of those nations.

GREAT COMMISSION QUOTATION – Woe is me, if I do not preach the Gospel – Paul the apostle.

GREAT COMMISSION FACT – In Buenos Aires, 550 believers met in a train depot at rush hour. They began softly singing “Hallelujah”. The atmosphere of the station was dramatically changed. They boarded trains and fanned out into the city. They touched 7,000 people in one evening – 6,736 wanted prayer, 7,704 became Christians.  Church, we have the gift of prayer, freely you have received so give it freely and frequently.

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