     Written by Richard Thomas/ July 6, 2005 There are commissions for the human race found in Scripture. Each commission is a call to action by the Creator. The word commission is used twice in scripture to describe a document of authority to carry out a particular command. [Ezra 8:26 and Acts 8:12] The document of authority gives authority to the one that carries it and bears the king’s seal. The operative word is “Go”. The document of authority for every Christian is the Word of God and bears the seal(the earnest) of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power (the earnest) for the missionary, where ever the sower of the Good Seed scatters us. Mark’s gospel chapter one verse 12 tells us the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness after His baptism. The Holy Spirit is the “Go”(the earnest) or the force driving the missionary to fulfill the Great Commission. [II Corinthians 1:22] The first commission is found in the book of Genesis. The image and likeness of God was given a crown of rule and authority on Earth. “And God blessed them;(Adam) and said to them,(Go) be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and rule over (every living thing that breathes, whether in the air, on land or in the sea)” [Genesis 1:28] Adam’s race was created to be the stewards of this planet as well as authority. Authority is God given and God taken away. [Daniel 4:25,26,31,32 and 37; I Timothy 2:1-2; I Peter 2:13-14]. When the opportunity to destroy evil forever presented itself, Adam traded his crown for the knowledge of good and evil. God knew that the hearts of men were easily corrupted and the only barrier God erected separating Adam from the forbidden tree was a “Don’t”. But Adam did and so do each of us every day in one way or another. “For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.” [Romans 3:23] A commission was given to Noah and his descendants after the human race quickly turned what God had committed to its stewardship into a cess pool. In fact humanity had so messed up God’s masterpiece He had to flush it with the great flood. But prior to the Great Flood, dog-paddling midst of the sea of degenerated humanity was found one man who’s heart was committed to living in reverent respect for God’s rule and authority. So out of the cacophony of humanity Noah heard and heeded God’s call. God said to Noah - “(Go), and build a huge boat to save your family and all the animals you can fit into it.” [Genesis 6:14 - 22] God gave to Noah another commission after he disembarked from the floating zoo, grateful for no longer having to explain why he couldn’t just ask for directions and to answer the eternal question, “Are we there yet?” It must have felt good to have his feet on (damp) solid ground again. “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “(Go) Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the Earth”. (And every living, breathing creature, whether its in the air, on land or in the sea will fear you because I am giving them to you as food)” [Genesis 9:1-3] Which leads me to the theory that the dinosaurs went extinct through the human digestive system. The dinosaurs that survived were the ones that didn’t taste good or were more intelligent than humans. Just like agent Smith stated in The Matrix, “you humans are a disease, a virus, you move into an area and consume every natural resource, then move to the next area and repeat the process...” Although in the Great Commission Jesus did not use the word commission upon commissioning the apostles to go into all the world, make disciples and baptize them, commission them is what He did. Jesus gave the apostles the authority to duplicate Himself in this world. The idea was to continue to reform the image of God in every man, woman, boy and girl of every nation under the sun and never stop until time is no more. [Galatians 4:19; Titus 3:4-7] The apostles were ordered to stay in Jerusalem until Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. Once the apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit, they were empowered from on high to be fruitful and multiply. The process did not cease when the last apostle turned to dust. The baton of the Great Commission that was given to the apostles has been passed along to the present generation of believers who are responsible to continue the process. The Great Commission is a command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth with individuals who have become duplications of the Great Commissioner. The first five stages of creation lay the foundation for all land animals to spring from the dust of the Earth. From the same dust God formed a creature in His own image and likeness. Adam was a delight to the Creator, but was not framed and hung on a wall to be eternally admired. God has a purpose for His handiwork. And His intended purpose for Adam’s race was to live long and prosper. [Genesis 1:28] Adam’s prosperity would come through cultivation. [Genesis 2:5] Each commission is marked with a covenant. Some basic definitions for covenant are; written or verbal agreement called a vow. God considers a vow to be very serious and holds each vow giver responsible for fulfilling a vow. Each covenant is sealed with a sign and a condition between two parties. The condition being that both parties adhere to the agreement. As long as Adam kept his hands off the forbidden tree he was blessed by God. God is the originator of the original covenant that stated that if Adam did not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would not die. God’s commands are not real complicated [Genesis 2:16 -17] This brings up an interesting observation. If death was non-existent prior to the fall of Adam’s race, the warning label on the forbidden fruit would have no relevance. It is this writer’s opinion (and I am no scholar by any stretch) that death was observed by Adam in some way. It is observed that vegetation was the intended diet of land animals and creatures of the sky. Whereas nothing is mentioned to sustain the great sea monsters created on day five. [Genesis 1:20 - 22] Thus I don’t think I would be stretching my writer’s privilege to say that some creatures were made to be eaten by other creatures and Adam observed and understood this. Or perhaps Adam simply outlived some of the animals he named. [Genesis 2:19 - 20] My point here is that death was relevant to Adam’s conscious thought. As was the institution of marriage and reproduction. [Genesis 2:23 & 24] So the original sign was “Don’t” and live. But Adam did and died. And his descendants today are still manifesting their heredity. God sees the end from the beginning and so, He saw Calvary as the end of the past and the empty tomb as the open door to our future. The sons and daughters of Adam are invited to have their heredity of sin washed away and pass from the domain of darkness into the marvelous light of fellowship through Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life. [John 14:6; I Corinthians 15:21 - 22; Colossians 1:13] The Great Commission is given 40 days after Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, as He had promised. “(Go) and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...” [Matthew 28:19] The word of action for the Great Commission is “Go”. And the One sending, is not sending without His blessing. And His blessing is on all that heed His sending, even to the end of the age. If we don’t go, we will stay where we are. If we stay where we are, who will go? If you are stopped at a traffic light and you don’t go when the light turns green again, the horns behind you will remind you that it is time to go. If you can’t go, someone will help haul you away to a safe location. If you refuse to go, someone will haul you from the unsafe location to an unsafe environment. When God says “Go” His finger is pointing in the forward direction because He has no delight in those that draw back. We must move forward wearing the armor of God as described in Ephesians chapter six. God’s army is always on the offensive. Although it seems nowadays that it is in retreat. And what I think is even more alarming is the camouflage that Christians wear to blend in with the world. “God’s eyes pass back and forth throughout the Earth seeking someone whose heart is loyal to Him.” [ 2 Chronicles 16:9a] When you volunteer for God’s army, you must be willing to lay all rights to yourself down to “Go” in the direction He points. Just as a general has no pleasure in soldiers that stand still when they are told to go, so too is the Great Commander dis-pleased with us that retreat. A popularity contest is not what Jesus had in mind when He commissioned His disciples to bear His image in this world. This world is burning and is the battleground where the Devil wages war with God’s servants. Our mission as God’s servants is to “Go” into the battle to point the way to the fire exit. The mission field is where God places you. It may be in the business or labor field. You may be a teacher, doctor, truck driver or even the President of the United States. The vocation in this world that you find yourself in when called of God is where you “Go”. [1 Corinthians 7:17-24] One of my pastor’s that has long past on through the gates of Glory use to say, “Many are called and some are frozen.” Jesus calls every man, woman, boy and girl to service. But He never begs us to follow or drags us into the kingdom of God. Before the Word became flesh, He said to the children of Israel, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” [Joshua 24:15] When the Word became flesh He told the rich man that possessed everything but the kingdom of God to forsake all and follow Him and allowed free will decide. When you hear the call, “Go”. Go where God sends you. Where He sends you will be revealed through prayer and how to get where God sends you is immaterial. Jesus did not state our mode of transportation to the mission field. The mission field is where you are at any given moment. Opportunities abound wherever we are. The disciple that neglects to pray will miss the green light every time. Jesus told His disciples at the well in Samaria that the harvest is ripe but the workers are few, pray the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into the field. Jesus said the world is the field. The field needs plowing, the seed needs sowing. Pray the Lord to send His healing rain. And there are souls that need harvesting. In the matter to bring many sons to glory, it behooves the ones that bear the earnest of the Holy Spirit to carry on the work of rescuing the perishing and care for the sick. This work is carried on in the highways and byways of everyday life. When then the Master returns will He find faith on the Earth and will He find His servants busy performing the Great Commission entrusted to them. The Great Commission laid down at Matthew 28:19 was not the starting line but rather the plan put forth by the Great Planner. Jesus commanded His followers to remain in Jerusalem until they were empowered by the Holy Spirit. Before the day of Pentecost all the believers devoted there time to prayer. The time of prayer was like the burning of a fuse on an explosive device. Many a mighty endeavor has fizzled for lack of prayer. The Israelites grew tired of waiting for Moses to descend Mount Sinai. Instead of devoting themselves to prayer. They took matters into their own hands and erected a golden calf to worship. [Exodus 32] Samuel the prophet instructed king Saul to wait for seven days at Gilgal. The reason was to test the faithfulness of the king to wait upon the Lord during turbulent times. Saul’s failure cost him more than his throne. It cost him the future. [1 Samuel 13] When you are tired, pray. When you can’t see how things are going to work out, pray. When the storms of life are raging and the road winds ever upward, pray. What are we supposed to do while we wait upon the Lord? Pray! Prayer is the benchmark of the men and women of faith. Prayer is where the spiritual battles are won. Neglecting prayer is the battle that is won by the forces of darkness. In the physical realm there are governing dynamics. There is a ripple effect to every action. There is also a ripple effect to prayer and the neglect of prayer. The great revivals of church history were preceded by individuals and/or groups of Christians that devoted themselves to prayer. And many an opportunity was squandered from lack of prayer. [Luke 11:5 -13] The starting line was the day of Pentecost. And it was during the time of prayer that the Holy Spirit ignited and empowered the 120 souls that gathered in great expectation of the promise from on high. The power that Jesus promised His followers was not from within but rather from above. Although the power from above would be within those that obeyed. [Acts 5:32] Zechariah stated that it is not by human strength or fitness that we mortals accomplish anything but rather by God’s Spirit. [Zechariah 4:6] The apostles gave testimony to the resurrection of Jesus with great power. The Greek word for power here is “dunamis” where we get the English word dynamite.[Acts 4:33] Just as dynamite churns up the soil, the early disciples of Jesus were said to have turned the world upside-down. [ Acts 17:6] The baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was the “Go” of the gospel. Just like an athlete waits for the signal to start, so too the 120 believers waited for and received the “Go”. How they went into all the world is immaterial. They just went. When I was in school, K-12, my teachers frequently used the phrase “walk, don’t run, you’ll get there just as fast”. I have found these words of wisdom relevant through my walk of life. I’ve passed many a motorist moving at a snail’s pace thinking to myself how anyone moving that slow could ever get anywhere on time. And then have them stop just behind me, with a smirk on their face, as I wait for the signal at the end of the freeway off-ramp to turn green again. When believers began to spread out from Jerusalem with the Good News, walking was one of the modes of transportation for many. To accommodate this mode of transportation there was a massive highway system connecting every corner of the Roman Empire.[see Isaiah 40:3-5] These highways were built and maintained by a huge forced slave labor market utilized by the Romans. The Roman highway system allowed for large numbers of troops to patrol the empire. Many of these roads remain to this day. Philip was told by an angel of the Lord to “Go” down to one of these Roman roads that connected Jerusalem and Gaza. There he discovered an Ethiopian eunuch, riding along in his chariot, trying to read and decipher the meaning of Isaiah 53:7-8. Philip observed the eunuch’s struggle to understand the scripture passage as he walked alongside the chariot. And ended up adding another name to the Lamb’s book of life. [Acts 9:26-40] The disciples of Jesus carried the Good News where ever their feet took them. God works in mysterious ways. Feet are not the most beautiful sight, yet the feet of those that bring the Good News are considered beautiful.[Isaiah 52:7] Beautiful feet walk in the light. Beautiful feet walk in love. Jesus washed the feet of the disciples not only as a sign of how we are to serve each other, but in preparation of the task of taking the Gospel into all the world. No doubt you’ve heard the expression, “walk the talk”. The only credit I can give the saying is from the Bible. “Walk in newness of life...” [Romans 6:4] “...walk by faith...”[2 Corinthians 5:7] “...walk by the Spirit...”[Galatians 5:16] “...walk in love...”[Ephesians 5:2] “...walk as children of light...”[Ephesians 5:8] “...walk in the light...”[1 John 1:7] The talk is the Word of God! Our walk is how we conduct ourselves a sojourners through this life in harmony with God’s Word.. Jesus tells us to be salt and light in this world. [Matthew 5:13 & 14] Our conduct in this world is not to be conformed to ths world, but rather transformed (metamorphosis) by the renewing of our minds. The word repent means to have a 180 degree turn in our thinking. The patterns in our brain will be altered only through concentrated prayer and the study of God’s word. Only through prayer will we know God. Only through study can we know His will. Prayer is the uplink, the study of God’s word is the download. Obedience is the walking the talk. When the apostle Philip spotted the Ethiopian eunuch riding along in his chariot along the desert highway between Jerusalem and Gaza, he ran to catch up to it. Sometimes we have to run. Not to get there faster, but rather out of a sense of urgency. There is a time to run and a time to walk. Being the competitor that he was, the apostle Paul tells us we must always do our best for the Lord. We must run with the intention of winning the race. [I Corinthians 9:24] What we need today are more champions for Jesus. To fight the good fight of faith we need to be in shape just as any athlete needs hours of training and conditioning if he/she wants to win. I’m afraid the church today has a some flabby and out of shape Christians. I work in a Christian book store that is filled with books explaining what the Bible is saying to men, women, boys and girls. While it is helpful to read what many Bible scholars have discovered through hours of study. It is also sad to see many microwave Christians depending on the scholarship of others to develop a quick and easy spiritual meal. A daily regimen of physical exercise keeps the body from slipping into atrophied. Physical exercise accompanied by good nutrition will benefit the body in fighting off illness and can improve a person’s overall outlook on life. The exercise of the Christian should be prayer and Bible study. Athletes that are serious about running, discipline themselves to achieve optimum performance. In the same way the Christian that is serious about his/her relationship with God will develop disciplines to fight the good fight of faith. The result will be a lean spiritual running machine. As stated previously, it is when we are weak then we are strong. Our strength to run comes from the Lord. “They that wait upon the LORD...they shall run and not grow weary...” [Isaiah 40:31] There was an Olympic runner in the early part of the 20th century that refused to run on Sunday as a testimony of his faith in Jesus Christ. The story made into a movie became a major box office hit and is still popular as an inspirational film. While it is good advice to walk rather than run. The running of Philip to catch up with the Ethiopian eunuch’s chariot conveys a sense of urgency. The word again is earnest. Or a sense of urgency to get the gospel to the ends of the Earth. Today we need a sense of urgency among the Christian community in spreading the gospel. The signs of the time dictate that the love of many has grown cold. The radio waves and cable lines of the entertainment industry flows with the obscene current of the prince and power of darkness. Good is labeled as evil. Evil is applauded as good. Priests molesting their parishioners and marriage of the same gender being accepted by mainstream denominations behoove all the disciples of Jesus Christ to walk as children of light running to rescue the perishing and care for the dying. The cross of Christ is not piece of jewelry. It's where sin was atoned for. Let us go and sin no more. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and stop being a slave to sin. Wintercreeks.net Statement of Faith, Hope and Love
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