How the Great Commission Works

7/7/2023

Read to the end. Gives you a different view of how the “great commission” works, doesn’t it?

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’” (Luke 13:34)

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Mark 13:1, 2; Luke 21:5, 6)

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Mark 13:3-13; Luke 21:7-19)

Yes! Our marching orders.

Also...

“In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. So stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

“With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God’s people.” (Ephesians 6:10-18 AMP)

Some people say that Jesus on the cross is a sign of how much God loves us.

Well that may be true. But I think more importantly, the magnitude of the solution demonstrates the magnitude of the problem.

The cross of Jesus SHOWS JUST HOW DEPRAVED WE ARE, HUMANS ARE, WITHOUT HIM BUYING US BACK.

The days of Noah involve ALL of us, and the magnitude of the necessary solution is not poetry. It is proof of how depraved we all are without that Solution.

Of the End Times scripture you sent yesterday, these lines really jumped out:

“Jesus began by telling them, “See to it that no one deceives you. Many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. (Mark 13:5-6)

and He said again,

“At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.” (Mark 13:21-23)

So Jesus told us twice that we should be on our guard, not against those who would tell us not to believe in Him, but against those who would enthusiastically proclaim a counterfeit version of Him--and look very successful doing it. He doesn’t want us to respond, “Thanks, got it.” He wants us to be actively on our guard against seductive deception.

Sobering.

Also, the great commission is tied to opposition making it work, rather than ambition. Fascinating.

Which is what happened in the first century, when persecution in Jerusalem scattered the Good News and made it work!

“All these are the beginning of sorrows.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt 24:8-14)

The enemy is going to cut his own throat, just as he did at the cross! Wow!

Rise of the “anti-Anointing”... vs The Little Anointed Ones... Tree of Knowledge vs. Tree of Life, Ishmael vs Isaac! Without living and breathing in the Anointed One, a person is dead meat but they think they’re all good.