The Epic Plan of God
Do you see the world as empty or full?
If you have received Jesus, then there is a good chance that you see the world full of God’s presence, you see his beauty in the things He has made and sense the sustaining power of Christ who holds all things together (Colossians 1:17).
But our culture sees the world as empty and lifeless. The universe is but a large accident. That life arose at all is amazing, however, there is no purpose or plan to it.
When one is immersed is such a culture, where we see that understanding of the world in commercials, music, TV shows and movies, it is taught in our schools at every level, it is hard to not be influenced even in small subtle ways in that way of thinking.
We can easily miss the great moment it is when Jesus stands on a mountain with his disciples near Galilee and is taken up to the clouds (Matthew 28:18-20).
We can also easily read the emptiness of the world’s thinking into the Great Commission. Like the Dunkin’ Donuts commercials of decades ago: "I have to make the donuts." In the same kind of tired voice: "Oh, God wants us make disciples. We have to get more people to church. We have to go to a long boring meeting every Sunday morning." That is reading the Great Commission with the world’s eyes and understanding about life.
However, I want to stir your thinking by way of remembering. The Great Commission comes at a key moment of an epic tale. The hero was thought to be vanquished and the cruel enemy was thought to have won. But then the hero, Jesus, rises again and passes on the best way to push back the kingdom of the conquered foe until it is pushed back into the fires of Hell.
It is a true and epic tale and affects the whole world. Epic means "Heroic, majestic, impressively great." If we do not see the Great Commission clearly, we will miss the epic nature of it. Then we will miss our great calling to be partners in the Great Commission. God has invited us with His great and passionate Father’s love for us and the world to fight back against the kingdom of darkness of which each of us were members. But, now, we are in the kingdom of Jesus, the kingdom of light.
In America we are used to having plenty. But there are peoples who cling desperately to just one page of a Bible in their own language just to read something from the Bible. There are those who have never heard about Jesus. God is raising up His children to go to these people to give them a chance to know Jesus and you and I have a chance to partner with Him through the Great Commission Fund.
I am inviting you to consider how you might participate financially in giving to the Great Commission Fund to move God’s epic plan forward reaching all peoples with all of Jesus. Our Faith Promise Goal as a church is $6,000 in 6 months. This does not include your tithe or regular giving. On Sunday, there will be a card where you simply put the amount that God is leading you to give to the GCF in the next 6 months. If it is a monthly amount, please just write the total. This is just between you and God. We will collect the cards and add them up and give praise for whatever amount they come to because God is good.
Lord, stir our hearts with the reminder that we are in a great battle as we live in the Great Commission.