In the Gospel of John 20:21-22 we read,
"Then Jesus said to them again, 'Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
This is really an amazing thing. Here we see the entire God-Head: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all completely involved in this Divine Mission:
- It is God the Father who is the originator of this mission. It is a mission that flows from the very heart of God. It is not some human idea or concept but one that came from God himself from the very foundations of the earth.
- But then we also see Jesus, the Son of God, as the implementor of this mission. The Father entrusted this mission into no other hands but that of his own Son. He did not entrust it to angels or anyone else but he gave it to the only perfectly qualified to get it started in the right direction. He gives it to none other than His very own Son. For there was a part that Jesus needed to play in the fulfillment of the mission that no one else could do. He alone could become the perfect sacrifice, the redemption, that buys back the souls of those whom God loves from the chains of sin. He was to offer up his own life and shed his own blood so that atonement for sin could be made and the perfect law of God would be satisfied. Jesus began the movement. He gathered a few disciples taught them what they needed to know and exemplified how this mission was to be carried out.
- And then we see the Holy Spirit being imparted. Without the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the ordinary christian this mission would be an impossible task to fulfill but in Acts chapter one starting with verse four we read,
"And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, 'which,' He said,'you have heard from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now ... But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8
It is through the working of the Holy Spirit that the power that is needed to fulfill the mission is provided. Yes, the entire Godhead had a vested interest in the success and completion of this mission.
As amazing as it is to see the entire Godhead at play in this mission it is also equally humbling to think that God has allowed us, those of us who are his followers, to also play a vital role in this mission. Jesus said,
"As the Father has sent me, so send I you."
That's what Jesus said. Jesus received his instruction for carrying out his part of the mission straight from the Father but now he hands the fulfillment of this mission off to us who are his disciples.
He gives this mission to ordinary christians. He didn't have to do that! He didn't have to make us part of this redemption story but He did. It was from his good pleasure and for his glory that he has done so. As Ordinary Christians the fulfillment of this mission should be our purpose, focus and priority in life! Our only reason for existence in this life is to see this mission fulfilled.
If we live for money, for personal success, for fame or for any other reason we have missed our reason and purpose for living. The only reason why God has left us here on earth after our salvation is for us to carry out this mission for His praise and His glory. All the rest of life should be viewed through this lens. It should color all the rest of our activities in life. It should not be one of the things that we do in life but everything we do in life, in some way, should help us fulfill this God given mission and that we bring praise and glory to God our Father and our Lord Jesus through accomplishing of it.
What will you do? What will be your mission in life? Are you ready as an ordinary christian to surrender your dreams, priorities and and vision to that of God and to his mission that He has already given us?
As you begin to live a missional life that brings glory to God I would like to encourage you. I invite you to join my mailing list and allow me to send you weekly encouragement through the MISSIONAL LIVING DEVOTIONAL that I email out. As a member of the this list I also send you information about other FREE trainings that made available and about other resources you can get. All this is to help you better fulfill the mission that Jesus himself has commissioned us to perform. Your can sign up now by CLICKING HERE AT: MISSIONAL LIVNG DEVOTIONAL.
TAKE CARE AND REMEMBER TO GO SHINE THE LIGHT OF CHRIST!
