The Mission, Clearly Defined
America and many other nations are about to experience mighty revivals, accompanied by great reformations. This is extremely high on God’s agenda. It is critical that we understand these two phenomena from a biblical perspective. They will not occur simply because God desires them to take place, but also because He has a people prepared to partner with Him. Understanding them is part of that preparation. Therefore, I am teaching on these two important concepts this week, though I have done so before. They cannot be emphasized too much at this point in time.
Each post builds on the next, so if you haven’t listened to or read yesterday’s, please consider doing so. Let’s review briefly.
In Genesis 1:26-28, Adam and Eve were given two mandates: 1) multiply God’s family, and 2) steward/govern/manage His earth. Christ re-commissioned the church to these assignments in Mark 16:15-18 and Matthew 28:18-20. In Mark’s gospel, He told us to “preach the gospel” in order to see people saved, i.e., multiply His family. When this happens with great momentum and large numbers of people coming to Christ, we refer to it as revival.
In Matthew’s commission, Christ instructed us to “teach” what He “commanded” in order to disciple nations, thereby enabling them once again to steward/manage/govern the earth according to His ways. When this occurs on a broad scale, we call it reformation. The fact that we did not focus on both commissions in the Charismatic/Jesus People movements–we focused only on Mark’s–caused us to lose much of the fruit of those revivals. (I’ll discuss this in Friday’s upcoming post.)
In yesterday’s post, I listed a few comparisons between revival (Mark 16) and reformation (Matthew 28) to help us understand the differences. I want to give several more today and tomorrow, breaking them down into three categories: their goals, their messages, and their activities. Today, we’ll look at the differences regarding the goals:
The goal of Mark’s commission is to impact and save people, individuals; the goal of Matthew’s is to impact and save entire cities and nations.
Mark’s goal is to birth spiritual children; Matthew’s goal is to mature and train them as citizens of God’s Kingdom, and commission them as Kingdom soldiers, ambassadors, and legislators.
Through Mark’s commission, people receive God’s life and nature; through Matthew’s commission, they are trained to release His life and nature.
Mark’s commission produces the family of God, the bride of Christ, worshippers; Matthew’s commission produces the Ekklesia, ambassadors and warriors of Christ.
The fulfillment of Mark’s commission brings wholeness and life to individuals; the fulfillment of Matthew’s brings wholeness and life to entire cultures, societies, and nations.
Mark’s commission is intended to deliver people from demons and sin; Matthew’s is designed to also deliver nations from principalities and powers, philosophies, laws, unrighteous systems, and strongholds (humanism, racism, etc.).
In Mark’s commission, the fruit primarily manifests within individual believers; in Matthew’s commission, the fruit also manifests in societies and nations.
Mark’s assignment is to transform the heart and nature of individuals; the discipling of Matthew’s is to transform the minds and thinking of a society.
Mark’s commission will heal individuals of brokenness, diseases, oppression, etc.; Matthew’s will heal nations of poverty, hunger, violence, and other evils.
The salvation released through Mark’s message fills individuals with Holy Spirit; Matthew’s teaching is intended to fill the atmospheres, the spiritual realm of regions and nations with Holy Spirit’s presence and peace.
In Mark, Holy Spirit is poured out; in Matthew, the Word and truth are taught. Mark’s is an outpouring; Matthew’s becomes an outworking.
Through Mark’s commission, personal destinies are awakened and accomplished; through Matthew’s, national destinies are also awakened and accomplished.
The fact that many in the church have not fully understood what each of Christ’s commissions was meant to accomplish has greatly hindered our overall assignment. A mission must be clearly defined in order to be fully accomplished. There must be a target to hit, a mark to press toward. Tomorrow, we will further define these two missions, examining the messages associated with each and the different activities involved. We’ll see when to emphasize the provision of Christ, and when to teach the principles of Christ; we’ll look at our inheritance from Christ, versus our assignment from Christ.
Pray with me:
Father, we thank You for Your heart to redeem and save. Thank You for the power of the gospel, the authority in the name of Jesus, and of Holy Spirit’s enablement. Thank You for Your Word, which transforms, instructs, and teaches us Your ways. And we thank You for Your promise that America shall be saved and of revival also impacting other nations of the earth.
We are honored to partner with You in these endeavors, as Your Word instructs us. We will preach the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world, baptize those who believe, lay hands on the sick and see them recover, and cast out demons. This will produce the revival You speak of. But we will also teach Your Word, Your commandments and ways, discipling individuals and nations. We will do so with Your authority, as You instructed us in Matthew 28. This will produce the reformation You have spoken of.
So, Father, we boldly and passionately ask You for this revival and reformation to be released in its fullness. Let Your power and the outpouring be such that they cannot be ignored. Awaken the church, save unbelievers, and transform nations. And all of this we ask for in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
Our decree:
We declare that the greatest revival in history has begun, and will lead to reformation throughout the world.
Tuesday’s post: The Two Mandates
Click on the link below to watch the full video.