Morning Devotions with Cap'n Kenny - The Great Commission

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations . . . .

~ Matthew 28:19 (NIV)

Christ commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations. “Nations,” in this context, means “peoples”; really, what He meant was, “make disciples all over the earth.” What are you doing to fulfill this commandment?

Personally, I don't always get out of bed, clap my hands together in excitement and say, “I'm going to go forth today and make disciples of all nations.” If we are living in the flesh and our concerns are worldly — our default state of existence — this really seems like a heavy chore. Sometimes, we can't even admit it exists; we can't face the possibility of doing anything, along the lines of spreading knowledge and love of Christ in the world. We might send a check, if our other bills are paid.

But if we feel like this, there is a better way to live. Life in the spirit is, without any doubt whatsoever, less painful and more filled with joy than life in the flesh. This is a good gauge: Do I look forward to sharing Christ with the world, or does it seem like a painful or tedious chore? We can use this as a barometer, like the engine temperature gauge in a car, because if we are dreading or shirking our duty of bringing others to Christ, we ourselves are not getting our full share. To be filled with the Spirit is to have the Spirit overflowing, exploding. There is no such thing as the “right amount of Spirit.” If we have enough, we have too much and it erupts from us; if it is not overflowing, we do not have enough.

And most of us living in the West today are woefully short of this precious commodity that costs . . . nothing! God sent us the Holy Spirit free of charge, to hold us over until Christ returns. All we need to do is ask, in faith, that the Spirit fill our lives, and our troubles will fade into the background, their painful wailing drowned out by the joy of God!

So here is the secret of Christian living: Pray, study, meditate on God's Word, until the Spirit has filled you to the brim and you cannot wait to tell someone else about it, to share the wonderful thing you have discovered. The Great Commission will then seem natural and desirable, for we will be filled with love. And if we love someone, how could we possibly not share the greatest thing in life with them?

Lord God, fill me with your Spirit until it grows so huge that I must share it. Amen.

In Jesus,
Cap'n Kenny


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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.