Commencing on the Day of the Pentecost, Sunday, May 15th 2016

“Go make disciples of all nations; baptize and teach them to obey my commands.”

Matt. 28:19-20

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you are to be my witnesses, in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

This Great Commission, the Last and the Supreme Command that Yeshua Messiah gave to all his followers. Thus, our task is to make disciples of all the 16,300 nations, in their 6500 tongues, across the world’s 2.5 million villages. Even though this mandate has been the core agenda of the church ever since, our task remains unfinished. Until this task is completed, Messiah the King cannot come and establish his glorious, millennial kingdom, here on earth.

The Day of the Pentecost was the birthday of the Ecclesia and the beginning of church age, when Peter, in the power of the Holy Spirit, opened his heavenly rewards account. That day, 3000 souls repented, got baptized and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Their number rapidly multiplied into myriads (tens of thousands) of new believers. Acts 2:41, 21:20

Explosive growth and multiplication of the New Testament Ecclesia was the norm.

Acts 2:47, “The Lord added to their numbers daily.
Acts 4:4, 5000 new believers added;
Acts 5:28, City saturation of Jerusalem: “You have filled the whole city with your teachings”. Acts 6:1,7, Exponential multiplication of disciples.
Acts 8:12, Samaria evangelized by Philip, a table cleaner.
Acts 9:31, Churches in Galilee and Judaea edified and multiplied.
Acts 16:5, Daily multiplication of quality churches, “The churches were strengthened in faith and multiplied in numbers daily”.
Acts 19:8-10, “All Asia heard the Gospel.”
Romans 15:19-20, Gospel fully preached from Jerusalem to Illyricum, a distance of 2000 km. Acts 13:1-3, Antioch becomes launching pad for world mission led by multi-national, multi cultural, multi leadership ekklesia, led by Banabas the Cypriot, Lucius the Cyrenian, Mannen the Palestinian, Paul the Turk and Simon Niger from black Africa.
Romans 15:23, “No more places left.”

Traumatic changes result in dramatic harvest?

1. Instead of gathering in the temple, they gathered in thousands of homes, thus fulfilling Abrahamic covenant of being a blessing to all the families (mishpacha) of the earth. Gen. 12:3; Acts 20:20,27
2. Instead of dead animals; they worshipped God by offering sanctified living souls. Rom. 15:16
3. Instead of teaching them to obey the Mosaic Law of tooth for tooth, eye for eye and life for life; they taught them kingdom dynamics of how to love Jesus by loving their neighbours, loving each other and even their enemies, by making them his disciples. Luke 16:16; John 13:34,35; Matt. 5:44
4. Instead of sermons from the Bima (pulpit), they searched the Scriptures together. Acts 17:11
5. Instead of being exclusive and eating only Kosher food, they became inclusive by fellowshipping (koinonia) by breaking bread from house to house and eating whatever was laid before them with Gentile seekers and non-believers. Luke 10:5-8; Acts 11:1-3; Galatians 2:12; 3:27-29
6. Instead of being baptized only in water for repentance, they were also baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire for empowerment and persecution. Matt. 3:11, Acts 2: 37-39
7. Instead of going to the temple to pray three times a day, they went everywhere and prayed for boldness to speak the word and to perform mighty signs and miracles. (Acts 2:43; 4:28-30)
8. Instead of tithing for temple upkeep, they practiced freewill generous giving for the poor, and to mobilize apostles’ feet. Acts 2:44-45; 1Cor. 9:6,7
9. Instead of shepherding the barren sheep in the fold that did not reproduce, they started seeking and saving the lost sheep that were not yet in the fold. Luke 15:7,10; 19:10; John 10:16
10. 10. Instead of keeping the Sabbath and sacrifices, they made disciples, planted churches, and thus became royal priests and brand ambassadors of the kingdom. 2 Cor. 5:20; Heb. 2:9; Acts 6:7; 16:5

Not surprisingly the Lord added to their numbers daily. Wow!

(Ecclesia, the Greek term often translated as “church,” was a secular legal assembly with magistrates, judges and proconsuls etc. Yeshua appointed apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers to edify his Ecclesia, by making and multiplying disciples that go and change the kingdom profile of the city and the nation. Acts 19:38-41; Eph. 4:11,12)

So what is the logjam that hinders us from reaching the finish line? We looked around for the culprit and found it is, “we the church”! For centuries, we got so mired down in property, pulpits, programs, politics and budgets, that we lost the mandate, the motivation and the momentum. Yeshua needs “workers” for the harvest field, not bench warmers. Our Bible schools produce “aquarium keepers” that take care of the exotic fish that do not reproduce. Instead of equipping the saints to go and change the kingdom profile of their neighbourhoods, workplaces, the city and the nation; our shepherds are busy pastoring sheep that do not have the vision or the skill for seeking and saving the lost. (John 10:16) Our churches are no longer the “House of Prayer for All Nations” (Mark 11:17). Our missionaries plant mission stations and stay put, whilst Paul raised up local leaders, planted Disciple Multiplying Movement (DMM), and moved on. Even our prayer cells and Bible study groups produce prayer warriors and scholars that do not metamorphose into fishers of men (Matt. 4:19).

So Yahweh is now doing a new thing. The doom and gloom media daily breaks news that all nations, are plunging deeper and deeper into economic, political, moral and religious turmoil. However, what is not reported is, that the new believers from all nations, tongues and tribes are entering the Messiah’s Kingdom, in numbers unprecedented. And guess who is making this happen! Interestingly, it is not the superstar tele-evangelists, nor the traditional church members, but the anointed, first- generation, humble believers. These ordinary folk engage neighbors, friends, colleagues and needy persons, demolishing rampant old and neo-paganism by breaking bread and sharing the whole wisdom of God, from house to house. They are so effective and productive because their passion and simple life style matches their message. They do not do this as Church program but they know that the primary agenda is, not to grow their church but to advance the kingdom agenda in their area of influence. They are Christ-centered, seeker focused, relational, holistic and transformational. Thus, once again, like the first century, Yahweh is raising up new Home Ecclesia Movements. Matt. 11:12; Acts 20:20

Reverse flow is now in full swing: After the Pentecost, just as the Temple at Jerusalem shrank and the organic house ecclesia flourished, similarly the greatest church-shift in history, from the institutional church back into the original household ecclesia, is taking place today. God is taking away the kingdom from the religious elite and giving it back to foolish and weak things and nobodies of this world, who are bringing the fruits thereof. (Matt. 21:43; 1Corinthians 1:27) As the West goes off the edges of the Bible and becomes hostile to Christianity, it has now become the biggest mission field. Pastors and evangelists from witchcraft and voodoo infested black Africa; Chinese from Dragonland; transformed idolaters from countries like India; Buddhists from Korea and infidels of Islam are now not only pastoring ethnic churches but also lily white churches and bringing much needed revival in the West. Interestingly, most of the champion church planting coaches in the West, had their exposure in the 10/40 Window countries that catalyzed them into doing something for their own nations. According to researcher Barna, USA alone now has well over a 100,000 home churches. However, this is only a trickle, which is likely to soon grow into a mighty stream… 

The International year of the Great Commission is meant to be a time when Christians throughout the world set aside their differences and prioritize, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God ...” by making a fresh commitment to honour, obey and fulfil the Great Commission of our Lord in their area of influence. They take up the challenge to pray, proclaim and possess their “promised land,” transforming the demon-driven world into kingdom of God, where kingdom values of love, peace, justice and righteousness prevail, even as there may be giants in the land. Matt. 6:33; Num. 13:27-33

We know God’s End Vision. Jesus heartbeat is to see all sinners saved, that is why he incarnated. He would like to see all nations, tongues, tribes, dressed in white clothes, holding palm branches in their hands, worshipping him and the kings of the earth bringing their glory and honour in a celestial parade before His Throne (Rev. 7:9-10; 21:24). We need to go out, as on-site-shepherds, pastoring all the lost people in our own oikos: family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, school-mates, community and clients in the market place, and redeem them, thus making them worthy to participate in the grand parade. We must look upon them as a swimming coach looks on a drowning person. We do not need permission from a drowning person to save him. We must not only pray for them but must go to the next level and rescue them, then upgrade them into disciple-makers, baptizers and equippers. For this, they need to be equipped with disciple-making tools on their tool belts, by skilled coaches who have practical skills on how to disciple Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists and others. It is not enough to be a follower of Yeshua; everyone must graduate, not necessarily as preachers, but as on- site-minister, by ministering to hurting folk’s felt needs, lest someone else bear their burden and rob your inheritance and your crown. Luke 19:10; Matthew 4:19; Ephesians 4:11-13

Our objective is to make this initiative a global movement, not just an event. Individuals, families, women, youth, churches, missions and grant-makers adopt and take ownership of their God- given domains: neighbours, streets, cities, workplaces, communities, regions and nations (ethnos), initiating Jesus-planting movements that transform governments, politics, judiciary, media, education, health, sports, arts, music, agriculture, labour and business, until the churches themselves be transformed into congregations of on-site-shepherds. Like our Master, we need to have compassion for the sheep, lost for no fault of their own, but for lack of shepherds. We need to pursue this until the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our Lord and his Christ and we shall reign with him forever and ever. Matthew 9:35-38; Revelation 11:15

Until there be no places left. Let us work together to make this message go viral through personal contacts, print, electronic and social media, websites, organized events and training seminars. All the needed talent and resources can be found seated on the pews. They only need to be mentored, mobilized and launched as champion Great Commissioners, to rescue the perishing, who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. After all, we will give an account for them. The best way to have our sins forgiven and have our names written in the Book of the Lamb, is to go out as lambs among the wolves and catalyse the DNA of the Great Commission Movement, until the earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea and there be no place left where Christ has not been named. Matt. 4:16; Ezekiel 3:18; Daniel 12:1-3; Luke 10:20; James 5:20; Habakkuk 2:14; Rom. 15:23 

Shalom,

Dr.Victor Choudhrie

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Let’s pray with Dr. Choudhrie for the International Year of the Great Commission to catch on and become a global movement. Pray for the global Church to get back to the New Testament pattern of making disciples and emphasizing rapidly multiplying, relational, organic church communities rather than the building and maintenance of institutions that often become a hindrance to the growth of Christ’s Church.