I’ve just ordered Pastor Jack Wellman’s book, The Great Omission, and I’m anxious to read it. In his book he discusses and outlines what the Great Commission is.
For those that are not familiar with the Great Commission, it is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing missionary work, evangelism, and baptism.
The Bible explains that after Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, He was buried and resurrected on the third day, before He ascended into heaven, Christ appeared to His disciples in Galilee and gave them these instructions: Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV) This section of scripture has become known as the Great Commission.
Pastor Jack says in his book, The Great Omission, that the Great Commission has been ignored for far too long. Christians have been indoctrinated and led to believe that it isn’t acceptable for them to share their faith and that sharing their faith could be considered offensive.
I’m thankful that a young man by the name of Kenny didn’t feel that way, let me tell you why. In 1983, my future husband, Jeff was sitting in his dorm reading the book Satan Seller written by Mike Warnke. At the time he was feeling discouraged and as he was reading this book he came across a story about a Christian that had been led to share his faith to a gentleman that he didn’t even know. In the story the man was deeply encouraged and that act changed the life of both these men.
After reading this, Jeff put the book down in discouragement and said, “God, why don’t you do that for me?” Literally within seconds of him saying this, he heard a knock on his door. There standing at his door was a man, Kenny. Kenny told my husband that God led him to his door to tell him that God loved him. He asked him if he’d like to pray but Jeff said, “No”, those words that he had just spoken,moments earlier tugged at his heart. My husband has never forgotten that day. In fact, from time to time he too has felt a burden or a tug on his heart to step out of his comfort zone and go up to a total stranger and tell them what God has placed upon his heart.
If you think this is rare, than think again, I’ve talked with hundreds of believers that have shared experiences just like this. In their darkest hour someone tapped on their shoulder, knocked on their door or stopped them in the store to invite them to church or to just simply remind them that God has impressed upon their hearts to pray for them or to encourage them.
A friend of mine, Greg shared a story with me about his mother Winn. Winn was visiting her husband’s aunt who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It was obvious that this woman was struggling with her memory and making sense of her surroundings. But, after that particular visit as she was preparing to leave, she leaned over to give her husband’s aunt Elsbeth a hug goodbye. At that moment Elsbeth embraced her tightly as if never wanting to let go and with sincerity in her voice she hugged Winn even tighter and said these words, “I’m afraid of hell.” Did Elsbeth possibly know what she was saying? Winn knew that Elsbeth did not have a Christian upbringing and she probably knew little about God. During the ride home, Winn replayed that visit over and over in her mind.
This experience weighed heavily on her mind. She knew she needed to tell Elsbeth about Heaven and Christ and about salvation, but Winn (humanly speaking) thought that Elsbeth would never be able to comprehend it at this stage in her Alzheimer’s.
A few weeks later she had the opportunity to go visit Elsbeth again and she was determined in her heart that she would share Christ with her, however Elsbeth health had declined and was not even alert. Winn had thought that she’d missed an opportunity, but yet this desire to tell Elsbeth about salvation did not go away.
Winn says next time she went to the hospital Elsbeth was sitting up! The nurse was feeding her lunch. The first thing the nurse said to Winn was; “This is a miracle lady, for her to be sitting up is a miracle. For her to be eating is a miracle.” This day provided Winn with the opportunity to talk with Elsbeth and tell her all about Christ and to pray with her. Winn said, “I prayed with Elsbeth the sinner’s prayer and I asked her if she would like to accept Jesus as her Lord and Saviour. To my amazement, she pulled her arms apart from her normally fixed position and lifted them right above her head and placed her hands together in a praying position. I knew that Elsbeth was accepting Jesus as her Lord and Savior. God had bought about understanding and Elsbeth had responded.” Winn experienced how the Holy Spirit could reach someone who humanly speaking was un-reachable. The Holy Spirit worked as Winn simply spoke to Elsbeth about spiritual things.
Winn had just witnessed the power of God and the power of prayer. After Elsbeth prayed, a peace came over her. It was apparent in her demeanor and in her face. She lived another 20 or more days and died peacefully in her husband’s arms.
Jack himself has shared the gospel with hundreds. The lives that he has seen transformed because of it, just further reiterate how important the Great Commission is.
What if Kenny, Jack, Jeff or Winn had not been obedient and had not stepped out of their comfort zone? Because of their obedience lives have been changed.
Read Jack’s Book, The Great Omission and find out how you can step out in obedience and be a part of this wonderful experience. Reaching the Lost for the Great Commission: Jack Wellman: http://www.amazon.com/Omission-Reaching-Commission-Second-ebook/dp/B005XS4X2A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320024647&sr=1-1