Greatness of the Gospel by Jim Stilwell

In Matthew 16:13 Jesus is standing in a region called, Caesarea Philippi and asked His disciples what the “word on the street” was about who He was.  One of the disciples, Peter ,answered by declaring Jesus was the Christ , the Son of the living God.  The purpose Jesus had for His disciples then and for you and I now required knowledge of who He was and is. Jesus went on to say , that the Church, the followers of Jesus, would be given authority to influence the culture.  Now there is much to say about that passage I am not covering  with you right now but I do want to call attention to a few things that can help set our hearts on a trajectory that will cause us to engage with His plan. Jesus is fully committed to make sure the world is impacted by the reality of Who He is.  How far will He go? Who will He use? How will He accomplish it?  Jesus invites everyone in His Kingdom to be great and to have the kind of maximum impact He spoke of in Matthew 16:13-20.   I sometimes struggle with this in my own life as I see my own weakness, mistakes, and insufficiencies.  But at the same time I take Jesus at His word when He said, “ Whoever does and teaches (my commandments)to others will be great in the kingdom in Matthew 5:19  Jesus was not speaking of earning His love or about the outward achievements you have experienced.  He was talking about the setting of our heart to love and obey Him. This is why I am so glad that He relates to you and I out of love and not what we deserve. Who will He use? He knows how weak and inconsistent we can be at times but doesn’t have another plan to impact the world. His only plan is to use you , He will not transform the earth apart from you. How far will He go? He didn’t only wash you of sin and forgive you, which we never minimize, but He is so committed to you that He put His Spirit in you so He can have friendship with you and empower you with the things He loves.  He has chosen you to be who you are, filled with His spirit, where you are, wherever you go, filled His Spirit to influence and impact the world. How will He do it?   The call to greatness and impact can never be repented but  only realized as we love the things He says are great.  What kind of authority  impacts the earth?  That authority is given to those who set their hearts to love what God loves.  He likened this influence on earth to those who are salt and light in Matthew 5, which is a result of cultivating the Beatitudes. The grace to live this way, is favor from God and sustains the life miracles in Matthew 4 and goes on to impact the earth.  We don’t get these naturally, they are cultivated as we ask Him for the grace and love to walk them out. So today, I leave you a suggested prayer,   “Jesus , how far will your love and grace take me in cultivating a life that you love , that results in favor and impact in earth”