BEHOLD THE GREAT COMMISSION MATT. 28:18-20; MARK 16:15-16; LUKE 24:46-47 INTRODUCTION – Today thru our eye of faith we want to behold the greatness of the “Great Commission.” When we behold the words spoken by Jesus we need to sit up, pay attention, and focus our mind on the things Jesus has to say to us, we need to give Jesus our undivided attention today. Jesus explains thru his word - the gospel the importance of the great commission. – REV. 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. We need to listen to Jesus as he speaks to us thru the words known as the great commission. MATT. 28:18-20 - And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. MARK 16:15-16 - And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. LUKE 24:46-47 - And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. BEHOLD THE GREAT COMMISSION: 1. AUTHORITY – When we behold the great commission we cannot but help to notice the omnipotent authority of Christ. a. Source of that authority – JN. 3:33-36 – The source of Christ authority is God and if we are to believe Christ and what he teaches we must obey him. b. EPH. 1:20-23 – Christ authority is perfect and complete. That is why he rules over heaven and earth. That is why all things are under his feet. That is why he is the head of the body the church. c. Consequence of Christ omnipotent authority – COL. 3:17 – Whatsoever we do in word or deed, we must do it in his name or by his authority. d. Many in the religious world claim to love God and submit to the authority of Christ but do they really heed his authority in all things. i. Once saved always saved – Many who claim to serve Christ and submit to his word teach this doctrine. The question is are they listening to the word of God when they do so? – HEB. 6:4-6 – We can fall away – GAL. 5:4 – 2 PET. 2:20-22 ii. Conversion - Sinners Prayer – Ask Christ into your heart – Where is the example? Jesus said MARK 16:16 – You might ask are there any examples of that happening in the scriptures? Fair question – the answer is yes – Remember the great commission account of LUKE - ACTS 8:30-38 – Notice the Eunuch obeyed what Christ taught in the great commission? That is what he knew that he must do! 2. INITIATIVE – The great commission teaches we must take the initiative we must “GO” if we heed the authority of Christ we must be willing to teach others. Go is an action word and it demands action from every Christian. a. LUKE 19:10 – Did Jesus just sit and wait for sinners to come to him, no he was a great example of personal initiative? He came to seek and save the lost! b. JOHN 4:6-10 – Jesus took full advantage of the opportunity to teach the woman at the well. How many do you know that are lost and need the waters of salvation? How many have you tried to teach. c. 2 TIM. 2:2 – Note Paul said faithful men will teach others also, we cannot deny our responsibility. Usually this type of teaching is done privately. We must also meet the challenge of teaching publicly. 3. CHALLENGE – We must preach the truth and Paul exhorted Timothy to meet this challenge. a. 2 TIM. 4:1-5 – Preach the word of God not just tickle people’s ears by giving them what they want and not giving them what they need. b. ACTS 20:19-20 – Paul practiced what he preached. c. ACTS 8:1-4 – Look at what 1st century Christians were busy doing - preaching the word. They were willing to meet the challenge of persecution and still be willing to stand for the truth. d. MARK 1:16-17 – Every Christian must fish as it were in the sea of society fro lost souls. 4. MESSAGE – This message of salvation presented in the great commission must be proclaimed. We must make this message of salvation known. a. ROM. 1:14-17 – This gospel message and it alone has the power to save. b. MARK 16:16 – Go into all the world and preach the gospel. Many would remark why go to all the trouble. There are several reasons why this message must be proclaimed. i. 2 THESS. 2:13-14 – It is the divine agency by which God calls man to be saved. We are sanctified by our belief in the truth – gospel. ii. JN. 8:32 – Only this message sets man free from sin. iii. 1 PET. 1:22-23 – Only this message purifies your soul and allows us to be born again. iv. 2 THESS. 1:7-9 – All who do not obey the gospel, will be damned. v. ROM. 2:16 – Another reason this grand and glorious message should be proclaimed is that we will be judged by it. 5. PURPOSE – Christ tells us the purpose of the great commission by saying that we should “teach all nations” or as the ASV translates it making disciples of all nations. a. 1 TIM. 2:3-4 – It is God’s desire that all men should be saved. We are not to discriminate because of race, economic status, or educational background. b. ROM. 5:8 – No one is excluded from the love of God c. 1 JN. 2:1-2 – Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the world. d. ACTS 26:28 – What did Paul try to persuade Agrippa to do? – become a Christian. CONCLUSION – Now that we have analyzed the great commission and hopefully we more fully understand its purpose we might ask the question what were the results when the apostles with the authority of Christ, took action, and met the challenge of teaching this soul saving message to others. ACTS 2:36-42, 47 – The lord added to the church those who obeyed his teachings.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 05:45:43 +0000
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