THE GREAT COMMISSION
ITS AUTHORITY
Matthew 28: 18-20
INTRODUCTION:
A. Shortly before Jesus ascended unto the Father, He gave His
disciples, and us, what we call the great commission
1. That commission is really the basis of all we do as a
church
2. Notice the three fold work of this commission
a. Make disciples-- evangelize
b. Baptize those who receive Christ
c. Disciple-- teach them to observe the commands of
Christ
3. You will also notice the world wide scope of this
commission-- into all the world
4. We are to be aggressive in carrying out this commission--
go
B. As we open a study of this commission, notice the authority
behind it
1. When Jesus said He had all authority, He was saying He
had the authority as Creator and King to rule over heaven
and earth
2. That authority has been given to Him by His Father
a. In Biblical times the king was also a judge and Jesus has
told us that all judgment has been given to Him of the
Father
b. All in heaven and in earth are going to answer to Jesus
c. That authority has been given to Jesus because of His
obedience to go to the cross-- Philippians 2: 9-11
d. Lesson: the cross always comes before the crown and
obedience always comes before reward
3. Jesus has authority over all heaven and earth
4. That authority will be fully seen when He returns
I. THAT AUTHORITY HAS BEEN DELEGATED TO
THE CHURCH
A. In Mark 6:7, Jesus delegated His power and authority to
His disciples
1. There He gave them authority over unclean spirits
2. Mark 6:13 says they used that power to:
a. Cast out demons
b. Heal the sick
3. They went out under His authority and power
a. As a group, there was nothing that would frighten
demons or cause the sick to be healed
b. The disciples at this point were a fragmented group of
spiritual babes
4. Even a spiritual babe is powerful when that babe
appropriates the authority that God gives him
B. Throughout the New Testament, we find that Jesus has
delegated His power to the church
1. Look at all the things Jesus has given us the authority to
do
a. We have the authority to pray in His name
b. We have the authority to give a cup of water to
someone in His name-- ministry
c. We have the authority to share the gospel in His name
d. We even have the authority to disciple one another by
turning a wayward believer over to Satan for the
destruction of the flesh
2. As we exercise that authority, we should see souls saved
a. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation
b. God has given us the authority to use that power
c. As that power is exercised, eyes and hearts will be
supernaturally opened and souls will be saved
3. As we exercise the authority of Jesus, believers will be
delivered from sin and strongholds
a. Here is where the church needs to exercise the power of
prayer on behalf of others
b. James says confess your faults to one another and pray
for one another
c. God will deliver fellow believers from sin and
strongholds as we pray down His power
4. As we exercise the authority of Jesus, we will see an
undefeated church-- the gates of hell will not prevail
against us
II. WHY ISN’T THE CHURCH EXERCISING ITS
AUTHORITY?
A. We are exercising Jesus’ authority because we haven’t
realized that He has given us His authority to exercise
1. When Jesus saved us, we became a part of God’s family
with all the privileges of that family
2. As a family member, God has given us the permission to
act in His name-- He has commanded us to act in His
name
3. The problem in the church today is:
a. We don’t know we have any spiritual authority
b. We refuse to believe we have spiritual authority--
faithlessness
4. When a policeman puts on a uniform that uniform gives
him the authority to act
5. When we put on Christ through salvation, He gave us
spiritual authority to act in His name-- we need to act
accordingly
B. Disobedience to Jesus’ commands has stripped us of our
authority
1. Jesus gave us His power and authority to carry out His
commands
2. As long as those commands are being carried out, we will
see a powerful church
3. Disobedience and self seeking will strip us of any power
we might have with God
a. God’s authority and power are given to exalt Him-- not
us
b. When the disciples argued over who was to be greatest
in the kingdom, they had no power to cast out a demon
from a little boy while Jesus was on the mount of
transfiguration
C. The church is not exercising its authority because we aren’t
using the means to appropriate that power
1. Faith is one means that is used to appropriate God’s
authority
a. Jesus said if we had faith, we could appropriate His
power and move mountains
b. Jesus often said, according to your faith, so be it
2. Jesus also said faith comes through prayer and fasting
3. Paul said faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word
of God
4. We need to come back to appropriating God’s power by
believing in His word and praying to see His word
become a reality
5. That will then give us the kind of faith that spurs us on to
action-- go
CONCLUSION:
A. Jesus, as our Lord, has all power
B. His desire is that we exercise that power in His name
C. Appropriation of that power will change our lives
