40 Days with the Lord
Part 6 – The Great Commission
Rev. Bruce A. Shields
First Baptist Church of Tawas City Michigan
www.tawasbaptist.org
WELCOME
INTRODUCTION
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 28:16 – 20 The Great Commission
“16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
This scripture is commonly known as the Great Commission.
It is also found in Mark 16 of the NIV, but some translations do not include verse 9 – 19 because it is not found in most of the reliable early manuscripts.
But it is found in Matthew.
Usually, when we think of missions we think of the Great Commission.
But missions didn’t begin with the Great Commission given to the disciples by Jesus Christ.
Missions began with God.
It first beat in His heart before it was ever breathed as the life sustaining force into His church.
Our God is Missions Minded.
If He were not, there would be no Christian mission.
The Gospel He has given us is a Missions Message.
If it could not save every sinner, there would be no reason to take it to every nation.
And the Great Commission is a Missions Mandate. It identifies the local church, this Body of Christ, as the center for world evangelism.
A strong Missions program rests on these foundations:
I. A Missions program comes from a Compassionate God
A. The Description of God’s Love – John 3:16 – 18
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
This is God’s description of Love.
1. God’s Missions program is Extravagant - “God so loved”
a. It is a love so infinite that it is everlasting.
Jeremiah 31:3
“The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:
"I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”
b. It is a love so incomprehensible that it passes knowledge.
Ephesians 3:16 – 19 A Prayer for the Ephesians
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
c. It is a love so indiscriminate that it would be given to the least worthy, the sinners.
Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
2. God’s Missions program is Exhaustive – it’s meant to go out to “the world”
You see, God wants everyone to be with Him forever.
a. God is not willing that any should perish.
It is God’s will that none perish.
2 Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
Praise God for His patience.
Praise God for His Grace which allows us sinners to see the truth, and turn our hearts to the Lord.
b. He would have all men to be saved.
1 Timothy 2:3 – 4
“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
It IS God’s will, that ALL mankind be saved!
But just because it IS God’s will, does not mean God’s will is going to be done here on earth.
Many times, God’s will is ignored by mankind.
Look at Israel, and how many times they knew what God’s will was, yet did what THEY thought was best, or what they wanted.
God’s will is NOT automatic!
Even in the church, or the Body of Christ.
Jesus knew this, and this is why when the disciples asked Jesus how they should pray, what did Jesus tell them to pray for?
“Until your kingdom comes, your WILL be done on earth just as it is in heaven!”
Just because it may be God’s will, doesn’t mean that is what is going to take place on earth.
We need to be praying for God’s will to be done in all things, just as His will is done in all things in heaven.
3. God’s Missions program is Expressive – “that He gave”
B. The Demonstration of God’s Love
1. He promised a Savior to deal with the problem of sin.
Do you remember what God said to Satan in Genesis?
Genesis 3:15
“And I will put enmity (hate)
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel."
a. This verse is often called the “prot-evangel-ium,” meaning the first pronouncement of the Gospel.
This promise was given in Genesis.
b. This promise was repeated and amplified throughout the Old Testament. It rested upon the unconditional, sovereign “I will” of God.
c. All the acts of God in the Old Testament were performed with the fulfillment of this promise in mind.
2. He provided a Savior to deal with the problem of sin.
a. When the plan of God was complete, God sent forth His Son to be mankind’s redeemer.
Galatians 4:4-5
“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”
b. According to the eternal purpose of God, Christ “died for our sins … was buried … and rose again the third day.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
c. To the everlasting praise of God, salvation is now offered on the sole condition of faith in the finished work of Christ upon Calvary.
II. A Compelling Message
In Romans 1:14-16, Paul declares that he is indebted to God to give the world the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Having heard the greatest message in the world, He was compelled to share it with whomever he could.
So great was this sense of obligation that Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:16, “…Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”
A. The Gospel is a distinct message.
1. Every major religion relies upon some form of performance or secret knowledge for salvation.
a. Hinduism preaches a fourfold path to salvation. First is mind control, second is service, thirdly; appeal to the goddess for earthly riches, then aspire for liberation.
b. Buddhism leads its followers down an eightfold path to salvation.
c. The salvation offered by Islam rests upon Five Pillars or Seven if you include the additional teachings of the Major and Secondary Jihad.
The major Jihad, being the battle within ones self, and the secondary Jihad, being the battle for protecting land, property and family.
d. In Catholicism, salvation is gained through fulfilling five sacraments, although the Council of Trent stated that there were seven sacraments, only five had to be fulfilled to achieve salvation.
You can read all about this in the Catholic Encyclopedia.
Instead of works for salvation, the Gospel offers something no one else does.
Though many false gods requires sacrifices, the one true God sacrificed Himself for us, paying our debt.
2. The Gospel centers upon a Person for salvation.
Because nothing WE DO can save us from our sin against God!
a. Jesus announced, “I am the Way …no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” John 14:6
Baptism is not going to get you to heaven.
Confirmation is not going to get you to heaven.
Penance is not going to get you to heaven.
The Holy Eucharist is not going to get you to heaven.
Jesus says, “No man cometh, but by me!”
b. Peter declared, “There is no other name…whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
c. Paul said, “Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.” Acts 13:38
The Gospel finds its source, content, and meaning in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Apart from Him, there is no salvation.
Other messages tell men what they must DO to be saved;
The Gospel tells men what has been DONE to save them.
B. It is a dynamic message.
Romans 1:16-17
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith.”
1. The Gospel has a particular message.
a. There are many messages in the Bible, but only one of them qualifies as THE Gospel.
And this is what we would use to reject certain Coptic and Gnostic texts as invalid and not true Gospels.
We talked a little about this being the reason the so called Gospel of Judas was not included into our Holy Scriptures.
b. To be a TRUE Gospel the requirements are as follows:
• Christ died for our sins
• He was buried
• He rose again on the third day, having completed by himself all that was necessary to redeem mankind.
2. The Gospel is a powerful message.
a. The Gospel is the ONE MESSAGE that has the power to save a man from the penalty of his sins.
b. BUT, the power of the Gospel has limitations:
• It cannot save until it first has been believed
• It cannot be believed until it is first heard
• It cannot be heard until it is first preached
This is our mission.
This is the Great Commission, or command of our Lord Jesus Christ to us as followers.
III. We are a Commissioned People
Mark 16:15
“He (Jesus Christ) said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
A. Every member of the body of Christ needs to be involved somehow…
1. Missions is imperative. Jesus said “Go”
a. Multitudes are born and die whether or not anyone is prepared to reach them.
b. If we do not evangelize our generation, this generation will not be evangelized at all.
2. Missions is inclusive. Jesus said “Ye”
“GO YOU”
a. No one is exempted from the responsibility to evangelize the lost.
Some my say; “How can I evangelize the lost when I have to work 40 or 50 or 60 hours a week?”
Do you work in a monastery?
There are always people around you, no matter where you are in your life, that NEED to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Remember, Jesus wants a Personal relationship with people.
So He has a friend introduce Him to someone new.
You are that friend.
Jesus wants it to be personal, and real.
We can all tell a story about a friend of a friend.
But how much more does it mean when you tell someone you know, “This is what God DID in MY life!”
b. Christ’s command means that you are either sent or you send, but you cannot remain uninvolved and still consider yourself obedient to Jesus Christ.
[You can pray, you can give, or you can go]
There is something for everyone to do!
And there is plenty to be done!
Matthew 9:7
“Then he (Jesus) said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”
This message is not only about God’s Heart for Missions, but also our heart and doing our part!
B. We are ALL Called to preach the Gospel.
1. The mission field is “the entire world.”
2. The demand of missions is to preach to “ALL.”
CLOSING
As I started this morning, you may have noticed a counter running behind me.
This counter represents how many people have died since 11:00am this morning.
It is estimated that at most, only 7% of this number claimed to have accepted Christ.
Out of that 7%, statistics show that only 3 – 5% actually live out that commitment after 1 year.
How many are going to die today without knowing the Good News which saved you and me from the everlasting damnation that awaits so many?
How many of your friends and family are going to die without ever hearing salvation preached to them by you?
How many neighbors and coworkers?
How many in Tawas City?
Which letter from Revelation 2 do you think Jesus would send us today?
