The Divine Mandate

The Divine Mandate

Matthew 28:18-20

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 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."" (NIV)

I. We must take the Great Commission seriously.

A. God takes the souls of men seriously.

1. He sent His Son to the lost world who didn’t care (Luke 19:10).

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (NIV)

2. He died a brutal death on the cross.

3. He commissioned us to do it.

4. No one speaks more of Hell than Jesus.

B. Satan is serious about the Great Commission.

1. He is doing everything he can to keep men out of the Kingdom.

2. We are in a constant battle with the enemy in hopes of keeping us from proclaiming the Good News.

C. The problem is we do not take the Great Commission seriously.

1. It takes 42 Baptists to win one convert.

2. Over 10,000 S.B.C. churches reported no baptisms last year.

II. We must take it personally.

A. It’s not “either” it’s “both, and.”

B. There’s not a church that ever rises above it’s leadership.

C. Evangelism is not a sermon. It’s an atmosphere.

D. It requires a lot of work.

III. We must take it enthusiastically.

A. Evangelism is simply sharing the good news.

1. In Matthew 28 we have His promise of His presence.

2. In Mark 16 we have His promise of protection.

3. In Luke 24 we have His promise of program.

4. In John 20 we have His promise of peace.

5. In Acts 1:8 we have His promise of power.

B. We should do it enthusiastically! Our enthusiasm should be felt in three ways...

1. Vision

a. Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no vision, the people perish... (KJV)

b. Most people aim at absolutely nothing and hit it every time.

2. Love

a. Love each other.

b. It is a command not a question.

3. Faith

a. Take God at His Word.

b. Believe He will give you the words to say.

IV. We must take it prayerfully (Acts 1:12-14).

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. (NIV)

A. It was prayer that made them one mind.

B. The power that reaches the heart of men is the power of God.

C. We would do well if we spent more time in prayer to God about people than time spent with people talking about God (Luke 10:38-42).

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (NIV)

D. There is power in prayer!