The Great Commission Of The Church

Prayer-

Introduction-

We began last week looking at the church of God.

I say the church of God because there are churches not asking God for help or following God directions for the church and if you look close at that church, you’ll see that they do not have the anointing and power of God working in that church.

The church should be a force in the culture and the community that it is placed in. The culture does not run the church. The church is run and founded and empowered by Jesus Christ.

The church operating under the blood, sweat and tears of Jesus Christ cannot be stopped. It is unstoppable!

We are not perfect, He is perfect and we share his holiness because of what He did on the cross.

We saw last week that the church is not only a building, it is each one of us reflecting the image of Christ to those that we come into contact with.

The church (you and I) should be bringing people into the house of God.

We are all called to be people of God and the building the kingdom of God.

The church should be a place of encouragement and each one of us should be an encouragement to someone that God has put into our lives.

We looked at the blind spots of life

We looked at the gates of Hell not prevailing in the church of God

That Jesus Christ has given the church the keys of the kingdom and the power of God working in our lives to touch people for the kingdom of God.

Talked about binding and loosing- allowing and forbidding things under the authority of God.

This morning, I want to piggy back on that and continue looking at what the church is and what we all should be doing- I did say ALL.

The text is Matthew 28:16-20 and you can turn there, but first some thoughts.

Jesus commissions each of us to do the work that we are called too. Each one of us is called to some responsibility in the building of the kingdom of God.

Commission -by definition is to be “authorized to perform certain duties or take certain powers.”

While the word commission is only found in the Great Commission, it’s concept of giving us our marching orders is throughout God word.

There are 4 commissions or duties that Jesus sends his followers out to do-

Make disciples- the text we will look at in a moment in Matthew

Understand and proclaim the gospel found in Luke

Be set apart- Be send ones, found in the book of John

Be physical witnesses of Christ- empowered by the Holy Spirit of God in the book of Acts.

Each one of those things should be active in a believer’s life because it is the purpose and mission of the church of Jesus Christ.

Repent of our sins, and desire to see others repent and come to Christ

Be empowered by the Holy Spirit of God and do great things in Jesus Name!

Make disciples- reproduce ourselves.

Illustration-

When I was active in Sports- The idea was always to win. That is what drives a competitor, that is the end result that you want to achieve. The team’s goal is to win. I hated if someone on the team was not putting out 100 %. There is a difference of not putting out a 100% and not being as good as someone else. I never faulted someone if it was not in them, I faulted them if they did not use their God-given talent 100%. We practice, we memorize, we talk, we plan, we work together, but on game day, we need to get the job done. No one sits the bench of God’s team, the whole church of God is called to get the job done.

You are to be always learning and you are to be discipling someone.

“You are to be my disciples”

“But you shall receive power.”

“You are to be my witnesses.”

Jesus was sent out by God the Father, and we are sent out by Jesus Christ.

Our mission is literally to preach the gospel. The Greek word here is “kerusso,“a herald, a public crier”.

We are to be Christ official public criers bringing the gospel to those we come in contact with.

Read Matthew 28:16-20 - Now we can look and understand the context of the text this morning

Jesus, 11 of the disciples, 500 or more people round the mountain of God (1 Corinthians) and us (you and I)(because it is not the end of the age yet) are here (h.e.r.e.) to hear (h.e.a.r.) Jesus give His followers the great commission.

(17) “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”