What Did Jesus Say
About The Great Commission
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
1. President John Quincy Adams – “This is
the last of earth. I am content.”
2. Todd Beamer – “Let’s roll!:”
wife and I’ve always loved my country.”
4. Winston Churchill – “I’m bored with it
all.”
5. President John Adams died on July 4,
1826, the 50th anniversary of the singing of
the Declaration of Independence. His
final words were, “Jerrersosn survives.” He
did not know that Thomas Jefferson had
died earlier that day.
6. Perhaps you remember the final words
spoken to you by a parent or grandparent.
My father told me, “See yyou later
Bud.” My mother said, “Water my plants.”
B.
What do the final words of Jesus before His ascension (Acts 1:9-11) say to us?
Notice four passages (one from each of the
gospels).
1. Matthew 28:18-20 – “And Jesus came up and spoke to them,
saying, ‘All authority
has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit, 20 teaching
them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end
of the age.’”
2. Mark 16:15-16 – “And He said to
them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to all creation. 16 He
who has believed and has been baptized shall be
saved; but he who has disbelieved shall
be condemned.’”
3. Luke 24:46-47 – “And He said to
them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would
suffer and rise again from the
dead the third day, 47 and
that repentance for
forgiveness of sins would be
proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning
from Jerusalem.’”
4. John 20:24- “So Jesus said to them
again, ‘Peace be with you; as the Father has
sent Me, I also send you.’”
C. In
this message we ask, “What does Jesus say about the great commission?”
I. IT IS A PERSONAL COMMISSION
A. A
4th grade boy brought his report card home. It had several “D’s: and
an
“unsatisfactory” in conduct. He told
his father, “Dad, you have been invited to a
personal PTA meeting.” The father said,
“What is a personal PTA meeting?” The
lad said, “Just you, me and the
teacher.”
1. The great commission is a “personal”
command. It is between Jesus and you.
2. Notice John’s account, “As the
father has sent me, so I have sent you.”
B. Jesus often told people He had blessed
to go and tell otherjs.
1. Mark 3:14 says “He appointed
twelve and sent them out to preach.”
2. In Mark 5 Jesus met a man on the
eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee who was
possessed by demons. After sending
the demons into a herd of swine, Jesus
told this man in verse19, “Go
home to your people and report to them what
great things the Lord has done for
you.”
3. According to John 1:41 when Jesus
began His ministry one of his first followers
was Andrew, the brother of Peter.
What was the first thing Andrew did? “He
found first his own brother Simon
and said to him,’We have found the
Messiah’ (which translated means
Christ).”
C. When
you came up out of the baptismal water Jesus was there. He put His arms
around you and welcomed you into His
family. After He whispered, “I love you,” He
said “Go, tell others what I have done
for you.”
II. IT
IS A PURPOSEFULCOMMISSION
A. There are two great challenges in
everyone’s life.
1. To find your purpose in life.
a. Without a purpose you are like a
ship adrift at sea. You are going to be tossed
back and forth and led wherever
the currents carry you.
b. A pilot spoke to the passengers
through the intercom saying, “I have bad
news and good news. The bad
news is our navigation equipment has broken
and we don’t have a clue where
we are. The good news is that we’re making
great time.”
c. This is the way a lot of people
live. They are going at breakneck speed but
have no clue where they are
going.
2. The second great need is to lose
yourself in a purpose that is greater than
yourself.
1. This is exactly what Jesus said,
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose
it; but whoever loses his life
for My sake will find it.”
2. This is where the great
commission speaks to us. It is a purpose that is so
much greater than anything we
can imagine.
B. Jesus’ life was all about purpose.
1. He knew without doubt what His
purpose was.
a. Luke 2:49 – “I must be about my
Father;s business.”
b. Mark 2:17 – “It is not those who are healthy
who need a physician, but those
who are sick; I did not come to
call the righteous, but sinners.”
c. Luke 19:10 – “The Son of Man has
come to seek and save the lost.”
2. He has a clear purpose for His
followers.
a. Go into all the world.
b. Tell every person.\
c. Baptize
d..Teach them what He has commanded.
C. Can you think of a greater purpose?
1.The world’s population is 7.8 billion
people. If you could count each one at the
rate of one per second without
stopping it would take you 315 years to count
everyione.
2. There is no purpose greater in its
challenge to “teach all nations.”
a. China with 1,4 billion
b. India with 1.3 billion.
c. The United States comes in a
distant third with 331, million. 4.25
%
d. Indonesia with 274 million.
D. We must renew our passion for the purpose
of the great commission.
III. IT IS A PROMISED COMMISSION
A. If the purpose of the commission seems
overwhelming make sure you undersrtand
the promise of the commission. Jesus is
with us.
1. We are not alone. As we go into all
of the world He goes with us.
2. Fredrick Douglas said, “One person
plus Gpd makes a jajority.”
B. What happens when God is with a person?
1.A man and three sons build an ark.
2. A wandering nomad becomes the means
by which the entire world is blessed.
3. A tongue tied fugitive leads one million
plus people out of Egypt.
4. The waters of the Red Sea part. The
waters of the Jordon are stopped.
5. A young man kills a giant.
6. A prophet takes on a powerful king
and his wicked wife.
7. Three young men emerge from a fiery
furnace without being singed.
8. A man emerges unstated from spending
the night in a den of hungry lions.
9. The Son of God is raised from the
dead after being crucified.
10. Twelve men turn the world upside
down through the preaching of the Gospel.
C. Do you see why I say this is a promised commission?
IV. IT IS A PARTNERSHIP COMMISSION
A. God does not expect any of us to do this
alone.
1. Not only will He be with us.
2. He expects us to work together in a
cooperative manner.
B. Matthew 27:55 says that many women were
at the crucifixion looking on from a
distance. Who were they? These were
women who had followed Jesus from
Galilee and had ministered to Him.
1. Luke wrote, “Soon afterwards,
He began going around
from one city and village
to another, proclaiming and
preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were
with Him and also some women who had been healed of evil
spirits and
sicknesses: Mary who was called
Magdalene, from whom seven demons had
gone out.”
2. Jesus sent people out together. He
does not expect any of us to go by
ourselves
B. For the great commission to be fulfilled
it will take a partnership of people who
can go, along with people who can send
them. It will take personal evangelism and
public proclamation. It will take the
utilization of media and technology and the
combined efforts and prayers of the
entire church.
CONCLUSION:”
A. A
large group of people were hiking in the northwest territory of Canada when
they
were suddenly overtaken by a blinding
blizzard. A few people found refuge in a cave
where they built a fire to warm themselves.
As dozens of people groped in the snow
the group huddled around the fire. Suddenly
a man stumbled on the cave.
When he saw the people around the fire he
said, “We need to tell the others.” No one
said anything. They just huddled closer to
the fire. “There are people dying in the
cold,” the man said. :”We must tell them.
There is refuge from the storm” No one
moved except to huddle closer to the fire.
Suddenly, a couple got too close to the
flames and their clothing ignited. They
rean outside to douse the flames in the snow..
Those lost in the snow heard the screams
and saw the light. They were saved
because a few people were set on fire.
B. “It
only takes a spark, to get a fire going, and soon all those around, can warm
up[ to
its glowing. That;’s how it is with God’s
love. Once you’ve experienced it, you spread
His love, to everyone. You want to pass it
on.”
1. Some of you will have opportunity to go,
great distances as you teach and
baptize. Many others have opportunities
to do that here in our community.
2. Many of us, like the women who supported
Jesus, have resources we can give to
support those who go on short term
campaigns.
3. All of us can offer the power of prayer
in behalf of this great effort.
C. May
we use this “Harvest Sunday” to practice what Jesus said about the great
commission.
