The Great Commission    Are We Missing The Mark??

I Corinthians 15:16-20

16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 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.”

These are some of the last words of Jesus before he left his disciples in charge of spreading the gospel of the kingdom.  GO!  MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS!  How you ask?  We teach them to observe all that Jesus commanded.  We are to baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!  We have the promise that He will be always with us, even to the end of the age!

These words were a command.  They were not a suggestion. Jesus didn’t say, “If you have the gift of evangelism, do this!”   This was God’s way of bringing people into the kingdom.

God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are always interested in relationships.  We build the kingdom by relationships.  We can only reach people when God draws people to himself.  Jesus provided “the way”.   The Holy Spirit convicts, teaches and leads to the truth of the gospel

For what are we responsible?  Cooperation with the Holy Spirit is our job.   Jesus wants to use us to share the good news of the gospel.

God’s plan includes the giving of spiritual gifts to empower Christians.  When each one exercises their gift, the plan works.  The future of the gospel is depends on this very generation.  If we to fail to pass the good news on to the next generation, the results could be devastating except for the grace of God.

Are we missing the mark?  The word used for sin is hamartia.  It means to miss the mark.  As Christians, are we reaching out to our world to speak the truth of the gospel to others?  I sometimes feel we gather in our holy huddles and expect the world to come to us.  That is NOT what Jesus meant when He said, “GO, MAKE DISCIPLES.”

Why is it so hard in our country?   I believe most of the time people really believe they are saved. They believe in God.  They are good citizens.  The stay away from the “big” sins.  BUT, there is no commitment to the things of God.  There is no hunger for the Word, there is no joy in serving God, and there is no desire for God. How can we say we love God, and hate our brother? (I John 4:20)  If we really love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, then we must love others.  Loving others is risky! Rejection and ridicule are always waiting in the wings.  Real love shares the good news that Jesus will give them eternal life.  Will we will have to give an account to Jesus because we did not share the gospel?  The choice is personal.  Each individual will have to answer for himself. However, we need to consider that it may be a word of encouragement that causes them to turn to Christ and be saved from the place that was originally reserved for Satan and his fallen angels.

GO and MAKE DISCIPLES!  Are you going?  While you are building relationships, are you sharing the good news?

We have a commission!  The fields are white in the harvest.  Go forth!  God promises to be with you.

Someone’s last words are usually considered important.  The passage in Matthew 28, the great commission, is one of the last statements Jesus makes.  He has appeared to the women, Peter and John, the disciples without Thomas, the disciples with Thomas, and Paul’s epistle to the Corinthian Christians says that Jesus also appeared to 500 others at one time.

Why are these appearance before the feast of Pentecost important?  They provided proof of His resurrection.  It also gave Jesus 50 days to give the final teaching and prepare His disciples for the new covenant of grace.

He will meet with the disciples one more time by the sea of Galilee before leaving.

For today, we focus on the command given to ALL Christians!!

Go! Share the good news!!

Fifteen  Greg Long

Freda Reynolds