The Great Commission — We are to Go With a Priority

Text: Mark16:15; Matthew 28:19–20; Luke 24:47; John 20:21; Acts 1:8;

Theme: The Second Great Commission — Mark 16:15; — Reveals Our Second Priority Going with a Priority.

In the gospels, we see a picture of Jesus’ purpose for coming, and at the end of each gospel we catch a glimpse of how his purpose affects our purpose as his followers. If we carefully examine his final conversations with his disciples, the imperatives are clear: “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15, ESV).

Over the centuries, some believers have taken those words quite literally. A Catholic friar in 12th- century Italy known as Francis of Assisi, was known for his love for all kinds of animals and he regularly preached to them. His fellow monks who recorded his sermons to animals were convinced that God’s creatures listened intently to Francis. I’m sure most of the stories are fanciful tails, but they illustrate the seriousness many have taken Christ’s commandment to proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Last Sunday, I began a series of messages on The Great Commission. It is the Church’s marching orders. Jesus did not establish his Church and then leave men to establish its agendas and priorities. To that end he left his disciples a commission. It is found in all four gospels and the Book of Acts. Each of these messages centers on our Lord’s end-time command to His church.

The final instruction of Jesus to His disciples was not veiled in metaphor or hyperbole. There is no ambiguity in The Great Commission. It is clear, it is concise, and it is compelling. This morning, I want to preach the second message on becoming a Great Commission Christian. Last Sunday’s message was based on the version in Matthew’s gospel. This morning it is based on the version in Mark’s gospel. Each reading is just a little bit different, but in that difference we see the five priorities we must have as a church.

The first — and most well known version of the Great Commission — is found in Matthew 28:19-20. The thrust of this rendering is that we are to go in power. Jesus promises His eternal presence in us and with us through His Holy Spirit. The Spirit will empower us in three areas of our Christian witness:

The Spirit empowers us with a holy unction. It is the Spirit who gives us the earnest desire to witness and share our faith.

The Spirit empowers us with a holy boldness. The same Holy Spirit that gives the believer in China boldness to testify of Jesus when he is being persecuted, is the same Holy Spirit that will give you boldness to witness to the waitress who takes your order at Applebee’s

The Spirit empowers us toward holy living. When we get serious about the Lordship of Christ in our lives, others will take note, and they will ask what it is that makes us different.

The Second Great Commission — Mark 16:15 — Reveals Our Second Precedence Going With a Priority

I. THE PERSON

“And he said to them ... “

1. Mark’s version of the story begins with a rebuke of the disciple

a. it’s after the resurrection and Jesus appears to the disciples while the were eating and chastised them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen

1) that’s an obvious reference to the women who had gone to Jesus’ grave

2. then, after what may well have been an awkward silence, comes the commission, “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15, ESV)

A. THE CHURCH GOES IN THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS

1. back in Mark 6:7-13 we have the account where Jesus sends the Apostles out by pairs to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom

a. we are told in Mark 6:7 that Jesus handed down this authority to the 12, sent them out, and they then lived out their authority by advancing the kingdom of God

b. this same commission is later given to the Seventy in Luke 10:1, and is experienced by the early church throughout the book of Acts as the Holy Spirit guides and empowers the church

2. God has clearly defined the foundational ministries of the church of Jesus Christ, in that every local congregation that seeks to be faithful to its calling will find itself involved in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ, pursuing a ministry to the hurting and needy, and engaging in spiritual warfare against the powers of darkness

3. we do not go to the whole creation in our personal authority, or some ecclesiastical authority, but in Jesus authority

a. going in Jesus’ authority gives us confidence

1) Jesus’ purpose in sending the disciples out is to build certain characteristics into their lives

2) it is true that they had been given authority over unclean spirits and the ability to heal the sick but Jesus also wanted to develop them as men of God

3) in the process of their doing ministry Jesus is building within them characteristics that reflect His own life, a work that God desires to continue in us today

4) our service to God is much more than the accomplishing of a task but it is about growing in faith, character, maturity and holiness

b. going in Jesus’ authority give us boldness

1) Jesus sent them out with only the clothes on their back and the promise that He would provide for them all that they needed

2) Jesus knew that if they were going to be successful in bringing the Gospel to the world that they would need an unshakable trust in God and what better way to develop that trust than to rely on God for their daily provision

3) likewise our success in serving God is dependent upon our ability to trust God for our every need

4) it is also true that we can only grow in our ability to trust God as we put ourselves in situations that God must provide if we are going to succeed

c. going in Jesus’ authority gives us surety

1) Jesus sent them out with a simple message ... repent and be saved; it is the message at the heart of the gospel

2) some will repent and come to faith in Christ while others will not — the decision is in the hands of the Holy Spirit, not bearers of good news

3) likewise we need to develop a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and be careful to follow his leading

II. THE PLACE

“And he said to them, “Go into all the world ... “

1. the commission is astounding in its breadth and scope

a. God’s Anointed One, the Jewish Messiah, is the Savior of the World

b. the message is not for the Jews only, but for the Gentiles — which is Jewish lingo for everyone else

2. they are to spread the gospel tidings far and wide, to earth’s remotest bounds

A. OUR AUDIENCE IS A WORLD OF LOST PEOPLE

ILLUS.“When we gave our life to Jesus Christ, we gave up our right of choosing who we will love.”

1. if God so loved the world, what right do we have to pick and choose who we will or will not redemptively love by sharing the good news of God’s mercy with?

a. perhaps this is why the version of the Great Commission found in Mark’s Gospel, instructs us to preach the gospel to all creation

2. the word go in this sentence quite literally means as you go or as you are going

a. now, what’s that point?

1) it implies that evangelism is not a special effort, but a normal occurrence of the Christian life

b. as we go, wherever we go — because we are always going — we are to live our faith and share our faith with those people whom we come in contact with in the everyday course of life

3. for some of you, your world of contact and influence will primarily be Osage county

a. folks, can I clue you in on something?

1) there are enough lost folks within a 45-minute drive of this church to keep you busy witnessing for Jesus until Jesus comes

2) of the 13,613 people in our county, only 2,119 are Evangelicals which means that it’s a good bet that a significant number of the remaining 11,205 are very likely lost

3) 27% of the county’s residents claim no church affiliation at all

b. Jesus said, “As you go about your business in Osage County, tell others about Me as you have opportunity.”

4. some of you have a little larger world

a. your job, or your interests take you regularly beyond the boarders of the 606 square miles of our county to places like Rolla, Jefferson City, or Columbia

b. Jesus said, “As you go about your business in mid-Missouri, tell others about Me as you have opportunity.”

5. some of you may find yourself moving because of a job or vocation change, and some of our young people will go off to college to far-flung parts of America

a. Jesus said, “As you go about your business wherever you find yourself, tell others about Me as you have opportunity.”

6. all of us have a responsibility to help get the gospel into the rest of the world

ILLUS. Our Southern Baptist International Mission Board estimates that of the 7.75 billion people alive in the world today, 3.23 billion of them live in unreached people groups with little or no access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A people group is not the same as a country. A “people group” is an ethnolinguistic population with a common self-identity that includes a common history, a common language, as well as common beliefs and community identity. There are approximately 17,446 unique people groups in the world with 7,400+ of them considered unreached (over 41% of the world’s population!). Beginning in the 70s, the focus of evangelical missionary activity shifted more and more toward unreached people groups. Amazingly, most missiologists consider 2% of a people group’s population becoming Christ followers as the “tipping point” at which the group is generally considered “reached” with the Gospel. That means that there are over 3 billion people in the world who have probably never met a Christian or heard the gospel.

a. this is why Jesus calls his people everywhere throughout the age to Go into all the world

III. THE PRIORITY

“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15, ESV)

1. our message is not how great our church is, but how great Jesus is!

A. OUR PRIORITY MESSAGE IS THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

“ ... and preach the gospel to all creation.”

1. there are lots of important things the church can do, and lots of important ministries you can be involved in ...

a. Christian social ministries are important

b. Rescue Missions are important

c. Children’s ministries and Senior Adult ministries, and Youth ministries are important

d. Church supported benevolent and educational and health institutions are important

2. but they all pale by comparison to the Church’s greatest — and 1st — priority

a. Job #1 is to proclaim the good news that Christ died for sinners

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:1–4, ESV)

3. friends, let me clue you in on something else — once you’ve told others the Gospel — that’s all your responsible for

ILLUS. Martin Luther, the 16th century Reformer once told his students, “I preach, and then I sleep.” What he meant by that is this: It is God’s job, through His Holy Spirit, to use the Gospel that we’ve preached, or taught, or shared in a one-on-one encounter to convict the un-converted of sin, judgement, and righteousness.

a. redemption of the sinner is God’s work

b. but for some unknown reason, He has chosen that the means of His redemptive work is the preaching of the gospel

c. and that is your priority and my priority

“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”” (Romans 10:13–15, ESV)

ILLUS. S.D. Gordon was an evangelical lay minister active in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He served most of his adult life working for the YMCA. He is best remembered for his book Quiet Talks on Service. In one of his devotionals he gives an imaginary conversation between Jesus and the angels after His ascension into heaven.

As the angel Gabriel greets Jesus he asks, "Master, You died for the world, did you not?" to which the Lord replies, "Yes."

"You must have suffered much, " the angel says; and again Jesus answers, "Yes."

"Do they all know that you died for them?" Gabriel continues. "No. Only a few in Palestine know about it so far," Jesus says.

"Well then what is your plan for telling the rest of the world that You shed Your blood for them?" Jesus responds, "Well, I asked Peter and James and Andrew and a few others if they would make it the business of their lives to tell others. And then the ones that they tell could tell others, and they in turn could tell still others, and finally it would reach the the farthest corner of the earth and all would know the thrill and power of the gospel."

"But suppose Peter fails? And suppose after a while John just doesn't tell anyone? And what if James and Andrew are ashamed or afraid? Then what?" Gabriel asks.

"I have no other plans," Jesus is said to have answered; “I am counting on them."

4. our priority is to tells others as we find ourselves going

B. OUR PRIORITY MOTIVATION IS THE COMMAND OF JESUS CHRIST

"And He said to them, “Go ... “

1. the word go in this verse is a verb in the imperative mood

a. that means that we are left with no choice — this is a command

1) we can either choose to obey it or disobey it

2) what we can’t do is ignore it

2. our God is a missionary God who wants us to be a missionary people

a. Jesus tells us that “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14)

ILLUS. Pick up a biography of William Carey, Adorinam and Ann Judson, Jim Elliot, or other faithful missionaries, and you will see that the lives of missionaries are lives of suffering; oftentimes deep and unimaginable suffering. What compelled them to give their livelihood, their families, even their own lives to labor among a foreign people? It was the command of Jesus and the movement of the Holy Spirit in their lives that motivated them to give their all to the missionary life. But in the going there is also a remarkable provision that comes from the Savior who asks us to make going a priority. He never calls us to go without equipping us for the going.

3. all Christians have a role to play in God’s mission

a. not all are gifted to go, not all are called to go, but as Lottie Moon understood 110 years ago, it takes faithful Christians in the pews to support and pray for those who are called to go

IV. Our Second Priority Shift: WE MUST CONSCIOUSLY SEEK TO CULTIVATE RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOST PEOPLE

1. that means finding ways to serving others

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:19–22, ESV)

a. whatever stands in the way of our serving others must by laid aside

1) is it prejudice?

2) is it cliquishness?

3) is it business?

4) is it pride?

5) is it self-centeredness?

b. what is it that stands in the way of you telling someone else about Jesus?

2. principles for sharing our faith with lost people

a. Don’t Make False Assumptions

1) too often, we operate on the premise that everyone we know is a Christian

2) too often, we assume that if our acquaintances are “nice people” or “good people” that they are “Christian people”

3) this is a false assumption

b. Pray for People Specifically

1) make a prayer list of the lost people you know

2) pray that God will bring lost people into your sphere of influence

c. Learn a Basic Witnessing Technique

1) use the Roman Road, use a Christian evangelism track

2) learn how to share your testimony

d. Understand That the Power of Our Story Rests in Jesus Alone

I believe in the Church evangelizing. I want you to believe in it to. I want you to believe in it, not because I do, but because you believe our Savior gave His church a commission — a Great Commission, and it must be our priority!