Sermon Tone Analysis

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