The Great Commission is My Mission

Matthew 28:16-20

v  The sermon I want to share with you this morning has the main intention to remind us about some of our priorities, and thus be able to obey the divine command

v  I’ll start by sharing an anecdote that happened at Asbury’s University:

“On the way to class I came upon a young man with a smile on his face. Two flights of steps lower outside the library was a dog barking.

 ‘Come on, Come on,’ the young man coached.

 He was trying to get the dog to come up the walk way in front of the library.

 As I came closer I said, "Is he afraid to come up the steps?"

 ‘No…’ he replied, ‘he's barking at a bird in that tree’

 I commented that sometimes it is difficult to tear ourselves apart from the IMPORTANT things in life.

 As I left, the young man continued to coach the dog to leave the bird and follow him.

 Later as I mused about this incident, I was brought to the realization that probably God has to pause and coach us to leave behind some of the things that we see to be important in order to continue following him”.

 v  The great dilemma of many people at present (Christian and non Christian) is that they have no real reason to enjoy the live

v  But, the worst dilemma is that the majority of Christians ignore WHAT their true mission is on this earth.

o   And many of us probably have heard about the great commission

 o   There are some questions:

o   What do we really know about it?

o   How we are obeying the commandment?

 o   The answer is very simple, but emphatic at the same time:

 N  Consist on proclaiming and disclosing the Good News of the Gospel

N  Rescues sinner from the eternal flames

N  This action talk of Christians who have a passion for souls that are lost

N  Show the love of the church

N  Involves the whole body of Christ: His church

N  It is the reason for which Christ suffered, died and rose

N  It is struggle for many come to believe, and “whoever believes in him shall not perish… but that they may have life, and have it to the full”

 v  In other words, to accomplish the great commission, we have “to go"

 v  But today we wonder why many Christians do not want to go:

v  Well, among some of the reasons that might exist, I want to share these:

      N  Because they have their priorities in the wrong place

N  Family is first

N  Distraction takes a special place

N  Many tasks occupy their minds and their time

 o   And the apostle Paul, who was well aware of his mission on earth, emphasized the following in the Word of God in Ephesians.5:14, and he says:

                     “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you”

 o   Dear brothers and sisters, we need to awaken from the lethargy in which the enemy of souls has many of us.

 o   In the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 4, verse 19, Jesus says:

“Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”

o   Speaking in a literal sense, one of the characteristics possessed by fishermen, among many others, is when they go to fishing; they leave everything they have to do, even some of their own responsibilities.

 o   The time for fishing, for many of them is the expression of a feeling, not just the practice of a job

 Is somebody here a fisherman…?

 o   There are some small, but important elements needed to fish:

• Passion

• Decision

• Interest

• Effort

• Sacrifice

• Patience

• Enthusiasm

o   Those attitudes possessed by fishermen, are what Christian people should experience to win souls.

 v  I want to remind you that God has saved us, he has given us power and he has equipped us with gifts and skills with a defined purpose: to save souls

In the Book of Acts, chapter 1, verse 8, we read:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth

 o   Everything that the Book of Act.I:8 promises to us are for we may save a damaged society, corrupted by sin.

 ? Our beloved John Wesley pronounced the following:

“Give me one hundred preachers who are not afraid of anything except sin, and who do not want anything except God, and I don’t care a straw whether they are clergymen or laymen, they will shake the gates of hell and establish the kingdom of heaven on earth”

v  The great commission is not a simple suggestion

v  The Great Commission is a precise commandment

v  If you were not clear about your mission on this earth, now is your chance: the Great Commission, that's your mission.

v  And what is the mission that I'm talking about?

... Go… and make disciples of all nations...

? In a recent article that I read, titled "God's troublemakers" I found very interesting this comment that I want to share, listen please:

“Thank God for those free thinkers throughout Christendom who have brought fire upon the earth, the early Church which has prevailed for almost 2000 years holding the excellent of Christ.

Martin Luther, who called the church back to a Gospel, which emphasized in grace rather than works.

John Wycliffe and William Tyndale, who against the wishes of church leadership, produced the Bible in the language of the people.

Hudson Taylor… who converted people to Jesus, not to Western culture...

Men like John and Charles Wesley, Charles Finney, and Spurgeon, who called upon their churches to reform.

They woke the world with their fiery preaching”

o   My beloved in Christ, if history were to tell our chronicles, by what ‘mission’ we have made to save souls, and to put on high the Name of Christ, would our name be remembered?

v  And finally, I want to share a story that had its beginnings last century.

It is the story of a girl, who was born in a humble cottage neighborhood, within a poor family: poor in resources, and poor in spirit.

So this girl grew up, loved by her family, but without faith in the God of life.

One of the shocking and sad events of her life was at early age, through an unpleasant experience with her stepfather, which marked her life with feelings of hatred and indifference.

This led to her becoming disillusioned with life. And so it was many years of her life.

But, at the age of 19 years old another special event happened; but, with very different connotations from the first; and that totally changed the course of her life.

Christian neighbors who moved near her house began to proclaim the message of the Good News of salvation.

This young atheist, disappointed in life, without faith and without hope, at the invitation to receive Christ, her response was to reject the message.

But their passionate neighbors did not pay attention to her refusal, but to the need they saw in her soul. They did not let defeat or intimidation, not for her continued rejection or incredulity; they persisted day after day; in the mornings… in the afternoon… late at night… all the time.

Then one day, because of the insistence of them, she decided to accept the invitation not to receive Jesus in her hearth, but to "visit the church".

She was certain that after this visit to the church, the insistence of her neighbors would cease altogether, and not bother her again.

However, “our ways and our thoughts are not the ways or the thoughts of God”, as the prophet Isaiah says.

And for her first visit to the temple, God had ready a surprise very beautiful, unique and unforgettable to this young woman.

That night she repented of her sins, and received in her heart Jesus Christ as her only Savior. This event occurred on January 11, 1986.

From that moment her life took a complete change, so much so that her desire to enjoy life came to light; she was able to forgive, and love their offenders, including her stepfather.

Her life was filled with peace; she knew the meaning of true happiness, joy. And the most important of all is that today she is a minister of Jesus Christ, serving Him with all joy and passion, as a pastor.

The story that you hear today, is the story of my life!

v  And I do not get tired of giving thanks to God for sending me those people who loved me and who had enough patience to wait until I surrendered at the Christ’s feet.

? The famous evangelist T. D. Jakes once said:

"The wisest of men are those who recognize their need for change"

o   I had the opportunity to change the course of my life; Jesus Christ offered it to me through those persistent and passionate neighbors.

o   And in response to His love I cannot do anything better than to love the whole human race, and I think the most efficient way to show that love is sharing the love of Christ.

v  My beloved, the message of the Gospel is the only remedy to approach into God and be saved from the wrath to come.

v  The church today is under orders. The risen Lord has commanded us to go, to preach, and to make disciples for Christ, and that is enough for us.

v  But, do not worry about how we are going to do it, because through the New Testament we can find a number of methods to evangelize; so we don’t have to subscribe to a specific way.

o   My exhortation today is that we leave behind our old ways, abandoning the barriers we have imposed on ourselves, give up the shyness, and spread the message of our Savior.

o   And remember, there are only six important things that fishermen learn, and one extra… and we need to snatch souls from eternal death, to win them for the Kingdom of heaven, and answer the call that God is giving today, as a priority in our lives:

- Genuine Faith (That’s the extra that I talking about)

- Decision, Interest, Effort, Sacrifice, Patience

- Enthusiasm

I want to stop for a moment, and call your attention to the word enthusiasm, just listen what has been written about it:

 “Enthusiasm is more contagious than the measles or chicken pox. Once you have it, it will spread to your family and your church” 

But, Be Careful, and listen what the writer Elbert Hubbard says...

"Enthusiasm is contagious - and so is the LACK of it"

 May God bless you; and I pray that from today we can all respond in a more effective, dynamic and aggressive response to the great commission, which is our mission.