The Great Commission (Sermon Notes)
by ivoandmalin on Dec.13, 2009, under Sermons
PLAY “Lost at sea” short film
The church my friends is not a holiday ship - it’s a rescue boat for the saving of souls and every hand is needed on deck. This people of God is what the purpose of the church is… and unless we have grasped that and are hurting for the lost like God is - we are simply having a party in our comfortable cruise ship and we are missing the God given purpose for our lives!
What really bothers me about our “civilized” way of life today is that more and more of our energy is spent in pursuing things like our job careers, fanatically following this season’s football or hockey or Pop Idol, borrowing and spending money to renovate and update our houses and so on and so on - the activities and distractions that this world has to offer are endless, but it seems to me that less and less time and energy is spent pursuing the Kingdom of heaven and building the house of God. And as great as many churches around the world are the harvest is still ripe and the workers are few! It’s time that we change that trend… it’s time to be the thermostat and not the thermometer.
You see a thermostat sets the temperature in it’s environment where’s a thermometer simply displays the current temperature in a given climate. We as the church are called to be the change and set the spiritual temperature in our town and nation and not to reflect the temperature of this world!
In a way today I am preaching to myself first as much as to anyone else present here!
I ask myself: Why is it that we are ever so willing to take up a job and work hard 5-6 even 7 days a week from morning until dark for that pay check at the end of the month, but when the need calls for us to get involved and serve the house of God for a few hours a week we say perhaps I can help out once or maybe twice a month?! Well I just don’t want the responsibility. I am too busy. I’m too young, Oh I’m too old or I can’t do it… I need to work more.
Who comes first in our lives? Do we serve money, material things and vain pleasures or do we put God first in our lives?
I can’t help but think that the disciples of Jesus also had families, jobs and other responsibilities. Yet they made the Gospel their priority and built the early church. It’s time for us to take up our cross and live with the same level of passion and devotion to God that the disciples had.
Matthew 6 - Treasures in Heaven
”19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…”
”24 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
My old pastor once said this: “Show me where you spend most of your free time and I will show you where your treasure is.”
And I thought to myself: Am I in front of the TV, are am I on the internet too much, Am I at the sports club when I should be at church, am I at yet another party, are am I working late just to please the boss or are am I at the Wednesday night prayer meeting chasing after God?
But you may say Ivo our jobs are important we have to pay the bills and we also gotta have fun! Yes, you are right - we need to make sure we provide for our families and enjoy life, but lets look at the priorities of life from the Bible’s perspective.
What does it say in there??
Matthew 6:33 (New International Version)
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and (play on words: some of… may be… none of) ALL these things will be given to you as well.”
But what are those things that the Bible talks about? Lets rewind a bit and have a look at the previous verses.
Read Matthew 6:25-33
“25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
”28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
The Bible says in Haggai 1:4 (New International Version)
“4 Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
You may say the church is not in ruins we have a fine building. And you are right, but I am talking spiritually today. In what state is our spiritual home?
Most of the poverty in the western world today is of the spiritual kind! You see in our society today we don’t lack houses, cars & satellite TVs as such. We lack spirituality. We lack God in out lives, in our schools and in our families!
And maybe the focus of the church in the not too distant past was let’s just get through this Sunday and maybe even next Sunday. If we can only keep together while the storm passes… we’ll be ok. Let me tell you the storm has passed - it’s a new season - you have done well in keeping the church together, but it’s now time to look up and dream BIGGER DREAMS.
I see a church filled up to the top of the balcony with people sold out in passionate worship to God.
I see a church engaged in the community making a difference in the lives of broken families.
I see a church rescuing souls from the edge of Hell.
I see a church that is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ!
That church is each one of us! The body of Christ! God moves through the body, which is the church.
It’s time for the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the legs to go and the arms to carry the GOOD NEWS to this town and to this nation.
I tell you people of God! In the words of the president of the US of A - Barrack Obama - “Yes we can!”
And better still “Yes HE can!” Someone once said: “Dream! And you will win the world”
Right now there is a spiritual battle going on for the souls of people in Europe. But guess what? God has given us the authority and the tools to win this battle… IF we obey and act on His commands!
Ephesians 6:10-18 (New International Version)
The Armor of God
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Lets dare to dream! Lets take the next step of faith! God is the God of the impossible! God is a God of the miraculous! God is our Father and we are sons and daughters of the most high King. The King of kings and the Lord of lords! And I promise you that if you step out in faith doing what He asked you to do He will never fail you!
AMEN!
In Matthew 25 The Bible talks about the parable of the Master who gave talents to his 3 servants. Two of the servants set to work and multiplied the talents for their master but the third simply hid the talent in the ground and did nothing with it. The master then upon his return examines what they had done. He then rewards the first two and punished the third. It’s similar picture in Matthew 13 where Jesus tells the parable of the Sower who’s seed fell not different kind of soil and some gave much fruit and some died.
God promises us that He will reward a faithful worker but he also warns us in Matthew 13:12 that if we do not use out talent it will be taken way from us.
“12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”
Perhaps sometimes we feel unable to do His work. We maybe struggling with insecurities when sharing the gospel with our friends and family. We may find it hard to say no to the hockey training so we can be at the Wed night prayer meeting. We may feel inadequate when fear creeps into our hearts but the good news is this:
1 John 4:4 (New King James Version)
“4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
Remember that!
You see it is He who empowers us…
Zechariah 4:6 (New International Version) “6 …’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”
This is the same God who created the Heavens & the Earth, the same God who split open the Red Sea, the same God who raised Jesus from the dead, the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever. THIS is our God! And WE are His people on this earth…
So today I plead with you… find your place in the body of Christ and choose to have a servant heart. A heart that says “YES Lord” I will go the extra mile, I will not give you one day or one week of my month, but I will give you everything… 100%. Here I am Lord, chose me, shape me, send me!! I am totally available to you - use me for Your glory!
Perhaps you are the legs which will bring the good news to your neighborhood, or perhaps you are the arms which will embrace a broken home and give them hope, or perhaps you are the ears who will listen to the widows cry; the ears which are also quick to hear the voice of the Spirit, perhaps your are the mouth which will speak a word of wisdom, words of blessings and proclaim freedom to the camptives, perhaps you are the the eyes which see the healing miracles coming, or maybe you’re the prophetic eyes which see the vision of the Lord and paint a picture of God’s hope and glory!
Whatever the call on your life, however many talents God has given you - they are there to be put at work for a reason and that reason is called “The Great Commission”
THE SAVIOR’S LAST WORDS TO HIS DISCIPLES.
Matthew 28:18-20 (New International Version)
“18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
There are 5 important parts to Jesus’ words:
1. GO - We have to move out of our comfort zone to reach out to others. Unless we try to do something beyond what we have already mastered and are comfortable with, we will never grow.
2. MAKE DISCIPLES - There’s more than just evangelism. Make mature believers and disciples who can stand the test of time.
3. ALL NATIONS - We have to cross cultural, racial, and ethnic boundaries to share the Gospel of Jesus. We are NOT in the business of building Swedish, English or American culture - Our mission is to build Kingdom culture across all nations.
4. BAPTIZE - include them in the Body of Christ calling for a clear response to identify with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus as the source of salvation.
5. TEACH TO OBEY - give instruction in God’s commands and truth and show them how to live according to the Word of God.
And so as we end today… Let us consider what these 5 commands in Jesus’ words mean for us today. If what happens inside the 4 walls of our churches has no impact on the streets that we traveled down to get here - than maybe we’re missing the point!
Oh, what joy it is when a single soul gets rescued from the grip of the enemy. The whole of heaven rejoices! And that’s our mission and that’s our purpose! With Him all things are possible!!
Let us pray…
