Latest / Gil I Am / What Is The Great Commission?

Transcript

What Is The Great Commission? · Gil I Am

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Did you know that Jesus' final command was not delivered
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: to a crowd of thousands? There were no cheering multitudes,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: no grand temple, no Roman officials waiting to record his words.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: There were only 11 disciples standing on a mountain in Galilee,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: 11 ordinary men who had recently scattered in fear. One
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: disciple was missing because Judas had betrayed him. Peter had
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: denied him. Thomas had doubted him. And even as the
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: risen Christ stood before them, Matthew tells us that some
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: still doubted. Yet Jesus looked at this imperfect group and
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: entrusted them with a mission that would change the world.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: This is the Great Commission. But who received it? What
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: did Jesus command? When and where did he give it?
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: And how were his followers supposed to accomplish something that
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: appeared humanly impossible? This is Did You Know? The Moment
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: of Truth. The story begins after the darkest weekend in
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: human history. Jesus Christ had been arrested, mocked, beaten, crucified,
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: and buried. His enemies believed the movement was finished. The
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: religious authorities thought the problem had been solved. Rome had
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: sealed the tomb and placed guards outside it. But early
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Sunday morning, the stone was rolled away. Jesus Christ rose
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: from the dead. For the next 40 days, he appeared
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: to his followers and gave them what the Bible calls
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: many convincing proofs that he was alive. He spoke with them.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: He ate with them. He allowed them to touch him.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: At one gathering, more than 500 people saw him at
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: the same time. The crucified Savior was alive, and he
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: had one final assignment for his followers. Matthew 28, 16
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: tells us, Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Notice that Jesus called them back to Galilee. Galilee was
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: where much of their journey had begun. It was where
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: Jesus called fishermen away from their nets. It was where
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: he taught the crowds, healed the sick, calmed the storm,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: and fed thousands with a few loaves and fish. Now
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: they returned to that familiar region, but everything had changed.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: The teacher they had followed was now standing before them
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: as the risen Lord. Matthew continues, When they saw him,
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: they worshipped him, but some of them doubted. Did you
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: catch that? Some doubted. These men were not fearless superheroes.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: They were human beings struggling to understand the impossible things
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: standing behind them. Yet Jesus did not discard them because
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: of their weakness. He did not say, come back when
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: your faith is perfect. Instead, he came near and said,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: That statement is the foundation of the Great Commission. Jesus
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: did not begin with what the disciples could do. He
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: began with what he possessed, all authority. Rome had political authority.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: Religious leaders had influence. Armies possessed weapons. Kings sat upon thrones.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: But Jesus declared that every power in heaven and upon
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: the earth was ultimately under His authority. Then came the command, Therefore,
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: in the name of the Father and the Son and
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit. And then, teach these new disciples to
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: obey all the commands I have given you. Finally, He
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: gave them this promise, And be sure of this, I
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: am with you always, even to the end of the age.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: That is the Great Commission. Now, Let us examine the who,
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: the what, the when, the where, and the how. First, who.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: The command was initially spoken to the eleven apostles. These
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: were the men Jesus had personally trained. They had witnessed
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: his ministry, heard his teaching, seen his death, and encountered
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: him after his resurrection. But the command could not have
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: been limited to those eleven men. Why? Because Jesus told
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: them to teach new disciples to obey everything he had commanded,
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: including the command to make more disciples. The mission was
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: designed to pass from one generation of believers to the next.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: A disciple makes disciples. Those disciples make other disciples. The
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: message continues until people from every nation have heard the
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: good news. The Great Commission, therefore, belongs to the entire Church.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: It belongs to pastors and missionaries, but it does not
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: belong only to pastors and missionaries. It belongs to the mechanic,
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: the teacher, the business owner, the farmer, the mother raising children,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: the student sitting in a classroom— and the believer speaking
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: with a neighbor across the fence. If you belong to Christ,
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: you have a place in his mission. Second, what? Jesus said,
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: make disciples. He did not merely say, collect decisions. He
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: did not say, build impressive buildings. He did not say,
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: gather the largest crowds. He said to make disciples. A
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: disciple is more than someone who knows the name of Jesus.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: A disciple is a follower, student, and apprentice of Jesus Christ.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: Someone who trusts him, learns from Him, obeys Him, and
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: increasingly reflects His character. The Great Commission includes proclaiming the Gospel.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: It calls people to repent, believe, and receive the forgiveness
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: that only Christ can provide. But it does not end
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: at conversion. New believers are to be baptized in the
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: Baptism publicly identifies them with Jesus, His death, burial, and resurrection.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: and welcomes them into the visible fellowship of his people.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Then they must be taught, not merely taught to memorize information,
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: but taught to obey everything Jesus commanded. Love God, love
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: your neighbor, forgive those who hurt you, care for the poor,
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: speak the truth, remain faithful, reject hypocrisy, take up your cross,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: follow Christ. The Great Commission is not simply about producing
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: church members, it is about forming people whose entire lives
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: belong to Jesus. Third, when? Jesus delivered this commission after
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: his resurrection and shortly before his ascension. Sin had been
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: paid for. Death had been defeated. The tomb was empty.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: The disciples now had a message based upon an accomplished
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: historical event. They were not being sent to announce a philosophy.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: They were being sent to testify about something God had done.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Christ had died. Christ had risen. Christ offers forgiveness and
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: eternal life. The book of Acts tells us that Jesus
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: remained with his disciples for 40 days after the resurrection.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: Before ascending into heaven, he told them not to begin
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: the mission in their own strength. They were to wait
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: for the Holy Spirit. Acts 1.8 records his words. You
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: and you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere,
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: of the earth. The mission began publicly at Pentecost, when
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit came upon the believers. Peter preached, thousands responded,
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: and the church began to grow. The Great Commission was
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: given nearly 2,000 years ago, but it remains active today.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: Jesus said he would be with his followers even to
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: the end of the age. The age has not yet ended. Therefore,
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: the assignment has not expired. Fourth, where? Jesus gave the
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: command on a mountain in Galilee. although his final instructions
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: and ascension are also associated with the area near Jerusalem
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: and the Mount of Olives. But the destination was much
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: larger than either Galilee or Jerusalem. Jesus said, all nations.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: The Greek expression refers to all peoples or ethnic groups.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: The gospel was never intended to remain inside one nation,
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: one culture, one language, or one social class. It began
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, the disciples' immediate surroundings. Then it moved into Judea,
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: the wider region, then into Samaria, a place filled with
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: historical tension and cultural hostility. Finally, it was to reach
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: the ends of the earth. That pattern still teaches us something.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: Our mission begins where we are, but it must never
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: end there. Jerusalem may be your home. Judea may be
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: your community. Samaria may represent the people you find difficult
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: to understand, love, or approach. The ends of the earth
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: include people you may never meet personally. but whom you
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: can reach through prayer, support, technology, missions, and faithful churches.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: No race is excluded. No nation is forgotten. No person
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: is beyond the reach of the gospel. Fifth, how? How
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: could 11 uncertain men take the message of Jesus to
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: the entire world? They could not, not by themselves. The
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: Great Commission is surrounded by two enormous promises. Before the command,
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Jesus said, All authority in heaven and on earth has
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: been given to me. After the command, he said, I
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: am with you always. His authority stands behind the mission,
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: and his presence accompanies those who carry it out. The
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: disciples would also receive the power of the Holy Spirit.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: They would preach, teach, baptize, pray, serve, suffer, establish churches,
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: and train others to continue the work. They did not
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: possess modern transportation, television, radio, or the internet. They walked
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: dusty roads. They traveled by ship, They spoke in homes, synagogues, marketplaces, prisons,
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: and public squares. They were threatened, beaten, rejected, and, according
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: to early Christian tradition, many eventually died because of their testimony.
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: But the message continued. From Jerusalem, the gospel traveled into
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Judea and Samaria. It moved through Asia Minor, Greece, Rome, Africa,
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: and far beyond the boundaries of the ancient empire. Kings
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: attempted to silence it. Governments outlawed it. Critics mocked it.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: persecutors imprisoned those who preached it, yet the gospel kept moving.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: And here is the part of the story we sometimes overlook.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: The Great Commission did not spread because the first Christians
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: possessed wealth, political power, or social prestige. It spread because
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: ordinary believers believed that Jesus was alive, and they were
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: willing to tell someone else. One person told another, a
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: parent taught a child, a traveler carried the message to
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: a new city. A persecuted believer fled into another region
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: and preached there. A church sent a missionary. A disciple
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: made another disciple. Century after century, the message crossed oceans,
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: entered new languages, and reached distant lands. And eventually, someone
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: told you. Perhaps it was a parent or grandpa. Perhaps
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: it was a preacher, teacher, friend, or stranger. Perhaps you
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: read the words of Scripture alone. But somewhere in your story,
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: another person participated in the Great Commission so that you
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: could hear the name of Jesus. Now the question is
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: no longer merely, what did those 11 disciples do? The
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: question is, what will we do? You do not need
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: a pulpit to fulfill the Great Commission. You can begin
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: at your dinner table. You can tell your children what
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Christ has done. You can pray with a hurting coworker.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: You can share your testimony with a friend. You can
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: support faithful missionaries. You can serve people who cannot repay you.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: You can open the Bible with someone who has never
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: understood it. You can live in such a way that
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: people see the truth of your words reflected in your conduct.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: We must also remember that the method can never contradict
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: the message. The gospel cannot be spread through hatred, manipulation,
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: or pride. We proclaim the truth boldly, but we do
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: so with love, patience, humility, and respect. We are witnesses,
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: not salespeople. Our responsibility is to share the truth faithfully.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts hearts and
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: draws people to Christ. Why does the Great Commission matter?
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: Because Jesus said that every person needs salvation. Humanity's deepest
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: problem is not political, economic, or educational. Those matters are important,
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: but beneath them lies a spiritual problem. Sin has separated
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: humanity from God. No government can forgive sin. No amount
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: of money can purchase eternal life. No human achievement can
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: defeat death. But Jesus Christ died for sinners, rose from
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: the grave, and offers salvation as a gift to all
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: who repent and believe. The Great Commission matters because people
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: matter to God. Every person you meet bears his image.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: Every person has an eternal destiny. Every person needs the
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: hope found in Christ. And so the final command of
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: Jesus became the first responsibility of his church. Go. Make disciples.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: Baptize them. Teach them to obey, but do not miss
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: the final promise. Jesus did not say, go, and perhaps
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: I will meet you there. He said, I am with
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: you always. In the crowded city, He is there. On
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: the distant mission field, He is there. In the difficult conversation,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: He is there. When someone listens, He is there. When
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: someone rejects the message, He is still there. When you
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: feel qualified, He is there. And when you feel completely inadequate,
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: He is there. Did you know that the Great Commission
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: was entrusted to people who had failed, feared, and doubted?
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: Jesus did not choose them because they were powerful. They
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: became powerful because he chose them, sent them, and remained
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: with them. The same Christ still holds all authority. The
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: same gospel still saves. The same Holy Spirit still empowers believers.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: And the same assignment still stands. The Great Commission is
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: not merely a famous passage to display on a church wall.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: It is a command to carry Christ's message beyond that wall.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: The question is not whether every Christian will travel to
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: another country. The question is whether every Christian is willing
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: to take Jesus wherever he or she goes. Because nearly 2,000
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: years ago, 11 ordinary men stood upon a mountain with
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: an extraordinary Savior. They received a mission too large for
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: them to accomplish alone, but they were never asked to
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: accomplish it alone. And now you know the rest of
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: the story. This has been Did You Know? The Moment
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: of Truth. Please like, subscribe, share, and comment. And until
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: next time, remember, the Great Commission does not end with
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: the word go. It begins there.