with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, return to thine own house, and shew how
Luke 8:38-39
God has a purpose for all people, including a general purpose for believers and as we can see from the passage above a specific purpose for each individual
I’ve been stuck in this account of the man plagued with a legion of demons for a while now. Through this account, we see Jesus' miraculous power at work in the man and in the city that the man came from, we see Him in His authority over Satan, we see faith personified with some of the people of the city and we see how Jesus gave purpose to the man that He freed from the demons. After this man is delivered, he’s found to be sitting at the feet of Jesus, that’s what he wanted to do, just sit at the feet of Jesus and follow Jesus around.
And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Mark 5:18
This sounds like a good plan; just sit at the feet of the one that just restored you to wholeness. But that was God's purpose for this man.
Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. Mark 5:19-20
God doesn’t save us to sit and just luxuriate in our salvation. He certainly doesn’t save us to get spiritually fat and lazy; too bloated to be of any use. No! Then for what purpose does He call us? He calls us to the harvest field where there is plenty of work to be done. It’s the responsibility - our obligation to bridge the gap of a sin-sick world to a forgiving Father.
In
order to do that, negative factors; our infirmities, our struggles and our deficits
must be dealt with. God knows that and
that’s why He gave us power to help us overcome.
But ye
shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye
shall be witnesses unto me . . . (Acts 1:8)
It’s
like preparing the ground for planting in the natural world. The ground must be
broken up and the rocks and thistles removed before it’s ready to receive the
seed. We must right the wrong in our
life according to biblical principles and standards. There is preparation that must occur so that
we don’t end up in one of the negative categories of the planting of the seed
parable; which is the word of God.
All
the way back to Old Testament times, God had a purpose for the ones that He
called. The children of Israel had a
purpose. God raised up a nation born of
Abraham named Israel as the people through which He could reveal His plan of
salvation to the world. After Israel rejected Jesus, God raised up a new group
of people through which He would actively work in the world. That group is
known as the body of Christ or the Church. The Church is still in existence today and still has a
special position and purpose in God's plan for the nations.
After the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, He appeared several times to His followers. Each time, He presented an urgent challenge to them. That challenge was their responsibility to reach the entire world with the Gospel message. This mission, assigned to believers, by Jesus has become known as the "Great Commission." It’s the greatest assignment ever given man. It is the responsibility to reach every living person with the Gospel.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:18-20
He also told His followers,
". . . As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." John 20:21
The
Great Commission began with God. Over the years God repeatedly sent His
messengers, the prophets, to draw sinful man to Himself. These messengers were
often rejected. Finally, God sent His only Son, Jesus to save us from our sin.
Everything
God required of Jesus as a messenger, He also requires of us since we are sent
"as" the Father sent Him. So, what was required of Jesus?
Ø He was willing to
suffer and die for the mission.
Ø He fulfilled His
mission by both declaring, decreeing and demonstrating and
Ø finishing the work
God sent Him to do.
Jesus
revealed His purpose and the continuation of what He started to us. Known as the key to the Scriptures. It
reveals God's plan for the death and resurrection of Jesus.
It
calls for sharing the message of redemption to the nations of the world.
Then
opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And
said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and
to rise from the dead the third day: And
that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye
are witnesses of these things. And,
behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of
Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. Luke 24:45-49
It’s
not enough that Jesus died for the sins of men unless there is a revealing of
the gospel of the kingdom of God. Lost men aren’t automatically saved. We have
to share the Gospel with them and lead them to God. Everyone should know that the
penalty; the payment for sin is death.
For the wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Romans
6:23)
Believe
that! Sin comes with a price. If I knew
that death is what I owe for my indulgence in unrighteousness but knew that
there was a different way; I do believe my choice would be a different one. I believe that we could stand flat-footed and
tell the devil, our flesh and the world, no thank you; you keep it, the cost is
too high. I’m good right where I am
serving God to the best of my ability!
Because
of sin, every man and woman is headed for Hell. Only those who accept Jesus
and receive forgiveness for sin can get off the broad path and walk the narrow
path that leads to salvation. The broad
path is the way that leads to destruction—nearly everyone chooses that crowded
road! Dare to put your faith in God where,
yes, the way is difficult, but it’s the path that leads to
eternal life—so few even find it!”
Because strait is the
gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that
find it. Matthew 7:14
God doesn’t want one single person to perish:
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
There
is no question as to God's desire for everyone in the world to be saved:
For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)
That
gets us back to our purpose as followers of Jesus:
√ How can the
“whosoever” call on God for help if they’ve not yet believed?
√ How can they believe
in the narrow way if they’ve not yet heard of the redeemer?
√ How can they learn of
the gospel of the Kingdom of God and the way to salvation; eternal life if
there is no one out there; in the highways and byways or the hedges as the
bible calls it if there is none to proclaim it?
How then
shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they
believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a
preacher? (Romans 10:14)
God
wants everyone to be saved, but someone must tell them this good news.
To
the believers, the followers of Jesus, the command is to "go." Go where?
The destination is "all the world." Not just to our family,
our friends, our places of comfortability, but every place where we see the
lost. The Gospel is to be preached to
every creature. Jesus promises to work with those who go by powerful
demonstrations of miraculous signs.
Some
people seek signs in their ministry when they’re not fulfilling the command to
go and then they wonder why they have no power.
Jesus rebuked the disciples for their unbelief and hardness of heart and
in His rebuke He told them again:
"Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will
be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:14-16
In
other words he was saying, don’t concern yourself with who won’t or don’t
believe you; just go do what I said.
Jesus
has chosen and ordained us to go and bring forth spiritual fruit. We are the
extension of the kingdom. Jesus is the
vine and we are the branches. It is the life-flow of Jesus within us that
brings spiritual harvest. We’ve been
chosen of God:
You
did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and
bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father
in My name He may give you. John 15:16
Jesus
said "all power" was given to Him by God. Because of this, Jesus had
authority to commission His followers to circle the globe with the Gospel.
Then
the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had
appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped
Him; but some doubted.
And
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me
in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age." Amen. Matthew 28:16-20
Note
in this passage:
Personnel are the
people Jesus is calling to the task. "Ye" [all believers] are the messengers.
The power of God is the motivation that enables the messenger to go forth. It is the power of the Holy Spirit of God, not the power of man and his methods.
"Go" is the mandate given in this record of the Great Commission. It is to be the priority of our life, not an option.
Teaching and preaching are the methods to be used.
The purpose is to make disciples of all nations. This is the multiplication of the Gospel.
The people to be reached are "all nations." This is the magnitude or scope of the command. It includes the entire world.
The one who is to go with us is Jesus. This is the manager of the program. He will guide and direct us through His Holy Spirit as we fulfill the Great Commission.
The message is to be taught. The message to take to the world is the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Sermonette
