The Great Commission

The Great Commission

This Sunday, we were privileged at CDC to have our own Pastor Micky share the message on the Great Commission from Matthew 28:16-20.

Imagine if a man suddenly found a cure for cancer, and he had asked a group of common people like you and me to go out and share it with everyone they knew. It was very good news but would we go out and do it? Would we say we have no time? Would we be afraid of people not believing us? Would we have the right to interfere with people’s lives?

Our Lord Jesus is the cure for the disease of sin, the disease that spoils our lives and the lives of others and eventually leads us to death. And He says to us “The cure is ready, now go and tell others!”

The Great Commission comes to us from the highest authority. All authority and power has been given to me, Jesus said. The Word of God says that one day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He has authority over men, spirits, angels, diseases and even nature. He even has power to forgive sins. A traffic policeman on a street has the authority to stop any vehicle. It doesn’t matter how big the vehicle is or how small the policeman is. All vehicles must submit to the authority given to the traffic policeman by the law. We too have been given that authority by Jesus. Our service is not on our own strength or intelligence but on the power and authority of the name of Jesus.

The Great Commission is a command, not a suggestion. It is not just for Pastors, Evangelists and Missionaries, but for every believer. In the church of Acts, the early believers built a caring community which exuded a powerful, good influence all around them. Their lives and faith appealed to the people. They were ordinary church members, spreading the Word of God wherever they went.

Jesus’ specific command was to go and make disciples by going, sharing, baptizing and teaching. A true disciple is one who is willing to give up everything. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will find it, said the Lord. We are called to make disciples as we are going. The man of Gadarenes who was delivered from demon possession was asked by Jesus to go home and tell his family how much God had done for him. Pastor Micky exhorted the example of sister Connie and Nellie who shared God’s love and word as they went along their respective occupations. Baptizing is like the wedding day, where a believer’s commitment is made public. That’s why it is so important to be baptized once anyone becomes a believer. However, baptism is only the beginning. Now begins a lifetime of discipleship, learning be like the Master, our Lord Jesus.

In His closing words, Jesus said “I am with you always to the very end of the age”. His command is accompanied by a very great promise, that He will be with us always, till the end. Dr.David Livingstone shared with a group of students that he was only able to survive Africa because of that promise, that Jesus would be with him all the way.

Dawson Trotman, the founder of the Navigators believed very strongly in discipleship and preached it wherever he went. His motto was “Always holding somebody up”, and in fact, he died saving a person from drowning.

In closing, Pastor Micky encouraged us to be a true friend to others as we go around gossiping the gospel and to also support the church corporately by bringing friends during the special events such as Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. May the Lord give us the strength and passion to fulfill the Great Commission, and hold it with great importance, each day of our lives.

God bless,

Jason