Fulfilling the Great Commission in the 21 st century

Jesus gives the Great Commission Matthew 28:18-20— “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost Mark 16: 15-16– “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned” Luke 24: 46-47– “…and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem”

Jesus gives the Great Commission (cont.) John 20:21– “Peace be unto you; as my father hath sent me, even so send I you.” Acts 1:8– “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”

New Testament church doing mission work Philip Persecuted Christians Acts 8:1,4– “And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria…therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.”

New Testament church doing God’s work (cont.) Paul Acts 26: 15-18– “And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou has seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto thee; Deliver thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: but showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God”

Reasons for not doing mission work Not prepared to be a missionary Acts 2: 1-8— “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And they were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?”

Reasons for not doing mission work (cont.) Fear of leaving the country Fear of failure 1 Corinthians 3:6-7– “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planted anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” Ezekiel 3:17-19– “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

Why we must fulfill our mission We might be the only Christians some people ever meet Eternal life=eternal happiness Our mission is a tremendous honor 1 Peter 2:9– “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

How to fulfill the Great Commission Pray for countries Pray for missionaries Study the Bible with people around the world via Internet GO ON A SHORT-TERM MISSIONS TRIP Acts 1:8– Share the gospel in your community, your country, with other cultures, and with other countries