FULFILLING THE GREAT COMMISSION

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           Today, I will be exhorting on the topic, "fulfilling the great commission".  The word "commission" means something or a responsibility you have been charged with. So when we say fulfilling the great commission, we are talking about carrying out and bringing to completion the responsibility you have been charged with. In my JS 3, we were made to memorise the great commission and since then, it stuck in my head. Jesus charged His disciples with this commission in Matt 28:18-20. I am going to be explaining the great commission as the Holy Spirit gives guidance. Before we continue, I want to point out some very important and necessary points. The gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John talks about or in summary gives witness to the life, ministry and teachings of Christ when He was on earth. So it becomes very vital for us to know that the gospel compliments one another. For instance, if there is a crime scene and they are four witnesses. All four of them are not going to give the same exact account of what happened. But one thing is sure that their stories will correspond and certain details left out by one person would or could be filled up by one of the other witnesses. It is the same thing that happens in the gospels. I am going to use at least two popular stories or instances from scriptures to prove this point for you to see. Follow me closely and I trust God that you would be blessed.
Matt 3:13-17
13

KJV:Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

14

KJV:But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15

KJV:And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

16

KJV:And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17

KJV:And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Mark 1:9-11

9

KJV:And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

10

KJV:And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

11

KJV:And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Luke 3:21-22

21

KJV:Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

22

KJV:And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Reading the three accounts of Jesus' baptism above, you would begin to think that that was all to the story but let's look at Matt 17:4-6

Matt 17:4-6

4

KJV:Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

5

KJV:While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

6

KJV:And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.

Do you see that there is a different reaction here when compared to the above story in the gospels when God spoke? God spoke loudly and audibly in both scenarios but there were different reactions. I also used to ask myself, why would the Israelites hear the voice of God and see a dove resting on Jesus and immediately not believe that He is the Messiah they have been waiting for. Well, we will find our answer in John's account. Let's take a look at that scripture

John1:32-34

32

KJV:And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

33

KJV:And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

34

KJV:And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

Now we know why the reactions were different. The accounts told to us by other gospels was a revelation to just John Baptist. So reading all the gospels together gives the complete picture. Now let's look at another scenario. Don't be angry that we are opening scriptures, I want to convince you about the necessity of reading the whole gospels to get the full picture because I am about to show you somethings that may rattle the foundations of your belief systems, if this foundation is not put in place, it will leave you with more questions and confusions than before. So let's look at another scenario amongst the very many scenarios.

Mark 15:16-20

16

KJV:And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.

17

KJV:And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,

18

KJV:And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!

19

KJV:And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

20

KJV:And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

Matt 27:57-61

57

KJV:When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:

58

KJV:He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

59

KJV:And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

60

KJV:And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

61

KJV:And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

John 19:1-3

1

KJV:Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

2

KJV:And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,

3

KJV:And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.

Looking at the gospel of Christ's sufferings in Mk, Matt and John only, gives us a picture of His suffering. See one striking thing, they were slapping and hitting Him and still asking Him to tell them who slapped Him. I mean, why would they ask that, doesn't He have eyes? Abi the thing nor shock you? Are there now saying that the king of kings in flesh was now blind? Well lets look at the last gospel account in Luke.    

 Luke 22:63-64

63

KJV:And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him.

64

KJV:And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?

   Now you see what the other gospels left out, they blindfolded Him. I hope you now see the essence of reading the whole gospels together inorder to get the full picture. I think that's enough analysis, let's get to the main topic for the day.

   Let's look at the scriptures that would give us the complete picture

Matt 28:18-20

18

KJV:And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19

KJV:Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20

KJV: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.

Mk 16:15-18

 5KJV:And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16

KJV:He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17

KJV:And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18

KJV:They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

   Luke 24:45-49

45

KJV:Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

46

KJV:And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

47

KJV:And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48

KJV:And ye are witnesses of these things.

49

KJV: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.

Our topic for discussion is gotten from Matt 28:18-20 but if we take just that scripture and run with it, we will work, teach and preach  in error. I have heard Bishop David Oyedepo narrate the story of how the Lord used him to raise his dead younger brother back to life. The Lord had put Mk 16:15-18 in his spirit man and he walked with that scripture alongside the belief that if Jesus actually did it in Bible days, He should still be doing it now. As a result of this story many believers begin to misquote and say they don't need baptism of the Holy Spirit before they can raise the dead or heal the sick. That only shows the level of ignorance these people walk in. I will come back to this later, let's finish our discussion first. Let's begin with Matt 28:18-19a, Jesus came and announced His authority. Then He gave His command to go into all the world to make disciples but pause, let's go to Luke 24:48-49, Do you see that Luke's account takes up from where Matt's own stopped in verse 19? Jesus had just said go and make disciples of all nations but in Luke's account, He tells them before you go wait until you are baptised with the Holy Spirit and power. Do you get that?, now let's return to Matt 28:19b, He says baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So when you receive the Holy Spirit you should be witnessing for Christ, getting people saved and getting them baptised in the Holy Spirit. Do you get that? Then verse 20 says TEACH THEM. You have no idea how the body of Christ truly needs RAW, TRUE AND ACCURATE TEACHINGS OF SCRIPTURES AND THE WORD OF LIFE. Anyways let's continue, let me not deviate from the main crux of my message. Now let's go to Mark's account. Jesus starts by saying, go into the all nations and PREACH the gospel. So you are either TEACHING or PREACHING the gospel but after that, get them saved and baptised. Matt's account tells us what we baptise them into, then verse 17 tells us what happens to those who believe and get baptised.  They can do those things because they have been baptised into the Spirit already. So what is the GREAT COMMISSION?

1. Witnessing for Christ

2. Getting men saved 

3. Getting them baptised into the Holy Spirit

4. Teaching or preaching the truth of God's word.

     The proof of the growth is the signs following. So it means churches or ministries that do not do these four things and do not have the proof are not fulfilling the great commission. But before you set out to fulfill the great commission, you need to be baptised with the Holy Spirit and Power. So are you ready to fulfill the great commission? Do you desire to? Now, you have the necessary knowledge, so go and do the needful? 

    Before I conclude, let me explain a little bit even though not exhaustively one issue I raised during the course of this teaching. Why was Bishop David Oyedepo able to raise the dead even though he wasn't baptised in the Spirit with evidence of speaking in other tongues. Please, I am not castigating nor bringing down the image of God's servant who is also one of the foremost general's of God in this century. He is a father and mentor to many today in the body of Christ, myself included. So back to the explanation. The servant of God was able to raise the dead because he already had the Holy Spirit. Your proof that you are a believer is the Spirit of God now living in you. Remember 1 John 4:13, as soon as you accept Him as Lord and Savior, His Spirit comes and makes abode with you. Thats the seal of guarantee and inheritance of our salvation. So what is Baptism into the Spirit? If the Lord permits and gives grace, we will discuss this another time. For now, remain blessed and please have a good night rest.

 if you realise that men need to hear the gospel more than any other thing in the world then assist us in increasing our world audience by being a constant visitor to the blog and see sharing of the blog as an opportunity to evangelise the gospel to the ends of the earth that you may never get to but internet has made possible. God bless you as you do so in Jesus name. Amen. If you have questions or need clarifications or even counselling then please write to me by gmail at anointedsaviour1@gmail.com, I so much desire to discuss with you. Join us again on Thursday. Remember the world is in dire need of the word of God, so join us spread this word. God bless you richly. Shalom