Good day
In the previous message we took a look at how Christianity is where it is today, with so many Bibles at our disposal, so many churches to attend, so many Christian resources to read and watch, etc. All because of the diligence and faithfulness of those who have gone before us and how we're here today because of their obedience - and that in this same way, someone out there, whether now, or many years from now, will say the same thing about us because of our obedience to the great commission, and availability and obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Now I want to take us back to the instruction of Jesus as it's recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke and link it to the opening chapter of the book of Acts and point something out that I believe is fundamentally important to how all of the above was/continues to be carried out.
In Matthew 28:16-20 we see the instruction of Jesus, which is generally considered the great commission:
"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".
This discussion/event is also recorded in the books of Mark and Luke:
Luke 24:44-49
Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the 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 to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Mark 16:15-20
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ...
Now I can imagine what it must've been like for the disciples at the time of hearing this; they had been with Jesus, seen the works He performed (all the people that were healed, raised from the dead, the feeding of thousands, walking on water, etc.) and even though He was crucified, they now saw Him standing before them, having been raised from the dead, brought back to life and He is now telling them to go into all the world and carry on fulfilling His work ... I can imagine that maybe they felt a sense of joy and excitement at this time, maybe even felt honoured knowing that Jesus could entrust them with this great assignment and I imagine some of them couldn't wait to go out and begin doing so ... BUT ... before they can run off and do so Jesus tells them to wait until they're clothed/endued/baptized with power (Luke 24:49)
Let's see this in Acts 1 where I believe the same discussion is recorded:
Acts 1:1-11
The former account I made, Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Firstly, the reason why I said that the above is a similar account/record of the above passages mentioned in Matthew, Mark and Luke is because it says He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, referring to the Holy Spirit - This is similar to what's recorded in Luke 24:49. It also says that they shall be His witnesses - This is similar to what's recorded in Luke 14:,47-48. It also says that after Jesus had spoken these things, He was taken up into Heaven - This is similar to what's recorded in Mark 16:19. What we can draw from this is that the account recorded in Acts 1 is another record of the same discussion, therefore to read the instruction of Jesus (the great commission) is to read it inclusive of what's recorded above in Acts 1 - and one very important point to highlight here is that Jesus said they needed to wait until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit.
So If I could paraphrase the "great commission" of Jesus Christ, taking the record of Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts 1 into consideration, I could say it this way:
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in My name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 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. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but stay in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued (clothed) with power from on high, for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now, and you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
"So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen."
The reason why I took the time to explain this point in detail is because Jesus made it clear that before they could do anything, they had to wait until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. Only then could they receive the power to be effective witnesses and carry out the "great commission" ... so as much as we're here today because of those who have gone before us, it's important to mention that they couldn't have done so without the help of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 4:33, And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.) This is a very important lesson when it comes to evangelism because without knowing how to depend and partner with the Holy Spirit, we end up trying to fulfill the great commission in our own ability, depending on our own limited understanding and wisdom, resources, etc. when God has made it clear that we need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in order to do so.
All of this comes through fellowship, intimacy and partnership with the Holy Spirit.
In my personal experience I've seen the Holy Spirit tell me where to work because there was specific people He wanted to reach there. I've experienced Him share a word of encouragement with people in the workplace, something that is unique to them, which comes out in the form of a word of knowledge, wisdom or prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:8) and it's exactly what they need to hear. I've experienced Him tell me which petrol station to stop at, which restaurant to go to, where to stay, which airport to go to, which street to walk down while walking somewhere - in all of these examples and many more like these, the outcome has been that there were specific people He wanted to reach that day ... again, all of this comes through fellowship, intimacy and partnership with the Holy Spirit.
Now to do a study here on the Holy Spirit is a far bigger subject to cover. People have written books on the subject of the Holy Spirit, that's how in depth this study is, so to merely mention Him here doesn't do justice to the significance of all that He is in the life of a believer and I would encourage you to study this further.
My encouragement is that you ask that He work with you to carry out the great commission of Jesus Christ and I pray that you will choose to come alongside Him, submit your will to His and bear fruit in this area as you depend on Him.
Amen