The Great Commission

I promised to let you know more about Josh's sermon from last Sunday. Here are the notes I took. Enjoy!

• Our Mission- Get the Gospel to the Nations
• Our Promise- The Mission Will be Completed 
• Over 40% of the world has not been reached with the Gospel 
• Matthew 24:14 says "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come." 
• The Gospel has been taken to all nations, but when we refer to nations here, we aren't referring to Philippines or America, but peoples. For instance, the Alta tribe here in Aurora. 
• Revelation 7:9 says "After this I looked and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands." 
• Matthew 28:19-20 holds 4 commands. As we read it, let's ask "Am I/Are we following this command?" "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." 
1. GO- not to be confused with come. I wouldn't go to a mosque. Why would a non-believer come to church to worship a God they don't know or worship? Example- Bro. Benjy (a local ice cream man) doesn't stay at home and shout 'Come!'. He goes to his customers. And our gospel is way more valuable than ice cream. 
2. MAKE DISCIPLES- not converts. 2 Timothy 2:2 says "and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." Make disciples who will make disciples. Pray, Go, and Give to all nations. Psalm 96 says declare His glory. God cares about this. 
3. BAPTIZE- all disciples must be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 
4. TEACH- it doesn't say teach them all I've taught you. It says teach them to observe all I've taught you. This is more than passing on knowledge. We must teach them how to follow and obey. Knowledge is wasted if it isn't transferred into obedience. 

• Are we obeying this command? If yes, great. If not, why? 
• Here is a list of typical reasons why Josh believes we do no obey: 
• Lack of knowledge. If this is you, now you know. 
• We don't know how. There are so many leaders in the church who want to help you learn how. Please ask. 
• We are unwilling to change our plans. Ex- The church in America has many successes but one of it's major downfalls is their desire to build bigger buildings and pave parking lots. These in themselves are not bad, but the mission is not done! We must seek God's plan. Another ex- It's easier to invite people to church than to go to the people, but this is not necessarily what the Bible tells us to do. 
• Our satisfaction is not in Christ alone. Until we are fully satisfied in Christ, we will not desire to take His glory to the nations. 
• We are entangled in worldly passions. For example, involved in sexual immorality or maybe you care more about checking facebook and spending time on the internet. Sin keeps us from fulfilling the Great Commission. 
• We don't care about God's glory among the nations. Look at Scripture. God is passionate about His glory being made known! 
• Manny Pacquiao is known around the world. The #2 boxer is not really known outside of the Philippines. This is the difference in global vs. national fame. God wants HIS NAME to be KNOWN. He wants to be global. We go and we tell because Christ deserves the worship of all. (For all you ladies out there, like myself, who have no idea who Manny Pacquiao is, he is a world  champion Filipino boxer. Last Sunday when Josh spoke was one of his biggest fights of the year. The congregation loved that he mentioned him!) 
• 7, 107 out of 15, 565 people groups are unreached by the Gospel. This is 2.9 out of 7 billion people. Over 2/3 of the world does not worship Him. 25,000 are dying every day of preventable diseases. The command is urgent. We have to GO. 
• Our Response- Our only option is to trust Christ and obey what He said to do. 
• This life is a war and it is not easy. But our God is worth it and He has already promised that the command will be fulfilled. 
• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says "For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 

Please really take your time to read these words that God spoke through Josh. I was both challenged and encouraged. May you be spurred on as well.
I hope you all have a blessed week.