1. The Great Commission and the Holy Spirit

2. Some have compared this scene with the one at Mount Sinai:
Israel had just been liberated from Egypt
The Church had just been liberated from sin

3. Some have compared this scene with the one at Mount Sinai:
God commissions Israel as His people.
The church is commissioned as the people of God.

4. Some have compared this scene with the one at Mount Sinai:
God reveals Himself with authority
Jesus claims universal authority

5. Some have compared this scene with the one at Mount Sinai:
God gives His Commandments to His people
Jesus gives His commandment to His Church

6. Mathew 28:18-20
“Then 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: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.”

7. “All authority has been given to me in heaven and earth.”
Jesus has legal authority because of creation and because of redemption
Jesus has legal authority over the Church because He founded it and established at the price of His life
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word. Ephesians 5:25,26

8. Seeing Him through the eyes of the disciples:
He lived and walked with them
They followed Him around and were close to Him for 3 years
They saw him show compassion and minister to the needs of the people
They witnessed His sacrifice
They saw Him resurrected and victorious over sin and death
Jesus had not only the legal authority, but the authority of love and sacrifice

9. “Therefore” I am the Creator….
I have called you and have founded this movement that is my Church….
I love you….
I have paid the ultimate price….
The mission is not yet finished, there is still work to be done….
I claim Universal authority and ask for your obedience…

10. “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
“Go” is a simple but meaningful word
It is a command to physically move
It is a command to figuratively bring down the walls of the Church. The Church is not to be an exclusive society, but and open community
It places the burden on us to meet people where they are

11. “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
“Go” is a command to meet people in their ignorance and in their lostness
It is a command to meet people in their situation

12. Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and and release from darkness for the prisoners to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion….

13. Matthew 25:34-36
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’’

14. “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
Jesus is commanding His followers to leave their comfort zone in order to reach out to the lost
“Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed sympathy to them, He ministered to their needs and earned their trust. Then He bade them, ‘follow me.’” MH

15. There are three actions that the Church needs to do as she goes
Make disciples of all nations
Baptizing them
Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you

16. Make disciples of all nations
The Church is to produce followers of Christ
It needs to introduce Christ to people
It needs to reflect the character of Christ enticing people to follow Him
To be a disciple means much more than to be a Church member

17. Baptizing them This is as Jesus was baptized
Baptism is the symbolic gate of entrance to the Kingdom
This is where most of our emphasis has been

18. Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you
The Church has a teaching mission
First, we teach people about Jesus and invite them to follow Him
Then, we are to teach them to obey what Jesus commanded us
The church has a mandate to bring people to maturity in Christ through relationships, baptism and through teaching

19. “Make disciples, baptize them, teach them…”
To be faithful to Jesus’ Commission we have to carry out all three actions

20. I am with you always
The presence of Christ is promised to His followers as they carry out His Commission
How else can small band of poor disciples carry out such mandate?
They did not have the technology or resources to accomplish it.
They lacked the power themselves, the power would be in the presence of Jesus through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. “Ye shall receive power.” Acts 1:8

21. Acts 1:4,5
“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’"

22. The Acts of the Apostles Pg. 37
“These days of preparation were days of deep heart searching. The disciples felt their spiritual need and cried to the Lord for the holy unction that was to fit them for the work of soul saving. They did not ask for a blessing for themselves merely. They were weighted with the burden of the salvation of souls. They realized that the gospel was to be carried to the world, and they claimed the power that Christ had promised.”

23. To the very end of the age
“The lapse of time has wrought no change in Christ’s parting promise to send the Holy Spirit as His representative. It is not because of any restriction on the part of God that the riches of His grace do not flow earthward to men. If the fulfillment of the promise is not seen as it might be, it is because the promise is not appreciated as it should be. If all were willing, all will be filled with the Spirit.

24. To the very end of the age
Wherever the need of the Holy Spirit is a matter of little thought, there is seen spiritual drought, spiritual darkness, spiritual declension and death. Whenever minor matters occupy the attention, the divine power which is necessary for the growth and prosperity of the church, and which will bring all other blessings in its train, is lacking, though offered in infinite plenitude.” The Acts of the Apostles pg. 50

25. “If the fulfillment of the promise is not seen as it might be, it is because the promise is not appreciated as it should be.”
“Wherever the need of the Holy Spirit is a matter of little thought, there is seen spiritual drought, spiritual darkness, spiritual declension and death.”

26. An exhortation
“The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the church is looked forward to as in the future; but it is the privilege of the church to have it now. Seek for it, pray for it, believe for it. We must have it, and Heaven is waiting to bestow it.”-- Review and Herald, March 19, Evangelism pg. 701

27. How many say tonight: Lord, I acknowledge your authority
By your grace, I want to be faithful and obedient to the Great Commission
I want my Church to go, and carry out all three actions
I want to commit to prayer for the anointing of the Holy Spirit