Entrusted with the Great Commission
ICS Daily Devotions
Mark 16:15-18, 20 (NKJV) And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised 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.”… And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) gives us an idea of what it means to love the Lord with all our heart, our soul, and our mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Being a messenger and minister of the Gospel is not only an expression of our love for the Lord, but it will also help us to store heavenly rewards that moth and rust cannot destroy.
God never intends for anyone to be separated from Him for eternity. Nonetheless, everyone who hears the Gospel must decide for themselves whether to receive Christ into their lives. Therefore, the Gospel should be preached to everyone.
We should have an eternity perspective because life on earth is temporal. It is also meaningless unless we understand His plan of salvation for us, His calling on our lives, the Great Commission, and the entrustment of the Gospel into our hands. Therefore, we must be effective witnesses for Him in the home, neighbourhood, and marketplace. Our professional jobs and the resources entrusted to us are merely a means for us to live effectively for Him while we wait for Him to return home.
There are two ways to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The first way is to ensure that everyone is mobilised to be an effective witness for Christ within their circles of influence. The second way is for the Evangelist—one of the fivefold ministries mentioned in Ephesians 4:7-13—to preach to the masses, an example of which is Billy Graham. The only difference between the Evangelist and us lies in the operation of the power gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:4-5), as the Holy Spirit will give the Evangelist power gifts such as faith, healing and miracles, whereas most of us will act by faith based on what is written in the opening Scripture.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody can go to the Heavenly Father except through Jesus. The job of preaching the Gospel to the ends of the world has been entrusted to all of us. You and I have been given the responsibility to help save the lost.
Sermon Series：The Time is Now
