What is a “commission” and why is it “great?” A “commission” is a command, an instruction, and a duty given to an individual or a group for a specific purpose. The commission I’m referring to is the one given by Jesus Christ, just before he ascended into heaven. It is called the “great” commission in my opinion for at least two reasons. First, it is great because of its importance. Nothing is more important than for a person to hear the gospel of Jesus and have the opportunity to trust him. Second, it is great because of the person that gave the commission, the Lord Jesus himself. Sunday is our Missions Sunday for this year, and I thought I’d share three quick thoughts about missions in this blog.

  1. Command: We all have authorities throughout our life. Someone is always telling us what to do. One young man told his friend, “My whole life my parents have told me what to do. When to get up, when to go to bed, do my homework, wash the dishes, rake the yard. At school, teachers told me to sit down, listen closely, open and close your book, you have thirty minutes to take this exam. I’m sick of people telling me what to do with my life and I’m going to get away from all this authority. I’m joining the Marine Corp.” The greatest authority we have is the Lord. Jesus himself commanded us to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 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” (Matthew 28:19-20). Each of the other gospels has similar words from the Lord Jesus as does the book of Acts. If we are to be obedient Christians, missions must be a vital part of our lives.
  2. Core: To whom was Jesus speaking when he gave these last words? His group of disciples (learners) that had been with him for over three years. This rag tag group had learned and listened and had become apostles (sent ones). From this early group, growth had taken place. It was expected. What type of growth? Those that placed their faith in Jesus and dedicated their lives to him. What do we call this core group today? It is called the church. Individuals make up the church bodies in their local vicinities. What this tells me is that each of us personally are to be sharing Christ with those we meet and that we as a church are to be sharing Christ as a group. We see this played throughout the New Testament with individuals, like Andrew and Philip, telling others about Jesus and then churches like Antioch sending missionaries to evangelize and start churches. Every New Testament church has two primary functions. The core of the church is to glorify God in all we do and then spread the gospel to the whole world. Nothing we do as a church should supersede these two things.
  3. Commitment: To succeed in most things in life it takes commitment. A decision must be made to start and a determination to continue no matter the hardship. Loving missions means loving missionaries. Loving missions means putting our lives into this great endeavor. We ought to personally love missionaries. How does this look in everyday life? It means you stay in touch with them once you get to know them. Read their prayer letters and see what they are doing on their field. We are amid a two-week period where everyone who has an email on file at the church receives the name and story of some of our missionaries. Pray for them by name. It’s amazing that the more we pray for others the closer connection we experience with them. Open your home. Occasionally missionaries take what is called a furlough. They will come off the field to give a report to the churches that support them. Hotel rooms these days are around $200 per night. Wouldn’t it be a blessing to these men and women if they had a nice room to sleep in and a nice shower without costing them a couple of sawbucks each night? Also, we can support those that the Lord has touched your heart concerning. We practice Faith Promise giving. This Sunday we will take our Faith Promise for the coming year. Have you asked the Lord what He would have you do personally? I hope the commitment level our church feels is great. I am praying this year’s Missions Ministry will be so marvelous that we can take on more and more missionaries. Before Sunday, ask what you should commit this year.

Let ‘s all remember the last words of Jesus. Go, baptize, disciple, and then have those do the same thing. Multiplication is powerful when it is used. Getting the gospel to the lost is the “great commission.” May we do what we can.