March 23, 2014 – Pastor Tim – “The Great Commission”
Mark 16:15-18, And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 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.”
In this passage, Jesus gave the Great Commission to His disciples. Jesus is about to depart and be with the Father, and His disciples (with the help of The Holy Spirit) are going to take His place on earth. They are going to be His representatives and continue His ministry—to do what He would do if He were there. Jesus gave them the Great Commission to proclaim the Good News to a world for whom He died. He revealed that the two-fold ministry would continue.
First, the Commission was given to meet the spiritual need of man. In
Mark 16:16a Jesus said, He who believes and is baptized will be saved…
Second, was to meet the spiritual needs of men.
Mark 16:17 says, And these signs will follow those who believe…
The Greek work for “believe” in verse 17 is the same word that you will find in verse 16. Both promises stem from the simple term “believing.” The act of believing brings one into the family of God. And then, the rich cluster of miraculous promises that follow also belongs to them who believe—or, as the Greek says, to “the believing ones.”
People everywhere have clung to the first part of the Great Commission: verses 15-16,
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Why have people clung to the first part? And not the second?
They knew how to use the part to believe and be saved—to receive salvation, and the remission of sin. But many people have turned away from the rest of the Great Commission because they didn’t know how to use it. Or are maybe afraid it’s not going to work.
Verse 17 & 18 says,
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 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.”
Someone might say, “Now that can’t be true. I am just as saved as you are and none of those signs follow me.” Our response would be, “It didn’t say that the signs would follow them that don’t believe. It says that the signs will follow them that believe.
If you don’t believe, why would you expect signs to follow you? You have to believe what God said first and then the signs will follow you.
We need to know what our rights are. We need to know what belongs to us. All of the Gospel promises are ours. It is our family right, because we are in the family of God. Our right to healing, to saving, to delivering is given to us in God’s plan of redemption, in the authority of Jesus’ name. Jesus said, In My name they will…
Jeremiah 1:12, Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”
Mark 16:20 says, And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
As we go forth to preach and teach, is the Lord with us? Someone might say, “Yes, He’s working with us to save people.” Well, thank God He is. But that’s not what the Bible says. It says that, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. What signs are to follow? The signs Jesus was talking about in Mark 16. Salvation, sickness, disease, poverty, demons and devils are subject to us in the Name of Jesus.
The signs Jesus talked about in Mark 16 follow me! Not because I’m a part of the 5 fold ministry, but, because I’m a believer. I believe and am saved. And signs follow me because, I am a believing one. I cast out devils in Jesus’ Name. I speak with new tongues. I lay hands on the sick, the oppressed and they shall recover.
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