<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Lord Jesus had twelve men in His \u2018inner circle\u2019 while He was on earth, which were called Apostles.\u00a0 Before their recruitment, they were busy in different professions with some as fishermen (Peter, James and John the sons of Zebedee), tax collectors (Matthew), political activist (Simon and Zealot) and other callings which are not mentioned by the scriptures.\u00a0 When the Lord Jesus called Peter and his partners, He told them, \u2018Follow me, I will make you fishers of men\u2019, Matthew 4:19.\u00a0 They may not have fully understood what was being demanded of them.\u00a0 Nevertheless they chose to follow Jesus.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For three solid years, the Lord taught and instructed them, in public and in private, by parable and by plain speech and most importantly by personal example.\u00a0 Their lives were so impacted that later in Acts 4:13, when they stood before the Jewish council, they could not but take notice of the fact that these were unlearned men who had been with Jesus.\u00a0 While still with them, He sent them on mission outreaches giving them opportunities to put into practice what He had taught them.\u00a0 Soon it was time for the Lord to return to the Father.\u00a0 He called the Apostles and formally commissioned them saying \u2018Peace be unto you; as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you\u2019, John 20:21.\u00a0 After His resurrection, He unfolded to them what He was sending them to do, Mark 16:15-18.\u00a0 They were being sent as missionaries and Kingdom ambassadors to the world, with the message of the gospel.\u00a0 The gospel is God\u2019s offer of salvation to those who believe and also a warning to those who refuse to believe.\u00a0 Knowing the terrain they were to operate in, He gave them power and authority over the power of the devil: power over serpents and poison and power to heal the sick.\u00a0 The backing of the Lord, Matthew 10:1, gave them recognition in heaven and authority on earth.\u00a0 The believer today is also called to be a partaker in this commission and to exercise the divine authority backing this commission.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Commissioning is the act of assigning a duty or a task to an individual or a group of persons with the mind of achieving a defined goal or purpose.\u00a0 To ensure success in achieving the mandate, the commissioned person receives the enabling backing or authority from the commissioner.\u00a0 In the case of the Apostles, the Lord had spent three years teaching them about God\u2019s plan of salvation.\u00a0 How He, Jesus was to die for the sins of the world and thereby reconcile the world to God.\u00a0 The Apostles\u2019 mandate was for them to take this good news to the whole world, with the promise of pardon and salvation for those who believed.\u00a0 The message also included the fate or damnation of those who refuse to believer, Mark 16:16.\u00a0\u00a0 Supernatural abilities were also promised those who believe: to cast out devils in Christ\u2019s name, speak with new tongues, take up serpents and if they drank any deadly thing, they would come to no harm, when they laid hands on the sick, recovery was guaranteed, Mark 16:17-18.\u00a0 Thus we see that their commissioning both carried and mandate and a divine backing.\u00a0 These divine seals must be present even today in anyone laying claim to the Lord\u2019s commission.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There may be individuals who are specifically called of God for a defined work in God\u2019s vineyard.\u00a0 Apostle Paul for example was called to take the message of the gospel to the gentiles.\u00a0 Over the years, there have been other people with similar mandates to reach certain people for the Lord.\u00a0 The initial mandate of Mark 16:15 may have been given to the Apostles, these have since finished their course and have been received into glory but the mission remains to be completed.\u00a0 If the empowerment for the commission was for all who believe, then it stands to reason that the commission is for all who believe.\u00a0 Every believer in Christ is commissioned for the work.\u00a0 The professional, the artisan, teacher, lawyer, doctor, trader, whatever our vocation, we all have been enlisted into the Lord\u2019s army to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth.\u00a0 We need not go to distant mission fields.\u00a0 The Lord expects us to stand in for Him just where we are!\u00a0 There is however room for missionary work in distant lands.\u00a0 There are many nations today where Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Shintoism still hold sway over the lives of the people.\u00a0 These too need to be reached and won to the Kingdom and Lordship of Christ.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There is a purpose in every commission.\u00a0 The purpose of the divine commission is tied to the purpose of Christ\u2019s coming into the world.\u00a0 The scriptures record in John 3:16-17, \u2018For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.\u00a0 For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved\u2019.\u00a0 Christ came to bring salvation to the world and our commission is to bring this good news to the world.\u00a0 God desires the salvation of all mankind, both the savage and the civilized.\u00a0 Romans 3:23 summarizes it this way, \u2018For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God\u2019.\u00a0 All have sinned and all need salvation.\u00a0 Nobody is excluded.<\/p>\n
The commission has challenges.\u00a0 The strategy for reaching people with the gospel differs from place to place.\u00a0 The challenges in closed and hostile territories surely differ from those in open and deceptively receptive societies.\u00a0 Whatever the location we find ourselves, our task is to bring men to the saving knowledge of Christ.\u00a0 We need to prayerfully ask the Lord how He would have us approach our assignment in each location.\u00a0 This way, we can continue to have open doors even in the midst of hostility and success among those who because they are friendly are mistaken for saved.\u00a0 The need for prayer and carefully listening to the Holy Spirit for direction cannot be over-emphasized.\u00a0 The decision to use either \u2018join the chariot of the eunuch\u2019 on the desert road, Acts 8:26-30, or some other Spirit directed innovation must come from the Lord, if we are to make a success of the commission.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Empowerment for the execution of assignments comes in different forms.\u00a0 It could come financially to enable mobilization and procurement of necessary resources; it could also be informational, that is, giving access to a body of knowledge from which the un-enlisted are shielded.\u00a0 Irrespective of the form in which it is given, the commissioned is thus empowered for success.<\/p>\n
The commissioned believer is empowered for unqualified success by two divine provisions: the first is the Name of the Lord Jesus while the second is the power of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 In Mark 16:16-18, we are told of the signs that will follow those who believe.\u00a0 The Lord said, \u2018In my Name, they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick , and they shall recover\u2019.\u00a0 All these are possible if we do them in the Name of the Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n
What is in a name, someone may ask. \u00a0A lot is in a name.\u00a0 In our society, where influence peddling is very rife, the mere mention of the name of a certain personality can open countless doors.\u00a0 The Lord Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.\u00a0 He is the only potentate in the universe.\u00a0 His Name is revered in Heaven and dreaded in hell.\u00a0 This is the Name above all names.\u00a0 At the mention of His Name, every knee bows and every tongue confesses Him as Lord, Philippians 2:10.\u00a0 By this Name, the believer is given power and authority to do exploits, surmount obstacles and deliver men from the captivity of the devil.\u00a0 This is the Name that has been entrusted to us as empowerment for fulfilling the commission.<\/p>\n
Before His ascension into heaven, the Lord admonished the Apostles to tarry in Jerusalem until they were induced with power from on high, Luke 24:49.<\/p>\n
Furthermore in Acts 1:8, he said \u2018But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth\u2019.\u00a0 Inducement with power at Pentecost transformed the Apostles.\u00a0 The power of the Holy Spirit turned these men who had hidden themselves for fear of the Jews into fearless witnesses.\u00a0 Peter\u2019s power-packed sermon on the day of Pentecost won 3,000 men into the Kingdom.\u00a0 The Church that Christ birthed at Pentecost can only be sustained by the power of Pentecost and can do further exploits only by the power of Pentecost.\u00a0 So, every believer that is still committed to fulfilling the great commission must seek a personal Pentecost and the power of the Holy Spirit imparts.\u00a0 Only then can we hope to take the whole gospel to the whole world, before the Lord returns.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The church is God\u2019s commission army on earth.\u00a0 Every member of the church is a commissioned soldier in the army.\u00a0 We have been commissioned to preach the gospel to all men in every nation.\u00a0 As long as there is still someone who has not heard the gospel or someone who has heard but is yet to yield to the Lordship of Christ, we have work to do.<\/p>\n
This lesson is therefore another reminder as to who we are and a reminder of the task that has been committed to us.\u00a0 God has no alternative strategy for bringing men into His Kingdom.\u00a0 It can only be done by preaching the gospel.\u00a0 In Romans 1:16, Apostle Paul submitted that the gospel is \u2018the power of God unto salvation\u2019.\u00a0 This task of preaching is committed only to men and not angels.\u00a0 While it is a task committed to the body of Christ, the individual member has a responsibility to fulfill.\u00a0 The Lord Jesus is that nobleman who has journeyed to a far country to receive a Kingdom.\u00a0 On His return, we shall individually give an account of our stewardship.\u00a0 What will your account be?\u00a0 All that the church needs to fulfill the great commission has been given to her.\u00a0 We have been given the authority in His Name.\u00a0 Any declaration we make in His Name for the furtherance of His Kingdom has His divine backing.\u00a0 We have been given authority to bring all opposition to His rule under captivity, Psalm 149:6-9.\u00a0 According to verse 9, \u2018his honor has all His saints\u2019, and that includes you.<\/p>\n
Since the day of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost was poured out on the church, the Spirit has been on earth convicting men and giving them grace for salvation, wherever the gospel is preached.\u00a0 He waits on us to move an only then does He move.\u00a0 He yearns to demonstrate God\u2019s power through us but most often He finds us unprepared and uncommitted; this greatly restrains Him.\u00a0 If we can return to Him in repentance and renewed commitment, we can witness another chapter in the Acts of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mark 16:15 \u2013 \u201cGo into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Commissioned and Empowered Central Thought:\u00a0 Every believer is a commissioned officer in the Lord\u2019s army. Text: \u00a0Mark 16:15-18; Matthew 10:1; Acts 1:7-8 The Lord Jesus had twelve men in His \u2018inner circle\u2019 while He was on earth, which were called Apostles.\u00a0 Before their recruitment, they were busy in different professions with some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sundayschool"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=287"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":292,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287\/revisions\/292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}