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THE UNFINISHED COMMISSION
TUESDAY, MARCH 29
Mark 16:14-16

Matthew 28:16-20

 

“…Go ye into all the world,

and preach the gospel…”

 

THE UNFINISHED COMMISSION
 
Jesus commanded His disciples, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). This is further stated in full in Matthew 28:19,20, “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 alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Famously known as the Great Commission, the Rev Dr Timothy Tow called it the “Unfinished Commission.” He observed, “When Sun Yat-Sen, Father of the Chinese Republic, toppled the Manchu regime in 1911 and became its president, he called on his followers: ‘The Revolution is not yet finished. Let comrades struggle on.’ The Great Commission, which our Lord gave to the Church 2000 years ago, is an Unfinished Commission. There remains much land to be conquered, and untold millions have yet to hear the Gospel. With the Return of our Saviour looming nearer each day, this Unfinished Commission must be accelerated.…
 
“Now, the Unfinished Commission is a full-four Commission. Many works in the Name of the Lord by para-church organisations stress one or two points, but it is a full-four Commission: (1) Go! This is the Missions emphasis. (2) Teach (matheteusate), i.e., to make disciples. This is the Evangelistic emphasis. (3) Baptise. This is the Church Planting emphasis. (4) Teach (didaskontes). This is the Indoctrination emphasis. When we diligently carry out these four points of the Unfinished Commission, we will be attended with divine power and blessed with His holy presence. ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth… and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ How often the Great Commission is misquoted, leaving out the all-pervasive power of God in us, around us and behind us to thrust us forward. No wonder the little headway we make in our own strength.”
 
THOUGHT: The Gospel begins with “Go.”

PRAYER: (Pray for the zeal to share the Gospel with someone today.)

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