Are You Qualified to Carry Out the Great Commission?

Ultimately, every Christian who has made a decision to follow Christ must be willing to proclaim the Great Commission.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

This was the last request our Lord made before ascending into the heavens.  He gave those who wished to follow Him one final instruction; GO.

Do you believe you are qualified to carry out the Great Commission?

With over twenty five years of experience, I have found that most believers do not believe they are qualified to preach the Good News. Most Christians believe they need to be a professional preacher, pastor or evangelist. However, as you study the Bible you will come to an entirely different conclusion.

Jesus did have some qualifications but it is not what you might expect. As you study Matthew Chapter 28, you will find three (3) common qualifications for those He chose to proclaim the Gospel.

Let’s first read  Matthew 28:1-10, 16-17  and see if you can spot these qualifications;

…Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.  And behold a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.  And His appearance was like lightning, and his garment was white as snow;  and the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  And the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.  Come, see the place where He was lying.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.  And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to report to His disciples.  And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them.  And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to my brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they shall see Me….But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated.  And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.

When Jesus delivered His speech to those He chose to carry out the Great Commission in verse 19 (see above), He was not just addressing a random group of people.  He was talking to those referred to in the passage above.  He gave His authority to these individuals who possessed these same characteristics.

Three Qualifications For Those Who Desire To Carry The Great Commission (Matthew 28)

They were all looking for the risen Christ.

A.  Vs. 5:    … for I know you are looking for Jesus…

B.  Vs.7:      …there you shall see Him…

C.  Vs.10:   … and there they shall see me…

D.  Vs.17:   … and when they saw Him…

Jesus had just been crucified, but this group took the step of faith and began the search for the
Risen Christ and did not give up until they saw Him.  You will never be qualified to be His witness
unless you have first witnessed the Resurrected Christ.  Have you seen the risen Jesus?

Once they saw Him, they worshiped Him.

A.  Vs. 9:      …and they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him…

B.  Vs. 17:   … and when they saw Him, they worshiped Him…

Mankind was created to worship the One True God.  When these early witnesses laid eyes on the
Risen Christ, they recognized that they were in the presence of God  Himself.  Those that want
to be His witness must worship Jesus as God in the flesh.

They were ready to “GO” whenever He instructed them to go.

A.   Vs. 7:    …go and tell His disciples…

B.   Vs. 8:     …and they departed quickly…

C.   Vs.10:   …go and take word…

D.  Vs.16:   …and the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee…

Our journey with our Lord does not end with worship.  When we complete our time of worship we
must understand that, as long as we live on this planet, our duty is to “go into all the world and
preach the Gospel.”  Are you ready to go?

SUMMARY

The time to evangelize is NOW.  America is in serious trouble. Our politicians cannot save us,
our judicial system cannot save us, but our Risen Savior can save us. We need a revival to break forth
throughout this great land and you are a key ingredient.

We constantly pray for a revival as if it is something the Lord is withholding from us. We pray, “Please Lord  bring us a revival” when the truth of the matter is that we are already carrying a revival . Did you forget that He is inside you?  Did you not understand that when we tell nonbelievers about Him that revival breaks out one person at a time?

For over twenty five years as I have taken the gospel to people on the streets of America, I have seen “individual” revivals take place and it is not because I am something special.. Any believer who has seen the risen Christ, worshiped Him and is willing to go, as He has commanded us to do, can experience the same results, one soul at a time.

You can be the witness God has called you to be.  You can see revival break forth right before your eyes, one soul at a time. The question is, are you ready?