Missions is about God, about the world, and about you. John Stott once said, “We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.” The number one priority for missions is not to spread Christian values, but to spread Christ. Today, I want to talk to you about missions, international missions.

If we want to be a great church then we must have a great commitment to the great commission. That commitment starts with you and me. Whatever we do we must not treat the Great Commission like the Great Suggestion. It is a command to obey.  

When Christians talk about the Great Commission, we are talking about the mission that Jesus placed on every believer in every generation. That mission is to tell people around the world the gospel of Jesus Christ, how He saves, and how they can grow with God’s Word.

Before we dive into this, I want you to understand that missions helps you battle with your own selfishness. It causes you to think outside yourself. It’s one thing to care about the people immediately around you, but it is another level of maturity to care about those you have not met. God not only uses missions to reach people, but also to grow His people. Missions is a part of your discipleship and personal growth.

With that said, let’s take a look at the Great Commission. It is found in Matthew 28:18-20.

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (NLT)

For us to embrace the Great Commission, we need to be all in on missions. In the Great Commission there are five “all” statements.

  • All authority
  • All the nations
  • All the commands
  • I am with you always
  • And an implied all

To help us understand the Great Commission I want us to take a look at each one.

Missions is about the sovereignty of God

Number one, missions is about the sovereignty of God. Missions around the world cannot happen without the power and authority of God working through His people. The first “all” we see is in verse 18 when Jesus says, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

This refers to all kinds of authority. It signifies the Lord’s authority in every realm.

  • The first realm of authority mentioned is all authority in heaven. This is the spiritual Jesus has authority over all angels and demons and everything about heaven and hell. He has power over things dealing with salvation, eternity, and spiritual blessings and spiritual growth. This is where you find forgiveness, grace, mercy, and wisdom. He has all authority to judge and reward. He has all authority over every religion whether that regards Hindus, Muslims, Atheist, Native American Spirituality, Paganism, or Christianity. He is Lord over all! He has all authority over the spiritual realm whether that authority is recognized it or not.
  • The other realm of authority mentioned is all authority… on earth. This is the temporal realm. What we can see, touch, and feel. Jesus has power over sickness, death, relationships, finances, family, emotions, education, farming, art, business, politics, law, medicine and all other areas of life. Jesus has all authority on earth – this means He is Lord over the good and the bad, the rich and the poor, those who follow Him and those who don’t, those who believe in Him and those who reject Him. Jesus has all authority. He is sovereign over every nation, tribe, language, and people groups. He has all authority over every white person, black person, brown person, and all others colors of mankind. He has all authority over everyone who is a he or she. He has authority over everything on earth whether everything on earth acknowledges or not.

When you declare Jesus as Lord, you are not simply declaring His Lordship over you, but His sovereign Lordship over everything in heaven and earth. But here is the reality, not everything in the spiritual realm or the earthly realm acknowledges or recognizes Jesus’ authority. But one day everything will declare His authority. Philippians 2 says, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (vs. 9-11, NLT). Missions is about the sovereignty of God. His Lordship over heaven and earth.

When it comes to missions and global evangelism, Jesus is talking about seeing individuals redeemed, but He is also talking about redeeming everything in heaven and on earth. Missions is about seeing every spiritual thing and every earthly thing submitting to the Lordship of Jesus. This brings us to the second “all” in the Great Commission.

Missions is about the people of the world

Number two, missions is about the people of the world. The second “all” is found in verse 19 where Jesus says, Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus says we are to go and make disciples of all the nations. Let’s break this down into bite size pieces.

  • What is a nation? By definition a nation is “a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.” These nations are often referred to as people groups or countries today.
  • The International Mission Board has identified hundreds of people groups around the world that are unreached. An unreached people group is a group of people where there is less than 2% Christians and no existing church to help reach these people. Some of these unreached people groups are the A’ou people in China and the Abaza people in Russia and Adiyan people in India. According to the International Mission Board, 59% of the world is unreached. This comes to 4.9 billion people.
  • One of the things that makes the Great Commission great is that its end result is to see people groups saved, countries redeemed, and nations living under the authority of Christ willingly. Jesus says exactly what He means. Jesus says go and make disciples of all nations. This is more than just seeing a few representatives from each nation being saved. The goal of the Great Commission is to see the whole world redeemed. Paul mentions this in 2 Corinthians 5 when he says, “God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself…” (vs. 18-19, NLT).
  • What are we suppose to be doing with all these nations, people groups, countries and individuals within all these nations? Jesus says we are to make disciples. A disciple of Jesus is someone who is learning how to follow Jesus and live for Him. Think about this. The Great Commission is about making disciples of individuals who are learning how to follow Him, but also nations who are learning how to follow Jesus as a people.

When it comes to missions we are talking about reaching nations for Christ, people groups for Christ, and countries for Christ. Obviously, this starts with one person at a time, but the goal is to see the people living under the authority of Christ, but also that nation’s government submitting to the authority of Christ, that nation’s educational system submitting to the authority of Christ, and that nation’s politics, families, and businesses submitting to the authority of Christ. How does this happen? Well, this takes us to the third “all” of the Great Commission.

Missions is about the word of God

Number three, missions is about the word of God. The third “all” is found in verse 20, where Jesus says, Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. The Great Commission involves sharing the gospel and seeing people place their faith in Christ and become born again. However, it doesn’t stop there. The Great Commission emphasizes the training of new believers to follow and obey God’s Word. Part of missions includes things like…

  • Teaching believers how to love other people, how to forgive those who have sinned against you, and how to bless those who curse you.
  • Teaching believers how to manage their money and their time.
  • Teaching believers what God’s Word says about loving your spouse, what marriage is and isn’t, and how to raise children.
  • Teaching believers what God’s Word says about how to trust God, serve others, use your spiritual gifts, share the gospel, and make disciples.
  • Teaching believers what God’s Word says about worshiping God and praying.
  • Teaching believers what God’s Word says about managing your emotions, like be angry and sin not.
  • Teaching believers what God’s Word says about what it means to be an employee or how to oversee others in the business world.

Missions is not about just teaching and sharing the gospel, which is extremely important, but missions is about teaching new believers all the commands in God’s Word. Missions is  about helping new believers give God’s Word a supreme priority in their lives. This is why, we as God’s people, should greatly embrace 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (vs. 16-17, NLT). Missions is sharing the gospel and making disciples by teaching  them what God’s Word teaches and how to apply it.

Missions is about the presence of God

Number four, missions is about the presence of God. Missions requires the presence of God for people to be convicted of their sins, believe in Jesus Christ for salvation, and to understand and apply God’s Word. This is seen in the fourth “all” at the end of verse 20 where Jesus says, And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

  • This is partnership language. Jesus is saying, “As you go and make disciples I will be with you helping you to explain the gospel, teach God’s Word and I will help the unbeliever receive it. My Spirit will go before you, my Spirit will be with you, and my Spirit will continue to work on the people after you are gone. I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”
  • This is perseverance language. Notice carefully, Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” This mission is long. It will take perseverance from the previous generation of believers, the current generation of believers, and the generation of believers that come after us. We must dig in for the long haul when it comes to missions.
  • This is provisional language. When Jesus says, “I am with you always” as you make disciples He is saying I will provide support, protection, wisdom, open doors, people, and opportunities to keep this mission alive. You will have what you need to accomplish what God would have you to accomplish. You and Genesis Church is a part of that provisional language. By praying, giving, and going we help provide missionaries and other Christians support they need.

Missions is about you

Number five, missions is about you. The fifth “all” is an implied “all.” It’s all of you. It’s all of us. The Great Commission is to all believers all over the planet through all of history. There has never been and never will be a believer who can honestly say, “The Great Commission is not for me.” It’s for every Christian, every follower of Jesus.

I want to challenge you to do three things.

  • Pray: Use the Prayer Guide this week to pray for missionaries and their work.
  • Give: Ask God to give you an amount that He would like for you to give toward missions.
  • Go: Consider going on an international mission trip within the next five years. Plan it. Research it. Go.