Title: Great Command and Promise
Contents
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1. The LORD said to Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land I will show you.
2. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3. Whoever blesses you I will bless, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples of the earth will be blessed in you.
4. So Abram went according to the word of the LORD, and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
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16. The eleven disciples went to Galilee and came to the mountain where Jesus was commanding.
17. When they saw Jesus, they worshiped him, but some doubted.
18. Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
20. Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Content
Subject: Great Commission and Promise
Text: Genesis 12:1-4, Matthew 28:16-20
If the commands and promises that God gave to Abraham were the beginning of the Old Testament Israel, then the commands and promises that Jesus gave to the disciples before ascension into heaven are the beginning of the new Israel (the church). The fruit of this command and promise of Jesus is the history of Acts. This history continues even today through the church. By recognizing the purpose of these commands and promises, we seek to renew our attitude toward the Lord's Supper. The church, the body of the Lord, is trying to renew the mission of each of us as members of the Lord.
1. To Abraham (Genesis 12:1-4)/
1) Commander-The Creator and Master of History (Jehovah)
2) Command - “Go away, go to the land I will show you.”
3) Promise- (1) To bless Abraham and his descendants (‘I will bless you’)
(2) To become a source of blessings (‘You will become a source of blessings’)
(3) To bless all the peoples of the earth through them (‘you will be blessed’)
4) Purpose - To use Abraham and his descendants (Israel) so that all peoples on the earth may receive the blessings that were lost when they were expelled from Eden due to Adam's sin.
2. To the disciples (Matthew 28:16-20)/
1) Commander-The one who has received all authority in heaven and on earth through the suffering and resurrection of the cross
2) Command-“Go, make disciples, baptize them, teach them (learn) and keep them” (Life)
3) Promise - “I will always be with you, even to the end of the world” (Immanuel)
4) Purpose - To complete the kingdom of God, to make all peoples citizens of this kingdom (to make all peoples on earth blessed)
This is, of course, a command to your disciples. Disciples are people who follow their master's will and train their lives. Jesus’ discipleship is ‘observance of the new commandment’ (John 13:34,35). The holy love we have tasted is heavenly. It is the 'Nevertheless love' that everyone in the world needs. We think about the meaning of the Lord's Supper that we are going to partake of today. This is the ceremony performed on the last night on earth, where he was only with his disciples. The last Passover the Lord had with His disciples on earth. This is the first communion. Whenever we gather in the name of the Lord, do this in remembrance of you (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:25). It is a message to live without forgetting God's love through the cross and resurrection, and God's unbreakable love in heaven and earth. Everyone we need to love needs this love message. So, the greatest love on earth that we need to convey is evangelism. “There is no other name under heaven given by which men must be saved” (Acts 4:12). “Believe in the Lord Jesus! Then you and your household will be saved” (Acts 16:31).