Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 240

August 27;   Matthew 28:18;   28/260(II);   ‘The Great Commission’

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Adam was created by the Lord and was given authority to rule the earth.  The one command he was given, not to do, he did and as a result of his sin, Adam ‘gave’ his authority to satan.  Seeing the chaos and tragedy in this world, it is easy to see that someone evil is at work.  A terrible tragedy is that those who are not Born Again, look at what is going on in this world and think that it is our Lord who is doing it.  The devil loves to tell them that it is God the Father doing all of these terrible things, so that the lost will not want anything to do with our Lord.  Jesus Christ came to earth to set us free from the tyranny of the devil and the destruction of sin and sickness.  Jesus willingly was beaten, humiliated and crucified, bearing our sins and sicknesses upon Himself.   He was punished in our place, so that we would not be.  Once Jesus redeemed us from sin and sickness, He rose victoriously from the grave and took back, from satan, the authority Adam gave the devil when he sinned.  Now, in Matthew 28, in this short passage of scripture called the Great Commission, Jesus tells His disciples that all authority is His.  Jesus then gives that authority back to us, telling the disciples and us to make disciples of all nations.  In Mark 16, there is a passage also called the Great Commission, Jesus tells us to preach, cast out demons, get people baptized in the Holy Spirit and heal the sick.  He then ‘tops it off’ by telling us He will be with us and help us to do what He commands us to do.  Whatever else you may be doing or desire to do, pales in comparison to the privileged ministry the Church is commissioned to do.