Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse  Day 94

April 4;      Mark 16:19;       44/260(IV);        ‘Marching Orders’

Mark 16:19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

The Lord Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He appeared to His disciples and instituted the Great Commission (verses 15-18).  We see in the other passage of scripture called the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20, that Jesus tells His disciples that all authority is His.  As we know, Adam was given authority to rule this earth when the Lord created Him, but he ‘gave’ the authority away to satan when he sinned.  The Lord Jesus took the authority away from satan when He raised from the dead.  Then the Lord gave that authority back to us, the Church, to continue His ministry.  Jesus tells His disciples what their ministry is and when He concluded telling them, He returned to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  Ephesians 1 teaches that Jesus, seated at the right hand of the Father is far above all demonic forces, they are under His feet.  In Ephesians 2 we are taught that positionally, we the Church, are seated at the right hand of the Father along with Jesus.  So we too are far above all demonic forces and have the authority to carry out what Jesus commanded us to do in the Great Commission.  Life is never to be boring again for us as the Church of Jesus.  We are to share the gospel, cast out demons, get people baptized in the Holy Spirit and heal them by the power of the Holy Spirit.  These ‘marching orders’ are for all believers and make life exciting and so rewarding.  Verse 20 concludes the Gospel of Mark by teaching that as the disciples began to minister, that Jesus worked with them by the Holy Spirit with mighty signs and wonders.