How do we respond to the Great Command and the Great Commission?

7/18/2021

Recently, I heard a sermon on the purpose of the church. The pastor read Matthew 22:37-40, which is what we call the Great Command and Matthew 28:19-20 which is the Great Commission.

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40

If everyone on the earth would live by these four verses this world would be a whole lot better off than it is today. However, since the devil talked the serpent into enticing Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit and then Eve giving it to Adam who willingly partook of it. It has not been that way. What we need to ask ourselves is: Do I follow and obey these four verses? If not, maybe we should start doing the command of Jesus as written in them.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:19-20

These verses will also change the world if every believer of God would live by them. I know that not all are missionaries, however, do we support our missionaries by praying for them and supporting them financially?

Let us get a little closer to home. Have we gone to our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, and our families and talked to them about their need of salvation? Do we even know how to lead someone to a one-on-one relationship with Jesus, His Father, and the Holy Ghost? Has it been so long that we have forgotten how to do it? Maybe we need to get into our prayer closet and ask God to give us a fresh desire to spread His word to those we see daily.

C.I. Wilson