BBC Sermon Cast

There are only two types of people in this world—sheep and goats. Psalm 23 is a song for sheep. It contains Great wisdom for those who are God’s sheep. Those who are God’s sheep will seek the Shepherd. Psalm 23 helps us to do that.

Ephesians 5 is in some ways a chapter of contrasts. If the previous passage contrasted light with darkness, this passage contrasts wisdom with folly, wise living with foolish living. The contrasts are not unrelated. Those who have been given light are to wisely live like it. Our current text draws our attention to three areas of wise living: (1) We are to walk carefully (v. 15); (2) we are to invest economically (v. 16); and (3) we are to live thoughtfully (v. 17).

Psalm 67 was written as a celebration of the harvest at Pentecost. But it also typifies the celebration of a greater harvest—a spiritual harvest among the nations. Israel had a divine mission: to glorify God among the nations. And yet the nation often found itself in a mess. When it did, it needed divine mercy to help it fulfil its divine mission. The same is true of the local church in the new covenant era.

What is the ultimate outcomes of the Great Commission? When it is properly exercised, we can expect the gospel to have impact on the world at large, the church militant, and the church triumphant.

The logistical outworking of the commission has been left to the church by Christ. To effectively execute the commission the following are vital: a gospel-structured church, a gospel-focused church, gospel-passionate men and women, gospel-driven giving, and gospel-spiritual support (through prayer).

What does the Great Commission entail? Acts 13 sheds some light on this question. Biblically, the missions agency of God’s choosing is the local church. In the local church, missionaries are commissioned by gifting, testing, calling and sending. Members are more generically commissioned to serve as evangelists. And the church is commissioned to care for and support those it sends to the mission field.

What is the message that we proclaim in the Great Commission? It begins with the bad news—exposure of sin and depravity. It continues with the good news—God’s free offer of grace. And continues with hopeful news—the hope of eternal glory.

In our first consideration of the greatness of the Great Commission, we consider the great master of the Great Commission. This great master—the Lord Jesus Christ—must be considered in His pre-incarnate identity, His incarnate identity, and His eschatological identity.

As I have sought to show in our previous studies of this passage, the Lord’s Prayer is inseparable from the Great Commission and the Great Commission is inseparable from the Lord’s Prayer.

In the first petition, we learn about the purpose of prayer. In the second petition, we pray for God’s provision to sustain us. In the third and fourth petitions (considered in this study) we pray for God’s pardon and power to equip us. In all of this, we need to be persistent.

One of our Lord’s more well-known sayings is, “You are the light of the world…. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:13, 16). In Ephesians 5:8–14, Paul expounds on this truth as he tells Christians to walk as children of light. In the words of the Sunday school song, each Christian is to live with the determination: “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” This passage provides insight into this profound truth. It tells us that “this little light” (1) is a miracle; (2) is not actually mine; (3) is to shine; and (4) is not so little.