The Great Commision - Gen. 15:1-6

What is your mission in life? What is your purpose? Do you see yourself as having a life mission and would you say that your mission lines up with God’s great mission?

We left off Abraham with a message about justification by faith. We concentrated on verse 6 which introduced one of the most important teachings in all of Scripture namely justification by faith. We looked at justification from three angles. The crisis of justification is the truth that we are not right before God and have earned His punishment. The cost of justification is the perfect sinless life and sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The key to justification is having faith that is a settled conviction in the Person and work of Jesus Christ for you.

In this message I want to apply the reality of justification to God’s mission for His people and His planet. That’s why this message is titled the great commission. God’s mission isn’t something that began with the ascension of Jesus Christ. That mission which is the spreading of godliness and its effects throughout the earth was first announced to Adam.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Gen 1:28.

Despite man’s fall into sin and subsequent rebellion God continued this call with Noah
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Gen. 9:1.

Our messages on worldliness in Genesis 11 showed that humanity was still in rebellion and apart from a special work of God our race would have spiraled down into destruction. Thus God once again reaffirmed his call and commission to Abraham.
Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Gen. 12:1-3.

That mission once again is to fill the world with godliness such that the kingdom of God that is in heaven is mirrored on the earth He created.

I believe that’s the effect of justification and the goal of God having a people for Himself. God promises to bless Abraham but not as an end in and of itself. Abraham’s blessing is the blessing of the world in that people all over the world can come to faith in Jesus Christ, have their lives turned around and spread God’s kingdom of righteousness, justice, peace and prosperity all over the earth.

That is the mission of God. That is the will of God. That is what God is doing now in this world through His people.

What is your life’s mission? Have you ever actually thought about having a life mission or purpose? Why do you exist and what is your overall goal in life?

Here are a few reasons to follow God’s purpose.

We carry out the great commission because God will give us a reward. Remember, Abraham has given up the possibility of a prosperous life in Ur and is facing the possibility seeing all that he accumulates in Canaan go to a servant. Unlike the pagan kings and leaders around him Abraham cannot become great using his own schemes and plans. Whatever happens to him will occur within the moral framework of the character of the living God.

God promises a tangible reward for Abraham and all those who are engaged in His service. Abraham’s reward was a son who would carry on his line and become a great nation. The term translated reward means a payment in return for work. We talked about one aspect of our reward last week which is our inheritance as Peter describes it in His first letter.

We’ll be rewarded with brand new physical bodies. We’ll be rewarded with the blessings of enjoying a new heavens and new earth.

Of David.
 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. Psalm 37:1-11

David’s exhortation teaches us how to live in this world but wait for the one to come.

Don’t become filled with anxiety over the prosperity of the wicked. Demonstrate your dependence on God by following His word, doing what is right and cultivating consistent faithful holiness. Find your joy, satisfaction and contentment in a thriving relationship with our Lord. Once you’ve immersed yourself in Him see how that shapes your deepest desires. Order the way you think, your outlook on life and the way you live according to God’s word and watch Him bring forth the fruit from that lifestyle. Don’t give in to anger over the triumph of the wicked or the apparent defeat in your own life. Learn to wait patiently for our Lord to bring about His kingdom and be willing to serve Him so that in the age to come you can inherit and enjoy the new heavens and earth.

We’ll be rewarded with the constant presence of our Lord. Part of our great reward is the constant, blessed presence of our Lord Himself.

Another reason to pursue God’s mission is that it meaningful redemptive, God honoring and culturally transforming. God called Abraham to be a great nation and allowed him to see how numerous that nation would be. Yet the ultimate goal God had in mind for Abraham and His people was merely physical blessings. God’s purpose for blessing Abraham and his descendents was so that they might be a people who displayed and demonstrated righteousness and justice. (see Isa. 5:1-7.

Finally, we pursue God’s mission because it is certain to happen. God didn’t make Abraham and idle promise and fully brought about all that He said concerning our great father of the faith. The culmination of God’s promise was the sending of His Son Jesus Christ to rescue us from our sins, give us a perfect permanent right standing before the Father and make us into His one people devoted to following His mission to fill His world with godliness.

To Him Who Loves Us…
Pastor Lance