5 Sermons Tagged "Commission"

The instructions Jesus gave to the twelve disciples when he sent them out into the world provide us with great comfort when we do our own evangelism, especially for those times when what we are telling them could require a drastic change in their mindset regarding salvation.

Living the life of a Christian is not always joyous. In fact for some, like most of the disciples, there are times when it can be miserable. Yet in his "High Priestly Prayer" before his arrest, Jesus prayed for God the Father to give us his joy.

Jesus gave the binding and loosing keys to the church after his resurrection when he appeared to the disciples and other believers. We use the binding key (the Law) when someone is embracing a sin to show them they are damned to Hell and need a savior, and we use the loosing key (the Gospel) when they repent to forgive them of that sin and tell them Jesus is their savior.

All of us, like Saul before he became the apostle Paul, were an enemy living in a delusion, and the LORD had to reveal himself to break that delusion. The LORD has used and continues to use crosses to discipline and chasten us. The LORD sent a weak human being with the Means of Grace, and He used that Means of Grace to heal us (by giving us our new man). Finally, the LORD gives us the commission to tell others what God has done.

God has commissioned you to bear fruit, just like he commissioned Moses. He makes his grace clearly visible through his word and sacraments. He clearly states his commission: he's given you faith, and he wants it to be seen. He's also promised you his absolute faithfulness; he's always with us, and he will remain faithful to us.