Discover the GO in GOspel!

I wonder have you ever noticed how many mountains are mentioned in the Bible and they all have important people associated with them.

To name a few that spring to mind, there is: -
-Noah and Mount Ararat where the ark came to rest after the flood.
-There is Abraham and Mount Moriah.
-Then there is Moses and Mount Sinai, probably the best known, where he received the 10 commandments.
-There is Elijah and Mount Carmel.
-Caleb and Mount Hebron.
and then moving into the slopes of the New Testament we have: -
-The Mount of Temptation, where the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain, recorded in Matthew 4;
-There is the Mount of Teaching where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered- Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him and He began to teach them saying Blessed are the poor in spirit etc; -There is the Mount of Transfiguration, where Jesus took with Him Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain and was transfigured before them.
-And there is the Mount of Olives where Jesus told the disciples all about the signs of the end of the age, and so on.

But there is another mountain to ascend and that is the mountain in Galilee mentioned in Matthew 28.

It says- Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them… And it was here that Jesus gave the great commission. He said - All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising 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…

Let's think about these words and discover the Go in Gospel!

Matthew was about to complete his manuscript – this was to be the final paragraph, in fact his final phrase. And as we are all taught in school and college and university, the final paragraph or conclusion is all-important in any essay or sermon.

Let’s look at these verses and observe them closely.
It’s a very clear uncomplicated command – simply Go!

We know that many of Christ’s invitations are – Come! Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest…
Come – is the first word in every person’s vocabulary. Expressed by the outstretched arms of a mother, it conveys meaning when sounds are confusing and irritating. But once we come to Christ in repentance, another directive is issued – Go!

We are not meant to confine the message and news to ourselves but to communicate it, commend it and spread it in our sphere of influence.

Look again at the command-
You then are to go, says Jesus. Go ye therefore…

Jesus saw this task as the duty of every Christian called of God. In Acts He said – You will be my witnesses.
We are |God’s audio-visual presentation of Christianity to a dying culture and people are looking at us and listening to us to learn about Jesus Christ. You are His witnesses.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:20 – Now then we are ambassadors for Christ…
Today we usually associate ambassadors with politics. But in Bible times, the word – ambassador – carried the meaning of personal messenger.
An ambassador represents his Ruler and his people, doesn’t he? Likewise, no matter where we are, we represent Christ, our Ruler, and His Church.
What a privilege!
We bear our Lord’s name – Christian - Christ in us. His name is therefore vested is us and people form their opinions of God and His message from what they see and hear from us. We therefore need to bear a consistent testimony to the grace of God in our lives.
How are we representing God to others? The Bible says that we are to live a life worthy of the calling we have received… Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ…
An ambassador must also deliver his Ruler’s message. He has no right to manufacture his own message but must simply deliver what has been entrusted to him. Likewise we have been entrusted with the message of the Bible. To proclaim any other message would be to invite the judgement of God. We do not promote ourselves or allow our own personal interests to get in the way of our official work. Paul said -–we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord…
Jesus warned us that in these last times false prophets will come to led people astray; pseudo pilgrims will try to sideline the people of God by promoting their own message. I John gives us good advice on how to carefully assess their claims and subject them to the litmus test of scripture. Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. Our duty is simply to deliver God’s message, the Gospel.
An ambassador must also keep in close contact with headquarters. After all, he must know what his Ruler is thinking. Likewise we too ought to be in personal communion with God and as we meditate on His Word, the Bible, and devote time to prayer, we will discover God’s will and strategy.
An ambassador must always be prepared to give account. He can be approached anywhere, when least expected, by newspaper journalists and the like and asked to expound his plans. So as God's ambassadors we must also be ready – in the words of Peter – always be prepared to give the answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…

So all these things lie hidden behind that word – ambassador – now then we are ambassadors for Christ… That’s our duty as Christians. YOU are to Go with the Gospel!

Notice -Jesus says – and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world…

He does not send us forth in our own strength, but He provides us with power – the promise of power.
The message Bible puts it like this – I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age…
It says in Acts -But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be my witnesses… Again, the promise of power!
The Greek word for power is –dunamis – from which we get our English words – dynamite and dynamic. God designed evangelism in such a way that he will not do it without us and we cannot do it without Him.
The need is so urgent today for people to hear the Gospel and be brought into the global family of God. God asks us only to be available and He will give us the ability.
I am with you always – it is impossible to conceive words more comforting, cheering, and strengthening than these. No words could be more suited to the situation of these disciples and no words could be more consolatory to believers in every generation.
So let's discover afresh the Go in Gospel.