Amen. I pray it might be so if
we've been praying in our hymn. Let's now turn to the Word of
God and I want this morning to speak from some verses in Mark's
Gospel chapter 16 and verses 15 and 16 we have for a text. I want to speak from verses 15
and 16 in Mark's Gospel, chapter 16. So let's read verses 15 and 16.
This is Jesus speaking, the risen saviour, to his disciples. And he said unto them, Go ye
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised
shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Let's just pray. Gracious God,
please do open our eyes. Now we pray that we may behold
wondrous things out of thy law. Help us, we pray, to receive
thy word and open it to us. We ask in thy great name. Amen. It's true, isn't it, that the
world is full of bad news. We might ask ourselves, when
did we last hear some good news? We switch on the radio or listen
to the news, usually it's reporting something bad that's happened,
isn't it? And that's because there are
many sad and bad things that happen in this world. It could
be a report of an earthquake. Many lives may have been lost. Or it could be the report of
a financial downturn which affects many people adversely. Or it
could be a report of a terrible crime someone's committed. It's quite rare isn't it to hear
on the news bulletins some good news and I'm sure there is much
good news. Death and disease and oppression
and pain often fills the news, the public news doesn't it? And my friends, we read in the
scriptures that sin entered the world through one man, Adam,
and death came by sin. So sin and death have entered
the world. And we see that all around us,
don't we? And we feel the pain of it within
us, don't we? And death is real isn't it? Pain and sorrow are real aren't
they? And they are really bad news.
But when did we last hear some good news? What about in our
own lives? Perhaps we heard that we passed
our driving test or we got the job that we applied for. And when we hear such good news,
we're thankful, aren't we? And we, for the moment, have
joy and we have elation, don't we? And as we said, the truth is,
my friend, even in this broken world, There is still much good
news in our lives every day, all around us. God's goodness fills the earth
still, doesn't it? Even though man has sinned, the
harvest has been gathered in, the shops still have shelves
full of food and we're still able to buy much of the food
that we need. and so many more blessings we
enjoy, particularly in this land in which we live, compared to
other lands, relatively speaking, there's so much to be thankful
for. Yes, even though sadly in our
own lives there may be things that cast long shadows, and death is coming to us all. But still we should be thankful
in the midst of sorrow and pain, we should still be thankful for
the good things that we receive from God every day. May God help us to. But my friends,
did you know, and I know many of you and all of us hopefully
do know, that in God's word is the best news that you can
ever hear. And it's called, what we have
in our text, the gospel. Now gospel comes from an old
English word literally meaning good news. obviously a faithful translation
of the Greek word Evangelion which means good news or good
report. And my friends the gospel is
good news. The good news of Jesus Christ
for this sin-cursed world and What we have here in this text
is God Almighty wants this good news of the gospel to be broadcast
in all the earth. He wants everyone to hear this
heavenly news bulletin. The good news of salvation. of Jesus Christ coming into this
world of eternal life. Whatever your situation in life
is at this moment, it might be messy, it might be sinful and
broken. Because every one of us has sinned
and come short of the glory of God. But the gospel of Jesus
Christ brings you a message of great joy. So that's what I want to speak
about this morning, what we have in this text. And he said unto
them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. I want to briefly consider three
things, and I won't be able to, I hope to speak probably from
the same words this evening too, so we'll make a start this morning. But the three things I want to
speak from from these verses are these. First, to notice the
divine commission that we have here. When Jesus said, go and
preach the gospel. Secondly, the gospel. What is it? And why is it good
news? Now I'll only be able to briefly
mention a few things. That is a subject too vast for
one or even a lifetime of sermons. that the riches of Christ which
are in the gospel are inexhaustible. So first, to speak of the divine
commission. Second, to speak of the gospel
and why it is good news. And thirdly, which probably comes
to this evening, to notice the unstoppable grace of God
that reaches you and me in this divine commission to preach
the gospel. The unstoppable grace of God
that reaches you and me. Even in the words of this commission,
where Jesus said here and it's repeated in other places at different
times, he kept telling them at several times, this commission,
but here, go and preach the gospel in all the world to every creature. So they're the three things I
want to notice. The divine commission, the gospel,
what it is and why it is good news. And thirdly, the unstoppable
grace of God that reaches you and me. So firstly then let's consider
from these words that we have here, go ye into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature. This is a divine commission where Jesus is commanding and
instructing his disciples and entrusting them and endowing
them with authority to preach the gospel. So, as we read in this chapter,
Jesus has risen from the dead. And the disciples, as we read
here, Mark brings it here in this gospel, it's brought out strikingly. And we know from
other gospels how they also reveal this to a measure. They found
it so hard to believe the report that he had risen. It seemed
too good to be true. And then Jesus appears among
them as they are together eating. And now when they see him, they
can hardly dare to believe for the joy that's filling their
hearts. Like we read in John's gospel,
then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Have
you seen the Lord, my friends? Have you seen Jesus by faith? He's not here. He's now at the
right hand of the Father. But Jesus, though they're so glad
to see Him, He's not going to stay with them. He must return to His Father
in heaven. He must, because He came to this
earth to redeem us back to God, and now he's returning to God
to bring us back to God and into the very presence of God. If
Jesus is not in the presence of God, we can never come there
too. He must return to the Father. But before he ascends into glory,
He commissions his disciples to go into all the world and
preach the gospel. Now, in the language of Greek, in
the original language, the main verb in this sentence is preach. in an imperative form. That's
the main verb of this sentence where we go into all the world
and preach the gospel. And so what Jesus is commissioned
to do, as the words tell us, is going into all the world they
must preach the gospel. Now, my friends, this command
that Jesus gives his disciples to preach the gospel is a very
important command. And I want to give you two reasons,
notable reasons why it is very important. First, because it is the command
of the risen Saviour. to whom all authority has been
given in heaven and in earth. He is the King of kings. He is the Son of God. He must be obeyed. Secondly, because my friend,
strikingly, this command to preach the gospel is singular. That is, there is no other commission
recorded that the risen saviour entrusts his disciples with,
but only this one. after he has risen from the dead. To preach, which includes teaching
the gospel. And so it must be very important that the gospel is preached This
is God's will. This is what God wants to happen. And so this has been called,
this commission to preach the Gospel has been called the Great,
the Great Commission. Now, not every believer and not
every Christian is called or commissioned to preach the gospel,
are they? Just like we read in the scriptures,
not everyone is called to be an apostle and not everyone is
called to be a pastor. And we know, don't we, the 11
disciples here were not the only believers in Christ after he
rose from the dead, were they? But they were the ones chosen
by Christ to be entrusted with preaching and teaching the gospel. likewise my friends today. God
chooses some specifically to preach. Historically in this
land we can think of preachers like George Whitefield and John
Bunyan. There's some notable examples.
Not all preachers are like George Whitefield and John Bunyan. have the same what we might call
success or eloquence or effect of their ministry like those
two men did. Just like not all apostles of
those 11 were like Peter or John. They weren't as famous, were
they, as Peter and John but they all, these 11 disciples, received
this commission though some were lesser known than others. But of course this doesn't mean
that if you're not called to preach then this commission is
not relevant to you. No, in one sense all of God's
people are to be involved in the fulfilment of this Great
Commission. Because all believers are called
to pray, and all believers are called to pray and desire that
the Gospel might be preached in all the world. Jesus taught us to pray, didn't
he? And we're familiar with what
we call the Lord's Prayer, but it's the Lord teaching us how
we should pray and giving us what topics and themes we should
pray for. And we know that petition that
Jesus taught us to pray, thy kingdom come, thy will be done
in earth as it is in heaven. My friends, those two petitions
primarily involve the preaching and teaching of the gospel of
God's grace. And all believers are also called
in their lives to confess Christ. To confess Christ before men
and to let the light of Christ shine in us before men and women. And we're called to be ready,
aren't we, to give a defence, an answer, a reason of the hope,
the good hope that we have within us. But having said that, this commission
is and was a specific calling to the eleven apostles. And this same principle operates
even today. We know that because at the end
of Mark's Gospel Jesus said when he was this time on a mountain
repeating this commission to them and there it's recorded
he said, teaching them to observe all
things, whatever, so ever I've commanded you, and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the world. That means to the
end of time or the end of the age, the end of the gospel age,
which necessarily involves future generations of preachers. And so what we see here in this
verse is at the appointed time, Jesus Christ sends out his chosen
disciples to preach the gospel. And this is a principle that
scripture brings before us. Paul writes to the Romans, how
shall they preach except they be sent? So the disciples were commissioned
to preach and sent out by Jesus Christ. And my friends, the scripture
provides us a similar pattern with the Apostle Paul. We see
in the Apostle Paul evidence of a calling that he had to preach
the gospel. If you look at Acts chapter 26,
there Paul is before the Roman governor Festus. And Paul recounts before Festus
and Bernice how he had been converted to God when he was on the road
to Damascus ready to put men and women in prison. how he fell to the ground and
he was blinded by that great light and the voice from heaven
said Saul, Saul why persecutest thou me? And he said who art
thou Lord? He said I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But then
Paul goes on to recount in Acts 26 what Jesus also said to him
at that time, a voice from heaven that no man could hear and make
sense of but he himself because it was to him. He said, rise and stand on thy
feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make
thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou
hast seen and of those things in which I will appear unto thee.
And then we read in verse 19 of that chapter, Paul says to
the Roman governor, whereupon, and to the king, O King Agrippa,
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. So what we have there is Jesus
intimating to Paul, personally, inwardly, through a heavenly
vision that he was to preach the gospel. Now not all who are called to
preach the gospel have a heavenly vision, but all have this conviction in their
heart. they are to preach the gospel
and this is sometimes called the inward call to preach. And this inward call to preach
can be confirmed in many ways. or it can be given in many ways.
It could be through the preaching of the gospel, it could be through
the reading of God's word, or it could be suddenly being arrested
by the Holy Spirit and pressing it on our hearts that we must
preach the gospel. And God works differently, doesn't
he, with each of his people. History and the Bible itself
affirms that. Yet this is essential for those
who have preached the gospel, an inward call, a conviction
that cannot be shaken off. And in the second place, the
scripture brings before us an external call. And we see, again, in Paul's
life, this principle operating. You see, in Acts 22, Paul is
recounting again before the authorities his conversion, how Ananias came
to him. In Acts 22, we read something
more of what Ananias said to Paul. When Paul was lying in Damascus
on that bed and blind, He said, "'Brother Saul, receive thy sight. "'The God of our fathers hath
chosen thee, "'that thou shouldest know his will and see that just
one, "'and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth, "'for thou
shalt be his witness unto all men "'of what thou hast seen
and heard.'" So this was Ananias confirming
that inward call that he had just received. And again, when
Paul was sent, so he started preaching and then later he was
sent to the Gentiles. And we read of that in Acts chapter
13, and we read of the same external call there for that next step
in his ministry. So we read in Acts
13 verse 1, now there were in the church that was Antioch certain
prophets and teachers. And it lists who they are. And
we read, as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy
Ghost said, separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto
I have called them. So this is what some call the
external call, which is recognition by the church or believers or fellow believers of the inward
call to preach. And so we read in verse three of Acts chapter 13,
and when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on
them, they sent them away. That's a way to preach the gospel
to the Gentiles. And so the church sending someone
out to preach has a scriptural warrant. Now this may work out in different
ways, in different cultures, in different times. But the important
thing to remember is that Christ is the living head of the church. The church which is his body. And therefore we see in the Scriptures
of truth that both the inward call and the external validation
of that inward call are all part of this Great Commission being
fulfilled when Christ sends out his disciples to preach. go into all the world and preach
the gospel. This is the king's command. This is the king's business, which requires that due diligence
and haste. This is his appointed time. And to those whom he commissions
and sends, you are his ambassador. He is entrusting you with the
good news of the everlasting gospel. So we have then in these verses
a divine commission, go ye and preach the gospel. So secondly, let's consider now
the gospel and why this is good news. My friends, we all need the gospel. Because we have all sinned against
God. Against God who is the maker
and the sovereign ruler of the universe. and of all things that have ever
been made, and all realms that ever are. And the Scriptures
reveal to us our sin. Read Romans chapter 1, there
we see sin. How it starts, how it develops,
how it turns from God, how it becomes unthankful, how it worships
the creature more than the creator. How it suppresses and holds the
truth in unrighteousness. How it denies God. how it lifts
itself up to be as God, to be as wise as God, how it plunges
us in darkness and foolishness. There in Romans chapter one,
it's all described. For all have sinned, we read,
and come short of the glory of God. And the word of God, my
friends, is a revelation from God. If God was silent to us,
we'd be like those that go down to the pit. But God has spoken. And yet, my friend, man sinned,
we read in the Garden of Eden. And God came. And Adam and Eve were terrified.
Yet the first thing that God speaks by way of judgment, is
he judges the devil who deceived them and promises that one day
he will deliver mankind. And the words of the Bible, the
revelation of God which has been miraculously preserved to us,
which is a miracle in itself, a miracle of God's power and
grace, so that we may know that the
words that we have are the mind and the will of God, and God
speaks to us. The God who cannot lie, the God
whose word is eternal, the God who is true and faithful, righteous
and holy. And my friends, if he had left
Adam and Eve, then the death sentence which had already set
before them, that if they disobeyed him, they must surely die. That would be fulfilled and that
would be the end. They'll be separated, which death
necessarily incurs, separated from the presence of the living
God forever and ever. And that is the just dessert
of sinning against a good, gracious, sovereign, eternal, ever-blessed
God, who made all things, who made you and made me. We don't
own anything, my friends. We think we may own a lot, but
we actually don't own even one single particle of dust or atom. We don't own a thing. God owns
everything. He owns the universe. And it's
simple to understand because when we die we're going to carry
nothing with us. So we may have amassed a great
fortune. I'm not speaking against having riches or such things. We need to be greatly careful
if we have them and we're warned not to lust after them but we
It's God who owns the earth. He is the owner of the universe,
my friend. We think we're so great, don't we? All man in his
pride lifts himself up against God. And because we have sinned, and
the Bible is like a mirror, it's a book of the revelation of God's
grace to us. But it's also like a mirror that
tells us the truth about our sinfulness and our great need
of God's mercy, of God's grace, of God's free goodness. for God to have pity on us and
to help us and for God to save us. The Bible teaches us that when
we die, we must then face eternal judgment for the lives that we have lived
on this earth, for the thoughts that we have thought, whether
they are good or bad, for the attitudes that we have had on
a daily basis, for the things that we have done with our left
hand and right hand, everything. We must give an account that
it matters to God. Our lives matter to God. It matters
what we say. It matters what we do. It matters
what we think. My friends, the Gospel is described in many places in
the Word of God, this Good News. It's described in many places
as the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. This is God's Gospel. This is
the King's Good News, the King. is also described as the gospel
of the grace of God. The gospel of the grace of God. And we need this as unworthy
sinners, sinners who merit death, who merit separation from God,
because that's what sin does, it turns its back on God, and
it receives its just reward, it receives that reward of separation
from God forever. But the gospel of God's grace,
the good news, that he is gracious and merciful, is forgiveness
with him. It's called also the gospel of
peace. It's a wonderful word, peace, isn't it? God says there's
no peace to the wicked. The only foundation for peace,
my friend, and it's revealed in the scriptures, is righteousness.
And those two things cannot be separated. But this is the good news of
peace, peace with God. This is what we need as guilty,
condemned sinners, as enemies of God. It's also called the gospel of
salvation, of your salvation. The gospel that saves us from
sin and death. My friends, we need to be saved
from our sins and from death and from hell. So we're looking at how the word
of God describes the gospel. It's also called the glorious
gospel. The glorious gospel. The good news of glory. but not just earthly glory, but
the glory of God shining upon us. It's also called
the everlasting gospel. It's beautiful, isn't it? How beautiful are the feet of
them that bring good tidings, that preach the gospel of peace.
The everlasting gospel. Why, my friends, the joy and
the gladness that comes to us when we hear the good news and
receive it of the gospel of God's grace and mercy and that peace
that comes to us in the gospel and salvation, the joy and gladness
that fills our heart is everlasting joy that shall never be taken
away. The life that's proclaimed in
the gospel is eternal life. My friends, the gospel is good
news that will never become outdated. It's always current, it's always
relevant, it's always fresh. And above all, the scriptures
refer to the gospel time and time again as the gospel of Christ. This is Christ's gospel, the
good news about Jesus Christ. And he speaks to us. God speaks
to us through Jesus Christ, the gospel, good news from heaven
for sinners such as we, good news that we need. And so, my friends, listen, the
good news about Jesus is the best news this world has ever
heard. Isn't it? You know, we read in Luke chapter
2, at the birth of Jesus Christ, about those shepherds on the
hills of Bethlehem looking after their sheep by night and then
suddenly an angel appears from the angel of the Lord and they
were absolutely terrified because they realized that this was an
angel who reflected the holiness of God and the glory of God shone
round about them and they were sinners, they saw how sinful
they were, how unholy they were, how wretched they were and they
were terrified because no man can see the glory of God in his
sins and live It's only by God's grace that we have not been consumed.
It's his mercy, isn't it, to us, even today. But God is gracious. He sent his dear son into this
world. This is what we read, the angel said, fear not. This
is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Fear not, for
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be
to all people. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a saviour, which is Christ the Lord. We read, don't we, how the angel
told Joseph what the name of this holy child shall be. He
said, he shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins. My friends, we might search through
the whole earth. We might all look through all
the world's religions, if you may. Here we can search the whole
universe but nothing can compare to this glorious truth of Jesus
coming into this world to save sinners. That's what the apostle
says doesn't he? He writes into Timothy, this
is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. It's worthy
to be received by all men because all men need this precious gospel.
that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. And Paul says, of whom I am chief.
And we read, don't we, in the scriptures that he saves to the
uttermost, which means to the uttermost
stretch of time, and also has a sense of the uttermost extremity
that you can be in. those who come to God through
him. He's the intercessor, that mediator,
the right hand of the Father. The gospel declares that Jesus
lived and Jesus died for our sins. He suffered the just for
the unjust. He was wounded and bruised, though
he had done no sin, though he was holy, harmless, undefiled,
yet he was led like a lamb to the slaughter. We read of his
crucifixion, his sufferings, don't we, in the Gospels? We
read of them in prophecies in the Psalms and especially Isaiah
and other parts. They spat at him, they punched
him, They whipped him with knotted whips. They mocked him and crowned
him with thorns and then nailed him who came down from heaven
to this earth to save the world. This is the great mystery and
wonder of the gospel of God's grace. My friend, this is just what
sin does. doesn't want God. It nails the
Son of God to the cross, but this is how God saves us, by
taking our sins, by being pierced for our transgressions. This
is why, oh my friend, we see there the depths of God's grace, We read that Jesus died for our
sins and was buried and the third day rose again and he rose for
our justification. He gave himself without spot
to God as a offering for our sin. He was charged with our
sins and he bore that penalty, that reward that sin merits. The wrath of God. Separation from God. Death. And he died. My friends, this is good news
because at the cross of Jesus we are forgiven. We have peace
with God. Our sins are taken away. There
he's dying for our sins. There all your sins are forgiven. You're set free. There, you know
the love of God. There, your prison door is opened. You can go forth. There, God
kisses you, blesses you, smiles upon you. And so, you see, the
gospel promises that if we confess our sins, we shall be forgiven.
We will be cleansed from all unrighteousness. And we read
in the words of truth, the blood of Jesus Christ, which is when
he died for us and his blood poured forth, that life of his
was in, our life is in our blood. So when the blood pours forth,
he's given his life, that the giving of Christ's life, his
death, his precious blood cleanses us from all sin. For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord. And my friends, the gospel calls us. This is the point of
the commission to go and preach that sinners might hear the gospel. And the gospel calls us as a
voice. It calls us to come as we are
to Jesus, the Lamb of God. It calls us to repentance, to
turn from sin, and to turn to the Lord. who sent his dear son
to save us. He calls us to put our trust
and faith and hope in him. we read in Isaiah 55, ho everyone
that thirsts, come ye to the waters. Jesus said if any man
thirsts let him come unto me and drink and he called out didn't
he, come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden I
will give you rest. So my friends as we come to a
close this morning we're trying to continue this evening, give
thanks for the gospel. Go ye into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature. May God bless these few remarks
to us. Amen.