GO" Sermon

Jesus gives his last words before going up to heaven, and those words are not, “sit in the sanctuary in the nice air conditioned building and just enjoy life as a believer.” Jesus says go. Matthew 28 gives the Great Commission plain and clear: all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus, therefore his people are to go make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey everything he commanded.

Mark 16 gives the same command from another angle. Jesus says go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. The choice is laid out straight: whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, and whoever does not believe will be condemned. The good news believers carry is not that they have the whole Bible memorized. The good news starts with a testimony: “my life’s different,” God met a sinner, loved that sinner, forgave that sinner, and changed that sinner.

The Holy Spirit is the power behind that going. God gives more than enough power, but unused power is like having a million dollars in the bank with no checkbook and no debit card. The same power that raised Jesus from the grave lives in believers, but that power is not meant to just sit there. God gives gifts, forgiveness, love, and the Spirit, and then Jesus says, “go tell them.”

Acts 1 makes the map practical. Jesus says the witness starts in Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, then to the ends of the earth. For Lewisville Lighthouse, Jerusalem is the neighborhood right around the church. Judea reaches a little farther out. Samaria stretches even farther, across the area where people live, work, eat, and drive every week.

The call to go also cuts close to home. A person can study the Word, serve in church, and still not know the neighbors after decades in the same house. That kind of honesty matters because conviction is not meant to shame believers into hiding. Conviction is God’s sledgehammer saying, “you’re not doing it,” and also giving grace to start now.

The love of Christ has been lavished on believers, not so it can be stored up, but so it can be carried out. Jesus is not asking softly for a little religious activity. Jesus is telling his people to go, to speak, to witness, to make sure others know him, because what a person does with Jesus matters for all eternity.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Go means more than showing up The command of Jesus does not leave believers parked in a comfortable religious routine. The sanctuary matters, but the lost and dying world outside still needs the Word carried to it. The word “go” pushes faith out of the building and into real streets, real neighbors, and real conversations. [08:50]
• 2. Testimony carries the good news The gospel witness does not require a memorized Bible from cover to cover before a believer can speak. A changed life has weight because it shows what God has actually done: forgiven sin, cleaned up speech, changed desires, and made a person different. The honest story of grace can open a door that polished religious language never could. [14:04]
• 3. Forgiveness silences the accuser God does not merely forgive the believer’s list of sin, then keep it nearby for later use. God wipes it clean as far as the East is from the West, while Satan tries to drag it back into view and call the forgiven person disqualified. The witness of Christ rests on God’s righteousness given by grace, not on the believer’s ability to feel worthy. [15:39]
• 4. Power must not sit unused The Holy Spirit gives believers more power than can be imagined, but unused power does not bless the neighbor, speak the gospel, or obey Jesus. The image of a million dollars in the bank with no way to access it exposes how tragic it is to possess God’s gift and do nothing with it. The call is not to manufacture strength, but to use what God has already placed inside his people. [26:07]
• 5. Jerusalem starts at the doorstep Acts 1 does not leave mission as an idea floating somewhere overseas. Jerusalem can be the street around the church, the houses near home, the waitress at the restaurant, or the person in assisted living who needs prayer. The ends of the earth matter, but obedience may need to begin with meeting the neighbors first. [23:53]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [03:54] - God’s Vision for VBS Outreach
• [08:23] - Jesus’ Last Words: Go
• [09:59] - Matthew 28 and the Great Commission
• [12:02] - Mark 16 and Preaching the Gospel
• [14:04] - Sharing a Changed Life
• [15:39] - Forgiven, Clean, and Not Disqualified
• [17:35] - Conviction About the Neighbors
• [20:45] - Acts 1 and Holy Spirit Power
• [23:19] - Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria
• [25:34] - Intentional Witness by God’s Power
• [27:13] - The Ends of the Earth
• [28:31] - Everyday Encounters Are Not Coincidence
• [30:14] - Accepting the Assignment to Go
• [32:58] - Confession, Surrender, and Starting Now

1. In Matthew 28:18-20, what four things does Jesus say about his authority, the call to go, baptism, and teaching people to obey? [10:38]
2. In Mark 16:15-16, what two different responses to the gospel are named, and what result is attached to each one? [12:22]
3. What were some concrete examples of “Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria” being applied to everyday life in this area? [23:53]
4. What kinds of personal change were described as part of a believer’s testimony about what God has done? [14:44]

1. Jesus does not simply say to make converts, but to make disciples who are taught to obey everything he commanded. What does that add to the meaning of “go,” and how is that bigger than just inviting someone to church? [11:06]
2. Mark 16 lays out a sharp contrast between believing and being saved, or not believing and being condemned. How should that shape the urgency believers feel about speaking of Christ? [12:31]
3. Acts 1:8 connects witness with the power of the Holy Spirit. What does that suggest about the difference between trying to witness in human strength and witnessing in the power God gives? [26:07]
4. “Jerusalem” begins close to home. Why is it often easier to think about faraway ministry than to speak to neighbors, coworkers, or familiar people nearby? [28:13]

1. Who is in this season of life’s “Jerusalem” for you right now—neighbors, coworkers, family members, a regular cashier, a waitress, someone in assisted living? Which one name comes to mind first? [32:48]
2. Where have you grown too comfortable or too passive in obeying Jesus’ command to go? What would honest confession and a fresh start look like for you this week? [33:02]
3. A testimony does not require having the whole Bible memorized. If you had two minutes to explain how Jesus has changed your life, what would you say? What part of your story feels most real and ready to share? [14:04]
4. God’s forgiveness removes the lie that past sin disqualifies a believer from speaking about Christ. Is there any shame, failure, or old sin that still makes you hesitate to witness? How does God’s forgiveness answer that? [15:39]
5. The Holy Spirit’s power can sit unused like money left in the bank. In your own life, what might “unused power” look like right now? Fear, busyness, lack of prayer, not starting conversations, something else? [26:41]
6. Intentional witness usually begins with small steps. What is one simple action you could take in the next seven days to move toward someone instead of staying inside your routine? [25:43]
7. Everyday encounters are not accidents. Have you had a recent moment when God may have opened a door—a conversation, a need, a question, a burden? How could you respond differently the next time that happens? [28:31]