We have this great promise from Jesus in Matthew 28:18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Of the authority he had he gave authority to his disciples Matthew 10:1 “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” Are we not also His disciples but then again are we following him closely enough? If we go back to taking the Promised Land, we saw this with Moses and Joshua.  Numbers 27:5 “Moses said to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community 17 to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.” 18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him. 19 Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. 20 Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21 He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.” 22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. 23 Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.”
                Now the time had come for Israel to cross the Jordon and take the Promised Land and just as God spoke to Moses he said to Joshua in Joshua 1:2 “Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
                So here they were ready to cross with the promise that God would be with them always just as Jesus said, I am with you always, to the very end of the age. This is not just a presence that goes with us and leaves us to our own demise; this is an ever-present power that defeats the enemies before us but we must obey as they found out at Ai. Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
                Just as Jesus gave his disciples authority over impure spirits and the authority to heal, he will also give us that same authority but here is the catch. There is one sentence in the great commission that says, “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” We know from all throughout scripture we must obey to have this promise. Joshua was told to be careful to obey and do not turn from it to the right or to the left. This is the missing link in today’s church. The whole truth of the gospel is not being preached. We have turned from the whole counsel of the word of God and we have lost the power and the authority of the gospel. God has turned His face from shining on us. We no longer have Luke 4:35-37 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. 36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.” Now we have manmade CEO-like power and authority in the church, with no power to drive out demons or even recognize them for that matter. There isn’t even the common sense in these leaders for them to realize this power is missing. As the Lord’s Prayer goes it should be in the church “yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen,” but since we have not obeyed the word of God we have lost the always with you and the power that goes with it.
                Mark 16 is also the great commission but since Matthew 28 does not speak of the specifics of the power as Mark does, Mark 16 is dropped and Matthew 28 is emphasised. The truth is Matthew 28 is the same as Mark 16 because Luke 9,10 and Matthew 10 are what Matthew 28 is all about. So we the church should look like this. Mark 16:5 “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” This is the great commission that is how it should look like.
                If we would once again turn from our wicked ways and return to fearing the Lord and following his word, in God’s mercy he said he would hear our cry but we must not turn to the right or to the left and we must not continue in our own way. When God once again gives us the authority over this dark world, the church will once again look as it should, the body of Jesus Christ.  We ask that the prayer Paul prayed for the Ephesians would be our prayer. Ephesians 1:17 “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” We then will once again take the land in the fear of the Lord.