Could I ask you please to turn with me to Matthew chapter 28, and we'll just read some verses together from the end of the chapter. Matthew chapter 28, and the verse 16 perhaps, we'll commence. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came, and speak unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing 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. Amen. Let's bow together in prayer and seek the Lord's help as we come to consider his word just now. O Lord, our God, we do come before thee rejoicing today in thy so great salvation. So glad today that we are able to come before thee, many of us at least, as those who are the redeemed of the Lord. And we come as thy people and we cry unto thee that thou would be pleased to abide with us now and to show us great mercy. O that thou would send forth the Holy Ghost himself, that the Spirit might come and fill me and enable me to declare the word aright. And O that the Spirit himself might take this word and apply it with great power and authority to each and every heart. We ask that thou would make this word a blessing to our soul And, O Lord, that thou wouldst use it to the glory of Christ our Saviour. So come, do us good now. Presence thyself with us. Speak to our souls. We ask it in the Saviour's lovely name. Amen. Amen. Here you have some of the last words which the Lord Jesus Christ gave to his church before ascending into heaven. And here we have the very definite command given for evangelism. We are called to go and to teach all nations. We have this command to go and to labour for the Lord in every place. The work in that day began in Jerusalem, which was the home place of those first disciples and I suppose the birthplace of the church in that day. It was to expand out from Jerusalem into Samaria and then into the uttermost parts of the earth. And we can say first and foremost here, as we think of this passage, and I've intimated it already. This was what the Lord used to speak to my heart. The Lord desires a people in every nation and he cares for his church to be built in every nation. That's why he tells us to go, in verse 19, and teach all nations. It is his desire to have a people in every place. In looking to accomplish that great desire, The Lord could have bypassed his church. Now you think of it. We're dealing with the one who is the Almighty. He could have said to his people in that day that all power is given on to me in heaven and on earth. Now you go home. Rejoice in the things that I've done for you. Be glad. I've saved you from your sin. You have everlasting life. You have peace with God. But go home now. Rejoice in these things and watch as I build my church. The Lord could have done it in many ways. He's the one who could have caused the very stones to cry out and to praise his name. And yet here he chooses to give the task to us. He gives us the privilege of laboring for him. And by the way, what a privilege it is. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords calls to you and me and he gives the task to us. He says, here's something you can do to labor for me. Here's something you can do. to labor in appreciation for what I've done for your soul. Here's something you can do to glorify my name. Here's a task. And what a privilege it is to be given a task from the Lord, to be given a duty to have it placed upon us. So the Lord gives us this command, this great commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Now, first of all, I want you to notice the authority with which this command comes. This is not a flippant statement. This is not some take-it-or-leave-it affair. This is a command that comes to you and to me, child of God, with the utmost authority. I want you to notice the word, therefore, at the start of verse 19. The command, really, is in those first two words, go ye. But notice the word following it, therefore. Go ye, therefore. Well, that word connects the command, go ye, to what has just been said in the verse previously. Christ is saying, go, on the basis of something. On the basis of what? Well, you read it in verse 18. Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Now, because this is true, go ye. Go ye therefore, go on the basis of this all authority, all power is mine. Now Christ, as he speaks this, we have to remember he is God. He is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. And Christ already had all power. All power was his from well before the foundation of the earth. And yet, I suggest to you that he speaks these words not just as the one who is God. He speaks these words as the God-man. He's speaking here as the victorious Savior. You see, Jesus Christ came into this world with a task given to him. First and foremost, I suppose we could think of Christ as the great missionary, for he came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came, the Son of God, into this world, taking on the form of humanity, becoming a man like you and like me, living this life, doing so perfectly, fulfilling the law in every point, all with us in mind, to redeem a people for himself. Then, having lived that perfect, impeccable life without spot or blemish, he goes all the way to the cross. And there, upon that tree, he dies in great humility. A worm, a no-man, as it seems. His form so distorted on that tree. Physical agonies. The wrath of God against sin, more importantly, falling upon his head. And what lengths Christ went to, He was brought so, so low. We were singing of it, even in that first paraphrase, based on Philippians 2. He was brought so, so low. And yet, because of His obedience unto death, even the death of the cross, God also hath highly exalted Him, given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. You see, today, Christ is not dead in some tomb. He is not hanging upon a tree. Christ is risen. He is exalted. He is set upon the highest throne. Every knee should bow to him. He is set far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named. The Father hath put all things under his feet. Give him to be head over all things to the church. You think of it. All things are put under Christ. All authority is His. He is set upon the highest throne. He is the King of kings. The Lord of lords. He has earned that place by His work at the cross. And He comes with all of this authority. The greatest King. The greatest Lord. And He says to you, Go ye. And He says to me, Go ye. Go and teach all nations. It is with this authority that the Lord commands us to have an interest in the uttermost parts of the earth, wherever that might be. Now, with that in mind, here's the challenge to your soul, and it's a challenge to mine as well. Are you going? Now, the Lord might not call you to go to Australia or to Kenya or to Uganda or Nepal or anywhere else. The Lord might call you, like that demoniac man, to go home to your own place. But he still says, go ye. Go and teach all nations. There's a task to do here. There's a task to do around where you are. There are people to be reached. Go ye. And it speaks with authority. Are you going? Are you heeding this command that comes with the greatest of authority? And can I add too, perhaps, perhaps the Lord would call upon you to leave your role and to follow him to some other place. Perhaps to go into full-time service, as we often call it. Well, there's a call that comes to your soul with authority. The one upon the throne, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, all power given unto him in heaven and earth. He's the one calling. Oh, that is not a take it or leave it call. The Lord calls and you and I are expected to go if the Lord should call you. Are you willing to go? Are you willing to surrender all to obey that great command? Go ye. I could say in passing before I move on that if you're here and you're not saved, well, yes, that command go ye does not yet apply to you. You're not called to go and be the missionary or the evangelist or even to labor faithfully for the Lord in your own area. That does not yet apply to you, but I tell you there are more important commands for your soul at this stage. The Lord, the one with all power and authority in heaven and earth, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, he comes to you and he says, repent and believe the gospel. Turn from sin. Believe on Christ. He commands you with authority. What a foolish thing to refuse that authoritative command. You're not disobeying some little earthly ruler. You're not disobeying some earthly king. You're disobeying the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. What a foolish thing to do that. The authority with which this command comes. Notice in the second place the responsibility that's found within this command. The responsibility found. Christ tells us to do something here. In verse 19 he says, Go ye therefore and teach all nations. Well, you could read those words, make disciples of all nations. That's the sense of them, were to go and make disciples from all nations, make followers of Christ out of all places. That's the general thrust of the command. But then Christ expands on that. He gives two areas in which this is to be done. He mentions in verse 19, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. And then in verse 20, teaching them to observe all things. In terms of baptising them, I have no intention of getting bogged down in controversy here today. That's not the purpose this morning. But I will point out one thing here, a very encouraging point I feel. When you think of the setting, Christ is standing there upon a hilltop with his disciples and he's pointing them out to look at all the nations. Now, many of these nations at this stage have absolutely no knowledge of the gospel. The name of Christ is not known. In that day, the church is largely centered in Judea and that region. Some others are scattered about perhaps, but largely the face of this earth does not know the name of Christ in that day. And the Lord tells them to go into these places and to baptize. Now, whatever your view of baptism and who can be baptized and how you baptize and all of this, we're all agreed in this. As they go into these places where the gospel is not known at all, before they can baptize anyone, someone has to be saved. The gospel is going to have to do its work. You can't baptize without that. It would be totally inappropriate. It would be wrong. Before they can baptize, there are going to have to be some people professing faith in Christ. The gospel has to do its job. I suggest, therefore, that when Christ tells his people to go, and to baptize, there is expectation. There's going to be a need for baptism. Why is that? It is because as His people go out with the simple gospel message that Christ has given to them, it is going to do its job. The Lord is going to use this to save souls, and there is going to be a need to baptize. Friends, we need to remember that the gospel of Christ, it is the power of God unto salvation. And therefore, we ought to have expectation whenever we go with this message. I know that today, certainly in this part of the world, we are not seeing the same great evidences that we have seen in days gone by. But let us never lose that sense of expectation. When you go and look to labor for the Lord and you're speaking to a loved one and you're bringing the gospel to them, as you perhaps bring the gospel into your workplace and share it with those around you, as we would look to go and bring the gospel to the farthest reaches of this earth, we have a mighty instrument in our hand. We have the power of God onto salvation. This is the tool that the Lord is pleased to use. And there should therefore be expectation. If we were going and we were relying on our own charm and our wit and all the strength was from ourselves, we would have no confidence going like that. What hope would we have? And yet, what a difference it makes when the Lord has given us this mighty instrument, the gospel of Christ, the word of God, which declares the Savior. It is a mighty sword. It is a mighty instrument. And the Lord is able to use it well. Oh, what confidence we ought to have as we go. taking the gospel as we go as home or on the foreign field and we are going in the power of Christ, as we go filled with the spirit of Christ, as we go preaching the gospel of Christ, using the word of Christ, using the means which Christ himself has given. All we should expect. The graceful work. He has given these means we should expect the real work. The church was to go out with the gospel and what comfort it would have the gospel was going to be used mightily, souls were going to be saved, there was going to be a need to baptize. Although that would be the case more and more here, although that would be the case more and more even in Australia's, I would look to go shortly. Let us pray to that end. Let us never lose faith in the word of God. Let us never turn aside from this. The moment we do, we may shut the doors. This is the instrument that the Lord uses and he does use it. The second part of this command, this responsibility involves teaching. Verse 20 says, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. You know, when the Lord saves us, he doesn't automatically give to us all the knowledge that would be good for us. We're certainly fitted for heaven. The moment you're saved, you're fully ready for heaven. You die that two minutes after you're saved, you'll be with the Lord. But in terms of living in this scene of time, we don't have all the knowledge that we would need. There is much we need to learn. We need to grow in the knowledge of the Lord. We need to increase in our love for the Lord. And therefore, we constantly need this teaching, teaching them to observe all things. And I need it. And you need it, no matter who you are. We need this teaching. We need to be constantly fed and nourished with the Word of God. You know, when we come together for worship, we don't need gimmicks. We don't need excitement. We don't really need great emotional highs. What we need is the plain, nutritious teaching of the Word of God. Do you want strength to live the Christian life? Do you want to be made strong to overcome sin and to stand for the Lord even in the midst of difficulty? Well, submit yourself as a student to the Word of God. We need this teaching. And more than that, as we go, as we look to go and labor for the Lord, we're back to this. We need to teach. We can't just water down teaching. Oh, so many places make such an error that way. Oh, I'll go and I'll win people to the Lord by looking to fit into the crowd and I'll hide away some of the more awkward doctrines that we hold to. We'll not tell them the full counsel of God. We'll hide those things away. Let's just fit in and try and win them to us through, I don't know, good personality, good humor, excitement and all these other things. That's not what Christ tells us to do. We're told, teaching them to observe, notice it, all things whatsoever I have commanded you. The gospel itself is straightforward and we are to proclaim it as it is, the simple truths of the gospel. And then tied in with that, we are to teach the whole counsel of the Lord and to see our Savior exalted as Scripture presents Him in every aspect and angle, in every place. We're commanded to teach whatsoever the Lord has commanded. Let us take the Word of God and let us use it unashamedly as we look to go and seek to win souls to the Savior. Teaching then. It is through teaching that men and women are brought to Christ and that men and women go on with Christ. Teaching. Let's hold fast to the Word of God. They finally notice the reassurance that Christ gives with this command, with this great commission. What a challenge he sets before us here. Go into all the world and preach the gospel. The disciples in that day are saying to themselves, how can we possibly do it? They're standing there, the church is largely gathered in Judea, and they're looking out at a vast world full of absolute darkness. How can we possibly go and teach all nations? How can we do it? Today, it's the same challenge, isn't it? The world is still so full of darkness. So many places where the name of Christ is not known, and we're looking out and we're saying, how can we do it? Or perhaps you're going into your workplace or your home or your neighborhood, wherever, and you're looking to labor for the Lord, but it's been hard. It's a hard grind. Oh, it's difficult. And you're wondering, how can I possibly keep this up? How can I do it? Well, look at the reassurance that Christ gives. The end of verse 20. Having given the challenge, this Oh, awesome responsibility, he adds. And lo, I am with you always. Even on to the end of the world. Child of God, if those words are true, and they are, what do we have to fear? What is there? What obstacle is there that can hinder us truly? when Christ himself, the one who has all power given unto him in heaven and in earth, when he has said, Lo, I am with you always. He doesn't say most of the time. He says always. He's not like a shrewd lawyer here and left himself a little loophole, a get-out clause. He has bound himself in. He has bound himself to you, child of God. He has said, I am with you. All the way. And if you didn't grasp it from those words, he adds to it, even on to the end of the world, that is, right to the end of this age, right to the last day. Christ is saying, I am with you all the way, right to the last step, right to the bitter death. Child of God, I am with you as you look to go and labor for the Lord where you are. Oh, look to Christ, who has promised to be with you. I am with you. Oh, as you would speak to that one who's hard against the gospel. I am with you, Christ says. Oh, as you would look to stand against opposition and persecution of various forms. Oh, Christ stands with you. He stands with you in the fire, as he did for those three children of God, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He'll stand with you in the lion's den, as he did with Daniel. Oh, I am with you. Always. Oh, what a comfort we have, we who are saved. What a blessing is ours, the presence of Christ promised to us. What encouragement it ought to give us as we look to fight the good fight and live for the Lord, as we look to go forth and labor for Him. What a comfort is ours. I am with you always. As I close, let me say to you who are not saved, what a poverty you are in as you think of this. We have the promise of Christ. We who are saved. Oh, I am with you always, He says, and our soul is glad. We rejoice. Christ is with me. Whatever trouble comes my way, Christ is with me. Right to the end, Christ is with me. As I go to the grave, ultimately. As I'm in the valley of the shadow of death and things are as dark as can be, Christ is with me. Oh, as I would go stand before the judgment seat, Christ is with me. Even then, He is my advocate. Even then, He stands for me. Right through eternity, Christ is with me. But, oh, think of your people. This is not a promise for you. This is for the Lord's people. You see, you're either for Christ or you're against Christ. And if you stand against Christ, that is by refusing to heed the gospel, by refusing to repent and believe, by refusing to come to him and take of his so great salvation. If you stand against Christ, be sure of it, Christ stands against you. Now, he still stands in mercy and with open arms would offer you to come. Oh, he still stands and says, Come on to me, all ye who labor under heavy laden. He still stands and says, Look on to me and be ye saved. But as you continue to make yourself an enemy of the Lord, he stands as an enemy of you. He's not with you. He's against you. You continue in your sin and he's against you. Now, as you face troubles in life, Christ is not with you. You face them alone. You go through this life exposed to danger on every side and you do it alone. The devil has his way with you and Christ is not there by your side. You come to the dark day when you tread through the valley of the shadow of death. Oh, the tragedy is Christ will not be with you then. Not if you continue in this state of rebellion, you come to the judgment seat, or you stand alone to answer for your crimes against the Lord. And you are ushered into the darkest of eternal states in hell, where Christ is not with you. His comfort is gone. You're alone. Forevermore, where the worm dieth not, where the fire is not quenched, what poverty is yours? Oh, with that in mind, would you not flee to Christ, join the ranks of the Savior, come to Him while He calls? It doesn't promise you an easy life. Christ never guarantees that. In fact, oftentimes it means difficulty and trouble and hardship. But you'll have the promise. I am with you always, even on to the end of the world. May the Lord bless His word through our hearts. Amen.