Let's pray again. O Lord, we thank you for these words that we sang, and may they become true in our lives, Lord, that indeed we will see the light of the Gospel, Lord, going to the nations. We pray now, Lord, that we come to the meditation upon your word, that you will be with us through weak means as my lips, Lord, that you will be glorified, that you may be magnified in our lives, that you may strengthen your church, Lord, to grow in understanding your purpose for the church. We pray, Lord, that you will indeed applies those truths into our hearts, engrave them in the tablets of our hearts. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, I did not grow up in a Reform environment. Actually, many of you know I come from Roman Catholicism, but my first exposure to Evangelicalism was actually through a movement which was quite radical. It was called Great Commission. Great Commission, that was their title. And the story of how that movement started was during the 1970s there was this pastor, his name was Herschel Martindale. He was invited to a conference and he went to that conference and he had, you know, several teachings which, you know, covered things and subjects he was aware of, things he had heard and knew from the scripture. And when the third day of the conference came, One of the speakers was Bill Bright. He spoke about reaching the world with the Gospel. And he said these words, reaching the Gospel to all nations in this generation. And that's where he left a little bit uncomfortable, because he knew the truths of this commission, this great commission. But when you attach to those words, this generation, it makes it compelling, it makes it a strong case. And so, as he was wrestling his mind, Bill Bright came to his table, they were having lunch after the speaking, and he asked them this, can I ask you guys a question? And so Bill Bright asked Herschel, do you believe that God wants to reach the nations with this gospel? And he couldn't answer, he's like, Now, if I say yes, then I'll be a hypocrite, because it is obvious that that has not been my priority. If I say no, then it will be the wrong answer. So what should I answer? And so, as he was wrestling his mind, Bill Bright asked a second question. Do you believe that if every Christian was doing what you're doing now, will the nations be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ? And after he heard that, he said, that's enough. he couldn't stay in the room. So he left that room, he went to a field, and he started crying. And he went down on his knees and he says, Lord, I don't know what that means. I have not done it, and I pray that for the rest of my life, that you're gonna use me for that purpose. And he started that movement. It was a very crazy movement. I mean, they started to go reach the Gospels, plant churches, and just, you know, some of them, you know, part-time jobs and, you know, eating whatever was available. It was one of those situations in the 1970s, you know, like, you know, Jesus movement type of thing, so. And though it's not our tradition, I think we can learn a lot from that, because I feel that in the Reformed world, it feels many times a little bit like William Carey, if you know the story, and his struggle in a church with right theology, but a very blind spot in terms of missions. And so, I would ask you to open our Bibles to the famous passage of the Great Commission, you're familiar with in Matthew 28, Matthew 28 comes to the end of the Gospel of Matthew, the first Gospel. And this Gospel, Matthew was one of the twelve. He was there when Jesus, as He's about to ascend to heaven and leave the disciple, leaves this last charge. And we start from Matthew 28, verse 16, all the way down to the end. This is the Word of the Lord. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. teaching them to observe all things that I have commended you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. So this is the last message that Jesus left to the apostles. Now, you know that the word apostle indeed means commissioned. And so they are commissioned now to proclaim a message. His gospel, many scholars agree that the gospel of Matthew was functioning like a manual of discipleship for the early church. You know the Sermon of the Mount, and you know all the instructions that were given to the disciples as they, in chapter 10, they were going out and bringing the gospel to every town they were entering. And then it comes to the crucifixion, and many times we consider the last words of Jesus in the cross, but the very last words of Jesus are right here. And they are the most true and most defining words for the Church of Jesus Christ today. In the other Gospels, we only find a hint to these words. Matthew ends by saying, Proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation. Luke speaks of, You are my witness of these things, and behold, I am sending you the Holy Spirit. And John speaks of, the Father sent me even so I'm sending you. So there's some hint in that. But here we find the full force of this commissioning of the church. It's the head of the new creation who just came out victorious from the grave, Jesus Christ. He's now commissioning his followers to go to the very remotest parts of the earth and spread this message. Everywhere they go. What does commission mean? Well, it means the formal written warrant granting and entrusting a group of persons power to perform a duty on one's behalf. That is our commission. That we are to make disciples everywhere we go by preaching, baptizing, and equipping those who believe to live a life in submission to the Lordship of Christ, who will always be with us. And so we will see today, very briefly, the commission that is given to us as a controlling power. We'll look at the control of this commission. We'll look at the command and also the comfort of this commission. First of all, the control of the Great Commission is in verse 16 to 18. It has a controlling power and it is framed in the authority of Jesus Christ. First of all, we are controlled in our obedience to that commission out of reverence for Jesus Christ. The disciples were going away to Galilee, we are told in verse 16, to an appointed place that Jesus Christ told them. Verse 8 of Matthew 28 spoke of that. that they shall meet me in Galilee. And now they are following and obeying. And here we see in verse 17 that as soon as they see the risen Christ, they worship Him. They bow down to Him. They have an attitude of reverence, of complete dependence and submission on the authority of Jesus Christ. And that is the framework of the Great Commission. Anywhere in the New Testament Jesus Christ is risen and appears to the disciples, they worship Him. Anywhere. And He doesn't respond by saying, oh, don't do that. He says, all authority has been granted to Me. What could be a greater declaration of the deity of Jesus Christ? But some doubted. They were conflicted. Is this real or not? We went through the shock of seeing our Savior dying on the cross, and now we are faced with this. Perhaps this is referring to Thomas, but regardless, they are confused, they are disarrayed, and Jesus Christ is now coming to confirm them, strengthen them, and send them out for this mission which will cost their lives. They need strength. But they are also controlled not by the reverence of Jesus, but also ultimately by the authority of Jesus Christ, which is the power that gives them strength to go. In answer to their doubts, Jesus Christ doesn't start with giving the command. He gives them a claim. He says, all authority has been given to me. All authority. As a result of being obedient to the Father and going through the steps of humiliation, now the Father has exalted my name above every name which is named under heaven. This is hinted even earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, in chapter 11, verse 27. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. This is the dominion of Jesus, not just the power, but the dominion of Jesus over every single thing in heaven and on earth. There could be no greater claim that any human being can say that all authority has been granted to me by the Father. The King of Kings, Jesus Christ, has the right to control and command your life. This is not like any authority of this world. which we often witness is abused, is coming out of a fallen world. Authority which Jesus had to face with the Pharisees, who came to Him. By what authority do you do these things? You see, that Satan had led Jesus to another mountain in temptation, and had promised to Jesus authority, if He would have just worshipped Him, if the reverence would have come to the creature instead of the creator. And Jesus refused. Instead, he was able and his ministry was preaching with authority. He had authority to forgive sins. He had authority to grant eternal life and shut the gates of heaven and open them. He had authority to cast demons, to heal sick, to do miracles. And now has a conquering victorious king who has risen and has had victory over the last enemy, which is death. He says, all authority has been given to me. Not just over the church, but over heaven and earth. All things. Christ is head over the whole creation. Over the whole entire universe. This is what Colossians 2 and Ephesians 1 hints. And even more amazing of this is that now, This absolute incredible power is delegated, is commissioned to poor, frail disciples who are afraid. And yet, as Apostles, they have been granted to join the Savior in this mission. The Apostles, they have ability now and permission to go into every nation. It's because everything is under my authority, says Jesus. And therefore they have ability to accomplish that task, not because of their power, not only because of their authority, but because of Jesus Christ. That's the chain of command that comes to us. That is what he hinted to the disciples with these parables about going to a far country and leaving and entrusting authority to his servants as workers in the vineyard. That was their task. And that is the task of the church today, because Jesus is God and King over all creations, over all things, we are to worshipfully submit to His mission. That is our charge. That is the controlling nature of this authority of Jesus Christ, which is often hindered by doubt. Like for the disciples, doubt can absorb many Christians who might be wrestling right now with the controlling nature of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. And what does that entail? Or to go to the nations and bring the gospel, which might be impossible even to contemplate. And that is the mission of Jesus for the church. And of all places and times, particularly now, it's the last moment that I want to think about it. under a virus where everything is afraid and hiding. And our faith is challenged by being so small. And God calls us out of doubt to worship the King of kings and to obey His mission over our lives. As I said, this authority has been often corrupted. Discipleship, which we will see, has to start with understanding authority. What is my final, ultimate authority in life or death? Is it Jesus Christ? I have to decide which authority I'm going to listen to right now. In this fallen world, under the prince of the power of the air, you have, not just out there in the world, but in the church as well, you have abuses of authority, you have power that is misused, and manipulation, subjugation, oppression, threats, fear, guilt, anger, all of this is not the authority of Jesus Christ. This is the opposite of the legitimate authority of Christ, which is gracious, enabling, confident, and is the opposite of the religious leaders that Jesus was struggling with. who had a lot of human authority, but no power from above. That new wine and old wineskin that Jesus speaks in Matthew, clash together. There's a different type of authority, friends. Because Jesus Christ entrusts weak vessels like the disciples, they are able to go. I like what John Piper says here. It is the sovereignty of Jesus over all things that fuel our ability to contemplate this global mission as His church. And that makes the mission of God unstoppable. Because essentially, the authority of Jesus is behind it. And that is the legitimate command over His church. Let's look at the command. Verse 19 to 20. What are we commanded to do in the Great Commission? Since He has all authority, here is the marching orders of Jesus Christ. Our sovereign King of the universe says, not just to the first century. I mean, I know there will be people looking at these words and say, oh, well, that has to deal with the apostles in the first century. This is no longer true for us today. And yet, for timeless truth, Jesus Christ comes and says, make disciples. This is not suggesting or wishing that you will do that. This is a command from the Lord that urged them to... He's almost saying urged them to become disciples. Make disciples is the command of this text, is the neon flashing light that screams at you. And that is the first and driving force of the church. the whole mission of the church, that your whole life as a follower of Jesus Christ needs to be characterized by discipleship. Training is involved in discipleship. I mean, Jewish people were used to discipleships, to great crowds, had teachers and followers. And it is not limited to a group here saying, all nations, make disciples of all nations, not just Jewish people, not just some people, but all, every people group. And this process can happen only as you go. This is in the original, actually, participle, which accompanies the command. So after you have gone, which you must go in order to make disciples. There is a movement. To go on your way implies moving over every possible area of the globe. That was the command given to the apostles. And going obviously includes movement, action, travel. The founders of this country, the Pilgrim Fathers, didn't come here to set roots. They felt to be like pilgrims just passing through. And their only purpose was to see the Kingdom of God. Great lesson for us. This timeless universal truth that is beyond the apostles and comes to our day is, to go and make disciples. But not like disciples in the ancient Greeks. You know, ancient Greeks had a lot of disciples, but it was all in the mind. It was all efforts of, you know, study and no practical implications for their lives. And I'm afraid that that's what discipleship often is understood. But it's not. This has to do with very practical things. And here we see them in our text, verse 19 and 20. How are we commanded to do this great commission? And two words here are telling us the whole way in which this process of disciple making is to take place. We have to baptize them. This is the first step of discipleship. As the gospel is brought to people, they come to believe, and so they become disciples. They are therefore baptized in the triune name, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Notice the text, actually, in Greek doesn't say names. It says name. And the one name has three persons. And that is the claim upon us as disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, of the authority of the Triune God. You see, in a few verses we see Jesus being worshipped, and we see the Trinity, and yet we have Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, going all across the globe, doing far better missions than us, for a false, anti-Trinitarian message. You see, Jesus modeled discipleship. And the first step was baptizing. He didn't need to be baptized, Jesus. No. He was identifying with us in obedience. And that was also the witness of the Triune God coming upon Him as the beginning of ministry for Jesus Christ started at baptism. And now in the same way, the Triune God is sending His disciples to start the mission and continue where Jesus has left. And so, before starting in this ministry, He made them disciples and then He sent them out. And then once they have believed and be baptized, it doesn't end there. You see, in verse 20, discipleship doesn't consist in just going through a ritual, and end there. It has a content. It has a message. It has a teaching. It has a training of disciples. I mean, disciple is literally one who is instructed. And even in this passage, we have a negative example of instruction in verse 15, where the Pharisees were instructing the guards to lie under bribe over the body of Jesus. Same verb. Same word. Instead, true disciple-makers are to train young disciples continuously, that is on a day-to-day basis, so that, what? They may obey, practice everything that I commanded you. Discipleship is done in the pulpit, but it is only a smaller part. It is not sitting on the pew and gathering interesting facts about Christianity that consist in disciples. It involves practice. It involves mentoring. It involves modeling, first of all, what I want people to actually do in their lives. And that is the purpose of the church. All that Jesus commended us. During three years, He took the disciples together and He trained them. In ministry, there was no seminary there. Jesus was their source. And so many different issues. So all the things that we have in the gospel recorded for us. All that Jesus modeled and taught for us. So, definitely again, salvation is that entrance door to discipleship. Yes. But people, I mean, in the gospels and in Acts, are described as becoming disciples through faith in Jesus. Absolutely. but it doesn't end there. So the problem here is a double edge. On one side, we don't want to separate the two. And I know that there's, particularly coming out of the holiness movement, this idea of, you know, Christians of different sorts. And so, you know, you can be a disciple, but you're not a Christian. It's like, you must be a disciple. A true disciple is a Christian. But at the same time, we have the other extreme of people who, you know, coming out, especially this generation of Graham type of evangelism. And so, discipleship is evangelism. And there's no follow-up. There's no growth. And honestly, even sometimes to wonder if there was even true discipleship in the first place. And so, disciple-making happens as we bring the gospel to all nations. We baptize those who believe. and train them to do the same. How do we define disciple-making? Disciple is a follower, apprentice. Of who? Not of me, not of a pastor, but of Jesus Christ. And biblical disciple-making, you could say, is a personal relationship where a spiritually-minded person uses the Word of God to teach a younger Christian, a younger disciple, to learn how to live a God-centered life. God-centered life in faith, wisdom, and love. And so first you model it, and then you command it, and it is a process. For Jesus took three years. You can say it's a done job only when the other person becomes himself a disciple-maker. And this is something that is very neglected in the church today. You see, a sedentary church is a disobedient church. A church that skip over the words, the harvest is plentiful, but we don't have laborers. I mean, we are so out of touch with the commission that Christ, I would say, knocks over every church in North America. And many times we are too busy to listen to His instruction, which foremost is make disciples. That's the whole purpose of the church. Many don't even know what it means to equip the saints so that they do the work of ministry, to present every man or woman mature and perfect in Christ. to see people going out. You can think of the Moravian Brothers, where every Protestant could care less about missions. They were ascending force, and they were not Calvinistic. And yet they just trained people, sent them out, and went all over the earth. So, as David Platt said, disciple making is not a call for others to come to us, hear the gospel, but a command for us to go out to others, to share the gospel. I mean, there's no discipleship without going where people are. This is the locomotive of the train of the church that needs to go, and it's not something for missionaries. Some people think, you know, we have a mission. He's gonna do that for us. This is the work of the church to be obedient to the command of Jesus Christ. And the whole purpose that Paul sent these letters was to train these disciples to be living that life and giving practical models to equip the church. And so, it is pointless, of course, without the first step. When we skip the first step of discipleship, you know, we can have so many programs and things and there's still people who have not even started with ABC, which is baptism. Baptism, getting baptized. That is the stepping stone. I mean, think of baptism not as baptism as tradition. You know, my family expect me to get baptized. I went to China and, you know, there was a time in China where you get baptized, you're marked. So, the moment you take that step in the early church, man, I'm ready to die for Jesus Christ. I count the cost of being a disciple and I'm ready to give my life for Him. And unfortunately, It is opposed. Disciple making is also a process that often is opposed by what I call self-centered wisdom, which is far closer, again, to the Greek model of discipleship. Self-centered wisdom. And it is almost like the Tower of Babel. Come, let us gather together and make a great name about ourselves. And then you have very carnal divisions in the church between parties, and who is with who, and feeding an image, caring about the church as if it was our property instead of Jesus' property. And so that is not disciple-making according to Scripture. And so, think of Jesus and His call to discipleship. He bids us to give up everything and follow Him, that His Lordship commands and controls every decision of our lives. And the goal of being a disciple is to be more like Christ, not to have big heads. And that might be the explanation of a lot of dissatisfaction that is in the church today. Dissatisfaction with my spiritual walk with the Lord. Dissatisfaction with my children growth. Dissatisfaction with the church growth. No. It's because we have settled for adult responsible behavior. Being a good Christian, pay somebody to do ministry for us. When Jesus Christ says, this is the goal, disciple making, make discipleship. And Bonhoeffer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer has a book on this, I appreciate. He says, Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. It's like the essence, you could say. And briefly now, let's look at the last comforting words according to the text. In verse 20, the last part, it says, Jesus now, now He has given the command, He has shown that the controlling power of this command is in the authority of the Lord of Lords. Now He gives us a comfort that He will always be with us. But not just in general. As we accomplish this task, Jesus Christ will always be with us. He says, I want you to remember that surely you can be assured that I will be with you. I am with you. He continues to be with us with his presence. It's almost like echoing Moses as he's dying and he passed the baton to Joshua. And he says those words, So Jesus assures the disciples. that His presence will be with them. Not just like Moses, but like... He's not just, I am with you, as I am with you. Not just the I am who I am, but the I am with you. Christ, God with us, all the days, always, without end. Jesus Christ will be with this church as we accomplish this task. This is a co-mission, you could call it. Because Christ is advancing this process, this commission with us. He's with us as we go forever. You could say even after His coming. Because after His coming for us, it will be a physical presence, not just a spiritual presence. So what a comfort to really realize that Jesus is with us as we fulfill the task. And so the question is, are we fulfilling the task? Jesus Christ, as we seek to fulfill His mission, He assures us of His abiding presence with the Church. He is with us in the task. It is true, generally, that God is with believers. But what Jesus is saying here is specifically attached to the authorized command to an activity to make disciples. to be an obedient disciple-maker, to obey all that He commanded us. And He's with you, friends, always. There's no string attached. I mean, serving the Lord, it is indeed a draining activity. Disciples at times, and especially all the twelve, the eleven by this point, will face opposition. They will die. because of this task. But yet they lived their life. You think of the Apostle Paul, he lived his life knowing that this was his task. And he went all over the whole known world. That was his driving force, to bring the gospel everywhere. And so, because he knew he was not based in a confidence on, oh, I'm a good speaker, I can do this, I can handle it. being beated and persecuted, no. It is based on the authority of Jesus Christ, on the ability that Jesus grants us as we are with Him. Because the mission of God cannot possibly fail, even if the gates of hell were to come against me, says Paul. Even if that were the case, I can do all things through Christ to strengthen me. And so it's not based on our abilities. And that is based upon the presence of Jesus, our King. Think of it, friends. There are billions of people without Christ outside this nation. Nations that have not been reached. I went to see the Museum of the Bible in Washington. There is a list of all these tribal names without Bibles on the shelf. And it gives you a vision that often the church has completely neglected. And that should be our thoughts, day and night, consuming thoughts. that this Father's method of multiplying His church is through disciple making. He grows His church, and the primary purpose of the church is the making of disciples. And this is the way that Jesus modeled it, the apostles modeled it, and that we have the strict great commandment, the greatest commission right before our eyes. Not just to get people saved, but so they may become authentic followers of Jesus all of their lives. So that they might submit to Jesus Christ as the universal Lord. Because that's what happens. And perhaps tonight there's people sitting in the pew right now who do not, are not counting the cost of being a disciple of Christ. And the problem is that we live, we don't live in that environment. But there might come the time where to really choose to follow Jesus Christ will mean your life. And Jesus called people, He doesn't say, you know, come toward me, it's fine, all will be well. I'm glad to have a big crowd and oh, I'm so encouraged about it. He says, if you don't eat my flesh, if you don't drink my blood, you don't have part with me. Unless you give up all your possessions, you cannot be my disciples. That's in the Bible. And so, Unless you enter the narrow gate, you cannot enter heaven. And so I ask you to think and consider the cause tonight, and to realize that this is not just about doing something that is accepted culturally, going to church. This is a call for you to give up everything that you have, and submit to the Lordship of Christ over every single detail of your life. That is the call of discipleship. It is a radical call to follow Me, follow Me, and I will make you fisher of men. I'll conclude with Sitti Stath. He's a great man who gave up everything to see the Gospel all over Asia, and even he went to. He went to China for a while. He went to India. He went to Africa. Yeah, that's the spirit of Paul. But anyway, he spent his life for the Gospel. Giving up a career. He was a cricket. He used to play cricket. And he was becoming quite famous in England. But he says this, If Jesus Christ be God and die for me, then no sacrifice can be too great to me to make for Him. This is the call of discipleship. to make disciples, to continue where He has left, and to realize that every disciple is a disciple-maker. And that is not something for the minister, friend. This is something for you. For you, as a follower of Jesus Christ. And so may we join in the mission of God. Let us pray. Lord, we thank You for this time together. And we thank you for, indeed, guiding us to a convicting truth, and yet a comforting truth of knowing the reality. As Herschel Martindale thought, I am not doing what I'm supposed to be doing. And if every Christian is doing this, the world will not be reached. And this is the mission you have. And yet we have settled for less, Lord, many times. We have settled for comfortable lives, and we are unwilling to even consider and ponder the reality of Your Lordship over our lives. Practically, Lord, may this be changed tonight. And if there is anyone among us who might have the name Christian, but is not a true converted disciple of Jesus Christ, that tonight may be the day that He comes to you, Lord, and realize what this cost is. And not just to make a decision, but to ponder before taking that step. Am I going to come to the disciple? Cost. Am I going to follow my Savior, my Master, wherever He beats me to go? In complete submission and surrender over every area of my life. Because to do less would be to disobey You, O King of kings and Lord of lords. Lord, we cannot do this. We need your help. And yet, Lord, strengthen us for the task. In Jesus' name, Amen. Let's stand together and sing a song of response.