Matthew 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17: And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. 18: And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Introduction

Last Sunday, we were reminded of what we are about as a local church. What our purpose is. What our mission is. These are basic questions of life. It is absolutely essential for you and I as members of Grace & Truth, to know who we are and why we are here. If we don't know the reason for our being, we will fail in our mission in life. 

So what is the reason of our existence as a local church? The answer is given in our Mission Statement, namely: Grace & Truth Bible Baptist Church exists to Exalt the Saviour; to Evangelize the Sinners; and to Edify and Equip the Saints. This is our church's threefold mission. We as a local church exists to magnify our great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, and to reach a lost and dying world with the gospel of Christ, and to build up and encourage one another in the body of Christ.

This morning I want us to look more closely at the second aspect of our threefold mission, which is, to evangelize the sinners. 

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

These are the last words of Jesus Christ before He ascended into Heaven. When you are dying, there is no time for wasted words. When you know the clock is against you and you want to use what time is left to impact those you are saying goodbye to, you speak the most important things you have to say. It is no different with Jesus Christ. After spending three years with His disciples, it was time to say goodbye, our Lord uttered the words in Matthew 28:18-20 to His disciples.

Here Jesus reveals the great responsibility every believer possesses. If we are to be pleasing to the Lord and effective in service, we must give great attention to His last words. These words are known as the Great Commission and they give the main reason the church exists. The Church does not exist so that you have something to do Sunday morning.  It does not exist to entertain children or to put up beautiful buildings. Jesus says here that the Church's reason for its existence.

It is significant that all four Gospels and the Book of Acts record Jesus' commission to the Church.

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Luke 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

There is no doubt that the proclamation of the Gospel was the priority for Christ. It was the last thing He said before He left. These were His final instructions for the church. We have the complete Word of God; there is no new revelation, so we must fulfill our obligations. I want to examine this passage and see what we can discover concerning the Great Commission.

I - Statement of Power

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 

Our Lord begins with the statement of power and authority. This sums up the extent of the authority. Notice He did not say that He has some authority; nor did He say that He has most authority. No, our Lord says, He has all authority. All of it! Our Lord has authority over all things and He has repeatedly demonstrated His authority over all things. He has authority over the human body - disease, sickness, and healings. He has authority over demons and Satan. He has authority over the natural elements, such as wind and the sea. He showed His authority in His teachings. He showed His authority in forgiving sins. And now He shows His authority even over death itself.

This statement of power and authority should encourage us and gives us great confidence in our carrying out the Great Commission. We have received our orders from One who possesses all power. This speaks of the ability, the authority, and the right to do something. We are serving the risen Lord. He spoke these words after His resurrection from the grave. He conquered sin and death and He has the power to enable us to carry out His work! 

Matthew 16:18c ... I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The church may have faced adversity; she may have stumbled along the way, but she has endured for over 2,000 years. We are a people of hope and ability through the Lord we serve. We can accomplish His will because we are indwelt with His power! This is not a task that is unachievable. We can do this through the power of our Lord. 

Therefore ...

Since He is worthy of the worship, trust, and obedience of all men, we must go and do what He has commanded us to do.

Oswald Chambers puts it this way ...

"The basis of missionary appeals is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the heathen. We are apt (tendency) to look upon our Lord as One Who assists us in our enterprises for God. Our Lord puts Himself as the absolute sovereign supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say the heathen will be lost if we do not go; He simply says - "Go ye therefore and teach all nations." Go on the revelation of My sovereignty; teach and preach out of a living experience of Me."

II - Statement of Purpose

Then He moves on with the statement of purpose ...

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Teach all nations, that is, make disciples.

Go and make disciples, not go and just get decisions or professions, but go and make disciples. But what does "make disciples" mean? A disciple is a pupil, and a learner, a follower. This however, is not enough.  True discipleship implies much more. Mere mental understanding does not as yet make one a disciple. It is part of the picture, in fact an important part, but only a part. 

The term "make disciples" places somewhat more stress on the fact that the mind, as well as the heart and the will, must be won for God. The truth learned must be practiced. It must be appropriated by heart, mind, and will, so that one remains or abides in the truth. Only then is one truly Christ's "disciple" 

John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

We are to make disciples. We are to make disciples who are committed followers of Jesus Christ, for that is what a disciple is. A disciple is someone who responds in faith and obedience to the gracious call to follow Jesus Christ. Being a disciple is a lifelong process of dying to self while allowing Jesus Christ to come live in us.

Vance Havner phrased it this way "Salvation is free. The gift of God is eternal life. It is not cheap for it cost God, His Son and the Son, His life, but it is free. However, when we become believers we become disciples and that will cost everything we have... our Lord was after disciples, not mere joiners."

Someone has asked; "What is the most common designation of born again saved individuals in the book of Acts, the early church?" The most common designation or description of born again individuals in the book of Acts is not "believers" nor "Christians" but "disciples". The name "Christian" occurs only 3 times in the Bible. The name "believers" is found once in Acts. But the name "disciple" or "disciples" occurs 31 times in the book of Acts and it is virtually always refers to a saved person. 

Bob Deffinbaugh explains that "Christianity is more than a decision to trust in Christ as Saviour. It is not enough to invite men to believe in Christ as Saviour. In the Gospels, our Lord invited men to follow Him, not just to believe on Him. Christianity is more than a moment-in-time conversion; it is the radical transformation or conversion which leads to a whole new way of life. It implies the forsaking of our former way of life, and our commitment to live as God requires, by His grace. In other words, discipleship is used because it compresses conversion and Christian living, salvation and sanctification, into one term. Conversion to Christ, in the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, was inconceivable without a commitment to follow Him in life. That is why our Lord persistently challenged would-be followers to count the cost, as well as the rewards."

So what is disciple-making? 

How are disciples made? I want you to notice the first word in this statement, which is "go". First of all, making disciples involves going. The word 'go' is a word that requires and expects action. Christ expected them to go and fulfill the Great Commission. He expected them to take the Gospel message to a lost and dying world. This was not an option; it was a command! 

If you are saved, you are part of the church. You have inherited this command. We are to go and fulfill the Great Commission. This cannot be accomplished sitting on the pew within our comfort zone. There is a work to be done within the church, but we must take the message outside of our stained glass prisons to a world that desperately needs to hear! 

III - Statement of Plan

So how are disciples made? How God's purpose in making disciple is be accomplished? What is the plan?

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

1. Baptizing them

Making disciple involves in baptizing men and women, boys and girls who have been made disciples. After salvation experience the next step is to be baptized the Bible way. Baptism does not save anyone. It does not contribute in any way to one's salvation; it is a public confession of it. Water baptism is but a symbol of what has already transpired at conversion — died to sin but made alive to God; buried in the likeness of His death and raised in the likeness of His resurrection. Baptism marks out a person as an unashamed clearly identified follower of Jesus Christ. It allows him or her  to a public stand for Christ. Not only that, it also calls the person to make a public stand with the people of Christ. 

2. Teaching them

'Teaching,' speaks of the continual obligation of the church to instruct the new convert in the way of the Lord. Conversion is the introduction of a person to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Teaching cultivates this relationship by assisting and encouraging the convert to know Him in a deeper and more intimate way. 

Making disciples, is not only for the super-spiritual or an elite company of the committed, as some mistakenly imagine. This is for every believer. Furthermore, making disciple does not refer to some formal structured program intended to last for just two to three weeks. This process of getting to know and obeying Christ is life-long process.

Notice the command of Christ to the church, 

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Teach them to obey. Train them to obey every command that I have given you. This is not just matter of leading someone to an understanding of their sin and repentance and placing their trust in Jesus as their Saviour, that is just the beginning. This is a lifelong obedience.

Closing Thoughts 

Christ did not come just to get to someone to sign a decision card or get people make professions of faith; He came to make disciples. Immediately before leaving this world to return to heaven, He commanded us—His disciples—to carry on that work in His absence. But before a person can make disciples, he or she must first be a disciple. Are you a born again follower of Christ? If you are, are you taking part in this great task of making disciples?

Disciple-making was a priority for Jesus and His disciples, and it should be a priority for us now. But you cannot make disciples unless you go. You have to go before you can make! This begs the question "Am I going?" Am I taking the Gospel intentionally into my school, my place of employment, my secular social gatherings, etc?

Not all will be saved, but all deserve a chance to hear the Gospel.

Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

AMEN!