Seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain. And when he was set, his disciples came unto him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said, Him and of Judea and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem. Be this known unto you, and hearken unto my words. For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God. I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And upon my servants and upon my handmaidens, I pour out in those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I'll show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vaporous smoke, The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before that great and notable day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and said, you men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you're too superstitious. For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To the unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you, God that made the world and all things therein, seeing he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands, neither is worshipped with men's hands as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things, and hath made of one blood all nations of men, to dwell on the face of all the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if happily they may feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. A certain also of your own poets have said, for we are his offspring. For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone, graven by heart and man's device. And the times of this ignorance, God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed a day in the which he shall judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." Ladies and gentlemen, we serve our risen Savior. He's in the world today. I know that He is living, whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy. I hear His voice of cheer. And just the time I need Him, He's always near. He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life's way. He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart. What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord. What a wonderful Saviour to me. What a wonderful group this is tonight. You know, this church has done a marvelous job, haven't they? With every sense of the word. The food, the lodging, the fellowship, everything we've needed and more. God bless these dear missionaries. Brother Cole, God bless you. Brother Scottie, God bless you. Brother McMillan, you're a man after my own heart. I love the Word of God. Maybe you can't tell that, but I do love the Bible. I really do. I love the Bible. How about you? I love the Bible. I read it each day. I love the Bible. It guides my way. I love the Bible hidden in my heart. I love the Bible and we shall never part. This church has done everything down to shining our shoes. Isn't that a wonderful thing? Speaking of shining shoes, some time ago I preached at a great conference, about 3,000 people, and I was standing at the close of the service right by the pulpit desk, about like this, long, long aisle, and I saw coming down the aisle an elderly lady, must have been about 65. Here she came, a stately looking woman. I mean, she just had it all. She put her eye right on me. She walked right up to the platform. She looked at me and I thought she was going to say, I've heard all the preachers for the last 50 years, the greatest preachers in America and this message tonight. No, no, no, she didn't say that. You know what she said? I like the way you shine your shoes. Turned around and walked away. Look, there they are. Well, I'm glad you're happy tonight. I love to see people happy in the Lord. Pastor, thank you for the privilege, Brother Cole and all the rest of you. God bless you. I love this ministry. I know what it's doing. And for a man to have raised two million dollars to put a Bible in the hands of people who may never see a Bible or hear the word of Jesus, the name of Jesus, what a wonderful thing. I rejoice with you in all the countries that you serve in and all the people that you have led to the Lord and the things that you're doing, not only in America, no, no, no, but around the world. We'll talk some about that as we preach in a moment. I told you Sunday one of my favorite Beatitudes is, blessed is the preacher, they can get airborne without using too much runway. So I've used enough runway. Let's get airborne. What do you say? The engine's all cranked up. I'm ready to go. Open your Bible. Oh, by the way, did I tell you when we open the Bible, the Bible opens the mind of God? Let's see what God's thinking about in the gospel according to Matthew chapter number 28. As you're finding your place in the 28th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew, I should remind you again, as sure as night follows day and day follows night, God still lives. And the Bible is right. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto all good works. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, Holy men of God speak, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. All flesh is his grass. and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, the flower thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth forever. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. And I'm glad it's settled right here in this wonderful book that we call the Bible. Inspired, infallible, inerrant, impeccable, indestructible, powerful, precious, perfect, pure, pontifical, and preserved for us in our own language in the King James Version. I read Matthew chapter 28 verses 18, 19, and 20. I'm sure that most of you could stand to your feet and quote these verses. And I know that you know them, but you know sometimes we need to be reminded of what we already know. Samuel Johnson said, men do not need to learn something new nearly as much as they need to be reminded of what they already know. In the message, I hope that you will be reminded of some things that you already know, and maybe pick up a new thought once in a while. They do come out occasionally. I'm going to read Matthew 28, verses 18, 19, and 20 after we pray. Would you pray with me, please? Our Father, we are grateful for Thy kindness and mercy to us. We're thankful for Thy timeless Word. We're thankful that it is powerful and precious and pure and perfect. We thank you for those that are reading the Bible around the world who otherwise never would have had it not been for this organization and these dear people. Now bless the reading of your word. Give us permission to read it. It's altogether too holy for anything else. Give us permission to preach it and the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. I pray you'd speak to every person in this room tonight. May we none escape what the Holy Spirit has for us. to convince us, to convict us, to challenge us, to charge us, and to change us. In Jesus' name I pray with thanksgiving. Amen. Matthew chapter 28 at verse number 18. And Jesus came and spake 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've commanded you. And what's this? And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world, so may it be. I have read for you, ladies and gentlemen, the Great Commission given by Christ to His Church. In the Great Commission is embedded God's foreign policy. There's nothing like it in all the annals of history. God's foreign policy consists of four alls. Now, these are not the main points of my message. I'm still introducing. I'll tell you when I'm ready to start preaching. Four alls. Number one is all power. That's the Savior. He's sovereign. He's sufficient. He is superior. He has all, he said it, I'm quoting him, all power is given unto me. The second all, all things, that's the substance of it. Teaching them to observe, here it is, all things, whatsoever I've said unto you. The third all is all nations, that's the scope. Go ye therefore and teach all nations. And the fourth always is Always. The fourth all is always, and that's the security. Lo, I am with you always. Ladies and gentlemen, the Great Commission is not the great suggestion. It is not the great recommendation. It is not the great insinuation. The Great Commission is the great mandate of the Savior to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. You already know it. The gospel is the dynamite of God. You know what it's all about. Paul defines the gospel very clearly, very concisely, very convincingly, and completely, and very compellingly in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 at verse 3. He said, For I deliver unto you first of all that which I... Time out. Paul was not hallucinating. Paul was not dreaming. He was not imagining that which I also received. I'm giving you what God gave me. That's what Paul was saying. How that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. What scripture? Isaiah 53, written more than 700 years before Jesus was born. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The testament of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. Ladies and gentlemen, Isaiah was talking about Christ and the gospel, how Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. And that he was buried. Tearfully, they wrapped him in the grave clothes. Tenderly, they laid him in Joseph's new-made tomb. Tenaciously, they rolled a stone to seal the dead. But triumphantly, on the morning of the third day, he rose again. Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior, waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord. Death could not keep its prey, Jesus my Savior. He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord. Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph over His foes. He arose the victor of the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose. He was crucified. He died according to the scriptures. He was buried. He rose again according to the scriptures. What? Psalm 1610, for thou will not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer thine Holy One to seek eruption. Ladies and gentlemen, that's the Gospel 101. No exceptions, no additions, no exclusions, no subtractions. No kidding. The Gospel 101, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A little wonder that Paul wrote in Romans 1.16, for I am not ashamed. I am not ashamed of the gospel. You see, ladies and gentlemen, the gospel has no parallel in its power. It has no equal in its effect. It has no match in its majesty. The gospel is not so much a proposition to be believed, now watch this, as it is a person to be received. That's what John said in his first chapter. He came unto his own, and his own received him not, but as many as received him. To them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of the will of man, nor the will of the flesh, nor of blood, but of blood of God. Listen folks, we're born of God tonight. He's our Father. Jesus is our big brother. Holy Spirit's our companion. The Bible is our textbook. The church is our meeting place. Jesus said in Mark 13, here I go quoting Jesus already again. I just love to quote Jesus. You know that by now. He said in Mark 13, 10, the gospel must first be published among all nations. Now that's my introduction. I'm ready to start preaching. But I promise you, I will not infringe upon eternity with this very timely message. Listen to the title. I've entitled the message, The Four W's of the Missionary Enterprise. The first W of the Missionary Enterprise is the word, word, W-O-R-D. If you turn to your concordance, now when you preach up the Bible, you have to go to the concordance. Just kidding, but turn to the concordance, please, in the back of your Bible. If you don't have an inspired concordance, get you one. In the concordance, go to the W's and go down to the word word, W-O-R-D. The next word should be work, which is followed by the word workman. and then followed by the word world. There you have the four W's of the missionary enterprise. Word, work, workman, and world. Paul wrote in Romans 10.8, the word is nigh thee. Not just any word, ladies and gentlemen, but the word of God. More than 67 years ago, when I was a student in the Bible Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, I heard J. Frank Norris say, I have here a book. the only book, God's book. Stand on it, young men, and challenge the world. John Greenleaf Whittier wrote, we search the world for truth. We call the good, the true, the beautiful from graven stone and written scroll and all old flower fields of the soul and weary seekers of the best. We come home laden from our quest to find that all the sages said is in the book our mothers read. thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than mine necessary food." I love the Word of God, I told you that a while ago, oh how I love the law of God. I'm asking that God will give me more ability and more of the capacity to hide more of His Word in my heart and in my head, in my life, every day. Every Word of God is pure. It is like the silver that's purified seven times. Seven times pure. Thou shalt keep it, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve it from this generation forward. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, every book, you can go to any library, any bookstore, pull a book off the shelf, it's probably outdated, but not this book. Not this book. This book is good yesterday, today, tomorrow, last year, this year, and next year. Jesus, here I go quoting Jesus again, I love to quote him. He said in John 10, 35, the scripture cannot be broken. He said in Matthew 24 and verse 35, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. Let the skeptics doubt it. Let the critics assail it. Let the theologians pervert it. Though they doubt it, distort it, disdain it, deny it, delude it, disgrace it, demean it, and degrade it, they cannot destroy it. Though they reject it, renounce it, refuse it, refute it, repudiate it, they cannot destroy it. Though they pervert it, pulverize it, and prostitute it, they cannot destroy it. The Bible stands undaunted, undented, and undemonished. Undiminished. I am bold enough to tell you that nothing and nobody can change the validity the authenticity or the historicity of this blessed old book. And by the way, the Bible is not in the experimental stage. It's been tried and proven. It is not the book of the week, or the book of the month, or the book of the year, or the book of the decade, or the book of the century, or the book of the millennium. It's the book of the ages. When the sun is turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, and all the stars have fallen from the sky, the Bible will still be the living word of the living God. When the oceans have evaporated, and the rivers have all dried up, and time on earth is no more, the Bible will still be the living word of the living God. When the last chapter of time is closed on earth, and the first chapter of eternity is opened in heaven, the Bible will still be the living word of the living God. The Bible stands like a rock undaunted mid the raging storms of time. Its pages burn with the truth eternal and they glow with the light sublime. The Bible stands every test we give it, for its author is divine. By grace alone I expect to live it and prove it and make it mine. The Bible stands though the hills may tumble. It shall firmly stand when the earth shall crumble. I'll plant my feet on its firm foundation. For the Bible stands. Voltaire, the noted agnostic of the 18th century said, 100 years from now there'll be no Bibles. I've gone through the forest and cut down all the trees. Ironically enough, the very spot where he uttered those blasphemous words is the distribution center from which Bibles are sent all over the world. By the way, on a day in 1932, they gathered all of Voltaire's work together and guess what they sold for? 11 cents. On the same day, one manuscript of the Bible sold for $500,000. The Empire of the Caesars is gone. The Legionnaires of Rome are moldering in the dust. The pride of the pharaohs has fallen. The power of the Assyrians has diminished. The splendor of Babylon has faded. The fierceness of the Persians has vanquished. And the wisdom of Greece has waned. But the Word of God lives on as the next bestseller and the bestseller of all times. No price, no purse, no premium can be placed on the value of the Word of God. At the World's Fair in 1939, a time capsule was buried and with other things was a Bible. When the Vice President of the Westinghouse Corporation of America was asked, why the Bible? He answered, the Bible is the book that will most likely survive the ages. And it has. And thank God it shall. Isaiah 59 and verse 21, here's the verse you need to get in your heart. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord. Now watch this carefully. My spirit is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever. Ladies and gentlemen, the Word of God is as old as time, as new as tomorrow. Now that brings me to my second W. The missionary enterprise, the second W, is the word WORK, W-O-R-K. Work is a four-letter word of great meaning, great magnitude, and great measurement. Now I get me up to work, I pray the Lord I may not shirk. If I die before tonight, I pray the Lord my work's all right. I know some people are like mules, they pull away from it. The book of Nehemiah, as you know, is the record of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, which were destroyed in 586 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar and the armies of Babylon. It was a mammoth task and a hard, long, and trying job to put those walls back up. But listen, in just 52 days, the walls were built. You know why? Because according to chapter 4 and verse 6, the people had a mind to work. Dear God, may their tribe increase. In spite of the opposition, in spite of all the allurements to stop building, Nehemiah stayed with it and was determined to finish the job. I learned a little ditty from my mother many years ago. If a task is once begun, never leave it till it's done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all. A lesson for all of us to learn. Now listen to Nehemiah's personal testimony in this. I really love this, and you'll love it too. Listen to it. Nehemiah 6, verses 2 and 3. He said, Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. Time out. That's exactly what Nehemiah said. Oh no! Oh no, I'm doing a great work, I can't come down. I can't meet you in a valley of, oh no, oh no. But they thought to do mischief, he said, and I sent messengers unto them saying, I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Preachers, missionaries, Christians, let me warn you of this. The devil will try to allure you away from the work that you're doing right now. He'll promise you the sun, the moon, the stars, a raise in pay, a new car, a new house, great future, preach one time on Sunday and rest the rest of the week, do what you want to do, play all the golf you want to play, fish all you want to fish, run around all you want to run around, up and down, in and out, off and on, whatever you... But you know what? And by the way, He'll speak in pleasant tones that are kind to the ear. They sound good, but they're full of deadly poison. Don't listen to Satan. Tune a deaf ear to Satan and a hearing ear to God. Listen to what God says. Even the distractors and those who tried to get Nehemiah to stop building, when they saw his resolve, they perceived one thing. That's verse 3 and verse 16. They perceived that the work he was doing was of the Lord. And my friend, listen to me, if you're doing the right work, even your enemies will perceive that you're doing the work of the Lord, solid and safe and secure and steadfast. In Acts 5.39 in the New Testament, Gamaliel, when he was describing the ministry and work of the apostles said, please don't miss this, if it be of God, if be of God ye cannot destroy it, lest happily ye be found even to fight against God. Ladies and gentlemen, he who fights against God lives not to boast of his exploits. All the tyrants from Nebuchadnezzar to Nero, from Herod to Hitler, are buried in the graveyard of oblivion. And God has chiseled upon their tombstones two words, doomed forever. Ladies and gentlemen, we're engaged in the most important work on earth, and time is running out. In all the time zones of the world, it's later than you think. Can I quote Jesus again? You'll believe what he said. In John 9, 4, Jesus said, I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. We're living in the day right now. Now the clouds are gathering, storm clouds of judgment. Everything happening around us, the natural disasters, the things that are happening in our government, in our schools. I heard Norris say 60 years ago or more, one of these days the communists, the socialists, they will invade the government, they'll invade the colleges and universities, they'll invade the churches. And that's what they're doing. That's exactly what's happened. Little wonder Jesus said, I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work. He was wise who said, get your spindle and your disc staff ready, and God will send you the flax. But I must remind you of this as well. God will give you the ingredients, but you must bake the biscuits. And that brings me to the third W. of the missionary enterprise. The third W is workman. You got it? Work, a word, work, and workman. You got the first three. Word, work, workman. It's amazing to me that God has entrusted us, frail, fragile, feeble, finite beings with a grand and glorious gospel of redeeming grace. Listen to Paul, let me call him to the witness stand for a moment. Do you believe what he said? 2 Corinthians 4, 7. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. Paul's admonition and Paul's evaluation of the whole thing is it's God. Gentlemen, it is not of us. It's not all about us. It's all about Him who loved us and washed us from our sins and made us kings and priests unto God, His Father. It's all unto Him to whom be glory and honor both now and ever. A wise man once said, I don't remember who it was, it may have been me. God's approval always trumps man's appraisal. Let me give you an instant replay of that. God's approval always trumps man's appraisal. Gentlemen, hear me. We are workmen, not playboys. Getting awful quiet. Now help me out, Pastor. God is not looking for workmen with an IQ of a genius. He's not looking for Nobel Prize winners. He's not looking for the one who's voted by his classmates the most likely to succeed. God is looking for workmen who are given to prayer and the study of God's Word. I prove it from Acts 6, 4, but we will give ourselves continually, not just on Saturday night after we watched all the television and gotten on the internet and downloaded somebody else's message for Sunday morning. Getting awful quiet now, Preacher. That's happening. That's happening all over America. Saturday nights come, I gotta get busy and get somebody's message for in the morning. God have mercy on the people who have to listen to that. Can I tell you, my friend, a preacher is not measured by how tall he stands in the pulpit, but by how long he kneels in the closet. Here's a sad note. A recent survey shows, universally, Universally, the average preacher spends three minutes a day in prayer. Watch my lips. The curse of prayerless preachers are powerless pulpits and problem pews. And that brings me to the fourth W in the missionary enterprise, and that's the word world. It follows workman. You have word, work, workman, and world. Try to imagine that across the screen up here tonight. That says committed, doesn't it? But just pretend it says, on that far end over there, it says word. Second word, work. Third, workman. Fourth, world. You got them all four? Word, work, workman, world. It's a big wide world we live in. seven continents, seven seas, seven billion people, over 200 identifiable countries, 11 major religions, thousands of languages and dialects. Ecclesiastes 3.11, the wise man said, he has set the world in their heart. Can I say to you tonight, my friend, if I could just really get personal, I want to ask you a question. How big is your heart? If it is not 25,000 miles in circumference, you need to pray for an enlarged heart. While we sit in the comfort of our sanctuaries, boasting of our accomplishments, 98% of the world's population remains un-evangelized. And 6,000 languages have no Bible. Here I go quoting Jesus. I love to quote Jesus. I know you don't mind. John 20 and 21, Jesus said, as the Father hath sent me, so send I you. I understand from the Greek scholars, I'm reminded of what Dr. Norris used to say, I know a little Hebrew and I know a little Greek. A little Hebrew runs a clothing store, a little Greek has a cafe. And I understand the Greek, therefore, send is mission. So Jesus said in reality, and you do no damage to the text to read it like this, as my father hath missioned me, so mission I you. In Matthew 13, 38, Jesus defined the boundary of the missionary enterprise. Please don't miss this. Matthew 13, 38, the field is North America. No, no, no. The field is South America. The field is Europe. No, no, no. The field is Asia. No, no, no. The field is Africa. No, no, no. The field is Antarctica. No, no, no. The field is Australia. No. Jesus said the field is the world. There you have it. The four W's. Word, work, workman, world. Now watch this carefully. You're reading it on the screen over there. Word, work, workman, world. Do you see it? Between the word and the world is the work of the workman. You see that? Let me repeat it. Some of you didn't get that. You'll get it tomorrow. Word, work, Workman, world. Between word and world is the work of the workman. Only, listen, only as the work is done by the workman will the word ever reach the world. That's what we're in business to do. Now could I give you, and I've been in ministry 66 years, I want to give you my formula for enlisting new workers. I know that every pastor, every missionary, every Sunday school represented here needs new workers. Will you listen carefully? Elect you a committee of seven members. Have each one of them to elect a committee of seven members. Have each one of them to elect a committee of seven members. And you'll be surprised how many committee members you can reach. No, no, no, no, no. Why don't we try what Jesus said? Do you believe what Jesus said? Well, listen to him in Matthew 9, 37. The harvest is plenteous. Nothing wrong with the harvest. Only thing about the harvest is it cannot wait and it cannot reap itself. The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Here's his formula. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send laborers into his harvest." Perhaps we've forgotten whose harvest it is. Let's stand for our prayer. Altars open.