to bring us back to those roots, to understand what we are to be about as the Church of Jesus Christ. I've occasionally had people ask, can we do this activity, can we do that activity? Sometimes I, you know, the question may not itself be wrong, but sometimes I wonder if that questioner is perceiving the real mission that we have as the church. And how does this particular activity that the person is envisioning fit in with the mission that we have? And I think that that's what many churchgoers miss. Something might sound like it's a good time, like it's fun. It might in and of itself not be sinful. But the question we have to ask is how does it fit into the mission that God has called us to? And that's really where the Great Commission is so vital. So I wanna draw our attention back to this important passage. Matthew chapter 28 and verse 16, we'll read to the end of the chapter. And of course, we're continuing from last week where we were studying this passage and we want to wrap up our discussion of the Great Commission this morning. Matthew 28 and verse 16, then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. 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 have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Let's pray. Father, open our hearts in these moments as we continue in our series and as we wrap up this message on the compassionate fulfillment of the Great Commission. Lord, I pray that our understanding would be enlightened and that we would be able not just to grasp these things on an intellectual level, but to be able to apply them. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. When I candidated to become the pastor of this church, I remember making the observation that I spent an insane number of hours on sermon preparation. And within those hours, a significant portion of time is dedicated to preparing an introduction to the sermon. I try to be thoughtful in deciding the very first things that I will say, to introduce a text, recognizing that the introduction will help capture the attention of the audience and will really set the stage for the rest of the message. Well, there's two things that happened with this introduction. First of all, I struggled to come up with something sufficiently clever. But for another, we have so much material that we're going to get into that we are pretty much just going to jump right in after giving you a brief overview of what we considered last week. So based on Scripture's testimony of Jesus' resurrection authority, we must boldly make disciples of Christ from all nations. That is the point of the passage that we just read. Now the narrative here unfolds for us in four stages. Last week, we considered, first of all, the encounter with the risen Lord. Look back with me at verses 16 and 17, so we can get our bearings here. 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. Throughout the Old Testament, the mountain was a significant place in which God revealed His glory and commissioned His servants. And we find the same to be the case in the New Testament. We see, of course, in Matthew chapter 17, Jesus' encounter with James and John and Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, where He revealed His glory. And here, The disciples have an encounter with the risen Christ in His glorified body. And it's as they have this encounter with the glory of Christ that the disciples are prepared to receive His commission. And we noticed here contrasting responses in verse 17. There is worship, but there is also hesitation. In all likelihood, the disciples gathered on this mountain are more than just the 11 apostles at this point, of course, minus Judas. Probably this included the 500 plus brethren that Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And so there may very well have been a sizable portion among that number who had reservations about the risen Christ, just as the apostles themselves had struggled with doubt. Now we moved last week from the encounter with the risen Christ to the authority of the risen Christ. Notice verse 18, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. The power here is a reference to authority. Jesus as the God-man, the mediator between God and man, has been given all authority everywhere, in heaven and in earth. And this limitless authority is given unto him by virtue of his resurrection and his soon ascension to the Father's right hand. We then move to the third stage in the narrative, the commission of the risen Christ. You notice at the beginning of verse 19, go ye therefore. There's an intentionality there. It is not just that the disciples are to give the gospel wherever they happen to be, but there is to be a deliberate effort to go into all the nations to give the gospel of Christ. And of course we see the disciples doing just that in the book of Acts. The main imperative in this section comes immediately following that. Go ye therefore and teach all nations. That word teach, as we saw last week, has the idea of make disciples. Disciples are learners, pupils, followers of the Master Teacher, Jesus Himself. These are not just people who make a profession of faith. These are people who demonstrate the authenticity of their faith by consistently doing the Father's will. Let me draw your attention back to Matthew chapter 12 a moment. I think that this passage lays this out with some clarity. We have to always bear in mind the end goal that we're after. And of course, we've seen these types of examples where you have churches having these large meetings and these reports of thousands of people allegedly trusting in Christ. But of course, you have to ask, what is the remaining fruit following that event? Well, the Great Commission safeguards us against that kind of thinking. Because the idea is not just to get numbers, but the idea is that we want disciples that are engaged in following Christ. Notice Matthew 12 and verse 46. while he, that is Jesus, yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, who is my mother and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward who? His disciples. and said, behold, my mother and my brethren. Now notice what it says in verse 50. For whosoever shall do the will of my father, which is in heaven, the same as my brother and sister and mother. That is the defining mark of a disciple, ladies and gentlemen. Somebody whose life is characterized by this desire to do the will of the father, not somebody who makes a casual profession a thing. Now, we ended the message last week with a question. How is it that we are to make disciples of Christ? We asked the question, but we didn't answer it. And so that's what I want to do in this message, is give you an answer to the question. Now, the text here gives us two ways in which we are to make disciples. And we come back to Matthew 28. The first, way that we are to make disciples is found in the latter half of verse 19. So let me direct your attention back to Matthew chapter 28 and verse 19. Jesus says, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Now we spent two messages talking about baptism in considerable detail. I would direct your attention back to sermon audio. If you didn't get those messages, you're welcome to listen to those there. But I do want to deal with a couple of issues in this text that go a bit beyond our discussion that we had on baptism. First, you will notice that this text says here, baptizing them. Well, the question arises, who are them? Now, some would argue that them refers back to all nations. There is this idea that is popular in some circles that the church has a mandate to baptize the nations. There's one scholar who takes this view who says, quote, In baptizing nations, the Church incorporates peoples, not just persons, into the baptism of Christ. When a nation is baptized, the Father calls that nation Beloved Son, as He once said, Beloved Son over Israel. Well, that view would tie in with the practice of infant baptism, this idea that all parents in a, quote, Christian country would have the expectation of baptizing their children so that they can maintain their nation's status as a baptized nation. But this text says nothing about baptized nations. Now bear with me for just a moment, because this is a tad bit technical. If you've studied other languages, you may know that in some languages, in fact many languages, nouns have gender. This is true, for example, in the Spanish language. The word la camisa is the word for a shirt. So whenever you're speaking about a shirt, you would use the feminine gender, right? And the same is true with the Greek language. The Greek language nouns have gender. The word for nations in this text is neuter. But the word them is masculine. And so I would suggest to you that them cannot refer back to nations. I would suggest that actually the referent for them is understood in the verb. And remember, what's the verb? Well, in our King James, it comes across as teach, but the idea is to make disciples. It is understood then that the ones who are being baptized are the disciples that are made from all the nations. It is not simply that nations are to be baptized. Now, we must also address the phrase that follows here. Jesus says, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Now this is rather significant because as you notice the phraseology here, the word name is singular. He does not say baptizing them in the names, plural, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Rather he says in the name, singular, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. This is in keeping, of course, with the historic formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity. The Westminster Confession of Faith, a highly regarded statement of faith from some centuries ago, put it this way. They say this, in the unity of the Godhead, there be three persons of one substance, power, and eternity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor preceding. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father. The Holy Ghost eternally preceding from the Father and the Son. That, friends, is the historic formulation of the Trinity. Now it is possible here, that especially in the context of Matthew, that Jesus' words hearken back to his own baptism. I wanna invite you to go back to Matthew chapter three for a moment. Matthew chapter three. And this of course is the account of Jesus' baptism through John the Baptist, Now notice with me Matthew 3 in verse 16. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water. And, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit descending like a dove and alighting upon him. And, lo, a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Now one false teaching that has arisen in the history of the church is called modalism. The biblical doctrine of the Trinity is that there is one God in three persons. But modalism teaches that there is one God in three manifestations. Now you say, Brother Nick, it sounds like you're quibbling about words. And that would be far from the case. You see, in modalism, Father, Son, and Spirit are not three distinct persons, but instead three ways in which God manifests himself, sometimes as the Son, sometimes as the Spirit, sometimes as the Father. It's really, in modalism, it's as if God has three different masks. Sometimes he puts on the mask of the Father, sometimes he puts on the mask of the Son, and sometimes he puts on the mask of the Spirit. There are still some groups today who hold to modalism, most notably the so-called Jesus-only movement or oneness Pentecostalism. But the account of Christ's baptism blows modalism out of the water. Because here you have the Son being baptized, as the Spirit comes upon Him like a dove, and the Father makes an announcement from heaven. All three of these are occurring simultaneously. And so I would suggest that what Jesus points to here, in the language that is used, that you have mentioned a Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, so there are three persons, but there's a singular name. So the unity of the Godhead, as well as the triune nature of God, the plurality of persons, all emphasized in the Great Commission. Now, what exactly does it mean to be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit? We have to remember that in Scripture, a name is something that is more than something that is casually scribbled on a person's birth certificate. A person's name is his reputation, the character that he is known by. Now there are actually two other passages in Matthew that use the same Greek construction that appears here. And I want to draw your attention to those texts because I think it will help shed some light on what Jesus is intending here. Go back with me to Matthew 10 and verse 41. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 41. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 41, Jesus speaking here, he says, he that receiveth a prophet, notice, in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he that receiveth a righteous man, what? In the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. Now, when Jesus speaks here of receiving a prophet in the name of a prophet, What he's referring to is receiving a prophet for who he really is. The person who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet is recognizing that this is a true spokesman for God. And he's acknowledging the authority that this man has by virtue of that position. Now, let me draw your attention to another passage that may help us. Chapter 18 in Matthew. Chapter number 18, and notice verse 20, a passage that probably is familiar to many of us, but again, uses the same construction that we find in the Great Commission. Matthew 18 and verse 20, for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Now, contrary to popular belief, this is not really a verse that is just intended to encourage us when the attendance at Wednesday night prayer meeting is not so high. If you look in the context, Jesus is actually talking about the implementation of church discipline, which is something that we will get into in a future message. But you notice that in this context, he speaks of two or three being gathered together in his name. In other words, they are being identified with him. They are coming in Jesus' authority. And that's why they have the authority to carry out the proceedings of church discipline. So if we bring all of this understanding with us to Matthew 28, when Jesus says that disciples are to be baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, what Jesus is intending is that that baptism is an identification with the triune God. By being baptized, we are saying, I belong to God. I am a follower of the triune God. I am identifying myself. I'm placing myself under the authority of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That's the significance here. That's what Jesus is getting. Now, it probably occurs to you that Jesus gives these instructions. Baptism is a one-time act. And we indicated in the message on baptism that the death, burial, resurrection of Christ, it's a once-for-all package of events. So baptism is something that takes place, of course, initially, after a person professes faith in Christ. But it's interesting that the second way we make disciples is not through something that's a one-time act. If you go to Matthew 28, notice what we read in verse 20. Notice Jesus says, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Baptism is once for all, but teaching is ongoing. And we can't just content ourselves. Well, yeah, we had this person come at this meeting, this person professed faith, and so we fulfilled our obligation. It's kind of one of those frustrating things. As long as we are in these mortal bodies, this is an ongoing task. It just, it never stops. I'm all for the ministry of evangelists, and I was converted to Christ under the ministry of an evangelist. But if we think of the Great Commission as simply all about the ministry of the evangelist, we have an extremely truncated view of the Great Commission. Evangelistic campaigns are but a starting point in fulfilling the Great Commission. They're not the be-all, end-all. And that's, of course, what we heard in the testimony last week by Brother Tom, that he had come to Christ as a result of this camp meeting, but there were no efforts to follow up. And that's, of course, a sad reality that takes place in many churches today. Note what it is that we're to be teaching. It says here, to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. That word observe there, it means to guard or to keep. You often see this language used in regard to keeping commandments. And so the kind of teaching that is envisioned here is not simply the transmitting of information. This is a teaching that is geared toward application. We're aiming not just for knowledge, but for obedience. And this, by the way, is the difference between a sermon and a lecture. In a lecture, the goal is to transmit information. In a sermon, the goal is to motivate obedience. Now I would probably get myself in a lot less trouble if I was sick to giving lectures rather than sermons, right? You don't tend to ruffle a lot of feathers when you give lectures. Lectures aren't that offensive to people. But once you give sermons, that's when it starts rubbing people the wrong way. But I couldn't be faithful to the Great Commission if I stuck to giving lectures. This is what we're all about here at Grace Baptist Church. And so, The goal here of obedience, and what is it that the disciples are to observe? It says they are to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Now, just bear with me a moment. We're gonna take a little journey, all right? Have your fingers ready. Hope they're nimble today. Now, I know it would just, it would be far simpler if we would just say, okay, well this refers to all the red letters, you know, and end of story. And yes, it does apply ultimately to everything that Jesus taught and even really to all of scripture. But in the context of the Gospel of Matthew, as Matthew includes this, really there is something particular in view that I believe Matthew is trying to communicate. So, let's take a little journey if we could. Go back with me to chapter seven. What I'm gonna draw your attention to is a pattern that you see throughout the Gospel of Matthew. Now, I could just tell you what Jesus is referring to here, we could be done with it, but I'm trying to help you along a little bit so that you're motivated to see these things for yourself, right? To have the spirit of the Bereans, I think that's important. Matthew chapter 7, notice verse 28. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine. Of course, this comes immediately after the Sermon on the Mount, which is recorded for us in chapters 5 through 7. So you notice something that you find here. Jesus ended these sayings. Now, go with me a few more chapters to chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11 and verse one. And it came to pass when Jesus had done what? Had made an end of commanding his 12 disciples. He departed thence to preach, to teach and to preach in their city. So you see similar language to what we saw in chapter seven in verse 28. You see the fact that Jesus has been teaching his disciples and now he has made an end of the instructions that he's given them. What we read in chapter 10 is popularly called the missionary discourse. Now turn with me a few more pages to chapter 13 in verse 53. Matthew chapter 13 in verse 53. Notice, and it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed then. So, similar pattern to what we saw previously. In all three of these verses, you see mention of the fact that Jesus has been doing some kind of teaching, and now he's finished. In this case, chapter 13 gives us the record of what we call the kingdom parables. Now, go with me to chapter 19 and verse one. Sticking with me here. Matthew chapter 19 in verse one. Again, notice a similar pattern. And it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee and came into the coast of Judea beyond Jordan. What we have in chapter 18, sometimes called the discourse on the church. And you have mentioned here again, just as we saw in those three other verses, that Jesus has been doing teaching and now He's finished. Now, come with me to chapter 26. Matthew 26 and verse 1. Notice Matthew records here, and it came to pass when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, and of course, it goes on to describe what Jesus said here. But chapter 26 comes immediately after chapters 24 and 25, which gives us what we call the Olivet Discourse, Jesus' most extensive discourse concerning end time events. Now, you say, well, what's the point of all this? Well, let me give you the point. The point is that the Gospel of Matthew is structured around these five major discourses. Sermon on the Mount in chapters five through seven, missionary discourse in chapter 10, kingdom parables in chapter 13, the discourse on the church in chapter 18, and the Olivet discourse in chapters 24 and 25. I would suggest to you that when Matthew is recording the words of our Lord in Matthew 28 and verse 20. Matthew is really drawing our attention back to those five discourses. That when he's referring to all these things that I've commanded you, it's a reference back, especially to these significant teachings in the life of Christ. In each of these discourses, you find some rich theology coupled with very practical instruction for living as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. Now, that doesn't mean, of course, that all of our discipling should be limited to explaining these discourses. Of course, all of Jesus' teachings are built on revelation from the Old Testament. And Jesus' teachings are further explained when you have the other gospel accounts and, of course, when you have the epistles and revelation. But if you're looking for a solid book to use when discipling someone, I would recommend the Gospel of Matthew. Because it does give us so many of these critical tools for enabling disciples of Jesus Christ to know what their Lord expects from them. It's also worth noting, when Jesus speaks here, of teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, that this counters some faulty thinking that was held by some of our dispensational forefathers in the past. Now as I indicated last week, I am proud to call myself a dispensationalist. But there were some early dispensationalists who argued that the Sermon on the Mount is not directly applicable to today, that it is a law for the kingdom age and not really directly applicable to disciples of Christ today. And Jesus' instruction here seems, in my mind, to explicitly counter that type of thinking. You will encounter that view, for example, if you look in your Schofield reference Bible, if you happen to have one of those. Jesus' instructions here tell us that all of Jesus' teachings remain binding throughout the church age. We cannot casually assign Jesus' instructions to some future age. We must see these instructions throughout Matthew and throughout really all the Gospels as the authoritative law of Christ, essential for the growth of disciples in the present day. So this is a lofty commission that we're given by Christ. Go, make disciples, and do that by baptizing them and teaching them to observe everything that Christ commanded them. Now, you might look at all that. You might say, well, Brother Nick, that's high above my pay grade. How in the world am I gonna get all that done? Well, that's where we get to the fourth stage in this narrative here, and that is the promise of the risen Lord. the promise of the risen Lord. Look with me in verse 20, latter half of the verse. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. The word lo here has the idea of behold. And this introduces these wonderful words, I am with you. The word I am, Greek words, ego, a me. These are the same words that Jesus uses in John chapter 8 and verse 58 when he says, before Abraham was, I am. And it is possible that these words could be understood as simply indicating existence. You know, I am, fill in the blank. But in the context here, especially given that this is a context of worship, I am inclined here to see Jesus indicating that he is on par with Jehovah. And really, when you look at what Jesus promises, I am with you always, the fact that Jesus could promise to be present with his disciples, each of them individually, that's well above the pay grade of a creature. A creature can only be in one place at one time. But Jesus, as Lord of all, as the great I am, he could be with his disciples always. So what we have here in this promise, it really is something that hearkens back to similar promises that we have in the Old Testament. Let me share with you a couple of examples. Go back with me to Exodus. There is this pattern that you have, and we could go to some other places. I just want to give you a couple of quick examples. In Exodus chapter three, of course, this is Moses' encounter with the angel of the Lord at the burning bush. Exodus chapter 3 and verse 10, and here God is speaking to Moses. Exodus 3 and verse 10, Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And notice verse 12, and he said, certainly I will be with you. And you notice that this promise here is connected to the name by which God reveals himself. You have in verse 13, And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is his name, and what shall I say unto them? That God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. The I am is the one who promises to be with Moses, even in this incredibly daunting task of going to Egypt, going to Pharaoh and asking for the release of the children of Israel from bondage. Something similar occurs in the book of Joshua. Go with me to Joshua chapter one. Joshua chapter one and verse six. God speaking to Joshua here, he says, Notice, very similar language to what we see in the Great Commission, is it not? Notice, which Moses my servant commanded thee, turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. Notice verse nine, have not I commanded thee, be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is, what, with thee, whithersoever thou goest. And you see here, both Moses and Joshua, they received this divine commission from God to a task that was well above really any normal human pay grade. But in giving them that commission, God doesn't leave them alone. He says, as you faithfully obey, I will be with you. And you know, friends, that's just like God to do that. You know, God doesn't promise us easy things. Some of you may be old enough to remember the famous words of John F. Kennedy, we choose to go to the moon in this decade, not because it's easy, because it's hard, right? God doesn't call us just to do the easy things. I've encountered people like that, churchgoers, that they're frustrated because they just want the easy things. No, God calls us to hard things. This Great Commission, I'm not going to tell you it's cakewalk. It's hard. But you know what? God has promised to be with us. Christ has promised us His presence. And He has not promised it simply temporarily. Notice, as you go back to Matthew 28, Lo, I am with you what? Always. Really the Greek there is not just always, it's the whole of all the days. It's not as though Jesus is just envisioning the end way down yonder. Yeah, I'll be with you until then. But the idea is that day by day, moment by moment, Jesus promises us his presence. By the way, you find that this theme really bookends the Gospel of Matthew. You remember back in chapter one, as the announcement goes forth about the birth of Jesus Christ, that Matthew connects it back to Isaiah chapter seven and verse 14. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted as what? God with us. God is with us in the incarnation. But God promises to continue to be with us, even after the ascension. Jesus promises us his presence. And specifically, the promise is given here unto the end of the world, literally the end of the age. It's actually just a few chapters prior, back in chapter 24 in verse three, that the disciples had asked Jesus, what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? The disciples here connect Jesus' coming with the end of the age. And really, friends, we know that the only thing that is going to set this wicked world straight is the return of Jesus Christ, not the election of Donald Trump, not the department of government efficiency, but the return of Jesus Christ. But in the meantime, we can have confidence because Christ has promised us his presence. And you notice that really the whole book of Matthew ends on a resounding note with this simple word, amen. That word is absent in some of the ancient manuscripts, but it is present in the majority of them, and it's really a fitting conclusion to the book. This is Matthew's response to Jesus' promise. Jesus will be with us every moment of every day. And until He returns, we can say, Amen. May it be so. We affirm that is true. Now, as we conclude, I want to just give some takeaways for us as a church. We've mentioned some of the takeaways last week, but I want to add a few thoughts this week as we wrap up our discussion on the Great Commission. First of all, the Great Commission shows us the need for missions. You remember Jesus' unlimited authority, all authority in heaven and in earth. And that unlimited authority is what ought to prompt the disciples to go out to all the nations. And it's something that I'm giving some serious thought to. We have a missions program, we have missionaries that we support, but I'm contemplating and praying about other things that we can do to encourage that missions program. So that this is not just an afterthought. I know that it's tempting for us to just see that as kind of a line item on our church budget. Oh yeah, we're doing our part, we're reaching other peoples. But there needs to be some greater intentionality. One thing that bothers me about some churches, some churches have this drive to support as many missionaries as humanly possible, even if they do it for an extremely small amount of money. And that type of philosophy makes a church maybe look like it's doing more to reach people. But it can be a tremendous strain on a missionary family to visit every church that's supporting them for $15 a month. And furthermore, I would suggest to you that if we were to make it our goal to just support as many missionaries as humanly possible, you and I would probably know very little about those missionaries. We would have very little connection with them. There needs to be an intentionality. I would also suggest that the Great Commission undergirds a proper philosophy for missions. Now there are lots of good things that Christians can do. We can feed the hungry. We can clothe the naked. We can provide shelter to the homeless. And all of these things are well and good in their place. None of these things should be at the heart of our missions program. Our missions program should be driven by the Great Commission. The primary aim of all the missionaries we support should be to make disciples of Jesus Christ. And anything else that gets done should be ancillary to that ultimate goal. Jesus' instructions here are not just relevant for foreign missions. They are relevant for our existence as Grace Baptist Church. The Great Commission constitutes our marching orders. We are called to go forth and to make disciples of Jesus Christ. And I do feel acutely that there's more we should be doing to accomplish that task. And really, the responsibility is pressed upon me as the pastor teacher of this congregation. Any failure we've had in reaching out to the lost, ultimately I have to give an account before the Lord for that. But at the same time, we have to remember that the Great Commission is not just limited to evangelism. What Matthew 28 envisions is relationships. The idea of relationship is integral to the master-disciple relationship. And yes, disciples have a relationship with their master teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is also envisioned here that there are relationships that are occurring between disciples. As disciples, teach disciples. And really, you can't have the fulfillment of the Great Commission without relationships. If it's just people coming and sitting in seats on a Sunday and then going home, that's not discipleship. This demands that it's life on life. We're engaged in other people's lives. And I'm encouraged, of course, you know, when I see fellowship taking place among our people. But we have to remember that true discipleship is not just talking about sports or politics or farm equipment, nothing wrong with those things. And there can be value in talking about even mundane things in life with fellow believers. But ultimately, there need to be conversations about the word of God, about the gospel, about our growth in Christ. Along these lines, I want to challenge you. Think about all the one another's we find in the New Testament. Love one another, John 15 and verse 12. Be kindly affection one to another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another, Romans 12.10. Be of the same mind one toward another, Romans 12.16. Receive one another, Romans 15, 7. Serve one another, Galatians 5, 13. Bear ye one another's burdens, Galatians 6, 2. Forbearing one another in love, Ephesians 4, 2. Be a kind one to another, Ephesians 4, 32. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God, Ephesians 5.21. Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, Colossians 3.16. Comfort one another, 1 Thessalonians 4.18. Edify one another, 1 Thessalonians 5.11. Consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, Hebrews 10.24. Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another, James 5.16. Use hospitality one to another, 1 Peter 4 and on. And friends, we cannot obey these commands unless we are with one another. And if we see church, well, you know, that's just what I do. I go listen to that sermon and then I go home. We'll never experience these one another's. I would suggest something that's incumbent upon us who are faithfully involved in this Integral to our fulfillment of the Great Commission is our response to visitors who come into these dorms. That can be a challenge to some of us. I confess, naturally, I'm introverted. My natural inclination is to go in a hole and ignore people. I force myself to talk to people, right? And maybe you've, you know, the previous pastor of this church was somebody who was just very naturally socially engaged. I'm not that way. I force myself to be friendly, right? And maybe you find that to be a struggle, you know, that, yeah, you know, you feel the same way. Well, think about the goal we're trying to achieve here. When visitors come in here, they ought to know that they're being received with open arms with the love of Jesus Christ. And if we don't take that effort, we're never going to have the opportunity to make disciples. We need to be intentional about those that walk in these doors and not just kind of go into our own little cliques and talk to the same people we always talk to, but reach out and see what we can do to have a part in reaching others. It's critical to recognize, friends, that The Great Commission is not just for the apostles. And it is not just for pastors and missionaries today. This is for all Christians. All Christians have some role to play in fulfilling the Great Commission. Now, I've chosen my words carefully. Some role to play. Because we recognize that not every Christian has the same role to play. We won't go there now, but 1 Corinthians 12 speaks of those various members of the body. They all serve different functions. You find much the same thing in Romans 12, verses 3 and onward about the fact that we've all been given different spiritual gifts and God puts us in different places in the body of Christ to accomplish His purposes. So my role as the pastor will look different from the role of a senior citizen retiree. The role of a stay-at-home mom will look different from the role of a factory worker doing overtime each week. We all have different personality, different gifts, different talents. It's a pet peeve of mine when pastors will beat people over the head for not having identical spiritual gifts. Well, you all just need to be out here knocking on doors. Well, praise the Lord for those that are willing to do things like that. But oftentimes, pastors will beat on the people that are doing the most work in the church behind the scenes. And that work gets diminished. Friends, it ought not be that way. We all have some role to play. So many things that Christians can do to help fulfill the Great Commission. You can send a check to support missions. You can invite a new Christian over to your house for lunch. You can open your home to a Bible study. You can clean the church so that visitors won't be repelled by a dirty sanctuary. You can wash dishes, prepare meals, pray with a discouraged Christian, make a visit to a shut-in. You know, if you're here and you feel like, well, you know, I just don't feel very engaged. I feel like I'm just attending services and not doing much else. What I would challenge you with is not to think of every single thing you can do to fulfill the Great Commission. That will get overwhelming. But let's make it simple. What's one thing you can do to help fulfill the Great Commission? D.L. Moody once said, give me a man who says, this one thing I do and not those 50 things I dabble in. And don't always be thinking of doing something where you have to be seen by everybody. Some of the most urgent needs we have in this church are things that happen behind the scenes. You say, well, that's easy for you to say. You're the pastor. You're up in front of everybody all the time. Yeah, I know it. You know, before I was preaching in Sunday morning services here, I was preaching on buses and in nursing homes. I've done probably just about every church ministry that you can imagine, with the exception of the nursery. And the nursery is probably better off for that. But we have to think of where the Lord has placed us, what has he gifted us with, and what can we do to accomplish the Great Commission? And as I close, I'm reminded really of the fact that as I look out here this morning, I don't see a lot of just pew sitters. We have a lot of people in this church that are very committed to Christ. And one of the risks that we have that really is kind of the other side of the equation here is the risk of burnout. I know there are many of you that are serving very faithfully. You're breaking your neck seemingly to do all these different things. Let me encourage you, keep your focus on Christ. You're not doing all of this to assuage a guilty conscience. You're not doing all this to please the pastor. If you have the wrong goal, you'll get burned out. keep your focus on Christ. Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. Heavenly Father, thank you for this time that we've spent, this opportunity to consider the Great Commission. Lord, empower each of us to obey, to do our part, Lord, at reaching all the nations for Christ. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, at this time we'll be transitioning to our observance of the Lord's table. Let me remind you that this is an ordinance that is for believers in Jesus Christ. If you are here and you have not trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, we welcome you here, we're glad that you're here this morning, but we would ask you not to partake of the bread and the juice when they come by. For those of us that know Christ, this is an opportunity for us to remember Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on Calvary. And we spent some time a number of weeks ago