It's been our privilege the last two nights and this morning to have somebody we called to get as our speaker three years ago. When we get him lined up, first time could be this year. Dr. Lloyd Kim is the coordinator of Mission to the World. He has been nearly five years now in that role. And he and his wife have three teenage children, one's in college. You look at him, you say, he doesn't look that. And he doesn't, but he does have the three teenagers. And we'll see after they get to the 20s, we'll see if it helps him age any. But he has been a missionary in the Philippines and in Cambodia. He's been a pastor in a church, and it's just been a delight to have him come, and we're grateful for his leadership that gives mission to the world and that he brings the Word to us today. Good morning. It's been a pleasure for me to be with you this weekend, and I do want to say on behalf of Mission to the World, just a very heartfelt thank you to Chestnut Mountain Presbyterian Church. Thank you for your partnership with us, your faithful support and prayers of the many missionaries that you have supported over the many years. We're just so grateful to you and it's a privilege for me to be here with you this morning to open up God's Word. So if you have your Bibles I'd encourage you to turn to Matthew chapter 28 and we'll be reading verses 16 through 20. Gospel according to Matthew chapter 28 verses 16 to 20. This is God's very own Word. Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. Pray with me, if you will. Father, we ask that you would attend our time now as we give ear, as we have given ear to the reading of your word, and we pray, Father, by your spirit, that you would help me to speak the message you have prepared for us today. In Jesus' name, amen. As mentioned earlier, our family had the privilege of serving as missionaries with Mission to the World for about 10 years in Southeast Asia. So here's a question for you. Who was the most respected king in Southeast Asia? I would argue that it was the former king of Thailand. You see, he wasn't simply a figurehead, but he was loved and revered by his subjects. They loved him, and he had real influence over them. In fact, you may have remembered a few years ago there was quite a bit of civil unrest in Thailand and people were demonstrating on the streets and a lot of folks didn't know what was going to happen in that country, but it only took the king of Thailand to stand before his subjects and to address them. And he would say to them, stop your demonstrations and behave as Thai ought to behave. And at that, the people dropped their signs, picked up their stuff and went home. That would never happen here. But do you realize, beloved, that we also have a king? His name is Jesus. And what do you think people say about us who belong to his kingdom? Do they say, well, his people don't really respect him very much? Or do they say, at his command, they will drop everything and follow in obedience? Today we're going to listen again to the final words of Jesus before he ascended into heaven. We're going to listen to this great commission mandate, and in it we're going to find that this command is, number one, a commission of grace. Two, it is a commission with authority. And finally, it is a commission for all of Jesus' disciples. I think the first thing the Lord is telling us this morning is that we really don't deserve to be a part of this kingdom building harvest work. If you remember this passage, what context does it come in? End of Matthew 28. This is a resurrection passage. This is a passage that comes in the context of Jesus' resurrection. And so can you imagine what must have been going on in the minds of those disciples when they heard from Mary Magdalene that early Sunday morning? Jesus is alive. Jesus is risen and he wants to meet you in Galilee. Three days earlier, where was Jesus? He was crucified on a cross. They saw him murdered, killed. How could it be that Jesus is alive? If you remember the scene and the context, the disciples, where were they? They were in Jerusalem. Galilee was probably about 60 to 75 miles away. And so they had to travel probably about four or five days to Galilee. Can you imagine what they must have been talking about on the way? Perhaps their minds flashed back to the last time they were all together. Do you remember where that was? The Garden of Gethsemane. Perhaps echoing in their ears were the words of their Lord. You can't even keep watch and pray with me for one hour? Rise, behold, my betrayer is at hand. And when the angry mob came with swords and clubs and spears, all of his disciples, all of his brothers, they fled. They abandoned him. Certainly Peter must have remembered how the rooster crowed. after he denied his Lord in the courtyard of the high priest. And so I can imagine these disciples walking to the place where they would meet Jesus, filled with conflicting emotions, not only wonder and awe that maybe Jesus is alive, but also fear and shame and guilt that they would have to face the one that they abandoned and denied. When I was about 10 years old, my brother and I and a neighborhood friend were playing at a nearby park by our house. And while we were there minding our own business, these older neighborhood bullies started teasing us. They were pretty far away and, you know, being rascally boys, we yelled back at them and probably said some things we shouldn't have said and not expecting what would happen next. They started chasing after us. And we had our bikes there at the time, and we all hopped on our bikes, and we pedaled as fast as we could back home. And I remember screaming, I remember my heart beating, and I was the first back where it was safe on our lawn. And then my friend came, and we looked back over our shoulders, and there was my brother a block away. The chain had fallen off his bike. And sure enough, those bullies came, and they took a couple cheap shots at my brother, and then they took off. And then we saw this whole scene unfold. My brother picked up his bike, he walked it over to where we were standing, he threw down his bike, he came up to me, he slugged me in the stomach, and he said, where were you? After this, we asked our dad to teach us Taekwondo. It only lasted a couple weeks. You see, we should expect Jesus to come to his disciples on that mountain in Galilee and do what? Slug them and say, where were you, right? Where were you? But he doesn't. He doesn't rebuke them. He doesn't reject them. When he meets Mary Magdalene, what does he tell her? Go and tell my, he says, brothers, go and tell my brothers to meet me in Galilee, even Peter. And when he speaks to them on the mountain, he doesn't mention any of their failures. He doesn't mention their cowardice. He doesn't mention their denials. In fact, He doesn't mention the fact that some of them were doubting Him as He stood before them. And so what you see here in this passage is a picture of God's mercy and grace. What did these disciples deserve? Well, they deserved to be abandoned. They deserve to be denied before the Father. They deserve to be excluded from the kingdom. But instead of rebuke Jesus, he forgives them. He loves them. And then he enlists them to carry forth this mission that he began. And so we have here a picture of God's amazing grace, and we should ask ourselves this morning, who are these disciples? They're us. We're just like them. Sometimes hesitant, doubtful, full of fear, full of shame. I don't know about you, but when somebody that I have offended that I actually respect overlooks my sins, I can't help but respect that person even more. And when he demonstrates to me that my relationship with him is so secure, There's no strings attached to His love for me. I can't help but love Him even more. And when I'm convinced that I don't have to pretend to be something I'm not, that He sees me for who I am with all of my sins, with all of my mistakes, all my brokenness, and still loves me, I can't help but be passionate for what He is passionate for. Where does passion for missions come from? It comes from a deep passion for our Savior who loves us with this lavish love. You see, this isn't guilt trip motivation for missions, but that which springs from a sincere love and affection for our King, for our Savior who has loved us. And so, the more that we dwell upon God's grace, and mercy for us, the more fuel that we add to missions fire in our hearts. And so yes, we don't deserve to be a part of this kingdom building work. And yet he still allows us his privilege by his grace. What is the second thing? The second thing I believe the Lord is telling us this morning is we don't have to be afraid. We don't have to be afraid to engage in this work of missions, in this work of gathering the harvest. We don't have to be afraid because the One who sends us, it says here in our passage, has been given all authority, both where? In heaven and on earth. And so that when we go, we go with His authority. But my fear, beloved, is we don't really believe this. We don't believe that we send, that we support, and that we go with His authority. You know, when I talk to people about missions, they usually fall into one of two extremes. And the first extreme is utter fear and anxiety at the thought of engaging in the harvest, engaging in missions. We think, perhaps, that we're ill-equipped. We're not ready to share our faith, to enter into a discipleship relationship with someone else, or God forbid, to pray whether God is calling us to serve full-time overseas. Do we believe that Jesus, the one who sends us, has all authority, both in heaven and on earth? If fear and anxiety is one extreme, what would be the other extreme? overconfidence, overconfidence in our own authority, in our own gifts, talents, and power. Sometimes we think because we are educated, because we are wealthy, because we're from the West that somehow the world has to listen to our message. And so, we go in our own strength in doing the work of God. This is just as dangerous, beloved. When we first came to the Philippines, I had just finished my Ph.D. in New Testament Studies, and I had the privilege of visiting the Presbyterian Theological Seminary there, and as I went I was thinking, how lucky are these students to have someone like Like me, right? And some of you have visited the Philippines. You know that the folks are so friendly there, and I met some students, and they were exactly that, and they introduced themselves to me. And then one of them asked me, he said, so what year in school are you here? I thought I was a student. You know, of course, you can't be proud as a missionary, but I was like, don't you know who I am? Anyway, I tried to hide my pride. I said, well, I don't go to school here. Then he replied, well, are you going to apply? We need to ask ourselves some pretty hard questions. What kind of authority and confidence are we basing our mission work upon? Is it worldly authority? Is it our education, our money, our power? Or do we believe that Jesus has all authority, both in heaven and on earth, and that we send, support, and go with his authority? Here's the thing. It's only by the authority and power that God gives us by his Holy Spirit that we can do anything of lasting value for his kingdom. You know the promise at the end of the Great Commission? Behold, I am what? With you to the end of the age. You know, I think when we read that, sometimes we imagine Jesus kind of hovering over us as we go about the work of His kingdom. But I don't think that's the picture that we have here in this passage. What is this promise? I believe it is a promise of his indwelling spirit in us, equipping us, empowering us to this task that he has called us to. Do we believe this? You know, when we begin to believe this and it drops from our head to our hearts, two things happen at the same time. We become incredibly confident and we become incredibly humble at the same time. We become confident because we are equipped with a power that has no bounds, His Holy Spirit. And we know that we're called to a task that cannot fail. At the same time, it makes us incredibly humble because we know it's not us, but it is His Holy Spirit in us by which His good work goes forward. So this is the perspective we need to have as we think about missions. So the Lord is telling us, number one, we don't deserve to participate in this kingdom-building work, and yet He calls us by His grace. And second, He says we cannot do this work by our own authority or power, but we can by His. And finally, the Lord is telling us that every one of us, every disciple of Jesus, is called to making more disciples. What are those two main tasks that Jesus associates with discipleship making from our passage? Number one, baptism. Number two, teaching. Why baptism? Baptism signifies this radical commitment that says, today I die and am reborn to live as a follower of Jesus, to be included in the community of Jesus's disciples. Why teaching? Teaching is the means that Jesus uses to mature and to raise up his followers to obey everything that he commands. But you see, what else is included in this obeying everything that Jesus commands? This command to what? Go and make disciples. You see, part and parcel then of being a disciple is then making disciples. And the truth is, we cannot make disciples unless we are disciples. And so have we made that decision? to live wholeheartedly for our Lord, our King? And are we committed to a lifetime of learning and growing in the gospel of grace? Maybe some of you are thinking, we're not ready for this. We're not equipped. Isn't it the pastor's job to baptize and teach? And yes, God has His ordained servants to do these specific functions and tasks for our community, but we still cannot get away from the fact that if we are a follower of Jesus, He puts it upon all of us to make more disciples, to obey everything that he commands, including this command to go and make more disciples. Whether that is sending, whether that is supporting, or whether that is going to the nations. Four pastors, they go to a restaurant, and they're seated, and they wait patiently for the waitress. She comes. When she finally comes, she takes the menu. She throws them down on the table and says, what do you want? She is so rude to them, the whole evening is ruined. Finally, they finish their meal. They pay the bill. The most senior pastor calls the waitress over. He wants to have a word with her. So she comes and she stands over the table. He looks her right in the eye and he says to her, it seems like you've had a hard day. And then he hands her a $100 bill. Please take this as a gift. She is so overwhelmed by this act of kindness, she starts to weep, she starts to pour out her heart and all the troubles and the problems of her life, and right there the pastor shares with her the hope that we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ. She bows her knee and she prays to receive Jesus right there in the restaurant. Out in the parking lot, the pastor looks to his three colleagues and he tells them, and now I want each of you to give me $25. You see, every one of us can be involved in making disciples. Some leading people and others, well, faith promise, right? But of course, Jesus' teachings, what are they? They're gospel teachings, are they not? We don't have to teach our disciples that they have to somehow be these perfect moral people. What is discipleship? Discipleship is simply showing another person how to apply the gospel to all the areas of our lives, to our marriage, to our raising of our children, to our work, to our place in society. And when the center of discipleship is on the gospel, the focus is not on us, but it's on who? It's on Jesus. We don't have to pretend to be something we're not. In fact, when we meet with people and we tell them about this Christianity, we basically say, we're just as messed up as you. And we are broken and we are sinful. And we need this gospel every day. Some people describe this whole idea of discipleship simply as this, that we are merely beggars. showing other beggars where to find food. Now we can certainly be involved in making disciples here, here in our own hometown. Certainly many nations have come. But you see, we still cannot get away from the fact that our Lord is calling His church to go and make disciples among other nations in order to fulfill His redemptive purposes for His world. the world that He loves. And so Jesus, risen from the grave, our exalted King, Lord of lords, King of kings, reigning on high, hands us the baton and says, carry forth my message of the kingdom to the ends of the earth. You see, this isn't an option for us. It's not something we do if we have extra time. It is included in the very definition of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. And so, beloved, let me ask us this morning, do we respect our King? You see, our King set us free from our sins and from the guilt and the shame that we carry. Let us respect our King and may His vision for the nations be our vision as well. Look, behold, look at the fields. They are what? White for harvest. Let's pray. Father, we We stand here amazed that You would choose to use us, crooked sticks, to draw straight lines. And we know, Father, that Your power in us can do all of this. And so we lean upon You and we pray that this church, that Chestnut Mountain, would continue its witness both here but to the ends of the earth. Would You call? those from this body of Christ to give generously, to pray fervently, and to go in the confidence, not in of self, but in the authority of Christ. We ask this all in Jesus' name. Amen.