Good evening. It's an honor for me to be back here. Consider this one way home away from home. I could say that for a lot of churches, but this church has been a special blessing to me and my family. I see a lot of familiar faces in the crowd and some new faces as well. Praise the Lord for that. My name is Timothy Hendricks, and I'm the oldest son, or eldest son, I guess you could say, of Adrian and Emma Hendricks. I think they were here probably a couple of months ago. I can't believe that was May, and we're already midway of August, but my mom and dad have faithfully served in India, and I've had the privilege of growing up in a Christian home as a result of the gospel. At a young age, at the age of 10, the Lord saved me. I grew up in a Christian home, as I said, and everything that I knew was church. I had the Bible given to me as a young child. We had family prayer. We had a perfect environment, I would say, for someone to know about Christ. And at the age of 10, I realized I was a sinner. Even though I was born to a pastor's family, I was still a sinner. And the Lord convicted my heart about it, and that day I bowed my head and accepted Jesus Christ. And His finished work on the cross is a payment for my salvation. The Lord saved me that day. As I was finishing up high school, I come from a third generation family of those who've been in ministry. My grandfather was in ministry, my dad, and now me as well. And to join the ministry and to do something in ministry was always something I thought I knew, or something I thought I could, you know, be a part of, if that was ever something God wanted me to do. But I knew, having grown up in a good home and been taught well, that you don't just join ministry because of that. You don't just say, you know, my mom and dad are doing this and I like to do it, so therefore I'll do it. Now, in serving the Lord, as you know, comes with a calling. I thanked the Lord as I was finishing up high school. The Lord laid on my heart a burden to just surrender, as we sang today, my life to Him and do whatever He wanted me to do. And as just a young kid, just didn't know what God wanted me to do, I did. I said, God, whatever You would have me do, I'm willing to do, but here's my life. It's Yours. And the Lord took that and He, as I was finishing up and getting ready to get into college, He pointed me in the direction of going to Bible college to be a preacher, to study His Word and one day be a pastor. I started out there in the year 2014, there in India, there were two students My friend and me. College started in one way to train us, but the Lord used that. Many of you support and pray for the Hendricks ministry, my mom and dad's ministry, and many have come out from there and graduated from there as a result of what God started. But as I was there, I enjoyed those two years, but the year 2016 changed the course of my life. I came here with my parents, thought I was going to lose everything by, you know, taking a year off. My friends are going to get ahead of me. And I don't know what I'm going to do. And we're going to America. I don't even know what America is like. I've seen what Hollywood has shown me. And maybe I like burgers there and pizzas. I don't know. But we headed out in the year 2016 and came here on deputation. And I'm grateful that we did that. We fought a little bit with the Lord and with our parents, obviously, as young people then. But we thank the Lord that he had the last say. And when we came here, the Lord led us to your wonderful church. We got a pastor here, and we got to be a blessing. And while I was here traveling with mom and dad on deputation, the Lord laid on my heart. He said, your studies that you have been doing, you're going to continue it. You're going to do it here. And that completely sidelined me. I had no idea that that was God's plan. And it was just a matter of surrender again. I said, okay, Lord, I'll finish up my college here. And the Lord led me to Ambassador Baptist College in Shelby, North Carolina, a wonderful college that I'm so grateful for, that I got to sharpen my tools in the ministry and be whatever God wanted me to be. Dear 2022, as I was getting ready to graduate, As a graduate, you ask, what's next? What do I need to do, Lord? And I prayed for that entire year, but got very close to the Lord in prayer with a group of friends a couple of weeks before I graduated. I said, Lord, you've got to make it clear to me what you want me to do. But during this whole period of time, the Lord had allowed me to go back and forth to India over the summers and over the winter breaks whenever we could afford it, obviously. When we'd go back, whatever I was learning in school. I was being allowed to put into practice. My dad would allow me to teach some classes, take Sunday school, or teach the teens, or do something there. And I didn't realize God was working in my heart a desire for the ministry there, a desire for the people there. But as many things happen in our lives, we'd like to know clearly, is this really what God wants me to do? Or am I just feeling like this? Do I just, am I homesick? Or is God really leading me back to a people? And as Nehemiah did, I took it to the Lord in prayer and said, Lord, here's my burden. Show me if this is your calling for my life. in a chapel message just as I was sitting in front of you here. Romans 16, verse 3, God confirmed in my heart that He wants me to go back to India as a missionary. August 15, 2022, I headed out on deputation, full speed ahead. And here I stand before you at 100%, getting ready to go back to the field. The Lord has been so faithful. He's such a wonderful God. And definitely His plans are not our plans. Nor His ways our ways. But His ways are best. And I thank Him for that. I want to thank this church because in praying for my family, you've been praying for me as well. For safety as I travel from place to place. For the support that's come in. I was here last time, and I'll share a little bit about that before we get into God's Word. But as I was here, I shared a little bit about my burden and where God has called me to go. And I just knew I had to go back to India and serve there. And I wanted to just, you know, tell everyone about Jesus Christ. It's a good thing to have. It's a good thing to do. But God made it more and more specific as I was coming closer to starting deputation, that He's calling me back to be a church planter in India. Lord's laid five areas in India on my heart, and I'll not go into details about names or different things like that, but it mainly covers the north and northeast of India, and a couple of places down south, where there's need for churches to be started, but also to train pastors. You realize, when we get the things we do here in the States, we sometimes, and many times, I think, we take it for granted. the Christianity we have here, you know, the fellowship we have, to see a room filled with people who love the Lord and want to serve Him and don't have to worry about, you know, not making it back home because someone doesn't like Christianity and may come in and, you know, break things down and probably arrest the pastor or the speaker. How blessed we are. But knowing that there are places in India where God has placed in my heart pastors who are needing training. I've had the privilege of coming here, getting the training and the tools I've needed. But if I keep that to myself, that is the, I would think, the epitome of selfishness. But I get to go back to those pastors who have a zeal and a heart to do what God wants them to do, but don't have the training. And I get to give them what God has given me from His Word. So you can pray with me. Already the Lord has started to work in those areas. We've had three or four pastors who have asked for classes, and I've had the privilege of teaching them online while I'm here. So I'm excited to see the Lord just, you know, opening the window slowly and showing me what I'm headed to do. So I'll be training pastors, I'll be church planting in areas where God leads me to, but my heart is also for the youth. The next generation, what they think and what they believe about God is really going to make a difference in a country. It really will make a difference in this church. And if you're a young person in here, as we're saying, there's nothing better you can do than give your life to Christ. In salvation first, but also in surrender. And you can do that today. But while I think about the younger generation, if I don't reach them, or I don't surrender to reach them, they're already being reached by the world. through the internet, YouTube, and many of the other things that are available. They're open to westernization and philosophies and thoughts that are not biblical. but are based on man. And I've talked to many people who claim they have a religion. 95% of the population in India are heathen by birth, and they will stay that way unless confronted with the gospel. Out of that 95, 80% are Hindus, 15% are Muslims, and the 5% make up Christians and all the others in between. And in thinking about how to reach them, were always stopped because many of them, you know, don't really believe what they, or don't believe the religion they follow. They say they're a Hindu or a Muslim, but in their mind and heart, they believe in something else. Things like, you know, atheism. Did you ever think that would be a possibility? I have a best friend, one of my best friends back in India, who I will not name for the sake of being on the internet, who claims to be in the religion he is, but is an atheist. So somebody is reaching them. But I want it to be Christ. I want Christ to reach their heart. So if you pray with me, that's another ministry that I want to have youth rallies and youth conferences right out of the church there or in areas where the youth are. I want to go there. Challenge them for salvation. Challenge them for surrender. See what God would have them do. reach them for Christ. I'll also be helping out with the radio ministry that your church has had a great part in. Hymn Radio, which is a wonderful tool that God has used to reach India. God has placed on my heart to be in one way just to help out a little bit more. We have five languages right now that is aired every day, 24-7. My goal is to get, India has 29 languages. And they're all vastly different. And I don't speak all of them, by the way, so I'm not that smart. But, God, I'm praying in my heart that God would lead me to those who know those languages and we could get the gospel air at least once during the day that someone would tune in and they'd hear about Jesus Christ in their own language. That's a burden the Lord has laid on my heart, and I know He will accomplish it. If any of you haven't gotten my prayer cards, or don't know, or were not here last time I was here, I have my prayer cards with me and with preacher's permission, I can give it to you. And I ask for you to pray for me. And pray for India and the work there in India. Many of you have even come there and seen what God is doing. And He's doing a wonderful work there in India. Before we head into God's Word, I'll just say this last thing. God is doing a work in the world. He is doing a work in India. He was doing that even before I was born, or before any of us even got here. Me going back as a missionary is only the privilege I have to be a part of His work. And I praise the Lord for that opportunity to be His servant there in India. And I covet your prayers. If you turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts, Acts chapter number 1, I thank Pastor for his kindness in allowing for me to be here. You know, as a missionary, you don't take a pastor's kindness for granted, and especially to schedule a meeting last minute. And I literally called or texted him this past week and I said, Pastor, is there any way you could have me in? And he said, Lord, in one way has given me these open dates and I'm glad it worked out for me to do that. And I would definitely not have forgiven myself if I went back to India without coming here. But I praise the Lord that he worked it out for me to go back to India. As I mentioned, September 3rd is when I fly out, Lord willing, and I hope to head back and get right into the work there. But I'm so grateful to the Lord for the deputation journey and for teaching me in the school of deputation about himself. about his goodness and his mercy, but also my fate to help me grow in him. If I could, I would I would love to take every young person and put them in the spots that I were on deputation where God showed himself. And by the way, it didn't take much for him to show himself to just see. We serve a great God. We serve a wonderful God. But I'm so grateful to the Lord for his protection and his guidance. Found your place there. Acts chapter 1. We'll read in verse number 8. I'm not sure if you do this here, but could we stand out of reverence for God's Word? Acts chapter 1, verse number 8, if you're able to, please stand. We'll read verse 8, and then we'll pray, and then we'll see what the Lord has for us. Verse 8, the Bible says, 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 Judea and in Samaria and unto the outermost part of the earth. Let's pray. Lord, you're such a good God. Thank you so much for your blessings. Thank you for the gift of salvation. Thank you for the privilege we have to serve you with our lives. Thank you for this awesome opportunity we have to be a part of your plan to reach the lost. Lord, I pray that You would work in our hearts. Stir us, Lord, tonight as we're here. We're eager to hear from Your Word. I pray that, Holy Spirit of God, You would fill me. You would help me, Lord, and You would guide my thoughts, my words, and everything that I say. That, Lord, it would be exactly what You would have us hear and what You would have me say. Lord, if there's someone in here who does not know You as Savior, Lord, I pray that they would get that settled today. Lord, if there's someone in here who you are calling maybe to the mission field or some need on their heart, they need to need to surrender. Lord, I pray that they would do that today. Lord, you're about to speak. I pray that you would help our hearts and our minds to be focused on you. And Lord, I pray that we would obey you in whatever you show us in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for your patience. You may be seated. This passage in Acts 1 is an interesting one because it's one of the last few words that Jesus, or recorded of what Jesus said before He headed back to heaven. This was a situation, just for briefly, for introduction, where the disciples were gathered together, they were looking to their Master who had now risen from the grave victorious, who now they thought would be It's time for Him to be king. It was logical. According to prophecy, that was the next thing that they thought was on the agenda. Look at v. 6. It says, "...when they therefore were come together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" So He asked them, Lord, is it time for You to rule as king? You've conquered everything. Is it time for You to be king? And one day he will, praise the Lord for that, one day he will bodily rule on this earth and we will get to see no war, but peace. Because the Prince of Peace will rule. But Jesus says in verse 7, And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father had put in his own power. Jesus said, it's not for you to know that right now. That's in the father's hands and when it needs to happen, it will. It will happen. But verse eight, he focus or brings their focus to what their purpose is on this earth. And verse number eight says, but he shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you. And I want you to notice this. It says, and he shall be witnesses unto me. I want to preach tonight with the Lord's help. on how to be an effective witness for Christ. Notice I said, effective witness for Christ. I take it for granted that this church does a lot in terms of witnessing. I know you're a pastor, and that's why I say that. I know you are in activities where that is common, where you go out and talk to people about Jesus. You do that as a church, and I know some of you individually do that as well. Well, witnessing is not something that is foreign to you. If it is, can I encourage you, today would be a great day to start. To tell someone about what Jesus did for you and what He did for them. But as we think about witnessing, I want to encourage you today to be a more effective witness for Christ. And the best part of this message is everything that I tell you doesn't come out of some book that someone wrote. It comes from the Bible. And you can trust it tonight. Because this is God's Word and what He has said. And His Word is trustworthy. As I think about witnessing, I'm reminded of a story, and it's a true story, of an evangelist by the name Yaakov. Now, Mr. Yaakov went into a certain village, and he met an elderly man by the name of Simmerman. He started talking to Mr. Zimmerman as he normally would to any other person. And Mr. Zimmerman started opening up and talking about the different tragedies in his life, you know, the heartaches and things he's gone through. But slowly, as many would, as they witnessed to someone, he started to talk about Jesus. Mr. Jaco started to talk about Jesus and, you know, start witnessing to Him. But to his surprise, he was stopped right away. Mr. Zimmerman said, stop, I don't want to hear about Jesus. I don't want to hear about Christianity. And he took the next few minutes to tell Him how in times past, or the history of his town, A few years ago, the local church in that area had been known to, in the name of Christ, they plundered, exploited, they killed innocent people in that area so they could get control of that city. The worst part of that was that he said, with tears in his eyes, my own nephew was killed by them. He went on to tell him, he says, you know, you talk about this Christ, and those people who represent him in one way, he says, they wear these elaborate coats, they have these caps and crosses, they signify some heavenly mission, but he said, they're evil designs, and their lives, he said, I cannot ignore. This is a real story of someone who had been confronted with some group who called themselves Christians. But they, unlike what we're going to read today, they were a witness for Christ, but they were a misrepresentation of who Christ was. They called themselves Christians. They wore all the things on them, thinking that if you wear a cross on you, you become a Christian. They thought all the theatrics that would go into a church service would suffice. And as they, in the name of Christ in religion, chose to get power and really use it for politics, there was a marriage that happened between religion and politics and a monster was born. Someone was a witness, but a wrong witness for Christ. I'll finish that story when we finish. So I hope you would have your attention for the rest of the service. When thinking about being a witness for Christ, none of us would do what that church did. But do you know you can be a witness for Christ and do it very poorly? or many times, as I'm guilty of as well, you misrepresent who Christ is to the world by choosing to walk in your own flesh. Tonight's message is very simple. The focus of the message is to be an encouragement to you. Maybe an exhortation. If God speaks to you in some area, listen to the Holy Spirit. Get it settled tonight, and I hope that you would desire to be an effective witness for Christ. I have three things for us tonight, and they're all three questions. I like questions. I like asking questions. I know kids love to ask questions, probably too many questions too sometimes, but... In asking questions, it allows you to think. And here's a quick thing as I was thinking about this. When you're confronting someone from another religion, or maybe even someone who does not believe in Christ, here's a good tool. Ask them what they believe. It's amazing when a person has to answer the question asked, they really think about what they believe. And many times they say, you know what, I really don't believe in something that's really concrete, or something that's really solid, and it gets him to start thinking about it. Again, we trust the Holy Spirit, and the nothing that I'm giving you is any way that you should trust in terms of man's wisdom. But in asking questions, as Jesus did, Ask questions. And today I'm going to ask you three questions to help you think about how you need to be an effective witness for Christ. Question number one is found right there in verse 8, and it's this. Who am I? Simple question. Who are you? Well, I have different roles. Which one are you asking me? Well, I'm not asking you about this or that. And by the way, the world is asking that question. and it's sad how the world is looking for the wrong sources for that answer. And if you're in here today, and you're asking questions either about where you came from, what is your purpose on this earth, what is your gender, any of that, can I just encourage you very quickly, and this is free, go here to God's Word, because it has all the answers you need. Don't look to the internet or some friend or anyone else to give you the answers. In fact, you go to your pastor, too, because he'll take you to the Bible. I know that for sure. But many people are asking who they are. But my purpose for asking this is so that you would know your identity as a Christian. And that answer is given to us in verse number 8. Jesus tells His disciples, look at verse number 8, "...but ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be..." Here's the answer, "...witnesses unto Me." As a Christian, the moment you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, a few things happened to you. For one, you were once a child of hell. You were once a child of darkness. You were on your way to hell and there was nothing you could do in your own strength to stop yourself from going there. But the day you met Jesus Christ and the day you put your trust in Him, the Bible says that the Holy Spirit came into your heart and changed you. transformed you. As the Bible says, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. You were born again. Now you're a child of light. Your Father is not the devil anymore, but God, our Heavenly Father, who's merciful, who's gracious, who's holy. It's a change that happened, but also, you were given a new identity. You were called Christian, as in the early church they were. You became, in many ways, a believer of Jesus Christ. But let me give you another one. You became a witness. You see, before you were saved, you were a witness, but you witnessed sin, destruction, godlessness, and everything that is opposite to what God is. That's who you're represented. You know, an unsaved person does not have to be taught how to sin. They do that very well, very naturally, because that's who they are. They're great witnesses to who they are. But you and I, the moment we get saved, we're changed from being witnesses to ourselves in sin to now being witnesses, verse 8, to Christ. Jesus said, the moment you get saved, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and will make you to be witnesses unto me. Each of you in here, if you're saved, today, don't look at your week and how great or bad you've been, but regardless of all that, your identity today is you represent Christ. Whether you've done a good job doing that or not, you represent Christ today. That's your identity. but knowing that you represent Christ. And by the way, the word witness, we go by the definition, is really very simple. Someone who sees, hears, sometimes experiences, and is willing to tell. Very simple. Someone who sees, who hears, sometimes experiences, and is willing to tell. We don't have to think far about what a witness is. You have ball games that go on. If some of you are watching some of the sports, or something happens on the way here, and two of you see it, and you come here into church, you run to someone and tell them what happened, that's being a witness. You're telling someone what you saw, you heard. Hopefully, if you're in an accident, you didn't experience. The same thing is true when you become a Christian. The Bible says, taste and see that the Lord is good. The Bible says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. You were once a sinner. You were convicted by the Holy Spirit. You saw your need for Jesus Christ and you trusted Him. You're a witness. You know who he is. And the moment you trusted him, you have in you the answer to tell someone, he saved me. And he can save you as well. You're a witness to Christ. That's your identity. But if we really ask ourselves the question, I don't think we live like that throughout the week. We point to ourselves or what we want to do. But it's important to ask yourself that question. Who am I? I'm a witness to Christ. And knowing who I am, I need to be what God has called me to be. A witness unto Him. Here's a second question. You ready for it? What do I have? Very simple. What do I have? Who am I? You are a witness to Christ. And therefore, your existence or purpose of existence is to bear witness to Him. But how do you do that task? How do we get the job done? Well, you look at what you have. I know there's and forgive me if I'm speaking out of place here. I know we have a building project or something in the future coming up. And to build a building, you need things. You need equipment. You need people. You need strength. You need time to do it. All these things are things you need. And you can't just, you know, passages, just draw it up and throw it out there. And there it is. No, you need tools. God has given us the tools to be what we need to be. I praise the Lord for that. Unlike other religions that tells you to do this and do that and be this and be that. God tells us who we are, but it also helps us be what we need to be. What a God we serve. He helps us and enables us. And I want you to see, here are the tools we have. You're like, I don't use the tools. What are you talking about tools? Is it a Phillips screwdriver? What are you talking about? Well, let's look in the Bible. The Bible tells us that we have, verse 8, but ye shall receive, here's the word, here's the answer to it, power. The word power, we'll look at another passage of scripture in Matthew 28. That's a verse that's well known to you as well. Verse 18 to 20. We'll look at that in a minute. But there are two words in the Bible. When Jesus talks about power, there are two different meanings. The word in verse 18 in Matthew 28 where Jesus says, all power is given unto me in heaven and earth is the word authority. Now, praise the Lord. He has all authority. No matter what's going on in the world, no matter what happens at the end of this year, he is still in control. He still has all authority. But the word used here is not the word authority. In verse eight, it's the word ability. the ability to do a task. It actually comes from the word, or what word we use, called dynamite. No one has to think too far about what dynamite can do. It's quite powerful. But God says He's given us the ability to do the task. And that's found in two things. One, the person, and in the power of that person. The person, in verse number 8, is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes and indwells you, here it is, the moment you trust Christ. You don't have to wait. You don't have to pray some prayers or even ask God to give Him to you. No, the moment you get saved, He's the gift of God, the promise that Jesus gave. And He comes to indwell you and He indwells you forever. But I want you to think about the Holy Spirit for a moment. Is He God? You can answer, by the way. Is He God? A hundred percent God? Yes, He is. He's the third person of the Trinity. He's God Himself who was involved in Genesis 1-1 to create the heavens and the earth. He was the one who was involved throughout the Old Testament to enable, to help, when Jesus was on this earth. He helped in many ways to guide and to lead. And when Jesus went up, the Holy Spirit came in His place. And now He indwells us. But I want you to notice, the Holy Spirit, if He is God, then He has all the power that God has. Because He is God. I'm not going to lose you. Don't get lost here. If He has all power, then when He indwells me, there's really no limit to what I can ask God to do. Because God can do anything. When the Holy Spirit comes and indwells your heart, He does that forever, but His dwelling there is to help you and me. But also I want you to notice, because He is God, He also has all power. And His power is not just limited to Himself. He's given us His power on a daily basis, open, free, waiting for us to claim and use. And the purpose of using that, or the purpose for why He gives that, is so that we could be witnesses for Him. Well, you're wondering, well, isn't that power only needed when I need to go soul-winning? I need the power of God. Lord, I need Your power. Please give me Your power. Help my speech. Yes, we do. Yes, we do. When a preacher stands up to preach, as I'm doing here, I need the power of God. Without which, all that I do is in vain. But can I just encourage you today? To be a witness for Christ doesn't just, you know, like a switch you turn on when you have to witness to someone, or when you have to come up here and do a special, or when you have to stand up here and preach God's word. No, it's throughout your life that you need to be a witness for Christ. And if that's true, which it is, you need his power all the time, in every place, to be everything he wants you to be. You ever thought about you need God's power to be a dad? to be a husband, to be a child in your home, to be a mom, it doesn't matter what place or title you have, to be an employer, an employee, to be a church member. We only think of power as, and we just put it in our minds for just a moment. It's like we tell God, I got the rest of my life, And I'll do it because I know how it needs to be done. When it comes to spiritual things, Lord, I need You. Do you know there's no difference between both? We need to live spiritually all the time. Therefore, we need His power all the time. Think about this week that's gone by. Has it been a powerful week or a powerless one? Well, you can answer that very easily by asking yourself, How much did you do this week in your own strength, in your own ability, and how much did you rely on Him to give you the strength and ability to do it? I don't know about you, but that's very convicting. I don't have to look far to see how much I've relied on myself. How I've relied on my own understanding. Oh, but if we would, knowing that we've been given the tools, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity who is in our heart, And also His power, which is limitless, is available for me to do anything that God wants me to be. Here's what we need to do. We need to submit to Him, to His authority. The Bible calls that walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Allowing Him to control you and then yielding to His ability rather than mine. And by the way, that all happens with a choice. And for me, if I were to put myself, I think it happens on a moment-to-moment basis. Because I so quickly jump back to myself. And I want to do things in my own understanding, in my own strength. Can I encourage you tonight? Lean on His leading and lean on His ability to do everything that this life requires you to do. You are called to be a witness. And when I say this, your pastor cannot be the man God wants him to be. I cannot be the missionary God wants me to be. I can't do it in my own strength. in His own strength. You cannot be a Christian in your own strength. But you can through Christ who strengthens you. You can through the power of the Holy Spirit. You have the tools. And God says He's given you His power to do His work. Here's the third thing. Knowing who we are, knowing we have the tools, we have the ability to do the task. Well, here's the third question. What must I do? What's the task? What is the task at hand? If you turn in, as I said, we would, Matthew 28. There are other passages of scripture that talk about the same thing. Matthew 28, verse number 18 to 20. Matthew 28, verse 18 to 20, the Bible says, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Verse 19, here's the task. 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. This is what we know as the Great Commission. Good. The Great Commission. It is God's order for us as His children. He's the commander and we obey Him. But knowing this as the task, I'm not going to spend time going into what are the different things we need to do. I think you would know that. And if you don't, go back and read it. God shows you exactly what His plan is to reach the world. And it's encompassed in this passage and many other passages of Scripture. But I want you to notice the first half of verse 19. It says, Go ye therefore and teach all nations. You see also in verse 20, there's a similar word called teaching. Yes, you probably guessed it. They're two different words. And when you look at it in our Bibles, it shows us, and I thank the Lord for the Bibles we have, it shows us the difference in one sense, but they're really the same thing, but two different angles. The first part in verse number 19 is the idea of discipleship. While you're going, make disciples. And how do you do that? Well, you teach someone to become a disciple. And verse 20 tells us that you teach them to observe all things about Jesus. A disciple, or making disciples, is the task. The word disciple, you don't have to go far to think about what that means, is to be a follower of Christ. You know, there are many disciples in the world. Many religions have disciples as well. They follow that certain master or teacher. And they do exactly in many ways to the extent where if someone were to meet that person, the people, or whoever the disciple is, it would almost be as if they met the master. because they would act and behave and say things just like the master would. Well, you and I are called not to follow man. but we're called to be disciples, followers of Christ. And in thinking about discipleship, not gonna go into detail with that for sake of time, but a disciple is someone who follows somebody else. I'm gonna read a few passages of scripture and just listen as I read, as Jesus puts an emphasis on being a disciple, a follower. Matthew 16, 24, Then Jesus said unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. John 8, verse 30 to 31, He said, As he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And he shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 1 Timothy 4, 16, take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine, continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. Matthew 11, verse 28, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. I don't have to go to more passages in Scripture for you to get the idea. Jesus is telling you to follow Him. But how do you do that? How do I follow Christ? And if you think about it, to follow someone, you need to see them. To follow someone, you need to hear them. You need to spend time with them. without being too, or trying to be irreverent at all, Jesus is not here in bodily form. He's not. He left, as we saw in Acts 1, He left in the few verses after that, He went up into heaven, and He's now, the Bible says, seated at the right hand of the Father. One day He's coming back. And I pray the Lord He will soon, but we need to be busy doing what He would have us do. But knowing that He's there, Bodily, how do we follow Him? We follow Him through this. He's given us the Holy Spirit who takes the Word of God and shows us the face of Christ. Daily, as you spend time in God's Word, you don't get some vision or some feeling or anything like that. You get to understand and know who God is. And in knowing Him through the Holy Spirit's power, you learn to walk in Him and become more like Christ. you follow Him through His Word. How much time have you spent in God's Word this week? I'm not asking, did you take, you know, your reading schedule? How much more do you know about God this week than you did last week? That's a good measure to have. Do I know Him more? And I can tell you honestly, even myself included, we don't know God. We think we know Him up here, but Do you really know Him? Do you allow Him to be in your life and work in you? And the truths that you know, are they a reality to you? A disciple is one who follows. And a disciple is one who follows Christ. Here's the kicker. To be a disciple of Christ, you must be, or to disciple others, you need to be a disciple of Christ first. In order for you to disciple someone else, you need to be following Christ yourself. Because it's easy to say, and I think about this preacher, it's easy to tell someone what to do. Or say, you know, I read this somewhere and you should do it, it'll help you. But it's different when you're walking in it, and you're seeing Christ daily, and you know what He has done for you, and then tell someone about it. How much of discipleship do you do in your own life? Like, well, I don't really do much. You know, discipleship is not just a course that needs to be done in a church. The opportunities for discipleship is available in every role God has given you. Your grandparents, your grandkids, every time they're dropped off in your home. Discipleship, teach them about Christ. Teach them about what Jesus said. Bring them in many ways, for some of them it could be salvation that's needed first. But after that, you've got to teach them what God says. Do you know that when a person gets saved, and this is not common in all places, when an unbeliever who's lived in the world and known everything only about the world, who's not been Christianized in one sense at all, or even churched, when they get saved, they don't just automatically, you know, know everything. I've got to pray like this, I've got to do this, I've got to tithe. No, they learn. They need to be taught. They need someone to teach them. That's where you and I come in. And that's not only the obligation of the pastor of the church to do. You and I must be following first, but also we must be making followers of others. Are you making disciples? Are you following Christ yourselves? Three questions tonight. Who am I? You're a witness. You bear witness to Christ. That's who you are as a saved person. And God has told you as a witness to be a witness to Him, to this world, to witness to those around you. But how do you do that task? You use His tools, the Holy Spirit, and His ability that He gives you daily. But knowing that I have all this and just sitting with it doesn't help. I've got to do the task. And the task is to follow Him and then lead others to Him. It's a simple message tonight. Very simple message, but very important one. Because in many ways, I think our pews are filled with those who are on their way to heaven, but are not disciples of Christ. To follow Christ, it takes a decision. A daily decision when you wake up. And as I mentioned, a moment-by-moment decision. Lord, I want to follow You, not my flesh. I want to follow You, not the world, not sin, not anything else. I want to follow You. And you choose to walk in Him. As I promised, I'll end with this story. Mr. Jokov thought about what to say to Mr. Zimmerman, because this was a tough situation. How do you talk to someone about this? So Mr. Jokov went back, and occasionally he would go by Mr. Zimmerman's house and, you know, just strike up other sort of conversations. But he would slowly bring about the gospel there, and it would quickly be shut down again. And he said, hmm. I asked the Lord for wisdom. The Lord gave him a thought. He went to Mr. Zimmerman on a day and said, Mr. Zimmerman, can I ask you a question? He said, sure. Suppose I were to steal your coat, OK? And I were to go to the bank that you go to, and I were to rob that bank. Mr. Zimmerman's eyes got big. Said, you would do what? Yeah, what if I rob the bank? But then, you know what, I escape and I get out of that area safe and sound. But the police who were chasing me, the only thing they caught was me wearing your coat. Mr. Zimmerman, can I ask you, in the investigation, whose house would they knock on first? Said, I don't know. Well, obviously the person who wore the coat, which would be you, because that coat belonged to you. He said, no, I would, because I didn't do it. I didn't do it. Someone else took my coat and did it. And you said it was you, so it would be you. He said, ah, but it was your coat. It was your coat that they found. Mr. Zimmerman got quite annoyed with him. And he said, leave. I will have you come by tomorrow, but I cannot talk about this anymore. So he went back. Mr. Jocko continued to go back periodically to his house. And then finally, one day he knocked on the door and Mr. Sherman opened. As he sat down, he said, how does one become a Christian? You see, the Holy Spirit had done a work in Mr. Zimmerman's heart. As Mr. Jakov had gone day after day and spoken to him, and been a witness to Christ that he needed to be, and had told him about the Gospel, and had taken time to help him understand, that finally his heart was open. And he said, how does one become a Christian? As if he had told for the very first time, he told him what the Bible said and how he could become a Christian. Mr. Jockov, Mr. Zimmerman bowed his head that day, trusted in the finished work of Christ and asked Christ to save him. And that day he was saved. I want you to notice this as he was standing up with tears running down his face. He pointed at Mr. Zhakov and then pointed up to heaven. And he said these words. I hope this will ring in our minds as well as we go throughout our day. He said, thank you for being in my life. You wear his coat very well. You wear his coat very well. Christian, we're a witness. Whether we like it or not, we're being a witness. When we choose to be a witness to Christ and make a daily decision, no matter what we do, where we are, I'm going to represent Christ, and I'm going to do that in His power and in His ability. Because when you do that, there might be some Simmermans in your life that need you, that need the Savior. We be an effective witness for Christ. Let's bow our heads in prayer.