Well, good morning Three Rivers Grace. It is good to be with you this morning. Your reputation goes out around the world and so really wonderful to be here and to see you face to face in person. 16 years ago, this Monday actually, 19 young men with a vision to change the world, got training that they needed, prepared every detail, and then flew commercial airliners into the World Trade Center in the Pentagon. That same summer, three families along with their children, 18 souls, three families with a vision to change the world, raised funds, got the training we needed, prepared every detail, and boarded commercial airliners into the heart of the Arabian Peninsula. That was our team. And I would say both those events have brought significant change. The former brought destruction and terror that still resonates today, but it will not last. Even now, a new tower stands where the old towers have gone down. But the latter have brought life and peace. And that will last, because that rests on the foundation of the good news that Jesus Christ died and rose again to save sinners and to reconcile mankind to God. Already, several hundreds have put their faith in Christ and been transformed. Nearly a dozen churches are Gospel-preaching churches across that area and a university student ministry is left flourishing there. God gave our team a vision to pioneer from scratch a university student ministry that had previously never existed in the heart of the Muslim world. That ministry, called FOCUS, the Fellowship of Christian UAE Students, is now ministering to hundreds of students each year on about 20 different university campuses. We have 12 full-time staff, three interns, most of whom have come to faith either through the ministry or been raised up through the ministry. And last year, we achieved the final goal of our original vision as a team, and that was to hand over leadership to the indigenous crowd there. So praise God for that. we fairly early realized that we could not have or build a healthy university student ministry without a healthy local church. And the international speaking churches all around the world tend to lean towards being what we would call a church of the least common denominator, trying to become all things to all people and in so doing water down in many ways the gospel of Jesus Christ. We were invited into church leadership and that gave us the opportunity to influence a reform into a robust gospel focused display of God's glory that it is today. Though it wasn't our plan when we first moved into the Arabian Peninsula, the reforming and the planting of biblically healthy churches has been one of the greatest privileges of my life as well as the life of those that are with me. We've played a part, as Ken said, in planting six churches with a vision for gospel clarity and biblical culture. And from only one church just a decade ago, we can now recommend over a dozen churches in the region for people to join. One visiting pastor recently called it the Bible Belt of the Middle East. With a sense that our work was coming to a close there, next summer, my wife and I are leaving the Arabian Peninsula. And we are setting our faces towards the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, a city named Erbil, just a mere 60 miles from Mosul, which was newly liberated. We're seeking to reform another international English-speaking church there with the hope that God will do in that region what He has done in the Arabian Peninsula. Again, we're going as a team, and as Ken said already, my partner, Max Stiles, is there, having just been recently installed as a senior pastor. We've registered an NGO, and soon the elders will approve a constitution, a biblical statement of faith, a covenant. And so we're laying a foundation for a healthy church there, the Erbil International Baptist Church. So, so many things are happening. The Lord is working. And really, in many ways, I was telling the Sunday school this morning, we're just trying to run, to keep up with what God is doing there. We need others, in fact, with a passion for the gospel, a passion for the church, with a similar philosophy of ministry to join us. And who knows, maybe that could be some of you all seated here right now. Well, that's a little bit about where I'm coming from. Our passion is for the advance of gospel preaching churches that are healthy, language-specific communities that live out biblical culture for the sake of the glory of Christ. But now onto why we're gathered here today, which is the word of Christ. We're gonna worship God in the preaching of his word. And our text was read earlier is Matthew 28. I'm gonna focus really on 18 through 20, what is normally called the Great Commission. And it is this, that the mission of the church is to disciple the nations. If you're taking notes or listening in, the mission of the church is to disciple the nations. A little background for our text. Jesus has taught through three years of public ministry. He's died on the cross for the ransom of sinners. He's resurrected from the dead as a proof and a guarantee for all that he said, all that he did. And he has appeared to his disciples and to others. And now Matthew closes this gospel with Jesus giving his last words to his disciples before he ascends to the Father. This passage is the go-to text for missions. And particularly, most people would emphasize on that word go, right? Well, there are only four verbs relating to the disciples in this text, only one imperative or command. The other three verbs relating to the disciples end in ing. They're teaching and baptizing. And actually that word go is also an infinitive best thought of as you are going. The only imperative is the command to make disciples. Therefore, the mission of the church is to make disciples. We're going to consider four points along this line. And that is, firstly, the source. The source is the authority of Christ. Discipleship flows out of the authority of Christ. Secondly, the beginning. Where do we begin in discipleship? It is with evangelism. Discipleship begins with sharing the message. Then the core. What is the core of discipling? And I'm going to say that the core of our discipleship is imitation. And lastly, the end. The end is to all the nations. The church's commission is to disciple the nation. So let's start at the source. Discipleship flows from the authority of Christ. The first thing to notice here is that the commission begins and ends with Jesus as the subject. He starts, all authority has been given to me, and he ends with, I am with you always to the end of the age. So Jesus is both the authority in which the church is sent, and he is actively with the church in its advance. When Jesus calls the apostles, they were to be with him and to be sent out to preach. According to Mark's gospel, this delegation of his authority in the church is further described in Ephesians chapter four, where he says, and he gave the apostles and the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. From the beginning, God has been delegating his authority to those whom he has chosen. We see that in Genesis 1, in the commission to those created in his image, where he says, to fill the earth and to have dominion. It's his authority to have dominion over the earth. We see it in the delegation of prophets and priests and kings in Israel in the Old Testament, in which we find Jesus ultimately fulfilling each of these roles as the Messiah. And again, we see it in the delegation here in Matthew, in the Great Commission, as well as in Ephesians, where Paul lists out the gifts through which Christ has blessed the church. The second thing to note in this section is that this commission is given to the church by implication. The apostles to whom the commission is given are the foundation of the church, which according to Ephesians 2.20 and Revelations 21.14, we find that they are the foundation of the church that Jesus is building. So the church is not a human invention. The church is Jesus's idea. The church is his chosen vehicle to spread the gospel to the world. The church is the bride of Christ. And Jesus says, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Friends, that is the church. Frankly, I'm appalled as I run into missionaries now and then who are on the field as church planters who do not even know how to define the church. What are they planting if they can't even define it? Friends, we need to know what the church is if we're gonna take it out. According to Mark Dever, the church is the body of people called by God's grace through faith in Christ to glorify Him together by serving Him in His world. I'll say it one more time, the church is the body of people called by God's grace through faith in Christ to glorify Him together by serving Him in His world. Now one may ask, why then is the glory of God not filling the whole earth? If Jesus has commissioned this and He sent it out in His authority, if it was God's design from the beginning to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth with the glory of God, after delegating His authority, should we not be carrying out His plan? Why is the church not everywhere? Well, in the church, just as in creation, fallen humanity does have the potential to undermine the beauty of what God has created. and God has built, oftentimes by seeking to usurp his authority with their own. This is why a careful attention to the membership process is so important for the local church. One of the great failures of the church broadly is not protecting the church from unregenerate membership. People who are not born again come into the church and find their way through loose membership practices. Eventually, they get into positions of authority and leadership. And because they're not submitted to the authority of Christ, they lead the church in wrong directions. Why is it that the church is going in so many different ways today, for instance? Friends, I would submit that that is because of unregenerate membership. Let us humbly submit to the authority of Christ in every area of our lives and strive to be the body of Christ and to bring into our membership those who are truly born again. So I have to ask the question, even here, have you submitted your life in full to the authority of Christ? If you haven't, if you're here, maybe you're visiting, if you haven't done that, you can do that right now where you sit. Don't resist His call. in the Gospel, and I'm going to explain that more in a little bit. The Scriptures make clear that one day every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, and it's better to do that today and receive an eternal inheritance as an adopted Son of God than to make it on that day and receive eternal punishment as a rebel. He is worthy. as the One who has received all authority in heaven and on earth for us to submit to His authority. So the first point is that the source of our mission to disciple flows from the authority of Christ and our submission to Him. Our next point is that beginning of discipleship. The beginning of our mission to disciple people is leading them to the trust of Christ as Savior and Lord. It is the first step in what our text said is teaching all that Jesus has commanded. So we lead others in that first step of Jesus' ministry, which is to repent and believe. Now, we can't give away what we don't own ourself. So firstly, we must understand the gospel ourselves. It's important not to assume too much here. Let me illustrate that with a story. My partner, Shannell, thought that he was a Christian when he came into university, but it was clear that there was some disconnect going on in Shannell's life. Shannell thought being a Christian meant being more good than bad. And in fact, that actually is more Muslim teaching than it is Christian teaching. But Shanel had prayed to Jesus at a young age. He was a worship leader in his church. He was also, though, trapped in many vices. He was trapped by sin. He was full of lust. He tried to hide his addiction to smoking. He hated his father and his brother. His outward actions were that of a churchgoer, but inwardly his heart was not that of a true believer. Late one night at a Focus men's conference, trying to sound spiritual, he furred his brow and he confessed to one of my partners, I'm just, I'm finding it so hard to quit smoking. And Brenton, my partner, seeing through that charade said, Shanel, the reason you're struggling so much is because you're not a believer in Jesus. And that was hard for Shanel to hear. He was angry. But it was the shock that he needed to jumpstart him into true faith. want to highlight. Firstly, is don't assume that just because someone says they're a Christian, that they really have been born again. Only Jesus and that person can know for certain that they have been saved. And incidentally, this is why we do practice church discipline in our churches. For those times when it becomes clear through repeated and increasing attempts to call a person to repentance, if they don't, if they persist in that sin without repentance, then it shows their lack of faith, that they are not born again. And therefore, we continue through with discipline. So don't assume that just because someone says they're a Christian that they are. Always speak of the gospel. Secondly, because eternity is so important, don't fret to say hard things sometimes to people. John Piper expands this exhortation in Ephesians 4.15 where he says, speak the truth in love. Speak the truth in love, he says, truth is God's word. Love is God's people in action. Truth without love is harsh and does not lead to salvation. Love without truth is permissive and also does not lead to salvation. Both are necessary to lead a person to Christ. So friends, let us speak the truth, the truth of the gospel in love. Back to evangelism. According to Max Stiles in his book titled Evangelism, he says that evangelism is proclaiming the gospel with the aim to persuade. The gospel, what is that gospel that we're proclaiming? The gospel is that message from God about Christ that leads to salvation. This message is that a perfect and powerful creator who has made everything good, including mankind, is above all. Man's desire, though, was to be his own master, and in treason rebelled against God, initiating the problem of cosmic justice. How could mankind ever be free from the stain of sin only God himself, only the perfect one, could reconcile rebellious mankind. And he did that by entering into his creation and making atonement through the death and resurrection of Jesus. On the cross, Jesus pays for our debt of sin. God made him who had no sin to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. This is the message we are to actively, verbally, and persuasively lead people to trust. We call people to turn from themselves or from whatever they're trusting in to Christ alone, to make them right with God. You don't have to be an evangelist to do evangelism. It's the task for every believer. And you don't have to have a degree in theology to share the gospel. What you do need is to know the gospel. It's good to have a well thought out plan for sharing it. Some people talk about the gospel as God, man, Christ response. Some people talk about creation, fall, redemption, restoration. Some people use a bridge diagram. Others might talk about two ways to live. These are all helpful ways to talk about the gospel, but keep in mind The good news is about Jesus. Sometimes it's easier to talk about ourselves or the way that we came to faith or how Jesus has changed our life. That is a testimony. It's important and we should be able to clearly say that, but it's not the gospel. It can be uncomfortable to talk about Jesus and what He has done, but let's consider how to speak about Jesus with our family, our friends, our colleagues. He is the reason for the church, and without Him, this place, this body would not exist. You would have no purpose. Our commission. starts there with salvation. But it's not complete when someone just comes to faith. To lead someone to Christ and to walk away is like having a baby or giving birth and leaving that little one to fend for themselves. That brings us to our third point, which is, at its core, discipleship is imitation. My definition of mere discipleship, what is the bare essentials of discipleship is this. To disciple is to seek to lead another through imitation to increasingly apply the gospel in every area of life. To disciple is to seek to lead another through imitation to increasingly apply the gospel in every area of life. Imitation requires two things at least. One is relationship, and the other is intentional teaching. Relationship, I was talking with Mac about this earlier, and he said, in its purest form, a disciple is someone who has a relationship with their teacher. This means that anyone could actually disciple if they are in Christ. It may be informal or it could be in a more formal meeting time and format. Going back to Shannell, he came to faith that October night. It was in an instant that his life became new, but you couldn't really tell right away. You know, transformation is a process, and it comes through the renewing of our minds and a lifelong journey of sanctification. It happens through discipleship. That sanctifying transformation in Shanel began as I and others that were with him led him in understanding how to live out the gospel in his life. But here's a funny story. A few months later, Shannell was sharing his testimony at his baptism. And as he was sharing, he said, David taught me everything that's meant by the gospel of doubt. I was like, the gospel of doubt? I looked over and Mac was like, what's the Gospel of Doubt? And I was like, I have no idea what the Gospel of Doubt is. I found Channell afterward. I said, Channell, can you tell me what the Gospel of Doubt is? He looked at me confused. He said, I don't know what the gospel of doubt is, but what I said was that you've taught me everything I needed to know about the gospel lived out. Gospel of doubt, gospel lived out. I was relieved. After he graduated, we actually asked Shanel to come and be a part of our Focus intern team. And with that, that meant that he moved into my house. That's where our discipleship took on a much deeper level. We talked about every area of life. We prayed together nearly every morning with the other guys in my home. We would intentionally We would have what my partner Brian calls intentionally awkward conversations. You need to think about how to have those intentionally awkward conversations. We pry, we meddle, we cry, we settle differences, we love deeply. We encourage gospel conformity and we discourage or we challenge gospel dissonance in each other's lives. Discipleship, friends, in its strongest form is like this. It's life on life. life-on-life discipleship. This means we spend significant amounts of time with those that we disciple. It very well may be our own family. Just this morning I was reading an article that Mark Dever posted this week. Nine things to look for on who to disciple. Number one, family. Those are your closest disciples, those that are living in your own home, be it your children or maybe a parent or a brother and sister. A note to those in church leadership, the call of the gospel, the call of Christ to serve the body does not override our call to serve our families. We should see our spouse and our children as our nearest and closest disciples. Our families see the good, the bad, and the ugly, don't they? In fact, discipleship requires transparency. Family makes that happen. But I would submit that in your discipling relationships, we need to be transparent also. Sometimes we want only others to see the good things about us, but how will forgiveness be understood unless we have sin that we confess and forgiveness to be sought out? How will our disciples know how to deal with sin? How will they know how to do that if they don't see someone bring sin to light? Will they see grace being applied in our lives if they don't see our lives in whole? We need to be transparent. And friends, because Christ has paid the debt of sin, then sin no longer has mastery over us. This means not only can we have victory over sin, it also means that we are free to live open and honest lives before one another. Sin has no mastery over you. You are in Christ. So what do you do in discipling others? Well, firstly, let the gospel so invade your life that it overflows from you. Throughout the New Testament, the apostles constantly are referring back to the gospel message. You see that over and over again in their writings. It's what Tim Keller refers to as gospel centeredness. And it is the way that we are to disciple. We must not teach morality apart from the gospel. we must not teach spiritual disciplines apart from the gospel. In fact, we tread on very dangerous territory when we start to teach about marriage, or parenting, or depression, or money, or conflict resolution, or any other facet of life, even from a Christian perspective, if it is separated from the gospel message. all of life finds its true nature and true balance in the gospel. So let our discipling be rooted in the gospel. Secondly, great discipling is organic, but sometimes a little structure is also helpful. Reading the Bible with one or two others and then asking questions or discussing that is a great way to disciple. David Helm has a little book that I highly recommend called One to One Bible Reading. It's a great resource to learn about how to do this. And in fact, you can even use the book itself to help another understand how to also then disciple someone. Another idea is to consider areas that you and that other person desire to grow in, in faith or in practice, and perhaps read a book on that or on that topic together. For those ready to dive into the deep end theologically, you might do what my future son-in-law is doing. He's reading systematic theology, the big thick one, with his pastor. And so that's a great way to do that. Listen, we all have relationships. However, not every relationship you have is or would qualify to be discipleship or discipling, but it could be, but it could be. Going back to our definition on discipleship, how might the natural relationships that you already enjoy be transformed into discipling relationships? To disciple is to seek to lead another through imitation how to increasingly apply the gospel in every area of life. How might you live differently if you saw yourself as one to be imitated? How might this affect your relationships? What attitudes, actions, or behaviors do you want your kids, your friends, your co-workers to imitate in you? Are you living your life in such a way as to be imitated? Is the gospel at the center of your concern for these relationships? If your friends or colleagues, for instance, were interviewed concerning you, what would they recall? Would they say only what a good person you are or what a great savior you have? Those are good questions to ask yourself as you think about discipling in the natural relationships you have. And increasingly applying the gospel might start with that unsaved friend or family member coming to Christ. The call to those who would disciple others is first to be an imitator of God, as dearly loved children. and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. And then it is to be an example to others. Apostle Paul tells the Corinthian church, be imitators of me as I imitate Christ. To recap, At its core, discipleship is imitation. It requires relationship and intentional teaching of the gospel's impact into every area of our life. So, we're talking about the Great Commission of the church to disciple. The source of that discipling is the authority of Christ. The beginning of discipling is evangelism. The core of discipleship is imitation. And now we're at the end of discipling, which is to take this gospel to the nations. Go therefore, he says, and make disciples of all nations. So there's an end to discipling? Shouldn't we always be about discipling? Well, yes, we should be, we should be. In our lifetimes, we continue to disciple. We do not retire from this work of discipling. So whether you're eight years old or 88 years old, if you know Jesus, you can be an example and a witness of the gospel. But there will be an end to discipling. There is a temporal end. In Matthew 24, 14, Jesus says, and this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Our great hope is that day when Christ will return to judge the world and to bring us into the inheritance that he has prepared for us. Discipling will end. There is also a geographical end. In Acts, Jesus tells the disciples just how far they are to take the gospel message. You will receive power, he says, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. In our passage, that word translated nations is literally ethnic, from which we get the term ethnicity, for instance. We are to go not only to the people who are like us, who look like us or have the same ideas as us, we are also to go to those who are different from us. Ken Carruthers wrote this up in an article on the Nine Marks website. He says, every barrier that exists between humans is to be overcome in Christ. The gospel of Jesus gives us the power to cross barriers of class, ethnicity, gender, religion, geopolitics, language, shame, and even fear so that humans can be fully reconciled to God and to one another. until every nation, language, and tribe has had the gospel preached, and there will remain gospel work to be accomplished. According to the Joshua Project, there are over 2,000 specific people groups without a gospel witness in their communities. Friends, there is still work to do. Being intentionally engaged in cross-cultural discipleship may sound difficult, but it doesn't have to be. There are a variety of ways that one can be a part of discipling the nations. Really, in a big way, this has to do with just having your eyes open to other ethnicity. Perhaps your Uber driver, or your doctor, or the person bagging your groceries, and just seeking to extend the love of Christ to that person. having your eyes open. Secondly, as many as 75% of international students studying in America have never been in an American home. Hear this from a 2016 article in the Luzon World Press. They said, according to the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, approximately 260 leaders in the world today receive their college education here in America. What might the political and spiritual climate of our world look like if current world leaders, former international students, had been given the opportunity to hear the gospel and to see it lived out in the lives of Christian Americans who reached out to them in love and friendship? With over 750,000 students from around the world currently attending American colleges and universities, that represents a strategic mission field that needs to be met. So why not go to the universities right here in Pittsburgh and register to receive international students into your home for maybe a meal once a week or once a month. Learn about their religious background. Share your own. including a well thought out short gospel presentation. It's easy to do. You can just go up to the university and talk to the international department. They would love for that to happen. Do you have family members that are in university who know Christ? Tell them and encourage them to seek out the international students on their campus. Recently, my daughter, Sarah, registered with World Relief. an organization that helps refugees get settled here in the United States. She specifically asked to get paired with a Syrian family as she speaks some Arabic and understands the cultural background. Syrians in great numbers, both from Muslim and traditional Christian backgrounds, have come to faith in these days through the refugee crisis. Well, Sarah spent time building relationships and sharing her faith as appropriate when she can. Recently, through a baby's birthday, she's been introduced to a whole new set of Arabic-speaking people in the area. The soil of their hearts has yet to bear fruit. but the good news is being heard and being seen through her life. Those are just three ways that I've illustrated how we, as the church, can take the gospel to the nations right where you live. Having your eyes open to people from different backgrounds from yours, registering with the international office at the local universities to host students, and getting involved with relief organizations to help families. But let's not overlook the going aspect of Christ's commission. There are so many opportunities for people here in this country to hear the gospel, but there remain places in the world with zero, little to no opportunity even to hear of Jesus. Consider Christ's call to you to leave your area of comfort, to go somewhere to do something for the gospel. If you're looking at extending the church's influence here, why not look to extend the church's influence in a city that has no church or gospel witness? If you're a teacher or an engineer or a doctor, why not go to the 1040 window where two-thirds of unreached people live and be a doctor or an engineer or a teacher there. Get involved with the local international church and help it to become a gospel-centered witness in that city. We have seen the local church grow in some amazing ways in the Arabian Peninsula from zero to a dozen healthy churches in the past 15 years. And next year, my family and I are moving to northern Iraq and hoping to bring healthy church into a region that is ripe for the gospel. Consider how you might be part of that with us. Come with us. Pray with us. or support the work this is our commission as a church to disciple the nations we are sent under the authority of christ and with his loving presence discipling begins with evangelism as we seek to lead others through imitation to increasingly apply the gospel in every area of life and we do this to every nation, every ethnicity, until it has a witness before the throne of God. Let's pray. Father, You are glorious above all things. Nothing compares to You. And You have graciously revealed Yourself to us in the person of Jesus and through His death and resurrection. You have purchased people for Yourself from every ethnicity. You cover our sin and make us right in Your sight. By your grace, you have also included us as ambassadors under the authority of Christ to preach this good news to all nations. Would you show us the opportunities to testify to the gospel that you are placing before us? Whether here or even abroad, give us joy in seeing the fruit of salvation as you draw men and women to yourself through our preaching. Lord, may we see it. Give us grace and boldness to live transparently as we seek to imitate Christ and to call others to follow Him with us. Lord, may a culture of discipleship mark this community at Three Rivers Grace. And may truth be spoken in love as they seek to spur one another on to love and good work. It's in the name of Christ that we pray. Amen.