["Star Spangled Banner"] It's a delight to be here this morning. I want to thank all of you for attending. I know that it has been a busy conference, and if you lack for instruction after this weekend, then you are a man or a woman of great endurance. And there has been much tremendous teaching and preaching of the Word of God, for which we can thank the Lord for. And I want to go to the Lord in prayer and ask him to bless our time together, if you would. Father, we are thankful for how good you have been to us. Lord, have you been thinking of the words of the psalmist, how you inclined unto us, you heard our cries, you pulled us out of a horrible pit and out of the miry clay, and you have set our feet upon a rock. and you have established our goings. You have put a new song in our mouth, even praise unto our God. And Lord, I pray that as my message is focused on this morning, a mission greater than ourselves, I pray that we would see the completion of that Psalms, Psalm 40. It says, many shall see it and fear and shall trust in the Lord. God, I pray that you'd help us by our witness individually and our witness as a church, churches corporately, that you, Lord, would be glorified amongst all peoples. And I pray that multitudes upon multitudes of people would come to faith in Christ through the witness of those that are assembled here by your Spirit. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. I would like you to turn to the Gospel of Matthew chapter number 28, the Gospel of Matthew and chapter 28 and we'll read from there and just for just a few verses here at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. chapter 28 the Bible says this then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them and when they saw him they worshiped him but some doubted and Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. This morning, we've come to the last day of a conference that has been packed with messages, packed with teaching and instruction on various subjects regarding Christ's Church. And I hope you have been challenged, as I have, in a multitude of ways about the church that has gathered together, the local New Testament church. And think about some of the things that we've learned. We've learned about Christ's great and exceeding great love for his church. And if you're a believer, you're a part of his church. If you are involved in a local church, you are getting to experience the love of Christ for his church by being in fellowship and community with one another in the church. We've learned at this conference about the leadership of the church, the ordinances of the church, the discipline of the church. We've learned and heard powerful messages preached about the gospel. We've heard not about the gospel, we've heard the gospel proclaimed, the message that the church is to herald. We've learned about the need for unity in the church. And indeed, that unity comes through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and through us walking in the spirit of the living God. We've learned much about the benefits and the blessings of the life of a believer when he is or she is in fellowship with a body of believers, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, provoking one another. And so much the more as you see the day approaching that we would provoke one another to love and to good works. Oh, boy. We've learned the principle of Acts 2.42, that when they came together, they came together for great purposes on the Lord's Day, for the apostles' doctrine, for biblical teaching and preaching. We come together for fellowship, for koinonia, for that time of bearing burdens and loving one another and caring one another. And the church gathering together every Lord's Day has so many wonderful aspects and benefits for us as believers. Not only are we recipients, but we get to give to others as well. We break bread together both in the Lord's table as well as sharing meals one with another. And we're built up on the most holy faith. There's something in that passage of Scripture in the book of Acts, chapter 2, and verse number 42. It's, excuse me, verse number 41 says, Then they that gladly received his word were baptized. And the same day they were added unto them about three thousand souls. A tremendous day in the history of Christ's church. And they continued steadfastly Steadfastly they endured together In the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers And then it says in fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles and all that believed had all things and were together had all and had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need." This was not communism, this was every man had possessions, they were in their care, and when a need arose, they sold those goods, and ministered to the needs of the body of believers. Says in a continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house did ether meet with gladness and singleness of heart Praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved so there was the definite gathering of the church on the Lord's Day or The Acts 242 was taking place, but then there was a daily and from house to house a ministry of the Word of God that was taking place as the church went on mission, fulfilling what God had called them to do. We've learned much about the church, and I want to say it this way, in its gathered state this week. But the church also has a scattered state. The church also has a mission to fulfill. There is clear biblical teaching that Christ's church is not just about the blessings of being able to assemble together one with another. It's not just about the Lord's Day, though vital as that is, there is more. I think that one of the things that I've noticed, I'm a homeschool dad and I'm a pastor of a local church and I've been to several conferences like this one and homeschool conferences and things of that nature and I see, I'm also at conferences that are not related to family integrated and not related to homeschooling. And you see, in some cases, the rejection of good principles regarding family in the church. And many of you have experienced that. And we see churches that reject good principles on home education. And then, on the other side, you meet people that have totally rejected the church, totally rejected assembling together as a body of believers. They've totally rejected biblical leadership in the church. And they've kind of become nomadic renegades. because they've been hurt oftentimes, because they've faced difficulties, because they've faced hardships. And what I want to submit to you today is that in this, hopefully we're all in the process of learning. Hopefully you've learned much at this conference. And in regards to the church that is gathered, we've learned much, but I hope that you will learn that there is also a mission to fulfill that is greater than ourselves, that is greater than the assembling together that we have as a body of believers. There is a mission. We've heard a lot about vision for your family. What is the vision for your family? That is your mission. And the church, coming together as a body of believers, has a mission greater than ourselves, greater than us. And it's clearly laid out in Scripture. And that's my heart's desire this morning, is to share what that mission is. It's familiar to some of you, maybe to all of you to some degree, but oftentimes it is forgotten and neglected, and I think needs to be encouraged in our movement. God's mission for the local church. What is it? It's laid out in the gospel of Matthew the gospel of Mark the gospel of Luke John and in the book of Acts clearly defined We find in Matthew chapter 28 verses 18 through 20 as we read that is simply this all power is given unto me Jesus said in heaven and in earth he holds all power and he gives the power to the church he gives authority to the church and he says go ye therefore and Teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 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. This Great Commission is a fulfillment of several Old Testament passages of Scripture, in the Psalms especially, that Christ was going to come and it was not going to be only for the Jews, it was not only going to be for Israel, but it was going to be for the Gentiles in a major way. We know that in the Old Testament there were times and seasons of demonstration of God's love for the Gentiles. We see stories, or accounts rather, like in the book of Jonah, where a reluctant Jonah fled from going to Nineveh. He did not want to preach to these people. He did not want to proclaim to them repentance towards God. And yet God wanted him to go there and declare the message of salvation. And it was a little foretaste of what was to come. And now in this time, in this season, when Jesus Christ had risen from the grave, He gives this clear command to go into all the world and to proclaim the message of the gospel and to fulfill the heart of God for the world. The church has been given this mission. The church is the body of believers. We understand there's a church. We're already seated together in heavenly places. There is the heavenly body of believers, which is every believer from all ages assembled together already in heavenly places. But there is the church that we're a part of. There is the local New Testament churches that we assemble together with and that we are accountable with. And this is the people I believe that this commission is given to. And it is for a work that is great. It is for a work that requires your heart and soul to be devoted to it. It is a work that will not end until the Lord returns. And it is a work that we must take as our own. There is a mission greater than ourselves. that requires us. In this passage of Scripture, I want you to see a few things. A few things that may seem obvious, but they're very important. First of all, to do a work, there needs to be empowering, there needs to be equipping. in whatever occupation you may be in, the things that you may do to provide for your family and providing economic strength for your family, it usually requires some type of training, maybe some type of endorsement, some type of empowering to do that work. And for us as a church, It is the same. We need power. And we have been given that power by God. We have been given that authority by God, as it says in verse number 18. And Jesus came and spake unto them. After he had risen from the dead, he came and met with the eleven disciples. And the Bible says that the apostles were first set in the church as the foundation. It says, all power is given unto me. He's declaring to be God in heaven and on earth. He has the whole earth under his foot. He has dominion over all of the realms of the earth and of the heaven. And then he says these words, Go ye therefore. Not only does he have the power, but he gives that commission, he gives that power to his church. It says ye. Now, I'm not a great scholar, but ye is more than one. Ye is plural. And I believe that is there because it is not just the task, the Great Commission is not just a task of Craig Houston as an individual. The Great Commission is the mission of the Church. It is the mission of believers together. It is not going to be accomplished by one man. Though his intentions may be wonderful, though his desire may be right, it is not going to be properly fulfilled by one person. It requires the multitude of believers. It requires laborers together with God. And this mission starts in your community. If your desire as a part of a church is to reach your community for the Lord Jesus Christ, guess what? It will not be done by one person. It will require the sacrifice of every person in the body, giving of their time and their resources, and being faithful to witness the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we have been given the power to do it. We have been given the command to do it. We have been given this by our Lord. It seems to me, some of the last words of Jesus to His church should carry a great weight with us. Would you agree with that? If this was the last words, this was what the final words of our Lord was before He ascended up into heaven, I think that we should take particular note that they are very important. They're not to be overlooked. They're not to be under-emphasized. And I think that that is a potential for us who have so desired to have a church that we can gather together with and serve as families together in and to worship together as families in, that we can make that the central truth rather than the commission that God has called us to as a church. But there is a mission to fulfill, and this is vital for us. And it cannot be cast away. It cannot be given to an organization somewhere. It is the responsibility of ye. It is the responsibility of the church to fulfill. And it is a responsibility we cannot shirk. This responsibility has many facets. In the book of Acts, in chapter number one, I would ask you if you'd turn there, in Acts chapter number one. In Acts chapter number one, and I'm gonna begin reading in verse number seven. Actually, I'll start in verse 6. It says, When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. Ye shall receive power. After that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. And ye shall be witnesses unto me." Here's a key word, both. In Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and in the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things while they beheld, he was taken up in a cloud and received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you seen him go into heaven. Why stand you looking up into heaven? He's coming back, and until He returns, He has given you a task. And in chapter 2, they receive the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill this task, the Spirit that we have inside of us, sealing us until the day of redemption, and empowering us to do the work that God has called us to. Do you understand the significance of this task? That we are to be witnesses, we are to testify of the Lord Jesus Christ, both in Jerusalem, that would be our cities, our towns, our villages, our hamlets, our counties, in Judea, maybe our states, in Samaria, in a broader region, and into the uttermost parts of the earth. And this is the call that God has for His church. You must remember this as you assemble together, whether you're in the middle of the country or you're in the midst of the city, we're all a part of the same great commission, and your church must not think that's for some other church. Your body of believers must take ownership of this commission, because it has been given to you as a body. You cannot cast it aside. You cannot use excuses. Well, we are small. Or, we're just getting started. Or, you know, we just don't really feel like this is our burden. If you are a New Testament church, it is your burden. It is your burden to bear. And it is your responsibility to seek to fulfill your part in this commission. And it's not enough to just say, well, we're focusing on our local area. Because God has called us both to Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. I've had the privilege to travel to many different foreign lands and to preach and teach, primarily working with missionaries that our church supports. It's a great privilege. And one thing that it's done for me, the Bible says thine eye effecteth thine heart. One thing that it has done for me as a pastor is to come back with a burden, with a passion to help churches here who have been given so much, not just in financial resources, but have the freedom to meet and have the privilege to have brothers and sisters to come alongside of them. And to go to places where you're ministering to maybe a small group of people, or maybe a small group of pastors that have assembled together from vast regions that have traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles by train, or by bus, just to be there for a little help, and a little training, a little encouragement, maybe on the family, or maybe in some other area of ministry, of pastoral leadership, or the ministry of preaching and teaching the Word of God. They have nothing and they sacrifice everything to do the work that God has called them to and I come back to this land And I think how blessed we are How rich we are Do we have difficulties yes, we have struggles yes But I believe that We have been given much I think that we are responsible for that much that we have been given, and that we have a responsibility to have a heart for the world. I would encourage you as representatives of different churches to not lose heart, even if your body may be small, to begin getting involved in the work of the mission of the church, both locally Abroad and everywhere in between I want to give you before work. We conclude today some practical ways in which you can do that But I want to walk through the rest of this command the command in Matthew chapter number 28 After it says go ye therefore which is a ascending which is a launching out there must be a response There is a message that is given in verse number 19. It says, Go ye therefore and teach all nations. I think this first aspect of teaching all nations, and it's followed up in verse 20 by more teaching, this first aspect of teaching is the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which we have heard declared very clearly this week. Guess whose responsibility it is to declare the Gospel? The responsibility is not just the preachers that have been standing before us and proclaiming it. The responsibility to take the gospel is your responsibility. It is the church's responsibility. It is not yours to say, well, I'm not gifted in the work of evangelism. It is not. just a gift, it is a command for each one of us to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in love, in the best that we can. Whether that is with a group of ladies, for you ladies sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or whether that's for you as men who are in your places of work and industry, that you share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That's part of your Jerusalem ministry. That's part of you being a missionary that is fulfilling the mission of God given to the church. And if we don't fulfill that, we are in disobedience. We're in absolute disobedience to the Lord. Because it is the mission He's called us to. It is the job that we come together to be encouraged and strengthened for. We don't come together on the Lord's Day just to be strengthened so that we can go and hide the rest of the week. Why do we come together? So that we can be built up in the most holy faith. So that we can be strengthened and encouraged. Why? Because it is hard to be in the world as a believer, opening our mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel. It's difficult, but it is what we have been called to. Men, women, boys and girls who know the Lord, you are commanded to share the Gospel with people. With people everywhere. With people you think might want to hear, and with the people, by judging on outward appearances, that you think might not want to hear. Mark chapter 16 verse 15 says preach the gospel, go yet all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, to every person. in the Gospel of Luke. It tells us a little bit more specifically what this message is. It says, Thus it is written in Luke chapter 24, verse 46. It says, Said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day. This is what He did. He suffered and then He rose from the dead the third day. And that repentance and the remission of sin should be preached in His name among the nations, beginning at Jerusalem, beginning where you are and then taking that message to the nations, taking that message to the uttermost parts, taking that message to the world. This is our responsibility. It says, and ye are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my father upon you. But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high." This was the waiting for the day of Pentecost and being filled with the Spirit. to do the work that they had been called to. The book of Romans speaks of this very pointedly in the importance of the proclamation of the gospel. And I believe not only is it to be the responsibility of us as individual believers, but I believe that there are men that are called specifically to proclaim, to herald the word of truth as preachers of the word. It says in Romans chapter number 10 and verse number 14, after giving a description of God's heart's desire in verse number 1, that Israel might be saved. And then it speaks of the Gentiles coming to faith in verse 4, excuse me, in verse 14 it says, How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent, their sent ones, from the church? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed a report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Beloved, do you remember when you came to faith in Christ? Can you think back just to that moment right now? Just for a moment? Who shared the Gospel with you? Maybe it was your parents. Maybe it was sitting in a church service. Maybe it was at a big evangelistic crusade. But statistically speaking, most people come to faith in Christ by somebody witnessing to them personally. Is that your testimony? Can I ask you a probing question? When other people think of when they came to faith in Christ, can any of them say it was because you faithfully brought them the message of the Gospel? I'm not saying it's in your power. I am saying it's your responsibility to be faithful to proclaim the Gospel for you to be witnesses. The results aren't up to us. I absolutely agree. But the Bible does say, He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, the Word of God, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. What are you doing about the mission that God has called us to? This commission that's given to the church is is a corporate commission, but it's fulfilled by us as individuals doing our part in the great task. The church has also been given in this commission, in this mission, authority to baptize. In Matthew chapter 28 again, in verse number 19, it says, Go ye therefore, teach all nations, proclaiming the gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. This authority was given to the church to baptize all those who believe. Baptism is a mark, a symbol of Christ being in you, the hope of glory. It is a symbol of the greater baptism that Jesus would give by the Holy Spirit, filling each believer when they trust in the living God, when they repent of their sin and turn to Christ for salvation. So this is an authority to baptize. This is not given to individuals. We've heard this this week. The authority to administer the ordinances of the church is given to the body, not to individuals. And it's vital to understand that in this commission, there is the heart that when we go and preach and proclaim the gospel, there needs to be the establishment of churches, the establishment of local bodies of believers. Many of you are in this situation right now. You're in a place, you're in a town that has no church that is striving to be biblical. Many of you have been pushed out of your churches. excluded from your churches. Not because of church discipline, but because you desire to raise your family in a way that pleases the Lord. And maybe now you're striving to, you're desirous of establishing a local church. And one of the things that will be a part of its ordinance, or part of its mission, will be preaching the gospel and baptizing those who believe. This is what happens when missionaries go to the foreign fields. This is what happens when you send a preacher or a group of men to preach and teach the Word of God to the next towns, as Mark chapter 1 says, Jesus came to do. Because you want to see the gospel there also, which every church should have a heart to do. They're sent with authority to baptize. But I want you to see that this Great Commission is not just about preaching the gospel. though that is the greatest message ever heard, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It's also not just about baptism, but the Great Commission is a commission of comprehensive teaching and instruction of discipleship of believers. There has been a flood of ministries that were raised up outside of the church that sought just to evangelize. Evangelize, evangelize, evangelize. And I am for the getting out of the gospel. But beloved, if you go to the regions beyond and you just evangelize and you never establish local churches to teach them all things, you have not fulfilled the Great Commission. And I want you, as members of local churches, to have the burden, to have the passion, that not only will your church be a church that teaches the whole counsel of God, but you'll desire to send out ministers of the Gospel, to send out missionaries, or to help send out those that are going to go proclaim the Gospel, baptize believers, and then establish them in sound doctrine, establish them in the truth of the Word of God. for in every area. Just teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I am with you all way, even into the end of the world. Amen. I'll give you an example. Almost every, not almost, every place that I've gone, whether it's Papua New Guinea, India, the Philippines, I just came back in June from Africa, being in Uganda, and we went to Embarada, and we went to the refugee camps, and the needs of people, guess what, they're the same everywhere. And in all of those mission fields, some of them that I've been to more than once, They're all in desperate need of ministry of the Word regarding family. The family. How many of your lives have been revolutionized by teaching on the family from the Word of God? I know mine has. Maybe you could say it's from some of the people that are ministering the Word this week that have made a huge impact on your life. Well, guess what? The people of Africa need that same teaching. Their families are messed up. Many of them are raised with the idea that you can beat your wife. And that's perfectly acceptable and normal until somebody says, you can't beat your wife. God is against it. Now that might sound extreme to you, but it's not in any of those places I just mentioned. It's normative. But it's not biblical. So part of the Great Commission is that you would have a heart for other people to experience not only the gospel, not only for their lives to be transformed, which is central to all of us, and for them to be baptized and established in the churches, but that they would learn the truths that have revolutionized your life. Don't you desire other families that are believers to know and to learn what you have learned about raising children? I had the privilege in June to take about 40 pastors, and I preached and taught four hours a day. That was after they had already been in studies on farming God's way for five hours in the morning. I had four hours a day teaching on families God's way. I taught on the blessing of the womb. I taught on the headship of the man. I taught on the submission of the wife. I taught on raising children. Practical things like, here's how you discipline your children biblically. Because it doesn't go on. and they were just drinking it up. This is wonderful. This is what we need. This will change our entire village that we minister in. This will have great impact and implication on entire people groups. And you know what? It's local churches, like the ones you're a part of, but have that commission to make sure that the peoples of the earth not only hear the gospel, but hear all things whatsoever God has commanded. Do not detach yourself from that mission. Do not only think about yourself when it comes to all of the glorious truths that you have learned. Realize that what you have learned, you are now responsible to make sure others learn the same. And I hope that you believe that. So how do we fulfill this mission? We remember that we have been promised that God will be with us to fulfill the task. That should be an encouragement. Amen. The Bible says, and lo, I am with you all way, even to the end of the world. Amen. That the Lord is with us. He is there empowering us. He is there strengthening us. He'll never leave us nor forsake us. But how do we fulfill this mission? I want to give you a few practical things and I've got to do it very quickly. One is we will never fulfill this task without love. Without love! God has called us to love Him. and to love others. And what's known as the great commandment, it says, Jesus said unto them, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. We're to love God. And a motivation for fulfilling this task is the love of God. Our Father had sent His Son, and we're to love Him. Remember I said, if the last thing that somebody said was important? What about your last words to your sons, to your daughters? Do you hope that they heed those words? Well, how much more should we desire to heed the words that we know that our loving Lord and Savior left for us as His children? We are to love him enough to obey him. In fact, the Bible says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. And this is his commandment, that we would spread the gospel to the entire world. This is the first great commandment, to love the Lord thy God. The second and like unto it is thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Sum up everything in the entirety of scripture with this, love God and love people, love others, love your neighbor as yourself. That's why I say a mission greater than ourselves, because we're to love others and treat others better than ourselves. So to fulfill this mission, it must be motivated by love. It must be. You will not witness, even to your neighbor, who lives next door, unless you are consumed with a love for God. Unless you are consumed with a love for people. Because it is bothersome to have to talk to people. It is worrisome, fearing rejection. And yet we do it because we love the Lord. And we do it because we love people. There's some very practical ways as a church that we can be involved in the work of this great commission. One is through prayer. And I'm sad that I have to just rush through these, but I have to. The Bible says Jesus called for us to pray. Do you know what He told us to pray for? laborers for his harvest. Weep for laborers is the gospel of Luke. In chapter number 10, Jesus looking upon the multitudes and he wept. In Luke chapter number 10 verse 1 it says, After these things the Lord appointed seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into the city and place, whether he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest is great, truly great, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. We as churches need to be people of prayer, not just for our needs, not just for the people that are struggling with physical health concerns. We need to be a people that pray passionately and fervently for laborers in the mission field of the Lord. If you can't do anything else, you can do that. Pray for laborers. We need men. Men who fill the call of God upon their life. Men who are proven, equipped, ordained, who will go, yes, to the next towns. but also to the next countries, also to the uttermost parts of the earth, where families will launch out as men and women of old have done for the sake of the gospel. They will be put in harm's way for the sake of the gospel. They will give their lives so that others who have never heard might hear. We need to send by giving Giving liberally. Proverbs 11 says, He that scattereth, yet increaseth. But he that withholdeth more than his meat, it tendeth to poverty. You need to be people that are giving in your churches. Giving of your resources. Giving even, yea, out of poverty. Like in 2 Corinthians chapter number 8, the people of Macedonia and Achaia. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse number 1, it says, Moreover brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, how that in their great trial of affliction The abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded under the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power, they were willing of themselves, praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. Here's a body of believers, here's a group of people in the church that are in deep poverty, in the midst of great trials and afflictions, and yet they desired the work of Paul's missionary journeys to continue. So they gave and they pressed upon him the gift to receive it. We also need to fulfill this mission by being willing to suffer. To suffer for the name of Christ. Can I ask you, beloved, how can you expect brothers and sisters around the world to suffer for the sake of the name of Christ? Be willing even to give to that, but be unwilling to suffer yourself in any way for the sake of the gospel. And the last thing, this is very important, I want you to see, and my time is out, is God's great purpose in missions. See, it's a mission greater than ourselves, because the entire focus of missions, if we do it with the right purpose in mind, is about the glory of God. Being a part of a church is not about you. Yes, you benefit. Yes, you receive great things, but it's not about you. It is about the glory of God. It is about the preeminence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is about Him getting glory in His church and Him getting glory in the world for which He has created it. The ultimate purpose for missions is to glorify God. This is hard for us because there are sin natures that we still dwell in these sinful bodies. It is our desire to pursue things that bring glory to ourselves, fame to ourselves, fortune to ourselves. But the work of God is about giving glory to Him. Romans 11.36 says, all things are of Him and through Him and to Him. In the work of missions, God has called us to bring Him glory. It says in 1 Chronicles 16.31, Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice, and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth. That will not happen if we do not fulfill the commission God has called us to. That's why we must fulfill it. It is part of the obedience that God has called us to. The Bible says regarding this glory in the book of Psalms. I want to read a psalm to conclude today Not only does the scripture teach us it is for the glory of God But Bible says that it makes heaven rejoice when sinners repent It makes the angels rejoice both in Luke chapter 15, but I want to read this psalm from Psalm 67 and just regarding the glory of God, that you would leave, and if you don't get anything else from this session, I want you to leave with this. God has given us a command, and we must take it personally. We must take it personally as far as members of a church. We must take it corporately as well as the body doing the work of the ministry. But never forget this. It's not fulfilling The Great Commission, even the highest goal is not so that people would be saved. Its highest goal is that God would get glory. In Psalm 67 it says, God be merciful unto us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us, Selah, that thy way may be known upon earth by saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God. Let all the people praise Thee. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy. For Thou shalt judge the people righteously and govern the nations upon earth, Selah. Let the people praise Thee, O God. Let all the people praise Thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase, and God, even our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him. May the nations be glad. Because you, in your local churches, seek to fulfill the Great Commission, both in your Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth. Your church can bring God glory. when it obeys this command. And we must obey this command. It's a mission greater than ourselves because it is a mission about the glory of God. Father, I thank you for this time. I pray that we would leave Lord, with one thing on our minds, and that is obedience to the command of our Savior. The last thing that He left for us to do is His church. And that every church represented here would take that command seriously. And they would realize it's not just about the church gathering together, it is about the church scattering to do the work of Christ. May we be faithful. And Lord, may you get glory in all nations. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. For more messages, articles, and videos on the subject of conforming the church and the family to the Word of God, and for more information about the National Center for Family Integrated Churches, where you can search our online network to find family integrated churches in your area, log on to our website, ncfic.org.