All People Following

Good morning.

Around this time of the year back in 1988,

but a sunny afternoon during the weekday,

a couple of months before his 18th birthday,

a young Asian man was walking home in his high school uniform.

As he walked along the main street in Sydney, Eastern Suburb,

an Aussie man approached him.

With a bit of hesitation and a friendly smile,

the gentleman asked this young man,

Do you know Jesus?

Would you be interested in coming to my church to have a look?

The young Asian man was excited to be invited

because he was praying to God for forgiveness and direction

to get back to the right relationship with him

not long before their encounter.

The young man who recently just come from overseas

with his family has been exploring the freedom and nightlife

that the red light district of Sydney has to offer

for the last six months.

Still, he knows what he was doing was not suitable

for someone who calls himself a Christian

at the back of his mind.

So he got down on his knees and prayed.

Before migrating to Sydney,

he has been going to a youth group very irregularly

for about five years.

Over those five years,

at the beginning of each year,

he would set his New Year resolution

to read his Bible and go to church regularly.

But four flats on those resolutions

in the first quarter of the year.

This time, while he's in a foreign country,

God sent an Aussie to help him.

They studied the Bible together

and a young Asian man got baptized

two weeks before he turned 18

and committed his life to God.

Even though there were a few years

that he had slipped back to his own way,

God had not let go of him or forsake him.

Even after many life mistakes,

he was charged and convicted on a taxation issue

and ended up with a criminal record.

God is still using him to serve

in a local church today.

Today, after 30-odd years,

this now not-so-young man

got to enjoy worshipping God

with Christians in his church.

He gets to serve God

because an Aussie man

took up his courage to approach him,

give him an invitation

to look into the Bible together

and teach him to obey Jesus' teaching.

What that Aussie man did

was what we just read out

from Matthew chapter 28,

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

what Jesus commanded the 11 disciples.

It was part of the last words

spoken by Jesus before his ascension.

The ultimate goal of discipleship

is all people following Jesus.

Matthew recorded

during these final words of Jesus

spoken on a mountain in Galilee

at the end of the gospel.

He also recorded

at the beginning in chapter 4,

Jesus called the first four disciples

by the Sea of Galilee

to follow him

and he would send them out

to fish for people.

God's care for human beings

and all his creative work

works in a cycle,

in a circle.

He always brings to fruition

what he has started.

He called his first disciples

beside the Sea of Galilee

and called them

to the mountaintop of Galilee

to send them out

on a mission

to complete what he set out

for them to do.

So let's read again

from chapter 28, verse 16

in the book of Matthew.

Matthew 28, 16.

Then the 11 disciples

went to Galilee

to the mountain

where Jesus had told them to go.

When they saw him,

they worshipped him,

but some doubted.

Then Jesus came to them.

When they saw Jesus,

they worshipped him.

The Jesus that they saw

is a crucified,

resurrected Jesus.

Three days ago,

he died on the cross

and was buried,

but now they see him.

And it is suitable

for them to worship him.

But at the same time,

some doubted.

Do you find it

somewhat unfitting

that the 11 disciples

would doubt

in the presence

of the risen Jesus?

What do you associate

doubt with?

The 11 disciples

were not in a

subtle opposition

or stubborn disbelief

towards Jesus.

There were hesitation

and uncertainty.

When they saw someone,

when you see someone

in a state of troubled,

indecision,

with hesitation

and uncertainty,

what do you feel?

Do you associate doubt

with a negative

or positive feeling?

Do you encourage others

to identify

and address

their hesitation

and uncertainty?

or do you get frustrated

with that person?

The 11 disciples

saw the risen Jesus

and worshipped him,

but some doubted.

Would it be because

they are not clear

or sure

that the one

they are seeing

is the resurrected Christ?

The passage say,

when they saw him,

they worshipped him,

but some doubted.

Then Jesus came to them

to speak to them.

Would it be that

when they saw Jesus,

it's actually from a distance?

And from a distance,

being not so close

is where doubt

will trouble us.

How is your relationship

and intimacy with God?

Is it close enough

to make sure

you can identify

your doubts

about him

and address them?

Or is it so far

that it's full of space

that many things

can creep in

to block your view

and connection with God?

To cause you trouble

and heartache

in your journey

following him?

Proximity

can help us

see things clearer.

So Jesus came

close to us

to make sure

we can see things

of God clearly.

Looking at today's passage,

we should be encouraged

that we are like

these 11 disciples

in so many ways.

In our walk

with Jesus

on our journey

to be his disciple,

our worship

of this recent Jesus

is often mixed

with doubts,

hesitation,

and questions.

We should be encouraged

that Jesus gives

this great command

to these very

fallible disciples.

disciples.

He does not say,

because you have

doubted me,

I'm going to find

other disciples

to carry out

my commission.

It's simply

too important

to entrust to you.

No,

it's to this

very ordinary

group of people

that he entrusted

the mighty task

of telling the world

what he does

for them

and how to be

right with God.

Jesus entrusted

the gospel's

proclamation

to us

fallen human,

those that are

full of hesitation

and uncertainty.

Then Jesus

came to them

and said,

All authority

in heaven

and on earth

has been given

to me.

Therefore,

go and make

disciples of all

nations,

baptizing them

in the name

of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit

and teaching them

to obey everything

I have commanded you.

Then Jesus

came to them,

Jesus approached

them to make

sure they see

him clearly.

He came to make

sure there's no

space for any

God's unwanted

thing between

God and us.

He came to assure

the 11th disciples

of his authority

and with that

authority,

he sent them out.

So what kind of

authority does

Jesus have?

He has all

authority in heaven

and on earth,

given to him

by God,

even the power

and authority

to overcome

death.

Jesus said,

the reason

my Father

loves me

is that I

lay down

my life

willingly

and to

take it up

again.

No one

takes it

from me,

but I

lay it down

of my own

accord.

I have

authority

to lay it

down

and I have

authority

to take it

up again.

Because of

Jesus,

we can see

death

differently.

Because of

Jesus,

death no

longer

stings.

God has

given us

victory over

death and

sin through

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

God is

worthy of

all our

praises.

Jesus lived

a perfect

life and

died a

sinless death

on our

behalf.

He died a

sinless death

to replace

our disobedient,

sinful life

with his

perfect

obedience.

God

has

done for

us.

God

entrusted us

to tell the

world of

this good

news,

to tell of

who Jesus

is and

what he

has done

for us.

God's

authority is

the basis

of Jesus'

command to

make disciples

of all

nations,

of all

people.

We're not

only there to

go to all

nations because

Jesus has

all authority,

but we must

also go for

the Lord of

all has

commanded us

to do it.

Verse 19,

says,

therefore,

go and

make disciples

of all

nations,

baptizing them

in the name

of the

Father and

of the

Son and

of the

Holy Spirit

and teaching

them to

obey everything

I have

commanded you.

From the

original language,

make disciples

of all

nations is a

fundamental

driving force

of this

command.

Jesus is

commanding the

eleven

disciples to

make disciples

of all

nations by

going,

baptizing

them in

the name

of the

Father and

of the

Son and

of the

Holy Spirit

and teaching

them to

obey everything

Jesus has

commanded them.

Hesitate at

first, but

later we can

see these

eleven

disciples from

the book of

Acts and

from the rest

of New

Testament that

they obeyed

this command

of Jesus as

the Spirit

leads them to

break through

cultural barriers

after cultural

barriers in the

proclamation of

the gospel.

After their

encounter at

the mountaintop

of Galilee,

the disciples

went back to

Jerusalem to

wait for the

gift of the

Holy Spirit

from God.

After they

received the

gift, the

disciples proclaimed

the gospel from

Jerusalem to

Judea and

Samaria to

Asia Minor

and Rome.

The gospel

went from the

Middle East to

Africa to

Europe to

America to

Australia and

Asia.

The good news

of Jesus goes

from the East

into the West

and back into

the East in a

full cycle as

a rule of how

God cares for

human beings and

everything he

had created.

God never

stopped working

from the day he

created us.

Jesus said,

my father is

always at work

to this very

day and I

too am

working.

But today,

not many

Christians

consider this

command to

make disciples

of all nations

as a must

do.

Not many

Christians are

doing what

that Aussie

man did with

the young

Asian man in

the main

street of one

of Sydney's

eastern suburbs

30 years ago.

God's great

commission to

make disciples

of all nations

has become a

great omission

in many

Christians'

life.

We must be

clear from

today's message

that we are

not faithful

disciples of

Jesus if we

are not

intentionally

seeking to

make other

disciples of

our Lord

Jesus.

Becoming

and being

a Christian

is fundamentally

other person

centered.

We become

a disciple

to make

other

disciples.

Christian,

a follower

of Jesus,

a disciple,

is not just

a regular

church goer

that does

a good

deed to

tick the

box to

make us

feel good

about ourselves.

A faithful

disciple of

Jesus,

intentionally

seeking to

make other

disciples of

Jesus by

sharing the

confidence they

hold in

Christ,

their faith.

Some

Christians may

say,

I do invite

people to

come to

Sunday

service or

events.

I invite

them to

the activities

we have at

church.

That's a

good start.

But what

is the next

step after

they come?

what is

intentionally

seeking to

make them

disciples of

Christ look

like?

Do you

know what

barriers they

face and

what kind of

doubts they

might have?

Are you

speaking Jesus

into those

issues and

their lives?

What is the

next step for

you and

for your

friend in

being a

disciple?

What barrier

is God

calling you

to break

through as

you engage

in this

enormous task

of sharing

Christ with

all the

nations and

people?

We are to

make disciples

by going.

We must

go, make

a move,

reach out to

someone,

whether this

person is in

the other

land,

lives next

door to

us or

is a work

colleague or

someone in

your household

or your

relatives.

Whoever we

are, wherever

we live, we

need to be

ready to go.

Go to the

next bedroom,

go to the

next household

unit, go

around the

corner, go

to the

adjoining

workstation or

as God

calls you,

go to the

other side of

the world.

as we

go, we

are to

bear witness

to the

good news

of Jesus

by word

and deeds.

There's a

very well

produced gospel

material called

Two Ways

to Live.

If you're not

sure how to

tell others

what God

has done

for them,

this is a

very good

material to

pick up and

I have left

a few copies

out there for

you.

And there

will be a

workshop on

how to use

them very

soon as

well.

In terms

of bearing

witness by

our deed,

one thing

that makes

early Christians

stand out

among others

are their

benevolent

works and

their loving

actions towards

each other.

I have

spoken about

what action

to take

last week.

Please go

to our

website or

our app

to review

that sermon

from last

week.

We are to

make disciples

by going and

also to make

disciples by

baptizing.

Baptizing them

in the name

of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy

Spirit is an

outward sign

of the inward

reality,

an act of

initiation and

conversion.

Baptism

breaks through

any language

and cultural

barriers.

baptism

is one of the

most influential

and effective

show and tell

of the

gospel message.

It is such a

great joy to be

part of someone's

initiation into

a lifelong

journey with

God and

pledging our

support and

guidance along

the way.

We are to make

disciples by

going, we are

to make disciples

by baptizing,

and we are to

make disciples of

all nations by

teaching them to

obey everything

that Jesus has

commanded them.

And most

importantly,

we are to

teach, what we

are to teach

is not just

head knowledge.

We are to

teach them to

obey Jesus'

command.

In today's

culture and

setting, we

are all time

poor and

information

overloaded.

People

pursue head

knowledge and

quick results.

We want to be

seen as a well

to do.

And we

are concerned

about FOMO,

fear of

missing out.

It goes

against our

culture to

submit ourselves

to a person

or some

objective truth,

especially when

we uphold

Jesus as the

only way to

be saved and

get back in a

great relationship

with God.

In becoming

a disciple of

Jesus, it

takes time and

commitment when

obedience is

our goal.

And that's

why being a

disciple is a

lifelong journey.

And we need

external help,

the help of the

Holy Spirit to

ourselves to get

us through.

As we teach,

we must make

sure we include

the command in

today's passage

from Matthew 28.

disciples of

Jesus that we

made.

The disciples of

Jesus that we

made ought to make

disciples of all

nations by going,

baptizing in the name of

the Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit, and

teaching others to

obey everything Jesus

has commanded.

We ought to engage in

mission to make

disciples of Jesus,

whether cross-cultural

or otherwise,

with great

confidence,

because our

confidence comes

not from

ourselves, but

Jesus.

We can entirely

depend on Jesus

for our confidence

because he loves

all people,

even his enemies,

and is regularly

at work,

turning people to

him by his

mighty power.

And Jesus

told his

disciples to make

sure and look

out for one

thing at the end

of today's passage.

At the end of

verse 20,

after he

told them and

teach them to

obey everything

I have commanded

you, and

surely I am

with you always

to the very

end of the

age.

The original

language of

the word

surely have

a force of

making sure of

this.

Behold,

open your

eyes to

see.

Knowing some

of his

disciples

doubted,

Jesus gave

them an

antidote to

their doubt.

He gave

them something

to be sure

of or to

make sure

of.

Some scholars

have read

this sentence

as a promise

that conditioned

whether the

disciples obeyed

Jesus' command

to make

disciples of

all nations.

However,

it's more

appropriate to

look at this

as,

look at the

sentence,

I am

with you

always to

the very

end of

the age

as a

factual

statement.

Jesus

conquers

sin and

death by

becoming

obedient to

death,

even death

on the

cross.

And God

raised him

from death.

God was

pleased at

his

foolish

joy in

Jesus and

through him

to reconcile

to himself

all things,

whether things

on earth

or things

in heaven

by making

peace

through his

blood shed

on the

cross.

And with

all the

authority in

heaven and

on earth

given to

him,

Jesus is

confident

that he

has lost

none of

those the

Father gave

him.

He

has kept

all those

disciples God

called according

to his

purpose to

the end.

To make

disciples of

all nations

is to

confirm and

realize that

Jesus does

have all

the authority

in heaven

and on

earth.

As we

break all

the cultural

and ethnic

barriers to

make disciples

of Jesus,

we will

realize Jesus

is with us

all the

time to

the very

end of

the age.

That no

matter how

we are

failing,

whatever

doubt we

might have,

he will

complete what

he set out

to do.

And what

is being

with Jesus

all the

time to

the very

end of

the age

look like?

It will

be another

mountain top

experience as

proclaimed in

the Old

Testament

passage we

read out

today from

Isaiah 25.

Isaiah 25,

Isaiah 25:6

verse 6,

it says,

on this

mountain,

the Lord

Almighty

will prepare

a feast

of rich

fruit for

all peoples,

a banquet

of aged

wine.

He will

destroy the

shroud that

enfold all

peoples,

the sheets

that cover

all nations.

He will

swallow up

death

forever.

The

sovereign

Lord will

wipe out

the tears

from all

faces.

He will

remove his

people's

disgrace from

all the

earth.

The

Lord has

spoken.

All the

time to

the very

end of

the ages,

we'll be

enjoying a

feast of

rich food,

a banquet

of aged

wine,

with all

peoples from

all nations.

Multi-ethic,

multicultural

gathering,

who enjoy

each other's

company,

praising and

worshipping God

with great

multitude that

no one

could count.

From every

nation,

tribe,

people,

and language,

intentionally

careful and

encouraging each

other to

obey Jesus'

teaching and

command as

we gather

regularly in

groups of

various size.

Death has

been swallowed

up forever.

No more

fear of

death.

There will

be no more

tears or

disgrace,

for the

Lord has

spoken,

and his

disciples

proclaim,

surely this

is our

God.

We trust

in him

and he

saved us.

This is

the Lord.

We trust

in him.

Let us

rejoice and

be glad

in his

salvation.

Today,

the now

not-so-young

Asian man

is enjoying

the community

and fellowship

of a

multi-ethic,

multicultural

church in

the lower

north shore

of the

supper of

Chesterwood.

He's

looking forward

to that

great date,

the great

feast that

is promised.

Following his

senior minister

and other

purpose pastor,

he learns to

trust the

Holy Spirit

to encourage

and guide him

through life's

burden and

hardship,

a life full of

temptation to

stop obeying

the cause of

God.

Seeing the

great need

of Jesus

in people

all around

him from

all ages

and backgrounds

and motivated

by the love

of God

shown in

Jesus,

he stepped

out in

faith to

share about

Jesus as

that man

did for

him back

in 1988,

knowing that

God always

had his

work to

this very

day.

That man

is me.

And I

would love

for you

to join

me on

this journey

to follow

Jesus,

to be

sure of

the fact

that Jesus

is with

us always

and we

make disciples

for all

nations by

going,

by baptizing

and teaching

them to

obey everything

that Jesus

has commanded

us to the

very end

of the age.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.