Our Kingdom Mission

Well, it probably would be helpful for us to start with a bit of context, right?

So let's look at verses 16 and 17 where Matthew provides the context for us.

Now, the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.

So let's think about what took place just prior to this.

It was the death and resurrection of our Lord.

On the day of Jesus' resurrection, we read through the Gospels that Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem.

You'll remember the disciples that he met on the Emmaus Road.

You remember the women, Mary Magdalene in particular, that he met near the garden tomb.

And then he appears to those same women as well as many of the disciples in a room in Jerusalem on the night of his resurrection.

But do you remember what Jesus had told the women to tell the disciples?

He told them, tell the disciples, and if you remember from our study in Mark, and tell Peter especially, go to Galilee, I'll meet you there.

He had told the disciples that as well.

If you think back to perhaps it was Mark chapter 15 or 14.

Mark 15 · chapter mention

On that night when Jesus had told the disciples that they would betray him, that they would run and forsake him, he said,

But after I am risen, go to Galilee, I'll meet you there.

And that's what we find Matthew recording for us.

He picks up not in Jerusalem, but in Galilee.

That's where the disciples had gone.

This is probably just within a couple of weeks of Jesus' resurrection.

And after about a month, they returned to Jerusalem.

That's where Jesus ascended back to heaven.

The disciples were filled with the Spirit at Pentecost, and we begin our study of Acts and the early stages of the church from there.

Now, the Great Commission here in Matthew 28 was not the final interaction that Jesus had with his disciples.

It would seem that way if you're only looking at Matthew's gospel, but that's not the final interaction.

This was in that Galilean rendezvous type time frame that Jesus and his disciples had.

So the disciples journeyed to a mountain that Jesus at some point had told them to go to, and they waited for him, and he showed up, and this was the instruction that he gave them.

Now, we might expect, as we might expect, they had a mixed reaction to Jesus' appearance.

And it included two different things in verse 17.

The first thing it included was worship.

They see Jesus, not for the first time, but they see Jesus once again, and they worship him.

And then there's this intriguing little phrase that Matthew adds in.

He says, and some of them doubted.

And what is it that we're supposed to understand about that?

There's not a lot of clarity given to us.

We're not told who doubted, and we're not told what the nature of their doubt was.

But there's no reason for us to get bent out of shape about it.

It's the fact that their first reaction was worship.

The fact that they had followed Jesus' commands to actually go to the mountain and to meet him there indicates this was not the kind of doubt that would bring their faith in the person and work of Christ into question.

It's not that kind of doubt.

I think that the sense of the doubt here has more to do with the awesome amazement that comes with being confronted by something otherwise thought impossible.

Does that make sense?

This man, their friend, their Lord, a few days before this was dead.

Now he's alive.

Okay, that's strange.

That's not something you would ever expect to take place.

No matter how many times Jesus told them it was going to take place, it never clicked with their minds.

And now after seeing him dead, after knowing that he was truly dead, he appears and stands before them.

And I think that probably the dynamic of doubt that Matthew intends to pass on is this kind of a, I can't believe what's happening in front of my eyes right now.

I think it's probably that kind of doubt.

You may disagree.

That's fine.

And there's no reason for us to explore it any further than that today.

But the death and resurrection of Jesus set these men on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

The final appearances of Jesus to them serve the purpose of settling their hearts and focusing their minds.

They'd been through three years of training.

And now they were distraught.

Jesus focuses these final 40 days before his ascension on preparing them for what was next.

He had chosen them for a distinct purpose.

That purpose was to go into the world to preach the gospel.

It was to establish his church.

It would ultimately be to write the New Testament scriptures.

And then eventually they would give their lives.

Jesus uses this moment as well as the others to bring powerful clarity to what they were called to do.

And he used them to set a pattern of faith, a pattern of practice that continues on with each believer still today.

And the Great Commission passage is part of that pattern.

That's why we come back to it time and again.

This is not the first time we've looked at this passage together as a church.

It certainly won't be the last time we look at this passage together as a church.

Because routinely we need to come back to the patterns to which Jesus has given us to follow.

And this Great Commission pattern is an important one for us to consider over and over.

Three things I'd like to point out in the passage here to you this morning.

The first one is this, divine authority.

Divine authority.

Look with me at verse 18.

And Jesus came and said to them,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

All authority in heaven, all authority on earth has been given to me.

Now, Paul's there intentionally.

Because it may be our habit to almost speedily work through a verse like that without considering exactly what Jesus said.

As one author put in, we can almost thoughtlessly sing as we clap our hands, he's got the whole world in his hands.

Without actually stopping to consider that the claim that Jesus makes in verse 18 is the most grandiose claim ever to be made in all of human history.

All authority in heaven, all authority on earth, all the power there is to have, all of the authority there is to have has been given to me, Jesus says.

So let's stop and think about this for a moment.

Douglas O'Donnell said verse 18 is indeed the highest Christology to find in the Bible.

How can Jesus say all authority has been given to me when the Lord God said in Isaiah 42.8,

I am the Lord, that is my name, my glory I give to no other.

And he goes on to write, let's face it, Jesus is claiming here that he shares the glorious authority that Israel's God has said he will not share with another.

Jesus is claiming that he is distinct from the Father and yet is in charge of creation just as God is.

Verse 18 is a statement that is bold.

It is a plain claim of oneness with the Lord God.

Jesus is telling these men, I am God.

All of the authority in heaven and on earth that you would ascribe to God has been given to me.

It belongs to me.

And indeed, this is what the scriptures testify to the Messiah, to the person of Jesus.

Let me just walk you through a few passages.

We'll start with the very first verse in the Bible.

Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

What is that indicative of?

All authority in heaven and on earth.

That's Genesis 1.1.

Now I want you to hear John chapter 1 verses 1 through 3.

John 1:1–3

In the beginning was the Word.

The Word was with God and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made.

So the claim of the scripture is that when we come to Genesis 1.1 and see in the beginning,

God created the heavens and the earth.

What we are really saying there is in the beginning, Jesus created the heavens and the earth.

All power, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him.

In Exodus chapter 20, at the beginning of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, God says,

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

His authority, his power extends to the ability to deliver entire nations, entire peoples in such miraculous ways as has never been seen since.

Now I want you to see what Jesus claimed.

In fact, maybe you'd want to turn there.

Luke chapter 4.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

In fact, it's just a few pages probably over from where you are in Matthew 28.

Look with me at Luke chapter 4.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 4 and verse 16.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

Luke 4, 16.

Luke 4, 16.

That's a quotation from the prophet Isaiah.

Now look at verse 20.

He rolled up the scroll.

He gave it back to the attendant and sat down.

And the eyes of all the synagogue were fixed on him.

And what was it that Jesus said?

Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

Today, this has been fulfilled before you.

What was Jesus saying?

I am this man, Isaiah foretold.

I am the one with the authority and the power over heaven and over earth to deliver captives and to bring sight to the blind and to do exactly what God has done with Israel coming out of Egypt.

That's me.

That's me.

I have that power.

And if you remember, back in our study of Mark, in chapters 4 and 5, we saw a sequence of examples that showed Jesus' divine power over nature.

Remember, as he's in the boat with the disciples, the boat's falling apart as a result of the heavy storm that had come on the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus awakes.

They wake him up.

And he says, peace be still.

And he demonstrates power over nature.

Now, have you ever seen anybody restrain nature with their words?

All authority in heaven and on earth.

Immediately after that, we see he has power over demons.

That's in chapter 5.

Remember the demonic of Gerasa?

He had thousands of demons that were plaguing him.

Jesus cast them out and into the swine.

He has power over demons.

Even the demons tremble.

His name.

Immediately after that, we see he has power over disease.

The woman with the issue of blood comes in the press of the crowd and touches the hem of his garment.

And immediately, just upon touching the hem of his robe, she is made new.

And then we see he has power over death.

The woman grabbed the hem of his robe as he was moving toward the house of a ruler.

Jairus, his daughter, was dead.

Jesus goes into their house.

He raises her from the dead.

Well, what is the scripture testifying to there?

All authority, all power in heaven and in earth is given to me.

Let me show you in one more place.

I think this is on the screen, Becky.

In Daniel chapter 7, perhaps you remember this vision from Daniel.

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

He said,

He said,

He said,

Now I want you to listen to how the apostles wrote of Jesus.

Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

According to the working of God's great might,

that he worked in Christ,

Now, do you hear Daniel 7 in Ephesians 1?

Of course.

What about Philippians 2?

Daniel 7,

Daniel 7, being told through the apostles in relation to Jesus.

He has all power, all authority.

He is God.

And how is it in this context that Jesus intends to exercise his divine authority?

In the context of the Great Commission, why would he say all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me?

Because at the heart of Jesus' statement is Jesus' authority over the darkness of this world.

That's the point here.

Now, we could take from this the implication of the fact that because all authority has been given to him, he is the Lord.

Therefore, we must obey this command.

But that's not what he's primarily getting across here.

The disciples already recognized him as Lord.

They knew that they had been chosen to be sent out with his message.

That's what he had spent the last three years training them to do.

The assertion here is about his power, his authority to forgive sinners, to set them free from Satan's dominion, to reconcile them to God, and to give them eternal life.

That's why he's saying this in verse 18.

All authority has been given to me.

Therefore, I have authority over the darkness of this world.

I have the authority.

I have the power to forgive sin and to give eternal life.

He was getting his disciples to consider his resurrection so that he might say, all authority over the darkness of this world has been given to me, so go preach the gospel.

Go preach the gospel because of what I have done.

Tell everyone from every nation the good news that I have come to save them from their sin, to rescue them from eternal death in hell.

I have that authority.

I have that authority.

I have that power.

Go tell them now.

Which is why we find Peter in Acts early on saying things like, let all the ous of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ.

It's why later on he says, this Jesus is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

And there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Before he ever gets to the imperative of making disciples, he gives the boldest indicative you will ever find in the scriptures.

He says, I have all authority, so go preach the good news.

That's why he says it, divine authority.

Number two, missional responsibility.

Missional responsibility.

Look at verse 19.

Go therefore, he says.

The therefore means that they're going because of what he just said.

I have authority, therefore, go.

Make disciples of all nations.

Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded.

Missional responsibility.

So the only way to really understand our kingdom mission, what it is that Jesus wants from us as his people now,

what is he commissioning us to do?

We have to consider these specific responsibilities.

Responsibilities.

Responsibilities are expressed in four simple verbs in this verse.

Maybe that would be a helpful way for us to look at it.

Go, make, baptize, teach.

Four verbs.

Go, make, baptize, teach.

But in this verse, not all verbs are created equal.

Well, not to bore you with stuff about Greek, but it is beneficial to us to understand this here.

What's underlying this in the Greek language is one imperative with three participle phrases.

So Jesus, in other words, gives one specific command, and he gives three ways by which he intends for us to fulfill that command.

Does that make sense?

So we're not looking at these as four different commands.

One command, three ways to fulfill it.

So let's talk about it.

Make disciples of all nations.

That's the imperative.

That's the one command.

All of this really comes down to that statement.

Make disciples of all nations.

Now, a disciple is simply someone who believes and follows Jesus.

So Jesus, then, is commanding the apostles to do with others what he has spent the last three years doing with them.

Think about that.

Jesus' time with these men included intentional evangelism.

He called them.

He went to them.

He said, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

He went by the receipt of custom, and he called out to Levi, and he said, follow me.

He called them.

He didn't only call them.

It also included patient instruction.

It doesn't take very long in reading the Gospels to see not only did Jesus teach them,

but Jesus exercised amazing divine patience in teaching these men.

He gave his life to them through friendship, teaching, training.

He patiently endured their immaturities.

He lovingly restored them when they failed.

He trained them to faithfully follow him, and now he's commissioning them to help others faithfully follow him through the same method,

intentional evangelism and patient instruction,

which means that Jesus intended for these disciples and, by extension, for us to give our lives to others,

to endure their immaturities,

to patiently instruct them in the faith,

to be with them,

to bear with them,

to love them.

And that he told them to make disciples of all nations

was an especially radical instruction for these young Jewish men.

Christ's authority in the Gospel was not for the Jews only.

It was for all the nations of the world.

Remember in John chapter 10,

John 10 · chapter mention

Jesus was describing himself as the great shepherd of the sheep.

Here's what he said in verse 16.

I have other sheep that are not of this fold,

that is not of Israel.

I must bring them also,

and they will listen to my voice,

so there will be one flock,

one shepherd.

Now do you remember when we studied Ephesians 2

on that Gospel focus?

What is it that Christ has made us?

He hasn't Christianized Jews

and Judaized Gentiles.

It's a new creation.

He's creating a new kingdom people in his Gospel,

and it's for all nations.

Remember Revelation 5,

that great throne room scene in heaven

as John depicts it.

He says,

and they sing a new song,

worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain.

By your blood,

you ransomed people for God

from every tribe

and language

and people

and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom.

Priests are God,

and they shall reign on the earth.

This was radical instruction.

Jesus tells them,

go now,

make disciples

and do it with people

from all nations

in every place.

the kingdom mission

of Lakeside Bible Church

is the same.

Make disciples

of all nations.

And here's the way

Jesus intends for us

to do it, okay?

Three ways he intends for us

to do it in this passage.

Number one,

go to them.

Go to them.

Look again at verse 19.

Go therefore.

Go therefore.

Now this isn't so much

a direct command

to go to a particular place.

That's not what Jesus

is intending to get across here.

This really has the sense of

as you're going.

The going is assumed.

So in other words,

Jesus is saying,

I alone have all power

over sin and death.

Therefore,

as you're going forward

from here,

make disciples

of all nations.

That doesn't lessen

Jesus' command.

It actually strengthens

his command

because it reflects

this state of urgency.

This urgency of mind

that intentionally engages

people with the gospel

as we go through life.

it confronts

our inevitable lethargy

that gets so caught up

in the routines of life

that we don't often think

about evangelizing

the people that God

has put in our path.

So Jesus says,

go to them.

Go to them.

As you're going

through this life,

intentionally engage

with people

about the gospel

because nobody evangelizes

by accident.

The closest that would

come to in the scriptures

would be those

with the gift

of evangelism.

But even those people

would be exercising

their gift

in an intentional way.

You don't just happen

to evangelize.

You do it on purpose.

And as we said before,

it takes an acute awareness

of the lostness around us

and then a desire

to bring others

into the kingdom.

I think about it.

I don't know if you do this.

I do this from time to time.

Do you ever sit here

on Sunday

and happen to get distracted

by all the windows

and see all of the cars

driving down the street

while we worship?

Or maybe seeing all the people

who come in and park

and they walk down the sidewalk

to go get their hair done

or go a couple of places down

and get their massage

or maybe they go

to the Mexican market

to get some tortillas

or whatever it is

that they're doing for the day.

Do you ever see those people

and the thought cross your mind?

I wonder if they know Jesus

because they're not at worship today.

I think about that.

I drive through my neighborhood

on a Sunday.

Perhaps you did this this morning

and you saw all the cars

of your neighbors

who were still in the driveway.

That doesn't mean

that they didn't go to church.

And just because they didn't go

to church today

doesn't mean that they're believers.

But it's a pretty good indication

when people are faithful

to the gathered worship

that they belong to Christ.

And I wonder how often

we're just aware

that there are all these people

around us

who don't actually know Christ.

And when we have these interactions

with them in our lives

as we're going

as we're going

and we're talking to them

about the grass.

I had a conversation with

some of you know

Sarah Lynn and Mark.

They've come to a couple

of services here.

Their son Jack

comes to our Thursday night

kids program.

And a couple of weeks ago

we met at a park

and she had some questions

specifically about evangelism

and our approach to it.

And we were just talking

had the topic.

And I told her

about my next door neighbor.

She's been my neighbor

for three years

and she's pretty reserved.

But over the course

of three years

she's warmed up to me.

And every time

I see her out

walking around the house

or something

I'll find something

outside to do

so that I can go

and have a conversation.

I just want her to like me.

I want my neighbors

to like me.

And our thing right now

is the grass

because this is grass season

and every time

we're outside

we talk about it.

And we were talking

a couple of days ago

she had spilled

some fertilizer

and we were talking

about fertilizer

and she said

it's funny

my daughter asked me

the other day

what do you

and the neighbor

spend all that time

outside talking about?

And she's like

she laughed

and she said

well we talk about

fungus

and fertilizers

and grass.

and she said

that and immediately

it pierced my heart.

For three years

I've talked to Karina

about grass

and fertilizer

and fungus

and very few times

have I ever said

Karina

what do you think

about God?

For three years

I'm convicted by that.

It's an awareness

of lostness.

It's going beyond

just being

a friendly neighbor

to caring about

the soul

of our neighbor.

To caring about

the soul

of the people

that God

has put in our lives.

Jesus says

go to them.

Go to them.

He doesn't mean

that your life

has to be consumed

every day

with knocking

on a hundred doors

so that you can

be like the Mormons

or the Jehovah's.

That's not what Jesus means.

He just means

as you're going

intentionally

engaging people

with the gospel.

Go to them.

Evangelize them

is the next thing

he says.

Evangelize them.

Look again

at verse 19.

Baptizing them

in the name

of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

This is not so much

about baptism itself

as it is

the response

to the gospel

that undergirds

one's baptism.

He's not saying

just go out

and see how many people

you can get wet.

That's not what he means here.

He's talking

about evangelism.

Now baptism

was not uncommon

for the Jews.

They baptized

Gentiles

into Judaism

and in the New Testament

baptism is so

tightly linked

to conversion

that there are times

that the apostles

actually use

the term baptism

when they're really

referring to salvation.

Not because baptism

was salvific

but because it was

so tightly linked

to a person's

profession of faith

and conversion

in the New Testament.

That's why we care

so much

about being Baptist,

about following

the Lord's commands

in regards

to believers baptism.

But in this context

the Jews,

a Gentile

wanting to convert

to Judaism

would go through

this rite of baptism

that symbolized

the washing of sin

turning away

from their pagan

beliefs

turning to

Israel's beliefs.

But that's not

the same as

Christian baptism

that Jesus institutes

here in the Great Commission.

Christian baptism

takes a person

whether Jew

or Gentile

and acts

as a public

profession of faith

that they are

turning from sin

and from everything else

and turning to Christ

turning to Jesus

in that moment.

And as far as

the Great Commission

is concerned

this is the responsibility

to call sinners

to repent

to call them

to believe Christ

and of course

this would then

be followed

by believers baptism

a public

profession

profession

of this new faith

and repentance.

So what is Jesus saying?

Go to them

and when you go to them

evangelize them

bring them to faith

in the Trinitarian God

bring them to faith

in Christ.

And then he says

thirdly

disciple them

go to them

evangelize them

disciple

them

teaching them

to observe

all that I have

commanded you

he says

in verse 20

that's the building

up the body part

not the body part

but the part

of this deal

that is building

up the body.

Do you remember

that from a couple

of weeks ago?

Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

when the church

is functioning

the way that it

is supposed

to function

Paul says

it builds itself

up into Christ

builds itself up

it's just discipleship

goes all the way

back to the

great commission

Jesus says

go to them

evangelize them

and then build

them up

teach them

disciple them

so many people

think of the

great commission

only in terms

of evangelism

but evangelism

is only a part

of it

our kingdom

and mission

includes much

more than that

we're to commit

to helping

one another

faithfully

follow Christ

and if we're

going to

fulfill the

mission

God has

given us

we have

to be

committed

to

discipling

Frederick

Bruner

said

when you

come to

church

you may

find

compassion

you may

find

soup

kitchens

you may

find

entertainment

you may

find

beautiful

music

you may

find

friends

you may

find

all

sorts

of

things

when you

come

to

church

in

the

21st

century

but

if

you

do

not

find

the

unique

treasure

of

Christ

teaching

then

the

church

has

sold

you

short

because

that's

our

mission

not

only

from

the

pulpit

but

also

in

the

pew

tonight

when

you

gather

for

Lakeside

Connect

there

are

some

great

discussion

points

for

Romans

14

and

the

questions

are

designed

to

not

be

very

easy

if

you

have

a

problem

answered

they

are

designed

to

encourage

one

another

disciple

one

another

sharpen

one

another

you

say

what

does

this

mean

practically

how

are

we

supposed

to

do

that

we

go

to

them

we

evangelize

them

we

disciple

them

what

does

that

actually

mean

well

there's

a

million

different

ways

we

do

that

but

the

main

thing

is

we

just

take

the

words

of

Jesus

and

the

gospel

of

Jesus

everywhere

we

go

we

look

for

ways

to

bring

him

up

in

conversation

and

in

various

circumstances

a

couple

of

years

ago

Jonathan

and

I

this

has

been

several

years

ago

now

actually

Jonathan

and

I

were

flying

somewhere

I

don't

know

we

were

going

somewhere

and

I

was

in

this

phase

where

I

was

really

anxious

when

I

flew

for

some

reason

I

don

know

what

it

was

but

I

would

get

really

anxious

and

we

got

on

we

parked

our

car

at

the

airport

and

we

got

on

one

of

the

buses

that

takes

you

to

the

terminal

it

was

just

me

and

Jonathan

and

a

pilot

and

maybe

it

was

Scobie

I

don't

know

who

it

was

but

we

were

on

the

bus

together

and

we

just

struck

up

a

conversation

and

I

asked

him

what

do

you

tell

nervous

flyers

and

this

guy's

first

response

was

well

I

don't

know

what

you

believe

but

I'm

a

Christian

and

I

just

believe

that

God

is

sovereign

over

my

life

and

that

when

it's

time

for

me

to

go

there's

nothing

I

can

do

to

change

that

so

I

just

trust

that

to

the

Lord

and

then

he

went

on

and

gave

me

the

pilot

answers

there's

more

people

killed

on

mules

in

the

great

canyon

every

year

than

commercial

airlines

and

all

those

kinds

of

stuff

but

he

just

did

a

very

simple

thing

I

didn't

have

the

courage

at

that

point

to

tell

him

I

was

a

pastor

I

couldn't

bear

myself

open

at

that

point

but

imagine

if

I

he

just

taking

the

gospel

with

him

as

he

goes

you

see

so

you

don't

have

to

be

a

pastor

to

do

that

you

just

have

to

be

a

Christian

who

is

aware

of

lostness

and

who

understands

Jesus

mission

for

the

church

to

go

to

people

evangelize

them

and

disciple

them

I

brought

with

me

some

resources

even

today

that

I

would

love

for

you

to

!

in

fact

we

gonna

stop

John

because

somebody

that

you

have

been

talking

to

for

a

while

and

maybe

you

want

to

study

the

gospel

of

John

together

here's

two

particular

gospel

tracks

this

one's

by

John

Piper

called

the

greatest

chapter

in

the

Bible

and

it's

a

reflection

on

Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter

8

when

Paul

writes

he

who

did

not

spare

his

own

son

but

gave

him

up

for

us

all

how

will

he

not

also

with

him

graciously

give

us

all

things

and

he

goes

through

and

he

just

talks

about

that

one

verse

what

a

powerful

tool

to

put

in

somebody's

hand

you've

been

talking

to

hey

have

you

ever

thought

about

what

the

greatest

chapter

in

the

Bible

is

here's

what

John

Piper

thinks

about

it

back

three

kingdom

solidarity

kingdom

solidarity

the

end

of

verse

20

final

sentence

and

behold

I

am

with

you

always

to

the

end

of

the

age

verse

18

Jesus

is

divine

authority

is

the

motivation

for

the

great

commission

so

he

says

all

authority

belongs

to

me

so

go

it's

the

motivation

you

see

when

we

get

to

the

end

of

verse

20

though

his

divine

authority

is a

source

of

comfort

it's

a

source

of

help

and

assistance

I want

you to

think

about

what

Jesus

had

just

told

these

men

a few

days

before

you

can

read

about

it

in

John

John 16 · chapter mention

chapter

16

Jesus

told

them

I'm

going

to

leave

you

I'm

not

going

to

be

here

anymore

and

after

I

leave

you

I'm

going

to

send

you

out

you're

going

to

get

kicked

out

of

the

synagogues

so

everything

that you

have loved

culturally

as a

Jewish

man

that's

going to

be

taken

away

from

you

the

world's

going

to

hate

you

and

eventually

they're

going

to

kill

you

now

you

can

imagine

that

these

men

probably

were

a

little

bit

nervous

after

Jesus

said

those

things

and

now

he

stands

on

the

mountain

with

them

and

he

says

it's

almost

time

for

me

to

go

but

all

authority

has

been

given

to

me

go

go

to

this

world

that's

going

to

kill

you

but

know

that

I'm

going

with

you

I

will

be

with

you

until

I

return

to

the

end

he

commission

from

their

Lord

was

felt

with

tremendous

fear

but

he

closed

with

the

most

comforting

words

you

could

ever

hear

again

several

years

ago

I

think

this

was

even

before

Ashland

was

born

I

went

on

a

men

and

boys

camp

out

with

our

church

we

were

staying

at

a

camp

ground

in Shelby, and we stayed in these cabins that had several sets of bunk beds in each cabin room.

My dad and my brother and I were together, and we were with another man from my dad's church

who had his young boys with him as well. And this is a camp in the middle of nowhere,

so at night it's dark, and it's unfamiliar. And in the middle of the night, one of the little boys,

he woke up and was frantic because he didn't know where he was, and it was dark. He couldn't see

anything, and he began to cry out, like cry out in shrieking fear in that moment. And of course,

it wakes us all up. The lights are still down. He can't see anything, but his dad, his name was John,

his dad got out of the bed and quickly ran over to him and just said his name. That's all he said.

And as soon as he said his name, this little boy just immediately goes silent. Now, his fear is

still there because it's still dark. He can't see his dad's face. He's still in an unfamiliar place.

He's still not exactly sure what to think about what's happening in that moment, but he hears his

dad's voice. He knows his dad is there, and that's all he needs to feel comfortable in that moment.

At least dad's here with me. Doesn't change my circumstance, but dad's here. I think there's

a sense in which Jesus is saying this same thing to these men on the mountain. I'm going to send you

into the darkness of this world, and it's going to be hard, and there's going to be a lot of fear,

and there's going to be a lot of turmoil in your life, but I'll be with you. That will be the peace

that you can take with you. But then I think this goes a step further even than comfort.

There's this kingdom solidarity, this commonality, unity that we experience with Christ as we fulfill

the kingdom mission. As we go, Jesus goes. As we work with missional responsibility,

Jesus works with divine authority. His presence not only brings comfort in the darkness,

it also brings power in the work itself. Because how many of us have been afraid to evangelize someone

or disciple someone merely on the basis of we're not exactly sure what to say,

and we're so afraid we're going to say something wrong. And we need to remember, I am with you.

I am with you. He will help you. He will empower you in those moments. As we go, he goes.

Therefore, go into the world with all the confidence that Christ will save his people when we preach

the gospel to others. Paul said to the Corinthians, we are God's fellow workers. We're working together

with God in this mission. So if we're going to grow into a church that honors and pleases the Lord,

we have to take seriously the necessity to obey the kingdom mission he's assigned to us.

Christ gospel authority means that whoever calls on the name of the Lord,

will be saved. And our responsibility is to go to the people of this world with the intention to

evangelize them and disciple them. And as we obey this command, the Holy Spirit goes with us.

He provides us comfort in our hardship and power in our preaching. So he doesn't send us on our own.

Amen.