The King's Authority

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Today's scripture is from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 28, verses 16 through 20.

Matthew 28:16–20

Then the eleven 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 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.

And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Wow, that was awesome, Joan.

I gotta get you to read my books on Audible.

We love you.

Good morning, everyone.

My name's Andrew.

I'm one of the pastors here.

It's a little bit longer of a sermon today.

I'm sorry I didn't have time to cut it down as much as I normally do.

It's been a rough week for me.

Our kitchen faucet sink broke.

I was involved in a hit and run.

I didn't hit them.

I got hit.

They ran.

And then the Warriors lost last night, so I'm not feeling it.

But I'm glad to bring God's Word to you.

We're closing out our series in the Gospel of Matthew.

But before we do that, let's go ahead and come to the Lord in prayer.

Father, we want to hear from you.

We want to be filled with this resurrection life.

And we so want to be the church that you've called us to be, filled with this resurrection spirit.

Would you make that happen, God?

The preaching of your Word and the fellowship that's here, the prayers and the singing.

When we meet you at the table, would you nourish us, fill us, and make us what you want us to be?

For our sake and for your glory, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

So, you know, as a pastor, I often get asked for, like, life advice and counsel.

It's kind of crazy, but that's what happens.

It comes with the territory.

And, I mean, just this week I was walking with someone and they asked me, you know,

I just started dating, but how do I know when we're ready to take the next step?

You know, I ask these kinds of questions all the time.

And I'm super honored that people come to me with these kinds of questions and I try

to respond like a calm and collected, confident, you know, unflappable, super wise sage.

But if I'm honest, when some of you ask me, you know, should I take this job or that one?

Should I move here or there?

Should I date or marry this person or that?

What is God's will for my life?

And how do I know for sure?

Like, honestly, I pretty much never really know.

All right?

Like, how each and every one of you ought to live your lives in the specific details

and decisions that confront you.

Most of the time, I don't know any more than you do.

I can't tell you to pursue, you know, academia with your PhD versus a job in the industry.

I can't tell you whether or not you should buy that house there or when you should buy it.

But what I can tell you and what I will always try to tell you is what God's revealed will

is for all of us and what God's commanded us.

So, for example, I was just walking with, like, a newly engaged bachelor just a couple months ago.

He's trying to consider, discern a new career path.

And I couldn't definitively, like, tell him, though, to leave his job in education

and to pursue tech or healthcare or something like that.

But while I couldn't tell him to pursue this or that career, thus saith the Lord,

what I could remind him of is what the Lord has said, right?

The greatest commandment.

What does Jesus say?

The greatest commandment.

To love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

And to love our neighbors as ourselves.

And so, while I couldn't say, you know, be a teacher, not a tech bro, thus saith the Lord, no.

My counsel to this bachelor was, on which path do you think you could better love God

and better love your neighbors?

See, I try to remind people of the clear commands of God that should orient all of our life decisions.

And we're going to look at one of those big commandments that ought to orient our entire life today.

This Sunday after Easter, we're closing out, again, our sermon series in the Gospel account of Matthew.

We're looking at this huge command from the risen Christ, what many call the Great Commission.

The Great Commission here at the end of Matthew's Gospel account.

It's what the risen Christ tells to the New Covenant church.

His last words to them before He ascends to the Father.

Verse 18,

Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

and teaching them to obey all that I've commanded you.

Again, the Great Commission is this mission, this specific task that Jesus commanded and set His church to fulfill.

To go and make disciples of all the nations.

That's what the church is here to do.

That's what the church is here to do.

The church is here to make disciples.

And you know, we can go and serve the poor, but we can also serve the poor without making disciples.

The thing is, we cannot make disciples without going to serve the poor.

Do you understand that distinction?

The church is here to make disciples of nations.

That is our primary task.

And the simple question for all of us here who claim to be Christians,

who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ is,

how are we going to do this?

Both individually and collectively,

how are we going to fulfill Jesus' Great Commission commandment?

And how are we going to make disciples of all the nations?

And what is each and every one of our roles in this massive undertaking?

That's the question for the Christians in the room.

But you know, even before we ask that question,

maybe you're here today and you haven't decided to follow Jesus.

Maybe you're here and you're skeptical of His claim in verse 18

that all authority in heaven and on earth have been given unto Him.

And I have a question for you too.

Because like, sure, you don't have to be a disciple of Jesus if you don't want to.

And you certainly don't have to make disciples of Jesus among the nations

as He commanded His church to do.

But my question for you is then,

who or what are you following?

And if not making disciples of Jesus,

what have you given your life to making?

You see, if we're all honest with ourselves,

we're actually all disciples of someone or something.

And even in our you-do-you-I-won't-judge culture,

we are actually all far more engaged in making disciples than I think we realize.

And maybe you're like, what are you talking about?

I'm no disciple and I'm certainly not making disciples.

I'm just doing me.

I'm just living my life.

And I have no interest in telling other people how they ought to live.

No interest in imposing my way of life on others.

But don't you see?

Even that way of thinking, even that way of living,

actually demonstrates who you are a disciple of.

You're a disciple of the Western school of self-expressive individualism.

You're a product of the European Enlightenment,

a student of Western liberal thought.

You are a disciple.

No matter what you think, we're all disciples.

And I mean, even your supposedly unimposing, you know,

you-do-you approach to others,

don't you see that that too is a form of discipling others?

Think about it.

You-do-you, it's still a command.

It's a way of life that you're commending to others.

Come and follow me, you say, right?

Come follow me as I do me and you-do-you.

That's still discipleship.

That's still discipleship.

Because see, really, a disciple is simply a follower.

A follower, a learner, an adherent,

someone who follows a teacher or follows an influencer, if you like.

Someone who follows someone and their way of life.

I mean, just show me your Twitter feeds, right?

Show me your Instagram.

Show me your TikTok.

And tell me with a straight face that you are not a follower,

that you are not a disciple.

Following, you know, that fitness influencer,

that mommy influencer, that mental health influencer,

maybe your favorite journalist or podcaster.

And then maybe for those of you who are not millennials

and are not social media followers,

who do you follow in the New York Times

or in the Wall Street Journal?

Who's your favorite columnist?

Maybe you're a disciple of Nike or Anthropology or The Gap

or Lululemon or Ikea or Costco.

That's probably me, right?

And your lifestyle, your consumer habits

are way more determined for you than by you.

Honestly, none of us is as original as we like to think.

We all need to be real with that.

We all need to accept that.

And we all need to be more conscious

of who and what we're following and why.

Because you see, being a follower, being a disciple

isn't necessarily a bad thing.

We were made to be disciples, followers, learners, adherents.

That's how the Creator made His creatures.

God made us to be and to make disciples

in His image and not in our own image.

When He said, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,

He wanted us to multiply disciples.

He wanted us to multiply the image of God

across all the earth.

So another way we could put the question of

who is it that's discipling us is

whose image are we seeking to be formed

and conformed unto?

What image are we aspiring to live up to

and look like?

Is it the image of God?

Or is it the image of something else?

And if it's something else,

is it actually a better image?

A better image than the image

of the invisible God, Jesus Christ.

And maybe you're like,

heck yeah, it's better.

I don't want to be in the image of Jesus Christ,

the crucified Christ.

But what I would say to that is,

you know, you can avoid following a crucified Christ,

but you cannot avoid the eventual death,

judgment, and shame of His cross.

And no one you follow

can ultimately deliver you from that

but the crucified and risen Christ.

So you can avoid discipleship

under the crucified Christ,

but what other discipleship tracks

lead to resurrection life?

CrossFit and orange theory is discipleship.

And that discipleship might prolong your life,

but it cannot save your life.

Lifestyle, influencer, Instagram, discipleship

might beautify your life,

but it cannot save your life.

Positive psychology, therapeutic, mental health,

discipleship might comfort your life,

but it cannot save your life.

So again, none of us can escape it.

We are all disciples of something or someone.

We're all following some way of life.

And Jesus would remind us today

that He alone is the way.

He alone is the truth.

And He alone is the life,

the way to live and pattern our lifestyles

after the truth to trust,

the true image of God to conform our lives to.

And He's the very life Himself,

the conqueror of death,

and His tomb is empty.

So now with this second part of the sermon,

what I want to do is I want to pay closer attention

to our text here,

and here's the big idea.

Jonathan St. Clair style, right?

The risen Messiah leaves His faltering followers

with a commission and a comfort.

The risen Messiah leaves His faltering followers

with a commission and a comfort.

So let's start with the risen Messiah

and His faltering followers.

I should have chosen a better word.

So remember the context.

The context for this passage is that

the tomb is empty,

Christ is risen,

and He's told His disciples

to meet back up with Him in Galilee

where they had so many of their adventures, right?

All the memories in Galilee.

So verse 16 says,

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee,

to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

And then look what it says in verse 17,

and I love how Joan Benton accented this part.

When they saw Him,

they worshipped Him,

but some doubted.

Right, Joan?

But some doubted.

And that's an interesting response, right?

It's a very interesting response.

And the first thing I want to say about this

is that, you know,

just like the women being the first eyewitnesses

of the resurrection,

this is another example

from these historical gospel accounts

where if it didn't actually happen,

the writers would not have made this up.

Like, why would you record

how the very disciples Christ commanded

to found His very church,

why would you mention their doubt?

Why not just mention their worship?

The only reason would be

that this is simply what happened.

The scriptures, the scriptures, Christianity,

we keep it real, all right?

And you know,

the more conservative commentators

I read this week,

they tried to suggest

that the some who doubted

were actually not the eleven,

but maybe some people

in Jesus' wider entourage of disciples

perhaps still traumatized

from the emotional rollercoaster

of seeing, you know,

their Messiah arrested and beaten

and bruised and crucified and buried.

And you know, perhaps,

that is a plausible interpretation,

but I'm not quite sure

that I'm convinced of that interpretation,

if I'm honest with you.

See, to the conservative commentators,

they just think you cannot both worship and doubt.

They think that like,

worship and doubt,

or like faith and doubt,

are completely incompatible and at odds.

And I want to be careful here

because I think there's some truth to this.

Like, worship and unbelief,

or faith and unbelief,

are definitely incompatible.

And I think there's a kind of

progressive Christianity

that overly celebrates doubt

and skepticism to the detriment of the church.

But if you look at the Greek word here

for doubt,

it's not so much an active

or an aggressive rejection of Christ

or a staunch refusal to believe

against all evidence.

It could also be translated,

but some wavered,

but some hesitated.

I think that's what the scriptures talk about

when they talk about, you know,

the conviction of faith

versus the certainty of sight.

And so what I think is happening here

is that yes,

the disciples are worshiping,

but they're also wavering.

And that's real stuff, right?

And maybe this strikes you at first

as uninspiring or discouraging,

but can I just ask,

is this not also how most of us Christians

worship the risen Christ as well?

Are we not also wavering worshipers?

Some days believing the good news

more than other days,

often hesitant in the ways

that we follow and worship Christ.

And maybe this isn't ideal for worship,

but it surely is real, isn't it?

It is for me.

You know, by its very nature,

faith, even the conviction

and certainty of faith,

it isn't about arriving

at some kind of scientific,

empirical certainty

that would satisfy the likes of,

you know, Descartes

and modern Western philosophy.

No, our faith is not yet sight.

Our faith implies our hesitations

and our waverings

and the doubts that flood our minds.

This is part of the Christian experience,

having faith in the midst of our doubts,

trusting and hoping in what is unseen,

in what is yet to come.

You know, if you are a lifelong,

perpetual doubter,

God's word to you today

is that you're still invited.

You're still invited to come to Jesus,

just as his eleven were.

God's word to you is that

your doubt and your wavering

and your hesitation

need not be at odds with your worship,

nor do your doubts preclude you

from participating in God's good plans

for the world.

Again, the risen Messiah

leaves his faltering followers

with a commission and a comfort.

He commissions even those who doubt

to fulfill the most important mission

God's ever given to humanity.

And he says,

go and make disciples

even as your doubters.

And if that speaks to you this morning,

like, we are super glad that you're here.

And we believe that this is a church for you.

We'd love to get to know you more.

We hope you'll come to our

Ask Me Anything lunch

to bring your doubts.

We hope you'll bring your doubts

and find that you can still belong here

at Christ Church,

even with your doubts,

even with your hesitations.

So that's point number one.

Now, let's talk about the commission

to go and make disciples

of all the nations, right?

That's the commission,

to go and make disciples

of all the nations.

You know, basically,

this is Jesus' elaboration

on the creation mandate,

the cultural mandate.

Jesus' command here in verse 19

to go and make disciples

of the nations,

to go and make more followers

of him in all the world,

to spread his image

and likeness among the nations.

This is basically

a more specific

new covenant commandment

to be fruitful

and to multiply

and to fill the earth

in spite of the fallenness

and brokenness of creation.

He's saying,

go and represent me

to the world.

Bear witness about me

from Jerusalem

to Judea,

to Samaria,

to the ends of the earth

and multiply the message.

Multiply the witnesses.

The goal is still the same.

The glorious image of God

reflected across the face

of the earth.

Especially now,

through the incarnation

of Christ,

the image of God

has become clearer, right?

It is no longer

the image of the invisible God,

but the image

of the invisible God

made visible

in the crucified

and risen Christ,

like in the flesh.

This is Jesus' last command.

More disciples,

more image of God,

more image of me

in all the nations.

Jesus is making explicit

that his kingdom

is a cosmic kingdom.

It's a universal kingdom.

His authority is universal.

But also notice

that he doesn't say,

go and make soldiers.

Go and make armies

of all nations.

Go and make slaves

and servants.

No, Jesus isn't

that kind of a king.

He says,

go and make disciples

of all nations.

Like the kinds of people

he loved to spend time with

and teach

and eat with

and walk with every day.

The kinds of people

he called his own family.

Disciples whose filthy feet

he washed, right?

Disciples whom

he would forgive.

Disciples whom

he would die for.

That's what he's saying here.

You know,

I think a lot of people,

you know,

we get uncomfortable

around this idea

of the Great Commission

and evangelism

and missions

and proselytation, right?

Because of the history

of colonialism.

It's no good.

And I'll be the first

to say that

so much evil

has been done

in the name of Christ, right?

The Portuguese,

the British,

the French,

the Crusaders

wielding Christ's authority

with what?

Guns and swords.

But that was never

the way of Jesus.

That was never the way

Jesus or his apostles

made disciples.

Never through coercion,

never through force,

but always through love

and self-sacrifice

with joy

and compassion

and the spirit

of inclusion.

I mean,

notice how Jesus says

to make disciples

in verse 19.

And see,

I don't have time

to give a sermon

on baptism

or the Trinity today,

but what Jesus is saying

is that you go

and make disciples

not by forcing them

into the family,

but by winning them

into the family,

winning them back

into the eternal love,

joy,

and fellowship

of the triune God.

That's what making disciples

is about.

It's not about

racking up numbers

like a salesperson.

It's about inviting people

back into fellowship

and inclusion

with the maker

of their souls.

It's about inviting people

into the joy

that they're searching

for everywhere else,

but that they can only

experience

in the one true

triune God.

I love how

Pastor John Piper

puts it.

He says,

missions exist

because worship doesn't.

Missions exist

because worship doesn't.

You know,

last Sunday

at Easter Sunday,

didn't you enjoy

that worship?

Being in the presence

of God.

Didn't you enjoy that?

Don't you want that

for others?

Missions exist

because worship doesn't.

Some people don't get

to experience that

because they don't know

Jesus.

And see,

the impulse

of the Great Commission,

it isn't mere duty.

No,

it's passion

for the worship of God

and compassion

for those who are

worshiping other gods,

these other gods

that cannot save them,

that do not love them,

that will not die for them.

The impulse

of the Great Commission

is a desire

for the nations

to know the joy

of worshiping the Father,

the Son,

and the Spirit.

Just as the psalmists

cry out,

let the nations be glad,

that is the heartbeat

of missions.

Let the nations

be glad.

So he says

to go and make disciples,

right,

of all the nations

by baptizing them

into the fellowship

of the church

and into the fellowship

of the triune God,

right?

But what else

does he say?

He says,

You know,

as a pastor

and a preacher,

when I first started,

my simple goal

was for at least

one person to say,

hey, nice sermon,

or good job,

or hey,

I liked what you said today.

And I'd be like,

oh, sweet,

at least one person

listened and appreciated it.

Mission accomplished.

But you know,

like,

as I've continued

to develop

as a preacher,

as a pastor,

God's been doing

something in me

where honestly,

I'm starting to care less

whether or not

you like my preaching.

I'm realizing

that the measure

that I should use

as a preacher

shouldn't be

how many compliments

I get on a Sunday

or how many people

like listening to me.

Honestly,

you don't have to like me

as a preacher.

You don't have to like

what I say.

But the real question is,

are the people

that God's entrusted to me

am I just teaching them

or am I teaching them

to obey everything

that Jesus commanded?

Like,

it's dawned on me

that I could become

this famous preacher

to millions.

I probably couldn't,

but if I did

and receive like mailboxes

full of praise

for the way I preach

and invitations

to preach here

and there

all over the world,

if not a single

one of those listeners

actually became

a disciple

who actually obeyed

everything that Jesus

commanded them

with regard to their money,

with regard to their time

and their bodies

and their sex lives

and how they loved

their neighbors

and cared for the poor

and the parentless,

then I have failed

as a preacher.

Then I have failed

as a pastor

and as a disciple maker.

See,

when it comes to this

last command of Jesus

before he ascended

into heaven,

this call to make disciples,

teaching isn't enough.

It's not enough

to get this stuff

into your heads

without getting it

into your hearts

and through your hands.

Teaching is one thing,

but teaching to obey

is another.

And this is what we're after

here at Christ Church.

And can you imagine

a world full of disciples

of Jesus,

disciples who aren't just taught,

but who are taught

to obey?

Can you imagine

if that happened?

If people living

into their identity

as disciples

and followers of Jesus,

living after the image

and pattern

of Jesus Christ,

filled this earth,

can you imagine?

I mean,

history has borne witness

to this movement

and this reality, right?

For ever since

the resurrection,

whenever and wherever

disciples of Jesus

have lived

like their master

and conformed

to his image,

abundant life

has flowed,

sins forgiven,

wrecked relationships,

reconciled,

unity and diversity

equally upheld,

healings and hospitals,

the poor uplifted,

women seen as equals,

unwanted children

welcomed into families

and the marginalized

of society

have found belonging

when the people of God

pursue the image of God.

Don't you want to be

a part of that?

Don't you want to make

disciples of the nations

for the good

of the nations?

If you're looking

for a place to start,

you know,

we'd love to talk to you

about that,

set you up with

someone to disciple you

or maybe set someone else

up to be discipled

by you.

And we're always looking

for community group leaders

here at Christ Church.

They fill up so fast,

let's talk.

But maybe you're here today

and you think of your faith

as just something

you do on Sundays

or what you lean on

in hard times

and that's the extent

of your discipleship

under Jesus Christ.

Maybe you feel

like you don't have time

to sit at Jesus' feet

to listen to him

and to live in communion

with him daily

and you're especially

uninterested in like going

and making disciples,

right?

But again,

in those places

in your life

where you feel like

that's not under

the discipleship of Jesus,

please don't fool yourself.

You are a disciple

to something

and you are making disciples,

even if that just means

passively making disciples

of the Bay Area status quo.

Jesus' great commission

has to animate

every square inch

of our lives

in our homes,

in our schools,

in our workplaces,

in our leisure,

not just within

the walls of the church.

Like if relationship building

and investing in people,

drawing people

into deeper relationships

with Christ,

seeing them baptized

into closer communion

with the triune God,

if living for the joy

of others

and the fellowship

of others

and for the belonging

and inclusion

and all the benefits

of union with Christ

for others

is not what we're living for.

If seeing people

live the way

that Jesus commanded,

if seeing a whole world

of people,

the nations,

living the way

Jesus did,

if this isn't

what we're living for,

if disciples

are not what we're

aiming to make,

then what are we

living for?

What are we doing?

And is it really better?

Is it the hope

of the world?

Now maybe for you

this morning,

you've heard this commission,

you've heard this command

from Jesus

to make disciples,

but you're afraid

of failure

and I get that.

And you're afraid

maybe of what it might

cost you,

because it is costly.

You're afraid of

sharing the gospel

with your family,

your friend,

your coworkers,

your neighbors,

because you're afraid

of the questions

or of seeming foolish

or naive

or judgmental.

Or maybe you're afraid

to let go of this

or that truly good

commitment in your life

in order to make

more room to invest

in making disciples

of the nations.

Well, could I just close

by reminding you

that this risen Messiah

left us not only

with a commission,

but also with a comfort?

To those of us

who are afraid

to be disciple-making

disciples of Jesus,

thinking like,

what if we fail?

And what authority

do I have

to call people

to follow me

as I follow Christ?

Could I just remind you

today that Jesus says,

all authority

in heaven

and on earth

have been given

to him.

It's been given

to me, he says,

therefore go

and make disciples

of the nations.

And this is the gospel.

It's not about

your authority.

It's not about

your power,

but it's about his.

It's all his.

All the authority

is his in heaven

and on earth.

Your job is simply

to point to his authority,

his gentle authority,

the authority

that he won,

not by bowing down

to the tempter

in the wilderness,

but by bowing down

to his Father

and rising again

by the Spirit.

We need not go out

into the world

to make disciples

of the nations

in our own authority,

but we go

with Christ's authority.

And success is sure,

fully empowered

by his Spirit

to be fruitful

and to multiply

and to fill the earth

with his power,

with his presence,

ruling and reigning

with him

as royal priesthood

he calls us.

And man,

that's power.

That's real power.

All right?

Authority over

every sickness,

every sadness,

every oppression,

authority to break

every chain of injustice.

It all belongs to him.

And he's called us

to go in his name

just like his disciples.

And not only does he

comfort us with his authority,

but also with his presence.

Verse 20,

this is my favorite part

of the Great Commission.

And surely,

I am with you

always.

We need not go about

making disciples

on our own.

We can't.

But God with us can.

And he invites us

to participate

in his work

in the world.

It's like bring your children

to work day

only like it's

actually productive

and life-giving

and affirming

for your vocation.

He wants us to come

alongside of him

as his apprentices,

as his disciples.

He says,

surely I am with you

always,

to the very end,

or in the Greek,

to the very fullness,

to the very completion,

to the very perfection

of this age.

Like all the way

to the happy ending,

he says.

All the way

to the happy ending.

His presence is with us

all the way

to the perfect,

beautiful,

glorious,

satisfying ending

of the story

that all of our hearts

long for.

So how could we fail

if he's with us?

And what shall we fear?

Imagine how differently

we might live

if we all believed

in the authority

of Jesus

and in the presence

of Jesus

to go and make

disciples of the nations.

What liberation

and hope

and joy

might be ours

if we realized

that the success

of the church

in her mission

and the consummation

of God's very kingdom purposes

have less to do

with his faltering followers

and everything to do

with the authority

and the presence

of Jesus Christ

with us

all the way

to the happy ending.

See,

this gospel account

of Matthew

started with Emmanuel,

right?

God with us

and in the same way

it ends

with God with us

always.

Perhaps the most

foundational,

profound truth

of the gospel

that God

would be with us

forever.

Like,

no matter the cost,

God with us.

It's incredible.

You know,

this week,

one of our staff members,

Maria Francis,

she's our assistant director

of ministry,

she was sharing about

how she was gonna have dinner

with an old friend.

Her and Pastor Mike,

her husband,

are from Florida.

So this friend from Florida

was in the bay

and she was gonna have dinner

with them,

but the thing was,

this friend

hadn't seen Mike

since before his accident

and his traumatic brain injury

and his,

you know,

devastating memory loss.

And so Maria was

kind of fretting about,

like,

oh,

how's this dinner gonna go?

How's this friend

gonna experience

this guy

who was her former pastor

that she looked up to

but who was a new Mike,

no longer the person

that he once was.

So as a staff,

we prayed for Maria

about that dinner

and I wanna tell you

what happened.

So Maria said

they had a great time.

They had dumplings

and ice cream.

Sounded wonderful.

And then as they were leaving

to say goodbye,

good old Pastor Mike,

who probably couldn't remember

this girl's name,

right?

He did remember something,

though.

Something at the core

of who he is

and something he wanted

this girl to remember

as they were saying goodbye.

And what he said to her

was this.

He said,

remember who you belong to,

the God who promised

never to leave you

nor forsake you.

And these words

from her former pastor,

like,

made this girl

burst into tears.

And when I heard this,

I was like,

man,

thank you, God.

And man,

Pastor Mike still got it.

Still making disciples,

still fulfilling

the great commission.

And if Pastor Mike

can't remember

anything else

but that surely

the I am

is with him

always

and with us

always,

even to the end

of the age.

If the truth

of God with us

can be so

indelibly

etched

into his heart

and his very being

that even after

he's lost

so much else,

he can still be

leading people

into deeper

relationships

with Christ.

like,

what reason

do we have

not to join

Pastor Mike

in this

great news

commission

to make disciples

of the nations

as the commandment

of God

for his people?

That's the church

he wants us to be.

Let's pray.

Surely you are

with us

always

even to the end

of the age.

What good news

is that,

Lord?

What amazing

good news.

We who have

no business

being in your presence

you've drawn

near to us

in Christ.

You made your dwelling

amongst us

you died

for our sins

you buried them

you've risen

to new life

and you raise us

up with you

you seat us

on your lap

in the heavenly

places

with the angels

and archangels

next to the

Father on high

so how can we

not obey you?

How can we not

want this

for other people?

Oh Lord,

would the heartbeat

of this church

of Christ Church

East Bay

would it be

let the nations

be glad

let the nations

be glad

in you

let the nations

be glad

in their maker

and in their

redeemer

let the nations

be glad

in Christ

the only kind

of God

who loves us

so much

that he would

die for us

so make this

the heartbeat

of our church

Lord God

and start with me

let the nations

be glad

and would you

make disciples

of the nations

through this

body of faith

we pray

starting with

this city

and beyond

in the name

of Jesus

Amen

the nossa