The Great Commission To Your Community

Opening:

Good morning again. I am so happy that you have come to worship Jesus together this morning. Often, if we aren’t careful we can think of worship as just being the time of singing. And that is definitely worship. That is a wonderful and true form of worship. But all that we are doing this morning is worship. We are about to open God’s Word and hear from His Word. This is also a wonderful and true form of worship. When we open the Scriptures we are hearing the direct Word of God. I think this is incredible. Jesus when talking with the Sadducees in Matthew 22, said, “Have you not read what was spoken to you by God?” Jesus’ view of Scripture was that when it was read it was the exact same as if God ripped the roof off the building and spoke to us from the heavens. This is incredible to me.

So we are about to go to the Word and we are about to hear from God. This is why I love what one pastor says. He says, “Do you want to hear God speak? Read the Bible. Do you want to hear Him speak audibly? Read the Bible out loud.” So let’s take a moment and pray and ask God to prepare our hearts to hear directly from Him.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father. We thank you for your Word. Open our hearts to hear from you. Lord, encourage us, convict us, and teach us through your Word. We long to hear from you. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Introduction of the Text/Introduction of who I am:

This morning we will read Matthew 28:16-20. But we will be focusing in on verses 18-20. If you have a Bible I would ask you to turn there with me. While you turn there, a little info about me. I am Jonathan Hansen. I am currently at Connection in Spearfish and am the planter of the Connection Church in Lead. I am married to Katharine, and we have two kids who are here with us today, Caspian and Arthur.

My goal this morning is to encourage you as a member of a sister church. I am coming here this morning not just to fill the pulpit for Pastor Matt, but I want to encourage you in the Lord and give you a drive for reaching your community. I love Pastor Matt and I love the mission God has given you here in this community. So I am here to hopefully give a charge that is to all believers everywhere, but specifically is to you here in Sturgis.

This passage we are about to dive into is the Great Commission. It is the commission given to all Christians of all ages. And that means it intimately applies to us here this morning as well. This is the Mission (capitol M) of the church. This is what our Lord has given us to do. This is our sacred charge. So this morning let’s read this holy mission God has set us on.

Reading of the Text:

Please stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Thus saith the Lord, Matthew 28:16-20 “16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Behold, the Word of God. Let’s Pray.

Prayer:

Lord, we ask you to apply these words to our heart. We submit to what you have said. In Jesus name, Amen.

The Setting:

A little bit of background on this text. Matthew is the author of this gospel account. And he wrote it primarily to a Jewish audience. This is important because the Apostle Matthew is writing with a specific purpose. He isn’t just writing to write. He wrote this account to show first century Jews that Jesus is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophesies. In the Old Testament, there were thousands of prophesies about who the Messiah would be. But one of the most prominent ones was that Jesus would be the descendant of King David and would be the rightful King.

Matthew expands on this in the entire gospel, highlighting that Jesus met this fully and completely. He also shows how Jesus is not just the rightful king of Israel, but he demonstrates that Jesus is God, the King of all creation. Jesus, as God, is King of kings and Lord of lords. That is Matthew’s central point. And this passage is the culmination of it all. Again and again in the book of Matthew we see Jesus demonstrate His authority and Kingship. He proves He is King over nature by calming the sea and creating food for the masses. He proves He is King over the Spiritual world by casting out demons. He proves He is King over sin by forgiving the sins of people. He proves He is King over the physical world by healing the sick and raising the dead. And lastly He proves He is King even over death by dying and rising from the Dead.

And this is what has just happened. Jesus has just died and risen from the dead. Matthew omits the 35 or so days in between the resurrection and the ascension. He gives the account of the resurrection and then skips right to this account. Matthew is making a point. Jesus has a lot of authority. But Jesus does not just have a lot of authority. He is not just Lord over the physical or spiritual realms. No. Jesus is here making His final statement to the disciples and is making the divine claim to be THE King.

Opening Illustration: King Charles Coronation.

We live in an interesting time. I was unable to watch, but I’m curious, did any of you watch the coronation of King Charles this week? England’s long lived and well loved Queen has passed and her rule has passed to her son. He was just coronated as King this week. He stood before God and the entire world and took the oath of Kingship.

This event is filled with symbolism and pageantry. King Charles was seated in the coronation chair. He was taken to Westminster Abbey. He was presided over by many. Every element is filled with beauty and pomp and spectacle. And then the oath was taken. He is coronated as King of England. And then the pinnacle of a King’s coronation is when the crown is placed on his head. And one thinks of the quote from William Shakespeare's Henry the IVth, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” And we think of this because it is the moment of great beauty but also it is the moment of great responsibility. The King has been crowned. He is now the sovereign of a nation.

And we only have a taste of this. We here in America have a hatred of kingship. We loath the idea of a king. One thinks of one of the chief banners in the revolutionary war, “we serve no sovereign here.” But even if we could pull far back in our cultural memories. Even if we could remember what kingship was like, we know that modern kings are nothing like kings of old. King Charles has some authority, but not like the ancient kings. He holds mainly a symbolic authority. England is ruled by Parliament. But in the ancient world, when a king was crowned, it meant his word was law. He was the ruler. He was the king. It was like King Arthur pulling the Sword from the stone. As that sword slipped from the stone, he was granted the right to ultimate rule over all the Britans. He became the highest authority in all England. No one’s word was higher.

And this is really what is happening here in this passage. Jesus says that All authority have been given to Him. God the Father has crowned Him as THE Sovereign. The Sword has been pulled from the stone and the King is crowned. And we see this in the very words, “All authority.”

All Authority.

This is an all encompassing statement. It is a complete statement. Jesus says He has “ALL” authority. And both of these words are vital. Jesus uses the word all. Do you know what that word means in the Greek? It means all. It is a complete word. It means every bit, everything, the whole. It means that whatever word follows the “all” is exhausted. If Jesus were to say “I have all wealth” it would mean that not one single cent is owned by anyone else. And that is why the word authority is so important.

Jesus has all authority, every authority, every kind of authority, the whole authority. And that word authority is an inherently political word. Now I don’t just mean political how we use that word. Though it encompasses that. What I mean by political is rule. Any form of rule or power. Jesus is saying He has all power. He has complete rule.

So when we put this together, what Jesus is saying is that He is the sole executive of the entirety of creation. Jesus is saying that He is the ruler. In short, Jesus is King. But Jesus specifies the domain over which His kingship extends. He says He has all authority in heaven and on earth.

In Heaven.

I think we grasp the idea of Jesus having all authority in heaven. This fits with how we tend to think of things. We tend to understand that Jesus rules over all of heaven. It makes sense that Jesus is the King of angels. It is everything we think it is but it’s more than we tend to think. That word used for heaven really has two meanings. Yes it is used for spiritual reality. So Christ is King over heaven and hell. He is the Lord of all the spiritual realm. He has all authority over all spiritual reality. The other meaning would be closer to how we use the word the “heavens.” It means the sky, the cosmos. Jesus is King over the Universe.

Some may say it means one or the other. However, I think really it means both. The reason I think it means both is because it is true of Christ that He is King over the spiritual realm and the cosmos. We know this is true. This is proved by Paul in Colossians. Colossians 1:15-17 “15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (or pre-eminent one) of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Obviously Jesus is the ruler of all. The universe, all of creation holds together by the power of Christ.

On Earth.

The real question here is why does Jesus narrow it down by saying “in heaven and on Earth”? Why would Jesus add the statement “on earth?” If He is King, creator, and sustainer of the entire universe, why would He have to say He is King over earth?

Well, Jesus is personalizing it. He is making it touch soil. As humans, our tendency is to make God ethereal. We are often practical theists. What do I mean? Theism teaches that God created everything and then stepped back and let all things continue on their own. It teaches in essence that God is not practically involved in His creation. He made it and then sort of stepped away. Obviously the Scriptures deny this outright. So we of course deny this. But we often live as theists. We often, if we aren’t careful, will think of God and therefore Christ, as being uninvolved in the minutiae of the day to day here on earth. Yes, God rules over the heavens and yes even the universe, but he doesn’t practically rule here right?

Jesus is bringing His rule right down into our doorstep. He says He has all authority here on earth. And Jesus is making direct reference to a prophesy in Daniel. Jesus often called Himself the Son of Man. You ever wonder where that came from? In part it comes from Daniel 7:13-14. Listen to this. “13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” Jesus is saying here that He is this Son of Man. Jesus is here saying He is the fulfilment of this. He has been given all authority by God the Father, the Ancient of Days. This is the fulfilment of this. And look at the language here. Jesus says that His dominion is over peoples, nations, and languages.

The language here is very important. This is what it means that Jesus has all authority on earth. He has all authority over peoples. The word there is “Am” (aam) It means a body of citizens. It is people of any religious or political entity. Jesus is King over the people of all nations and tribes.

But there is more. Jesus is King over the nations. The word there is “Um-ma.” It means the organized political body. This means Jesus is King over all the rulers of those peoples. So Jesus is King over the population and the rulers of all nations.

But there is even more. Jesus is King over languages. The word there is “Lis-san.” (Lishan) It means people groups divided by their language or tongue.

What is being said here in Daniel, and what Jesus is referencing, is that Jesus is King over every aspect of every person, group, and nation here on earth. Let’s make this very practical. I referenced England and King Charles earlier. What Jesus is saying is that He has all authority over the people of England, King Charles, Parliament, and everyone who speaks English. Jesus has all authority over the people of Canada; Justin Trudeau; all the governors, senators, congressmen there; and all who speak English and French. Jesus has all authority over the people of China, Xi Jinping, and everyone who speaks Chinese. Jesus has all authority over the people of the United States, Joe Biden, and all who speak American English. You see how this works?

Let’s personalize it even more. Jesus has all authority over the people of Sturgis SD, Mark C. Carstensen (your mayor), and all who speak in Sturgis. You see the extensive language used here? So let me ask you this. How much authority does Jesus have? (all) How much? (all) Is there any authority that Jesus does not have? (no.)

So here is a very very obvious question. Since Jesus has ALL authority, should we listen and obey what Jesus tells us to do? (Yes.) Good, I’m glad we’re on the same page. And good news! in the very next verse, Jesus gives us a command. And that is what the word therefore is there for.

Therefore.

The word therefore is a connection word. So everything after this word is in light of the fact that Jesus has all authority. So what does Jesus tell us to do? He says “Go make disciples of all nations.” Literally the wording here in the original is “disciple all nations.” The King James translates this with great clarity saying “Teach the nations.” We are to disciple the nations.

Disciple the Nations.

In light of the established and proven fact that Jesus is ruler of all with all authority, the church is to disciple the nations. So how do we do that? How does one disciple a nation? I don’t know about you but I don’t exactly have a large enough influence to affect an entire nation. I can’t exactly show up in Switzerland and say, “Hello all of Switzerland. Repent and believe in Jesus because He is God.” So how do we do that? Well, we look at what the Apostles did. They shared the good news of Jesus everywhere they went. They made disciples one person, one family, one community at a time. And you know what happened? After several hundred years of God working in the hearts of person after person, more and more people had believed. And after discipling family by family for hundreds of years, God moved beyond belief in Rome.

So how does one disciple a nation? One family at a time. You share the gospel one person, one family at a time faithfully. You declare the Lordship of Christ to all people and leave the result to God. Right where God has you, make a disciple. Right where God has you, share the gospel.

And this is clearly shown in Jesus’ next command. We don’t just disciple the nations. We are to baptize the nations.

Baptize the Nations.

Now, how do we baptize a nation? If we were to do it as a whole, that would take a lot of water. And God promised never to flood the earth again, so I think we probably won’t do it all at once. But, if we are discipling a nation one person, one family at a time, all of sudden this command is really easy to understand. One by one, baptize the nations. One by one, baptize your community.

Baptism is the outward sign of identification with Jesus in His death and resurrection. In plain language, baptism is publicly declaring that Jesus is Lord of all, including your life. This means you are declaring by your action that Jesus gets to tell you what to do. So we make disciples and baptize them. We baptize them in the name of the Triune God. we baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. All co-equal. All distinct. All one.

So we disciple and baptize all nations. But that is not all. We teach the nations to obey Christ.

Teach the Nations to Obey Christ.

So how does one teach a nation to obey Christ? Well, we know the church is to declare the truth of God to all people. This means we do not discriminate. We are to proclaim what God requires of all men. This means when a father, Christian or not, comes in, he should hear what God requires of fathers. When a business owner, Christian or not, comes in, he should hear what God requires of business owners. Same goes for mayors, mothers, children, presidents, and anyone else. We declare to all, regardless of social standing, this is what God commands of you. We call them to repentance, baptism, and obedience. So the truth of obedience is openly proclaimed to all people everywhere.

But this command is something more. There is an order to Jesus’ command. We start by making the disciple. This means we start by sharing the gospel with people. Then, when people are saved, we baptize them. Then we teach them how to live the Christian life. So how do we teach a nation? The same way we disciple them and baptize them. One person, one family at a time. We teach Christian fathers how to obey Jesus in fatherhood. We teach Christian mothers how to obey Jesus in motherhood. We teach a Christian business owner how to obey Jesus as a business owner. We teach a Christian employee how to obey Jesus as an employee. We teach everyone in every walk of life how to obey Jesus in their walk of life. From the lowest peasant to the highest earthly king. From the president to the local dog catcher, when making a disciple, we teach them how to obey Jesus.

So what does this practically look like? Let me summarize it this way. Jesus is King, therefore, declare His kingship to all people everywhere. When they submit to His Lordship, baptize them and teach them what Jesus has commanded them to do. And this seems like a monumental task. If you are paying attention, you should likely be feeling something like this; “How on earth do we accomplish this? How do we see nations discipled, baptized, and taught to obey Christ?” Obviously this task is so far beyond us. We cannot do this. At least, we cannot do this alone. And this is where we see some of the most comforting words in all of Scripture. Christ closes this passage by making us a promise. Christ will be with us always.

Christ is With Us Always.

This is one of the most encouraging passages in all of Scripture. We know that trying to obey the great commission is hard. Sharing the gospel and proclaiming the truth of God can be very discouraging. In our day and age, you face much opposition when you proclaim to truth of the gospel. You can lose your job, your friends, your social standing. And often it can weigh you down. It can discourage you. How many of you have looked at the state of our culture and just felt broken? You want people to confess the Lordship of Christ. You long to see people come to faith in Christ. You long to see sweeping revival and reformation in our land. And yet, it doesn’t seem to come.

Day by day, even hour by hour, our culture is spinning faster and faster down the toilette. And it just hurts, doesn’t it? I know when I look out at the nation we have been called to disciple, I am saddened. I love my home. I love where God has put us. I desire to see revival and reformation sweet across our world, but specifically our land. It pains me to see the state of open sin and paganism in our land. Seriously, it hurts. I pray for the peace of our nation as Scripture commands. I pray for godly leaders in our nation as Scripture commands. I pray for the salvation of souls in our land as Scripture requires. But this task seems too big. The task Christ set before us seems so impossible to me.

And that’s a fair assessment. Who could accomplish this on our own? Who could do this? Let me just read it again. Matthew 28:19-20 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”” Can you do this? Can I do this? No. None of us can do this. You can’t go disciple a nation. You could find the smallest and friendliest nation on earth and on your own you couldn’t see it discipled. Let’s be really honest. You couldn’t make one disciple on your own. We know it is the Spirit of God that changes the heart of man. On our own we could not even make a single disciple.

But here is the good news. Here is the hope. Jesus did not end those verses like that. He said “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We are not alone. Jesus said He would be with us. And indeed, in His divine nature He is here right now with us. His physical body is right now seated on the throne of the universe in Heaven at the right hand of the Father. It is a real body, in a real place, on a real throne. But in His divine nature, He is here! Right now, Jesus is here with us. So let me re-frame all of this. I am discouraged by our culture, but the Lord is with us. I am discouraged by the state of our homeland, but the Lord is with us. I am broken by the wickedness of our age, but the Lord is with us. We on our own cannot disciple a nation, but behold I have good news. The Lord is with us. We on our own cannot even disciple one person, but behold I have good news. The Lord is with us.

Many Christians have fallen flat on their face because they have attempted to accomplish this commission under their own power. There is no hope there! Christians, hear me. There is no hope in your own strength and power! There is only hope in Christ! There is only hope in Christ and Christ is with us! Our Lord is here with us. We are not alone and now the mission seems so much more doable. Because we are not responsible for the results. We are responsible for our faithfulness. We are not responsible for the harvest, we are to be faithful workers in the field.

Application:

So how do we practically see this played out here? The last thing I want to do is just give you some ethereal knowledge of hypothetically what God wants the church to be doing without giving you the practical take away. I want you to leave knowing, this is what we are to do, and here is how we can do it. First and foremost, submit to the Lordship of Jesus.

Submit to the Lordship of Jesus.

Are you here and living out your own will and desire? Are you here and refusing to bow the knee to Christ? Let me make this very real. Jesus is King over all. This means He is King over your life. He has the right to tell you what to do and what not to do. Do you listen to Him? Do you even care what He says?

Fathers, are you being the father Jesus commands you to be? Do you even know what kind of father He commands you to be? He tells us in Scripture, but do you listen and obey?

Mothers, are you being the mothers Jesus commands you to be? Do you submit to Jesus as Lord over motherhood?

Husbands and wives, do you submit your marriage to Jesus? Are you occupying the roles God has commanded you to? Or are you bucking against Jesus’ commands?

In your jobs, are you obeying Jesus? Are you working as unto the Lord? Are you treating your employees and employers how Jesus commands?

Are you obeying Him personally in regard to sin? Are there sins in your life that you keep going back to again and again? Jesus is Lord over your actions. Kill that sin!

And hear me please. I am not saying this as someone immune to this. I am preaching this to myself too. I am not the father I ought to be. I am not the husband I ought to be. I struggle with sin. I struggle with submitting to Christ. But I proclaim that Jesus is Lord of my life. He get’s to tell me what to do. And when I violate this, I repent. I come to Him and say “Lord, I sinned. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Enable to obey you. I want to obey you.”

But maybe you are here and you have never submitted to Jesus as Lord. Maybe you are here and you say, “Jesus isn’t my King.” I have news for you. Jesus is King weather you want Him to be or not. You can either submit to Him or rebel. But I warn you, do not rebel. Jesus is a good and gracious King. If you are here and are in rebellion against Jesus, He will forgive you. Today, if you come to Him and say, “Lord, I have spent my life rebelling against you. I am a sinner. I repent, I turn away from trusting in myself. I trust in you. Forgive me and save me, Lord.” He will do just that.

But this is vital. First and foremost, we must submit to Jesus as Lord. You must commit, as a church, we will submit to Jesus in everything. That is step one. Step two, disciple Sturgis one person, one family at a time.

Disciple Sturgis one person, one family at a time.

Connection church, God has put you right here for a reason. You cannot disciple this whole nation. But God has placed you right where you are for a reason. You are here to disciple this community. Do that by sharing the good news of Jesus. This community needs hope. I know this. This is a dark community that needs the love and grace of God. Do not hold that in to yourselves. Do not be God’s frozen chosen. Get out there in the community. Share the hope of God with this community. Declare the gospel with every person, every family. Go and make disciples! Jesus is King and this is His command. And when you share the gospel and you see people repent of their sins, baptize them and teach them to obey Jesus! Baptize them and teach obedience to Christ to all of Sturgis.

baptize them and teach obedience to Christ to all of Sturgis.

This is the mission. Share the gospel. Love them enough to share the gospel. And when they believe, baptize them. Then do life together. Get into the much and mire of life. Live with them. Teach them how to be good fathers, mothers, children, husbands, wives, all of it. Teach every one of them how to obey Jesus. And I have good news. God has given you a pastor with a heart to reach this community.

God has given you a pastor with a heart to reach this community.

I can say this. Matt and Missy have a heart to reach this community. They love this town and they love you. You know, there are certain things pastors can’t say in their own church. But guess what, I’m not your pastor, so I can say them. Matt can’t stand here and talk himself up. But I can stand here and tell you how blessed you are. You are blessed to actually have a pastor who wants to get out there and share the gospel. You know how rare that is? That is incredibly rare. But you have one. You, beloved are blessed.

Do you know how hard ministry is? Do you know how hard it is to pastor a church? I have worked many many incredibly hard jobs. But I have never in my life worked a job that even scratched the surface of the spiritual, emotional, and physical difficulty that comes with pastoring a church. Love on you pastor and his family. Surround them. Uplift them. Support them. You are blessed to have a pastor who loves Jesus more than anything and has a burning passion to share the gospel. Follow him. Follow his lead. God puts pastors in churches to guard, govern, and guide the flock. Love this.

And do not be divided. Be unified in this mission as a church.

Be unified in this mission as a church.

Do not be divided! You know how hard this is in our day and age. Every one of us has opinions. We all have our own way we want things done. And we bicker and fight over it. We argue and divide. Beloved, do not do this! God has placed you here in this community. Unite around the gospel and go make disciples. Share the hope of Jesus! Swallow your pride and resolve never to divide the church of God.

This summer, I know you will be out there. I know you will be in this community loving on people. I commend you for this. And I beg you to stay united in this. Can I be completely honest with you? In modern day church life, we tend to make this all about us. We do that don’t we? I didn’t like the preaching. I didn’t like the music. I didn’t like how we had this or that event. We do that, don’t we? I do it too! But we must recognize one central truth. Jesus is King, not you! Jesus is King, not me! This is about Jesus. This isn’t about me.

I love you. Please hear me, I love you. You are my brothers and sisters in Christ and I love you. I pray for you. I do. I spent all week praying for you. I long to see what God will do in 50 years through this church. But brothers and sisters, please stay united. Our enemy would love nothing more than to divide you and make you noneffective for the Kingdom of God. Do not let that happen. Resolve, right here and now, I will care more about Christ than my own opinion. Go out there into this community this year and pour out your lives to see Jesus disciple Sturgis using this church. And please, I end this way, Do not be discouraged. Jesus is with you in this mission.

Do not be discouraged, Jesus is with you in this mission.

Please, let the closing words of our Lord and King encourage you. You are not alone. Behold Jesus is with us always, even to the end of time.

In summary: Worship Christ as Lord of all. Obey Christ as Lord of all. Tell others of the only hope in Christ, the Lord of all.

Let’s pray.

Prayer: