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Amen. Well, as I said, we're in a summer discipleship series called Disciple. Um, last week we looked at three marks of what it means to be a disciple. Uh, the disciples heard the word, the disciples trusted the word, and the disciples obeyed the word and went to Galilee as Jesus had commissioned them to. And so today we're gonna continue the story and finally get into the great commission. I'm really excited to share with you guys. So, with your Bibles open, look down at Matthew chapter 28, starting in verse 16. It says, Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. We looked at last week how after the resurrection of Jesus, it was actually the women disciples who were the first ones at the tomb. And as the disciples, uh the lady disciples were leaving the tomb, they had an encounter with Jesus. They saw Jesus, and Jesus said, Tell the other disciples, the men who apparently didn't get the memo that you should be at the tomb on the third day, tell them to go to the mountain in Galilee, and there they will see me. And so the disciples heard the word, they trusted, they obeyed, they went to Galilee, and as a result, we see now in verse 17 it says, And when they saw him, as the disciples went to Galilee, as they have been told, they ended up seeing Jesus. And friends, I want to tell you that this is the goal of discipleship. The goal of discipleship is simply this: that you would see Jesus. As they walked in obedience, as they heard the word, responded, trusted, and went to Galilee, they ended up seeing Jesus. And that is the whole climax of what it means to be a disciple. That is the goal, the aim, the trajectory that in everything you do that you would see Jesus. If you read the Bible and have brilliant insights, but you don't see Jesus, you've missed the point. If you go to church every Sunday morning but you leave and you haven't seen Jesus, you've missed the point. If you put into practice all of the spiritual disciplines, but you don't see Jesus, you've missed the point. Everything in our discipleship, the trajectory is that we, like the disciples here, would see Jesus. That is the purpose of your life, that is the purpose for which God created you, that you would see him and that you would know him. In Acts chapter 4, verse 13, we see this beautiful story, and it tells us there that the what now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and they perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. See, something shifts and something changes when you've been with Jesus. Something shifts and something changes when you've seen Jesus that the world cannot deny. That the people are here having a debate with the disciples, and they said, Whoa, they're uneducated. They're not formally trained, they're uneducated, they're common men, but they were astonished because they knew that these men had been with Jesus. They knew that they had seen Jesus, and that is something that the world cannot deny. They could debate and deny theology all they want, you could discuss apologetics all you want, but if you've seen Jesus and been with Jesus, the world cannot ignore that. The church and the world does not need more Christians sitting in the pews on Sunday morning necessarily. It does not need more Bible studies necessarily, it does not need more and different politicians. We do not need cheaper interest rates, although that would be nice. What the world desperately needs is people who have seen Jesus. Because when you've seen Jesus and when you've encountered Jesus and when you've been with Jesus, and then you get in the room with other people, something begins to shift in their heart, something begins to shift in their life. And so my question for you this morning is very simple. Have you seen Jesus? Like I really want you to think about that. When is the last time in your life? Not the last time you went to church, not the last time you prayed, not the last time you opened the Bible, when's the last time you had an encounter with Jesus and you saw Jesus? And Jesus was ministering to you and you were ministering to him. That is the goal of discipleship. The pursuit of the person of Jesus. That is the aim and the goal of everything we do. So my prayer for you this morning is that you would open your heart to see Jesus. If you haven't seen him, he's not trying to hide, he's not playing hide and go seek. He wants you to see him, he wants you to know him, but you have to open your heart and you have to respond and walk in obedience to the word. That's what the disciples did. He said, Go to Galilee. They went to Galilee and that's where they saw him. So may we be a people, not just who goes through the motions and goes to church and goes to the Bible says, may we be a people who sees Jesus so that people may see Jesus in and through us. Amen. Now the question is, well, what's the evidence? What is the evidence that a person has seen Jesus? How can someone know you've seen Jesus? How can somebody know that I've seen Jesus? And the good news is we don't have to make that up and guess because the text tells us in verse 17, right after. Look what it says. And when they saw him, they worshiped him. Well, what is the evidence that you have seen Jesus? What is the evidence that I have seen Jesus? That we will worship him. That is the evidence. A true encounter in the presence of God will always lead to a life of worship. And by worship, I don't only mean singing songs on Sunday morning, that your whole life is worship. God, thank you. I praise you. I give you the glory. I give you the honor for everything in my life. It's a gift of your grace. A life of worship is a result of seeing Jesus. And so worship is not dependent on, well, well, how good is the music? Our worship is not dependent on, well, how good is my voice or how do I feel? Our worship is not dependent on, well, how many people are in the room? Worship is dependent on one thing. True worship comes out of one thing. You have seen Jesus. Because if you have seen Jesus, if you have been in the room with Jesus, if you have had an encounter with Jesus, the natural result is you will worship Jesus. You want to know why so often worship feels dead in so many churches on Sunday morning? Not this church, but in so many churches worship feels so dead, it's because the people in that church haven't seen Jesus all week long. They think that I have to wait till Sunday to see Jesus, that church and Sunday, that's the place where I see Jesus. And you get in the room on Sunday, and yes, I hope you see Jesus today. I hope Jesus meets you here today. But I want you to know that you don't have to wait till next Sunday to have an encounter with Jesus again. You don't have to wait till next Sunday to see Jesus again. Jesus wants to be a part of your life every moment of every day. Jesus doesn't live inside the walls of the church. His spirit fills each and every believer. And so you can see Jesus on Monday. You can worship Jesus on Tuesday. You can have Jesus be a part of what you're doing every moment of every day. And so the church needs to empower and equip people to realize that it's not, hey, let's get everyone here on Sunday so we can see Jesus. That might be a small sliver, but Jesus wants to be a part of everything you do in every moment of your life. So the the result of seeing Jesus, the way you will know you have seen Jesus, been changed by Jesus, and been touched by Jesus, is that you will have a life of worship, not just on Sundays in church, but your whole life. God, that you are, that I'm giving you the praise and worship and adoration you are due because I've seen you and I've been changed by you. But unfortunately and interestingly, that the text doesn't stop there. It says, when they saw him, they worshiped him. But look at the end of verse 17, it says, But some doubted. Matthew here records something that may come as an initial shock to the readers. After seeing the resurrected Christ and worshiping him, it says, some doubted. Now the question is, how could somebody doubt after seeing the resurrected Christ? And to understand why some doubted when they saw him, you have to go back to the last time that they saw him. Because the last time that they saw him, they saw him on the cross. And he had been so badly beaten and marred that he would have almost been unrecognizable as a human. They saw the crown of thorns that they placed on his head. They saw him after he had been flogged and whipped with the cat of nine-tails. They saw his beaten face. They saw the nails pushed in through his wrist and through his legs. They saw his lifeless corpse hanging on a tree. That was the last time that they saw him. So now, just a few days later, Jesus shows up in Galilee and it says they saw him. They saw him now in his resurrected state. They saw him now in a perfectly healed body. And that is why it says, and some doubted. Because if you're honest, and if I'm honest, if you saw what Jesus went through on the cross, if I saw what Jesus went through on the cross and then saw him buried in the tomb, and then he shows up three days later, I'd probably have some doubts a little bit. I'd be like, I saw you, and and and what now you're here? And yes, he foretold them of the resurrection, but this still, again, you got to understand, this would have been absolutely shocking because nothing like this had ever happened in human history. Not only that someone died, but died in the way that Christ did and then comes back three days later. So, yes, some doubted, just like we do. And and the good news of this is that doubt is not a disqualification for discipleship. If you struggle with doubt in your relationship with Jesus, that doesn't mean that you're not a true disciple. Doubt, I believe, is a normal part of the human experience. How many times have you seen Jesus? How many times has Jesus provided for you and answered your prayers and showed up in a moment of desperation? And yet at times we still struggle with doubting his promises. We still struggle with doubting his presence. We still doubt, we struggle, still struggle with doubting his plans. So again, if if you're in the room today and you're like, yes, like I've seen Jesus, I have, I've worshipped him, but but but I still struggle and I still doubt. I want you, I want to let you know today, doubt is not the absence of faith, doubt is an invitation into a deeper faith. Faith is not, I know everything and believe everything perfectly. Even when the disciple said, Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief. And I believe that that should be the posture of every disciple's heart. Yes, Lord, I believe, I've seen you, I've worshiped, but right now I'm struggling. Right now I'm doubting. And again, doubt is, I believe, an invitation into a deeper faith because doubt provides an opportunity for intimacy. Like when you doubt something, you can say, well, then I'm walking away from that. Or when you doubt something, you can pursue it and explore it. And that's what God wants us to do with our doubt. If you're here in the room today and there's things that you're doubting, there's things you're wrestling with, there's things that you're struggling with. Could I just encourage you, if you're in a season of doubt, to bring your doubt to Jesus? Doubt can lead people to run away from him, but if you bring your doubt to Jesus, he already knows your doubt. He already knows what you're struggling with, he already knows what you're having a hard time believing, he knows our doubt and he wants to meet you in your doubt. So may we be a people like Thomas, even who doubted. He's known he's known as doubting Thomas. He's like, What is this really him? And Jesus says, Come and touch my wrists, come and put your hands where my scars were pierced. Jesus invites us in with our doubt. He invites us close, he invites us into intimacy so that our faith may be strengthened. So today, would we bring our doubts to Jesus and would deeper faith be produced even in the midst of our doubt? Amen. So look what Jesus does next to dispel their doubt. He doesn't go, how can some of you doubt? He says something to show them why they shouldn't doubt. Look at verse 18. It says, And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Now, a lot of people just want to jump straight to the all authority piece. But this is where studying the scripture, every piece, you got to look at every single piece. I want you to see here it says, Jesus came and said to them. Most of us would read that and be like, Cool, but this is a big deal. This dude was just dead three days previously. And I've had friends and family members who died, and I don't know about you, but I've never had somebody come and say something to me after they died. So, like when it says that Jesus came and said to them, it's like that's a big deal. The dude was buried three days previously, and now he's talking. So if I'm just telling you, if somebody comes back from the dead and is like telling you something, like pay attention to that. Like that, that that's there's gonna be something in there for you. And so Jesus shows up and and whatever he says in this moment, he says, It's like pay attention, because this guy wishes dead, but he's not anymore. And here's what he says and he said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Now, the reason that's the first words out of Jesus' mouth that he now has all authority is because Jesus just conquered death. And again, up to this point in time in human history, death had the final authority in every single person's life. Regardless of how much power a person had, regardless of their status, regardless of their wealth, regardless of their accomplishments, at the end of the day, death had the final say. Every human who ever walked the face of the earth, death was the final authority. But after Jesus defeated death and rose from the grave, that's why he shows up and says, I have all authority because he took it back. He was saying, Death is not the end of your story anymore. Death does not define you anymore, death does not have the final authority in your life. I have already conquered it. And if Jesus has all authority, what that means is that nobody has any authority apart from what God gives them. Did you know that? Nobody on earth has an ounce of authority in your life other than what God might give to them. I have no authority, you have no authority, Satan has no authority, politicians have no authority, nobody has any authority because Christ has all authority. Now he can delegate that and he does, but it all comes from him. Jesus has all authority over the demonic, he has all authority over all politicians, he has all authority over all tyrants, he has all authority over nature itself, and he has authority over even death itself. So all authority and everything in heaven and on earth, it all belongs to Jesus, which means nothing happens on earth apart from God's sovereign authority. Nothing happens in your life and nothing happens in my life that is a surprise to God. God has all authority over all the earth. And what that means on one realm is that if if God has all authority in your life, one implication of that is it means that Satan no longer has any authority over your life. And this is really important to understand because even as believers, just because you have the Holy Spirit, it doesn't mean Satan is gonna not try and do something. Like he's still gonna come after you. There may be times and seasons where you feel under attack, where you're facing spiritual warfare or spiritual opposition. But the reality is, in the name of Jesus and by the authority of Jesus, what the enemy wants to do no longer has the final say in your life. The enemy has no authority over you whatsoever, other than what you might give to him. And that's where we end up succumbing to the vices of the enemy. We believe the lie. We eat of the fruit just like Adam and Eve did. Adam and Eve forego the authority that God gave them over the earth when they believe the lie of the enemy. So every piece of authority the enemy has in your life, it's because you've believed a lie. It's because you've given him that little stronghold, it's because you've given him that little piece of your heart, but you don't have to do that. Satan has no authority over your life, which means now alcohol has no authority over your life. It means drugs have no authority over your life. It means witchcraft has no authority over your life. It means anxiety and depression have no authority over your life. It means pornography has no authority over your life. It means sexual immorality has no authority over your life. That means gender dysphoria has no authority over your life. It means bitterness and resentment have no authority over your life. Everything in our life that we think, well, this is an area right now where there's a stronghold, by the name and authority of Jesus, we can cast that off. And what's been bound on heaven can be bound in earth in the name of Jesus by the authority of Jesus. And so I want to encourage you here today. If you feel in bondage, like to the authority of the enemy, if you feel in bondage to any of these things I even just mentioned, God wants to set you free. There is freedom and there is power in the name of Jesus because the name of Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. So you don't have to live in bondage anymore. You don't have to live enslaved to the things of the world anymore. Because when Christ conquered the grave, he not only beat death, but he already took all of our sin. All the things that we were in bondage to, all the things that we were enslaved to, he already paid for that, so it no longer has authority in your life. So the question then is, well, then have you just trusted Jesus' authority? Have you trusted that he has authority over that? Have you trusted your life that he has authority over your life, or are you trying to just live and walk in your own authority? Because so long as you think you're the final authority, you're gonna be in bondage. But when you surrender and submit your life to the authority of Jesus, that's where there's breakthrough. So I just want to encourage you to, if there's something in your life, a stronghold, that you haven't given to the authority of Jesus, do that today. Don't leave today without saying, Jesus, you have authority over my sexuality, you have authority over my finances, you have authority over these relationships, you have authority over every aspect of my life. I am giving it and surrendering it to you. Amen. So after he says, I have all authority, Jesus now gets into what most scholars call the Great Commission. And that phrase the Great Commission isn't mentioned here in the text, but most scholars call it the Great Commission because it comes from the one who has all authority. And these are Jesus' final words to his disciples before he ascends back to the throne in heaven. So again, he came and he said to them, it's a big deal, he's got all the authority, and by that authority, here's what he commissions his disciples to. Look at verse 19 and 20. He says, 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. Now notice, go therefore. And for any of you who've taken my inductive Bible study class, when the word therefore is there, what are you supposed to ask? What's it there for? When you see the word therefore, say, What's it therefore? So when he says, go therefore, the therefore is because he has all authority. Because he has all authority, he has the authority to be able to tell the church this is our purpose, this is our mission, this is what we are called to do. And what does he say? The commission is this go therefore and make disciples. This is the central command for the church of Jesus Christ. This is the central command for all disciples of Christ. And the great commission is not just an individual calling, it's not just something I'm supposed to do or just a few of you are supposed to do. This is something that all followers of Jesus, this is what we are commissioned to do. This is Jesus' final command and final commission to us to continue and carry out his ministry before he ascended to the throne. So he says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. And when Jesus was speaking this, he was speaking it to his 11 disciples. And so they would have known what that meant and looked like. Why? Well, because Jesus just did that, did that with them for the past three and a half years. He called them to be his disciples. They came to him, they followed him, he taught them. So so they so they knew what that looked like. And now he's saying, just like what I did with you, just what I poured into you, you're now supposed to go pour that out into other people as well. So the big idea is this healthy disciples make disciples. Every single follower of Jesus, you are a disciple, and every follower of Jesus, we are called to make disciples. That that is the central command of the church, and that is the imperative in the text. I don't want to get too technical because I'm not a Greek scholar, but the the great the go and make disciples, make disciples, that is the imperative, meaning that's the main command. The go and baptize and teach, the three verbs that surround it, those are supporting the big idea. The big idea is make disciples and go baptize and teach. That's how we make disciples. And so I want to unpack that for you because if you're called to make disciples and I'm called to make disciples, we have to know what that looks like. So, how do we make disciples? It starts with number one, first and foremost, verse 19, go. That is the first participle that surrounds the central command of making disciples. To make disciples, you have to go. Now, notice the command isn't go to church. The commission isn't go to a Bible study, the commission isn't go to the church part luck, potluck. It's not go to another small group. The commission is go and make disciples of all nations. God's heart is for all people and all nations that they would know him and that they would be his disciples. God wants every single person on earth to be a disciple. God desires that none would perish but that all would come to repentance. So our commission as disciples is we gotta go. We gotta go and make disciples. Now, here's the problem. The problem is the American church at large for the past few decades has romanticized making disciples everywhere else other than the place where God has put us. And I will say this I have so much respect for people who literally go across the world, who leave their comfort, who leave their homes, who leave everything they have because they feel called to global missions. That is an amazing calling. But what I want to tell you is this most of you in this room probably aren't called to that. Most of you in this room will probably never go and leave your whole life and go live in Uganda for the rest of your life and make disciples. If you do that, praise God. That's absolutely amazing. But the church has said, go to all nations, and we think, well, I can't do that, so I guess I'm not supposed to make disciples. But going to all nations would start with the nation that you're in. Going would start with, well, who's the people that God has already placed in my life? Because this word go in the Greek language, it's literally translated, as you are going. This is huge. Go means as you are going. As you are going, make disciples. So what does that mean? It means you don't have to go across the world. It simply means this that it is a call to be actively on mission in your everyday life. As you are going about your normal everyday life, make disciples. And this makes us see how this is actually possible and how we can actually live this out. Because life already has you going. Every day you wake up and what do you do? You get going. You go to work. You got to get going. You got to get the kids ready. You got to get them to school. You got to get going. You got to go to the shop. Life already has you going, and that's the whole point. As you are going, make disciples. So here's the thing, which is this this will be freeing for you. Making disciples isn't something you add on to your already overly crowded schedule. Making disciples doesn't mean you have to cut other things out of your schedule. Oh gosh, I can't go to the gym now or can't take my kids to practice because I got to make disciples. No, it doesn't mean you have to change your life and change your routine. It's as you were already going through your life. Wherever you are going, that is the place that you are called to make disciples in all the various spheres of life where God has already called you to go. And this is really huge because a recent study came out on discipleship that found that 62% of Christians who answered and said they are not making disciples, they're not discipling someone. 62% said the number one reason is it's too big of a time commitment. And I bet even a lot of people in this church might feel that same way. If I was to ask you, is there somebody that you're discipling right now? If there's somebody, is there somebody that you're pouring into and investing in? If you're not, I'm not here to shame you, but I bet the number one reason would probably be to say, man, I just I just don't have the time for it. And and the reality and the beauty of this is that's actually not a valid excuse because you don't have to make more time. It's just as you are going with the people God's already placed in your life, that's where he's called you to make disciples. And you know what the beauty of this is? When you look at the life of Jesus, who is our model and example, the most striking feature of his ministry is that much of his disciple making happened in this way. It happened in the very ordinary and unplanned moments rather than formal teaching settings. There are very few moments where you see in the life of Jesus there's a formal teaching moment, like the Sermon on the Mount. Most of it was just everyday life. As Jesus is just going about his life, he said, Well, here's an opportunity to disciple someone. I'll give you a few examples. Luke chapter 22, Jesus made disciples as he was walking along the road to Emmaus. He says, Walking along the road of Emmaus, there's two other guys who are having a discussion about what was went with just Jesus. They just crucified him, he's dead, and Jesus is walking with them and he answers their questions. It's a moment for discipleship as he's walking down the road. In Luke chapter 19, Jesus made disciples as he was sharing a meal around a table with Zacchaeus and his guests. Discipleship isn't, I gotta get on the stage and preach a sermon. It's who are you at the dinner table with? How are you directing that conversation? Discipleship happens around a table with food. That's where Jesus most often did it. Luke chapter 5, we learned that Jesus' disciples were out fishing all night and they caught nothing. And Jesus gets on the boat with them and he's like, hey boys, throw the net over on the other side. They're like, bro, we're pro fishermen. You're not. What do you know? He's like, just trust me, dude. And then they throw it over and they get the biggest catch of their life. And Jesus used that as a discipleship moment. Hey, I'm here to teach you why you can trust me, why you can trust my word, why how I have more for you planned than you had planned for yourself. So discipleship happens on a fishing boat when you're out fishing with the boys. Matthew chapter 5, Jesus pointed to the birds of the air and the flowers of the field as an illustration for trusting God. He's just there hanging out and some birds fly by. This wasn't a planned moment, like I got my sermon about birds and flowers planned out. He's just sitting there and a bird flies by. He goes, Oh, you guys, look, the birds, they're not worried about where they're gonna eat or where they're gonna get their food. Yet God provides for them, so he's gonna provide for you. And hey, look at this flower here, this flower growing. It's not worried about where the water's gonna come from and it's gonna grow and it's gonna toil, and it's more beautiful than Solomon, even in all of his splendor. Just everyday normal life, Jesus turned into discipleship moments. In Mark chapter 5, Jesus had an unplanned interruption as he was going to J. Iris's house to heal his daughter, and he's pressing through the crowd, and a woman who had an issue of blood said, If I could just touch the hem of his garment, and she came in and she touched the hem of his garment and she was healed. And Jesus stops and said, Who touched me? And the disciples are like, You're crazy, bro. Everyone's touching you. And he says, No, this is different. Power went out from me. And in that moment, Jesus took a moment in the midst of the crowd, the interruption became a moment for discipleship to say, Look at the faith that this woman had to even reach out and touch the hem of my garment. So again, when you when you look at the life of Jesus, this is what discipleship looked like. Discipleship was just very informal, and every day as he was going about his day, I'm on the fishing boat, I'm making disciples. I'm walking along the road, I'm making disciples. I'm at the dinner table, I'm making disciples. And so going and making disciples, it starts with looking at the various contexts of life where God has already placed you and living with gospel intentionality in the midst of those spaces. Going to all the world starts with go into the part of the world where you're at. Starts with going to the neighborhood where you're at, starts with going to the workplace where you're at, starts with go to the friendships that you have. That's where discipleship starts. So here's my question for you. It's very simple. Where are you going? Where are you going? Like where are you where where are you where are you going after church today? You going home? Going out to a restaurant? Going to a friend's house? Great. That's where discipleship happens. Where are you going tomorrow? Going to work? Great. That's where discipleship happens. Where are you going after work? Going out to dinner with some friends? Great. Go make disciples there. Where are you going next weekend? You're going golfing? Great. As you go golfing, go and make disciples. Wherever you are going, that's where you're called to make disciples. As you're going to the barber, as you're going to the salon, go and make disciples. That's the reason I've been seeing the same barber for five years. As he's there fading me up, I'm fading him up in the gospel. Look, I'm trying I'm trying to live with intentionality and build relationships and just make disciples in those normal spheres of life. So again, it's not an add-on. It's where are you already going? When you go home, that's where you're called to make disciples. When you go to your roommates, that's where you're called to make disciples. When you go to school, that's where you're called to make disciples. When you go to work, that's where you're called to make disciples. Where are you going? And as you go, let's make disciples. Amen? Okay. So how do we do it? We go, go therefore, and make disciples of all nations. Secondly, notice what he says in verse 19: baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. So one aspect of discipleship as we are going, one one of the ways that we do that is by baptizing people in the name singular, in the name singular of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Notice, not the names plural, but in the name singular, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That's Trinitarian theology. The God has existed for eternity past as three in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God, three distinct persons. So we baptize people in the singular name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And that's why as a church we have baptism Sundays once a month. Because we want to be a church that makes disciples, and part of making disciples is you should be baptizing people. If people aren't giving their lives to Jesus, then we're doing something wrong. We're doing discipleship wrong. And when someone gives their lives to Jesus, you should baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now, why do you do that? Why do we baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Well, it's because a person's name speaks of their identity. And so when you chose to get baptized, or at the moment when you are ready to choose to get baptized, what you are saying is, my identity is now hidden in Christ. When you're baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, his identity becomes yours. Or as Paul says, we now become robed in the righteousness of Christ. We are baptized into his identity, which means we are no longer defined by any other identity. And this is so contrary to what our culture teaches, as you guys know. Culture says, you choose your identity. You, you be you, you can be whoever you want, and you can choose whatever you want. And when you get baptized, although you can live that way before Christ, when you get baptized, you're saying, My identity is now in you. The only thing that defines me is what you say. And this is exactly what Paul said in Galatians chapter 3, verse 27 and 28. He said, For as many of you as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, you are all one in Christ Jesus. Do you see what Paul's saying there? He's saying, when you get baptized in the name of Christ, everything else that used to define you, which probably would have been your nationality, your ethnicity, your gender, your sexuality, your success, your failures, your socioeconomic status, he says, all of that, that's gone. That doesn't define you anymore. You there's no longer slave nor free, there's no longer male nor female, there's no longer there's no longer any other attachment. Our identity is we are defined by Christ. And so that is what it means to be a disciple, that your identity is hidden in Christ. And the first step of being a disciple, once you've seen Jesus and trusted Jesus, is you should get baptized. So if you're a disciple of Christ, if you've already placed your faith in Jesus and you've never been baptized, we'd love to baptize you on our next baptism Sunday. That's the first Sunday of every single month. Baptism is the first mark of discipleship, and it is the way that as disciples we are identifying with and being identified in the finished work of Christ, his death, burial, and resurrection. That is what that is what baptism is symbolic of. So one way we make disciples is by baptizing people. And by the way, if you lead someone to Christ, you should baptize them. You don't have to wait for your pastor or me or anybody else to if you lead someone to Christ, go baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. It's one of my favorite privileges to get to baptize people, but you know what I love even more? Is when a dad comes back and he baptizes his son. Or when a mom comes back and she baptizes her kid, or when a friend comes back and baptizes their friend. That is not something that just pastors and ministers do. That is a part of what we are all called to do as we make disciples. You can baptize anybody. You don't need any special authority, you have the authority of Jesus. So as you make disciples, when people place their faith in Christ, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. So go, that's part of making disciples. We're as we're going, we're baptizing people in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. And here's the third and final part. Look at verse 20. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. So two things we see in this final section, verse 20, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. This means two things. Number one, it means every disciple is a learner. The point of discipleship is that we might learn to observe all that Christ has taught us. To be a disciple means you are committed to the lifelong process of following Jesus and learning to be like Jesus and learning to love like Jesus and learning to serve like Jesus. We all need to be taught how to walk in all that has been commanded. And so that is a part of what it means to be a disciple. You are a continual learner. When you say yes to Jesus, you're committed to the lifelong journey of learning to observe in your life and put into practice in your life everything that Jesus said, and that's a lifelong journey. But not only is every disciple a learner, every disciple is a teacher. He says, You now, just as I've done with you, you go and teach everybody. Go and make disciples, teaching them to observe all I have commanded. And so here's the reality: every disciple is a learner, and every disciple is a teacher. Whether you feel called to teach the word on a Sunday or teach the word in Sunday school or teach a Bible, that's not what I'm talking about. You are called to teach people how to observe and walk with Jesus. Every disciple has that calling. And that is the primary purpose of the church. And by the church, I don't mean church staff. By the church, I don't mean church leadership. That we are all the church, we are all the body of Christ, and we are all called to make disciples and teach people how to follow Jesus. And the reason that I think that this has been such a struggle in the Christian church in America at large is the problem with the church today is we've become consumers. The people in church love being taught. I'm assuming part of the reason you're here on Sunday is you love getting taught. Like that's great. I hope you're here. I hope you enjoy the teaching. I hope you get a lot out of it. We love being taught. We love Bible studies, we love growing in our knowledge of the word. But here's the thing if you don't ever pour out what God is pouring into you, you're missing half of the equation. Yes, we need to be taught, myself included. But yes, we also need to teach others what God is teaching us, and that's the pattern of discipleship. And so I want to just encourage you here today to know that you do not need a theology degree to make disciples. You you you do not need a formal ministry training to make disciples. You do not need a position on staff or in church leadership to make disciples. All you need is a relationship. If there's a person that you have a relationship with and you as a disciple are following Jesus, you can teach them how to follow Jesus. And maybe that just starts with just your story. And that's why we do that every single Sunday here. Someone shares their story, that's a part of discipleship. Here's what God's done in my life. Can I share that with you? And can I can I hear your story? And can I hear where you're at? And can I hear where you're doubting? And can I hear what you're struggling with? But every single person, as long as you have a relationship, that's all you need. Do you have a friend? Do you have a family member? Do you have a coworker? Do you have a classmate? You can make disciples then. That is all it takes. And the promise, well, before the promise, I guess I'll just say this. Who has God put in your life then? Who has God put in your life? Who's the person God has put in your life or the people God has put in your life that maybe the Holy Spirit is inviting you today? Hey, just start discipling them. Start, start, start praying for them. Start sharing with them. Start inviting them into where you're going and just let them let them observe what God is doing in your life and trust that the Holy Spirit is going to work in their heart just as he did in yours. Who has God placed in your life that you can begin to pour into? I pray we wouldn't be a church that just comes and gets poured in, but that we'd be a church that pours out as well. Amen. And here's the promise. I close with this. Teaching them to observe all I've commanded you. And here's the promise of discipleship. He says, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. Matthew's gospel is actually really beautiful if you study it in depth. It actually begins with God with us in the person of Emmanuel. And behold, his name should be Emmanuel, which is translated, God with us. And the very ending of the Gospel of Matthew, what does Jesus say? And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. The whole story of Matthew's gospel, the whole story of disciples is that God is with us. Not I'm gonna be with you in the future. No, I am with you right now as you go and make disciples. I'm with you. I'm present. So that's the beauty of this. Discipleship is not something that we do on our own. It's like, okay, I guess I gotta try and do this and try and disciple this person. God is saying, No, I'm with you. And I'm gonna do it in you and I'm gonna do it through you. That's the promise that we have that God is with us and we experience his power and his presence as we go and make disciples. If there's no power and there's no presence in your life, it could be that you're not actually going and making disciples. But as you go, as you're going and making disciples, God says, I'm with you, which is so beautiful. But notice, he says, I'm with you till when? Notice, till the end of the age. I am with you always to the end of the age. And the reason here Jesus ends with this is because he wants to remind us that the age in which we live does have an end. The age in which we live does have an expiration date. And he says, I am with you until the end of the age. And there is gonna be a day when this age ends. There's gonna be a day when this world ends. There's gonna be a day when your life ends. And Jesus ends with that that I'm with you till the end of the age because he wants us to understand the gravity of this. That this is the commission that we are to do up until the end of the age. And there will be a day when this age ends and when your life ends and my life ends, and we will stand before God and we will give an account for our lives as to what did we do with this great commission? Did I respond to the great commission? Did I see Jesus and trust Jesus and follow Jesus? And having seen Jesus, trusted Jesus, following Jesus, what am I doing with this commission in this age? Am I making disciples? Am I pouring out what God's pouring in, or am I just growing spiritually obese? Next Bible study, next church service, and it's just all for me. No, the age is gonna end, and we will give a report for how we responded to this great commission at the end of the age. And my prayer for you, my prayer for me is that we would be a people who actively and proactively is making disciples so that one day we will hear Jesus say, Well done, good and faithful servant. So, my my question for you is this first and foremost, are are you a disciple? Have you seen Jesus? Have you worshipped at the feet of Jesus? Have you entrusted your life to Jesus and been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Today there is an invitation. I just want to invite you today. If you've never trusted Jesus, that's what it means to be a disciple. You're seeing Jesus. Holy Spirit is speaking to you right now. You want to surrender your heart and your authority of your life under the authority of Jesus. If you've never done that, you can do it right now in your heart. There's no magical repeat after me. You don't have to say the words right, you can just say, Jesus, I want you to be the chief authority of my life, and I give you my heart. I trust that the work of the cross is finished. Would you be my Lord and Savior? If you have not found your identity in Christ today and committed yourself to the lifelong process of following Jesus, that is what he wants for your life. And if you're here today and you are a disciple, if you're here today and you have seen Jesus and you love worshiping Jesus and your identity is hidden in Jesus Christ, my question for you is this Are you going and making disciples? Are you pouring out of what God is pouring into you? That is what we have been commissioned to as a church. And so may we be a church, even as we go today, as you're going, as you go out today, may we be a church wherever you go, with whomever you go, wherever you go. Will we be a people and a church who makes disciples? Amen. Amen. Let's pray. Jesus, thank you so much first and foremost for the finished work on the cross. Thank you. Even the disciples, they they they they saw you hanging there. They saw that you were dead, they saw that you were buried. But God, thank you that you didn't stay in the grave. Thank you that you conquered the grave, you conquered death, you conquered our sin. And now you have all authority in heaven and on earth. And so I even pray right now by the authority and in the name of Jesus for anybody in here, God, in bondage to the lies of the enemy, for anybody who has given up authority in their life to what the enemy is trying to do in their life, that even right now, Christ, would you take it back? Take back the authority which is yours, God. Give us victory over the schemes of the enemy in our life, God, and help us to find our identity solely in you. Thank you. Even as we were singing this morning, God, it's not about our performance, it's not about what we've done, it's not about earning or striving, it's just trusting your blood, the finished work of Jesus Christ. So we thank you for that blood. And as we go out and as we walk out in the Great Commission, God, I pray we would look at the people in our life as we're going, as we're going about our life, as we're going about our week, we'd see the people that you've already placed there. And you place them there for a purpose because you want us to make a disciple. You want us to share the good news. You want us to share what you've done in our life. You want us to pray for them. And so, God, I pray that we would be a church, not only who are disciples, but a church that makes disciples. So go with us even as we go out today. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that you're here and you're in each one of us. Thank you that we don't have to wait till next Sunday to see you again, to hear from you again. Thank you that as we go out, God, our whole life and every moment of every day, that you are present and you're there with us. So go with us now, even as we go. We pray in Jesus' name. Everyone said, Amen.