Pray: that Jesus be exalted on earth for what He has done that He may be praised for ever in Heaven by peoples of every nation tribe and tongue and that we would be radically committed to one mission and vision on this earth

I want you to ask yourselves one over-arching question tonight and it is this: “Why am I here on earth?” Or another way you could say it is, “What is God’s plan for me on earth, since He hasn’t taken me to heaven?”

You see, these are questions that we need to nail down and I believe that because many Christians have failed to find out why they are here and what God’s plan is that they are so ineffective, indifferent, and selfish. Many of the trivial problems of our lives and the Church and our pointless pursuits in this life would be solved if we as the Church of God knew why we’re here. I believe God does have a plan and first and foremost it is a plan for the glory of His great name. The universe exists for His glory and so does every individual on earth. Our one great aim in this life and the life to come is the glory of God. And there is a plan whereby God is bringing this glory to Himself from every people, nation, language, tribe, and tongue, and it is the plan of bringing to Himself His people who were purchased through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And this plan has been given to the church to guide her on her earthly exile and it is the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20.

Now I know that some of you might not be as convinced as I am that this is the reason that the Church is still on earth and hasn’t been taken up into glory and my aim is that by the end of this message you would see it and know it and feel it and that we would join hands in fulfilling it. We’re going to look at 5 things: 1) This Phase of Redemptive History 2) The Position of the People of Christ and the Lost World 3) The Power for the Mission 4) The Purpose of the Mission 5) The Presence in the Mission

I. This Phase of Redemptive History
Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 24. When we talk about Redemptive History, we are talking about God’s timeline and activity in the history of mankind. It is about His saving plan and purposes for people made in His image and Redemptive History has a clearly set beginning, middle, and end and if you were to read Scripture all the way through this is what you would see, and now we are in a set time in Redemptive History. In fact, we are in a unique position: we are between Christ’s resurrection and return. And I want us to look in Matthew 24 where Jesus tells us what we’re to be about in this phase of redemptive history. Matthew 24:3-14 In Matthew 24:14 Jesus clearly lays out what this phase of redemptive history is all about: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” It is about the proclamation of the gospel going throughout the whole world to all nations or as Jesus will say in Matthew 28: Go and make disciples of all nations…and this is what we’ll do until the heavens are ripped open and Christ appears in His glory! So this is the phase of redemptive history we find ourselves in and now you can answer the question of “Why am I here on earth?” Either to proclaim Christ throughout the whole world or to receive Christ.

The next thing we need to see and more specifically feel is…

II. The Position of the People of Christ and the Lost World
I want you to consider for a moment what you are in Christ and what you have in Him and the glory you have beheld in the Lamb, and I then want you to turn from this and consider the world in their state apart from Him. You see the reason why many Christians are unconcerned about the position of people apart from Christ is because they are not amazed at their own position in Christ. It means nothing that God is our God and we are His people! We are just like the nation of Israel: blessed with food, clothing, shelter, and fatness and we have forgotten that we are to be a means of blessing to the world. We love it that we are in Christ, that all the blessings He died to achieve are ours and that we will be with Him forever and we love to sing of these things and learn about these things but these things don’t move us! And that is because we don’t know Him and His blessings as well as we think we do. If we’re not moved to make much of Christ’s name on earth then we might not know much about what it means to be in Christ as we think we do.

If the glories of Christ and our identity in Him will not move us to mission then nothing will! You see, the risen Christ, the Defeater of Death, sin and Satan, the Lord forevermore, the Living One…He is our reason for the mission! It is because of what we have seen in Him that we renounce everything we have and obey every word He has given, and it is because of Him that we will go wherever He asks no matter what awaits us there. I want you to listen to what Paul endured and how he talks in [2 Corinthians 4:7-12]. Notice what he says, He is always being given over to death for whose sake? Jesus’ sake (motive or vision: the glory of Christ) so that others may experience the life of Christ (mission) and then bring glory to Jesus’ great name! So Paul endures physical death so that spiritual life may come to those dead in sin.

Why live like this Paul? He had seen glory in Christ, and he knew that Christ was worthy of all his own glory and the glory of the nations! He knew Jesus to be worthy of praise and the hope of the world! He knew who Jesus was and he knew how desperate the world was apart from Him, and he was compelled to go and proclaim the Crucified One until His return or until he gave up his life for His sake! Do you know Him? Do you know this Christ? And do you care for those who don’t? Do you hear the voices of the damned souls in Hell? Do you hear the cries of the perishing from every corner of the earth, 2.7 billion who have never heard His name, who have no gospel? Oh, if for one moment you could hear the screams of lost souls in Hell suffering under the weight of God’s just wrath, experiencing the second death, knowing who God is but not enjoying Him at all you would not live the way you do! You would not! You would not! You would be concerned not only for this city and your cafeteria but you would have worldwide concern! You’re heart would say, “The nations must know Him! The nations must know Him!”
Transition: And if this is the state of those in Christ and those apart from Him, then we must go and make disciples of all nations because it is the only outlet for these truths and feelings. At this point though, many people think about the worldwide task, and think it is impossible. It becomes overwhelming to them. “So many need Christ, what can I do?” And usually that’s as far as people get. Before a seemingly impossible task, we’re normally paralyzed by fear or by our own weakness and knowing this, Jesus begins His commission, not with a command but with a promise; a fear and weakness-conquering promise…

III. The Power for the Mission
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” We must know this! Oh, and we must bank on this truth, because you will not move one finger for the sake of the gospel if you do not know who has all authority…but know for sure, this day, the power and the right to rule in whatever way Christ pleases on heaven and earth is His! This is the power behind us and before us and with us in the mission! The power for the mission is not ours it is His! He has authority over the angelic hosts, this means Jesus is the Commander-in-Chief over the armies of heaven, they are all His and they move when He says move!. He has authority over every demonic power and Satanic force, there is nothing Satan does on his own authority without God overruling his actions. Satan’s weapons, are disease, suffering and death and know that Christ has authority over all diseases, He has power over all suffering, and He has shown His power over all death because on the cross “death by dying He slew’ and raising from the dead He stripped death of it’s power and took ownership and now He holds the keys of death and Hades! He has authority over every cloud, over every drop of rain, over every hurricane, over every Tsunami and earthquake and forest fire! He has authority over all rulers, kings of the earth, governments, presidents, policemen, and school boards! He has authority and power over the course of human history including wars and famines and the rise and fall of kingdoms and nations. He has power over all men and women, husbands and wives, daughters and sons and He has authority over every single student in every single middle school and high school on earth, and know this tonight, He has absolute authority and power over every one of us! He rules over the Church it is His! There is no denomination, no local church, no mission board, no parachurch organization, no Christian bookstore and no band that names His name that He does not have rights over! They are all His! All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him! Why? Because “He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in this form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, (here’s why) God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!” (Philippians 2:6-11)

Everything is His and He wants us to know this! You’ve got to know the power is His so you’re not paralyzed by the fear of rejection, isolation, persecution, contracting diseases or dying! The power for the mission, then, is not the authority in us; it is the authority in Christ and so when we go out in this mission and live this thing out…we’re going in His power and authority! I like the way David Platt says it: “Be dominated by His authority.”

So after Jesus opens with the promise that all authority in heaven and earth is His, removing our fear and weakness He then gives us…

IV. The Purpose of the Mission
This is where we see our purpose and God’s plan for us being here on earth. This is our part, but remember in doing this part, don’t forget the power is His to accomplish this work! With the power and authority of Christ upon us, Jesus 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.”

Let’s break this down into 4 parts (as it is on your handout):

1) Go: The first thing Jesus says is “go” but “go” is not the main command here. In fact, the word “go” is assumed, because as a Christian we are “sent” into the world as soon as we were given new life in Christ. As soon as we came to Him we became aliens on this earth because our citizenship is in heaven! So when He says go He’s saying, “As you are going…” And as we are going in this city, in our schools, at our jobs and outside the camp we are to…

2) Make Disciples of All Nations: Now this is the central command in the Great Commission; make disciples of all nations. This is the purpose of the church on earth: to make disciples. Not make programs, not take trips, not just hang out, but to make disciples! Here we see 2 things: 1) The Command: “make disciples” and 2) The Scope of the Command: “of all nations.”

First, let’s look at the command: make disciples. Well, we need to ask what is a disciple? The word used here, means 2 things: learner and follower. Also, giving more definition to what a disciple is we need to look to the “discipleship passages” in the Gospels [Matt. 10:34-39; 16:24-27; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 9:57-62; 14:25-33] where we see that a disciple is someone who has left everything to follow Jesus, someone who has renounced everything for His sake, someone who has put their hand to the plow and not looked back, someone who has lost their life that they may find it, someone who has taken up their cross and dies daily as they follow Jesus, and someone who has counted the cost of following Jesus and has seen persecution and suffering and death but more importantly has seen Christ as infinitely valuable and has found following Him worth it in every way! In simple terms a disciple is a Christian. If you’re not His disciple, you’re not His. This is the last command of Jesus to His Church on earth: to make disciples! So the Church is not only what God is saving, but the church is the means through which God is saving and this process is called disciple making. This is what we are to be about, every single one of us! We have to ask ourselves, how are we doing? Are we about the purpose of God for His Church or are we about other things?

Second, we see the scope of making disciples and it is all nations. Now this is the part that we love to make excuses for and I believe it is because of these words “all nations” that people throw off the command on a select few missionaries. “This can’t possibly apply to me! I’m called here!” Few things about that: 1) If you’re really called here then why aren’t you living like you’re called here. Most of us in this room would say we are called here, but we usually say that because we’re comfortable here. So if you really are called here then live like it. Live like you’re a stanger here, live for Christ’s great name alone, and see everyone and everything as an opportunity to preach the gospel! Let your life be like Paul’s, that while you were here you decided to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 2) The option of you going is never to be ruled out for anyone. You should be living a lifestyle in which it would be easy for you to leave and go to an unreached people at any moment. And we must be available to the calling of God to go where He may need us. 3) If the scope of your disciple-making is global, then it will change everything you do locally. A missionary once said, “The light that shines the furthest burns the brightest where it is.” This should be us. Oh, may this be us!

So we are to make disciples of all nations and next…

3) Baptize Them: This is the first step of obedience for every disciple. We see time and time again those in Acts who were saved were immediately baptized. It’s not that baptism saves you, but baptism does give evidence that you are saved. So someone who does not want to be baptized or is a Christian and hasn’t been baptized is a disobedient disciple and if one is not baptized or refuses it, how do we expect them to follow everything Jesus has commanded? So baptism is an important first step, for being a disciple because of what it symbolizes and how it identifies you. Baptism is by “immersion” which means that it is a plunging into the water. It is a symbol of death and resurrection, in that in Christ we have died with Him and we have risen to new life. (Romans 6) It is also a symbolizes our relationship and fellowship with the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit whereby God is our Father and we are His sons’ and daughters, the Son is our Lord and King who has saved us, and the Spirit is in us and with us as the guarantee that we are God’s. But not only is baptism symbolic it is also an identifying mark for the disciple. It is how one goes public in Christianity. It is a bold open statement to the world that we are with Christ! So we are to proclaim Christ’s gospel, and call people to renounce all they have and follow Jesus, then we are to baptize them and lastly we are…

4) Teach Them to Observe Jesus’ Commands: This is what all disciple makers are called to do for those who have come to Jesus: teach them to observe all the commands of Jesus. Which ones? All of them! Remember disciples are learners and followers. True disciples will want to learn, because they will have a hunger for God’s Word because they are passionate about becoming more like Christ. This past week I have been reading the Gospel of Mark in private worship and one of the coolest accounts is in Mark 5 when Jesus heals the demoniac with the legion or many demons. He’s the crazy one who lives among the tombs, runs around naked, foams at the mouth, breaks chains and shackles and cuts himself with stones and rocks. Well, Jesus shows up, with the authority of heaven and earth and casts out the demons from the man and immediately he is changed! Of course the town freaks out and when they come to see what happened they find the man it says, “sitting there (sitting at the feet of Jesus, the place of a disciple who was learning) clothed and in his right mind.” The point in disciple-making is not that we have to make people hungry for God’s Word, true disciples already are hungry; we are called to just feed them the Word. The point though is not that we all are just being made disciples, as if our only duty now is to just learn and accumulate knowledge. This is what the demoniac man wanted to do. In fact, he begged Jesus to let him follow Him, but Jesus told him: “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” And that’s what he did! The story closes saying, “And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for Him, and everyone marveled.” This is how it should look in our lives as disciples: sitting at Jesus feet and then rising to proclaim how much He has done for us! The goal in disciple making is that we would make disciples who make disciples and this is what every single one of us is commanded to be involved in!

So we have seen the phase of redemptive history, the position of those in Christ and the lost world, the power of the mission, the purpose of the mission and finally we see the…

V. The Presence in the Mission
“And behold, I Am with you always even to the end of the age.” The GC is not something that Jesus just watches His people do at a distance but it’s something His intimately involved with us in, or to say it more clearly, it’s something we’re intimately involved with Him in. So here, He grabs there attention, saying, “Look, check this out, pay attention, behold I myself am with you!” Let me ask you something, “What more could you want?” Nothing. Jesus promises that He will be with us in this mission! He Himself! And He says that He’ll be with us even to the end of the age, so right now in this phase of redemptive history, He is with us in Presence and Power giving us Position and Purpose! And I want you to see something here that is really important: Jesus promises His presence for those engaged in His mission. I would say that for every Christian the one thing they long for more than anything else on earth is the Presence of Christ. There is nothing like it when He draws near to us. We ask for His presence to be with us in prayer, in worship, in preaching and in private worship but there is a way that His people experience His presence unlike any other time, and it is when we are involved in this mission of making disciples of all nations. Could it be that you haven’t known Christ’s presence in a while because you haven’t been engaged in His plan and purpose for your life? Could be. Could be.

All right, now bringing this full circle ask yourself again: “Why am I here on earth?” And then the important follow-up question to that is this: “Does the way I live my life reflect my reason for being here on earth?” If not, repent and believe again. Take this moment now and pray to the Lord that your heart would be more in line with His.