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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28, a familiar 
portion of scripture, often referred to as the Great Commission, where 
our Lord Jesus, prior to his ascension on high, told his church 
to go and to preach and to make disciples of all the nations. 
I thought it would be fitting for us to consider this passage 
this morning on this happy occasion of baptism. I'll just pick up 
reading in Matthew 28 at verse 11. Now while they were going, 
behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to 
the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they 
had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they 
gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, Tell them, 
his disciples came at night and stole him away while he slept. 
And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and 
make you secure. So they took the money and did 
as they were instructed. And this saying is commonly reported 
among the Jews until this day. Then the eleven disciples went 
away into Galilee. to the mountain which Jesus had 
appointed for them. When they saw him, they worshipped 
him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, 
saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on 
earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples 
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father 
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe 
all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, 
even to the end of the age. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we give you thanks and praise and glory for the 
Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for his perfect 
life, that he lived in obedience to your law. We thank you for 
his death at Calvary, wherein he was our substitute, a sacrifice 
foresaid. And we thank you that he rose 
again on the third day. that he gave this commission 
to his church and that he ascended on high, where he led captivity 
captive and he gave gifts to men. We pray, Almighty God, that 
you would give your Spirit to each and every one of us, even 
now, as we gather here, to look at your Word and to see your 
work in the salvation of sinners. We pray, God Most High, that 
we would never forget the glory of the gospel of free and sovereign 
grace, that You chose us in Him before the foundation of the 
world, that You sent Your Son to die for us and to rise again, 
and that You fill each one of us with Your Spirit. God, certainly 
salvation is, from first to last, a work of our triune God who 
saves sinners to the uttermost. May we rejoice in these truths. 
May we celebrate today And may we truly give you glory and praise 
and worship and adoration, for you alone are worthy, Most High 
God. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, I want to notice 
three things about the Great Commission this morning as we 
consider this particular passage. First of all, the authority behind 
the Commission. Secondly, the activity involved 
in the Commission. And thirdly, the active agent 
in the fulfillment of the commission. Notice, first of all, the authority 
behind the commission. Jesus asserts this very clearly 
in verse 18. All authority has been given 
to me in heaven and on earth. Christ has every bit of authority 
that there possibly is. Kuyper well said that if we do 
not press the crown rites of Jesus in every sphere, we cannot 
press them in any sphere. Understanding the totality of 
Christ's rule, authority, and power over man. He says he possesses 
it. The New Testament demonstrates 
this in many, many places. because it serves as an encouragement 
to the church to take up this commission and to be about it. 
When we see where Christ is, and we see what makes Him tick, 
and when we see how He longs to see this world conquered for 
His namesake, it ought to move us to get about the task at hand. In Acts 2, you remember that 
Peter is preaching on the day of Pentecost. And he brings his 
sermon to bear upon his hearers. And he says in verse 30 of Acts 
2, Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn 
with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according 
to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 
he foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, 
that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see 
corruption. This Jesus, God has raised up, 
of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the 
right hand of God, and having received from the Father the 
promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now 
see and hear." Now it seems obvious from the pages of the New Testament 
that the church never forgot the priestly office of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. but they never forgot his crown 
either. They never sacrificed the truth 
that he now is enthroned at the right hand of God Most High, 
where he is clothed with all authority. Not just in heaven, 
where he rules over the spirits of just men made perfect. Not 
just in heaven, where he is ruler over the angels, but here on 
earth as well. In fact, in the book of Revelation, 
when John is writing to the seven churches of Asia Minor, he greets 
them in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy 
Spirit. And he says three things about 
Jesus in that greeting. He calls him the firstborn from 
the dead, which I take as a reference to the priestly office of Christ. He died as the one who offered 
the sacrifice and as the sacrifice himself. He calls Jesus faithful 
witness. The prophetic mantle is upon 
our Lord. And then he says in Revelation, 
and to the one who is ruler over the kings of the earth. This 
is good news for us as a church when we read this great commission. We don't go out in our own ingenuity. We don't go out in our own name. We don't go out in our own strength 
or in our own power. We don't go out in our own cleverness 
or ability. We go in the name of the authoritative 
Jesus Christ. who has been given all authority 
in heaven and on earth. Paul in Ephesians 1 and in Philippians 
chapter 2 celebrates the fact that Christ is at the right hand 
of the Father, where he has been given a name which is above every 
name, that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow 
and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of the 
Father. The church is on no fool's errand. The church is on the errand that 
has been given to her by her exalted, glorified, and authoritative 
head, even Jesus Christ. We need to take seriously this 
mandate. We need to realize that it is 
comprehensive. Christ says that we are to go 
and make disciples and not just lead the task. But having made 
disciples, we're to baptize those disciples and then we're to teach 
those disciples what? All things that I have commanded, 
Jesus said. Jesus envisions the Great Commission 
with a comprehensive scope. He doesn't see us as fulfilling 
the task when we go to our neighbor and say, believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ and never have anything to do with him or her ever again. We tell them, believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ. And when they are made disciples, 
we baptize them and teach them how to live. Teach them how to 
obey the commandments of our holy God. Teach them what it 
is to be a disciple. And this is why church exists. For disciple making and for disciple 
teaching. Now obviously the primary reason 
why we exist is to worship God. Never forget that. You're here 
today Yes, to witness a baptism. Yes, to possibly be baptized. But your primary reference in 
this place on a Lord's Day is God word. There is too much man-centeredness 
in the church today. Let us leave it in the parking 
lot and let us give ourselves wholly to the worship of our 
great God, who is worthy. Jesus declares that all authority 
has been given to him. It is on the basis of that declaration 
that the Great Commission now comes. Matthew Poole, the Puritan 
commentator, said, having declared his power, he delegates it. He's declared his power in verse 
18. In verse 19, he now delegates 
it. He gives this commission to the 
church. Not simply to the pastors of 
the church. Not simply to super-spiritual 
men within the church. But he gives this commission 
to each and every one of us. We are all to go. We are all 
to engage in disciple-making. And you know, just as I've been 
reflecting on this, because there's a lot of thought right now on 
this issue of missions and of evangelism and of how do we reach 
the lost. And if you think back with me 
throughout life, there's been all these different formula given 
on how to do this. I remember when I was a kid, 
the bumper stickers that said, I found it. And then, of course, 
you had the bumper stickers that said, I lost it. You know, theological 
debate on the bumper was even going on when I was a kid. When 
I was a kid, I didn't know what I found it meant. It was only 
after becoming a Christian I realized that was associated, I think, 
with Campus Crusade and a desire to reach people for the gospel. 
And then I remember, just as being a Christian, we've seen 
the four spiritual laws. We've seen friendship evangelism. 
We've seen all these formulas applied on how to win sinners 
to the gospel. You know what the Bible says? 
It's very simple. The two-fold strategy for winning 
sinners. Shine His lights in a crooked 
and perverse generation and hold forth the Word of Truth. We spend 
a lot of time trying to figure out the who's, the what's, the 
why's, the where's, the when's, and all that. The Bible says 
be holy, love people, and sing 370 to that. That doesn't mean you're going 
to stand there with 370 in your handbook. We have heard the joyful 
sound. Jesus saves. Jesus saves. Now, if you're so inclined, by 
all means, do that. But the idea simply is love people 
and tell them about Jesus. There's no formula. There's no 
magic potion. There's no ritual or hocus pocus 
involved. You take the word of the Lord 
and you tell sinners Jesus saves. In this activity, notice what 
Christ says. He says, go make disciples, baptize 
those disciples and teach those disciples. Going is not a command 
here. It's a present participle. And it could be translated this 
way, going therefore. He's not commanding you to go. 
He is commanding what you are to do when you are going. See, he assumes you're going 
to go. He assumes that you're going 
to be like King David of Israel in Psalm 51, when the psalmist 
was found out in his sin by Nathan the prophet. We read Psalm 51 
is the penning forth of his heartfelt expression of repentance to God. He says, wash me. He says, cleanse 
me. He says, purge me. And then he 
makes this incredible declaration. Then I will teach transgressors 
your ways. What's the assumption? The assumption 
is quite clear. When we find the pearl of great 
price, we generally go and tell people about it. We don't find 
that pearl of great price, shove it in our pocket, and let it 
have no impact on our lives. No. We rejoice. When we, like a woman, lose a 
coin, and we look for that coin, and we find that coin, we rejoice 
when we find it. We tell others. When Jesus says, 
Go therefore, He is not giving a command. He is giving an assumption. He assumes that the people of 
God, having met with the living God, are going to be affected 
by that transaction, and as a result, are going to go tell others. You get it? This isn't just for 
a few in the church. It's for all those who have come 
into contact, savingly, with our Lord Jesus Christ. Now he 
says, as you are going, you are to make disciples, or in the 
text, disciple the nations. Broadus defines discipleship 
this way, to disciple a person to Christ is to bring him into 
the relation of pupil to teacher. taking his yoke of authoritative 
instruction, accepting what he says as true because he says 
it, and submitting to his requirements as right because he makes them. Discipleship. Christ says that 
in our going, we are to call man to believe the gospel. For you see, this is the way 
that disciples are made. Disciples are not made because 
they pay money. Disciples are not made because 
they reform their lives. Disciples are not made because 
they have found the secret. Disciples are made by hearing 
the gospel and believing the truth. That's discipleship. That's the 
entry point. So if you are here this morning 
and you have not believed this gospel, you're not a disciple. You may be playing church. You 
may be engaged in religious obligation. You may be engaged in some sort 
of formal externalism. But unless you believe the truth 
as it is in Jesus, you're not a disciple. But good news, you 
believe that truth as it is in Jesus, and you receive you. Isn't that beautiful? Jesus' call to us is not go out 
and fix everything. It's just refreshed in this, 
in Jeremiah chapter 3. God, through the prophet, deals 
with Israel in a way that hopefully blows our minds. God says to 
the nation of Israel in Jeremiah 3, after Jeremiah 2, where he 
highlights their sin, their rebellion, their spiritual harlotry, their 
wickedness and idolatry. Five times in Jeremiah 3, he 
says, yet return to me, says the Lord. And in one instance, 
in Jeremiah 3, he says, return ye backsliding Israel, and I 
will heal your backslidings. Isn't that a beautiful picture? Not, I'll fix up your act and 
then come to me. The gospel has come to me, and 
I will fix up your act. That's where the gospel is different 
from every other religious system, from every works-oriented method 
of trying to achieve salvation. Every other system teaches you 
must first do something before God. The gospel says you can't. The gospel says you've made a 
mess of everything. But lo and behold, in the gospel, 
Christ comes and saves to the uttermost those who have no ability 
to save themselves. How blessed, blessed truth this 
is. Could you imagine if every time 
you witnessed to somebody, you had to think that they had the 
ability or that they had the desire? You'd never go out. Why go talk to people on the 
street apart from authoritative sovereignty that is to be found 
in Christ? Why go ever and tell people about 
Jesus if it's up to those people? It's up to a sovereign God who 
works by His Spirit and by His Word. We are to make disciples, 
disciple the nations. Do this in the spirit of God 
Most High, preaching and proclaiming His truth. Tell sinners that 
Jesus saves. After disciples are made, you 
baptize them. Not all the nations, but the 
disciples that are made in those nations. Roman Catholicism thought 
that if we just sprinkle the poles, we can baptize this whole 
nation. That's not what Jesus is saying. 
If that's the truth, we ought to get a blimp, a plane, and 
whatever other manner of dropping water on people we can foster. And just sprinkle the entirety 
of Chilliwack and say, welcome to the Three Grace Baptist Church. That is not what the text is 
specifying. It is clear that when you make 
disciples, you baptize those disciples. Baptism is an ordinance 
for the believer. You have no business going into 
that water if you're not a disciple. You have no business receiving 
the sign of the New Covenant if you're not a participant in 
the New Covenant. I mean, it's obvious, isn't it? 
Going, make disciples. When you make disciples, you 
baptize these disciples. Baptism notice is in the name 
of the triune God. What a beautiful declaration. 
Baptizing them in the name singular of the Father and of the Son 
and of the Holy Spirit. Baptism is in the name singular 
of the triune God, in His blessed glory, in His blessed distinction, 
in all of His beauty. The triunity of God is established 
here, or set forth rather, by the Lord Jesus Christ, who is 
the second person of that blessed Trinity. Now, what is baptism? Baptism, obviously, is a visible 
sign. It is an emblem. It is a picture. It is an illustration done in 
the flesh of what God has done in the heart. You don't go into the water in 
order to become a disciple. Isn't the process clear? We don't baptize to make disciples. We make disciples through preaching 
the gospel, and we baptize them. There have been churches that 
have taught what's called baptismal regeneration. The L.A. Church of Christ comes to mind. That when you are baptized, you 
are regenerate. The text does not bear that out. 
The text is clear. You make disciples and then you 
baptize those disciples that are made. It is a visible representation 
of what God the Spirit has done inwardly to the heart. It is 
a sign of fellowship with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection 
according to Romans 6. Paul's whole theology in Romans 
6 is an outworking of what baptism is all about. Baptism is a sign 
of being engrafted in him. Not a word we use a lot, engrafted. I grant that. But we certainly 
understand the concept. Especially when we look at John 
15. When we see that Jesus is the true vine. And that we as 
believers are the branches. We have been engrafted by the 
grace of God to be a participant in all the blessings that Jesus 
has purchased for us. This is why when you read in 
the New Testament and it speaks of saints reigning, and it speaks 
of saints exercising judgment, you go, how in the world could 
that ever be? By virtue of our union with Jesus 
Christ. His victories are our victories. His triumph is our triumph. His blessings are our blessings. So much so that Paul the Apostle 
can even speak of believers in Romans 8 as co-heirs with Christ. What a beautiful statement! That 
I should be a co-heir with Christ? That you should be a co-heir 
with Christ? That in the language of Hebrews 
2 he is not ashamed to call them Brethren, this Jesus calls us 
brothers and he calls us sisters. That is signified by our baptism. We have been engrafted. We are 
part of Christ's body. And it is a sign of the remission 
of sins. Water doesn't cleanse you from 
your sins. Blood does. and not just any 
blood. In fact, in the book of Hebrews 
we read, the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin. All those were signposts pointing 
forward to the one whom the Baptist identified in John 1.29 as the 
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. If you want 
the forgiveness of sins, which I encourage you to want, nothing 
worse than the guilt of sin. And I suspect a lot of the problems 
that mankind has is all related to that fundamental issue, sin. Oh, we like to put a lot of different 
labels on it, we like to call it a lot of different things, 
we like to say it's a syndrome, or a complex, or a whatever. We like to do all sorts of things 
to try and take that guilt away. There's only one place for the 
removal of that guilt. We sing about it sometimes, well, 
just about every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper. There is a 
fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And sinners plunged beneath that 
flood lose all their guilty stains. That water won't cleanse you 
from your sin. Your attempts at self-reformation 
won't cleanse you from your sin. Your feeling bad about your sin 
won't cleanse you from your sin. Your seeking out various philosophical 
or religious systems won't deal with your sin. There's one way. It's in the blood. There is power 
in the blood. Hebrews 9.22 says, without the 
shedding of blood there is no remission. You can look for forgiveness. You can look far and wide. You 
can search until you die. But if you are not searching 
it out in Emmanuel's blood, you're going to be in vain. You see 
what baptism pictures? You see why we say you shouldn't 
sprinkle a baby and call it baptism? Have they experienced these blessings? Have they entered into the new 
covenant by the grace of God? Are they active participants 
in the knowledge of God? Are they those who have received 
the forgiveness of sin? This is an ordinance for disciples. And it's not an 18-year-old disciple. See, some people call it adult 
baptism. No, children can be saved. Children 
can believe the gospel. Children can own the Lord Christ 
by the grace of God through faith in the Savior. They're disciples. They should be baptized. But 
an infant, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 
The confession tells us that baptism is a sign of his giving 
up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of 
life. Isn't that a beautiful declaration? 
Oh yes, it means all these things. It means I'm engrafted. It means 
I'm forgiven. It means I'm publicly identifying 
with the triune God. But it also means something of 
responsibility. For you see, when I go into that 
water and I arise, I have said that I will follow the Lamb wherever 
He goes. I have said I will take his word, 
not as a collection of inspiring principles, but as the body of 
truth that commands my obedience. You see, the scriptures do not 
come to you just to make you feel good in your otherwise dreary 
life. The scriptures come to command 
you, to dictate to you, to call you 
to self-denial, to call you to cross-bearing. This is why Jesus, 
in the Gospel accounts, told people to count the costs. You don't go get baptized and 
join a church because that's the thing to do. You do it because 
Jesus has saved you. You want to own that. You want 
to publicly declare that. You want to identify with that 
triune God. And you want to, through this 
baptismal service, communicate to all of these witnesses before 
a holy God, I will follow the Lamb wherever He calls me. I'm not going to play the religious 
games. I'm not going to say I'm in and then I'm out. I'm not 
going to pick and choose. I'm not going to say I like seven 
of the Ten Commandments. But I like all of them. I want 
to obey all of them. I'm not going to pick and choose 
when it comes to the Apostle Paul. You know, I love it when 
Paul speaks about grace. I love it when Paul speaks about 
free forgiveness. I love it when Paul tells me 
that I'm cleansed in the blood of Jesus. What about when Paul 
tells you as a woman you need to submit to your own husband? 
What about when Paul tells you as a husband to love your wife 
as Jesus loved the church and gave himself for her? What about 
a young disciple who says, yes, I love the grace of God? What 
about honor your father and your mother? And children, obey your 
parents and the Lord, for this is right. You see, not many of 
us would raise our hand and say, yeah, I like to pick and choose 
what I'll follow in the Bible. I grant that. I realize that. 
We don't generally have Bible studies where we all say, you 
know, I like this, but I don't like that. But we live that way. We function that way, especially 
in Reformed churches, or not especially, incorrect, even in 
Reformed churches. You see, the baptism that is 
engaged in here is not engaged in to earn something. It is engaged 
in because Christ has earned something. Through his death, 
by his resurrection, in the language of Romans 4.25, he was delivered 
up because of our offenses, and he was raised up because of our 
justification. Christ is earned, Christ is purchased, 
Christ is secured, Christ is bought and paid for every spiritual 
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Those who have embraced 
Christ by the grace of God through faith in Him ought to be baptized 
as a symbol, as an emblem, as a sign of fellowship, of being 
engrafted, of remission of sins, and of telling everybody in this 
room, I'm going to walk the way my Savior has commanded me. 505 isn't going to be a hypocritic 
exercise for me. When I sing, all the way my Savior 
leads me, I really mean it. I've thought about this before. 
How many times do we sing the hymns and we're lying every step 
of the way? How many times have we stood 
here and we've sung, all the way my Savior leads me, knowing 
good and well that ain't the case? It ain't for real you shouldn't 
get baptized. It ain't for real you shouldn't 
say you are. And then notice what Jesus says. 
Going, make disciples, baptize those disciples, teach those 
disciples. I love what Davis says. Churches 
today count sheep. They don't always feed sheep. 
We have 5,000 conversions. Great. Can they tell us what 
justification is? Well, no. But I'm not asking for a Turretin-ish 
definition. Something akin to the blind man 
in John 9. I don't know, but I was blind, 
but now I see. That'll work for me. I wonder at times if the church 
can even do that. Teaching them. We have new baptismal 
robes for the service this morning. Just kidding. They're not baptismal 
robes. They're t-shirts that say theology 
matters. Is that something we believe 
in this church? Theology matters. Doctrine matters. When people 
are saying, let us just love Jesus, we're going to say, which 
Jesus? When people are saying with Reginald 
Denny, can't we all just get along? Or Rodney King, can't 
we all just get along? Yes, certainly we can with a 
common bond of Jesus. You see, the same 1 Corinthians 
13 that highlights that love is patient, that love is kind, 
that love believes all things and love hopes all things, defines 
love in this manner. It rejoices in truth. You see, for Paul, theology mattered. 
It mattered so much that he gave his life in the propagation of 
it. Theology mattered to the early 
church, so much so that many of them were human torches to 
light the way for Nero's garden parties when he would engage 
in all manner of revelry and wickedness. The next time you're 
on the internet and you get an image of the Colosseum, instead 
of standing there or sitting there going, wow, what a beautiful 
testimony to the ingenuity of man in his architectural ability, 
look at it as a testimony for what it was. An arena where Christ's 
people were fed to lions. A place where Christ's people 
were brutalized, where they were mocked, where they were tortured 
and abused. Why? Because for them, theology 
mattered. There was a thing that went around 
recently, a quartet, I think, of men singing Amazing Grace. 
Beautiful singing. James Wyatt made the comment, 
they're in the Coliseum singing this. Don't just gawk at the 
singing and hear the beauty of that song. Think of what occurred 
in the backdrop. Our brothers and our sisters, 
for whom theology mattered, gave their lifeblood at that place. Jesus has teached that. Let me 
just tell you something. If you're a disciple of Jesus 
Christ and you don't like to read, you need to change. God has given us a book. It's a challenge. It can be difficult. But you know what? To learn more 
about the Savior, you need to read. I mean, God's so good, 
now we've got DVDs and CDs and we can listen to it in our cars. 
There is no reason why a disciple of Christ is not learning more 
of Christ. Not today. I just don't buy that we're too 
busy. I guarantee you, brethren, none of you here, nor myself, 
are as busy as was Joshua. What was Joshua's task? Oh, just 
the mere entering into the land of Canaan and dispossessing all 
the Canaanites from the land. He didn't have B-2 stealth bombers. 
He didn't have F-117 stealth fighters. He didn't have Abrams 
tanks, he didn't have modern warfare. He had himself, he had 
a bunch of troops, and he had swords and axes. It's a tough 
job. And yet, we meditate on the law 
of the Lord day and night, and then your way will be prosperous. What about the disciples of our 
Lord Jesus? How did they get places? Not 
in nice cars. Remember just in our studies 
on Wednesday night in the book of Acts, Paul got stoned outside 
of Lystra? The next day he goes to Derbe, 
60 miles away. I'm sorry, but we really should 
watch our complaining about inconvenience. I've never had to walk 60 miles 
in my life, let alone having been stoned the day before. And not just a few pebbles to 
mess up my whatever looks, but having been stoned to the point 
where I was left for dead. Paul goes to Derby to preach 
and teach the gospel. Jesus says, teach. For the sake of time, I'll just 
refer you to an illustration of this going on in the book 
of Acts, Acts 2, 40 to 43. Actually, I'll read it without 
much comment. Acts 2, 40 to 43. This is what the church looked 
like. People often say we need to get 
back to the early church. I don't think this is what we 
want. Personally, Because if we wanted it, we could have it. 
It's not real difficult. And with many other words, Acts 
2.40, he testified and exhorted them, saying, Be safe from this 
perverse generation. Then those who gladly received 
his word were baptized. You see the progress of the process? 
They received the word and then were baptized. They had been 
made disciples and then were baptized. Notice in verse 41, 
in that day about 3,000 souls were added to them, a statement, 
a testimony concerning the sovereignty of God. Who adds to the church? God adds to the church. We may 
try, we may manipulate, we may rally, we may do whatever, but 
in the final analysis, when there is addition to the church of 
Jesus Christ, it is by sovereign grace. That is what our text 
is telling us. Now notice what the church did. 
They had received, they had been baptized, they were added to 
the church, verse 42, and they continued steadfastly in the 
apostles' doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and 
in prayers. The breaking of bread there probably 
refers to the Lord's Supper. So they had received the initiatory 
rites or the initiatory sign in baptism. Now that they are 
a part of the church, this is what they do. They continued 
steadfastly, not haphazardly, not hit and miss, not when I 
feel like it, not if I want to. They did it. They continued steadfastly 
in the apostles doctrine. They wanted to hear the word 
of truth. You see, theology mattered to them. and in fellowship. And fellowship here simply is 
not being in the same room together. Fellowship doesn't mean we go 
golfing together. Fellowship does not even necessarily 
mean having a meal after Sunday service together. Because quite 
frankly, we could sit up there and talk about everything else 
than Christ. Christian fellowship focuses 
on a person, not us and our perceived needs, but upon Jesus and his 
glory, his majesty, his excellence and his beauty, his power, his 
grace, his mercy. You know, today at lunch, instead 
of talking about, you know, I did this at work or I did that at 
work, I read this in my Bible. I just used it to encourage my 
heart. We need to do more of that. I 
need to do more of that. Fellowship, breaking of bread, 
and in prayers. Prayer. I've said this so many times 
over the 12 years that I've been here. A church that does not 
regard prayer as a church that God probably isn't willing to 
give us. If prayer is on the low end of 
our priority structure, then all the different things 
we can conceive of, what's the matter? To use the analogy of 
Paul in a different context, I agree. But if I have all the 
programs, and I have all the internet, and I have all the 
sermon audio, and I have all the whatever, but I have not 
prayer, how can I with a clear conscience say, Lord, bless our 
church? Jesus said, do these things, 
and lo and behold, not even far in, the very day of Pentecost 
in the book of Acts, that's what's going on. Notice the response 
in verse 43. Then fear came upon every soul. Isn't that beautiful? Maybe you 
want to leave church once in a while, not singing zippity-doo-dah, 
but being afraid. A holy fear, a reverence, an 
awe. That's why, and kids, I'm not 
picking on you, but after the service, to go running around 
like screaming banshees is not a good way to carry out Lord's 
Day worship. Perhaps the fear of God has infested 
itself in a man's soul, and he's giving thought to holy things. But that's gone because the environment 
is not conducive to such fear. Oh, you legalist, you, oh, whatever. Go ahead, if that's what you 
think I'm being, a legalist. I am saying we want a place where 
the fear of God is manifest. And there are certain things 
that help that, and there are certain things that counteract 
that. And then thirdly and finally, 
by way of the Great Commission, Jesus says, and lo, I am with 
you, even to the end of the age. Not only is he the authority 
behind the commission, he is the active agent in the commission. at verse 20, teaching them to 
observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with 
you always, even to the end of the age." Isn't this what God 
said to Moses? Remember Moses had that scene 
of the Lord at the burning bush, and God said, take off your sandals. 
The place upon which you stand is holy ground. God commissions 
Moses, the man, to go and to do his bidding. What does the 
Lord say? I'll be with you. I'm not sending 
you on an errand that I am not equipping you to fulfill. I'll 
be with you. Isn't that what Jesus is saying? 
Isn't that what Jesus is promising? The same book of Acts testifies 
He makes good on His promise. Paul's in Corinth in Acts 18 
and he's afraid. Jesus comes to him in a vision 
and He says, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, Paul, for I 
have many people in this city. Remember when John in Revelation 
1 sees that view of the glorified Christ. John says, and I fell 
as a dead man at his feet. What does Jesus do? He lays his 
hand on his shoulder and says, do not fear. Christ is with his 
church. Christ is with his people. Christ 
is the active agent in all of this. He's not just up in heaven 
saying, Y'all work it out. He is found in the midst of his 
lampstands, encouraging, strengthening, building up, equipping for service, 
sending people out, opening doors, closing doors, guiding his people 
in the accomplishment of the commission that he entrusted 
to them. We cannot miss that. Christ is 
with us even to the end. of the age, and in that we can 
rejoice. In that we can delight. In that 
we can step out in faith, trusting, trusting that he will make good 
on his promise that he will have dominion from sea to sea. Well, brethren, as the church, 
I want to encourage and exhort all of us that we need to be 
about missions and evangelism. There are ways that we can go 
about this, obviously. There are ways that we ought 
to go about this. The primary take-home right now, 
here's what I can do, is just be like Jesus wherever you are 
and love people. And when you have opportunity, 
tell them about Jesus. There's your course for today. 
Just had your evangelism course. Be like Jesus and tell people 
about Jesus. And you know if you're like Jesus, 
you won't necessarily walk up to people and say, I'm Jesus, 
you're a sinner, you need to believe and repent. Right? Show me an instance where 
Jesus came up to someone and said, I'm Jesus, you're a sinner, 
you need to believe and repent. Jesus loved them, Jesus cared 
for them, Jesus ate with them, Jesus was a friend of them, and 
then Jesus told them, they need to believe the gospel. And then for the brother and 
the sisters who are being baptized, you are passive in baptism. Now I realize you're going to 
walk up here and change your clothes and actually get in and 
all of that sort of thing. Passive in that, but active, 
especially in what it represents in terms of giving up yourself 
in newness of life. There are too many professions 
with very little evidence of possession. Y'all are playing 
games. Don't do it. If you're serious 
about following Jesus, be baptized and follow him. If you're not 
baptized, If you're not a follower, if you are not a believer, I 
invite you today to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. And lo 
and behold, He will save you. That's His promise. All that 
the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes 
to me I will certainly not cast out. You will never come to Jesus 
and find Him like you might find us. I don't have time for you 
right now. Jesus always has time for sinners. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for the 
Holy Scriptures and we pray that you would be with each one of 
us now, that you would cause us to reflect upon this great 
commission, cause us, Lord God, to act upon these truths as a 
church and as individuals within this church. And Lord God, I 
pray for this brother and these sisters that are going to publicly 
identify with Christ the Lord today. May this be a day that 
they look back on with great joy and with great fondness, 
and as our brother Spurgeon would later confess, blessed pool that 
he was baptized in. May the same be the case today, 
and may what this represents always be powerful in each of 
their lives. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.