Matthew 28:18-20 *
Onward, Christian Soldiers!
Dear Brothers and Sister in Christ,
If you want a marketing success story look no further than
this can right here. In 1896 Dr. John
Pemberton first introduced Coca-Cola in
So what does corporate marketing have to do with us? Well this morning I want to encourage you to
make a commitment just like the one made by Coca-Cola a hundred years ago. This morning I want to focus on a command
given to us nearly two thousand years ago.
Today I want to take you to a mountain in
We
can’t say with certainty when this event took place. We don’t know how much time had elapsed
between the Jesus’ appearance at the tomb on Easter Sunday and this event on
the Galilean mountain. What we do know
is that during the forty days Jesus spent on this earth following his
resurrection he appeared to various people in various places. This was near the end of his earthly journey
and he took this opportunity to instruct his disciples in everything that the
scriptures say.
In
verse 18 Jesus begins to speak, “Then Jesus came to them and said,
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” If you look at the word “authority” in the
Greek it gives a sense of possession.
Christ possessed the right and authority to use everything at his
disposal, in other words everything in heaven and on earth. Throughout scripture we see just what this
authority allowed him to do. It allowed
him to drive out demons, to heal the sick, to raise the dead, and most
importantly to forgive all our sins.
Jesus had the authority that his Father in heaven had given him. The authority that makes him the omnipotent
God he is.
This
authority brings comfort. It certainly
brought comfort to those disciples standing on the mountain and it brings
comfort to each of us today. For
starters we know that our faith is not in vain.
We know that we are putting our trust in a powerful God, a God who can
make anything happen, and a God who has the ability to watch over each of his
disciples. We are not reporting to a
mere man but to an all-powerful Lord. He
is our general and we are his soldiers here on earth. His is in control of everything and we know
that all things will go according to his plan.
That’s what gives us the confidence to carry out his mission. That’s why we listen the to
the command known as the Great Commission.
The command found in verse 19 of our text, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” This is a clear command that I’m sure no one here would disagree with. As Christians we want all people to be brought to faith. However this is also a command that we often wait for others to act on. Why is that? Well, to list just a couple excuses: we’re timid; we like to think that we wouldn’t know what to say. We comfort ourselves by thinking that we’re simply not good with people. We fear rejection. No one likes getting the door slammed in their face. We don’t like alienating people, we just want to fit in. These may all sound like legitimate excuses to our sinful natures but none are worthy of disobeying our Lord’s command.
If you didn’t catch it the first time our Lord tells us to make disciples “of all nations.” That doesn’t mean just our families. It often seems as though that’s how we interpret this command. Most of us here are pretty good about getting our children to church. We all recognize the importance of bringing up our children in the Word of God but this command extends well beyond our households. The gospel is for everyone. For you, for me, and for everyone we know. So don’t be greedy. Share it with everyone you know. Now you may be doing a good job of that already but I am sure that we can all think of many people we have withheld the gospel from. People who we would call friends, people we genuinely care about. I’ll ask the question, is it good enough to simply care for the earthly well-being of family and friends? What about their eternal well-being? What kind of friends are we really being? Take this command seriously, it’s the most important thing you can do for someone and yields the greatest rewards.
It’s
not going to be easy, it will seem like a real battle sometimes but we have no
reason to be afraid. We are not going
out into the world unarmed. On the
contrary we are all armed with the Lord’s weapons. In verse 19 we see the first weapon at
our disposal. Baptism. We read, “baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This is one of the weapons God gives us to
accomplish his mission. Baptism allows
the Holy Spirit to work faith in others.
Every time you see a child brought forth to be baptized you are
witnessing the Holy Spirit working through the means of grace.
So let’s review what
exactly we received at our baptisms? We
received the blessing of the Trinity. We
received the Father’s love, the love that cares for us and provides for our
every need. We were given the Son’s
redemption, the forgiveness of all our sins by his death on the cross. We take with us the Holy Spirit’s sanctification;
the ability to live God-pleasing lives out of love for our Lord. That’s why we baptize in the name of the
Trinity. God wants us to receive all
these blessing through this sacrament.
What a powerful weapon this is!
Now use it. Don’t deny people the
Means of Grace. Have your children
baptized and urge those you know to be baptized as well.
We see another weapon in
verse 20, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” God has truly given us a powerful weapon in
his Word. We have everything we need to
know right here in the Bible and we have been commanded to share these saving
truths with others. As
our Lord tells us in Acts 1:8, “and you will be my witnesses.” Once again our Lord is not asking us but
telling us that we will be his witnesses on this earth. Yes, whether you like it or not you will be a
witness for your Lord. The question is
what kind of witness will you be? Will
you live a life of faith reflecting everything God has done for you or will you
fail to let your light shine and only lead people farther into sin. I can’t answer
that for you but God has made it clear.
He tells us in this verse to be his witnesses here on earth teaching
everything he has commanded, and that starts first and foremost in our
homes. Parents, get your kids to Sunday School, read devotions at home, take time out of each day to
focus on God’s Word.
It’s funny what a priority
we put on school. Growing up I remember
getting in trouble for not having my homework done. If my grades were bad I could be assured that
a little pain was soon to follow, if I skipped I could be guaranteed that I
wouldn’t be leaving the house for a while.
Now that was a good thing, it kept me focused and reminded me that school
was very important. Now the question I
have is would I have received the same punishment had I missed Sunday School? When my
confirmation passages weren’t up to snuff was it that big of deal? I don’t think so. For some reason we don’t seem to put the same
emphasis on our spiritual educations as we do on our secular ones. Don’t let this be the case in your
household. Make sure that your
priorities are straight and that God’s Word comes first in your homes.
Teach everything that God’s
Word tells us. Not just your favorite
parts. Not just the parts that don’t
cause conflict in our lives. No, teach
it all to your children and share it all with your friends. Don’t be ashamed, people will tell you that
you’re not “enlightened” and that your way of thinking is way out dated but
don’t back done. Even when confronted,
even when challenged. We all know there
is that vocal minority out there that is going to blast you for your
beliefs. They will say that you’re not loving enough because you don’t support alternate
lifestyles or even worse call it a sin.
They will call you unsympathetic when you tell them that abortion is
murder, but never forget the command of our Lord. Teach everything he has commanded you.
Because it’s a powerful
weapon, it brings many to faith and strengthens those who already have it. I know this is true in my life. There are many times when I need a little
refresher course in my faith. I need the
reassurance of sins forgiven over and over again. That’s exactly what happens every time we
teach his Word to others. We may be
helping build their faith but at the same time we are strengthening our
own. So use this weapon, be the
aggressor, remember you have something that can and will change their lives and
something they so desperately need.
As our text concludes we are
told of our third and final weapon in verse 20, “And surely I am with you
always, to the very end of the age.”
We have an ally in Christ, we are not alone, and everywhere we go with
his message he will be with us. He will
be right beside us with his protection, power, and authority. When I was a child I didn’t like going to the
doctor. I was always afraid that they
were going to perform some incredibly painful procedure on me, but the one
thing that always made me feel secure was having mom or dad in the room with
me. I knew that they would protect me;
they would make sure that nothing bad happened to me. That’s how it is with Christ as our ally. There will be times when we’re afraid and
nervous as we carry out his command here on earth but we can always be
confident that he is right there in the room with us. He will protect us and make sure that
everything goes according to his will.
He will give us his authority to call people to repentance and to
proclaim the forgiveness of their sins.
We will know that his Will will be done.
It won’t be numbers that define our success, it won’t be clever strategy
that makes it work, it will be our Father in heaven
who brings forth every blessing. He is
in control and we simply have to be faithful to his commands.
That’s what makes this a
weapon. To know that we have an ally in
Christ gives us the confidence to stand tall in a sinful world. To gladly report for
service in his kingdom. It
reminds us that our king is not one who sends his soldiers off to war but one
that stands right beside them in the trenches.
He is beside us all the time, at every doorstep and in every encounter.
I think it’s pretty safe to
say that the Coca-Cola Company has done a good job of fulfilling the commitment
they made long ago. They have achieved
great success by using marketing strategies that appeal to all parts of the
globe. But as popular as Coca-Cola may
be we have something far more valuable and much more powerful to offer. We have the living Word of God which brings
the hope of eternal life through Christ Jesus.
We have the powerful weapons that bring people to this saving faith and
we have specific orders to go do his bidding.
So onward, Christian Soldiers!
Amen