Sermon Tone Analysis

*“Go Therefore”*

*Scripture Text:*

*/The Appearance of Jesus to the Disciples/*

*16**Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.

17When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

*

*/The Great Commission/*

*18**And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,  “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 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, 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.”

Amen.*[1]*

*

 

*Introduction:*

Matthew uses a climax to end his Gospel, a climax of the commandment of Jesus to the church.

If one reads the entire Book of Matthew and misses the climax they have missed the entire point of the book.

We will be looking today at the commandment, The Great Commission of Jesus Christ and how it pertains to us.

This has been a much read about, much studied and much misinterpreted portion of the Bible.

Let’s look at the main mission of the church.

What is the main mission of the church?

When people of the congregation are asked this question many answers may come to mind.

First the purpose of the church is Fellowship.

If this were true God could rapture everyone today and have perfect fellowship.

We as believers could then be in perfect fellowship with God.

Is it than to worship God?  Well again if God only wanted worship it would be nothing for him to rapture his church and have perfect worship.

Thirdly, is it for the spiritual growth of the believer?

I can see people perking up and saying “yes that’s it”.

Surely the church is here to uplift and teach the believer.

Sorry strike three.

The true purpose of the church, its main goal is found in the 28th chapter of Matthew.

Did you catch it?

*“Go therefore and  make disciples of all the nations”*

 

This may be may be a surprise or a point of contention for some but it is hard to argue with scripture.

This message will center on this purpose of the church.

It will challenge you to rethink your purpose as a believer in Jesus Christ.

It will develop in you a desire to reach the lost.

Evangelism will be a key word to be developed in each of your lives.

Christ came for the sinner not the righteous, likewise He sends us into the world to reach the lost.

Will we answer the call or will we sit idle as the minutes go by.

Will you be ashamed of the Gospel, Will you be ashamed of the Lord?

*Propositional Statement:*

*We as Christians must have evangelism and the spreading of the gospel in our hearts at all times.

We are commanded to reach the lost to the ends of the world.

Will you obey the command?*

*First Compliment:  Availability*

*16**Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.*

The apostles were first available to the Lord for the task that he had for them.

The Lord had told them where to be and when to be there.

Are you where the Lord wants you to be?   Are you available for the calling of Going out to all the nations preaching the word of God?  Christ calls us to be available.

In John 17:18 Jesus, speaking to God, says:

*18****As** You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.*[2]*

*

* *

This reconfirms that which we are about to learn.

Christ made Himself available to the will of the father.

We likewise need to be available to the will of the Lord.

What does it mean to be available?

Does it mean that we need to be out sharing the gospel everyday looking for the opportunities that appointed to us?  Yes, we need to be observant to what the Lord places in our paths.

We need to be willing and able to share the good news of His Gospel.

Christ came and did the will of the father unto death.

Are you willing to go that far?

The time is coming when we may be called to do such an act.

For now we just have to face a heckler or embarrassment.

Nothing compared to the apostles or Christ.

Fine, we need to be available.

What do we need to do to be such?

Well I am glad you asked.

You need to be on the forefront, the battlefield.

You need to be sharing the gospel of our Lord and savior, that he came for the lost and sinner that the only way to salvation is through belief in Him and Him alone.

Will you be like Isaiah in Chapter six?

*8****Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: *

*     “Whom shall I send?

*

*     And who will go for Us?” *

*     Then I said, “Here /am/ I! Send me.” *

*9**     And He said, “Go, and tell this people: *[3]

Isaiah was available, he was willing to go to the people and preach the Lord.

Are you willing?

Are you willing to stand for the lord and spread His gospel?

This is what we are commanded to do!  Go Therefore.

*Transition:*

Let’s look at the next attitude we need to reach the world for Christ.

*Second Compliment:  Worship*

* *

*17**When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.*

This is an important factor in the Great Commission.

*“When God is not truly worshipped, He cannot be truly served, no matter how talented, gifted, or well-intentioned His servant may be.”*[4]

It is important to point out here that the disciples immediately worshipped Him.

The fell prostrate and worshipped the divine king.

It was here that there confusion and despair disappeared.

Christ had risen from the grave and was now in front of them.

Christ had spoken to Thomas earlier in regards to generations that were to come when he said: \\ *29****Jesus said to him, **“**Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.

****Blessed /are/ those who have not seen and /yet/ have believed.”

*[5]

We are blessed to believe in the Lord and not have seen him.

It says in this verse that some doubted.

This was soon dispelled when they heard the voice of the Lord.

This also proves the truth of scripture.

If all had believed why not put that.

Some did not and Matthew saw it fit to put that in the Gospel.

Who was doubtful, it is not known for sure, the only group mentioned is the eleven.

But there were surely many there at the time of this occurrence.

*18**And Jesus came and spoke to them*

Christ speaks and all doubt is gone.

No one questioned Him from this point.

They knew that it was the Lord and that they needed to be obedient.

*Transition:  *

*Christ spoke to them and all doubt is lifted.

He then shows by what authority he gives the command.