Go Therefore And Make Disciples

5-31-26

Hoonah-Hadley

Matthew 28:16-20

Call to Worship Psalm 8

Daily Verse Matthew 28:19

Go Therefore And Make Disciples

“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.” As God’s elect, His chosen, called, we would do well to visit His plan and purpose for our lives at least occasionally. To remind ourselves what it is we’re doing, why we are doing it and how we are getting along with it. Most sermon titles for the closing remarks of Matthew’s gospel looks like this: “The Great Commission”. We could say that these red letters are our marching orders. We could say it’s our job description. We could say a lot of things, or we could just simply title our message, “Go”. It’s good to ask the question, how is our “Go” going? Are we going? Or has our get up and go, got up and gone? Have we lost our way? Have we compromised our principles? Have we gotten spiritually lazy? Are we going through the denominational motions? Where’s the fruit of our labors? There are plenty of questions, some of them have obvious answers, but let us not spend too much time either patting ourselves on the back or beating ourselves up over the matter, instead, saddle up, lets ride. Once we put our hand to the plow let us not look back but press on toward the mark of a higher calling. Let us make some corrections, join Gideon in blowing the trumpets, breaking the pitchers, holding our torches in our left hands and crying out, “For God and Gideon”. (Judges 7:20) Exodus 14:14, 1 Samuel 17:47, 2 Chronicles’ 20:15 “The Lord will fight for you…the battle is not yours but God’s…Do not be afraid or discouraged…” The harvest is great but the workers are few. Go!

-2-

Vs. 16 “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. There were 12, now there are 11, Judas had already gone to his appointed place. God choses whom He will show Himself to, on this occasion, only 11, a very special cast. Acts 17:26 “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.” God has determined our times and dwelling places. Do take time to read the creation story from Genesis chapter 1 through 2:4. At the recent National Day of Prayer which was celebrated and held on the lawn of the Mercer County Courthouse, Dave Means was given the task of praying for the topic, “God created all life, all life has purpose.” He nailed it with Psalm 139. “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thoughts from afar…You are acquainted with all my ways.” We’re not to play favorites, but we do, and this is one of them. The words here, 24 verses in all, some of the most blessed, profound offerings of all times, in all ways, in all the world. The psalmist ends all arguments about when life begins. Vs. 13-16 “For you formed my inward parts…my frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret…Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed and in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” There are times when we may wish He didn’t know us, but He does. There are times when we ignore Him, but He loves us non the less. We may think we are hidden from Him but we cannot flee from His Spirit, from His presence. He knows the number of our days, our thoughts from afar, the words before we speak them, the contents of our hearts, all before the foundation of the earth and forevermore

-3-

John Muir 1838-1914 a Scottish born American naturalist, environmentalist, author, botanist, glaciologist and more, was know as “John of the Mountains” and “Father of the National Parks”, once said, “The mountains are calling and I must go.” By age 11 young Muir had learned to recite much of the New Testament and some of the Old, “by heart and sore flesh”. He was a restless spirit and especially prone to “lashings”. His father founded the “Church of Scotland”, was very strict in faith and believed that anything that distracted from bible studies was frivolous and punishable. Donald Worster believed that Muir’s mission was “To save the American soul from total surrender to materialism.” Muir’s relentless pursuit of life led to the preservation of much wilderness and the founding of our National Parks system. We could say that when the 11 disciples “went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them”, young Muir took it personally. Mountains are often sacred places for divine encounters with God. Abraham was called to Mount Moriah to test his faith. God called Moses to Mount Sinai to establish His covenant between God and Israel. Elijah, after fleeing into the wilderness was called to Mount Horeb for divine revelation and instruction. Peter, James and John were called to the Mount of Transfiguration to witness Jesus divine glory. Jesus delivered the “Sermon on the Mount”, a defining moment emphasizing His authority and wisdom. After His resurrection Jesus ascended to the Mount of Olives fulfilling prophecy. Biblically speaking mountains are not just a geographical location but an invitation, a call to a divine encounter with God. Micah 4:2 “Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord.” Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and John Muir have been called to “go”. Isaiah 49:13 “Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing , O mountains!” The mountains are calling.

-4-

Vs. 17 “When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted.” As much as things change, much remains the same. Worship verses doubt, no matter, God doesn’t flinch nor does His Son, He sets His face like flint and presses on toward the mark of a higher calling, the one true call in His life and ours worth answering. It’s not our job to convince you, that’s the work of the Holy Spirit, but to set the table before you. Jesus is a crossroad we’ll all come to at some point in our lives, we can trust that now will be better than later. When we do, we will either bow to His commands or reject Him. We often hear people say something like this, “That’s fine, this Jesus thing, but it’s not for me.” The message of forgiveness is a promise for all people and all time, receive it and your sins are forgiven, reject it and you will die in your sins and be lost for all eternity. Listen to a few words from the epistle of Jude. “…they corrupt themselves. Woe to them…for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever…but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire…” Herein the “Great Commission”. Vs. 18 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’” Jesus was and is forever about His Father’s business, business of the highest order. He doesn’t waste a breath, step or word, there is no idle chatter, jesting or tomfoolery about Him. Over 500 years before Christ, Daniel, Old Testament penned these words in 7:13-14 “…Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples…should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away…” “All authority” is a claim that only Christ can make. Vs. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples…” The “therefore” is the authority of Jesus giving us the responsibility to go. Why should we do this? Because we are in the service of the One who has authority. Get up and go! Amen