What Now?, Part 2

Today on Insight for Living... When you are involved in making disciples, men, don't limit your involvement to the familiar, your own world. Plan to be going beyond the familiar to people who have a culture that's different from yours, who speak a language unfamiliar to you, because I want you to go into all the nations. Most of us are resistant to discomfort. We prefer things that are familiar.

We gravitate towards situations that are non-threatening. But when it comes to fulfilling the great commission of Jesus, sometimes we're called to step outside our comfort zone. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll is teaching from the final chapter in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 28. And it's here in this passage that we receive the parting mandate from Jesus to go and make disciples. Ready for a new adventure?

One that stretches you? Chuck titled today's message, What Now? And we begin with prayer. There is a bold assurance that comes at the end of this great book that reminds us, dear Father, that we will never be abandoned. We are never on our own. That though we may live alone, we are not alone. That though we may feel isolated, we are not isolated. You are with us always.

You stay with us. You minister to us. You touch our lives in ways that no one else can reach. And you alone are able to transform us from what we are naturally to what you want us to be supernaturally. Thank you for preserving the writings of Matthew, for giving us such profound information from a man who early in his life never gave a second thought to Jesus.

Thank you for transforming his life and through his transformed life for inspiring his pen to write living truth that would last a lifetime. Open our hearts to realize, Lord, that this commission has no ending, but continues throughout our lives on this earth. Motivate us. Prompt obedience from us.

Reprove us for indifference toward it. And then empower us with the passion to carry it out. Use our gifts today for the purpose of sending this message that we love and teach and obey to places far beyond these walls into lives we've never met and perhaps never will.

To places we'll never go. Give wings to your word that these truths may fly free and far. We commit this prayer to you and our offering. In the name of Jesus, our Savior, our Master, our Lord. Everyone said, Amen. You're listening to Insight for Living.

To study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scriptures studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. Chuck titled his message, What Now? The plan Jesus set in motion before he ascended back into heaven is the only plan that will work, the only one he will honor and bless because it is the inspired plan. That's why it is called the Great Commission. The Great Commission. That's why it's great.

When it's obeyed, it works. To fully appreciate it again, we return to the scene where it was first given. Matthew 28, beginning at verse 16, we come to the actual setting right there in the land of Israel, in the region of Galilee where Jesus and the disciples had their rendezvous. He is in a glorified resurrected state and he's able to speak to them. He has already eaten a meal with them by the seashore and now they are listening to him as he gives them instruction. But we observe the first thing they do when they see him is they worship him.

Just as you and I will do when we first lay eyes on Jesus. But Matthew adds this comment because he was there with them. Some of them doubted. There are so many unanswered questions in their minds. So Jesus speaks. I'm confident that much of what he said, calm their questions and doubts and settle their hearts. Jesus knows this and realizing this, decides to tell them what will be their marching orders from here on. And by the way, following verse 20, will you look in your Bible? It's blank.

There's a blank space. This is it. This is the plan. This is the great commission. I want to point out four things I observe about it. I think it will help make it even clearer than you may already think you know it. So with your pen handy, let me observe with you these four things. Each begins with the name of Jesus. First, we read in verse 18, Jesus came and told his disciples. Stop right there.

Here's what I want you to write down and remember. Jesus spoke to very ordinary people who knew him personally. We have seen the work on Canvas or we've read in books words that describe the disciples in ways that make them appear as though they are some kind of super spiritual human beings. They were not.

They were ordinary people. When I was a little boy, it was during World War II, we went to a church named St. Andrews Methodist Church. As you would imagine, inside the church was a statue of St. Andrew. St. Andrew. So when you walked in and you're a little boy, six, seven years old, the first thing you see is this. Of course there's a halo and it's white and he's got this robe and it's spotless. It's sandals and I used to be like, wow, St. Andrew. My dad would say, there are no saints.

And I would go, well, what's he? It's just a statue. But we're taught that there's something else. So let me make this real clear in case you're missing it.

The people he talked to were folks just like us. They had no miracle kits that they could reach in and get the tool and do a miracle. They had no halos.

I wish artists would get rid of halos, but they never will. It makes them look holy. They had no uniforms. They didn't go to the best schools. They didn't go to any school. They didn't go to seminary. None of them did.

Not until the Holy Spirit came on them did they have any power. You wonder what they looked like? I'm going to pause for five seconds and give you an example. Look around.

Some of you aren't even doing that. Look around. Okay, there are the disciples. And you're thinking, they look like that? There they are.

That's what they look like. Just folks. Just men. In this case, all men.

Just guys. He spoke to them. I know where I'm going with this, and I have a reason for pausing at this, which may seem ludicrous to some of you that want to hurry on. Stop thinking of anyone named in the scriptures as a halo-wearing, saintly-looking individual. They weren't. We've already read they doubted.

They're sinful. They were guilty of coming to wrong conclusions. They were fearful.

They weren't sure what to do next. They did nothing in their system that made them glow or stand out. And when you were around them, you wouldn't even know they were disciples. They didn't have any badge or little flags. I am a disciple. None of that.

None of that. They just were men. That's what it says. He told his disciples.

Now we're ready for the second. Jesus presented his plan, which was brief, simple, and clear. He presented a plan that was brief, simple, and clear.

He spoke calmly and deliberately. No theological jargon. No mumbo-jumbo. No secret code language. Didn't require an explanation. He doesn't explain the words. He just gives them because they are all self-explanatory.

And look for yourself. I've been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands.

We'll go on in a minute, but just stop right there. He had authority over everything on earth and in heaven. They didn't. He does. We don't. He does. And he makes that clear. He has the right to level a command.

He certainly outranks us. As the second member of the Trinity, he has the right to declare a statement that requires obedience. This is not a suggestion. This is a command. This would be their marching orders from now on. Now, let me have you notice something very important. The main verb is make disciples.

Now, look again at the commission. You would think the main verb would be go, but it isn't. You might even think the main verb would be teach.

But it isn't. So let me render it correctly or render it in a way that underscores the main verb. Therefore, make disciples of all the nations going, baptizing, and teaching. These three other words surround the main word make disciples. It will take going. It will certainly involve baptizing those who believe.

And it will definitely include teaching. But the main commission is the making of disciples. When you are involved in making disciples, men, don't limit your involvement to the familiar, your own world. Plan to be going beyond the familiar to people who have a culture that's different from yours, who speak a language unfamiliar to you, because I want you to go into all, A-L-L, all the nations. In fact, let me have you notice the repeated use of all.

Look at it. All authority, verse 18, all the nations, verse 19, all the commands, verse 20. I will be with you always from now on, wherever you go, to whatever nation. There are no limitations. There are no reservations. There is no area marked off because it is dirty or dangerous or because the people are sophisticated or perhaps live in a lower standard than you.

Perhaps they are people that are illiterate or there are those who are highly educated. All the nations. Now let me give you the third statement that I observe here. Jesus was intense about the mission but flexible regarding the method. He was intense about the mission but flexible regarding the method. The words all reveal intensity.

All, all, all. This church has on its heart a global outreach of ministry. We reach, as we'll see in our next Sunday or two, we reach where we are. We reach the community where we are located. We reach beyond our community. We reach beyond that and then beyond the seas to other places. The method we may use is very different from one place to another because Jesus doesn't spell out how to make disciples.

He simply says, make them. I rather like that. I like the idea of flexibility and we're free to go there.

You are certainly free to do that. Home study group in one way, person to person in another, evangelistic outreach in one way, Bible studies in another, and on and on I could go. Insight for Living Ministries has as a part of our marching orders what we call vision 195. It comes from the fact that our State Department has revealed that there are 195 nations around the world. Some are islands, some are large, large nations, some are small nations. Some are nearby, many of them are away beyond the seas from where we live.

But there are 195 of them. Our vision is to go to all of them ultimately. Now, having said that, we must keep in mind that there are different cultures at every one of those nations. You don't speak to people who are from Australia as you would speak to people who are from America. Australians have a culture that's unique to them.

They speak English, but they have a culture that's unique. You don't go to a country in Africa and communicate to them or expect from them the kind of things you would as if you were going to minister in New Zealand or Japan or Indonesia. So there's a flexibility that must be built into the method. Let me give you some examples, and I've written them in a number of areas so you'll remember them.

It'll hit one spot or two that you'll be familiar with. Your method may be large arenas or it may be small groups. Your method of reaching out may be to sophisticated intellectuals. They're reached one way. Or it may be to be students on a campus another way. Your target may be athletes. You reach athletes a certain way, not like you reach artists in studios doing their unique work. Workers on construction sites, laborers, are reached one way. Entertainers are reached another in the film industry or the television industry. Millennials who live in the urban sprawl are reached one way. Teenagers who live in the country, smaller villages, are reached another.

Then there are entrepreneurs. There are people in the military. There are professionals and politicians.

There are prisoners living behind bars. There are islanders. There are New Yorkers. There are people from the metropolises around the country.

Chicago, Miami, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, you can name them. That's just here in America. But reaching them in Sao Paulo is not like reaching them in New York. Or reaching them in Tokyo is not like reaching them in the heart of China. The point is you're to reach all the nations keeping in mind that there are cultural uniquenesses that need to be honored, observed, cooperated with. That is why so often before an individual can really minister in a nation, he must learn the language of that nation. Because the language is the green light to the lives of people who live there. You don't know their language. You are as if you are living back in these United States trying to reach them in their country. So you've got the point.

Flexible regarding method. Here's the fourth. Jesus expected obedient action from all of his followers.

How do I know that? Verse 20, teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I've given you. And it's this final command from Jesus that compels us to take His message around the world. Chuck Swindoll has much more he wants to share with us, so please keep listening when we'll dig deeper into Matthew chapter 28.

You're listening to Insight for Living. To learn more about this ministry, please visit us online at insightworld.org. Now next time, we'll hear Chuck Swindoll's final message in this brand new teaching series founded on the first book in the New Testament, the book of Matthew.

It's called The King of Kings. When we plan to share this comprehensive series with you, it was evident that teaching about the Great Commission of Jesus would be one of the highlights of this series. And this made us very pleased because it represents the crescendo of Jesus' ministry and His mandate to go and make disciples of all the nations. We can think of no better way to conclude our time together than by celebrating this master plan from Jesus.

It gives us purpose, focus, and a plan for the future. In that spirit, we invite you to participate in giving generously to the ministry of Insight for Living, knowing that your gift is channeled directly into telling more people all around the world the good news of Jesus. In this way, when you give, you're actually participating in God's plan to reach the world for Him. So as God moves you to join us in touching lives, we invite you to give generously today. No gift is too small as we pull together in this all-out effort to make disciples of Jesus Christ, just as our Lord commanded. You can give a donation today online when you go to insight.org. Remember, when you give, you're the one God is using to amplify the message of Insight for Living. We truly couldn't do this work without friends like you who give.

If you're listening in the United States, dial 1-800-772-8888. You've heard Him teach about the Holy Land, using word pictures to make us feel like we're actually strolling through the Old City. Learning about Jerusalem is fascinating for sure, but seeing the Land of Israel with your own eyes is a very important part of your life. You're going to be able to see the Land of Israel with your own eyes. You're going to be able to see the Land of Israel with your own eyes is life-changing.

In fact, it's absolutely magnificent. And now you can see Israel with Chuck Swindoll and the gracious hosts and experts assembled by Insight for Living Ministries. Join us on an unforgettable 12-day tour, March 6-17, 2022. At special sites along the way, I will teach from God's Word. We'll worship at the Mount of Beatitudes and share the Lord's Table at the Garden Tomb. In fact, we'll sail the Sea of Galilee together and we'll visit places where Jesus walked and taught. Just imagine walking along those sacred sites and seeing the Bible come to life before your very eyes. Mark your calendar for March 6-17, 2022 and make your reservation by calling 1-888-447-0444 or go to insight.org slash events. Insight for Living Ministries Tour to Israel is paid for and made possible by only those who choose to attend. I'm Dave Spiker, inviting you to join us again when Chuck Swindoll presents the final message from his study in Matthew, Friday on Insight for Living.