1000. Have You Accepted Your Commission?

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.

The school was founded in 1927 by the evangelist Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. His intent was to make a school where Christ would be the center of everything so he established daily chapel services. Today, that tradition continues with fervent biblical preaching from the University Chapel platform. Today on The Daily Platform, we're concluding a three-part series on evangelism led by Dr. Jeff Musgrave.

Jeff has more than 30 years experience in pastoral ministry, and in 2010, God led him to begin a ministry called The Exchange, which trains people to effectively share their faith through relational evangelism and discipleship. Today's message is titled, Have You Accepted Your Commission?, from Matthew 28, 16 through 20. I have thoroughly enjoyed being here with you this week. One of the reasons we took the time to come this week is because we believe in you. You are the future of the work that God wants to do in the world. Today, I want to talk to you about this concept of taking what God has given you as your own and really choosing to run the course with the Gospel as your focal point. That's really what God has asked each one of us to do with our lives. We were born to reproduce spiritually. You are never going to be fulfilled in your life until that is happening and you're discipling people and you're building other lives.

That's what God created all of us or recreated all of us to do when He gave us new birth. So Monday, we started with some strategies of really just learning from the master of conversations, Jesus, how to ask questions and genuinely listen to people, get down to heart issues as we talk with them. Yesterday, I hope you enjoyed chapel.

I think to myself, if you don't enjoy listening to the Gospel, something isn't quite right with the inside of you because there's just something very thrilling about being able to see and focus on the Gospel. I hope that you will take the time to download the app and try to work at it, practice it a little bit so that when you get an opportunity, you can use it. Today, I want to ask you a question. Have you accepted your commission?

And I love this thought about claiming the great commission as my own and not just something that all of us are supposed to do but my commission. This is Matt Campbell and Kristen. You may recognize them, you may not.

They were here several years ago. But Matt is an officer in the United States Air Force. He was commissioned on September the 14th, 2018.

Now it's interesting, he was in training for a year up to that point. But the day he took his commission, life changed for Matt and his family. And he tells me, I don't work where I want to work and I don't do often what I want to do, but I always do it with the best of my ability because, he said, I am getting unbelievable opportunities to preach and share the Gospel with people all over the world. And so, here's the question. Matt's life changed because he took a commission as an officer. And here, I believe that God wants each of you to be officers in the army of Jesus Christ. And the question is, have you taken your commission? Take your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter 28. We're going to look at the great commission this morning. I feel a little bit like going to the year-end contest here at Bob Jones and playing Fur Elise.

You know, everybody knows that song. And so, you can tell all the mistakes you make. And the fact is, you have heard many messages on this passage and so it's a little nerve-wracking to talk about what you know so much about. But I think you're going to find this to be encouraging. I want it to be the motivation for us to do what we've been talking about all week.

And the motivation comes from this, not that I'm supposed to, but that I can because Christ is with me. So we're going to look at the authority of our commission. We're going to look at the contents of our commission.

And finally, we'll look at the power of our commission. Just let's read together this passage. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power or authority is given unto me, both in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even and unto the end of the world. And we can all add our own amen at the end. Amen is not just one of those things that Baptists say when they get done praying or when someone makes a good point.

It literally means, let that be true in my life. And I believe that it's at the end of this commission for a reason. At the end of this message, I'm going to leave you with a 30-day challenge and invite you to accept the challenge to ask the Lord to use you to give the Gospel to someone or to begin an evangelistic Bible study with someone in the next 30 days.

First of all, I want to talk about the authority of our commission, and it starts with a backdrop. And I don't think any of us can imagine the trauma and the pain that the disciples went through when they watched their Savior, who they thought was the Messiah, die. And literally all of their hopes and dreams as to what was going to happen ended. And I also don't think that you and I can imagine the joy that they experienced upon the recognition of His resurrection. And each of these times that He visited them in the next 40 days must have been filled with extreme joy, and this is the very last time He's going to be speaking to them. The next time they would see Jesus would be when He returns in the air, when, Lord willing, we will see Him. Notice the response of the disciples. Every single one of them presented themselves for duty. The Bible says that they all went to the appointed place.

They all worshiped Him, but some doubted. And I wonder if that's where you are this morning, or you're faithfully here today, and as far as being committed to God, you're all in. But I wonder if some of us are doubting God's ability to use me to see people dead and trespasses and sin raised to new life. In Ephesians chapter 2, we have a picture of what our lost friends are.

The Bible calls them dead and trespasses and sin, walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, children of disobedience living in the lust of their flesh and fulfilling them, by nature the children of wrath. No wonder we doubt, literally, it would be as foolish to stand in a graveyard and call for people to come forth as it is to stand in front of a friend and to tell him to receive Christ apart from Jesus. And the very next words in that passage in Ephesians say this, that God, who is rich in mercy and great in love, who has made us alive together with Him, raised us up together with Him, made us sit together with Him in heavenly places, that in the ages to come He might show us the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us through Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus makes the difference in people's lives. The reason you can have confidence that God will use you is because Jesus makes the difference.

Let's look at the commander of our commission. The Bible says, and Jesus came and spoke unto them. Jesus, our risen, conquering Savior, the commander of this great commission, and this is His last appearance. Literally, this is the last command before He sends His disciples into battle. Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

I don't think any of us understand the power of the church when it's on the march. The Bible says that He was literally sending them into battle royal with Satan and his horde doing everything they can to thwart their success. One of my heroes is Colonel Joshua Chamberlain.

He was the leader of the 20th Maine and is credited for turning the tide of the Battle of Gettysburg, which actually turned the tide of the war between the states. Before he went to battle, he said this to his men, this is a different kind of army. If you look at history, you'll see that men fight for pay or some kind of loot. They fight for land or because the king makes them or because they like killing. But we're here for something new. This hasn't happened much in the history of the world. We're an army going out to set men free.

You probably know the story. The Union Army was set across the battlefield in a hook position, and Chamberlain and the 20th Maine were set at the end of that hook on a little place called Little Round Top, and there on the top of that hill, their commander said to them, hold the flank at all cost. Joshua Chamberlain said, I knew I might die that day, but I knew I would not die with a bullet in my back. And as the battle went on, the 20th Maine received a huge thrust against them, and they were battling literally down to their last bullets. And holding the flank for one more minute was now impossible, and Joshua Chamberlain did the unthinkable. He commanded his men to leave the cover of their trees and rocks they were hiding from and literally run down the slope with nothing to fight with but the knives on the end of their empty guns, and the move so shocked the invading forces that they laid down their arms and surrendered. Literally there was 321 from the 20th Maine against 1,600, and they won the battle that day because they took the command of their commander seriously. And I believe that you and I must determine that if we're going to turn the tide in the battle today, we have to take the command of our commander seriously.

We have much more to fight with than just bravery though. Listen to these words. All power, authority is given unto me.

And I want us to just quickly look at the victory behind this word authority. You just remember the account of Jesus in the temptations with Satan. And Satan said to him, I offer you the kingdoms of this world if you would just bow down and worship me. And I just want you to know that was a real temptation to Jesus. He was not tempted by the stuff, he was tempted by the souls because that's what Jesus came for. He literally left heaven to purchase the souls of men.

But Satan was offering it without the cross. You see, the event that allowed Jesus to stand here and say, all authority is given unto me was that Jesus Christ died the death that I deserved, but He conquered death and literally delivers us from it through the power of the resurrection and Jesus Christ standing here saying, I have all authority. A.T. Robertson said it this way, Jesus was speaking as one already in heaven with a worldwide outlook and the resources of heaven at His command.

His authority and power in His earthly life had been great, but now it is boundless. And the bottom line is, you and I serve at the pleasure of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, but also as the one who has the authority not only to tell us what to do, but to invest in us all that is needed to accomplish the task that He gives us. Paul put it this way, now you are ambassadors for Christ. And the fact is, friends, that this is not our message. This is not our mission.

It's His. The only choice we have is will we be good ambassadors or bad ambassadors. Let's look quickly at the contents of our commission. He begins the command with the words therefore. And you know the statement, when you see a therefore, you have to go back and see what the therefore is there for. And literally what he's saying is all authority is given to me. You have the authority from me and into you, and therefore as a result of that. That's our motivation, the power of Jesus Christ.

It's not only the power to invest in me, but frankly the power of accountability. When we get to heaven, Jesus is not going to ask us, did you have fun down there? He's going to ask us, how did you invest your time in the kingdom? And then notice the necessity of this commission.

He tells us to go. It's interesting, the words are actually as you are going. And whereas I believe that making disciples must be intentional, I don't think it needs to be contrived. Literally, if you and I will just use the natural rhythms of everyday life, engage in conversations with people, get to know them, take conversations deep, and then ask God to give you open doors to be able to meet the deep needs of people's hearts. There's a three-step goal that He gives us in this commission, and the first is what I like to call the word conversion. And you know this, the verb here literally says, be making disciples. And I think it's interesting that He uses a term that gives us a process. And so the word making disciple gives us a picture of process.

Mark chapter 4, the soul farmer, gives us the picture of a process. But I want all of us to get it clear in our brains, conversion is not a process. It is an instantaneous miracle from God, and no one can make it happen but Jesus Christ Himself. And you and I will often lead men to the point of that decision, but that decision is something that God does. It's miraculous, and you can count on God using you to see that miracle happen. And then notice He says, we are to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations.

It just happened this morning, I read in my own personal Bible reading the great commission from the book of Luke. That word all just captured me again, and literally it means any, every, the whole, any nation, anywhere, no matter how big, no matter how small, no matter how significant, no matter how insignificant, every nation, every people group, every tongue, dialect, every single one. He wants your vision and He wants my vision to literally include the whole world. And He wants us to start right where we are. And then notice not only do we see the goal of conversion, but then the goal of connection. He tells us to see our disciples baptized. And baptism is not just an event that happens in a local church.

It literally is the entrance into the local church. Frankly, friends, I believe the local church is imperative to be able to accomplish the great commission based on this commission that He's given to us. We see the fellowship of the local church, and I just want you to know in the midst of COVID, it has been very, very difficult. But when you go home, if you have any ability at all, be in church. Not only do you need the fellowship, but the people around you need the fellowship. There is no young people in the world that are as attractive advertisements for the reality of Christ as you are.

And if you will just go to church and let God use you there in that fellowship, you'll be surprised at what God can do. And then we see the allegiance of the local church in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Ghost. Our allegiance is Him. And our allegiance to the local church is about Him. And then notice, not only does He give us conversion and connection, but He wants us to commission those that we lead to Christ, to teach them all the things that we've learned. The ministry by nature is circular. We see people saved, we see them discipled, and then we see them recommissioned so that they can see people saved and discipled. And that's the work of the ministry over and over and over.

And I want you to see the power of the commission. We are not alone. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.

I love this thought. Ours is a co-mission. We work together with God.

And I want you to know something, friend. If I did not believe that God could and does speak through me, I would never choose to stand in this pulpit, in this arena, and speak to you. I'm not here today because I believe I have something valuable that I can add to the equation. I'm here today because I believe that God uses people to do His work and that God can use even me and God can use even you.

And I believe that you and I ought to live life appreciating His presence. Jesus said it was better for Him to leave. I can imagine this shock the apostles were facing when Jesus said, I'm getting ready to leave you, John chapter 13. And in John chapter 14 and John chapter 16 where He says, it is expedient for you.

It's better for me, for you, that I go away. And they're saying, whoa, whoa, how can that be? But think about this. Jesus is only one human person. But when He gave the Holy Spirit, He gave the Holy Spirit to every human person who knows the Lord Jesus as personal Lord and Savior. You and I, sometimes because we've lived in it all of our life and we live in an age in which everybody has lived this way, we forget the unbelievable privilege of having the indwelling Holy Spirit as our own.

I personally believe this. The church is the most powerful force in the world because of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of Christ. And you and I need to live appreciating that reality, but not just appreciating it but practicing it. Literally practicing the presence of God. Everywhere we go, recognizing He's with me and I can step out in confidence. Not only in confidence that He's going to help me speak, but confidence that He's going to help the person I'm speaking to understand.

I love this. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is in the world convincing the world of sin and of righteousness and judgment. And I would take it this way. Sin, judgment and imputed righteousness that is given to us. The very four things we talk about in the Gospel. When you talk about the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is working with you and He is talking into the heart of the person you're talking to and you can step out in that real confidence. You see, faith is not believing that God can do something. Faith is believing that God will do something through me to the point of taking steps toward what I know God wants me to do. So whatever it is that God has called you to, faith response is not just thinking God can do that, but it's really believing God wants to do that through me and I'm going to start taking faith steps and watch Him work.

You see, here's the deal. When we take steps of faith, God always meets us right there with His grace. And here's what I'm afraid we do sometimes. It's like we're waiting until we feel graced and then we want to start walking. And God says, no, no, no.

You've got to go literally put your foot in the Jordan. That's when I'm going to start taking those waters aside. And that's the way it works in our lives. When we take steps of faith, God meets us there. Jesus promised, all power is given unto me.

All authority in heaven and in earth. And lo, I am with you always even to the end of the world. And our response can be, amen. Let that be true in my life.

I want to leave you with a practical challenge. If it takes more than 30 days, I'm not worried about that. The Holy Spirit's not worried about that.

We're just simply saying, let's do something about this. So here's the challenge. By God's grace, in the next 30 days, I will give the gospel or invite someone to begin an evangelistic Bible study with me. And I want you to ask God, God, you put these three messages in my life.

What do you want me to do with them? Father, I pray that you would work in our hearts. I want to thank you so much for dying in my place. Lord, I thank you and praise you that you defeated death and literally defeated the chains of sin that were binding me and I have been set free because of the work that you accomplished on the cross on my behalf. Lord, I pray for each of the people here that you would speak into our hearts. You would stir us and that we would be obedient.

Keep your heads bowed and your eyes closed just one moment. In the quietness of this moment, I'd like for you to ask yourself, what decision does God want me to make? Here's what I found about my own life.

I don't do very many good things in default mode. It's when I make decisions that I begin to take steps forward. So I wonder, just ask, you respond one way or another, how many of you are willing to say, I want to take that 30 day challenge. I want to commit myself to striving to give the gospel to someone or to invite someone to do a Bible study with me in the next 30 days. Would you lift your hands right there where you are? I see hands all over, praise the Lord.

And then I just want to ask one more question. God prompted me to do this this morning. I wonder if the Lord is nudging you to live an unconditional life with intention taking the gospel to the rest of the world. I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand.

I just want you to ask God, God, is that what You want me to do with my life? Lord, again, we want to thank You for what You've done in our lives. I thank You for these that have raised a hand. And Lord, I ask, would You please help them to take steps of faith? Lord, I know that You will meet them with Your grace. And Father, I pray that You would give them open doors. And I would ask You, Lord, that You would literally give people open hands. Yes, I will take that app.

I will take that track. I will take this opportunity. And Lord, give them open hearts so that people literally would open their heart and trust Jesus. And I ask that You would help us to see people saved as a result of those who have made decisions to give the gospel. Lord, we believe in the power of the gospel, so we want to be able to give it to as many people as we can. Thank You in Jesus' name.

Amen. You've been listening to a sermon preached by Dr. Jeff Musgrave, which is part of the series on evangelism preached at Bob Jones University. Jeff leads a ministry called The Exchange, which trains people to effectively share their faith through relational evangelism and discipleship. The name Exchange carries with it the two ideas that are central to its mission, Christ's exchange for our sins and our evangelistic exchange with nonbelievers. If you would like to learn more about his ministry, you can visit his website, exchangemessage.org.

That's exchangemessage.org. I'm Steve Pettit, president of Bob Jones University. Thank you for listening to The Daily Platform. Please visit our beautiful campus in Greenville, South Carolina, to see how God is working in the lives of our students both spiritually and academically. For more information about Bob Jones University's more than 100 accredited academic programs, visit bju.edu or call 800-252-6363. Thanks for listening and join us next time for another sermon preached from the Bob Jones University Chapel Platform.