Well, good evening, everyone. The last time I preached in this church, I preached to one person, so this is a huge advance.
So Gary gets full credit for listening in person to that sermon over the summer, but it's a great privilege to be with you tonight.
We heard the song, How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds, and it reminds me of a story told of John Newton.
John Newton exercised a long ministry in the city of London, and John Newton preached until his early 80s.
And at that particular point, his sight had failed, his memory had gone, and when he preached, he would have an assistant in the pulpit with him to point at the manuscript as to where he should continue to read.
And at one point, Newton said the phrase, Jesus Christ is precious.
He paused.
Newton then said again, Jesus Christ is precious.
His servant to his left said, Mr. Newton, you've said that again.
He said, I know I said it again, and I'll say it a third time.
Jesus Christ is precious.
Now let us sing how sweet the name of Jesus sounds, a hymn that he himself had written many years earlier.
And as we commence our time together, I'd like us to remind ourselves of how precious Jesus is to us.
Because if we understand how precious he is, if we value him, if we appreciate him, if we have recognized who he is and what he has done,
when we come to the various commands of Scripture, they will be joyful commands, not burdens.
They will be a pleasure and not a trial.
Because this evening, Graham has asked me if I would speak to you on the text at the very end of Matthew's Gospel,
Matthew 28 and verses, well, I'll read verses 16 to 20.
But before I read that passage, let me just remind you of a statement that I heard many years ago.
When I was going to church, not yet a Christian, I would go to Buclue Free Church in the morning,
which is just across the meadows from here, and I would go to Holy Root Abbey at night,
which was along London Road.
And the minister there was James Phillip.
He exercised a very long ministry in Edinburgh.
And one thing that Mr. Phillip often said, he said,
the imperatives of the faith are based on the indicatives of grace.
So imperatives are commands.
But indicatives are statements.
And if we understand the statements of faith, of grace,
what we believe, that Jesus Christ died, that he was buried, that he rose on the third day,
and that he is therefore to be proclaimed to all the nations.
So the foundations are not how well we keep the commands of God,
but the foundations are what God has done for us.
And if we recognize what God has done for us, we will then naturally want to tell others,
share this good news.
So this command at the very end of the gospel comes in the light of the death of Jesus,
the burial of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
So that is our foundation, what Jesus has done, who he is, and what we now enjoy as his people.
Matthew 28 at verse 16.
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
But when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted.
Then Jesus came to them and said,
We had two readings earlier.
We had that remarkable reading from Isaiah chapter 45, which contains verse 22,
Look unto me, and be ye saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else.
We had the parable of the great banquet from Luke, which tells us that all is now ready,
and that the multitude is to be invited to this table, to this table of blessing,
to this overflowing table of bounty.
So there you have these two pictures of a worldwide invitation, of a worldwide celebration,
in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, that there is something that God has done
that relates to every man, woman, and child, every nation, every tribe, every tongue.
So it's not surprising, therefore, when Jesus leaves this earth,
that he leaves us his people with this command,
that we are to go and tell this world that they are invited,
that they are welcome, that there is a banquet that is prepared,
that there is an invitation that is set out,
and that we, like the servants in that parable,
we are to follow the master's commands,
to go wherever, to go wherever he sends us,
and to tell that the invitation is out,
to the highways, to the hedges,
you know, to the lame, to the blind,
to whoever we meet,
here, and to the ends of the earth.
I just want to introduce you to a famous character from history.
I'm a student of history,
that's why I came here as it was many years ago.
I wanted to study the history of Scotland,
and it's taken me so long, I've just decided to stay.
There was a man called Robert Morrison.
Morrison was half English and half Scottish,
he had a Scottish name,
and he grew up in Northumberland,
and he felt a profound call to go to China.
So, now, let me just put you in context here.
At this particular stage, William Carey had already gone to India,
that was a first,
but no Protestant missionary had ever gone to China.
Just didn't happen.
There were no British ships that would carry a missionary to China.
You see, the trade with China was so valuable,
the last thing you would want is Christians to get in the way of making money.
You know, opium, for example, was a great way of making money.
You don't want Christians to come into the equation,
and the last thing that you would want, of course,
would be Chinese people to become Christians.
That would really spoil a good business venture.
But Morrison had this sense of call,
and he was undiminished.
So, instead of, he couldn't travel from Britain to China,
but he could travel to the United States,
and he could travel from the United States to China.
And when he bought his ticket and explained what he was going to do,
the booking agent asked him this.
He said,
Do you really expect to make an impression on the idolatry of the great Chinese empire?
To which he replied,
No, sir, but I expect God will.
So here was a man who had faith,
and he said he prayed a prayer,
and this is,
I would caution you against the prayers that you pray,
because you need to be very careful about the prayers that you pray,
because if you pray certain prayers,
watch out for the way in which they might be answered.
He prayed,
God, send me to that part of the mission field,
where the difficulties are the greatest,
and to all human appearances the most insurmountable.
God answered that prayer,
sent Robert Morrison to Canton, China.
We know it as Guangzhou.
It's one of the coastal cities right near Hong Kong in southern China.
Now, at this point,
no Protestant missionary had ever been sent to China,
and Morrison goes and spends 27 years in China.
And you might think,
Wow, that's a long time to go.
He taught himself Chinese.
He wrote a Chinese-English dictionary,
a six-volume Chinese-English dictionary.
He translated the Bible into Chinese.
But 27 years,
he saw only 10 converts.
And you might think,
at the end of 27 years,
not too much to show for it.
Not too much fruit.
Not too much blessing.
We'll come back to Morrison in a moment.
But there was a man who heard the call and went.
He heard the Great Commission
and recognized it for what it was,
a command.
And you see,
when we read the Bible,
we need to read the Bible
and understand what is being said to us.
If there's a statement,
we need to believe it.
If there's a promise,
we need to cherish it.
But if there's a command,
we need to obey it.
And here we have an impossible command.
But notice that the impossible command
comes in a greater context.
Because this impossible command
to go and make disciples of all nations
comes within the greater impossibility
of the early part of chapter 28 of Matthew.
After Sabbath at dawn on the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake.
For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven
and going to the tomb,
rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning
and his clothes were white as snow.
The guards were so afraid of him,
they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women,
And do not be afraid,
for I know that you are looking for Jesus
who was crucified.
He is not here.
He has risen,
just as he said.
So in order to appreciate the impossible command,
let us first appreciate the impossible event.
That Jesus Christ died,
he was buried,
and on the third day of the week,
he rose from the dead.
Now, I'm not a medical doctor,
but dead people have a tendency to stay dead.
Dead people have a tendency to stay silent.
But Jesus rose from the dead,
and the risen living Jesus is now speaking.
Dead people tended to stay dead 2,000 years ago.
It's not a modern phenomenon.
It tended to occur that way,
that when people died, they were buried.
That was the end of the story.
But in Jesus' case,
in each of the gospel accounts,
Matthew 27, the crucifixion,
is followed by Matthew 28.
Mark 15, the crucifixion,
is followed by Mark 16.
Luke 23, crucifixion,
is followed by Luke 24.
And John chapter 19
is followed by John chapter 20 and 21.
Jesus died,
and yet there is another chapter.
That's impossible.
And yet God delights in doing the impossible.
And that's our indicative.
Jesus Christ is alive.
Jesus Christ is risen.
And the risen living Jesus speaks.
And he speaks with all power,
and he speaks with all authority.
So the impossible event
is the foundation for this impossible command.
And let's look more closely
exactly at what Jesus is saying here.
Because it really comes down
to three different statements.
We have this impossible command,
which we'll call the Great Commission,
but it's comprised of three
different propositional statements.
We have a great claim,
we have a great command,
and we have a great companion.
Verse 18, the great claim.
All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me.
The Bible makes quite clear
that Jesus is the one
through whom all things are created.
Jesus is the one
through whom all things are sustained.
Jesus is the redeemer of mankind,
and it will ultimately redeem all things.
And he therefore can say
with honesty and with integrity
that all power,
all authority rests with him.
So when he gives a command,
he has the resources
to carry that command out.
When he commissions,
he has the resources
to make certain
that those who are commissioned
are equipped, enabled.
There's never a time
where Jesus makes a command
where he doesn't accompany
the command with the resources.
That indeed would be
completely impossible.
But Jesus has all power.
Jesus has all authority.
He's the king of kings.
He's the lord of lords.
And we know who he is.
And we know what he has done.
So the work of the gospel
has been done.
All that is left to us
is to say and to tell
and to show.
So the great claim,
and then that's followed
by the great command.
Therefore, go.
And that connection word,
therefore.
We go because of who he is.
We go because of what he has done.
We go because of the authority
that has been invested in him.
And therefore, he can tell us
to go forth in his name.
But notice the scope.
Go and make disciples
of all the nations.
Not some, not most.
Not those that are near at hand.
Not those that are inclined
to the message.
But all peoples.
All nations.
All tribes.
All tongues.
That we are to go
and not make converts.
But this word disciple
is a much bigger word
than a convert.
We're not just trying
to persuade people
to think certain things
or to accept certain propositions.
But we want to see followers
of Jesus
in every land,
in every nation.
We want to see men and women
and young and old.
We want to see them
consecrated to Christ.
Trusting in him.
Believing in him.
And walking in his footsteps.
That's what we are.
If you're a Christian here tonight,
you're a disciple.
He's the teacher.
You're the learner.
He's the king.
You're the subject.
He is the one
who has offered sacrifice
on your behalf
so that you can be made pure.
You can be made clean.
He's in charge.
He's in control.
So we make disciples
of all the nations.
And you think,
Jesus, don't you realize
who you're talking to?
Don't you realize
that you're talking
to the disciples?
These are the people
that are slow to understand.
These are the people
that are so inconsistent.
in their Christian witness.
They get it wrong so often.
They stumble so regularly.
And doesn't Jesus realize
what we are like?
We're not the wise.
We're not the strong.
We're not the consistent.
Is he indeed entrusting
the evangelism of the world
into the hands of us,
his people?
Because you would think,
well, he's placing it
in very unsteady hands.
He's placing it
on a very insecure footing.
Or is he doing something
that he knows
what he's doing?
Does he actually know
what he's doing?
Because, you see,
when he uses instruments
like us,
when he uses weak instruments
to accomplish strong purpose,
it becomes obvious
that it's not about us.
It must be about the one
that we are speaking of.
When he uses foolish instruments
like we so often are
to accomplish his all-wise plans,
it must be his wisdom.
And when he can take
a small group of people,
11 disciples at that particular time,
and when they can turn
the world upside down,
when they can transform
the existing Roman Empire,
when they can bring the gospel
to the very heart
of the empire in Rome,
and from Rome to everywhere.
And we see today
that throughout the world today,
the 21st century
is the century
that has witnessed
the greatest advance
of the Christian gospel.
Today, there are more people
in the world
who are Christians
than ever at any point
in the past.
There's also greater levels
of persecution
in the 21st century
than at any point
in the past.
The 20th century
was the most dangerous century
to be a Christian.
That will be eclipsed
by the 21st century.
The 20th century
was the greatest century
of advance
in the Christian gospel.
That will, too,
be eclipsed
in this,
the 20th, 21st century.
So the great claim
that he has all authority
in heaven and on earth,
this great command
where he says,
go and make disciples
of all nations,
baptizing them
in the name
of the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
And this word name
is so important
because whenever the Bible
speaks of the name of God,
what is included there
is everything.
When we speak of his name,
we speak of his authority,
we speak of his dignity,
we speak of his honor,
we speak of his character,
we speak of his nature.
All of this is tied up
in his name.
That's why the commandments
are so clear
that we are not to misuse
the name of God.
We are not to disrespect God
or disrespect his name.
Why?
Because his name
encapsulates his nature
and his character.
So the name of the Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit
is a powerful name.
You see,
when the name of God
goes forth,
watch out.
Watch out
because people
that previously
were hostile
might come to find themselves
embracing this gospel.
Those who previously
may have been indifferent
may find their hearts
strangely warmed
to believe in this message.
it doesn't seem to make sense,
does it?
How is it possible
that even in that first century
that this message
would even go beyond
the walls of Jerusalem,
let alone beyond
the confines of Judea,
let alone into Samaria,
the neighboring district?
But how could it possibly
get into Europe?
How could it possibly
reach the Gentiles
who know nothing
about the Old Testament?
And yet,
here we are,
21st century,
Brunsfield,
Edinburgh.
How is it possible
that we've come to this point?
How is it possible
that the gospel
still continues
to change hearts
and change lives?
Maybe that comes
to our final point
in the Great Commission,
namely the Great Companion.
Because not only
do we have a claim
that Jesus makes,
not only do we have
a command that Jesus gives,
but he says that
he will accompany us
on this journey.
That when we go,
we never go alone.
He always goes with us.
But I think, sadly,
the opposite
can also be the case.
If we don't go,
if we don't obey,
then we're left
on our own.
We're left
on our own devices,
we're left
on our own resources,
we're left
with our own wisdom,
because if we obey
this command,
he promises to be with us.
But if we disregard
or disobey this command,
we cannot take for granted
that he will be with us,
guiding us,
leading us,
protecting us.
So the claim,
the command,
and the companion,
powerful and transformative.
But I'd like to notice
the,
and this is taking us
to the very end
of the Bible,
is if we have
the impossible event,
the impossible command,
we have the impossible
fulfillment.
You see, John,
if you think of the book
of Revelation
as a curtain
that is drawn back,
just briefly,
the curtain is drawn back
and you get a sight
into what's behind
or into what's ahead.
And John the Apostle
is given encouragement
because the people of God
are experiencing persecution.
The curtain is pulled back
in Revelation 7
and verse 9.
After this I looked
and there before me
was a great multitude
that no one could count.
A great multitude.
You think of the great banquet.
You think of the great invitation
in Isaiah 45, 22.
Look unto me
and be ye saved
all the ends of the earth
for I am God
and there is none.
And now John sees
a multitude.
But where does this multitude
come from?
Oh, well, it comes
from every nation,
every tribe,
every people,
and every language.
Now where are they gathered?
They're gathered
in front of the throne.
And what are they doing?
They are gathering there,
celebrating and rejoicing
that salvation belongs
to our God
who sits on the throne
and to the Lamb.
You see,
there is an impossible conclusion
or an impossible fulfillment
that God has this command
that he gives to his church
and he pulls back the curtain
and says,
this is what it's going
to look like.
This is what it's going
to look like
when all the nations
are gathered,
when all the tribes
are gathered,
when all the tongues
are represented.
They will be gathered
together in heaven
worshiping the Lamb.
Why?
Because the people of God
have taken this command
seriously.
They have gone
and they have told.
Let me give you
a bit of the setting
that we find ourselves
in in the 21st century.
Statistics tell us
that every year
in Scotland,
120 churches
shut their doors.
In 1966,
the year that I was born,
the Church of Scotland
had a membership
of 1.2 million people.
That membership
has dropped
up to 325,000
in the year 2018.
That just gives you
an idea
that the Christian cause
seems to be receding
in Scotland.
So when we say
to go,
that's not just
to go to the ends
of the earth,
but that's to go
to your corner,
your street corner,
to your neighborhood,
to your family,
to your friends,
to your colleagues.
Why?
Because the cause
of Scotland
is at a low ebb
right now.
120 churches
shutting their doors
each and every year.
But let me give you
one story of encouragement.
Back in 2000,
we had a church
on the Royal Mile.
The Free Church
has a church
on the Royal Mile
called St. Columbus
Free Church.
Year 2000,
the congregation
reduced to about
30 people.
There were no children.
There was one elder.
And the conventional wisdom
said,
this church is too small.
This church is too old.
Let's combine
this small congregation
with one of the other
Edinburgh congregations
and shut the door.
Well, there was a friend
of ours,
of mine,
who I know very well,
and he spoke
and he persuaded
the church
to give it one more try.
2001,
they call
a young man
at the time,
Derek Lament,
from up north.
Now, Derek left
a very large,
thriving congregation
in Easter Ross
to come down
to this small gathering
in Edinburgh.
It doesn't really
make much sense,
does it?
To leave a large church
that's thriving,
come to a small church.
To leave a church
where you have
an unlimited appointment,
you can stay there
for as long as you want,
and to be told,
well, you might get
five years out of this
if you're lucky.
Well, the rest
of the story,
of course,
is not so much
about the people
or the personalities,
but it's about
the God who was preached
and the gospel
that was proclaimed.
So today,
more than 200 people
would gather
at the same church
on the Royal Mile,
but from that church,
three new churches
have been planted.
And if you sum up
all those four churches,
now over 700 worshipers
may be gathering
every Sunday
worshiping Jesus.
So it just goes
to show what you can do
if you have
a Great Commission mentality
for Edinburgh.
You'll say to yourself,
okay, we've got
a small gathering
here today,
but let's say
all the folks
of Brunsfield
were gathered together
in this church.
You would say,
well, there's a healthy church
here, right,
in the heart of one
of the neighborhoods
in Edinburgh.
And it wouldn't make
much sense, would it,
to send some people
out of this congregation
to another place
in town,
because that would
make this church weaker.
That would mean
there'd be fewer people.
So, you know,
you don't need
to be an accountant
to kind of put that together,
but God has a way
of making up deficits.
God has a way
of replacing people.
And God has a way
of making certain
that he is
no person's debtor.
When we go forth
in faith,
he has a way
of multiplying things
in a way
that we cannot imagine.
And I'd like to encourage us
to consider
the Great Commission.
And maybe for that
means some of you
that might mean
to consider
leaving your place,
your place of birth,
leaving the place
of comfort,
maybe going
to a distant place.
But for many of us,
it might mean
going to a different
neighborhood.
It might mean
considering,
well, actually,
you know,
there's quite a few of us
in a particular
part of town.
Maybe we could
start a church there.
Maybe we could
reverse this 120 churches
closing each year.
Maybe we could see
120 new churches
starting each year
or more.
But if you're interested
in the global situation,
we're told in
Revelation 7
that a great multitude
from every nation,
tribe, people,
and language
was gathered.
The missiologists
tell us
that 17,441
people groups
exist in the world,
of which 7,414
are unreached.
That means
people from those groups
don't know about Jesus.
They have no means
of knowing about Jesus.
They were like
the Chinese people
200 or so years ago
when Robert Morrison
left the UK
to go to China.
They had previously
no knowledge of Jesus.
Now, I mentioned earlier
that Morrison left,
spent 27 years,
died in China,
and at the end
of the story,
he had only 10 people
who had come to faith.
But I tell you
what he did
was he laid a foundation.
So in just a generation later,
a man called Hudson Taylor
founded the China Inland Mission.
And scores of missionaries
went out from the UK
and throughout the world
to China
with the gospel
and brought the message
of the gospel
not just to the coastal areas
like Canton,
but brought it
into the inland districts
of China.
So many,
that by 1939,
I think the high water mark
was there were over 1,300
China Inland Missionaries
in China.
The story continues
until after the war.
Remember Chairman Mao?
He expelled
all the foreign missionaries,
all the foreign missions.
Christianity
was a Western religion
and if we get rid
of the Westerners,
we'll get rid of Christianity.
Probably in 1949,
there were about
a million Chinese believers.
And Mao succeeded
in a sense
that there were no longer
a million Chinese Christians.
But he succeeded
in a way that he never expected
because there's 100 million
Chinese Christians today.
But it all began
with a man called
Robert Morrison
who felt a call
to go to China.
He wrote a dictionary,
translated the Bible,
laid the foundation
for all future
missionary work
in China.
And God blessed
that work,
God blessed that worker
so that today,
China is one of the
great sources
of missionaries now.
Not just receiving,
but sending people
all over.
And what you find
in any city center
congregation
in the United States
or in the United Kingdom,
that there are Chinese people
that are coming to faith.
They're coming to church.
They want to share
their faith
with their families,
with their friends.
Why?
Because 200 years ago,
a man heard the call,
went to China,
gave his life
in the service of Jesus.
So the great command
is to go,
to make disciples
of all nations.
Jesus says,
all authority
on heaven and on earth
rests on him.
And when we go
to our neighbors,
to our friends,
to the ends of the earth,
we are guaranteed
that Jesus Christ
goes with us.
Watch out
what happens
when we take
that command
seriously.
Hudson Taylor,
the great missionary
to China,
said,
the great commission
is not an option
to be considered.
It is a command
to be obeyed.
Let us pray.
Father,
I thank you
for each one of us
gathered here today.
And I pray
for this church.
I give you thanks
for its vitality.
We give you thanks
for the many lives
that it has already touched.
And I pray
that you might give
this congregation
of your people wisdom
to see how they may
contribute to
the work
of the great commission.
How they might give,
how they might pray,
how they might go.
Maybe that work
might be in the city
of Edinburgh.
Maybe it might be
into surrounding districts
of this city.
Maybe it might be
to different areas
of the country
of Scotland.
But maybe it might be
that some from this place
might go forth
to some of those
7,400 people groups
who know nothing
about Jesus
to go and to tell them
that there is a banquet
that is prepared.
To go and tell them
that there's an invitation
that is given
by the King of Heaven
that they are to look
to Jesus.
And in looking to Jesus
they will be saved.
So I pray
for this congregation.
I pray for its leadership.
I pray for its membership.
And I pray, Lord,
that you might be pleased
to bless this people,
to multiply them,
that they in turn
might be a blessing
in the lives of others.
For we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.