 So I want to be speaking today and my topic is going to be about the Great Commission. How many guys know what that is? Yeah, like 12 people. So this is the verse that we had on the wall right here, which is... Okay, let me read it for you guys. Matthew 28, 18. I'm going to start off and it says, And Jesus came and spoke to them. Come on. How many guys understand what's happening here? Jesus came and spoke to them. This is huge because just a few days ago Jesus was dead. He was dead just a few days ago and then he just comes up and starts talking to them. I mean imagine if you know some dead guy just like George Washington walks up. He's like, hey guys, he just starts talking to you guys. Wouldn't that be crazy? So Jesus came and he spoke to them. But not... He came and he spoke to them. And he says, all the authority in heaven and in earth is in me right now. Come on. Isn't that crazy? He says every ounce of authority in heaven and on earth is with me right now. He says it doesn't matter what your mom says. It doesn't matter what your family or your friends say. It doesn't matter what the police say, what the president says. He said even if an angel comes down from heaven right now and says something, forget him because I have all the authority in heaven and in earth right now. Come on. Come on. And after that he says, and therefore... Therefore, come on. After that, whatever he says, no matter what he says, you basically have to do it. Even if he says go eat a pound of ice cream, whatever it is, you have to do it after that. That amazing intro, right? And he says, therefore, but he doesn't just say anything. He says, go out and make disciples of all the nations. Come on. And that is the great commission. And many times people take this as a suggestion. And I just want to start off saying that this is a great commission, not a great suggestion. We live in a society today where everything is a suggestion. But it says in the word that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. And he came to reach out to them and he commanded us to reach out to them as well. Because Jesus didn't only come to be our Savior, but he came to be our example. Amen. But many times we treat this as a suggestion. We say, I don't feel like it. Maybe next week, maybe tomorrow. But there for my work I know them. I go to school with them. I see them every day. I don't want to talk to them. And that's many times how we treat it. But it's called the great commission for a reason. Amen. So God controls everything. He owns everything. Everything is His. And He controls everything except for humans. Because He gave us our free will. Amen. When God was creating us, He didn't want to make robots that we were forced to worship Him, forced to not sin. But He made us so that we could have an opportunity to choose Him as His sons and His daughters. Amen. Amen. People think, you know, if God wants people saved, why don't He just save them all? Why doesn't He just do it Himself? Right? I've never thought that before. I have. But He came to do that. That's why His son died on the cross. And He gave us, He empowered us to be the ones to reach out to them. Amen. In order to reach out others, God's word has to be primary, not secondary. Now, nowadays it's like having the Bible is just a cool thing. You know, having it on your phone. You know, you see all those people posting those pictures with the cool font and the scriptures. And they say, you know, see how many likes I can get. When in reality they should be saying, let's see how I can influence and impact the generation. We're using the word of God the same way it has impacted me. Amen. Amen. The word of God, come on. The word of God isn't just something cool on social media. But it's something that is supposed to change us from the inside out. And many Christians, you know, we treat it as if it's optional. But the word of God is not optional. It is optimal. Come on. How many of you guys receive that? All right. Come on. Come on. The word of God is where we learn who God truly is. And in His word, it says that as Christians, the one we gave our life, we made a commitment to join a family. And we made a commitment that we will also reach out to help others join the family as well. It's something that comes with being a Christian. But many of us live as if it is, you know, I'm good. I'm saved. I'm going to heaven. I know where I'm going. I'm good. But in reality, it's something that is very important. When you look into the word of God, you see that the thing that God cares about most is people. That's where His heart is. You know, you can't tithe enough. He owns everything. You can't be kind enough. You can't serve enough. You can't do any of that because His, although you may be doing it to honor God, you may be doing it for a good reason, but His heart is on people. That's where His heart truly is. And that is what He loves the most. And I'm starting to believe that maybe some of us have forgotten that. That we've gone to a point where we're comfortable. Come on. We've gone to a point where we're comfortable. How many times have you guys heard that? A lot, I'm sure. And I'm not just saying that because, you know, I'm just guessing because I know your life. I know what you did last night. I know everything about you. But I'm saying this simply from seeing how many empty seats are in this place today. If I were to ask all of you, how many of you actually invited someone to this service? Probably be about a solid 3%, right? Probably. Hey, I'm not trying to accuse you guys. Just empty seats, all right? In Luke 19.10 it says, For the Son of man came to seek and save those who are lost. His whole purpose for coming on this earth is explained in that scripture right there. He came to seek and to save the lost. And He empowered us to reach out to them, amen. Now in Matthew 10, I'm going to read, this is going to be kind of long, Matthew 10, 5-15. And it says, Jesus sent out His 12 harvest hands. You guys are the harvest hands now. You guys are God's hands. Go out, get your hands dirty. Harvest, like it says. Never mind, I forgot it. But you guys are His harvest hands. That's you guys, amen. And it says, He sent out His 12 harvest hands with this charge. A charge is a commandment. It's not a suggestion. It's not a recommendation, but it's a commandment. He said, don't begin by traveling to some far off place to convert unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. So what does this mean? Don't begin by traveling to some far off place to convert unbelievers. Don't wait until you're going on a missionary trip to begin to spread the gospel, to show the love. Just like our interns, shout out to the interns. You know, they're going on an internship to Mexico next month, right? Next month. And they're not waiting until then to spread the love of God. But as you see in the testimonies, they're going out. They're doing the power evangelism. And they're doing God's work, amen. Amen. And it says, don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. A lot of times this is what people do. They go on their social media and they attack the things that they don't agree with. They'll go on social media. They'll talk about, they'll attack politics. They'll attack abortions. They'll attack everything. You know, they'll attack preachers, pastors. They'll attack their exes. And they'll attack anything. When in reality they're not, they're doing nothing to spread the love of God. All they're doing is attacking. And in the next verse it says, goat, by the way, I'm reading from a different translation. This is the message translation. It's a little bit more modern. So it's kind of like, don't, the word of God is the word of God, amen. And no matter what translation, no matter what language, it's the word of God. And it says, go to the lost. Confuse people right here in the neighborhood. Right here. You don't have to go to Mexico. You don't have to go to Asia. You don't have to go anywhere to spread the love of God. But right here in your neighborhood. God placed the people around you for a reason so that you could spread his love, amen. And it says, tell them that the kingdom is here. What does that mean? It means that there's grace and mercy for whatever situation you may be in, amen. Amen. You don't need to know the word of God to, you don't need to know the word of God to show what he's already done. He's already done in your life, amen. Amen. Many people feel like God wants them to know it all, to share it all, to preach it all. But in reality, he just wants you to share what you already know. So it says, you have to be, you have been treated generously, so live generously. Generously is not just in money, but it's opening up your life to people, sharing your testimony. Don't think that you have to start fundraising campaign before you start. You don't need a lot of equipment for you are the equipment. Come on. How many of you guys believe that? Amen. You know, you don't have to wait until Christmas or Easter to begin to show God's love. But you can spread the love of God today, tomorrow, whenever, because you are the equipment, amen. Amen. And all you need to keep going is three meals a day and travel life. When you enter a town or a village, don't insist on staying in a luxury inn. Get a modest place with modest people and be content there until you leave. When you knock on the door, be courteous in your greeting. If they welcome you, be gentle in your conversation. If they don't welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene, shrug your shoulders and quietly withdraw. So many times when people, I know for me when I first went Power of Angelism and the first time that I went, I got rejected three times in a row. I went up to someone and was like, hey, what's your name? They're like, I don't want what you have. And they just pushed me away. And then I went to the next guy, they're like, oh yeah, I don't care about that. And they just kept pushing me away. And honestly, it kind of hurt. I was like, really? It just kind of hurt. And I wanted to make a big scene like, man, you don't know what you're missing now. You're going to go to hell. I know God's word. It says, you know, those who believe in Him will go to heaven. And I just wanted to make a scene, but that's not what it says in His word to do. Amen. Amen. And now I just want to make a quick reference. It's funny how when you look at children, as the younger they are, when they're young, they appreciate their parents. They begin to make cards. They begin to make notes. They make everything, you know, to show their parents that they're loved. But as they grow older, it begins to decrease and they begin to be less. You know, remember when you were a kid and you made the little turkey with your hand, going to your mom, all excited, you know, happy, just give it to them. And then as you grow older now, it's like, oh, it's Mother's Day. I had to spend my money. Oh, like really? It's their birthday. And many times that's how it is when you live a Christian life. As you start off, as you first get saved, you know, you're happy. You're excited. You're bringing people to church. You're happy. You're like, you know, you're bringing it as if you were bringing that turkey. You're like, God, like, I'm doing your work. I'm happy. Like this is for you. But as you grow older, you can begin to feel less joy doing that. You begin to feel like, oh, it's a burden. Like really, God? My co-worker? Really? I have to spread your word, like really? And that's how it is. That's how it is, same when you live a Christian life. You know, as kids, as they grow older, they begin to give less gifts to their parents. But then once they grow a little bit more older, when they begin to have more money, that's when they begin to appreciate their parents even more. They realize that it's not lame to appreciate your parents. That your parents, after everything that they've done for you, that you love them, amen? That's when you begin to get older. That's when you begin to watch what they like. You begin to look at their taste. Oh, she likes these shoes. Okay. You begin to look at what they like. And that's when you begin to put more money. That's when you begin to put more effort into your gifts. And I want to encourage you guys tonight to become just like that. That as you're growing older in your faith, that as you become an older Christian, that you begin to see God cares about people. That's what he loves the most. No matter how much you're tired, no matter how kind you are, what he cares for most is people. And I want you to realize that those people, you need to bring them back to God. Begin to evangelize and do it with a joy. Don't do it with a pain. I need to invite them. But do it with a joy. You know, this is for God. This is for you. Come on. Amen. How many of you guys believe that tonight? Amen.