How's Thanksgiving? Yeah. Alex was saying we cook exotic foods. Over Thanksgiving, I didn't cook Turkey.

I cooked another bird. Any guess what it is? Yes, I cooked three ducks actually takes three ducks to match the weight of a turkey and it was great. I suggest ducks to you, if I could do the history of America again, I would not do turkey. You guys don't know what good food is, I think. But that aside it's a privilege to be here to share the word of God with you for it is close to my heart and it is good for our growth.

The sermon today, oh okay, I will thanks for the introduction, Alex. By the way, just a little more about myself and the family Lauren and I moved here to Cincinnati three years ago for particularly one purpose. That is to reach the international students at UC with Bill and Maureen at UCWF in this neighborhood.

And ever since then we joined this church and I've fallen in love with all of you. And We really wanted to grow old with you. I know that's a cliche, but we want to be serving amongst you for as long as the Lord wants us. So super excited here to share the word of God with you. Why do I want to share this?

What is God trying to do? That's a big question throughout history. And I think this question is relevant. Here's why. When I look at many of you and I think of you very fondly, I love many of you and I asked the question, what is the chief end of man? I think you all know this. Glorify God, enjoy him forever.

All the kids in this church and adults pretty much can answer this question according to the London Baptist Confession. However, what does that look like for you? Each one of you sitting in your seats in the year of our Lord 2024 in Cincinnati, what does that look like in a week, five months, five years?

I think that's a little harder to answer, isn't it? The answer to that question in the confession is correct and true and very glorious. We need to fill the blanks in between That goal and where we are. And that's where I want to focus on. I want to show you that God has a grand purpose for all of us.

And He has a thread. He has already prescribed what He wants from us in this age. And we all have to consider His purposes and yield ours to His. God bless you. Amen. So, the text I want us to deal with today is a familiar one. Matthew 28, the Great Commission. And I want to do something differently. So, what I'll do is I'll read it first and I'll lead us in.

Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Christ has directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you, and behold, I'm with you.

Always to the end of the age. We're familiar with this, right? We've dealt with this before, meaning you've heard it, you've read it, you've thought about it, you've tried to apply it. And here we are today looking at this again. I want to look at this from a different angle. And I want to do a few things.

For those of you who don't know how to answer the first question, which is what am I supposed to do to glorify God and enjoy him forever? I want to propose this has great meaning and purpose for you. For those of you who think about this, and I think inevitably feels the guilt and shame. Because of it, I want to have a word of encouragement and hope for you.

And for the rest you're in for a great ride of a great story because it's God's story. Speaking of good story, I think many of us are Lord of ring fans, right? Definitely. I was watching this movie with a good brother. Peter, Peter Townsend and a few others, a couple of months ago, and there was a scene there, right?

When Frodo realizes that it's his burden to bear, to take the ring, and there's great danger because the enemy is after him and the ring. He said this. He said, I wish I need not have, it need not happened in my time, said Frodo. Very famous quote. by token. So do I, said Gandalf, and so do all who live to see such times.

But it is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. You know this quote? Yeah, when I read it, I got goosebumps, or when I saw it, I got goosebumps because that's very moving, very touching precisely what Frodo, I would be thinking about if I were Frodo.

It's relatable. But why do we love great stories? We vicariously live through these great stories for its drama, tension, intensified battles and the glories and the purpose of it. We love those stories vicariously because we do not feel every day that way in our own lives. If you want to try it, just go to a grocery store and buy some food and eat it.

Look at the cost of things. You'll be like, oh, I'm pretty defeated already. The last four years, right? The price has gone up. I don't know. I don't know how to a hundred dollars gave me this little thing. Now used to be a lot. Our real life for most people is a little more mundane and you probably would even say, I don't know if I have a great purpose, I'm not that significant.

I'm an ordinary person living in Cincinnati. I'm trying my best, to make life work and also to be obedient. I think this is a great place to start and I think God has some word for us who feel that way. Not only for us who feel this way strongly, but also for those of us who think we live in a great story.

This is also great encouragement. God has always. purposed to use his people, which does not look very beautiful and glorious to achieve his grand purpose, which is to save the entire world. He is people to save this world never have changed and will always be like that until Christ comes back. And we live in that timeline today.

Let's set us up. And what I want to do is look at this event, great commission, I think for most of us, we understand this as a single event in the history, right? After Jesus died, he resurrected, and he went to the mountain to meet his disciples before showing himself postmortem many times. And What I want to show you is this is not an isolated event in history at all.

This is a single event in a very long and glorious thread of His everlasting, non-relenting purpose of using His people to save the rest of the world. That beginning was at the beginning of the Jews history and the end will only come when Christ comes back and we live In between the Great Commission at the end, I think this will make this event weightier and help us see the purpose.

So, let's go from the beginning. It's showing. Good. Abrahamic Covenant. We are familiar with this. Maybe some of us are. Namingly this is the first covenant God had made with Abraham after calling him out of his father's household. We all know Abraham was a man of faith. This is how it began with him. So, the Lord said to Abraham, his name has not changed yet.

Go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. And I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you, I will curse and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Familiar with this maybe. So here we make a few observations very quickly. God has promised to bless Abraham and his descendants. And through his descendants, the blessing will go from one family to all peoples or families or nations on this earth. There is an expansion of his grace and blessing promised here.

And the person or family chosen is Abraham, which we all know is the forefather of the Jews. And this promise was such a great one. It's the onset of the story of the Jews. It's confirmed again when Abraham did not withhold his only son, Isaac. God said, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore, because you have not withheld your only son.

His only son, God, will not withhold either for our sake. It's confirmed again with Isaac in Genesis 26. This is an important first step. This is also not exactly like The Great Commission. This is a little more vague, right? In the beginning of the story, it's not so laid out. What exactly, what does it mean?

It's not exactly, it's not laid out what will happen in history and how this is gonna happen. Like a great movie, you are sitting in the beginning of it, popcorn, get your hand, in your hand, you're ready for a good show. Because this story only gets better over time. So, let's go to Israel's calling. Israel, as is Jacob, who was the son of Isaac.

Who's the son of Abraham. And Jacob had 12 sons who are the 12 tribes of Israelites. So that family has multiplied and grown over time, right? From one man. to 12 men and family and 12 tribes. And we all know the story. In Egypt, the Israelites were enslaved, and they went over there because of the famine.

Right? Joseph, who the brothers sold into slavery, saved the entire family. And this Israelite story continue. Moses was chosen by God. To lead them out of Egypt for what purpose? I think we all know, right? We all say, because God wants his own people to enter the land. Why did God do all the miracles in Egypt?

I didn't know the answer to that question. I always said because he wants the Israelites to leave. That's right, but that's only half of it. In Exodus 7, before the first plague, I'll read it for you, you don't have to go there. The Lord said, I will harden Pharaoh's heart. And though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, he, the Pharaoh is not going to obey.

But the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. He wants to be known. No uncertain words. He wants his glory, name known by the Egyptians. Again, in Exodus 14, And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, he will pursue them.

And I will get glorified over Pharaoh and all his hosts. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did the Lord wanted, the Lord did all ten plagues to get Israelites out of Pharaoh's grasp and his hands. Not only for the Israelite's sake, but also for the Egyptians. He wants his name to be known.

And this was done. We know this was done. In Joshua, when he sent the spies, Rahab, right? Rahab basically betrayed his own, her own people. For what reason? She said the, we all have heard what you've done to the Egyptians, and our heart melted. The news of the Lord's glory was known, and he was known. So, this is foundational for Israelites calling in their identity.

And this is the next step in the history and of the story that we're getting to look at the text here. This is from Exodus 19 right before, actually right before God gave them the 10 commandments, right on. And this is this is a given Israel who they are and their identity. Let's look at this. It's great. You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, says the Lord. And I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples, for the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Possession is mine. Kingdomly priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words you shall speak to the people of Israel.

In the beginning, it was Abraham will bless you, and whoever you bless, I will bless. Whoever you curse, I will curse, or curses you, I will curse. And through your family, all families of this earth will be blessed. Now Abraham has become a kingdom. A nation of 12 tribes. Numerous people. And that purpose has been developed over time.

Now we see a little more nuance in it. This family is now a treasured possession among all peoples. This family is chosen to be the priestly kingdom. What's the purpose of a priest? To be the mediator between man and God. That's the priest in between. Christ is our high priest before Christ. The priest is the mediator.

So, what does it mean for Israel to be called a kingdom of priests? Their job is to mediate the rest of humanity to God and to be the sign and the lamp piece that everybody sees. The Lord is great. Amen. And this pattern and motif gets a little more clear, right? So, in the beginning, a little vague, now a little more clear.

Did Israelite do that though? We know what happened afterwards. It's a sad story. It truly is. It was glorious at this moment. God. Split the Red Sea and walked Israelites through the dry land and drowned the pursuing Egyptians. Their fame and the fame of the Lord was traveling. Here's what happened to Israelites.

It was good while David became the king and made Jerusalem the capital city was looking decent. The temple wasn't built in David's lifetime, it was afterwards. But shortly afterwards, no more than 400 years afterwards, Israelites did not walk in the way of the Lord. They did not do what's good in the sight of the Lord.

They worshipped foreign gods and married unbelieving people. They diluted, I should say, polluted the purity of their commitment to the Lord. So, the kingdom of Israel was divided into two, the Northern and the Southern kingdom. And it didn't take that long for both kingdoms to be conquered by Assyria and Babylon.

And we all know over time through the prophets, this is the judgment of the Lord. The Assyrians and the Babylonians are by no means righteous, yet they are used by the Lord to punish Israelites for their sins. Until the next stop in the story would be pretty much 600 years before Christ and 400 years after David Persia took over Babylon and the great King Cyrus signed a surprising decree saying, yeah, you're my captives, but you know what?

I have a different idea than every other dictator in the world. I don't want to keep you. Why don't you go back and build a temple for your Lord? Because. I fear him. Wow. You think that you think any Jews convinced him? No, the Lord's sovereign and he will not let his purpose pass. Even his people failed.

So, we pick up their story. In this great return it's a wonderful story. You can find in Ezra, Nehemiah, Zechariah, and its great read about it. So, hearing Zachariah, the prophet, we pick up a little nuggets of the continuation of that thread. We've been looking at, Zachariah eight I'll read text here. Thus says the Lord of hosts. People shall come to, people shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities, the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I myself am going.

Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord. That says the Lord of hosts in those days, 10 men from nations of every town shall take hold of the robe of a Jew saying, let us go with you for we have heard that God is with you.

Does this surprise you? When I first heard it, I thought was surprising. I didn't know that this and many parts of Isaiah's prophecy was explicitly saying that other nations and people of other origins would want to go to the Jews and go to Jerusalem to entreat the favor of their Lord.

And not to influence the Jews with their own practice, unclean practices, but no, because the Jews had the law of the Lord. They are conforming to the Jews practices, not the other way. Somebody can preach a sermon about maybe immigration on this one. I'm not gonna go there, as an immigrant. Isaiah 9 said very clearly, which we all know, right?

It's, Isaiah 9 says, I will make you as a light for the nations that my salvation may reach the end of the earth. At this stop of the history, this is the Abrahamic Covenant, right? Through your family, all families on earth will be blessed. Second stop in the Exodus story, we saw the Lord's purpose proclaimed in greater detail and specificity.

His name be known, His glory be seen. And the Israelites shall be to him special people, kingdom, a priestly kingdom, mediating people to him, a special holy nation. Here we see a little more families, different nations and different cities will have people wanting to go to Jerusalem in treating the favor of the Lord.

What does that look like? I think though, for those of you who know the story, that happened that took place, but not until hundreds of years later. The Jews history is still full of misery. They got conquered by Alexander the Great. That's why they spoke Greek in the time of New Testament.

That's why they're Hellenist Jews. Not only the Roman Empire, of course, conquered Israelites as well and was ruling over that region, right? That's why in the New Testament, our story happened under the Roman reign. So, let's go there to the New Testament. It does look bleak at this point. If you don't know the rest of the story.

So, the New Testament fulfillment. Galatians 3, that is an epistle written by the Apostle Paul, so hundreds of years have passed, Jesus had come, did his miracles, preached the kingdom of God, and called for people to repent, died on the cross, resurrected three days later. In Galatians 3, Paul was addressing Galatians here, saying, Know then.

That it is those of faith who are sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, in you shall all the nations be blessed. Sound familiar? So, then those who are of faith are blessed among with Abraham, a man of faith.

The script, when the scripture interprets the script Old Testament scripture for us, you listen, we listen, and we learn how to interpret it. And what Paul saying here is glorious. He's saying that beginning of the covenant, that's the gospel. How is that a gospel? Through one family, the rest of the world will be blessed.

That family is the Jewish family. That Jewish family story, as we've traced by now, did not go very well. But Jesus came. Jesus came and changed the tide of everything. Jesus came and it didn't even look good when Jesus came because he died on the cross. His disciples were disheartened. Peter denied Christ three times because he feared the consequence of being associated with him.

But Jesus resurrected. Nobody knew. That was going to happen. Even though he's told them many times, it's not a category in the Jewish belief. Our Lord and King Jesus fulfilled the job and mission of Israelites as a Jew of the descend. He's a descendant of David. And we pick up the story here because the story just took a 90, no, 180-degree turn.

Because it's on the upswing. Things are getting better, and guess what? We are told, we are the descendants of Abraham now. Did you know that? You did. Because you read the Bible, but would you have known that otherwise? That is glorious. None of you some of you might be Jews, I don't know. Maybe some of you are.

And if you are, great. But if you're not, you are only the people of God today because of this, because you believed in Jesus Christ. We are grafted in. I'm looking at this here. That family through which all families on earth will be blessed, today we are that family. We're looking at it right now. You're looking at each other right now.

We have each other. This is the people of God. It's no longer the Jews. We are the people of God. And this is an important identity. You know why? I said earlier, God has always purposed to use his people to save the rest of the world, and we are this, his people now. We are the people. We are the real deal, not because you and I are excellent, but because he's chosen us.

He chose us because he wants to, and it pleases him. I don't know why, but it pleases him.

This is Peter. Oh, it gets better. 1 Peter 2 says. But you are chosen race. He's speaking to believers. You are a chosen race next to Exodus 19, right? Those parallels are as clear as daylight. You are chosen race, Royal priesthood, Holy nation people for his own possession. That is us that you may proclaim the excellences of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

We are his chosen people. Guess our job? A royal priesthood. Israelites were supposed to mediate people to God. They did whatever they could or didn't. We are now taking over this job. We are the royal priesthood. Mediating the rest of the people to God. Now we don't have a national identity like the Israelites did, but we are a holy nation nonetheless, because our practices, our beliefs the patterns of how we do things reflect not the kingdoms of this world, but the kingdom of God, we are going through beatitudes, right?

We ought to live totally differently from the rest of the world and we are his treasured possession. He beholds us. He blesses us So the rest of the world can be blessed through us. We hold that position now friends Nobody else does.

This is in Acts 13 For so the Lord has commanded us saying I have made you a light for the Gentiles That you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. He And the Gentiles, when hearing this, they begin rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. And as many as were appointed to eternal life believed, and the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.

This is Isaiah 9 being interpreted here, meaning the whole, all the nations of this earth will be blessed. Who are they? The Gentiles, the non-Jews, you and me. If this were not true, you and I are not going to be Christians today. You and I are not going to be saved today. This is true because God's purpose was relentlessly effectual.

Even His people did not do their part. Now, this picture has become more clear, okay? In the beginning, it was the Abrahamic covenant. It was pretty vague through your family, all families will be blessed, Israelite's calling, and a few nuggets here and there from the prophets. Today it's increasingly clear that Gentiles believe because of this.

They are the families God wanted to save through the Jews.

So now let's go to the Great Commission after this detour.

This is what I wanted to show you. This thread of God's relentless purpose throughout history, from the beginning to the end, and somewhere in the middle was the Great Commission. It's no longer standing in isolation of all the other events that have happened or taken place. This is what he always have wanted.

He has always wanted to use his people, which is us, to save the rest of the world. Just take one, one little detour here. Have you watched a movie, right? And in the beginning of the movie, you settle down, you get your popcorns, and you start looking at the movie and paying attention. You see a little scene here and there, maybe a shadow walking by the window.

Maybe somebody said something. You just wonder why is it there? It doesn't make much sense; you just remember it. You almost forget about it, but the story intensifies. The drama becomes heated and just when the story is about to unfold, boom, that little detail you almost forgot, but remembered in the beginning is the key to the entire story is so happy that you remember that's a little detail.

You felt like it's a great story told by a director. This is the story, the grandfather of all great stories. This is the best story that there ever is and there ever will be. And that's how God told us his story. So here we pick it up. Let's look at this. What did Jesus say? Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

That's significant. Go therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always, till the end of the age. The word, therefore, of course, as many of indicates a causal relationship, The cause is all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ.

As a result, or because of this, in response to it, or for this reason we must, do what? Make disciples. And then there's more detail in what does it mean make disciples, right? All nations, baptizing them, teach them to observe all Christ has taught us.

Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth, and we know this. He has cast out demons. He healed the blind. He has healed the man with shriveled hand. He has restored the legs of the crippled. He has power over nature. He has power over death. He said, which one is easier? To say to this man, pick up your mat and walk, or to say, your sins have been forgiven.

Wow, you know what that meant? He's claiming he has the authority for given sins. Who can do that? The Jews knew. That's why they stoned him at the end. They want to stone him, and they killed him at the end. Only God, has the authority of doing so. And Christ has all of them has been given to him from the father.

He said, for this reason, because all authority has been given to me, you shall make disciples. You don't make disciples because you're good at it. No, you don't make disciples because you're guilty that you'd be disobeying otherwise. It's very clear. You make disciples because he has appointed eternal life for those that are not believers today.

And you and I are chosen to be his pawns in this process of saving the world. That's how our identity, that is who we are. And we do so out of our trust in him, of his authority.

Now, the time we live in today we said earlier, right? Frodo. In the great story of the Lord of Rings, he said, I wish it not happened to me. And then Gandalf said it is not for us to choose the time we're living, but it is for us to choose what we do with our time here. Second Peter's three says this.

Peter was addressing the end of time, the coming of the coming judgment. He said, but do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill promises as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

What he is effectually saying here is this. The Lord has not come back. We are here. At some point, the history of man, as we know it, will end. Jesus comes back. He has not come back because he wants more to repent, to be saved, to call him Lord and to kneel down and confess when he comes back. He wants more.

So, we are here today. I can use this and deduct that we are here today. Jesus has not come back at this moment because he wants more to be saved. Where? Everywhere. For whom? For him, including Cincinnati. He wants more people in Cincinnati saved. That's why he has not come back yet. And who is going to do that?

We are supposed to obey him and do it here. Be faithful. Now, anytime, again, like I said, anytime I preach I talk about evangelism and ask you, how do you feel about it? I know many of you who've told me this. It's hard. Many of you would say, if somebody asks me on a plane, hey, you are a Christian I really want to know the gospel.

Can you tell me why I should believe? It'd be like, Oh yeah, of course. How many times, how much time do you have? But if that person is not saying anything and you are to strap a conversation, it's a lot harder. Evangelism is not just about, knowing the gospel and sharing it. It's so much about.

Building that relationship or having that social interaction just in a way that it can happen. I want to have a few words with those of you who feel guilty or ashamed because of this. I wanted to give you a new way of looking at this. See who's the greatest evangelist? Billy Graham, maybe?

Paul. So, if we say we feel guilty is a feeling of saying basically I'm not good enough, right? I'm not good enough, why? Because if I measure myself with Billy Graham and what he did, I'd conclude I'm not good enough. I can't speak eloquently like him. I don't even have one person who wants to hear the gospel from me.

And it seems like it's a battle every time I want to. Talk to someone about this. Friends. It's not fair to compare yourself to Billy Graham It's certainly not because not all of us are gifted in the same way

Imagine the world made many of us here are engineers Imagine all of us are engineers how this world would go Many of you will say, great. Some of you will say, oh, no. No more good jokes, that's why we have different gifts. In the operation of evangelism, I assure you, Billy Graham, though, is the centerpiece.

Billy Graham certainly had great help. Somebody needs to arrange his travels, somebody needs to book his hotel, somebody needs to do an administrative task, somebody needs his entire organization helping him. And I want you to think about evangelism no longer in a way that I am defeated. I cannot do this thing.

I cannot strike up a conversation with someone I know even, or I cannot, go up to strangers like Jace Huber would do on the street on Tuesday, whenever you've done so. No, I want you to think of it as this. You could do something. Like for example, when we do hot dog outreach on any given day, there are about 10 people there.

Somebody has to grill the hot dogs. You know how to grill? You can do evangelism. Somebody needs to put the hot dogs in the bread, into the tray. Carer usually does that job with faithfulness. You could do that. Some of us need to just contact everybody and make sure we all show up at the same time, same place.

That's important. You could do that. And the rest of us, we can pray. If not, being on the street intercepting people like Jeff and, stopping them for gospel conversations. You do not have to have the same outlook of what you do to participate in it. But you do have to. to do it for its commended by the Lord and we must obey him.

Now, how does that look like for us as a church? I think we can have more activities that will invite people of all different skill sets and talents to do this. One of the things I think we all observe is there is a huge friction between Right? And in between wanting to do evangelism to actually having that conversation, right?

If I put you in a place where somebody will say tell me about what you believe I know you'd be happily saying it. So how do we make it happen? How do we go there? How do we reduce this friction? From a sort of a strategic point of view, I think our church can provide a platform like this. So, I want to give you an idea.

I'm pretty committed to. I want to try I've shared with many leaders in this church. So, there's this thing called story time, the libraries do, you all know what it is. Just moms with kids from the neighborhood going to the library. And whenever they get there or in the library, somebody sings a song with a guitar or read some books, right?

30 minutes or so. Then the kids run around and play for 30 minutes. The moms talk and everybody leaves afterwards. It's one hour. It's always packed with moms and kids. Here's my commitment to you. I want to try this at CTK. Let's pick a day in a week, and let's figure out a way to reach out to the neighborhood moms and kids.

Maybe in Fort Thomas, that's after we move. And let's get them to the church. Let us play some songs. We can do that. We have gifted musicians and read some stories to create some interaction between the unbeliever and the believer, which is us. And now all of a sudden you find yourself in close quarters with them having normal conversations that is no longer awkward.

And if you don't want to be the one who has that conversation, you can still serve and be a part of evangelism. And then we can talk about how to have those conversations. We have to have them first, then figure out how to do it. Now that might happen in the next year. I don't know, but I want you, this is my commitment to you.

I would love to create a platform that more of us can partake in evangelism. You can be a coordinator. You can be a musician, storyteller, be there to talk. And women in this church, I want to speak to you directly. This is something you can do. And it relieves you from the responsibility of figuring out what to do with your kids at home.

Your kids are just always going to want you to entertain them. I'm not saying this is it. I'm not saying this is how we're going to do it for the next 40 years. I'm saying this is one idea we have to try. And if this doesn't work, let's try something else. We should not give up that idea that a church providing a platform, so we can do it.

More of us can be obedient and can have our gifts used by the Lord for evangelism. If you're interested after this, talk to me, I want to know people who are interested. This is an idea that will be executed.

So, let's go back to what we were discussing earlier, right? How do we live our lives? If you're a parent, I want to talk to you. You have a tremendous job already at home. Who are we as Christians if we don't even share the gospel with our children? Why would we ever do that? We must share the gospel at home.

We must not only speak the gospel to our children, but we must also show them grace and mercy. Show them that we trust the Lord. I don't think it's a problem for us at CTK. Pastor Wade is very passionate about it. Thanks to you, I have a catechism. My daughter Esther is two and a half years old, and she knows what the chief of the end of man is.

She would say to worship God and enjoy him forever. And she will spend the rest of her life figuring out what that means. And I hope so. So, parents, please share the gospel with your children. That is your responsibility. It's inevitable. You must do it. You'd be absolutely unfaithful if you didn't, but this command is not just for families.

Is it? It's not. Make disciples in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit, and teaching them. And this is also to the end of time. That's why he said, I will be with you.

See when God chose Abraham as the physical head of the family, from him came 12 physical tribes of Israelites, all his physical descendants. Okay. That is the beginning story. The New Testament. There are 12 disciples, though Judas was replaced, but there are 12 disciples. The 12 disciples are the new 12 apostles.

imagery heads of the new people of God. It's physical in the beginning, spiritual in the New Testament. We multiply not just physically, but also spiritually. When somebody gets baptized here, they're baptized, he or she is baptized into our family of faith. We truly are brothers and sisters to each other.

Christ said, who is my mother? Who is my brother? His mother and brother were looking for him at that time. He who does the will of my father is my mother and my brother. We are to each other family and we will invite other people to join our family, whether they are our blood family or not. And if it's for this reason, I am saved.

I did not get; my parents were not Christians at all. I was an atheist when I came. Bill and Maureen, who have no children, set out to bring people like me into the family of God. If everybody just cared for their own children, which you know, what you have to do, I would have never been a Christian. But I am today because there are obedient Christians, and we must be that obedient Christians in our church.

Actually, I'm curious how many of you are saved solely because your parents preach the gospel to you? Show of hands. Great. You have faithful parents. Wonderful. And no less or more than that, how many of you are saved? because somebody else preached the gospel to you or influenced you. Wow. Thank you.

Are you thankful for them? Yes, I am. I think we must be those people who are faithful. So, others will raise their hands 10 years from now at this church saying, I am a Christian today because somebody else has been faithful. If I had didn't become a Christian, my parents would not have. And maybe 10 other people wouldn't have either.

Yet through. Donald Moraine's faithfulness. I have become a Christian and through me others have, and through you, others have. This is the economy of God. This is the continuation of that story through one family all families on earth will be blessed and we Must do it.

There's one last thing I want to mention

It's not going to be easy. When we set out to do this, there will be spiritual oppositions and physical oppositions in China where I'm from, I've heard many Christians say this in the capital city that the local underground church rented an office space for their gathering. And you know what the office spaces rent doubles every year because they're Christians, but you know what?

They love doing it. Guess why? Because it reminds them that they are the people of God in a dark place. It reminds them that they are the light that has to be put on the top of a hill. You cannot put a basket on the gospel. We will face oppositions, but that's why Christ said the last words. He says, I will be with you always to the end of age.

1. K. Rowling, who wrote a few good books, said, Great stories transport us into another place. That's why we love it. Cincinnati is that place, my friends. This is the place. This is a place where we live faithfully and do what God wants us to do. And we will be blessed, will be used if we're faithful, big or small.

I have a long suspicion that's the last thing I'll say before I close. We always think about those heroes in great stories. Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, Churchill, whoever you think of. Or Paul. Do you think those people knew they were in a great story? Therefore, acting accordingly? I don't think so. I think people in great stories and people, great people in great stories doing what they did, they simply were doing what they must.

For Christians, they simply are living every day trying to be faithful. No big or small faithfulness is a waste. And this is what we must do. If you're trying to figure out what your mission statement is, friends how do I worship God and enjoy Him forever? You must consider this. This is the unrelenting purpose of God that is through the time of history.

It's everlasting. It is effectual. There are Christians to be appointed in this city that who are not today, and we can be that faithful Christian who share the gospel. Let us pray.

Lord, I thank you that you are faithful. You've promised greatly through Abraham, and you have pulled it through even though it looked bleak.

Lord, you have advanced your purposes even your people did not. And for this reason, we are saved. We are grateful for your grace, and we are grateful that you've given us a great task to do. Lord, I pray that you will encourage us, you will Emboldened us what I pray that you will help us be faithful and obedient and see the glorious work of your Holy Spirit among our works Among others around us and through us in Jesus’ name.

I pray Amen