Here I Am, Lord: Saying Yes to the Great Commission

The Great Commission is not an invitation for a select group of missionaries. It is a command Jesus gives his followers: go, make disciples, baptize, and teach. The question is not whether God has called the church to go. He has. The question is whether believers will answer when obedience interrupts their plans, costs something, or takes them beyond their comfort zone. Crossing an ocean is not required, but crossing whatever stands between a believer and someone who needs Jesus is.

The call requires surrender. Isaiah’s encounter with God’s holiness shows that a real encounter cannot leave a person comfortable with the same old attitudes, motives, pride, and hidden sin. “Holiness exposes what people have learned to excuse.” Before believers can go where God sends them, they must surrender what they want to control. That includes unforgiveness. Obedience cannot become a negotiation over which commands deserve a yes. God may not reveal the next ten steps because he is asking for trust with the first one.

The commission also requires action. Beautiful buildings, excellent worship, and church ministries cannot replace carrying the gospel beyond the walls. Some believers go across the world; others go across the street. Some give, pray, and encourage those who travel. None are called to do nothing. The woman at the well had no theological degree, but she had encountered Jesus and had a testimony worth sharing.

Christ’s promise supplies the courage: his presence goes with his people. He does not promise comfort, acceptance, or freedom from opposition. The Holy Spirit equips believers for what their own abilities cannot accomplish. Their responsibility is obedience; God is responsible for the results. Practical help, a shared testimony, and a willing response become opportunities to point people to the Savior. Salvation, recommitment, and surrender each call for a real step toward Jesus.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Surrender Stops Negotiating The Terms Of Obedience. A willing heart does not need the whole itinerary before answering God. Questions about cost, comfort, and success become obstacles when they turn into conditions for obedience. God sometimes withholds the next ten steps because the first step requires trust rather than control. [53:15]
• 2. Holiness Exposes What People Learn To Excuse. An encounter with God’s holiness reaches deeper than clothing, hairstyles, or outward appearance. It brings attitudes, motives, pride, and hidden places of the heart into the light. Remaining comfortable with those things is not the fruit of an encounter that changes everything. [50:42]
• 3. Forgiveness Belongs Inside A Surrendered Life. Deep hurt can make forgiveness feel like the one command that deserves an exception. Yet injury to a person or family does not turn obedience into something negotiable. Forgiveness can begin without replaying every incident or having every detail resolved, as the believer releases the grievance before God. [55:09]
• 4. The Gospel Must Move Beyond Church Walls. Excellent worship and active ministries do not remove the church’s responsibility to reach people outside its gatherings. A neighborhood, workplace, school, or family can be a mission field just as surely as another nation. Participation takes different forms, including going, praying, giving, and encouraging, but doing nothing is not one of them. [1:02:34]
• 5. Christ Promises Presence Rather Than Easy Results. Rejection does not mean a believer has failed the assignment. Jesus calls his followers to point people to the Savior, not to become the savior or control the response. The Holy Spirit supplies power for obedience, and God remains responsible for results that may never become visible to the person who shared. [1:10:32]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [39:33] - Two Questions About Answering God’s Call
• [41:04] - The Great Commission Is A Command
• [43:02] - When God Interrupts Comfortable Plans
• [48:41] - The Call Requires Surrender
• [50:42] - Holiness Exposes Hidden Excuses
• [54:11] - Forgiveness And Obedience
• [57:50] - The Commission Requires Action
• [1:02:34] - Every Believer Has A Mission Field
• [1:06:24] - Christ’s Promise Gives Courage To Go
• [1:09:26] - The Holy Spirit Equips Believers
• [1:11:02] - Taking Responsibility For The Assignment
• [1:15:16] - A Daily Reminder To Share Jesus
• [1:18:00] - Salvation, Recommitment, And Surrender

Bible Reading

Matthew 28:19-20
“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 have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [41:04]

Isaiah 6:8
“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here I am! Send me.” [48:54]

Romans 10:14
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” [01:02:06]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 28:19–20, what responsibilities does Jesus give his followers beyond simply going somewhere? How do those responsibilities move beyond gathering for worship? [59:09]
2. What does Isaiah’s response in Isaiah 6:8 reveal about his willingness to go before knowing the details of the assignment? [52:16]
3. In connection with Romans 10:14, what everyday mission fields and forms of participation were identified for believers who may never travel to another country? [01:02:34]
4. What distinction was made between what Jesus promises in Matthew 28:20 and what believers might wish he had promised about comfort, acceptance, and opposition? [01:07:13]

Interpretation questions

1. How does Isaiah’s willingness in Isaiah 6:8 help explain the difference between making thoughtful preparations and making obedience depend on knowing every detail? What might that difference look like when serving becomes inconvenient? [53:19]
2. Why would surrendering pride, hidden motives, or the desire for control matter for someone preparing to answer God’s call, as Isaiah did? How might those attitudes affect the way that person treats others? [51:22]
3. How does Romans 10:14 challenge the idea that a church’s excellent worship services and active ministries are enough by themselves? What might a church overlook if it expects people outside its walls to make the first move? [01:01:19]
4. In light of Jesus’ promise in Matthew 28:20, how should believers understand a gospel conversation that ends in rejection? What is the difference between taking responsibility for sharing faithfully and trying to control another person’s response? [01:10:46]

Application questions

1. Where are you waiting for more certainty before taking a step you already believe is right? What might trusting God with the first step look like this week? [56:36]
2. God’s holiness brings attitudes and motives into the light. Is there an attitude you have been excusing that you sense God asking you to surrender? What practical change could help you respond? [51:05]
3. Forgiveness belongs within a surrendered life. Without sharing names or painful details, is there a grievance you are struggling to release before God? What could a first step toward forgiveness look like while still keeping appropriate boundaries? [56:22]
4. Who in your everyday life needs the hope of Jesus, and what stands between you and a conversation with that person? What respectful, natural opportunity could you make room for this week? [47:26]
5. An encounter with Jesus gives a believer a testimony worth sharing. What is one specific way Jesus has changed your life that you could explain in ordinary words? How could this group help you grow more comfortable sharing it? [01:04:29]
6. Participation in God’s mission can include going, praying, giving, and encouraging. Which of these could become a concrete part of your life this month? Is there a person or ministry you could support in a specific way? [01:03:06]
7. When you think about sharing Jesus, what worries you most—feeling unqualified, saying the wrong thing, or being rejected? How could relying on Christ’s presence and the Holy Spirit’s help change your next step, even if you never see the results? [01:10:32]