When I was a kid growing up, I don't think I ever went anywhere without my mother saying, "Robert, there is one more thing I want to tell you." It didn't make any difference where I was going. I could have been going to camp, I could have been going to spend the night with a friend or I could have been going to a party. I don't care what it was, before I got out of the car, my mother would say, "There's one more thing I want to tell you." It was never really one more thing -- but several things. And they were usually always the same. My mother would look at me and she would say, "Remember, be on your best manners. Don't do anything to embarrass the family."

Another thing she always asked was a question I hated. But, I'll bet many of your mothers asked you the same thing. She would get a serious look on her face and ask, "Robert, are you wearing your good underwear? If anything serious ever happened, I'd hate for anyone to see your holey underwear." Do you know the thought that always went through my mind? I could imagine an accident and I would be rushed to the emergency room and the doctor working on me would say, "Look at these holes in his underwear. Get his mother in here right away. I want to talk to her."

One more thing which my mother would say before I got out of the car. She would look at me, her eyes would soften and she would say, "Remember, I love you." I suppose that I will always remember my mother's concern for me and her way of saying, "There's one more thing I want to tell you."

When we look at the scripture for today, the gospel of Matthew is coming to a close and Jesus has one more thing he wants to tell his disciples. The parting words of Jesus have done more to emphasize his teaching. The parting words of Jesus have done more to give us a vision of a world-wide church. The parting words of Jesus have done more to send disciples into all nations with the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ. The parting words of Jesus have done more than any other part of the Bible in presenting the magnificent theme of God's salvation available for all people.

Whenever we read this particular scripture, we have a tendency to see only the Great Commission which says, "Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." However, when we look closely and listen carefully, the last words of Jesus to his disciples really did three things. There is a claim of power. There is a great commission. There is the promise of a presence.

The one more thing which Jesus had to say to his disciples was a summation of his teachings. Today, as we look at the parting words of Jesus to his disciples and to the whole church, I want us to look at all three things.

I. Jesus Assured Us Of His Power

When you read Matthew 28:18 in different translations, you will notice that one key word is different. Most translations have Jesus say, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." I don't believe those translations which use the word "authority" really capture the true meaning of Jesus. In this particular passage, I believe that the King James version is more accurate when it translates that verse. The King James version says: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."

Now, I realize that you did not come to church today hoping I would conjugate Greek words for you. I simply want to say that the word "authority" means the right to appoint to an office while the word "power" is the claim to a purpose.

Jesus was claiming the power to accomplish a purpose. Power is not power unless it can accomplish the purpose to which it is applied. A chain saw is great for cutting fine wood, but it can't be used by a man to shave his beard in the morning. Dynamite is a powerful device for blowing away part of a mountain, but for the purpose of blowing out candles on a birthday cake, it is not very effective. Atomic bombs and nuclear-tipped missiles are great for destroying life as we know it on this planet, but if the purpose is to cleanse our hearts of hate and to help people to find their way to peace with God and with each other, then the atomic bomb is not the kind of power that is needed.

The power that is needed is the power to accomplish a purpose. This is the kind of power that Jesus claims. He does not claim a power of coercion, but the power of persuasion. He does not claim a power of force, but a power of devotion from within. He does not claim a dictatorial power, but the power where people can freely choose.

In a courtroom one day in Jerusalem, Pilate, representing the kingdom and force of the Roman empire looked at Jesus and asked, "Don't you know that I have the power?" Jesus, standing before Pilate with his hands tied behind his back, and the spittle of a Roman soldier on his face said, "My kingdom ... my power ... is not of this world."

Think about the difference there in Pilate's hall. We are a people who have been obsessed with Pilate's kind of power. But Pilate, Caesar, Alexander, Napoleon and Stalin founded their empires upon the power of force and they are all gone.

Jesus Christ used another kind of power -- the power of love -- and his kingdom has grown from a small group of disciples to literally millions and millions of men and women who have freely chosen to follow him. The reality of his power in this is clearly shown in the words of a little poem which says:

Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today he is the central figure of the human race,
All of the armies that ever marched,
All of the navies that ever sailed,
All of the parliaments that ever sat,
And all of the kings that ever reigned,
Have not affected the life of man on this earth
as much as that one solitary life Ä (Jesus Christ)

If we want God's power in our hands, we must have his kind of power in our hearts -- power to accomplish his purpose.

II. Jesus Gave Us A Commission

Jesus sent his disciples out into the world with the commission to win men and women to faith in him. This commission was not just for those first disciples, but is for all disciples -- including you and me.

I know a man who had been successful in life. And then, everything started to go wrong. He lost his business. He lost his money. He lost everything he had worked for in life.

One day, in the midst of his discouragement and despair, he tried to commit suicide. But, he failed! While he was in the hospital recovering, one of his friends came in the room and simply asked, "Why did you do it, Joe? Why did you do it?"

Joe looked over at him and said, "Because there isn't any good news left in the world. If there was, someone would have told me."

This is what the great commission is about -- one person telling another the good news. Jesus expected his disciples to go throughout the world with the good news that would transform the world, change the world and convert the world. And he expected the same of us as his modern day disciples. But, we have become so comfortable at sitting in our pews that we no longer are going out into the world and telling the good news.

I preached in a little church in Southwestern Oklahoma one Sunday evening. It was a little white-framed Methodist church with a cemetery out behind the church. There was a center aisle and two side aisles. When you entered the church, if someone forgot to tie the rope to the bell tower out of the way, you could walk right into it. It was a typical country church. What I liked about this country church were the words which were painted in gold-leaf over the door. As you were leaving the church, these words were posted over the door so you would see them. The words were: "You Are Entering The Mission Field."

Isn't that why Jesus commissioned us as his disciples? We gather in this sanctuary to worship. We gather in this sanctuary to grow in our faith. We gather in this sanctuary for fellowship with one another. We gather in this sanctuary to sense our oneness in Jesus Christ. Then, we go out into the mission field -- the world where we live and work and play. It is in the mission field of our world where we are to proclaim the good news. It is in the mission field of our world where we are sent to set at liberty those who are oppressed. It is in the mission field of our world where we are to proclaim this to be the time to take up your cross and follow Jesus Christ. We have a commission from Jesus. Our commission is to be his witness and make disciples in his name! Will you be obedient to his commission?

III. Jesus Promised Us A Presence

It must have been a staggering thing for 11 disciples to be sent forth to conquer the world for a risen Savior. There must have been doubts and fears in their minds as they contemplated how they would carry out their commission. But, no sooner was the command given than the promise followed. They were sent out -- as we are -- on the greatest task in the world. But, there was also the promise that they would not be alone. The promise of Jesus was "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."

Almost 20 years ago, the attention of the world was focused on three men who were close to a quarter of a million miles away from the earth. The Apollo 13 spacecraft was making a trip to the moon. Somewhere, out there in the darkness of space, there was an explosion aboard their spacecraft. They lost power. They were not generating oxygen. They didn't know if they would have the fuel to return to the planet earth.

Everyone held their breath and said their prayers, as the NASA scientists and engineers tried to figure out a way to bring these astronauts home. In order to conserve oxygen, the astronauts were ordered to crawl into the lunar lander and remain in there for the three-day trip back toward home. These men were not sure if they would make it home. They didn't know if their oxygen would hold out. They didn't know if their thrusters would fire for re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. They didn't know if they would skip off the earth's atmosphere like a rock skipping across the pond and wander for eternity through the darkness of space. But, they did make it home.

After their splash down in the ocean, they were taken aboard an aircraft carrier for medical exams. As they were sitting in the examining room, one of the astronauts looked at the other two and said, "I don't know if you felt the same thing I did or not. But, when we were cramped in that lunar lander wondering if we would make it home, I felt as though we were not alone. I don't know how to put it into words, but I felt the presence of God was there with us."

The promise of Jesus is a promise that we will never be alone. He said to his disciples and he said to each of us, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Can you sense God's presence with you now? Where is God? Here within! A poem says it so simply:

As near as green grass to a hill,
As petals of gold to a daffodil,
As near as the sunlight is to the sod,
So near to the human heart is God.

Prayer: O God, help us to know that we are the ones sent, and enable us by your grace and power to be your disciples in our world. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.