[0:00] Good morning, everybody. Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I bring greetings also from my co-workers and my graduate school in Yangon, Myanmar.
[0:16] I'm so thankful to the Lord for bringing me here. In fact, I could tell you that I could visit you, I could be here because of the miracle that the Lord has brought to my life.
[0:28] I hope you have heard about the uprising last year, September 2007. Since then, Myanmar people have been fleeing away from the country.
[0:40] I hope you have heard about last one month ago, there was one container in Thailand brought by a huge car and 121 Burmese people.
[0:52] But 54 people died and the rest of them were hospitalized. You might think that that's only one time happened in that kind of accident. But every day, Myanmar people flee away from the country.
[1:06] So all my friends told me, Brother Ong, we have hope for you to obtain visa for Australia because 98% of all the visa application forms were rejected.
[1:18] I told them that no problem. If the Lord opened doors, I will be in Australia. If he doesn't open, no problem. I will serve him here in Myanmar. But when I apply my, when I submit my application, all my application went through.
[1:34] That's why I call it. That's a miracle. I'm very thankful also to Dr. Paul who visited our place and he will be going to visit again to teach at the graduate school in Myanmar.
[1:49] And thank you very much also for helping the suffering people, those who were suffering under the cyclone in Myanmar.
[2:00] When the cyclone could hit Yankong and Irawri Delta area, I was in Wellington, New Zealand.
[2:11] Two whole days, I felt so uneasy and uncomfortable because I could not call and I could not contact my family and my co-workers there in Yankong.
[2:22] I read the hard news from my friends, my friends in Singapore that all the communication, transportation in Yangon were totally paralyzed.
[2:35] After two days, I was able to contact my wife, Dr. Dim and my co-workers there at the college. I was so thankful to the Lord because they all were saved.
[2:47] Even though the roof of the college and then all the glasses or windows were broken, I asked them whether I should go home right away instead of visiting Australia.
[3:00] I was so encouraged by their words saying that, no, no, no, you don't need to. We all are safe. So just go ahead to Australia and meet our people there in Australia.
[3:12] That's why I'm here today. My nine-year-old boy, Samuel, also talked to me. He is a joyful boy and he would make a lot of jokes. He said, Dad, do you still, do you know our favorite place in Yankong?
[3:26] I was like, where's Dad? Where's our favorite place? And he said, you know, sometimes we will ride bicycle in that park. There is, of course, the largest park not far away from our place, our graduate school.
[3:40] Do you still remember, Dad? Dad, there are huge, big trees. Dad, now no more trees are there because the cyclone, because of cyclone, all the three big trees were uprooted.
[3:53] And the park has become like your forehead. He said, and not only are our apartments, but everywhere apartments in Yankong are very ugly because instead of glasses, we put, we replace the plywood.
[4:12] So it's so dark and I could not read, he said. Thank you very much for your love and concern toward my suffering people in Myanmar. So this morning, I would like to talk about the Great Commission.
[4:25] I just put in the Great, a new look at the Great Commission in the context of Myanmar. As far as we could say that the Great Commission is the highest business in the whole world.
[4:36] As we know that the Great Commission is, has a full meaning and wide range of meaning. But the most important thing that we could say is making disciples of our nation.
[4:51] In verse 16, it says, now 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. As we know that in chapter 28, verse 1, after Sabbath, as the first day of the week was drowning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tombs to take care of the remained body of Jesus Christ.
[5:15] Instead of seeing the remained body of Jesus Christ, the two women were so surprised there was no more Jesus Christ, the remained body of Jesus Christ.
[5:26] Rather, Jesus Christ was there asking the two women to go to the disciples and ask them to go to the mountain where they would meet together.
[5:41] And the 11 disciples went up there and they saw Jesus Christ. As you know, all the disciples, they saw Jesus Christ was arrested and he was beaten up.
[5:55] He shed, Jesus Christ shed his blood and Jesus Christ was hung on the cross. And they saw with their own eyes that Jesus Christ died on the cross.
[6:06] They saw with their own eyes that the main, the remaining body of Jesus Christ was carried out and put the body in the tomb. They felt so helpless, they were thinking within three years, more than three years that we follow, it became nothing.
[6:23] Now that they saw Jesus Christ, the same Jesus Christ that they were following in, the same Jesus Christ, he was dead. That's why in verse 17, they said, when they saw him, they worship him.
[6:34] But still how stubborn they are, some of them still doubted. I could say that the Greek commission was given to the disciples by the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
[6:49] In the context of worship, as far as my ministry is concerned, all the time, what I could say is that the worship is very important.
[7:00] In the context of worship, many Christians in Myanmar, many Christians in Myanmar just only worship the Lord only on Sunday. But Monday to Saturday, they don't carry it, they don't carry but they worship life.
[7:14] That's why we used to say that Sunday they look like angels, but Monday to Saturday they look like demon possessed. We have to carry out a worship life on Sunday to carry out Monday to Saturday.
[7:26] Because when we worship our heart is soft and our heart is ready to listen to the word of the Lord. Well, they were worshiping Jesus Christ, 11 disciples, Jesus Christ approached to them.
[7:38] And Jesus Christ said the most important word, his last words, because he was about to go up to heaven. He said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
[7:53] In Acts chapter 1 verse 8, it says that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will become my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and until the end of the earth.
[8:10] The two contexts are exactly the same. It happened in the same place. In that two words here, in Matthew chapter 28 verse 18, it says authority.
[8:22] The word authority. And in Acts chapter 1 verse 8, the word says power. When I was doing MDF at Asian Theological Seminary in Manila, Philippines, My assignment was to translate Greek into English.
[8:43] I was struggling with English. And how could I translate Greek into English? I have to do it because that's my assignment. If I don't want to do it, I will not be able to make my degree.
[8:56] So I try my best to translate. And when I reach verse 8, it is like a huge blessing manna falling down on my life.
[9:10] I was having a Greek revival. The word power in Greek was dunamis. I came to know that many English words come from Greek. Like soteriology, anthropology, all kinds of logilogy.
[9:24] I thought they were English words, but that they were Greeks. So the word dunamis, the English people just get the word dunamis as they change into now what we know dynamite.
[9:39] Dynamite that we know now is a bomb. Bomb is a very terrible thing. Bomb has a purpose. Bomb is used only just to attack the enemies.
[9:49] And I personalized it and I understood that. Wow! Even though I'm very small, I am the bombs of Jesus Christ. I could be useful.
[10:00] I'm a useful boy. I'm a useful man to attack the kingdom of Satan. As we all know that whenever the bomb is exploded, it doesn't anymore have any power.
[10:12] But the word dunamis has become dynamo in English words. In English. So the dynamo here, the Holy Spirit is here all the time, gives me again and renew me again and refill me again.
[10:28] So dynamo is all the time with me. And here in Matthew, we see the word authority. So we have these two words, authority and power. Jesus Christ, Satan is very powerful, but he doesn't have authority.
[10:43] As we all know that on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down on the people who fasted and prayed for 10 days. So Lord Jesus Christ has given and trusted his power and authority to his church.
[10:57] What is the meaning of a church? Church is not a building. Church. Church. We all are the members of the church of Jesus Christ.
[11:08] Like in Myanmar, we are not allowed to build church buildings. So we have been planting churches in houses or apartments. So we are here. We have in our hand, we have authority and power of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[11:23] That's why all the time we could stop the power of Satan. One night, I was carrying my daughter. At that time, she was only three years old.
[11:36] In front of the college in Yangon, there was a great junction intersection. Even though it was already 11 o'clock, there were cars running here and there. When I was carrying my daughter, I saw a huge and big truck coming over the other side.
[11:50] And there were, it seems that generals were also planning to cross the other side. General, military generals. Right away, a very skinny, malnutrated, I should say.
[12:04] A traffic police came up and then he just put his sign to the very powerful big truck. And I was surprised seeing the huge powerful big truck just stopped.
[12:20] The Lord just spoke to me right away. That's it. Even though the big truck is very powerful, the police, traffic police could stop it. Because the traffic police has the power to give and trust to him by the state.
[12:35] I was having great revival. Okay, I could stop the power of Satan anytime. Brothers and sisters, with that authority and power, the Lord just asked to make disciples of all nations.
[12:51] Okay, we have to make disciples of all nations. What is the meaning of a disciple? Disciple is not just traditional Christian. Disciple is a mature Christian who knows the depth and the power and all kinds of things.
[13:11] What do you call it? About the Lord. And then he knows fully the love of God. I would say that a disciple is a person who has the discipline of Jesus Christ.
[13:22] I mean, a disciple is not just ordinary Christian. So, Jesus Christ is not just commanding us to convert other people, but to make them disciples of him.
[13:33] Okay, now we don't have any excuse because we all already have authority and power that we have responsibility to make disciples of all nations.
[13:43] Jesus Christ has given us three methods how to fulfill the Great Commission. Number one is to go. We have to go where the people are.
[13:54] We have to tell the people about Jesus Christ. In Myanmar, I was born in a very small village that is the northwest of Myanmar.
[14:07] We call Chin State. That's where about half a million people live. Would you believe in my state 98% are Christians? So, I don't need to stay in my state anymore.
[14:17] Rather, I visit them. Whenever I visit them, I challenge my people there to support more mission work and to send more missionaries to other parts of Myanmar.
[14:28] With that authority and power, the Lord commanded us to go. When we go, because we have the love and the burden for the lost people, wherever Christians go, they would surely share the love of Jesus Christ to other people.
[14:44] As long as we share the love of Jesus Christ, we know for sure that many people will be converted. And the Lord Jesus Christ has given us the second method to accomplish the Great Commission.
[14:55] That the second method is baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. A mythologist, Josh Peters, from Fuller Theological Seminary, made a statement.
[15:09] I love the statement he made. He said that baptism belongs to the church. So, baptizing the believer means we have to plan churches.
[15:21] So, after having new converts, we don't need to send them out. But we have to put them together as a church. Okay, now we have planted a church.
[15:34] What we need to do? Teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. He said Jesus Christ said that. That's why the discipleship training and education comes in.
[15:46] I believe in leadership development in Myanmar. That's why I've been teaching my people. Let's teach the Word of God to our neighbors. So that all the people who are in a Bible study will become disciples.
[16:01] Disciples of Jesus Christ. And the last confidence we have is. And remember, I'm with you always to the end of the age. Wherever we go, whatever we plan churches, wherever we teach the Word.
[16:15] Jesus Christ is with us all the time. Jesus Christ is here in Melbourne, here in Sydney. Jesus Christ is also there in Myanmar. Let me tell you one story as my conclusion.
[16:27] As we know that we have to interpret the meaning of the Bible according to the context of the Bible. There was a Filipino man, Roman Catholic.
[16:38] He was converted. He was a very strong Roman Catholic. And now he has accepted Jesus Christ. And he is very energetic in evangelizing other people.
[16:50] And there was an international business meeting that was conducted in Manila, Philippines. He dressed nicely and nobody asked him.
[17:01] But he was acting as the usher. And the international business would come. Mostly, they all were Chinese businessmen. And then, hello, hello, good morning. Where do you come from?
[17:12] And some of them would say, from Hong Kong, from Shanghai, from Taipei. And there was a very handsome man, a businessman. And that Filipino man asked him, where do you come from?
[17:24] He said, I'm from Shanghai. Oh, welcome to Manila. What's your name? And he said, my name is Lo. And right away, hallelujah. Your name is listed here in my own Bible.
[17:36] And that businessman, communist, was like, what? What did you say? What did you say? My name is listed here in your Bible? Maybe he used the old King James Version.
[17:47] See, here, here, here, here. I am with you. Lo, I am with you always to the very end of the age. And a Chinese very successful business was convinced. And during the business meeting, he became a Christian.
[18:01] Would you believe I know both of them? And the Filipino guy was brought to Shanghai. And now they live in Shanghai together. As long as we share the love of Jesus Christ, the Lord doesn't care the context.
[18:14] Brothers and sisters, let's be ready to make disciples of all nations. May I invite you all to visit me. You can come with Dr. Paul, because he's going to teach at my college in August.
[18:29] Thank you very much for your love. May the Lord bless you all. Thank you. Thank you.