For the last few weeks we have been looking at things that are going to take place in these “last days” in which we live. We have concentrated primarily on what will happen to the saved. We have seen that the “dead in Christ,” those who have died trusting Christ as Savior, will rise first. Then, we which are alive and remain will be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air. But, sadly, we have also seen that those who do not know Christ as Savior will be left on the earth to endure the seven years of tribulation that are to come upon the earth and its inhabitants. In Daniel 8 the prophet was given a vision of coming world history, and it was so disturbing that he said in vs. 27, “And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days . . . ” Today we who are God’s people, we who are saved, are seeing things in our world and in our nation that should make us at least heart-sick if not physically ill. We are seeing - perversion, crime, greed, the killing of the innocent (babies/abortion), mothers who have no love for their children, and fathers who are abusive both physically and sexually toward their children. We are seeing a general refusal to acknowledge the existence of the God of Heaven. We are seeing terrorism on an unprecedented scale - and much of it is aimed at God’s people Israel and at those who support them. We are seeing the filth of Hollywood paraded before us, even brought into our homes by way of television, and the people who put it on and perform in it are treated like gods and goddesses. We are also seeing things in the Lord’s churches that should similarly affect us. We are seeing those who profess to have been redeemed by the precious blood of the only begotten Son of God forsake their Savior, His churches, and God Himself. We are seeing a lack of faithfulness to Bible study, prayer, and church attendance on a grand scale. We are seeing entire churches, for the sake of a few more (possibly unregenerate) members turn their backs on “the faith that was once delivered unto the saints.” We are seeing the Bible “retranslated” to appeal to this modern generation and the old hymns that appealed to the spirit more than to the feet and to the flesh forsaken. To that generation I echo some words I read the other day, “God is not going to rewrite the Bible for your generation. Stop trying to change Scripture when it is written to change you.” And your choruses that you sing over and over (almost as a chant) may make you dreamy eyed about tomorrow, but the words of the old hymns spoke Scripture to the hearts of men. With all that is going on in the world it is easy for a true child of God to get to thinking about Heaven and how wonderful it will be to be in the presence of the Lord, but we are not to get so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. After Gabriel revealed to Daniel the meaning of the vision he had seen (vv. 16-27), Daniel said he fainted “and was sick certain days.” Not only was he ill for a few days, after Daniel went back to work at the king’s business, he says he continued to be “astonished (greatly troubled) (I’m afraid if Daniel had been a average believer of today, he would have just stayed in the sick bed several days longer, and after he got up might have said, “Well, I just can’t go on” and quit.) This message concentrates on 8 words of the final verse of Daniel 8 where Daniel, in spite of being ill and greatly troubled said, “. . . I rose up, and did the king’s business . . . ” When I think about those words one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is what Jesus said in Luke chapter 2. Mary, and Joseph, and Jesus had gone to Jerusalem for the Passover and when they started home 12 year old Jesus “tarried behind in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:43). What did he say to Mary and Joseph when they found Him? Vs. 49 - “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” I must be about “. . . my Father’s business . . . ” “. . . rose up and did the king’s business . . . ” We know Jesus is going to return. We just don’t know when. We know those left behind after the Rapture will face a terrible time of tribulation. We have this information but are we really doing anything with it or about it? God’s people today need to get up, get out and do the King’s business. What is the King’s business? Matthew 28:18-20 tell us what it is - to make, mark, and mature disciples. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (19) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." It is my humble belief that in the last 40 to 50 years many of the Lord's churches have forgotten that purpose for our existence A business-type, “bigger is better” mentality seems to have affected our thinking. For that reason many churches seem to exist for the sake of numbers only. They appear to believe that “bigger” makes everything we do right. It is the “ends justifies the means” mentality. So, they seek programs, entertainment, and activities that will “draw” the world. However, our Lord gave us a command to follow, and He has told us how to follow it. A New Testament church is to be a disciple making body - not an entertainment medium for the world or an “exclusive” club for the saved. We are not here to make the world feel better about itself, but to be witnesses of Jesus Christ to this sin laden, sin cursed world -- Acts 1:8: “Ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . ” In our text Jesus told us how to make disciples, and and we are going to see how He said we are to go about this disciple making process, how to do “the king’s business.”

I. FIRST, THERE IS THE MAKING OF DISCIPLES.

II. NEXT THERE IS THE MARKING OF DISCIPLES.

III. FINALLY THERE IS THE MATURING OF DISCIPLES.