Delivered
at Floyd Springs UMC, Floyd Springs, GA March 8, 2015
Psalm 25:9
9 He guides the humble in what is
right and teaches them his way.
The Great Commission
16 Then the
eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to
go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus
came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you
always, to the very end of the age."
First, it is an honor to be with
you this morning. If you are visiting
with us this morning, please know
that I am the Lay Servant. You
should visit again when Rev Patrick Hopper is here and you will have a
wonderful experience for certain. Wayne
would normally be here in Patrick’s stead, but he is recovering from shoulder
surgery and doing well. Needless
to say, those are mighty shoes to fill up here so please be praying.
I grew up in Glenwood and graduated
from Armuchee High. For those of
you who may have known me then, please let me assure you that the temperature
in Hades still exceeds 32 degrees Fahrenheit. My presence here is a testament to depth of God’s mercy and
the height of His grace.
I remember right at the age of 10
playing softball across the street.
Actually, I don’t think that you can call it playing. They gave me a glove and put me in the
outfield where I could do the least damage. I am not very athletic. Good times.
Let me ask you: Who are you discipling? Who is discipleing you?
When Patrick called me a few days
ago, I asked if you all were working on a series, or the lectionary, etc. He said just preach the Gospel. Great-I thought.
From that I felt lead to spend some
time on Matthew 28 this morning. Let’s
talk about how we are commanded to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We are now in the season of
Lent. The key part of the Easter
narrative that, I think, gets overlooked from time to time is the “Great
Commission”.
It seems that we
celebrate the magnificent resurrection, and it IS magnificent and WORTHY OF
CELEBRATION. Make no mistake. However- the great commission, Matthew
28, when it is discussed, to my recollection, is isolated from the resurrection. That is a shame for it is our part
in the Gospel mission!
Let’s take a closer look at what
Matthew wrote for us here:
Verse 17: “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”
Now why did Matthew have to put
that in there? Did we really need
to know that? If you are writing a
book that is designed to bring me to trust Jesus could you not just lay that
aside? I am glad it is there.
Lets ask “Why on earth did some of
the disciples doubt?” They just
saw the resurrection!!
We shouldn’t be too harsh in our
assessment of doubting disciples. But
put this in historical context: Though the disciples never truly understood
Jesus or His mission to this point, this is the man that taught them, fed them,
loved them, and taken care of them for the last three years. They loved Him and they were witnesses
to the most brutal beating, scourging, torture and execution that the Roman
empire could employ on the human, Jesus Christ.
He was a miracle worker yet, in
their eyes, He was incapable to escape death on the cross.
Now they are witnessing to the most
mindboggling miracle in all of history: Jesus did escape the grave! The hope of all mankind!
Keep in mind also that this was
prior to Pentecost – so they did not have the Holy Spirit as we do now. Really, who could blame them for having
doubts?
Item #1: People Come to Christ with Doubts and Fears.
Lets face it: just like these
disciples, we all come to Christ with our doubts and fears don’t we? Keep that in mind when we are making
disciples.
Verse 18: “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to me.”
Jesus establishes that HE has the
right, the authority, and the expectation that WE should be obedient to
His command.
Item #2: As Jesus is the Supreme Authority, we should let nothing in
Heaven or on earth ever interfere with our duty to carry out the Great
Commission - ever.
Verse 19 and 20 is where we are
going to spend most of our time this morning.
Verse 19: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them
to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Jesus says “go and make disciples”
and then tells us how. Most of us
don’t make it past the “go” part. Many
times we emphasize the first word “go” and “all nations” then immediately
relegate this command to the foreign mission field. Not so fast.
Item #3: The mission field includes the people in West Africa and the
person sitting next to you in the pew.
And when we do pass “go”, it goes
something like this: We baptize them, hand them a bible and a membership card,
and say “If you have any questions, I’ll have the preacher give you a
call”. And then we wonder why the
culture is unraveling all around us.
This, loved ones, is the crucial
failure of the American Church.
All denominations. We do
not love one another with the love of Christ to interrupt our lives to help
others live the life of a disciple.
Item #4 - Our obedience must go beyond evangelism to include discipleship
if we are to carry out the great commission!
Notice that Jesus said “Make Disciples” - Not just tell people about Him,
invite them to church, or wear the tee-shirt. Making disciples is not a spectator sport – it is full-contact.
Just as Jesus discipled the early
church, He expects us to disciple others.
We must invest ourselves in each
other. Otherwise, the resurrection
was pointless.
In order to make disciples, you
must first BE a disciple. “Who are
we discipling and who is discipling us?”
Does not mean that you have to be
perfect, just willing to carry out Christ’s command. For me personally, Romans 12:1-2 sums up discipleship.
Romans 12:1,2
1 Therefore,
I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's
will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Be a living sacrifice- be willing
to give up our will for His.
Renew our minds so that we will
know the will of God and be different from the culture that surrounds us.
Matthew
22:36-40
35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested
him with this question: 36 "Teacher, which is the greatest
commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38
This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like
it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these two commandments."
You know the disciplines of faith:
Bible
study – read devotionals daily is good.
Join a Bible study group. We
need to know the Word.
Prayer
– Really pray. Pray like it makes
a difference; because it does.
Tithing
– Malachi 3:6-12
Fasting
– Matthew 9:14-17.
Worship
– we are to worship.
Fellowship
– have Christian friends that will hold you lovingly to account. Ask yourself “Who is mentoring me?”
Pray over these areas in your life
- for we are called to be obedient.
For if we are to make disciples then we must LIVE THE FAITH THAT WE
PROFESS.
People despise hypocrisy. If they do not see our actions lining
up with our words, then they will stand in line somewhere else. They will try Islam, Kabala, Eastern
Mysticism, dianetics, - what have
you.
Though people hate hypocrisy, they
respect sincerity. No one expects us
to be walking perfection - so don’t wait to be perfect to begin. You will struggle in these disciplines
– to be honest I am having a time with my prayer life right now. But I cannot let that get in the way of
my calling.
The difference is simple: are you
using Christianity to get what you want or are you using what God gives you to
further benefit His Kingdom? Are
we serving our will or His?
Paul confessed these same struggles
common to all followers in Romans 7:19. “For what I do is not the good I want to do;
no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing.”
But it did not stop him from
carrying out the Great Commission!
Let it be the same with us.
Verse 20 “ . . . baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching
them to obey everything I
have commanded you.”
We must teach them the complete
Gospel: “teaching them to obey everything
. . . “
Our calling is to Baptize and to
teach. Baptism (salvation) is a one-time
event. Teaching (sanctification)
is a lifetime process. Jesus
saves, we baptize. The Holy Spirit
guides, we teach. This is where we
drop the ball.
How do I find people to disciple?
You don’t. Ask for God to bring people to disciple
into your life when you are ready.
But they have to be in your life – not at arm’s distance. If you are sincere, the Holy Spirit
will put them in your path. But be
careful before you do, because it is tough to actively make disciples.
You find yourself on the phone when
you would rather be watching Downton Abby. You will have kids at your house when you thought your
kid-tending days were behind you.
You will cry with them, laugh with them, be angry for them – (be angry
with them) but don’t give up on them.
It can be frustrating. Be patient with them. Jesus got frustrated with His
disciples, and still does. But He
still did His Father’s will.
WE must also be aware that Christ
loved the disenfranchised and those on society’s margins. When Jesus said “All Nations”, He was not
only referring to geography; there are
no ethnic barriers in the Kingdom of God.
“Red and Yellow Black and White,
They are Precious in His sight . . . “
You will find your comfort zone
being stretched for sure.
Obedience has a cost. It is true what Victor Frankl said:
“Those who would give light must endure burning.”
Why is the Great Commission
important? It is important because
nature hates a vacuum. People are
hurting and are looking for answers. They are looking for acceptance and meaning anywhere they can
find it, especially our young people. They will numb life’s pain through alcohol, drugs, and
fantasies. They search for
relevance in street gangs, unhealthy relationships, or cults.
But just as devastating are
misplaced priorities: we may worship our career and social standing. Many will put their families on the
alter of prosperity for the sake of a successful career track.
I believe that Revival, if we truly
want it, is on the horizon. But
like any blessing, we need to be ready for it. We in the church need to grow closer to Christ and we are to
bring people with us – for the good of the Kingdom. Some will not want to come along, but we still need to offer
them a ride. Luke 14:23
Living the Christian life is not a
spectator sport. It is full
contact.
This is serious business. Eternity depends on it. We will be held
accountable.
For decades we in this nation had
the luxury of a culture and society based on a Christian worldview. Have you noticed any changes
lately? We no longer look at
marriage through the lens of Ephesians 5:21-33. Our society no longer can define evil when it should be
clear to everyone – much less as found in Romans 1, Galatians 5 and throughout
the Bible.
I look at the world around us and
pray for revival. I pray that God
would send His spirit among this nation again and spare us from the sin to
which we have resigned and the madness that flows in its wake.
But if God hears our prayers and
revival is truly just over the horizon – again I have to wonder: “Will we be ready
for it?”
What good is it for a farmer to
plant a garden only to let the harvest rot in the field? What if God brings a harvest of souls
to our doorstep and we fail to love them, to teach them, and to disciple them? Then their very lives will rot in the
shadow of our steeples. And we
will be held accountable for it.
Pray for God to send people into our
lives to mentor and disciple. Pray
for us to be there for them in their struggles, to laugh with them, cry with
them, pray with them, be patient with them – live for them.
We need to reach beyond ourselves
to love one another, to hold each other up and not tear down. When we do have differences, our goal
is to restore, not to reject.
Should we embrace everyone in our
lives? No, there will be people
our lives that we will have to love at arm’s length for a while. But we must love them just the
same.
Let me close with this: we do not do this work alone. Christ did not give us this command to
only ascend to Heaven and abandon us on earth.
We have His promise:
Final Item: “20 And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age."
Let us pray.
Matthew 9:14-17
14 Then John's disciples came and
asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples
do not fast?" 15 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the
bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom
will be taken from them; then they will fast.
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