The Great Commission: Marching Orders Series

Discipleship Matters: Marching Orders

Matthew 28:16-20

Pastor Jefferson M. Williams

Chenoa Baptist Church

04-11-2021

Seth and Jeff - Discipleship 101

The first time and only time I ever smoked marijuana was about six weeks after I became a Christian.

After committing my life to Christ on December 31, 1990, another student named Seth asked if I wanted to meet and start learning how to study the Bible. I jumped at the chance.

During one of our meetings, I mentioned that I would be going with a friend to Ohio to be the best man in his wedding. Seth stopped mid sentence and said, “Then we need to talk about what God could do through you!”

He prayed that God would keep me from temptation and give me opportunities to not only show I was different but actually to share the Gospel.

I went into the weekend excited about my new found faith and making plans to share Christ with my friend Karl.

Needless to say that I was still more professional sinner than saint and I spent the weekend very drunk and even smoked marijuana, something I had never done before.

When I got back, I didn’t want to meet with Seth. When I walked into the restaurant, he nearly was jumping out of the booth with excitement. He wanted me to tell him all that God did! I just hung my head in shame. He got the picture pretty quickly and pivoted.

He could have said, “Yep, we’re done here. Obviously you don’t want to take your Christian walk seriously.”

He could have said, “Well, I’m surprised that God didn’t strike you down right there.”

He could have said, “You are such a failure.”

Instead he said, “Okay, let’s talk through it step by step and see what you can learn for the future.”

What was he doing? What was this process of helping me learn to live out my new faith?

Seth was discipling me. It was life on life, friend to friend. It was an older believer (in the faith) teaching a younger believer how to recover from a failure and learn from my mistakes.

Over the past year, the most common question I’ve been asked is, “What is discipleship and how do you do it?”

I was going to preach a one-off sermon but, after talking to several other pastors, have decided to preach an eight week deep dive into discipleship.

I believe this may be the most important sermon series I’ve preached here at CBC so far. I’ve prayed that these sermons would help set a foundation of discipleship at this church and would set on us on fire for the sharing, showing, and teaching of the Gospel in our homes, in this church, and in this community.

The Great Commission

A couple of years ago, the Barna Group asked a simple question to people that identified themselves as Christians. Do you know what the “Great Commission” is? The results were startling.

6% said they were not sure what the Great Commission was.

17% said yes they did know the Great Commission.

25% said “yes, but they couldn’t recall the exact meaning.”

51% said they didn’t know what the Great Commission was.

When given the opportunity to pick the Great Commission from five different verses, 63% picked the wrong verse.

By the end of this series, I promise you that you will not only know the Great Commission but you will be really to live it out.

Turn with me to Matthew 28:16-20.

Prayer.

We will be a Church that trusts His Authority

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (Matthew 28:16)

Jesus has been arrested, crucified, died, buried, resurrected, and has spend forty days appearing and teaching His disciples.

His words from just a few weeks before were ringing in their ears as they made the rough, ninety mile journey from Jerusalem to Galilee:

“But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.” (Matthew 26:32)

Mountains are important in Matthew’s story telling. Jesus begins His ministry on a mountain, which we call the “Sermon on the Mount.” Jesus unzips His humanity and His divinity explodes into brilliant light on the Mount of transfiguration. And now, Jesus will meet one last time on the mountain with His disciples to give them their marching orders.

They were obedient to Jesus’ command. If they were going to hear Jesus’ last directives to them, they had to put their feet to their faith.

Upon reaching the mountain and seeing the Risen Lord, they fell on their faces in worship. No matter how many times He had appeared to them, it never stopped being overwhelming. They worshipped Him as the Messiah, as God of very God, and as their Savior.