What A Disciple Looks Like Series

WHAT A DISCIPLE LOOKS LIKE

- Matthew 28:16-20

This very familiar passage is known as the Great Commission. It records one of the last times Jesus spoke to His disciples and the mission He gave them when He left. He said, “Go and make disciples.”

The mission Jesus gave to those gathered that day, is the same mission He gives to us today. Go and make disciples. He doesn’t stop by telling us to make disciples, but He continues by telling us to make disciples of every nation. For those who might be concerned to worried, He says in verse 18 “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Then in verse 20 He says, “Me, the One with all authority, I’ll be with you as you go.”

Go and make disciples. What an awesome charge.

I don’t know about you, but I get excited about the possibilities and the opportunities God has placed before us.

Yesterday, on the way back from the ball field with Drew, I saw a kitchen sink of sale at a garage sale on Saxon. We are looking for a kitchen sink to put in the pavilion at the church property so I stopped to look at it. It turned out that the sink really wouldn’t fit the bill, so I let it go.

While we were there, I happened to notice a magazine he had sitting on display. It was a Playboy issue with Anna Nicole on the cover. I say I noticed it; I was guarding it to make sure Drew didn’t happen to pick it up while he was thumbing through some baseball cards nearby.

When I saw that magazine, the thought came to me, “How sad it is, with her life now gone, that all she leaves to show for it is an old magazine, a child that will never know her, and a group of men all claiming to be the father of her baby so they can get her money. That, and several people fighting in court over where to bury her no-longer-living, body.” That’s some legacy, isn’t it?

On the other hand, Jesus calls us to join Him in His work. Jesus says, “I want you to make a difference. I want your life to count for something. I want you to make disciples.”

There’s a fly in the ointment, here though. In order to make disciples, we must first be disciples.

Let me ask you this morning, “Are you truly a disciple of Jesus Christ?” Did you notice what I didn’t ask? I didn’t ask, “Have you been saved?” I didn’t ask, “Have you been baptized.” I didn’t ask, “Do you attend church?” I didn’t ask, “Are you a member of this church or a church somewhere?” I didn’t ask, “Are you working in this church?” I didn’t ask any of those things. I asked, “Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?”

Now some of us may be confused about what a disciple is. This morning I would like us to take a look at how the Bible describes a disciple.

First I would like you to notice that a disciple of Jesus Christ is a person with a changed life.

I. A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST HAS A CHANGED LIFE

> 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.

A disciple of Jesus Christ is a person who lives a changed life. If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you are a changed person. This verse says you are changed in two ways.

1. Old Things are passed away - To be a disciple, an world-changer, for Jesus Christ, there are some things that must be done away with.

> Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

> Romans 6:23a For the wages of sin is death…

> Romans 6:23b … but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus

Christ our Lord.

> Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

> Romans 10:9-10 If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

2. New Things coming – To be a disciple of Jesus Christ, some old things must be done away with. Not only must some old things be done away with, but some new things must take their place.

> Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him…