Today is week five of our study of the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20.
It’s where Jesus said---Go and make disciples,
In fact—let’s read it together this morning.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Those were some of the final words of Jesus---his plan, his instructions for His followers to accomplish the purpose of God on this planet.
A little review:
Week 1—The Greatest Omission of the Church is this verse. If we are to be the church----of the Bible, the church God wants, we must be about these things.
Week 2--We looked at the greatest need---obedience. It’s not enough to have knowledge---but we must put into practice what we know. God is not impressed with us memorizing his instructions----what he desires is for us to live them.
Week 3 was the Greatest Direction. We are told to make disciples as we go. Everywhere we go. Whenever we go. Everytime we go—anywhere we have potential to impact people to be followers, disciples of Jesus. It is for everyone---not just those who go to Africa, or China. It’s for us-as we go to the store, to work, to school, to the club, to the field, to our homes. The best direction to make disciples is the one we are pointed in.
Week 4 was the Greatest Connection—baptism. We just saw people this morning---experience that born again connection to God. Clothed with Christ, connected to his death, burial and resurrection.
And this morning—Week 5—we look at the Greatest sustainer.
Jesus made it clear that the plan was not finished at the connecting point. WE are making followers---not joiners. If we have a joining mentality—then just getting people baptized finishes the process for us. But if we are following God’s plan, and making disciples, followers, then the process after baptism is what sustains the energy of the follower. And the participation of old followers with new followers is the plan Jesus laid out.
So this morning—we want to look at that phrase---
‘and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
A lot of studies have been done of the words of Jesus and a lot of people have compiled the commands of Jesus. The number varies of those who have done these studies, but generally falls around the 48-50 number if the Ten Commandments are included which Jesus said he did not come to do away with.
It only takes about 2 minutes to say them all, so we are going to read together this morning---the commands of Jesus. The list I put together does not have the ten commandments in it.
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength Mat 22:37-40
2. Love your neighbor as yourself Matt 22:39
3. Treat others exactly the way you want to be treated in every circumstance. Luke 6:31
4. Forgive everyone of all their offenses against you. Matt 6, Mark 11
5. You must be born again. John 3
6. Abide in me, and let me abide in you. John 8:31
7. Let people see me through your good works. Mtt 11:28
8. End disputes quickly.
9. Whatever causes you to sin—get rid of it. Mark 9:43
10. Don’t swear oaths at all. Matt 5:37
11. Do not return offense for offense. Turn the other cheek.
12. Give what people ask of you, and give more than is required. Matt 5:38
13. Love your enemies and those who work against you. Luke 6:27
14. Give to the poor to please God, not to gain approval from other people. Mat 6:5-6
15. Pray privately and simply, not to impress other people. Matt 6:5
16. Make your prayers like the Model Prayer. Mark 12:40
17. When you fast, do it secretly, not for show. Matt 6:
18. Use your stuff to store treasures in heaven, not on earth. Luke 12
19. Don’t worry about your material needs. Matt 6:25
20. Do not worry about the future. Luke 12
21. Make God the highest priority, and he will take care of all your needs. Matt 6
22. Do not judge other people. Luke 6:37
23. Don’t misuse Holy Things. Matt 7
24. Ask God for whatever you want to have. Seek and find. Luke 12
25. Feed the hungry, clothes the naked, shelter the homeless, comfort those in distress. Matt 25
26. The path is narrow---stay on it. Matt 7
27. Beware of false prophets and teachers. AMtt 24
28. Love little children—do not despise them. Mark 10
29. Resolve disputes in an orderly way. Matt 5:25
30. Be careful of titles like master or father. Matt 23
31. Do not oppose other believers in Christ who are not in your group. Luke 9:50
32. Have total faith in God for everything. John 14
33. Be like the Good Samaritan---go and do likewise. Luke 10
34. Love other people the same way I loved you. John 15
35. Eat bread and drink wine in remembrance of me. Luke 22
36. Humbly serve one another—have a washing feet mentality. John 13
37. Be merciful. Matt 5
38. Go and make disciples, baptize, teach them to obey Matt 28
39. Keep my commandments John 14
40. Be prepared for you master to return. Matt 25
That’s a pretty good list. As I pondered this list this week---I realized that the teachings, the commands of Jesus cover about everything in this life. Every attitude, and action---if in obedience to these commands will have the best possible outcome. And it’s important to keep coming back to the list as our priority. Over time we can drift to where often the church is more about traditions or prefrences, then jesus teaching. That’s what happened to the Pharisees---they were big on their laws—not so much on God’s. Jesus didn’t say teach them dress codes, or music prefrences, or versions of the Bible to use. He said, teach them to obey my commands.
So—Question---if this list, these teachings are so readily available. If Jesus made it so clear for us---his expectation to obey them---then what is the problem. And are we willing to get real honest about a few things??
A few realities---
1. We have settled for knowing commands over doing commands. We talked a little bit about this in week 2. Notice Jesus instruction was to teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. I think we often read this and even quote with out the word Obey in there. Teach them everything I have commanded. There is a big difference between knowing what Jesus said and doing what Jesus said.
2. We have not placed ourselves in discipling situations that allow someone to hold us accountable. The missing piece in the instruction of Jesus in our church’s today is the process of disciplemaking. It is a time taking, energy expending, often frustating, often exciting, get in the ditch with someone and work part of our walk with God. We have so few disciples because over time church has become about joining instead of following. So we have large numbers of people that know the commands of Jesus, but fewer numbers of those who want to obey the commands of Jesus.
3. And reason three---I often am not in relationships that are deep enough to accept a word of warning about my disobedience of these commands. Let’s face it----most of the time, when someone comes to us, even with the greatest of motives and tells us that we are disobeying Jesus commands with our lifestyle choices----we either blow them off and ignore them, or consider them way out of line and move on to another church.
Now---that’s the bad news-----what’s the good news??
The good news is that the opportunity to actually live the life God calls us to is available to everyone of us. The good news is that I sense a stirring in the community of people who call themselves followers to move to a deeper relationship with other followers and with God. I believe we have tried the joiner model and seen it’s failure to change us, bring us peace or have impact on those around us---and we deep down want more. We don’t just want to be a pile of white substance---we want to be a powerful, life changing salt.
The Good News, is that’s exactly what God has been waiting for. For us to realize that His plan is the best plan. That there is nothing we can come up with that will bring us more wisdom, more peace, more impact, and more blessing then this plan---going and making disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded us.
So---how do we begin to put this into practice????
1. Place ourselves in follower relationships.
We must make walking through life with other followers a priority. I’m talking about sharing life and developing honest relationships that help with encouragement and accountability. It does not happen in groups of more than eight or ten people. It does not happen in an hour of church on Sunday. It usually does not happen in a Sunday School Class. It is taking time—finding some people we think we might like---asking them to get together---stating some goals---examine the Bible together---and then doing it. We don’t need trained leaders, we don’t need programs, we don’t need organizational charts and numbered weeks. We just need to have a heart to be a follower and take others with us. Step one is making the relationship time a priority.
2. Move beyond surface conversation.
We can talk sports, and families, kids and grandkids, work and school for hour upon hour. At some point, someone has to break the ice of superficial conversation and say---I am struggling with this. Or I really need some input and prayer for this.
3. We realize that we follow and lead at the same time.
The disciple making process means leading—but if we ourselves are not following we are not growing and cannot lead. Everyone can do both. Everyone can look for help and be help at the same time. When someone starts considering themselves a leader only---they cease to be much help in making disciples. But as one continues to find ways to follow and serve, they will be passing on that learning to those around them.
4. Teach by example
Jesus said, teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.
The best way to do that is to model the commands. To talk about the difficult ones. To be honest about the struggles.
One of the worst phrases ever created was “Do as I say, not as I do.”
The plan Jesus has for us to teach obedience to his commands, is to obey.
That is discipleship-----obeying the commands of Christ.
Disciplemaking is doing it in relationships, in community. I think the best definition of Discipleship I have heard lately is Believers helping other believers make God honoring Decisions.
That’s what I need. I need believers around me that help me make God honoring decisions. When I forget, or jump to react instead of respond—or when I respond wrongly—I need other believers to disciple me---to help me examine my heart, and my actions and make God honoring decisions.
In the model prayer, Jesus taught us to pray a prayer of humility and submission.
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
When we mean that prayer-----we will be involved in the business of making disciples, teaching them to obey. When Jesus moves from Savior to Lord—when we realize we need more than our sins forgiven—we need someone to show us how to live. The difference between Savior and Lord is the difference between believing and Obeying.
Believing makes Jesus my Savior.
But Obeying makes him my Lord.
The early church had it figured out. 8 times in the book of Acts we see the phrase—“The Way of the Lord.” It’s the way people lived. Teaching others to obey the commands by obeying them as an example.
Acts 2 gives the results of followers following.
Everyone was filled with awe.
