The Great Invitation
Matthew 28:19-20
September 8, 2013
Morning Service
On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first flight of an airplane at Kitty Hawk NC. On their 5th attempt, the plane under the control of Orville, embarked on a 12 second flight.
Wilbur rushed to the local telegraph office and sent the following message – WE HAVE FLOWN FOR 12 SECONDS - WE WILL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
Upon receiving the telegram their sister, Katherine went to the newspaper office, told the editor of her brother’s new flying machine, and informed him, they would be home for Christmas, if he would like to set up an interview.
He told her that was nice, and he would be sure to put something in the paper regarding the boys.
On December 19th, the local paper placed the following headline on the 6th page of the paper: “WRIGHT BROTHERS HOME FOR CHRISTMAS” (SermonIllustrations.com)
The newspaper missed an incredible opportunity to report on some of the most amazing news in history. They completely missed the point. Sadly many churches fail to share the best news of history. We cannot afford to miss the purpose and the point of the church. We have been called to point people to a life changing encounter with the Jesus.
Here are just a few examples of what the early church was able to accomplish:
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. Acts 2:41
And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42
12 The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. Acts 5:12-14
Big Days in the Early Church
Pentecost 120 to 3,000
Acts 4:4 to at least 5,000
Acts 6:7 Added a large number of priests
Acts 8:5-25 Revival in Samaria
Antioch Great many people came to believe
Acts 21:20 Rapid growth (tens of thousands)
Key questions on personal evangelism
Who am I currently reaching?
Who is like me?
Who is not churched?
The key is how well the church is able to help people move from one level to the next. Each level is an increase in their personal commitment. Moving people deeper allows for greater growth of the church.
Community – People who are outside the church
Crowd – People who are occasional attendees
Congregation – Regular attendees
Committed – members
Core – Leaders
One key to helping the church grow is to reach new people and getting them to attend, while simultaneously moving people from the crowd to the congregation. What would happen at the average church if they could gain new families and fringe families to start attending?
There are two types of people that we need to reach if we are going to start fulfilling the Great Commission: the unchurched and the de-churched. Unchurched people are those who have no connection to a local church. Often these people have no church experience and do not value church. These would often be the most difficult people to reach. The second group is the de-churched. The de-churched are people who have been a part of church somewhere at some time but no longer attend church anywhere. De-churched people are more likely to attend church if they were invited by a friend or family member.
Engage the Culture
The church needs to start connecting with people in meaningful ways. We engage culture by being relevant and meeting needs in the community.
Where are the harvest fields ripe in our community?
- Soccer fields and ball fields
- Music in the park
- Brown County Fair and parade
- Community events in Williamsburg, Sardinia, Georgetown and Mount Orab
- Nearby apartment complexes, trailer courts
Facts about the North American Mission Field
* North America is the only continent where Christianity is not growing
* The decline in Christianity has been going on for nearly fifty years… there are now over 280 million unchurched people in the United States and Canada
* In the past 15 years, churches in the USA have spent 500 billion dollars on buildings and programs with no appreciable growth
* About 10 churches per day are closing their doors. New churches are 11 times more effective reaching people for Christ than existing churches. We need nearly 3,000 new churches per year than we are planting now just to keep up with population growth in our country.
* Conversions to other religions and dropouts from Christianity are escalating. It is estimated that 53,000 people leave churches every week and never come back
* No matter how you do the math, current conversion rates still point to one horrible conclusion: lost people lose
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." Matthew 28:19-20
The Search for More Disciples
Jesus is giving clear instructions for disciple making. Because Jesus has been given the supreme authority over all things spiritual and physical, he has the authority to say what comes next. The position of His authority gives Him the right and the responsibility to give direction for the life of the individual Christian and the corporate body of the church.
The word here for go is not a one time or occasional reference but rather is a continuous act. Jesus is literally saying go out, keep going out and never stop going out. Somewhere along the way we miss this point and think that discipleship is the job of the pastoral staff, the Sunday school teacher, the teen worker or the children’s church workers. The reality is that discipleship should not only be our chief passion but also our primary pursuit.
There should be two key goals for those who follow Jesus.
• Grow closer in your walk with Jesus each and every day
• Make more disciples
The Strength of Discipleship
The goal of making disciples means that we are making the commitment to build others up and to help them follow Christ. If we truly want to be a church that makes disciples we must start doing things that build people up. The church is not the building we have been blessed with. The church is the people God has sent us to be a part of this body of believers. I believe that there are times that we forget this simple but essential fact. Before we can focus on buildings and structures we must first focus on building people.
The Scope of Discipleship
When Jesus gives the scope of the commission it is not just a world wide vision but rather involves every people group. The word here for nation is ethnos, which refers not to countries but groups of people. For example: The United States has many different ethnic groupings within our country. (African, Hispanic, Asian, Native Indian, various European and so on) but we are all Americans. Jesus is not speaking of gaining an impact on every nation but rather Jesus wants to have an impact on every ethnic group in the world.
The Sacrament of Discipleship
Jesus calls for those who profess belief in Him to be baptized. Baptism is the outward sign that shows the reality of the inward grace of Christ in a person’s life. Baptism does not play a role in being saved because that work is done by Christ alone. It is the personal declaration of belief and identification with Christ’s resurrection.
The Source for Discipleship
Jesus calls the disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Why does Jesus do this? When you look at the life of the believer, every person of God plays a role in their spiritual life.
• Father: Creator, one to whom we need redemption
• Son: Jesus is the one who shed His blood for our redemption
• Holy Spirit: Brings conviction to the hearts of those who need to repent and sanctification to those who need to be cleansed
The Sharing of Discipleship
The method of sharing the knowledge of Christ to others is teaching. There is no way for others to come to know Christ if they are never given the Truth. The purpose of teaching is to help others more closely follow Jesus and to allow them to see their lives through the lens of God’s word. It is only when people see their lives through the Truth of Christ that they can be transformed.
Conclusion - How do we accomplish this commission?
Discipleship is about following Jesus as closely as we possibly can and helping others come to know Jesus.
Morale - Remember Jesus is with you
Means - Depend on Jesus
Motivation - Understand that there is an end
