Today, we begin a new series on discipleship. Our goal is to gain an better understanding of what discipleship is so that each of us might answer the call to be a disciple who makes disciples for Christ. We know this because of what Jesus commanded His followers in what is commonly referred to as “The Great Commission.” (READ TEXT)
According to our Lord’s command here, discipleship is our mission as the people of God. Let’s dig into the passage a little deeper to see what we can learn about this mission given to us by our Savior.
1. The purpose of our mission – v. 18
The purpose of our mission to go and make disciples has to do with the expansion of the kingdom of God. You see, when God first created His kingdom, He created it in two spheres:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” - Genesis 1:1 (NIV)
God made angels to serve Him in the heavenly sphere of His kingdom and the human race to serve Him in the earthly sphere of His kingdom. But Scripture says a rebellion that had its beginning in heaven led to the usurping of God’s authority on earth.
An archangel named Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-15) chose to serve himself rather than God and declared himself worthy of taking God’s place. The Bible indicates one third of the angels joined him in his rebellion (Revelation 12:4), leaving two thirds of the angels loyal to God. Thus, the heavenly sphere of God’s kingdom remained under His authority. But, Lucifer, also called “Satan” which means “adversary” succeeded in persuading 100% of the human race to join his rebellion, leading the earthly sphere of God’s kingdom to rebel against Him. Lucifer usurped God’s authority on earth.
Jesus came to undo the effects of Lucifer’s rebellion by redeeming mankind. He purchased us from enslavement to sin and rebellion that we were trapped in because of our ancestor’s choice to join Lucifer’s rebellion against God’s authority. Through His sacrifice for the sins of the world, Jesus Christ, who was God come in human flesh, provided forgiveness for all mankind through paying the penalty for our sin in our place. And because of this forgiveness that has been provided to all, all can now choose to enter into a relationship with God through faith the One who died for us and was raised from the dead for us.
The nature of our relationship with God is then one of Father and child; but also of Master and servant, as Paul explains:
“You have been purchased at a great price, so use your body to bring glory to God!” - 1 Corinthians 6:20 (The Voice)
“A high price has been paid for your freedom, so don’t devalue God’s investment by becoming a slave to people.” - 1 Corinthians 7:23 (The Voice)
This is what Jesus is talking about in verse 18. Note the emphasis that all authority has been given to Him in heaven AND earth. As people come to Christ, God re-establishes His authority on earth, one person at a time. And as God’s children “do His will on earth, even as it is done in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), God’s kingdom comes to earth. Through the work of making disciples, heaven is invading earth!
There are three things involved in a kingdom.
A. There must be a sovereign. Our king is Jesus!
B. There must be subjects. All who have accepted Christ are subjects in His kingdom.
C. There must be submission. The subjects of the kingdom must willingly submit to the king’s rule over their lives.
The purpose of discipleship is to see the kingdom of God established through-out the earth as people choose to accept Jesus Christ as their sovereign King; are born again into God’s kingdom; and then willingly submit their lives to allowing Him to rule over their lives.
We were not saved to go from earth to heaven one day; but we were saved to bring heaven to the earth today.
2. The practice of our mission – v. 19-20a
Three elements are associated with obeying Christ’s command.
A. Connection – “go”
Many point out that this is more correctly be translated, “as you go.” In other words, we are to seek to make connections with folks who do not yet know Jesus, in the effort to introduce them to Him.
A certain donkey was filled with self-importance. special. He was also prideful that he was called in for difficult assignments. He was strong and could carry a lot. He also knew how to give comfortable rides to passengers. So he wasn’t surprised to be called to give a ride to a person going into the capital city one day. But he was surprised at the greeting he was given by the crowds. People laid down palm branches and coats on the ground before him. “Wow! I really am something,” he thought. “People really appreciate all I am doing, that’s for sure.” But the truth was, the celebration wasn’t for him or about him. It had nothing to do with him. He was carrying Jesus. He was simply carrying the Message.
As a church, it is not about us. We’re just the donkey. We’re carriers of the message. It is about Jesus. Our job is to keep taking Jesus places.
This is why we’re shifting our focus from trying to get people from our community into our church so we might have a better church, to trying to get people from our church into our community so we might have a better community. We’re doing this through efforts like sponsoring our College Ministry Intern; giving scholarships to college choir students; assisting with the Dairy Ministry, sharing our facilities with a Spanish speaking congregation; partnering with the Baptist Children’s Home with the Christian Women’s Job Corp; sponsoring Sports Camp, Ramp Up, raising scholarships for kids at the Rec Center; the prayer booth at the county fair; and our Adopt A School Initiative. And in a few weeks, I’ll share with you a plan for better connecting with each of our neighbors.
Why are we doing all these things? Because we are seeking to take the life of the kingdom to our community - to put our hope in Christ on public display; so we might have opportunity to connect with people who do not yet know Jesus and introduce them to Him.
B. Conversion – “baptize”
Our goal in making these connections is to see people become subjects in the kingdom of God through faith in Christ. That’s what baptism’s about, a person publicly declaring that Christ is their Savior and Lord. Baptism is how our King has commanded us to testify to others of our conversion from being a rebel to being a subject.
A group of rebels came to the king to surrender. His advisers counseled him that he should have the rebels executed. He refused saying, “Rebels? I see no rebels here, only subjects.”
When we surrender our lives to Christ, God rewards us by no longer seeing as rebels, but as subjects, indeed, as sons and daughters!
C. Community – “teach”
Once a person declares they are a subject of the kingdom by coming to the King; we’re to teach them how to willingly submit to the Kings’ rule. One mistake made in seeking to make disciples is that discipleship is all about teaching content. We misread our Lord’s instructions as “teaching them everything I have commanded you.” Because of this, several efforts at discipleship mistakenly focus on leading a person through this study or that. But the instruction of Christ here is “teaching them to OBEY everything I have commanded you.” This requires community. This requires life on life relationship.
In Relevant Magazine, Ann Swindell, says Discipleship Isn’t “Just Me and Jesus”: “While discipleship is all about Jesus, it’s not a
solitary endeavor. Discipleship is relational, and to fully respond to the Great Commission, we need to be disciples who are making
disciples of Jesus. This means we need to spend consistent time with other believers. Jesus and His disciples spent a lot of time together. The 12 were in one another’s lives, constantly and intentionally. We become disciples with one another, learning how to love God and each other as we go. We need to allow others to disciple us by letting them challenge us and encourage us in our walk with God.
This is why church and honest relationships with other believers are so central to the Christian life - we need one another in this journey of becoming wholehearted disciples of Jesus.”
3. The promise of our mission – v. 20b
Christ promises to be with us. This is significant, as again, Ann Swindell explains when she makes the point that “Discipleship isn’t mentoring. Mentoring has to do with what the mentor can offer to someone else through their own wisdom and experience; discipleship has to do with what Jesus can offer to someone else through His wisdom and presence.” In other words:
“I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” - Philippians 4:13 (NLT)
Conclusion:
“Discipleship is helping each other belong in a healthy relationship with God through proclaiming and modeling the Gospel; equipping each other to become more like Jesus through the study of His Word and experiencing biblical Community; and holding each other accountable to bless His Kingdom and our world through sharing, serving and giving of ourselves.” - Shawn Lovejoy, pastor & author
Why not answer the call to be a disciple who makes disciples today? Is Christ your King? Are you submitting to Him?
