Let’s get to our passage. Turn over to Matthew 28. This passage might be pretty familiar to you, but that’s ok. When you get to Matthew 28, we’ll read verses 19-20. Pay attention to this passage…as it lays the foundation for what we’re studying today. Let’s read our passage for today…again, it’s Matthew 28:19-20.
It says: 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Well, here we are…at the end of our series about making disciples. Now, as I say at the end of every kind of series like this, there’s always more we could say about the topic. There’s more that we haven’t covered…including what we’re going to talk about this morning…when it comes to making disciples. But if the Lord tarries we’ll probably come around to it at some point.
So now that we’ve looked at how we need to be disciples ourselves, and how the disciples went about making disciples back in biblical times and made sure we had the right motivation for making disciples and dissected each part of Jesus’ Great Commission…you might wonder…now what?
And the answer, simply…is…everything that we’ve talked about? Do it. Don’t just let it be a hypothetical thing that you’ve heard in a sermon series. We need to make disciples in the church and as the church. We need to put all of this into practice. Today. And tomorrow. And every other day…to the very end of the age.
We can’t be Christians…we can’t be the church…and not make disciples. It’s like James writes in 1:22 of his letter: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” If we don’t work as hard as we can at making disciples…especially after spending so many weeks talking about its importance…then we deceive ourselves. We’re fooling ourselves into thinking we’re disciples…that we’re Christians…when we’re not living up to either of those titles.
*So let’s do everything we’ve talked about. And do what we’re going to talk about this morning. We’re going to wrap up this series talking about how we do what the Commission says…how we make disciples…and what’s going to happen when we do. When we allow God to work…we’ll see results. And we’ll be following his commands.
**For starters, it won’t take long for us to see that we’re going to face opposition when we live out the kind of Christianity that Jesus called us to live. The pushback from the world is going to happen. There’ll be all kinds of people who will try to discourage you as you make disciples. But that is why…and this is our first point for this morning…we need to stand firm for Christ.
We’re warned in Ephesians 6 that there is a spiritual war going on around us. Some of it will play out in the physical world that we’re living in. But, ultimately, Paul writes…our struggle isn’t against flesh and blood but against the rulers, authorities, the powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. It can sound pretty daunting.
Knowing that, many Christians don’t take a stand for their Savior. Especially here in America. For the most part, they attend their church’s worship services, they quietly go about their lives, and when they face opposition from the other side…they slink back and cower.
But there’s no reason for that! Why? Because of what Jesus says. He’s with us to the very end of the age. He’s with us. He’s sent us the Holy Spirit. God has, when you continue reading there in Ephesians, God has provided an “armor” that we can put on to stand firm. We have a belt of truth, a breastplate of righteousness, our feet are fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, we take up the shield of faith, our heads are covered with the helmet of salvation, and we have the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
He’s with us! And he’s given us everything we need! So even when we face troubles as we go about making disciples as we’re called to do…we don’t have to worry. We can stand firm for the one who’s there along with us! That’s why Paul writes what he does in 1 Corinthians 15:58. After reminding us that Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave has given us the victory, he says: “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Devoting ourselves to doing the things that God has given us to do…things that are all laid out here in God’s word…things that include making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that Jesus commanded…will help us stand firm. When we don’t live out our faith, then we run the risk of falling away from him. It’s imperative that we stand firm.
Why? Why is standing firm that important? Because of something that we read in Matthew 10:32-33. Listen to what Jesus says there: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” That’s pretty black and white, isn’t it?
*We need to stand firm for Christ…which includes sharing the gospel with those who don’t know him and making disciples…so that he will take up for us before the Lord God. If you don’t have Jesus standing up for you before the Almighty, do you know what’s going to happen? … You’ll be separated from him for eternity. … So will you go and make disciples…standing firm for him in the process? …
**Let’s move on to something else we need to do as a part of actually going and making disciples as we’ve been focusing on for a while now. Our second point for this morning…is something that will happen when we stand firm and make disciples. It’s one of those results that we mentioned earlier. When we make disciples…we produce fruit.
Now, something that we need to make clear is that…in order to produce fruit…we need to have Jesus going along with us. He’s the one who’s going to make it happen. It’s the Holy Spirit who actually works in the lives of those who we are attempted to make into disciples. We’re merely the vessels he uses, if we so choose to let him.
That’s why we started out our time by talking about standing firm for Jesus. As we do that, we will be standing firm with Jesus. And what’s going to happen when we’re with Jesus. Well, he tells his disciples what happens during his Last Supper with them. Turn over to John 15.
Here, Jesus says to them starting in verse 5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Putting into practice this Great Commission that Jesus gave nearly 2000 years ago will produce fruit. And if we do it the right way…the way that we’ve been talking about…the way that this book stipulates… then did you catch who’s going to receive all the glory? God.
It’s for God’s glory that we produce fruit. It’s so that the lost people of this world will come to him and glorify him the way that he deserves to be glorified. That’s what our lives should be about. That’s what their lives need to be about. That’s why God created us. That’s what we’re going to be doing in eternity. Glorifying him. That’s what producing fruit does. And it’s only going to happen when we stay connected to Jesus.
But did you also hear what happens to those who don’t remain in him? It’s a harrowing warning. But this isn’t the only time Jesus gives this message. Over in Matthew 7:17-20, he says: “Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
*It’s the same message at both the beginning and the end of Jesus’ ministry. If you bear good fruit, if you produce good fruit, you’re doing exactly what you should be doing. And you’ll only bear good fruit if you’re a good tree that’s connected to the true vine. But if you don’t produce good fruit…if you aren’t in Jesus…or if you aren’t producing any fruit at all? You’re cut down. And you’re thrown into the fire. You’re destroyed. Not just physically…but spiritually. And not just for a little while…but forever. So let me ask…by what kind of fruit are you recognized? …
**So standing firm for Jesus is something we need to do as we go out and make disciples. If we do, we’ll produce fruit. But we shouldn’t stop with just producing the fruit. We need to see that fruit…that person, those people…through to the very end. That’s why our last point for this morning is that we reap the harvest.
Producing good fruit is good. But if we’re given the opportunity, meaning if God uses us not just to plant a seed but be a part of his watering process and making that person grow…then we should reap the harvest. We need to continue with them…because disciple making doesn’t just stop when someone is baptized. It’s a lifelong journey for the both of you…for all of us.
Reaping the harvest is another instruction that we’re given throughout the New Testament. Let’s look at a few passage that tell us to do so. First, Galatians 6:9. It says: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Again, we have this concept of “to the very end of the age.” We can’t do anything less than stand firm every day that the Lord gives us breath. If we do become weary…if we don’t produce fruit…then how will we reap the harvest? The time is coming for someone that you know. Be the one to lead them to God the Father.
Now let’s turn to John 4:35. There, Jesus says: “Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” Within the context, Jesus has just told his disciples he wasn’t hungry and they wonder if someone else brought him food. But the point is this. We have a harvest to reap here and now. Our fulfillment should come from doing the work we’ve been called to do. If your life feels empty right now… could it be because you aren’t reaping?
And finally, let’s look at Luke 10:2. As Jesus is sending out 72 of his followers to tell others about him, he tells them this: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Now, there are a couple of things here we need to notice. First…are we praying that God would send out workers to reap the harvest? If not, we need to start doing that right now.
And second…the workers are few, Jesus says. Are you one of them? Are we as Antioch Christian Church part of those few who are actually standing firm for Jesus and producing fruit and reaping the harvest as we follow his command to make disciples?
*It is not for someone else to do! There are waaaay too many Christians sitting in comfy pews in climate controlled buildings today who aren’t answering the call to make disciples. That’s why, even though there’s plenty of work to do, there are very few who are actually going and doing it! … So today…will we be the workers? Will we stand and produce and reap? …
****Now, I know that all of this is too big for any one of us to actually do…it’s too big for all of us together to do on our own. … But Jesus says we are not alone. He gives us the assurance that, surely, he is with us always…to the very end of the age.
So…knowing that…knowing that the only begotten Son of God is with us…the one who died on a cross with our sins upon his shoulders and by the power of God rose from the dead and defeated the grave… knowing that he’s with us always to the end of the age?
That gives us what we need to stand firm for him…to produce fruit…to reap the harvest. So…will we?
Invitation
