Discipleship Matters: Marching Orders
Matthew 28:16-20
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
04-11-2021
Seth and Jeff - Discipleship 101
The first time and only time I ever smoked marijuana was about six weeks after I became a Christian.
After committing my life to Christ on December 31, 1990, another student named Seth asked if I wanted to meet and start learning how to study the Bible. I jumped at the chance.
During one of our meetings, I mentioned that I would be going with a friend to Ohio to be the best man in his wedding. Seth stopped mid sentence and said, “Then we need to talk about what God could do through you!”
He prayed that God would keep me from temptation and give me opportunities to not only show I was different but actually to share the Gospel.
I went into the weekend excited about my new found faith and making plans to share Christ with my friend Karl.
Needless to say that I was still more professional sinner than saint and I spent the weekend very drunk and even smoked marijuana, something I had never done before.
When I got back, I didn’t want to meet with Seth. When I walked into the restaurant, he nearly was jumping out of the booth with excitement. He wanted me to tell him all that God did! I just hung my head in shame. He got the picture pretty quickly and pivoted.
He could have said, “Yep, we’re done here. Obviously you don’t want to take your Christian walk seriously.”
He could have said, “Well, I’m surprised that God didn’t strike you down right there.”
He could have said, “You are such a failure.”
Instead he said, “Okay, let’s talk through it step by step and see what you can learn for the future.”
What was he doing? What was this process of helping me learn to live out my new faith?
Seth was discipling me. It was life on life, friend to friend. It was an older believer (in the faith) teaching a younger believer how to recover from a failure and learn from my mistakes.
Over the past year, the most common question I’ve been asked is, “What is discipleship and how do you do it?”
I was going to preach a one-off sermon but, after talking to several other pastors, have decided to preach an eight week deep dive into discipleship.
I believe this may be the most important sermon series I’ve preached here at CBC so far. I’ve prayed that these sermons would help set a foundation of discipleship at this church and would set on us on fire for the sharing, showing, and teaching of the Gospel in our homes, in this church, and in this community.
The Great Commission
A couple of years ago, the Barna Group asked a simple question to people that identified themselves as Christians. Do you know what the “Great Commission” is? The results were startling.
6% said they were not sure what the Great Commission was.
17% said yes they did know the Great Commission.
25% said “yes, but they couldn’t recall the exact meaning.”
51% said they didn’t know what the Great Commission was.
When given the opportunity to pick the Great Commission from five different verses, 63% picked the wrong verse.
By the end of this series, I promise you that you will not only know the Great Commission but you will be really to live it out.
Turn with me to Matthew 28:16-20.
Prayer.
We will be a Church that trusts His Authority
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (Matthew 28:16)
Jesus has been arrested, crucified, died, buried, resurrected, and has spend forty days appearing and teaching His disciples.
His words from just a few weeks before were ringing in their ears as they made the rough, ninety mile journey from Jerusalem to Galilee:
“But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.” (Matthew 26:32)
Mountains are important in Matthew’s story telling. Jesus begins His ministry on a mountain, which we call the “Sermon on the Mount.” Jesus unzips His humanity and His divinity explodes into brilliant light on the Mount of transfiguration. And now, Jesus will meet one last time on the mountain with His disciples to give them their marching orders.
They were obedient to Jesus’ command. If they were going to hear Jesus’ last directives to them, they had to put their feet to their faith.
Upon reaching the mountain and seeing the Risen Lord, they fell on their faces in worship. No matter how many times He had appeared to them, it never stopped being overwhelming. They worshipped Him as the Messiah, as God of very God, and as their Savior.
While most worshipped, some doubted. I absolutely love that detail that Matthew gives us. These were not super saints. They were real human beings. Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Unbelief is the opposite of faith.
The Greek word for doubt means to be divided in half, wavering, uncertain, hesitating. I think we we are honest, we’ve all experienced that before. It’s important to remember that your doubts do not disqualify you from being used by God. It certainly didn’t eliminate Thomas who doubted but went on to be the first and greatest missionary to India!
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matt 28:16-17)
Jesus makes an astounding claim. Let’s break it down:
All - do you know what the Greek word for “all” is? ALL!
Authority - This means the “right to speak and do as one pleases.” He doesn’t just have power but the authority to use it. This shows His sovereignty, His Lordship, His unrivaled right to rule and to reign.
?No matter how great a basketball player is, the real power and authority rests with the refs who simply have a whistle.
in heaven and on earth - Jesus has authority over the angels and demonic beings in the spiritual realm and He is the rightful King of all kings and people groups on the earth. He has authority over disease, sin, suffering, and death.
Abraham Kuyper wrote:
“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”
has been given me - do you notice that this is in the past tense? Only God can bestow such power and authority to His Son.
John wrote :
“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.” (John 3:35)
All authority is at his disposal to achieve the mission. Steven Lawson gives us three ways Jesus wields His authority:
1. He has the authority to command His disciples to take up His marching orders and fulfill the Great Commission. We have the decision to be obedient or bail on Him.
2. He has the authority to empower, enable, and energize us to complete the Great Commission.
3. He had all authority to guarantee the success of the mission. Only He can open blind eyes and open the spiritual ears of individual hearts.
What’s good about this is that it doesn’t depend on what we can do or who we are. Jesus has ALL authority. He is in charge. He is the Risen, conquering Lion of Judah!
Question for you - Is Jesus your Lord? Does He have authority over every aspect of your life?
In his book called, Multiply, Francis Chan writes:
“Imagine Jesus walking up to the first disciples and saying something like this, ‘Hey, would you guys mind identifying yourselves with Me in some way? Don’t worry. I don’t actually care if you do anything I do or that you change your lifestyle at all. I’m just looking for people who are willing to say they believe in Me and call themselves Christians.’” Chan adds, “The call to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is open to everyone, but we don’t get to write our own job description. If Jesus is Lord, then He sets the agenda.”
And what is our agenda? Jesus’ claim to all authority sets up His command of commission.
We will be a church that trusts His strategy
“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.” (Matt 28:18–19)
He begins with “therefore.” Because Jesus is the rightful ruler, He has the authority to direct His disciples to their next steps.
In this verse, there is one main verb and three participles that support the main verb.
The main verb, the very essence of the Great Commission is “make disciples.”
A disciple is simply a follower of Jesus, one who follows His teaching.
A rabbi would have disciples and they would “walk in his dust,” literally following them around and learning as they went.
Pastor Dennis Rouse of Victory Church in Georgia lists ten qualities of a disciple of Jesus:
A disciple is: passionate committed to Jesus Christ, they have an extraordinary love for people, they have the heart of a servant, they are sensitive and submitted to the Holy Spirit, they are governed by the authority of God’s Word, they live morally pure and they are evangelistic bold, they are engaged in Biblical community, they are just and generous, and they live their lives with purpose and on mission.
Let me stop and ask you another question - are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Or are you simply someone who attends church?
Notice that we are to make disciples “of all nations.” Before, Jesus had directed the disciples to go only to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6)
But now, this mission was to go global - from our community, country, country, and the continents.
Revelation 5:9 states: “…and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
As pastor Matt Chandler says,
“Jesus is not the God of the white suburbs.”
In fact, the majority of Christians in the world don’t speak English but Mandarin Chinese.
American Christians make up only 5% of the total population of Christians, yet we often act like we are the center of the universe.
There are 195 countries and 16,000 + people groups. The first 12 disciples turned the world upside down and as a result of their taking the Great Commission seriously, 10,000 of those people groups have heard the Gospel.
But that means there are over 6,000 people groups that are unreached, meaning they have no Christian presence in their culture.
This is why missions isn’t a program or a committee. Missions is a mandate. It’s a lifestyle. It’s the heartbeat of a healthy church.
John Piper as said for years that there are only three options when it comes to missions - go, send, or sin.
That’s why starting in 2022, we are going to have Go trips, starting with Mexico!
There is only name by which humans can be saved from their sins - Jesus. (Acts 4:12) It doesn’t matter what culture, or language or people - Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. (I Tim 2:5)
Our marching orders as a church is to make disciples of all nations, not converts, not count people who raise their hand. We are to be growing and helping others grow too. So how do we do that? What’s the strategy?
Go - The Greek means “as you are going.” This is not a program but a lifestyle. This is an active, take it to the streets mentality.
As you go to the gym. As you go to the grocery store. As you go to school. As you go to work. As you go across the street, or across the oceans. As you are going, share the Gospel.
Steve Lawson has said many times, “We need to put the go back into the Gospel!”
Baptizing - once a person commits their lives to Christ then they have an opportunity to show the word. In the New Testament, only individuals that have made a profession of faith are baptized.
It’s the next step in the discipleship process. You don’t have to wait until you know more.
The water is not magic. Baptism is simply a word picture of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s an outward expression of an inward reality.
Noticed that we are baptized into the Name (singular) of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Salvation starts with the Father, is accomplished by the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit.
Last week, we celebrated Easter and at the end of the second service Betty Miller was baptized. Watch this.
Teaching them to observe (obey) all that I have commanded. The third way we make disciples is to teach. After we share the Word, and they show the Word, then we teach the Word.
The number one environment of discipleship is in the home. Parents are charged with teaching their children the basics of the faith and giving them an example to follow.
Some of you experienced that sort of teaching growing up and I know you are thankful. Many of us didn’t.
Some of you did a great job discipling your children and many of us struggled to be consistent.
It’s start with the home. But the second most important environment of discipleship is the local church.
This starts with attending church regularly and sitting under faithful Bible teaching.
Wednesday, at the the Bible study, Rich Maier brought everyone journals so that could take notes. This is part of learning and growing.
In his book, “Deep Discipleship: How the Church can Make Whole Disciples of Jesus,” J.T. English writes:
“The local church is the tool, God’s providential instrument, that He uses to shape and form His people into mature followers of Christ. The local church is where we are sanctified (I Cor 1:2) and built up in the faith (I Cor 14:12). It is where the gospel is proclaimed (2 Cor 8:18) and where Christ reigns as head (Col 1:18). It is where holistic disciples are formed.”
But this more about transformation than gaining information. It’s about putting feet to our faith and obediently living out what we are being taught.
What if, instead of starting a class about how to pray, those of us who have walking with Jesus a while, chose one person and start meeting with them to teach them how we pray?
What if, instead of a small group going through a DVD Bible study (nothing wrong with that), you invited a newer believer for dinner and talked through with them how you study the Bible?
Remember, making disciples who make disciples is our main marching orders, it’s our very purpose as a church. And discipleship is done best one on one, life on life, in a community of brothers and sisters that are cheering each other on and helping each other to grow more and more into Christ-likeness.
David Platt gives this helpful diagram:
World ———-Share the Word——-Believer ———Show the Word ———-Disciples —————Teach the Word ————-Equipped to Make Disciples - Disciple-Maker.——-Server the World
Point to Ponder: Where are you in this diagram? Who are you currently taking through this journey? How many names can you list that you have walked this cycle with?
This is not to make you feel guilty but simply to point out that we have, somewhere along the way, drifted from the main purpose of this church - to be disciples who make disciples who make disciples.
We will be a church that obeys the Great Commission by becoming a disciple-making community of believers.
We will be a church that depends on His presence
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)
We will be a church that trusts in Jesus’ authority and follows His strategy. But we also understand that the mission before us is impossible without Jesus’ power and presence.
Matthew begins His Gospel by describing Jesus as “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23). He ends with Jesus asserting the same promise to be with us, to empower us, to enable us to do what He has tasked us to do.
Do you know it’s actually possible to do church, even successfully do church, in our own strength? It might look good from the outside but there will be no spiritual power and no eternal effects.
A young pastor went to visit an older woman in his congregation who was dying. He read all of chapter 28 to her and really focused on the last verse.
He turned to her and said, “Isn’t that a good promise?” She replied with a smile, “Young man, that’s not a promise, that’s a fact!” It’s in the past tense.
Jesus used that little Greek phrase that we’ve seen again and again over this past year - “Ego Emi” - I am. It is a declaration of His Deity. Only God can make the promise to be with you “all the days.”
Notice the word “all” is used four times in this passage.
• Jesus possesses “all” authority
• He sends us to “all” nations
• We’re to teach people to obey “all” He has commanded
He will be with us all our days.
James Montgomery Boice writes,
“We have been given a very great task, but we do not need to attempt it in our own strength. We have the Lord’s power at work within us as well as His promise to be with us to the very end as we obey the Great Commission.”
Pastor Brian Bill asked this question:
“Would it be better to disciple 10 people a year for 30 years or one person every two years, but that person would in turn disciple someone else and that person would disciple someone? Option one would yield 300 disciples over a lifetime but option two would produce 32,768 disciples.”
Let the River Flow
Steven Lawson, one of my favorite pastors gives three word pictures of Christians today:
1. Some Christians are like a wilderness - they are dry, barren, have no flow of water, they have nothing to give to anyone else.
2. Some Christians are like swamps - there is water flowing in but there is no outflow, the water stays in and stagnates.
3. Some Christians are like rushing rivers - the snow melts and flows down the mountain and the river swells and overflows its banks. It feeds into multiple smaller rivers, giving energy and life.
Which one are you?
Applications
1. Are you a disciple of Jesus? If you aren’t, then today is your day. Admit you are a sinner. Put your faith and trust in Jesus as your sin substitute Savior and surrender everything.
2. Have you been baptized? We will be scheduling another baptism soon.
3. Research show us that Bible reading is the number one predictor of spiritual growth. What’s your plan? Remember we are “Eating the Word” this year. We have a Bible reading plan for you as you leave or I can recommend the Daily Audio Bible, which I’ve listened to for over 10 years.
3. Who are you going to pour into this year? Who are you going to help to grow spiritually?
There are several people that have taken this command serious already and have been meeting to challenge and encourage each other spiritually.
I’m so thankful that Seth understood that as a disciple his number one priority was the help others know Jesus and then to grow in their faith. His obedience to the Great Commission is one of the reasons why I am a pastor today!
Ending Video: The Great Commission
