Introduction:
A. One day, an antique collector was walking through the city when he noticed a mangy cat lapping milk from a saucer in the doorway of a store and he did a double take.
1. His expertise told him that the saucer was extremely old and very valuable, so he walked casually into the store and offered to buy the cat for two dollars.
2. The store owner replied, “I’m sorry, but the cat isn't for sale.”
3. The collector said, “Please, I need a hungry cat around the house to catch mice. I'll pay you twenty dollars for that cat.”
4. And the owner said “Sold,” and handed over the cat.
5. As the collector headed for the door he turned and said, “Hey, for the twenty bucks I wonder if you could throw in that old saucer. The cat’s used to it and it’ll save me from getting a dish.”
6. The owner replied, “Sorry. friend, but that’s my lucky saucer. So far this week I've sold sixty-eight cats.”
B. An important question for each of us to answer is: “What is valuable to me?”
1. Is it antiques? Is it cars or cash? How about bling or bitcoin?
2. If you have looked at the title, then you know where I’m going with this question.
3. What do we value? How about people?
4. Do people really matter to us? And if so, how much?
C. Back in 1995, the nation held it’s breath waiting to discover the fate of 29 year-old, Air Force captain Scott O’Grady.
1. As captain O’Grady few his F-16 over Bosnia on a routine air patrol, the Serbs fired a missile that ripped his plane in half.
2. As the aircraft erupted in flames, O’Grady parachuted to a wooded area below.
3. For six days, he hid in the woods, surviving only on grass and ants to eat.
4. Occasionally, he would send out a signal from a low-powered radio.
5. Back in the States, the government officials weighed the costs of sending in a rescue team to locate the pilot.
6. How many lives should be risked to save one man?
7. How much would it cost in fuel and the potential loss of further equipment?
8. The mission certainly would be very dangerous.
9. Yet despite all these considerations, it was concluded that the value of saving one life outweighed any of the potential costs.
10. It was a gutsy decision, but it turned out to be a successful one.
11. Tracing O’Grady’s signals as a guide the rescue team flew into his general location, and in just over 2 minutes, they had the downed pilot aboard their helicopter; headed for safety.
D. I think you can see the obvious spiritual parallels to that story.
1. The majority of people around us have been shot down by the enemy, and unless they are rescued they will die in the captivity of sin.
2. How concerned are we about their precarious position?
3. How concerned should we be?
E. Bill Hybels, former founder and senior minister for Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois, tells about a conversation he had with an old friend who he knew to be a churchgoer.
1. He casually asked the man, “Are you looking forward to Easter Sunday?”
2. The friend replied, “No, I’m not. As a matter of fact, I never go to church on Easter.”
3. Hybels said, “You’re kidding! You don’t go to church on Easter Sunday? You can get arrested for that!”
4. Ignoring Hybels’ attempt at humor, the man said with intensity, “I don’t go to church on Easter because I can’t stand to see all those “oncers.” You know, the “annuals,” all the people who only come around once a year. They get themselves all dressed up to make their appearance, and they mess up everything at my church, especially the parking lot. Who do these people think they are fooling? They’re not fooling me and they’re certainly not fooling God! This has bothered me so much over the years that I just quit going to church on Easter Sunday. I have no use for “oncers.”
5. This man obviously had no use for those kind of people, and no doubt, he was convinced that God doesn’t have any use for them, either!
F. Although I hate to admit it, it’s not uncommon for people like me and maybe like you, to fall prey to similar value judgments? Am I right about it?
1. We all have a tendency to make assessments of who God has use for and who He doesn’t.
2. And if we are not careful, we have reduced our mental list of those God really cares about to our own little group of select people.
3. Our list almost never includes the people “out there” who are different from us – whether that difference is nationality, economics, race, or moral choices.
4. “We don’t want them to come in and change our church!” Can you see how dangerous this kind of thinking is?
5. Once we have bought into this kind of reasoning, we’ve imperceptibly but effectively removed any hope of getting motivated to spread God’s message of love and grace to others.
6. After all, if these people don’t matter that much to us and by assumption, to God, then why should we get all worked up about trying to reach them, right?
I. People Mattered to Jesus
A. For me, one of the best places to begin to have a concern for the lost is to see the concern that God has for the lost.
1. One of the central thrusts of Jesus’ ministry was to address this issue and get His followers to have the right attitude toward the lost.
B. In Luke 15, Luke tells about a teaching occasion in Jesus’ ministry.
1. One day Jesus found himself surrounded by a large crowd of irreligious people.
2. These certainly were a group of “oncers.” Undesirables. The unconvinced and the confused. They were the morally bankrupt people of the town.
3. Certainly God wouldn’t have any use for people like these? Right? Wrong!
4. Off to the side was a huddle of religious leaders who were shaking their heads and talking to each other in muffled tones.
5. They were complaining about the fact that Jesus, who claimed to be the Son of the holy God, was hanging out with…”those kind of people.”
6. Jesus, of course, knew exactly what they were thinking, so Jesus told three very pointed and powerful stories.
C. Jesus began, “There was once a man who owned a hundred sheep.”
1. “While he was tending his sheep, one of those woolly little critters wandered away.”
2. “So the shepherd left the ninety-nine behind and went out and searched for the one that was lost. And he kept on searching until he finally found it.”
3. “He tenderly picked up the sheep, put it on his shoulders, and carried it back to the flock.”
4. “Then he called some of his shepherd friends and said, ‘Let’s have a party. I found my lost sheep!”
D. Jesus paused for a moment, and everyone was still listening, so he continued, “Then there was a woman who had ten coins.”
1. “She lost one of them. So she lit a lamp, swept the house, turned over all the furniture, and searched relentlessly until she found it.”
2. “When she did, she was so happy that she called her friends and asked them to celebrate with her.”
E. Jesus paused again and looked around. Was the crowd really getting it?
1. He continued, “There was a man who had two boys. The younger one got a little cocky. He got stars in his eyes. He wanted to taste life on the wild side.”
2. “So he talked his father into giving him his inheritance early, and he headed out into a distant land with his pockets full of cash.”
3. “There he found the fast lane and the fast crowd and he did some fast living.”
4. “But he soon found out that the kind of friends he’d found don’t stick around when the money runs out.”
5. “One day while he was feeding pigs to try to support himself, this disoriented, bankrupt boy finally came to his senses.”
6. “He decided he would go home. He figured he would apologize to his father for his foolishness and immaturity, and then he’d offer to become one of his father’s hired hands, since he knew he had forfeited his right to be regarded as a son.”
7. “So he started off for home. His father, who had spent hours each day watching and longing for his son’s return, saw him when he was still a long way off.”
8. “Immediately, the hope-filled father ran down the road to embrace his son.”
9. “The boy started to say, ‘I made an awful mistake, Dad, and I don’t deserve to be your son…’ But his father interrupted. ‘Shhh, don’t talk like that! I’m so glad you’re finally home.”
10. “He rejoiced and ordered a huge party.”
11. “He said, ‘Invite everyone, kill the fattened calf, and bring out a fresh suit of clothes. My wayward son has come home!’”
12. “And did they ever have a party!”
F. Can you imagine the impact those stories must have had on the people in the crowd that day!
1. Here’s something amazing – this is the only recorded time Jesus told three parables in a row.
2. Surely everyone got the point that day, right?
3. How about us? Have we really gotten it?
4. What should these stories be saying to us?
G. First of all, in each of the stories something of great value was missing.
1. The missing sheep was important to the shepherd. It was a significant part of his livelihood.
a. The lost coin was vital to the woman. It was perhaps a tenth of her entire estate.
b. And, it goes without saying, why the wayward son mattered greatly to his father.
2. Through these stories, Jesus has shown us that all people are valuable to God.
a. Even though a person might get way off track, they still matter to God.
3. Now here’s an amazing thought - We never have, and never will, lock eyes with another human being who isn’t valuable to God! (repeat)
4. The thief on the cross is a great example of that truth.
a. As those two thieves hung beside Jesus, one continued in rebellion, but the other turned to Jesus in repentance and requested his help.
b. Jesus could easily have rejected him. After all, consider what kind of criminal he must have been, how he had wasted his life, and how little he had to offer at that point.
c. But Jesus’ words, “Today you will be with me in Paradise,” confirm the good news that that thief, and everyone else, matter more than we can imagine.
H. A second thing these stories should be saying to us is that which was missing was important enough to warrant effort to retrieve and restore.
1. The shepherd went looking and didn’t stop till he found his sheep.
2. The woman turned the house upside down until she found her coin.
3. And although the father respected the freedom and decision of his son, he waited for the first sign if his repentance in order to restore him.
I. Do people really matter that much to God?
1. One glance at the glory and precision of this planet and the immense complexity of our physical bodies should convince all of us how much we matter to God.
2. But to make sure we understand His love and to ensure that we spend eternity with God, He sent His Son, Jesus to save us.
3. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…”
4. Jesus, speaking of his own mission and the value of people, said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
5. A simplified translation says, “The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”
6. Right before Jesus returned to the Father, He said to His disciples, “As the Father sent me, now I’m sending you.” (Jn. 20:21)
7. It is both our privilege and responsibility to be God’s agents of love and compassion.
8. It is our mission to seek those who are lost and to bring them to the Father.
J. The final thing that these stories should be saying to us is that the retrievals result in rejoicing.
1. What happened after the shepherd found his sheep, the woman found her coin, and after the son returned to the father? Each threw a party.
2. Jesus concluded, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)
3. God celebrates when souls are saved, and so should we!
II. The Great Commission
A. I trust that most of us are familiar with Jesus’ commission to His disciples that we have called “The Great Commission.”
1. Matthew 28:16-20 says: “16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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."
2. Jesus had told them to meet him on a certain mountain, and so the disciples met Him there.
3. We are told that when they saw Jesus, they worshipped him, but some doubted.
4. Believing in Jesus was still a challenge. His death, resurrection, and appearances were still relatively new and the disciples were still trying to grasp what all of this meant.
B. Then Jesus gave them the final words spoken on earth before His ascension - He gave them what we call the Great Commission.
1. First, he clarified his authority to deliver such orders: “All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me.”(vs. 18) That clarifies the question of authority, right?
2. Then he issued the command: “Therefore go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
3. So, what is our commission? What are the disciples of Jesus supposed to be all about?
a. We are supposed to be making people into disciples of Christ.
b. What is a disciple of Christ? A disciple is someone who is a learner and follower of Christ.
c. How does a person become a disciple of Jesus Christ? In this passage Jesus only mentions baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
d. We know from other passages taught by Jesus and his apostles that there are other things involved in becoming a disciple of Jesus that culminate in a person’s baptism.
e. Those things include faith, repentance and confession.
4. From this passage, do we learn that once we have baptized a person in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that our job is done and that we have then completed and fulfilled the Great Commission? No, there is more.
a. We are not only to baptize them, but we are then to teach them to obey everything that Jesus taught.
b. This is the second part of the Great Commission: the first part is to bring them to faith and baptism into Christ, but the second part is to bring them to maturity in Christ.
c. Those baptized disciples are to be taught all that Jesus taught, but not only that they are to be taught to obey all that Jesus taught.
d. Simply knowing the facts of what Jesus taught is not the goal - the goal to is embody and practice all that Jesus taught.
5. So, there we have it - we should not wonder at all what our mission as a church is – we are to make and mature disciples of and for Jesus Christ – which means we are to make disciples who then make disciples.
B. Now none of this should surprise us, because that is what Jesus taught and what His disciples did and taught.
1. Didn’t Jesus tell us that his purpose was to seek and save the lost? (Luke 19:10)
2. Didn’t Jesus tell those first disciples that he would make them “fishers of men”? (Mk. 1:17)
3. Didn’t Jesus tell the disciples in Acts 1:8 that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth?
4. Didn’t Paul say that we are ambassadors for Christ and that God is making His appeal through us? (2 Cor. 5:20)
5. So, that is what we are supposed to be: ambassadors for Christ, fishers of men, witnesses of Jesus, and seekers and savers of the lost.
6. Our mission is to make disciples who are able to make disciples so the faith will continue throughout all generations.
C. All that is quite daunting and would be literally impossible if it were not for the last verse of the Great Commission: “And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt. 28:20)
1. Praise God, we are not alone in this task.
2. God is with us and the power of the Holy Spirit is at work in us.
3. What God commands, God enables.
D. I believe that deep within every one of us is the awareness that we are on this planet for purposes greater than having a career, paying the bills, loving our families, and fulfilling our role as upstanding citizens.
1. We are called to be Christ’s ambassadors - there is a mission that we are called on to embrace.
2. Today’s sermon begins a series that I’m calling “Mission Minded Disciples.”
3. Over the course of the coming weeks we will be exploring what it means to be mission minded disciples of Jesus.
4. As fearful as we might be about becoming more evangelistic and outwardly focused, what I hope we will learn is that we need only to be ourselves and to make ourselves available to God, and then the results will come and there will be cause for great rejoicing.
5. So, please join me in praying that we will grow in our ability to be mission minded disciples and as a beginning point that we will learn to value all people as much as God does.
6. All people matter to God and so all people should matter to us! Amen!
Resources:
• Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels
• The Externally Focused Church, Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson
