A. Today’s sermon brings to a conclusion this series on outreach that I called “Mission Minded Disciples.”
1. In today’s sermon, we are going to focus on Jesus’ “famous last words,” but before we do, I thought it might be fun to think about some other not so “famous last words.”
2. Here are the Top 10 “Not So Famous” Last Words:
a. #10: “I know this great shortcut we can take.”
b. #9: “Don’t worry, it’s not contagious.”
c. #8: “Pull the pin and count to what?”
d. #7: “So, you’re a cannibal.”
e. #6: “Which wire am I supposed to cut?”
f. #5: “I wonder where the mother bear is.”
g. #4: “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
h. #3: “Gee, that’s a cute tattoo.”
i. #2: “Of course it’s safe.”
j. #1: “Well, it can’t get any worse!”
3. Famous last words, indeed!
B. Here are the last words of Jesus that are recorded for us in Scripture:
1. In Matthew 28, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt. 28:18-20)
2. In Acts 1:8, Jesus said to his disciples: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Then verse 9 says: After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
3. In a nutshell, Jesus’ final words were two commands:
a. Go Make disciples who make disciples.
b. Be my witnesses.
C. Those last words of Jesus should not have come as a surprise to Jesus’ disciples, because that had been Jesus’ mantra with them since He first invited them to join Him.
1. If we travel back in time to Jesus’ the first encounter with Peter and Andrew as recorded Matthew 4, then we will be reminded of the fact that making disciples and being a witness was the DNA of their calling.
2. Matthew 4 tells us that one day Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, and he saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew.
3. Peter and Andrew were common fishermen. That’s how they earned a living.
4. They were working hard that day, casting their nets into the lake and pulling in their catch.
5. Jesus came up to them and said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (4:19)
6. Verse 20 says, “At once they left their nets and followed him.”
D. In essence, what Jesus said to the two of them that day was, “I understand your preoccupation with catching fish. But if you will trust me and follow me, and if you will try to understand who I am and what I am up to in this world, then I will make you fishers of men. And believe me, this is infinitely more significant an endeavor than merely catching fish!”
1. Now, it’s important to understand that Jesus was not knocking the fishing business, any more than He would have knocked the woodworking business, from which his earthly father Joseph had made a living, and likely Jesus had also before beginning His ministry.
2. There’s nothing wrong with those occupations, nor the food business, the travel business, the insurance business, or any other wholesome business.
3. They are all fine, but no earthly enterprise is as important as the business of bringing lost people to salvation in Christ.
4. This soul saving enterprise should be central to the lives of all Jesus’ followers, regardless of what they do for a living.
E. Those of us who choose to follow Jesus must eventually come to the conclusion that there’s nothing more important than reaching people.
1. When we do, our values will change.
2. We will be seized by the realization that every other earthly activity pales in comparison with helping men, women, boys and girls come into a saving relationship with the God.
3. When we finally come to that understanding, then we will live differently.
4. We will pray differently, love differently, work differently, serve differently, and give differently.
5. We will become preoccupied with people and their spiritual needs.
6. And we will want to know how we can become more effective fishers of men.
F. Let me ask you a personal question: Has that kind of thing happened to you yet? Have you come to that conclusion yet? Have you fully embraced your calling as a fisher of men, women and children?
G. In 2 Peter, chapter 3, Peter describes what will happen on the day of the Lord.
1. He describes how everything that so many of us are so concerned about will be burned up.
2. Peter writes, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? (2 Peter 3:10-12)
3. What a waste to invest ourselves so completely in things that just won’t last!
4. As disciples of Jesus, we should be people who are investing in eternal things.
H. In 1 Corinthians, chapter 9, Paul talks about competing in the games.
1. Paul writes, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” (1 Cor. 9:25)
2. Paul was saying, in effect, “Don’t get all wound up about the wrong race! Rather, set your sights on winning the right race: the one that makes your life count for eternity by the way you serve God and the way you serve and save people.”
I. In reality, only a few of us will be asked to leave our nets and abandon our professions.
1. Some of us will be led by God to make ministry our career, but the vast majority of Christians will be asked to function as fishers of men within their present occupations.
2. Nevertheless, all disciples of Jesus are called to have a whole new mindset - one that reflects God’s perspective on the eternal importance of people.
J. I’m thankful that Peter and Andrew chose to major in the people business rather than the fish business.
1. And in John 21, after Peter’s miserable failures, he thought about going back to catching fish, but Jesus went to him and renewed His challenge to stay focused on people, not fish.
2. Three times Jesus told Peter to stay with the people business.
3. That’s what Peter did and he was used by God to impact the entire world.
K. But what will we do? How and where will we invest our lives?
1. I implore you, for your own sake and for the sake of others, stick with the “people” business.
2. Let’s say to God each day, “Today, let me do more than merely catch fish. Help me do more than sell a product. Inspire me to go beyond providing a service. Enable me to touch a human life. Work through me to reach a man or woman or a young person for you. I want to be in the people business.”
L. Before we bring this lesson and this series to a close, let’s look one more time at the final challenge Jesus gave before ascending into heaven.
1. Jesus said, “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. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt. 28:19-20)
2. There are several important things for us to notice in Jesus’ challenge.
3. First, we notice to whom He was talking.
a. He was talking to his disciples, those who had given up everything to follow Him and to become more like Him.
b. But we notice that His instructions to them were to be passed on over and over to disciples down through the ages.
c. Two thousand years later, we are His disciples and His challenge for us is to make disciples who will make disciples until He returns.
d. If those original disciples didn’t fulfill that mission, then no one would have been saved, and if we don’t fulfill it today, then the result will be the same.
4. Second, we notice that we must go to the lost.
a. Jesus didn’t tell them to wait for the lost to come to them, He told them to go, or better yet, they were to do this soul-saving work, as they were going into all the world.
b. We have talked a lot during this series about the importance of close proximity.
c. We simply cannot have an effect on others if we are not in close contact with them.
d. As I have said, “The salt doesn’t have any effect if it stays in the salt shaker!”
5. Third, we notice the need for clear communication.
a. When a person becomes a disciple of Jesus, they must be taught, and not just taught a few things, but all things that Jesus commanded.
b. God wants people to know of His love and saving grace, but God also wants them to know what He requires from those who would follow Him and what the mission is all about.
c. Jesus must be believed and received as both Savior and Lord.
6. Finally, we notice that Jesus promised to be with them and us.
a. This challenge and mission would be far to great and overwhelming without God’s help.
b. Jesus promises to be with us always to the very end.
c. His presence, His protection and His provision is ours all the way to the end.
d. He will enable us to have maximum impact and He will make our efforts fruitful.
e. And aren’t you thankful that we aren’t left to carry out this mission without God’s presence and power?
M. So, let me ask you, is this mission of Jesus one that you can get excited about embracing?
1. Is it a mission that will motivate you to get out of bed for every day?
2. Maybe you’ve heard this story about Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computers, and how he convinced a top executive from another company to come work for him.
a. He realized that the incredible growth of his corporation required the hiring of an experienced executive who could provide overall leadership.
b. So, he went after a top executive with Pepsi-Cola named John Sculley.
c. After winning and dining him a bit, he started to get the sinking feeling that Sculley was going to turn down his offer.
d. So, Jobs took him to the top of an apartment building overlooking Central Park and made his final, last ditch effort to try to get him to join Apple Computers.
e. Jobs said to Sculley, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?”
3. Sculley later wrote that this question from Steve Jobs knocked the wind out of him and eventually prompted him to leave Pepsi and join Apple Computers.
N. In our mission as Christians, God has given us the opportunity to change the world, one person at a time.
1. Perhaps up to this point in your life, even though you are a Christian, a disciple of Jesus, you have been focusing on mundane and earthly things – like selling sugared water.
2. Perhaps you hadn’t really understood your calling as a disciple of Jesus – this calling to be a mission minded disciple who is trying to be salt and light and bring people to Jesus.
3. If that’s the case, wouldn’t today be a great day to mark as the day that you decided that there’s more to life than just selling sugared water and that you want to focus on changing the world – one person at a time?
O. I like what Daniel Webster wrote about investing our lives in reaching people.
1. I like it so much, I have had it hanging in my office for many years.
2. I look at it from time to time and am reminded about the importance of our mission.
3. Webster wrote: “If we work upon marble, it will perish; if we work upon brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds and instill into them just principles, we are then engraving that upon tablets which no time will efface, but will brighten and brighten to all eternity.” Daniel Webster
4. Our mission as followers of Jesus involves people who have immortal minds and souls.
P. Louis Pasteur, the pioneer of immunology, lived at a time when thousands of people died each year from rabies.
1. Pasteur had worked for years on a rabies vaccine.
2. Just as he was about to begin experimenting on himself, a 9 year-old boy named Joseph Meister was bitten by a rabid dog.
3. The boy’s mother begged Pasteur to experiment on her son.
4. Pasteur acquiesced and gave injections to Joseph for ten days.
5. The treatments worked and the boy lived.
6. Decades later, of all the things Pasteur could have had etched on his gravestone, he asked for three words to be written on his gravestone: Joseph Meister Lived.
7. I don’t think Pastuer’s instructions were followed – he is interred in a magnificent tomb designed by the famous architect Charles Girault inside the Pastuer Institute in Paris that was founded in his name.
8. I did, however, find a picture of this plaque that honors Joseph Meister who was the first person saved by Louis Pasteur’s rabies vaccine.
9. When we get to heaven some day, our greatest joy and reward will be those who live eternally because of our efforts.
10. Are there any whose names could be etched on your gravestone because you helped lead them to Christ? I hope there are or will be!
Q. So, how do we get started?
1. First, let’s invest with prayer.
a. Let’s make a list of those in our sphere of influence who God might reach through us.
b. Then let’s begin praying for them every day.
c. Pray that God would work on their hearts to draw them to the Lord and to use circumstances or things they see or hear to get their attention.
d. Pray for opportunities to be with them.
e. Pray also for God to bring new people into your life who you can invest in.
2. Second, let’s invest in relationships with our time and actions.
a. Be a loving friend to others who is truly interested in them and their lives.
b. Show them God’s love through kindness and unselfishness.
c. Be generous with your time and be proactive in initiating getting together.
3. Finally, let’s invest through our words.
a. Let’s begin by listening – we can ask others about their thoughts about life and faith.
b. When we start by listening to them, they will often then ask us about our thoughts.
c. This will give us an opportunity to share our beliefs and plant seeds of truth.
d. When it seems appropriate, we can invite them to read and study the Bible with us, or join us in Bible study or worship with our church.
e. Let’s remember that the tongue has the power of life and death. (Prov. 18:21)
f. Let’s remember that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. (Rom. 1:16)
R. Let’s also remember that Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Mt. 5:13-16)
1. Light and salt are not only what we are, but are what we are supposed to be doing – shining and salting.
2. I pray that all of us will be mission minded disciples who invest in others in such a way that others will want to become followers of Jesus like us.
Resources:
• Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels
