SERMON TITLE: Mission Disciple ALL Found. MAIN TEXT: Matthew 28:16-20

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1 SERMON TITLE: Mission Disciple ALL Found MAIN TEXT: Matthew 28:16-20 ADDITIONAL TEXT(S): Philippians 2:9-11; John 8:31b, 14:23-26; Luke 14:26-27; Mark 10:17-22; Exodus 3:1-14a [ANNOUNCE TEXT] Open your Bible with me to Matthew 28, we re going to be spending the majority of our time there examining verses 16-20, looking at the Great Commission. [INTRODUCTION] Mission: The Roots Community Church exists to glorify God by: Reaching ALL Lost, Discipling ALL Found, Equipping ALL Disciples and Sending ALL Equipped. Values: We Love love God. We Live Spirit. We Learn We Lead Vision: Sow We love God and we love people and we want more people We live life together, transformed by God s Word and His We learn to most glorify God with all things. We lead everywhere that God places us. We will financially support others to spread God s Word and His Love. 1

2 Go Grow We will go to those in need of God s Word and His Love. We will multiply His kingdom through the planting of churches. [INTRODUCE AND READ TEXT] Today we ll examine our second Pillar at The Roots, which is to Disciple ALL Found. Matthew 28:16-20, The Great Commission, are our key verses for the Pillar, and we ll use them as a guide for today s sermon. So let s read, Matthew 28:16-20 says this, Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." [PRAY] [MAIN POINT 1: Right Place/Time/Response] V Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [EXPLAIN] There are a handful of things worth pointing out here. First, the disciples were where Jesus told them to be, and available. Let that sink in for a second. This is basic, yet essential in being able to be obedient to God s word. They had most recently been in Jerusalem, where they received instruction from Jesus to meet him in Galilee. This was a near week long journey. Jesus disciples were obedient and were in the right place, ready to receive his word. Second, the disciples respond properly to the risen King Jesus, with worship. They literally bow before their risen Lord in humility and reverence. We re told that some doubted, maybe just because he was at a distance. 2

3 Jesus then approaches them, and before he commissions his disciples, he reminds them of who He is, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. During his earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated his authority over disease and sickness, over demons, over sin, and even over death. This authority was given to him by his Father. Philippians 2:9-11 says, Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Jesus establishes his absolute authority because otherwise, such a commission would have seemed impossible. And our willingness here, and now to come into alignment with this authority, as disciples of Jesus, is not optional, but rather an obligation. We must submit to Jesus commissioning, just as his disciples did. [MAIN POINT 2: Disciples x ] V 19-20a 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. [SUBPOINT 1: What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? ] What does it mean to make disciples? We have to answer that question by first examining a different question which is, What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? [EXPLAIN] The fundamental definition of disciple is learner or pupil. In the Greek world, the term typically associated with a specific religious or philosophical school. It was the task of the disciple to learn, study, and pass along the sayings and teaching of the Master or Rabbi. In Judaism the term disciple referred to one who was committed to the interpretations of Scripture and religious tradition given to him by his Master or Rabbi. Through a process of learning which would include a set meeting time and such educational methods of question and answer, instruction, repetition, and memorization, the disciple would become increasingly devoted to the Master and the Master s teaching. Just by doing a brief survey of the Gospels, you ll see not only disciples of Jesus, but of John the Baptist, of the Pharisees, even of Moses. 3

4 Discipleship was not something that was unique to the Jewish faith or even to Jesus. The great Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all were disciples who had disciples. Socrates had his own student his chief disciple whose name was Plato. Plato had his disciples, the chief one being Aristotle. Aristotle also had his disciples, the most famous being Alexander the Great. Aristotle was known as a peripatetic [per- uh- puh- tet- ik] philosopher. That is, he was a nomadic teacher who walked from place to place, not teaching in a fixed location. The students of Aristotle would follow him as he walked the streets of Athens. In one respect, Aristotle s disciples lived life with him, learning from him in the course of a normal daily routine. We see in the Gospels that Jesus used a similar model in his discipleship. Yet, Jesus was invariably different from the other Rabbi s in that he taught his followers to follow not only his teachings, but his personhood. He demanded, and demands today extreme levels of personal denial to possessions, to family, even to your own life to follow him. Let s look as some passages and see what Jesus said about being his disciple. First, by definition, anyone who truly confesses with their mouth and believes in their heart that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9) is a disciple of Jesus. In John 8:31b Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. That sounds reasonable. Luke 14:26 Jesus said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate [or love less] father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters- - yes, even their own life- - such a person cannot be my disciple. Ok, starting to sound a little extreme there, Jesus. Luke 14:27 whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Jesus says, If you are not willing to die with me, you can t be my disciple. Mark 10:17-22 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. Good teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? [OMIT 18] 19 You know the commandments: You shall not murder, you shall 4

5 not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother. 20 Teacher, he declared, all these I have kept since I was a boy. 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. One thing you lack, he said. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. 22 At this the man s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. My concern is that I think we often approach this passage and go, dang he missed it and we don t put ourselves in his place. Jesus doesn t just ask him to sell everything and become a nomad with him, but to give away his entire net- worth. Are you and I willing to do that? Jesus says, You can t love anything more than me, and that following him might cost you everything. A cost that is cheap in view of God s mercy, and eternity. To not understand the cost of discipleship isn t just dangerous, it s damning. Jesus sets the bar for being his disciple as high as possible. He says you cannot love anything more than you love me, including your own life. How are we doing with that? I think where we get tangled up in this these days is we ve come to a place where the Church has undersold the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. We ve made it about praying a prayer, not about the true cost. My goal isn t to get you to question your salvation, and I think at The Roots we pretty consistently tee up the question, am I really in this thing? I do want us to understand that this is not an idealistic, ambiguous goal. It s the price of admission to being a disciple of Jesus. [SUBPOINT 2: What does it mean to make disciples? ] [EXPLAIN] In a sense, making disciples dips backwards in our first pillar to Reach ALL Lost. By saying make disciples, Jesus is saying, Bring unbelievers throughout the world to a saving knowledge of myself, and [teach them to obey all that I have commanded you]. Jesus isn t simply after new converts, but mature disciples. It s kind of like with raising kids. As parents, is it our job to raise big kids or mature adults? When calling Peter and Andrew in Matthew 4 Jesus said, 5

6 "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Discipleship is a repeatable, and infinite (lemniscate) process. Jesus expects his disciples to make disciples who make disciples [APPLY] How? Engage others with Community Groups, Coffee, Personal devotion to the study of scripture and the pursuit of God through prayer. [SUBPOINT 3] baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit [EXPLAIN] Baptism is an outward act of identification with Jesus through faith. It s a visible, public testimony that you belong to Jesus. While baptism is commanded by Jesus, it doesn t hold any saving power. However, we believe that it is an important step in the life of the Christian. In the book of Acts, we see baptism taking place soon after conversion. In fact, in Acts 8, we see a man stop his chariot mid- journey to be baptized. [APPLY] We have baptisms coming up soon. [SUBPOINT 4] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. [EXPLAIN] The commissioning to the disciples was not just to convert, but to also teach. Every Christian is called to a life of obedience to the Lord Jesus, and in order to obey him, it is obviously necessary to know what he requires. A disciple by definition is a learner. Therefore the study, knowledge, and application of God s word is an essential, lifelong task of his disciples. In John 14:23-26, Jesus said "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. [APPLY] Next week we ll discuss more practical application as we examine our value statement. But I ll give you a hint, read your Bible. 6

7 [MAIN POINT 3 / CONCLUSION: I AM // with you] V 20b And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. [EXPLAIN] Jesus knew that this commissioning would not be easy. In fact, that it would be difficult, tiring, that it would cost everything, maybe even their lives. Jesus promises the presence of God through his disciple s task of making disciples. One of my favorite discoveries this while diving deep into this text was this part. Jesus uses the title I AM when saying that he ll be with us always. This is an emphatic rendering of I AM who I AM. In Exodus chapter 3 God uses this wording to describe himself because there is no other way to describe the fact that he is... The I AM... Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father- in- law, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight- - why the bush does not burn up." 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." 5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey [OMIT 9]10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" 12 And God said, I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." I just think it s so awesome that the disciples are on a mountain, worshiping Jesus. God told Moses that once they have been brought out of Egypt that they would worship him on a mountain. The Israelites, once they receive salvation (saving) from oppression will 7

8 worship God on a mountain. The disciples, once they have received eternal salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, are worshiping God on a mountain. Then Moses asks God, who do I tell the Israelites sent me? 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. It gets better, In John's gospel record Jesus uses this great title to describe himself in the great I AM statements, he says, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6 I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. John 10 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. John 10 I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live. John 11 I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14 I am the vine; you are the branches apart from me you can do nothing. John 15 [PRAY] When it seems impossible, the great I AM is with me always, and (Matthew 19:26) with God all things are possible. When it costs me something, Jesus you're worth it, and I know you re with me. When it costs me EVERYTHING, we will say as the Apostle Paul said (Acts 20:24) I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- - the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. Jesus you're my treasure, I will be your disciple and I will make disciples. 8