Eternity Fall Festival

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1 SEPTEMBER 24, 2017 What IS the Great Commission and why is it important? 16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. - Matthew 28:16-20 When our time is short with those we love, we typically want to talk about Important Stuff ; we don t want to waste time on trivial conversation. Because the Great Commission is the last recorded personal instruction Christ gave His disciples, I believe this commissioning is CHRIST S Important Stuff! Christ s last instruction to His disciples was to make disciples of all nations. Go and make disciples. (Matt. 28:19) Then He tells HOW we are to do this. We are to baptize others in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are to share the plan of salvation so others can make a personal decision to invite Him to be their Savior and Lord. We are to teach new believers to obey everything He has commanded! A parent doesn t bring a child into this world, then abandon it. An infant is nurtured, protected, and taught! This is true for spiritual babies, also. We are to nurture, protect, and teach those who are new in the Lord. NorthRidge is sponsoring two activities in which our church body can work together to fulfill the Great Commission here on the Ridge. Fall Festival: On Sunday, October 29th, we are sponsoring a Fall Festival for the entire community at Lake Eva Park from 3:00-6:00. Eternity Production: Members of our church will present a series of flashback scenes to show how our choices determine our eternity in the production, Eternity. Tryouts: Thurs., November 2nd, 7:00-10:30 pm. Rehearsals: Fri., Nov. 3rd, 7:00-9:00pm, and Sat., Nov. 4th- 9:00 Noon and 1:00 4:00 pm. Productions: Sat., Nov. 4th-Wed., Nov. 8th, 7:00-9:00 pm.

2 SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 Waisted Effort vs. Nailed It! How can we go Completely Wrong in our endeavor to put on the Fall Festival and Eternity? We work hard every year to prepare a fun-filled Fall Festival for our community. Eternity isn t a yearly production, but is a contrasting venue for reaching the Ridge. BOTH activities require extensive planning and a major expenditure of time, energy, and resources. They require Much Effort! However, we can go Completely Wrong if we focus on the activities, not on reaching our community to make disciples. All the work and expenditure of resources will be nothing but Wasted Effort. Here s what Wasted Effort might look like. Me and You not spending time with the Lord. Me and You saying, No, Lord! when He tells us to do something we don t want to do. Me and You focusing on the activities instead of anticipating and watching for opportunities to share the Jesus with others. How can we Nail It to fulfill the Great Commission? We Nail It by focusing on the GIFTS we want to give others: RELATIONSHIP with Christ and INTERACTIONS which help others grow in Christ. We Nail It by realizing the Fall Festival and Eternity are only the structures that hold the Gift we want to give. I m thankful for these two opportunities to practice what God has charged us to do Go and make disciples SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 The Great Commission Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. Mat.28:16 Where to go? What to do? Jesus gave us the Great Commission, but we re not to take Jesus' command and run off on our own. Jesus is our Lord -- our Commander in Chief. We must be directed by Him. Christ TOLD His disciples to go to Galilee. He didn t ASK them to go. A DISCIPLE FOLLOWS. The Holy Spirit LEADS, sometimes out of our comfort zones and along paths that others consider foolish. When we hear Him, we are to obey.

3 SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 The Great Commission Continued How do we, today s disciples, hear the Holy Spirit as He leads? The disciples had Jesus. They could hear His voice when He told them what to do. We have the Holy Spirit! The ability to discern the Spirit s leading is directly correlated to the time spent listening to Him. Charles Swindoll told a story of a man who went to the University of Florida to become an entomologist (bug scientist). There are 19 varieties of crickets in the Gainesville area. At first, the crickets all sounded the same to this student. By the end of his studies, he could discern the small differences in the sounds the crickets made, correctly naming the variety of a cricket without seeing it. Our ability to hear the Spirit s leading is similar. The more we study Him and listen to Him, the better we will hear His voice! The Holy Spirit must lead! He will tell us where to go and what to do. SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 The Great Commission When they (the disciples) saw Him (the resurrected Jesus), they worshiped Him, but some doubted. Mat.28:17 How did doubt enter the minds of Christ s closest followers? The disciples fell down and worshipped Christ when they saw that He had been resurrected from the dead. His resurrection was proof that He was the Christ, the Son of God. However, some disciples had doubts because the resurrection was way beyond anything they had experienced and far exceeded their imaginations. Even though their initial response was doubt, some of these same disciples were later martyred for their faith. We, too, can experience doubt when we are faced with something that is beyond our experience or exceeds anything we could even imagine. Is doubt always a negative influence in my life? Doubt has been given a bad rap. Many believe doubt is a sign of weak faith or is a sin. Doubt can paralyze a person, keeping him in bondage. In contrast, doubt can be a stage of growth in a person s faith. The disciples wrestled with their doubt and resolved it; their faith grew stronger. Doubt that could have crippled their faith turned into a positive because of what they did with it.

4 SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 The Great Commission What should we do when we doubt? The Holy Spirit will often lead us out of our comfort zones. Our natural response is to doubt. We need to do as the first disciples did take the doubt to the Lord and wrestle with it until God brings what we need to resolve it and grow in faith. We need to be faithful to do what God leads us to do. Doubt will dissolve as we obey. SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 The Great Commission And Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Mat.28:18 What does Jesus mean when He says that He has all authority? Jesus is Lord of ALL. He demonstrated his authority over heaven and earth throughout his life and ministry. Jesus has authority over nature; He calmed the storm and stilled the sea. Jesus has authority over the forces of evil; He cast out demons and stood against the forces of Rome and the religious hierarchy. Jesus has authority over life and death; He raised Lazarus from the dead. It is only people you and me who must choose whether or not God has authority over us. In actuality, either way we choose, God is still the One who has all authority. Choices to be pliable in His hands bring blessing. Choices to rebel bring consequences we would rather avoid. These consequences are a result of God s authority over us. He has the last word. In verse 18, Christ reminds us of HIS POWER and AUTHORITY. When His Spirit leads and gives us an assignment, accomplishing the task doesn t depend on our skills and resources. It depends on HIS AUTHORITY and POWER. Knowing that Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth is important to remember when facing difficult assignments. This truth will help us have courage as we set out to fulfill the Great Commission.

5 SEPTEMBER 29, 2017 The Great Commission Go therefore and make disciples of all nations Mat. 28:19a It s All About Jesus! When we set out to make disciples, three things need to be in place. It s about Loving Jesus! I can t give away something that isn t real in me. To bring others to a living faith in Christ, I must first know and love Him. It s about Becoming Like Jesus! Jesus obeyed His Father. He didn t SPEAK about a love relationship with the Lord; He LIVED it. I must grow to be like Jesus! I must obey. It s about SHARING Jesus and His love with my actions and words. Our Challenge: It s difficult to live out the Great Commission in the face of great diversity. Our society has a mantra. You believe what you want to believe and I ll believe what I want to believe. It s a challenge to talk with others who have different beliefs, hear them, and at the same time hold on to the teachings of Jesus. Arguments and theological debates do little to spread God s kingdom. What really makes a difference is sharing God s love and grace with others. They will know we are Christians by our love. To disciple others it is all about Jesus: loving Him, becoming like Him, and sharing Him. SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 The Great Commission Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; Teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you Mat. 28:19b-20 How do I lead others to accept Christ and become baptized? There are many methods of sharing the plan of salvation. But keep in mind that witnessing isn t about methods; it s about life-style. It s not about a memorized and polished salesman approach to get people to buy-in to your Savior. It s about loving and living for Jesus and unashamedly talking about your faith and relationship with God. It s about the Holy Spirit moving in people s hearts, drawing them to the Lord, speaking far beyond the words that you say.

6 SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 The Great Commission Continued On the other hand, we each need to be prepared to explain God s love for us and His gift of Jesus who bridges the gap between being separated from God by our sin, and being with God because Christ paid the debt for our sin. I m supposed to teach EVERYTHING??? If a person has already accepted Christ, we are commissioned to teach others to obey EVERYTHING God has commanded. Whaaaaat? How are we to do THIS! The task isn t as complicated as it may seem. We aren t to teach a long list of do s and don ts. We are to teach what Jesus taught His disciples that God is a God of love whose love encompasses everyone. He commanded His disciples to love one another as He had loved them. God s commandments revolve around loving Him and loving others. God will open doors for us to do this! Christ s encouragement to us as we embark on fulfilling the Great Commission is this--and remember, I am with you always, unto the end of the age.