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“Go”
The Great Commission 2
Mt.28:16-18
Jesus’ Last Days Part 8 4-18-2004
We left off last week with Jesus standing on the
mountain with all His followers bowed before Him
in worship.
Like Moses at the foot of Mt. Nebo commissioning
Israel to take the land, Jesus stands on the
mountain and commissions His Church to take the
world.
Moses then climbed up the mountain and died.
Jesus descends down this mountain and is taken
up into glory.
Last week we focused on the concept of
worshiping Christ in light of His great authority.
The one who has not only all authority on earth,
but all authority in heaven….
The one who commands all the 10,000 times
10,000 mighty angels…
The one before whom the archangels have to
cover their faces so they aren’t overcome by His
awesome glory…
The only appropriate response to such a one…is
worship.
- And specifically the kind of worship mentioned in
v.17 – proskuneo, bowing down and placing
yourself under His feet.
The most fundamental act of worship is to submit
yourself to Him, and recognize His lordship and
submit to it.
And that’s what they do.
And once the disciples are in a posture of worship,
Jesus gets on with the point of the meeting.
*************
Before Jesus died He told His disciples: “After I
rise from the dead, meet me in Galilee at the
mountain that I told you about.”
That didn’t register with the disciples, because they
didn’t even believe He would die, much less rise
again.
But for Jesus this meeting at the mountain in
Galilee was a really big deal
- It was the focus of Jesus before He died
- It was the focus of the angel at the tomb
- It was the focus of Jesus after He was raised.
Most likely it was the place where Jesus appeared
to the group of 500 at one time.
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Matthew makes it the climax of his gospel.
And it marks a major transition in the life of the
Church.
(We normally think of the Day of Pentecost as
being the big point of transition, but this event is
the beginning of the events of Penetecost).
Even those Jesus saw the disciples at least three
times before this, He doesn’t say what He wants to
say until they are all gathered at the mountain.
It’s not something He wants to mention in passing.
It’s not something He wants to say to just one or
two people…
There are some things that just don’t have the
impact they could otherwise have unless they are
said in the right context.
Here they are in a special prearranged place, it’s
on a mountain (which is always very significant in
Matthew).
And in a context of hundreds of people all
worshipping together, His words would have the
most profound impact.
So once they all worship, Jesus tells them what He
wants to tell them – in 50 Greek words.
That’s all He said.
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My sermon today is over 6000 words. At this great
moment on the mountain Jesus spoke 50 words.
(Some of you are saying, “Why can’t you learn to
be more Christlike with your sermons?”)
Actually, there is a good chance He said more than
this, but if so, the Holy Spirit saw fit to summarize
all that He said in 50 words.
These 50 words are the marching orders for the
Church for at least the next 2000 years.
Just before Jesus leaves the earth, and He gives
the instructions as to what the Church is supposed
to do, and He takes one verse to lay the foundation
for it (v.18)…
And gives a verse at the end to promise the power
to accomplish it (v.20)…
But the actual commission itself is actually only 26
words.
Later He expanded on it through the Apostles in
the rest of the NT, but our mission is summarized
very concisely right here.
There are a lot of commissions in the Bible – when
individuals or God’s people as a group are
commissioned to do one thing or another.
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But if you just say the words, “The Great
Commission,” everyone immediately thinks of this
one.
Jesus said these words, and the Church has never
forgotten them. For 2000 years they have stood at
the front of our thinking as The Great Commission
from our Lord.
But before giving the Great Commission, Jesus
makes the Great Claim.
The Great Claim
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me.
That’s the basis for the Commission. Jesus has
been given all authority.
That is not to imply that Jesus had less authority
before the resurrection – as though we could think
of His words during His earthly ministry as
somehow less authoritative.
It’s just saying that after His resurrection the
sphere in which He exercises His authority is
without limit.
As God the Son, Jesus always had all authority
because He was God (even during His earthly
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ministry), but in His human nature He chose to limit
the exercise of that authority temporarily.
He allowed Himself to be subject to others (earthly
kings and rulers – even an earthly mother when He
was a child, telling Him to clean up His room).
And, in His human nature, He allowed Himself to
be subject to the creation.
If it rained on Him, He got wet. If there was an
earthquake, He would get bounced around just like
everyone else.
Now He makes it clear that all that is over.
Now in both His human nature and divine nature
He is the supreme authority, and there are no
limits on the exercise of His authority.
That’s not to imply that He is in authority over God
the Father (obviously, since the authority was
given to Him by the Father).
The point He’s making here is simply that the
limitations of His incarnation are over.
He is no longer a man of sorrows. He is no longer
subject to weakness and limitation.
He is no longer under the power of Pilate or
Caiaphas or Judas or Caesar or anyone.
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He is now the supreme authority in the universe.
Whatever power and authority the world thought it
had has been taken from them and given to this
man whom they were mocking and beating and
spitting on a few weeks earlier.
They mocked Him with a crown of thorns as the so
called king of the Jews, and now here He stands
as the King of the whole world.
That kingdom he talked to Pilate about that was
not of this world is now in place.
Example for us
This is a good example for us with regard to
temptation.
Satan offered Jesus the world, Jesus resisted, and
God gave Him the cosmos.
The obvious lesson is, don’t fall for Satan’s offers.
All he’s trying to do is steal your inheritance.
Don’t be like Esau, who gave up his entire
inheritance for a bowl of soup.
That’s what we do every time we give in to a
temptation.
Satan will offer you a moment of pleasure that will
cost you vast reward.
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The blessings we lose when we sin are a million
times greater than whatever momentary benefit
Satan offers us in the temptation.
Keep that in mind when you are tempted.
The more enticing the temptation, the greater must
be the treasure that Satan is trying to keep out of
your hands.
And so the more intense the temptation, the
greater the loss if you give in.
Satan offered Jesus a lot. But in refusing it, Jesus
inherited infinitely more – which is really good
news for us.
Good news for us
Have you ever thought about what a blessed thing
it is that someone like Jesus is in charge?
The more loving and kind someone is, the better
news it is for us when that person gets power.
You probably all know someone who has the gift of
giving – someone who is just so generous, that if
he gets a raise, he’s no better off, but everyone
around him is.
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There are people like that – if they get a $10,000
raise, nothing in their standard of living changes,
they don’t add a single item to their pile of stuff…
They just find more ways to bless people through
giving.
Folks like that are rare, but it sure is nice for the
rest of us when those kind of people get a big
raise.
And when someone with that kind of character
gets power, it’s really a blessing.
Can you imagine someone like that being put into
a position of power like Nebuchadnezzar or
Alexander the Great?
With that much power and wealth at his disposal,
but with selfless, loving character, can you imagine
what a blessing it would be to the people under
him?
Pr.29:2
When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
when the wicked rule, the people groan.
When someone who is selfish gets into power,
everyone groans.
But when someone is truly selfless and kind and
eager to bless people is placed in a position of
great power, that’s cause for celebration.
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Never has there been a more compassionate,
kind, loving, gracious, selfless, benevolent,
generous-hearted human being than the Lord
Jesus Christ.
And so the greatest gift the Father could have
possibly given us was to put Him in the position of
having all power and all authority!
TT Dan.7
This was prophesied over 500 years before Jesus
was born.
Daniel 7
What we are seeing here on the mountain is the
fulfillment of Dan.7.
More than 2500 years ago God gave Daniel a
vision to show him the story of the rest of human
history and the culmination of all things.
Dan 7:9-14
"As I looked, "thrones were set in place, and
the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing
was as white as snow; the hair of his head was
white like wool. His throne was flaming with
fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of
fire was flowing, coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten
thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
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The court was seated, and the books were
opened…
13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there
before me was one like a son of man, coming
with the clouds of heaven. He approached the
Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign
power; all peoples, nations and men of every
language worshiped him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion that will not pass away,
and his kingdom is one that will never be
destroyed.
If you ever wondered why Jesus always called
Himself “Son of man” now you know.
He’s the one this vision was about – the Great Son
of man.
The only human being to ever come on the clouds
and approach the Ancient of Days.
And in the midst of the most solemn assembly ever
described anywhere in the Bible, the Ancient of
Days took His seat, billions of angels were in
attendance, fire was blazing everywhere, the
books were opened …
This is it – the culmination of all things is about to
happen…
And the Son of Man is given authority, glory and
sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men
of every language worshiped him. His
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dominion is an everlasting dominion that will
not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will
never be destroyed.
When Jesus identified Himself as the Son of man,
rose from the dead and then stood on that
mountain…
And while everyone fell on their faces in worship
He declares, “All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me” He’s not just claiming to be
a clever prophet or a good teacher.
He is claiming the exalted status of the Son of man
in Daniel 7.
Is this a claim to deity? Not only is Jesus claiming
to be God; He is claiming to be God in God’s most
exalted, glorified state.
But why here? What is the point of this claim in
relationship to the commission?
Why does He have to make the Great Claim
before making the Great Commission?
Relationship to the Commission
There are a couple reasons. For one thing, it gives
us the proper boldness in carrying the Commission
out.
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Suppose you work as a manager at King Soopers,
and your boss comes to you and says, “I was at
Safeway the other day, and their meat department
is being run in an inefficient way. I want you to go
over there and fire some people, and get that
straightened out.”
You would say, “I can’t do that. You and I both
work for King Soopers – your authority doesn’t
extend to anyone at Safeway.”
Jesus is sending His Church where? (according to
v.19). all nations
That’s a little scary.
If I’m a citizen of Galilee, it’s one thing to move
around Galilee and try to reach the lost sheep of
the house of Israel.
But to be some nobody fisherman and go to all
nations?
And not only go there, but look what we are to do
when we are there – make disciples, baptizing and
teaching.
Go to all nations and proselytize – the very thing
the nations can’t stand.
We are to go to all nations and demand that
people give up their religion, their ancient
traditions, their family teachings – all that they hold
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dear, all that they have based their lives on for
centuries...
Command them to turn from all that, give up
everything and bow at the feet of Christ.
And if they are in a position where it’s going to cost
them their lives to be baptized, demand it anyway.
Your boss at King Soopers doesn’t have the
authority to require that of you.
For someone to require that, He would have to
have ultimate authority.
The Commission in universal, and so to give a
commission like that Jesus has to have authority
that is universal.
If you’re going to tell someone to go and make all
nations your disciples, you had better have
authority in all nations.
And so Jesus reminds them at the outset that He
has supreme authority.
No matter what nation, no matter what remote
corner of this globe you go to – Jesus Christ reigns
as King there.
And so as one commissioned by Him personally,
you have the absolute right to do anything He tells
you to do.
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You see, within his kingdom, a king has complete
authority.
And no matter where you go, you are inside the
boundaries of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
If you are going to obey the Great Commission,
you need to know this.
Our culture hates the idea of missions.
They say, “Who are you to go into some other
culture and tell them that their religion is wrong and
your religion is superior?”
I recently saw a special on TV about this primitive
tribe of people in the jungle.
Their lives were horrible because of the
oppressiveness of their religion.
The incredible brutality and fear they had to live
with was unbelievable.
And at the end of the special, they said “This
pristine, untouched people is now in grave
danger.”
The narrator went on and on about how this
wonderful culture is on the verge of total
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destruction, and it is desperately important that
something be done about it.
I was thinking it was some horrible disease or
natural threat from the jungle, or some hostile tribe
wanting to kill them, or something like that.
It turns out this horrible threat that will almost
certainly wipe out all that’s wonderful about their
culture is…the fact that Christian missionaries are
beginning to come.
They didn’t even say why that was a threat – they
just left it at that (since it is so patently obvious why
missionaries would spell disaster, they don’t even
need to say it).
That’s the way the world thinks about missions.
And if religion were nothing more than cultural
tradition, then they would be right to think that way.
If it doesn’t matter whether the truth claims of the
religion are accurate or not, then it really would be
foolish to go proselytize.
And if my religion is simply a product of my own
brain or my own family or my own culture, I have
no authority to go to some other culture and
impose it on them.
However, if the great King of all human beings
calls upon me to go take a message to some of
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His subjects, I not only have the right to do it, I
have to do it.
What right do I have to go to some other culture
and impose a religion upon them?
I’ll tell you what right I have – those people’s
Creator demanded that I do it.
The world doesn’t understand why missions is so
important to us because they don’t realize that we,
the Church, stood there at the mountain at the
enthronement of King Jesus…
And He commissioned us to go to the farthest
reaches of the planet and proclaim to the
inhabitants there that they are within the
boundaries of this King’s territory, and He requires
their allegiance.
Authority in Ministry
This principle is so important for us to understand
when it comes not only to missions, but any
ministry.
It gives you a sense of authority in your ministry.
This is why it’s so important to understand how to
discern your calling.
Because once you know you are called to do
something, you have divine authority to do it.
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Very often people criticize me for what I do and
what I preach.
If the criticism is over something I’m doing wrong,
then I need to listen to it and make a change.
But if I’m being criticized for doing something I
know for a fact God has called me to do, I don’t
have to be timid.
I can proceed with great boldness.
Some people have ineffective ministries because
they don’t have the boldness they need in
ministry…
And they lack boldness, because they have no
sense of having been commissioned.
Don’t let people intimidate you or belittle what you
do in the Church.
Christ commissioned His Church to get this task
done, and if you are fulfilling your role in the whole
thing, you are following orders from the King
Himself.
So Jesus says, “I have been made the supreme
authority of all things and all people everywhere,
therefore go.”
Go
You may have heard that this word is not really a
command.
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It’s an aorist participle, so literally the text says,
“Therefore, having gone, make disciples…”
And so some have concluded that Jesus is saying,
“Having gone wherever it is you are going – during
the course of everyday life wherever you happen
to live, make disciples.”
So there is no command to go anywhere – just to
make disciples wherever you are.
There are some significant problems with that
interpretation, however.
Think about who Jesus is talking to.
Others are there, but the focus in Mt.28 is on the
11.
This is a group of locals who grew up in this rural
area and, under normal circumstances; there was
very little chance that any of them would ever
venture outside of the tiny little area of Palestine
their whole lives.
Travel wasn’t as easy for them as it is for us, so
most people stayed put anyway.
And on top of that, the Jews were very reluctant to
venture into Gentile territory at all, much less travel
all over the world to all nations.
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It wouldn’t make sense for Jesus to address a
group like that and say, “Wherever you happen to
be, in your daily course of walking around Galilee,
make disciples of all nations.”
And besides that, the grammar doesn’t support
that interpretation either.
It really is a command.
When there is a circumstantial participle that is
dependent upon an imperative, the participle
normally also carries an imperatival force.
For example, in Mt.2:8 when Herod sent the Magi
to Bethlehem, it says He sent them to Bethlehem
and said, "Go (lit. having gone) and make a
careful search for the child."
The passage is clear that he is sending them –
telling them to go.1
So grammatically, the normal way to interpret this
would be that the main command is to make
disciples, but there is also a command to go.
These guys lived in Galilee all their lives, and now
Jesus is telling them to go out to all nations.
There is no question Jesus wanted them to go.
But what about us?
1
For other examples in Matthew see 2:13; 9:13; 11:4; 17:27
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Does this apply to the whole Church?
Some people have wondered if this commission
applied just to the disciples who were there on the
mountain, or to the entire Church.
After all, when we read that they were to leave
their boats and nets, we don’t take that to mean no
Christian can ever be a fisherman.
In Mt.10:5-8, when Jesus says, "Do not go
among the Gentiles or enter any town of the
Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of
Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: 'The
kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse those who have
leprosy, drive out demons.
- That was not for us. It was for them. In fact, it
wasn’t even a permanent command for them.
It was just for that one, specific mission that they
were not to go to Samaritans or Gentiles.
In John 14:26, when Jesus said, 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.
- that was a promise just for them.
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It’s not saying we will all have perfect memories
when we write about Jesus. It’s talking about the
Apostles writing the NT.
On the other hand, there are some things He said
to the disciples that we take as applicable to the
entire Church.
For example in Mt.5:1 it says His disciples came
to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven… and went on to preach
the Sermon on the Mount.
The fact is, pretty much everything Jesus said He
said to the disciples, and yet we take it as binding
on us.
- Love your neighbor as yourself,
- do unto others as you would have them do unto
you,
- I’m going to prepare a place for you,
- I will send the Holy Spirit and He will be in you
We apply all that to the whole Church (as well we
should, because right in this commission Jesus
commands them to make disciples, teaching them
to do all I have commanded you).
So how do we decide if something applies to us or
not?
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At the risk of oversimplifying, I would say that if
Jesus ever says anything to the disciples, the
implication is that it also applies to us, unless there
is something in what He says that has to be
restricted to them.
Clearly the commands to go to specific places at
specific times had application only to them.
And things that are unique to their role as Apostles
(such as the writing of Scripture, and the
confirmation of Scripture with miracles) applies
only to them.
But unless there is something in the context that
restricts the application, then everything Jesus said
applies to all Christians.
So let’s look at our text and apply that standard.
Is there anything in the text that would require that
it be restricted to the Apostles only?
No. In fact, just the opposite.
There are a number of reasons why we should
take this as applicable for the whole Church.
* Jesus says this to a group that was larger than
the 11, including the women, and, most likely, the
500.
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* He tells them to go to all nations – to reach the
entire world. That is a command that is bigger
than 11 men.
* And even the 11 are referred to as “disciples”
rather than Apostles.
If it said, “Jesus gathered the Apostles and told
them to make disciples,” we might get the
impression that it is a job only for Apostles.
But it says He told the disciples to make disciples.
That means disciple-making is the job of a disciple.
So as soon as you make a disciple, now it’s his job
to make more disciples.
So the fact that Jesus assigns this responsibility to
them in their role as disciples, rather than in their
role as Apostles, and then calls them to make
disciples, implies the job is for all disciples.
* And the most compelling point of all for me
regarding why this applies to the whole Church is
this – He gives them a commission that extends all
the way until the end of the age.
In v.20 He encourages them in their task promising
to be there with them the whole time.
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But if He were only talking to the 11, He could
have said, “Surely I am with you always, even to
the end of your lives.”
Who is it that Jesus is going to be with all the way
through to the very end of the age?
Answer: the group that is commissioned to do this
task.
And so it has to apply to the entire Church in every
age from Mt.28 all the way to the 2nd Coming.
So when Jesus says, “Go,” He’s talking to the
whole Church.
What does the command to go mean for you?
We see the answer to that in Acts.
TT Acts 13.
It’s not that every individual Christian has to pack
his bags.
If that were the case, no Christian would be
earning a living. We would all be on missionary
support.
In the book of Acts we see how the Church goes to
all nations.
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She does it by selecting certain ones as
missionaries, sending them out, and supporting
them.
That’s how all missions took place in the early
church – even the ministry of Paul.
You would think that the Apostle Paul would just
go and do whatever he pleased regarding
missions.
He was the greatest missionary that ever lived (not
to mention the Church’s premier theologian, writer
of 13 books of the Bible and an Apostle of the Lord
Jesus Christ)
Who’s going to tell him what to do?
I’ll tell you who – the local body of believers in
Antioch.
Acts 13:2-3 While they were worshiping the
Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set
apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to
which I have called them." 3 So after they had
fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on
them and sent them off.
Paul has been an Apostle for 4 chapters now. But
he doesn’t become a missionary until this little
group of believers in Antioch lay their hands on
him and send him off.
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So when Jesus tells His Church to go, He doesn’t
mean every individual has to get on a boat or
plane.
What He means is that the Church is to be sending
out missionaries.
Now, obviously some people have to go. We can’t
be all goers without senders, but we also can’t all
be senders with no goers.
Someone has to be willing to pack his bags, give
up the comforts and safety and security of home
and go.
It’s hard for us, because we live in such a
wonderful place.
There are churches around the world who know
their pastors could get excellent training here in the
States, but won’t send them because they know
from experience that if you send a guy to be
trained in America he gets great training, and then
suddenly God calls him to stay and minister in
America.
This culture is an enticing one, and it’s hard to
leave – even if you’re not from here.
But if we are going to obey the Lord, someone has
to go.
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And I realize that it’s out of the question that it
would be you.
I realize that you are clearly designed by God to be
a sender and not a goer, and while someone is
supposed to be going, of course it’s not you.
The problem is, what if everyone in the church is
nodding in agreement to that?
Why not you?
Why not? Is it because God doesn’t offer
adequate reward to make it worth the sacrifice you
would have to make?
Maybe you can’t go because you are convinced
the Lord has called you to minister here. Fair
enough.
But that still doesn’t exempt you from the Great
Commission.
The Commission was given to the entire Church,
so every member of the Church needs to either be
a goer or a sender.
If you’re not going to be a goer, you had better be
a sender.
The amazing truth is, there are plenty of people
who are willing to go do the work.
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You would never guess this, but there are
hundreds of people who are dying to go out into
the mission field.
They can’t wait to just leave everything here and
go reach the lost with the Gospel.
Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t it amazing that there are
people like that – and so many of them?
The only thing stopping them, in many cases, is
lack of financial support.
If they had the support, they would go.
I tell you what – we are some of the richest people
in the world; how about we just give some of them
the support?
If you add up all the incomes of all the families at
this church, according to the census statistics we
control something like 10 to 15 million dollars a
year.
If we each devoted a small percentage of our
income to missions, we could do great things!
Jesus told us specifically to do that with our
money.
He told a parable in Luke 16 about a guy who was
praised by his boss because even though this guy
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stole money from his boss, he was so shrewd that
the boss was impressed.
What he did was use his boss’s money to give
away in order to win friends, so when he was out
of work, those friends would take care of him.
Jesus told that story and then gave this command I
tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for
yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be
welcomed into eternal dwellings.
You can’t take your money to heaven, but you can
use it to save souls who will be thanking you in
heaven forever.
At the upcoming leadership retreat we are going to
be discussing our financial priorities as a church,
and what we are going to do about supporting
missionaries.
That’s something we all need to think through.
I would urge each of you to give that careful
consideration.
Decide on some percentage of your income to
devote each month to missions. And we will
designate one Sunday each month for missions
giving (just like we do now for benevolence giving
the first Sunday of every month).
Conclusion
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Let me close by asking you this: Jesus said to go.
Are you willing to go?
“I can’t. I have a family and commitments, etc.”
OK, so you can’t go overseas. But are you at least
going as far as you can go?
Are you at least like the dog that goes as far as his
leash will allow?
Maybe God has you tethered right here. That’s
fine.
But if you pull really hard won’t that tether extend
over to your next door neighbor’s house?
The truth is, if you really pull on that tether you
might be surprised how much slack there is in it.
You are going to be in heaven for all eternity
instead of hell because someone gave up
something and went.
Someone overcame their fear and said something.
Someone got past thinking they could never be
any good and sharing their faith, and in their
weakness and ignorance and fear mumbled out
the Gospel the best they could, and as a result you
are now a child of God!
Bless God for that person!
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What about the people who still haven’t heard –
people you could reach? Are they going to spend
eternity in heaven or hell?
And in case you have fallen into a kind of
Calvinistic complacency thinking, “If they are elect,
God will find a way to save them, and if they are
non-elect there is no hope anyway…”
- if you think like that, and you don’t think the
salvation of other people is riding on your
faithfulness to the Great Commission, think again.
Ro.10:13-15 Everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved." 14 How, then, can
they call on the one they have not believed in?
And how can they believe in the one of whom
they have not heard? And how can they hear
without someone preaching to them? 15 And
how can they preach unless they are sent? As
it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of
those who bring good news!"
That passage is very clear. If someone doesn’t go
preach to them, they can’t believe and be saved.
If someone does share the Gospel with them, they
can believe and be saved.
People’s eternal destiny is riding on your
faithfulness to sharing the Gospel.
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Will you go? Will you pull on that tether as far as it
will go?
Use the relationships you have with coworkers and
neighbors and unsaved family and friends to share
the gospel.
2 Cor 5:18-21 God reconciled us to himself
through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation: 19 (and this is the ministry of
reconciliation) that God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, not counting men's
sins against them. And he has committed to us
the message of reconciliation. 20 We are
therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though
God were making his appeal through us. We
implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled
to God.
You are here as Christ’s ambassador. Don’t sit
around this place keeping to yourself like it’s your
home.
Implore people. Urge them to be reconciled to
God.
A few verses earlier he says 2 Cor 5:11 Since,
then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try
to persuade men.
You can’t make someone become a Christian.
That’s their choice. But you can try your hardest to
persuade them.
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Even if there were no passages of Scripture calling
us to do this – given the value of a soul and the
reality of hell, what other conclusion could we
come to?
This is the way the Lord most often brings people
to Himself in our culture.
How many of you came to the Lord as a result of a
family member or friend or some individual other
than a missionary or pastor?
You might be thinking, “I don’t know how to tell
someone how to become a Christian.”
If that’s the case, how could you be a Christian?
If you became a Christian, you must know how it’s
done. Just tell people to do the same thing you
did.
You don’t have to memorize a big presentation or
learn some canned technique.
When you talk to people you ask them all kinds of
questions – Where are you from? What do you do?
Are you married?
While you’re at it, ask, “What do you believe about
spiritual things? Do you go to church? What do
you believe about Jesus’ claim to be the only way
to God?
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And when they answer you, listen to them.
And if they say something that isn’t true, just say,
“Did you know that Jesus taught that…” and then
tell them the truth about what Jesus taught.
If you knew enough to know that you were a
morally corrupted guilty sinner before God…
And if you knew that you needed to repent – turn
your back on that and turn to Jesus Christ in
faith…
And if you knew that faith is believing the truth
about God, trusting Jesus to save you and
entrusting your life to Him…
If you knew enough to do all that, you know
enough to urge someone else to do it.
Richard Baxter (Puritan pastor from the 1600s) "If
you have the hearts of Christians, let them yearn
toward your poor, ignorant, ungodly neighbors.
Alas! There is but a step between them and death
and hell. Many hundred diseases are waiting
ready to seize on them, and if they die
unregenerate they are lost forever. Have you
hearts of rock that cannot pity men in such a case
as this? If you believe not the Word of God and
the danger of sinners then why are you Christians
yourselves? If you do believe it, why do you not
bestir yourselves to the helping of others? Do you
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not care who is damned as long as you are saved?
If so, you have sufficient cause to pity yourself, for
it is a frame of spirit utterly inconsistent with grace.
Doest thou live close by them or meet them in the
streets or labor with them or travel with them or sit
and talk with them and say nothing to them of their
souls or the life to come? If their houses were on
fire thou wouldst run to help them, and wilt thou not
help them when their souls are almost at the fire of
hell?"
Benediction: 1 Co.1:4-9 I always thank God for
you because of his grace given you in Christ
Jesus. 5 for in him you have been enriched in
every way--in all your speaking and in all your
knowledge--6 because our testimony about
Christ was confirmed in you. 7 therefore you
do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly
wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8
he will keep you strong to the end, so that you
will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 9 God, who has called you into
fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
is faithful.
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Welcome visitors PLEASE FILL OUT THE SLIP IN
YOUR BULLITEN and drop it in the offering box
Tear off the bottom part and give that to your prayer
leader.
 We don’t pass a plate, but we do worship the Lord
through giving. After the benediction, we all come
forward for our final act of corporate worship.

 If you are in the process of finding a home church,
pick up a The Four Essentials of a Healthy
Church album

If y ou don’t have a permanent nametag, it’s probably on the tape counter. Also, we are out of room on that rack, and so most of y ou need to take y our nametag home with y ou each week.

If any one is interested in goin g throug h the “Biblical eldersh ip” wor kboo k, w hich is part of the training for eldership, join Darrell for lu nch at the McDonalds on 2 87 & Baseline after church, and he will tell y ou all abou t that boo k and the process.

Open house at Darrell and Tracy ’s today . This open ho use is o nly for two groups of people – th ose who are new, and those who are not new and want to welcome the new people. This w ill g ive y ou an opportun ity to hear the Creekside story from 2:30-3:00, as k Darrell any questions y ou have, and find o u t how y ou can get plugged in at Cree kside.

There is a fellowship meal today . There are some people in the congregation who do n’t have family to spend holiday s with, and so we are their family . So every one is welcome to stay today for the meal, and to hang around to play games afterward.
There is plenty of extra food, so if y ou are a visitor, p lease join us for lunch. Th is is a good way to begin getting to kn ow some people, and to get y our question s answered about the Church.
Ric and Darrell’s f loc k fellowsh ip meal is next Sunday . Don ’t forget to put y our name on the sign up sheet in the foy er so we know w ho ’s bring ing what.
If y ou don’t know which floc k y ou are in, or if y ou are new and need to be placed in a flock, write that on y our registration card.

If y ou need someone to pray with y ou (perhaps something in the sermon touched y our heart, or y ou came this morning with something heavy on y our heart) come up to the front pew after the se rvice, and someone will come pray with y ou.
Deacon meeting today Anyone is welcome to observe.
Pray er meeing
We have to cut down on time spend in
announcements, but the announcements are still
very important, so please read your bulletin.
Pay special attention to
 the Ferguson open house,
 the marriage retreat registration deadline,
 the Greek class,
 the counseling conference and
 Sunday School classes.
Page 37 of 34
Counseling Conference
What do you do when someone comes to you with
a serious problem with something like depression,
bipolar, marriage problems, suicidal thoughts, or
other “disorders”?
No matter how serious the problem, it’s crucially
important that we give biblical counsel rather than
human wisdom off the top of our head.
The best place to learn how to do that is the NANC
conference (National Association of Nouthetic
Counselors).
This year’s conference is Oct.4-6 in Lafayette,
Indiana. Registration is . If you find yourself giving
counsel frequently, we strongly recommend this
conference.
Greek Class
The Greek class starts tomorrow at your house.
Listen to the lecture on the CD each day, and read
chapters 1&2 on your own this week. Then next
Sunday Darrell will have a Sunday School class to
answer any questions.
You can also ask questions during the week on the
Creekside Forum at www.Creekside-forum.com.
Just look under the Greek Class section, and you
can ask your questions. Darrell will post the
answers during the week.
Creekside Forum
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Even if you’re not used to using the web, this is a
great tool for everyone in the church to stay in
touch.
Just type in www.Creekside-forum.com and save it
as one of your favorites.
Ever have a question about the sermon that you
never seem to get around to asking Darrell. Now
the whole church can benefit from your question.
In addition to the Greek Class section, there is a
section where you can ask questions or make
about this week’s sermon.
There are great theological discussions and
debates – you can bring up any issue you like and
get input from several serious Bible students.
There are also sections for prayer requests and,
other kinds of issues.
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What is the Church supposed to
accomplish by sending missionaries?
and make disciples
The basic task of the Church is to make disciples.
What is a disciple?
The word “disciple” (mathetes) literally means
“learner” or “student.”
Convert
And in Jesus’ mouth, the word “disciple” is
synonymous with “Christian.”
A Christian is a disciple, or learner, or follower of
Christ.
Every Christian is a disciple, and every disciple is a
Christian.
There are some people who have tried to say that
only certain Christians are disciples.2
2
For example, Zane Hodges in The Gospel Under Siege, pp.35-45,
Michael Cocoris in Lordship Salvation – is it Biblical? pp.15-16,
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They see the high demand Jesus makes for
disciples, and they choke on that, and so they
come up with a system where there are two
classes of Christians – regular ones, and the really
committed ones who have reached disciple status.
But that definition doesn’t work when you look at
the actual words of Jesus or the rest of Scripture.
In Acts 14 Paul went to Lystra to strengthen the
disciples.
Does that mean he ignored the weak Christians
and strengthened only the committed ones?
In this text He tells us to baptize disciples. Does
that mean we are to hold off on baptism until
people reach some second-level Christianity?
The connection with baptism makes it clear that
making disciples means making converts.
Acts 14:21 They preached the good news in that
city and made a large number of disciples.
Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and
Antioch
They were there a very short time (In that journey
he went to at least 10 cities and crossed the
Mediterranean twice – all in 2 years).
Livingston Blauvelt in “Does the Bible Teach Lordship Salvation?” p.41
and Charles Ryrie in the foreword to The Hungry Inherit by Hodges p.7
Page 41 of 34
So making disciples definitely entails making new
converts.
Learners
But the emphasis isn’t just on conversion. If Jesus
wanted to emphasize that, He could have used the
word neo,futoj (neophutos) (we get our word
neophyte from that) – it means “new convert.”
Jesus didn’t say, “Make new converts,” He said
“Make learners.”
In that culture, if you wanted to get an education
you wouldn’t enroll is a certain school. You would
become a disciple of a certain teacher.
And you would follow him around and learn of him.
The Gospel is not a call for people to attach
themselves to a certain group; it is to commit
themselves to a person.
Yes, that obviously involves bringing unbelievers to
saving faith – conversion, but the word “disciple”
looks beyond just that moment of conversion.
Even though Scripture constantly points us to the
heart and to spiritual things, in our laziness, we
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tend to focus on externals, because they are so
much easier to track and manipulate.
And as a result, we become consumed with
numbers.
Our idea of successful evangelism is when we
have an event, and after the event we can report a
high number of “decisions for Christ” that night.
And evangelists have discovered that the easier
you make the decision, the higher the numbers.
And so the call has come from where it started with
Jesus (“Come and die”) to “Come down the isle
and kneel” to “Raise your hand,” to “Pray this
prayer silently” to “just check the box on the card.”
Go through Phil Johnson’s material in
invitationalism.
What did Jesus say about discipleship?
We saw in Acts that to become a disciple one must
accept the Gospel.
In Acts 6:7 we see that a disciple is synonymous
with one who is obedient to the Faith.
Throughout the book of Acts believers are referred
to as disciples (26 times).
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But Jesus gave us a little more detail as to what a
disciple looks like.
1. A disciple perseveres
John 8:31
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said,
"If you remain in my teaching, you are really
my disciples.
When someone makes a profession of faith, and is
all excited about following Christ and being a
Christian…
But then as soon as some really painful trial comes
up, or some severe test…
Or as soon as the lure of the world eclipses the
excitement of their conversion…
- if when one of those things happens the person
reverts right back to the way he was – that person
is not a disciple.
Jesus said the disciples are the ones who remain.
In Lk.8 Jesus taught a parable about different
kinds of soil, which represent different kinds of
hearts.
Luke 8:11-15
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"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed
is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are
the ones who hear, and then the devil comes
and takes away the word from their hearts, so
that they may not believe and be saved.
The first group never believe at all – they are never
even converted.
13 Those on the rock are the ones who receive
the word with joy when they hear it, but they
have no root. They believe for a while, but in
the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed
that fell among thorns stands for those who
hear, but as they go on their way they are
choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures,
and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on
good soil stands for those with a noble and
good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by
persevering produce a crop.
Scholars debate over whether the ones with rocky
soil or thorny soil are ever truly born again, but
whichever side of that debate you are on, one
thing is very clear – once a person falls away, he is
not a disciple.
Finny said, “It’s seems to have been my lot to have
had temporary converts.”
A temporary convert is a non-disciple.
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If Jesus’ Commission was to go and make
disciples, it’s very important that we don’t have a
ministry of producing non-disciples.
2. A disciple is identified with his teacher.
Matt 10:24-25
A student is not above his teacher, nor a
servant above his master. 25 It is enough for
the student to be like his teacher, and the
servant like his master. If the head of the house
has been called Beelzebub, how much more
the members of his household!
Jesus was drawing from a practice so common
that everyone understood His point.
A disciple is someone who is so closely identified
with his teacher that however people feel about
that teacher, that’s how they feel about the
disciple.
A true Christian is one who is so identified with
Christ in His life, that people’s attitude toward that
person and Christ are the same.
Beware if people hate Christ and love you.
If there is such a disconnect between you and the
Lord that people tend to despise Him and love
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being around you, chances are you’re not a
disciple.
That’s important to know, because some people
actually take pride in not being despised by the
world.
They wouldn’t admit to it, but it’s almost as though
they feel Jesus just didn’t have the social grace
and skill they have.
“Jesus was so offensive, but I know how to put
people at ease and be a little more winsome.”
And they end up thinking they are better witnesses
than Christ!
If you are a true disciple, those who hate Christ will
hate you – and for the same reason.
- That part is important. If they hate you because
you are obnoxious or because you are unloving or
rude, that’s not discipleship.
It’s discipleship if they hate you because you are
righteous.
It’s discipleship if they hate you because they are
in the darkness and you are in the light, and they
hate the light, because it exposes their sin.
You don’t have a haughty, condescending attitude.
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You don’t look down your nose at them. You don’t
belittle them in any way – you are humble and
kind.
And yet they feel condemned around you simply
because the holiness and purity of your life is a
rebuke to them.
3. A disciple is in training
Luke 6:40
A disciple is not above his teacher, but
everyone who is fully trained will be like his
teacher.
The whole point of being a disciple is to be trained.
A Christian is someone who has the Lord Jesus
Christ as his personal trainer (spiritually).
The word trained (katarizo, katarti,zw) mean to
make someone fit or adequate or perfect.
Our objective is not to set up events that generate
mass numbers of decisions for Christ.
Our goal is to perfect people – to bring them into
the process of being made adequate or fit.
A Christian is a person who is in the process of
being made perfect by Jesus Christ.
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And Jesus’ method for the perfecting of the saints
is the ministry of the Church.
4. A disciple gives up everything for Christ.
One of the most insidious doctrines that has arisen
in recent history in the Church is the idea that
giving up your life for Christ is somehow optional
for the Christian.
The anti-lordship crowd teaches that some
Christians do that, and other don’t, but either way
they are saved.
Luke 14:25-35
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and
turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to
me and does not hate his father and mother,
his wife and children, his brothers and sistersyes, even his own life-he cannot be my
disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his
cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
33 any of you who does not give up everything
he has cannot be my disciple.
5. A disciple bears much fruit
John 15:8
This is to my Father's glory, that you bear
much fruit, showing yourselves to be my
disciples.
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Fruit is anything produced by the Holy Spirit
through you.
So what is our commission exactly?
It is to go and make disciples, which means
- preach the Gospel to them so they obey it
and be converted
- call them to give up everything for Christ
- bring them to a point of persevering through
trials and temptations
- show them what it means to be completely
identified with Christ
- immerse them into the process of learning
from Christ
- teach them to bear much fruit
Once you have someone who has obeyed the
Gospel, given up everything for Christ, become
totally identified with Him, persevered through
temptations and suffering, and is learning and
growing and bearing much fruit…
Then you have made a disciple.
That’s a little different from saying, “Check the box
at the bottom of the card and put it in the offering
plate – and be sure not to miss us next year when
our crusade comes to a town near you again.”
So all that is what Jesus taught about what it
means to be a disciple.
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Making a disciple means
1. bringing that person to a point of conversion,
and
2. teaching and training him to walk in obedience
to Christ.
And isn’t that exactly the summary Jesus gives
right here in this text?
Make disciples of all nations,
1. baptizing them into the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
2. teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you.
Baptizing them
Baptism is the sign of entrance into the Church,
and the pledge of submission to Jesus’ Lordship.
It is an external act of repentance and the turning
away from the old life to the new.
It illustrates the inner cleansing that takes place at
conversion as well as our identification with the
burial and resurrection of Christ.
Baptism really should be the act of conversion
There are some people who object to saying, “I
baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and
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Spirit,” because in Acts the Church never does
that.
They always baptize into the name of Jesus. (Acts
2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5; similarly, passages such
as Rom 6:3).
So there is a debate between those who prefer the
Trinitarian formula, and those who like the Jesus’
name only formula.
And the cause of all the confusion is the word
“formula.”
A word like that comes from people who are
focused on the external.
Jesus’ point was not to give us the correct
verbiage for a religious ritual.
He didn’t tell us what to say when we baptize
people. We can say anything we want.
He didn’t tell us to say, “I baptize you into the
name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,”
He told us to baptize people into the name of the
Father, Son and Spirit.
What we say isn’t the issue. The point is what we
do.
And to baptize someone into the name of the
Trinity is exactly the same thing as to baptize
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someone into the name of Christ, because Jesus
Christ is God.
The NV translates the preposition (eis) with the
word “in” instead of “into.” But “into” is the more
natural translation.
We are to baptize people into the name of the
Trinity.
The phrase “into the name of” was originally a
banking term, and meant “to come under the
ownership of.” (Bruner p.1100)
When you are baptized into the name of the
Trinity, it is a proclamation of the fact that you are
under new management.
It also has the idea of coming into intimate
relationship or communion with the Lord.
So when you were baptized into Christ, you were
brought into close union with the Trinity.
That means when certain Charismatics come
along and ask if you have been baptized into or by
the Holy Spirit, you can say, “Yes, it happened
when I was baptized into the whole Trinity.”
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The fact that the word “name” is singular, and then
three persons are mentioned shows both unity and
plurality within the godhead.
So the second member of the Trinity stands there
on the hillside and tells us to baptize in the name
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
It seems like every other week I’m telling you that
the passage we are studying is one of the
strongest claims to the deity of Christ in the Bible.
I hate to sound like a broken record (or, for the
younger generation, a CD with a scratch – we
used to listen to discs this big), but what a claim
Jesus is making here.
He sandwiches Himself in between the Father and
the Holy Spirit.
No Jew would dispute the fact that the Holy Spirit
of God was divine or that the Father was divine.
And Jesus throws Himself right in the middle of
those two…
And not only that, but He says “into the name”
(singular).
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The one, single name of God is the name of the
Father, the Son and the Spirit.
And if you don’t think that is a radical claim,
imagine me saying it.
What if I said, “The duty of the Church throughout
the ages can be summed up in this command – Go
to all the nations around the globe and make them
disciples of Darrell Ferguson, baptizing them into
the name of the Father, Darrell, and the Holy
Spirit.”
That would be such sickening blasphemy that it
makes my throat burn just to say it.
And yet when Jesus says it of Himself it sounds so
natural we barely even notice that it’s a claim to
deity.
The True God
Another interesting point about the idea of being
baptized into a name –
During Jesus’ time the practice of being baptized
into the name of someone or something meant that
person or thing was what set your belief system
apart from others.
For example, the Samaritans used to baptized
people into the name of Mt. Gerizim (Meyer p.529).
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They did that, because in other respects their
religion was the same as the Jews.
Their point of departure was the fact that they
worshipped at Mt. Gerizim instead of in Jerusalem.
And if you read Jn.4 you will see that that is the
major point of difference (it’s the first thing the
woman at the well asked Jesus when she figured
out He was a prophet – which is the right
mountain?)
And so the took the unique aspect of their religion
that set them apart, and baptized people into the
name of that.
So Jesus’ point is that we are to go to all the
nations and call them to worship the one, true God
– the God of the Bible, the Trinity.
Sometimes people think, “Maybe all these religions
are worshipping the same God, but with different
names.”
No. They are not. If you study the nature and
character of their gods, they are very different than
the God of the Bible.
And so Jesus was concerned that when we
baptize new converts, we baptize them into the
name of what sets true religion apart from false
religion – worship of the true God.
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If you don’t worship the Trinity – the God who is
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, you are
worshipping a false god.
Teaching Them
Once a person is baptized, the Church’s job is to
teach.
Sometimes we make things a little more
complicated than they need to be. We accomplish
what God wants us to accomplish through
teaching.
And look at what it is specifically we are supposed
to teach – Jesus’ words.
We are to teach Jesus’ words.
That is a rebuke to the hyper-dispensationalists
like Bob George, who teach that Jesus’ words
don’t apply to us.
They are part of a past dispensation or a future
dispensation, but they aren’t for us – too much law
mixed in, not enough grace to suit them.
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Not to single anyone out in particular, but Bob
George thinks that his own teaching has a higher
level of grace than Jesus’ teaching.
Jesus’ teaching was contaminated with Law, but
Bob George teaches pure grace.
And for that reason, we shouldn’t live by Jesus’
teaching during the Church age.
But Jesus said the entire mission of the Church is
to make disciples, which is characterized by
teaching the words of Christ…
And that started prior to the Day of Pentecost and
extends from there all the way though the end of
the age.
And the only way around that is to do what the
hyper-dispensationalists do and say, “Well, Jesus
said that, so it doesn’t count.”
If anyone ever tries to tell you that the Sermon on
the Mount or some other part of Jesus’ teaching
doesn’t apply to the Church age, just check your
watch and say, “I’m sorry, did I miss the end of the
age? Because Jesus commanded me to teach His
words until then.”
Notice also that Jesus commands that we not only
teach His words, but that we teach all His words.
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We are not at liberty to pick and choose what we
think is important or relevant.
We are to teach it all.
And I don’t know any other way of doing that than
to go through verse by verse.
Where does your responsibility toward your brother
or sister in the church end?
Once you have taught him or her to obey all that
Christ commanded, then you’re done.
Once you’ve taught
- all the principles in all His discourses
- all the parables
- all the prophecies He made
- all the lessons of the cross
- all that He taught by His actions and miracles
- all He taught through His Apostles in the
New Testament
Once you’ve fully explained all that, and not only
explained it, but taught your brother to obey it all,
then you’re responsibility is done.
It’s also worth noting that Jesus uses the past
tense when He refers to His words.
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He said teaching them to obey all that I have
commanded, He did not say, “teaching them to
obey all that I will command.”
His being with us extends into the future, but the
content of what we are to teach is all past.
The focus is not on what Jesus will say to various
believers, but on what He has already said to the
Apostles.
There are people today who are not content with
the Bible.
They get excited about dreams and visions and
promptings and messages from God, words of
revelation, inspirations, etc.
The Bible, to them, is old. They want something
new and fresh.
But Jesus pointed not to vision, but to verses. If
you have a Bible you hold in your hand all the
revelation you will ever need.
Obedience
Would you notice please that Jesus doesn’t tell us
to make disciples teaching them to know His
words.
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Making disciples entails teaching people to obey
His Words.
That concept has really be revolutionizing my
thinking over the past months.
It’s so much easier to just teach people to know
His words.
“The Bible says, … OK, repeat that back to me.”
We are influenced by the education system in our
culture. If you can regurgitate the information on a
test, you’ve learned it.
Being aware of what the Bible says is critically
important, obviously, but by itself that’s not
enough.
My job is not to teach you what the Bible says. My
job is to teach you to obey it.
And if you are a disciple, that’s your job too.
Keep this in mind the next time you feel led by the
Spirit to complain about someone in the Church.
“Boy, that ____, he sure is irresponsible.”
“That couple does not know how to properly
discipline their children.”
“That guy is so prideful and arrogant.”
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“That woman is such a gossip. She’s constantly
gossiping about people – I hate that.”
The next time anything negative comes out of your
mouth about someone else in the Church, I want
you to remember Gal.6:1.
Gal.6:1
Brothers, if someone is caught by a sin, you
who are spiritual should restore him gently.
But watch yourself, or you also may be
tempted.
The word restore is the same word we saw in
Lk.6:40. (katarizo, katarti,zw)
It means to make someone fit or adequate or
perfect.
Our tendency is to notice a deficiency in someone,
and cast them aside like a piece of garbage.
“You have a problem with that sin? Yuck – I don’t
like that particular sin. So I think I’ll just sweep you
out to the fringe of my life.”
I’ve been guilty of this in the past with regard to
leadership.
After studying 1 Tim.3 for a whole summer, I got so
focused on the list of qualifications, I would
examine someone, and as soon as I found some
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point at which he fell short, I would think, “OK, he’s
not qualified, let’s move on to the next person.”
We all do that – not consciously, but in practice, it
really is the way we treat each other.
I’m really working on this in my own life, so if you
come up to me with a complaint about someone,
don’t be surprised if my response is, “Well, have
you sought to katarizo the person? What have you
done to fix that flaw in the person?”
Jesus said to make disciples, teaching them to
obey. What have you done to teach that person
how to obey in that area?
Galatians 6:1 says if someone is in sin, you who
are spiritual enough to recognize their fault –
gently restore the person…
katarizo – the person is inadequate? Gently make
him adequate.
The person is imperfect, unfit, flawed, messed up?
In a spirit of gentleness and meekness and
humility, make that person fit, and restored, and
perfected in that area.
I think katarizo should maybe be the theme of our
church this year.
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Churches do various campaigns – fund raising
campaigns, 40 days campaigns, expansion
campaigns…
I would like us to do a restoration campaign.
If you see someone with a problem, katarize him!
If you’re not doing anything to katarize him, you’d
better not open your mouth about your complain,
because all you’ll do is put your disobedience on
display in front of everyone, and they we will have
to katarize you.
But don’t think you can get out of it by just keeping
your mouth shut.
Whether you talk about the person or not, if you
are aware of the flaw at all it’s your responsibility to
help him.
Here’s what this will do:
1. Many will be restored!
Many in the church who have blind spots or sins
they don’t know how to escape will finally be free
from those, as we help them learn how to obey
Christ in that area.
Sins that people have had for years will finally be
conquered, and we will be purer, more holy
church.
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That’s an exciting prospect!
The work of teaching people to obey can’t be done
by preaching alone.
Preaching is crucial, but one thing about preaching
is that it is general.
I get up here and say things that are generally
applicable for everyone – single people, married
people, old people, young people, smart people,
dumb people – everyone.
But the fact that a sermon has to be so general
means some people will not see the specific
application for their lives.
I might stand up here and preach some general
principle, and there is a guy in the pew who has a
very specific problem…
Maybe he has an especially dicey situation at work
where he has to decide between two good things,
and he has no idea how to apply biblical principles
to his specific dilemma.
What he needs is for someone who is spiritual –
someone like you, to listen to his situation, and
think about it with him, and pray about it, and help
him see how to apply the principles of God’s Word
to that specific problem.
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That doesn’t happen in a sermon.
It happens in small groups and one on one.
That’s one reason why you should be involved in
small groups and building friendships in the church
– even if you don’t think you need that, other
people need your insights about their personal
issues.
That’s not optional. You can’t weasel out of that by
saying, “I’m not really a people person, so I’m
exempt from the Great Commission.”
You’re not a people person? What are you going
to make disciples out of? Balsa wood?
This is why I would love to see every single person
in this church go to the NANC conference
(National Association of Nouthetic Counselors).
It’s the premier conference that teaches you how
to help people with their problems from Scripture
rather than from human reasoning.
So the first benefit is that people will be restored,
built up, edified, perfected, matured – katarized.
2. It will help you understand how difficult some
problems are.
We are so quick to judge those who struggle with
things we don’t struggle with.
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You notice a flaw in someone that really bugs you.
It’s something you don’t do, and you can’t
understand why he does it.
The normal reaction is to either gossip about the
person and look down on him…
Or, if you are a little more conscientious, to just
keep the gossip inside your own head, and look
down on him without saying anything.
And you pat yourself on the back for not being a
gossip, but you don’t lift a finger to katarize the
person.
You’re content to just leave him in his mud bog
forever, and hope that some deacon or elder
comes to lift him out someday.
That’s the natural reaction of the flesh.
But now that we have taken a close look at the
Great Commission and Gal.6:1, we will not longer
have that response.
Instead, you go to the person and gently help him
see his fault.
Then you begin working with him to help him
change.
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You give him a few thoughts off the top of your
head, and check back with him in a week, and find
out that didn’t help.
You begin to learn the whole story – all the
extremely difficult things in his life that make
changing in this area harder than you realized.
And you stick with him, and work with him, and toil
with him, and rack your brain searching the
Scriptures for answers…
And a year or two into that process finally you
realize that extricating oneself from this particular
problem is much more difficult than you realized.
And so now instead of looking down on that
person, you are on his side, and you understand.
3. it will expose frivolous complaints or
judgments of motive.
We talked about this when we studied church
discipline.
Sometimes in the privacy of my own mind, or in the
privacy of my own gossip, it’s easy for me to talk
about someone and say, “He does that because of
pride,” or “She only talks that way because she
thinks she’s better than everyone,” or “He’s just
trying to get attention,” etc.
Those are all sinful judgments of motives.
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If someone is doing something that is clearly sin,
it’s appropriate for you to think about that for what
it really is – sin.
But if the sin is a sinful motive, it is wrong for you
to assume that sin is there, because none of us
has the ability to see motives.
Some of us think we do, but none of us do.
You can look at certain behaviors and get an idea
of what someone’s motives probably are, but you
can’t know for sure.
And so when it comes to motives, we must always
assume the best possible motives.
I Cor.13 says love always trusts.
You can judge people’s actions, but it is sin to
judge motives. Only God can do that.
We understand that, but we find ourselves sliding
into that sin anyway without even realizing it.
But if you get into the habit of always confronting
people with their sin so you can help restore them,
you will realize very quickly when you are judging
motives.
It becomes very apparent when you confront the
person.
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If you walk up to someone and say, “You were
speaking loudly the other night at Bible study, and
let me tell you why you were doing that. Your
motive for speaking so loud was to focus
everyone’s attention on you to feed your ego.”
Anytime you say, “Let me tell you why you did
that,” it becomes very obvious that you are judging
motives.
We must always assume good motives.
“But what if there is a good chance that there are
sinful motives, and it’s someone I really care about
and I sincerely want to protect him from sin?”
Simple – just ask him what his motives are.
Just say, “Hey, when you talk so loud in Bible
study, do you think it’s because you are trying to
attract attention? Or is it that you are just excited
about the point you’re making?”
And just believe what he tells you.
If I confront someone about motives, usually I
won’t ask for an answer right on the spot.
If I think there may be bad motives, I will give the
person some time to think it over.
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I’ll say, “There are a couple different reasons a
person will do what you were doing – one possible
reason would be this sinful motive…”
“I’m not accusing you of that. I just want you to
think it over and ask yourself if that’s what’s going
on in your heart.”
Then ask them the next day. If they say, “No, I
really don’t think I have that sinful motive,” I accept
that and put it out of my mind.
So obeying Gal.6:1 helps us realize when we are
judging motives.
It also helps us realize when we have frivolous
complaints.
Sometimes people come to me with some gossip
about someone, and I say, “Have you confronted
her about that?”
“Oh no – it’s just a minor little thing. I would never
confront her on it.”
If it’s so minor that you won’t help her out of it, then
it’s too minor for you to even be thinking about,
much less gossiping about.
So if you find yourself saying, “I can’t confront him
on this, it’s too small,” then ask yourself, “If it’s that
small, why am I so bothered by it?”
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“Perhaps I have a problem with failure to love him
properly” (which is a very serious sin).
Daunting
What a daunting task that is – to make a disciple.
We understand that it is only the work of God in a
person’s heart that brings him to faith and enables
him to live the Christian life…
However that work is carried out through human
agency.
That means it’s our responsibility.
It’s our responsibility to take people who are lost –
people who are gratifying the cravings of the
flesh and following its desires and thoughts….
And who are by nature objects of wrath.
(Eph.2:3)
People who are darkened in their understanding
and separated from the life of God because of
the ignorance that is in them due to the
hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all
sensitivity, they have given themselves over to
sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of
impurity, with a continual lust for more.
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(Eph 4:18-19)
- Take people like that and make them disciples.
What a monumentally daunting task that is!
All Nations
And Jesus didn’t say “Make a disciple.” If He had,
that would be daunting enough.
But He said, “Make disciples of all nations.”!
We usually think of missions and evangelism in
terms of the benefit it brings to people, which is
good.
That is a high motive. If we seek to win the lost out
of love for people and compassion for the lost, that
is an exceedingly high and honorable motive.
But there is an even higher motive than that.
We should seek to win the lost, because Jesus is
worthy of worship from everybody.
Part of what drives the missionary is the desire to
add more voices to the chorus of Christworshippers.
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The larger that group, the more glory He receives.
The greater the variety of worshippers, the more
God is glorified (Rev.5).
This task is so massive it’s almost paralyzing.
And remember who He gave this commission to.
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.
He’s saying this to the Eleven.
That phrase really sticks out like a sore thumb in
the Bible.
We are so used to hearing them referred to as “the
Twelve.”
Here, all of the sudden, they are the Eleven. They
are shorthanded.
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If you have ever studied the symbolism of numbers
in the Bible, you know there is no number more
important than the number 12.
It always symbolizes the fullness of God’s people –
starting with the 12 tribes of Israel.
If you’ve ever done a study on the importance of
the number 11 in Scripture, a promise you it was a
really short study.
Jehoiakim reigned 11 years and it takes 11 days to
travel from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea.
It’s not a very exciting number.
The only symbolism attached to the number 11 in
Scripture is during the time between Judas’
apostasy and the addition of Matthias, it
symbolizes a shorthanded group of disciples.
The meaning of the number 11 is it’s one less than
12.
Jesus approaches this group of shorthanded,
doubting, hesitating, but worshipping disciples and
tells them to disciple all the nations for the rest of
time.
How are they going to pull that off?
The Great Comfort
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And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age."
The word translated surely is actually “look” or
“behold” (idou).
In the King James it’s translated “Lo, I am with you
always.”
I’ve heard that used by people who are afraid to fly
in airplanes. (Low I am with you always, at 40,000
ft. you’re on your own”)
The phrase translated always is literally “all of the
days” or “the whole of every day.”
It highlights the fact of His continual presence –
every moment of every day of every month from
the Day of Pentecost in Acts to until the end of the
Age when He returns in person.
The present tense is also significant. He doesn’t
say, “I will be with you,” but “I am with you.”
The point is that all the way up until the end of the
age, Jesus will be just as present with us as He
was that moment on the mountain when He was
standing in their midst.
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That’s probably why Matthew doesn’t include an
account of the ascension. He wants to emphasize
the continuing presence of Christ with His Church.
If you want an illustration of what it looks like for
the Lord to be with you, read the Joseph story,
where it repeatedly makes the point that God was
with Joseph.
Christ’s presence gives us authority, enablement
and encouragement.
God enabled the Church to carry out this
commission on the Day of Pentecost (which was
the fulfillment of v.20)
Imagine a barge sitting in a harbor, and the tide
goes out and leaves it stranded in the mud.
There is so much mud, no one can even get out to
the massive barge. And if they could, there would
be no way to lift it out of there.
It’s too muddy to do anything from the ground, and
no helicopter is powerful enough.
What’s the solution to a problem like that? How
much horsepower and machinery do we need?
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None. There is only one solution – for the tide to
come it.
Once the tide comes in it will be lifted from the mud
and easily steered to wherever it is supposed to
go.
The lost sinner is like a barge in the mud.
Human ingenuity, as ingenious as it is, can do
nothing to lift him out.
We can impress him with our scholarship, entertain
him with fabulous music, woo him with promises of
a more enjoyable life…
We can think of the most clever techniques to
manipulate people…
We can do what Rick Warren says and try to get
people saved by figuring out the key to their
heart…
But no human ingenuity can pull that barge out of
the mud. Only one thing can lift it out – the tide
has to come in.
The power of the one who has all authority in
heaven and on earth has to send the full power of
the Holy Spirit…
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And only when the harbor is full of that power will
the lost sinner be lifted from the mud.
And you and I have been given the power to open
the floodgates to let the tide in. All we have to do,
is preach the Gospel.
In one sense this is kind of a startling promise,
because it’s really a conditional promise.
Whom will Jesus be with until the end of the age?
Missionaries.
This isn’t just a blanket promise to everyone. The
promise is for missionary Christians.
If the Lord gives us a task, and says, “It’s a huge
task, but don’t worry, I’ll be with you for the
fulfillment of it,” what does that imply for those who
are not involved in the fulfillment of it?
D.A. Carson points out that there are 6 major
sections in Matthew, and each of the first 5 ends
with a lengthy section of Jesus’ teaching.
But the last section just ends with a few verses of
red letters.
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Each of the other sections ends with Jesus’
teaching, but this section ends with Jesus saying,
“OK, now you teach.”
And so the final chapter of Matthew’s gospel is still
being written as the Church carries out this
commission.
Finally I’m done with my Easter sermon.
Keep in mind, all this springs out of a “therefore” in
Matthew’s account of the resurrection.
If you were excited on Easter when we talked
about worshipping the risen Christ, these are the
implications of what it means to worship Him.
What a wonderful book end for the end of
Matthew.
Remember this gospel started in ch.1 talking about
this baby that was to be born, who would be
Immanuel, which means – God with us.
The Gospel starts with the promise, “God with us”
is about to be born, and ends with that one who
was born saying, “Behold I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.”
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Sing the last v. of how firm a foundation
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Review Question:
1. ?
Through the bond of peaceful relationships in the
Church
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So we have this unity that needs to be kept.
But there is a greater unity that we have yet to
attain.
It doesn’t come until v.13.
And the path to v.13 is vv.7-12, which highlight the
diversity of gifts and roles.
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