JESUS: His Commands: “Go Make Disciples”             3-12-06 pm

Matthew 28:16-20 (19-20a)

Tonight we end our 2006 World Missions Convention.  And I want to use the words that Jesus used in Matthew’s Gospel as His final words to His first Disciples.  Those words are in the form of a command, a very important command, His last command to them according to Matthew’s account.  And it’s a command to all of us who are followers of Jesus.

Read Matthew 28:16-20

Next Sunday morning we will dedicate this room to God and to His purposes.  But Jesus did not say: “Go and build buildings.”  He said “Go and make disciples.”  Buildings are only appropriate as they help us to make disciples.  Jesus did not say: “Go and have concerts.”  Concerts are only appropriate as they help us make disciples.  He did not say: “Go and put on dramas, Go and have a sports program, Go and have a youth program, or a children’s program, or a men’s program, or a women’s program, or a singles’ program.  So are those things wrong?  Not if they keep the main thing the main thing, and the main thing is to make disciples.

You want to know what the devil’s strategy for your life is?  When you step out of his kingdom and into God’s kingdom, the devil isn’t through with you.  He just changes strategy.  His new strategy is to get you so involved in things that don’t count that you have no time nor energy nor resources to do what Jesus told us all to do, and that’s to make disciples.

Someone talked to me after church Wednesday evening, a bit apologetic that they had gotten here way late because they were talking to someone on the phone about Jesus.  Would that more of you would get here late, or even miss a service now and then because you were talking to someone about Jesus. 

Don’t you think the devil might love it when we say to the lost: “I’m sorry. I can’t take time for you now.  I have to go to church.”  Maybe if you are scheduled to preach or to lead the congregation in worship, but too many of us are so wrapped up in even church activities that don’t make disciples that we have no time for non-church activities where we might make disciples.

Please hear my heart.  I am not campaigning for you to stop coming to church.  I’m only campaigning for you to evaluate all that you do in light of this final command of Jesus: “Go and make disciples.”  And if what you are doing, and if what we are doing as a church is not helping us make disciples, then we need to take a long, hard look at that activity.

What is a disciple, and how are they made?

The Greek word “disciple” comes from a verb that means “to learn”.  A disciple is a learner.  Here’s what I read: “A disciple was one who attached himself to another to gain some practical or theoretical knowledge, whether by instruction or by experience.  The word came to be used both of apprentices who were learning a trade and of adherents of various philosophical schools.”

In Jesus’ day, that word was most often used of those who were attached to a rabbi and studied under him.  The disciple left his home and moved in with the rabbi.  He served the rabbi and treated him as an absolute authority.  He was to learn not only what the rabbi knew, but to become like him in character.

Jesus called 12 to become His disciples.  They were to be with Him in order to learn from Him, both by His example and by His direct teachings.  He said in Luke 6:40, A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

That’s why it’s important that we make disciples of Jesus – not disciples of Pastor Al, or Pastor Norm, or Elder Jones, or Deacon Rick.  If we want people to be followers, to be learners, we want them to be followers of Jesus and learners of Him.  However…

The fact that Jesus told us to go and make disciples tells us clearly that we are to be actively involved in this process.  Some believe that God has this gigantic lottery system where some are lucky enough to get to go to heaven and others are unlucky and have to go to hell.  It’s all God’s doing, and what we do or say makes no difference.  He has predestined everything, they say.

The understood subject of this imperative sentence is the word “you”.  “YOU go and make disciples.”  God is not making the disciples; we are. Is God left out of the process?  Absolutely not.  But disciple making does not happen without human disciple makers.  Would you let that sink it for a moment?  Disciple making does not happen without human disciple makers.

How do we make disciples?  Jesus gives us the answer right here in our text: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

I think I would have reversed the order – teach them first and then baptize them.  But Jesus said things the way He did for a purpose.  You start with baptism, and then go to teaching.  How much do you need to know to be baptized?  Evidently not very much!  We make disciples by baptizing them, and then teaching them.

Baptism is your public identification with Jesus.  It is not a mark of maturity, or of reaching a sufficient level of intellectual knowledge about Jesus.  The Day of Pentecost shows us that the first Disciples took Jesus at His word.  When people were convicted and knew they needed to do something about what they had just heard, Peter’s words in Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Then it says in v.41: Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

They had no classes on baptism; they had no waiting period to see if they were really sincere; they took no written test to see if they fully understood what they were doing.  They heard; they believed; they repented; they were baptized.

Some of you have been putting off water baptism.  If you have already committed your life to Jesus, you have absolutely no Biblical warrant for doing so.  “But pastor, I’m not ready for baptism yet.”  What in the world are you waiting for?  Read the book of Acts and see how long people waited after they trusted Jesus as their Savior before being baptized.  In most instances it was the very same day they became followers of Jesus.

It’s really pretty simple.  It’s not all that complex.  You put your trust in Jesus as your only Savior, you learn you need to be baptized as a outward expression of your inner faith in Jesus, and you do it at your first opportunity.

Go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  The Bible teaches believers’ baptism.  If you were baptized before you became a believer, before you put your trust in Jesus as your Savior, you need to be baptized again.  Infant baptism is not believers’ baptism.  Baptism prior to putting your trust in Jesus is not believers’ baptism. 

Peter said to that crowd of people on the Day of Pentecost: Repent and be baptized.  First turn from the life you have been living and turn to Jesus, then be baptized – in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  And that’s the way we baptize here, the way Jesus said we should.

But the process of making disciples has a second step, Jesus said: Baptizing them, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Let’s look at three things here: Who is to do the teaching? How are we to teach?  And What are we to teach?

The command to make disciples, baptizing and teaching them was one of the commands these first disciples were to pass on to the next generation of disciples, and the next, and the next.  Everyone who is a disciple is to be a disciple-maker.  It was not to end with the death of the last of the original 12.  It is not for specialized people, like pastors and missionaries.  All of us are to make disciples, and all of us are to teach.

“But I’m not a teacher.  How am I supposed to teach?”  That leads us to our second question.

In the Gospels we read words like: He taught them many things in parables…as He taught, Jesus said…He sat down and taught them from the boat.  When He had finished speaking…  Sometimes Jesus taught using words.  The Gospels record much of Jesus spoken teachings. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 

We make disciples by teaching them using the Word of God.  We speak it; we preach it; we teach it; we include it in our conversations.  This is not just formal teaching times.  It is seizing God-given opportunities to speak His word in everyday situations, to everyday people.

A second way we teach is by our example.  The Apostle Paul wrote: Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.  (1 Cor. 11:1).  He wrote to the Christians in Philippi: Join with others in following my example. (3:17). He wrote to the Thessalonian Christians: For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. (2 Th. 3:7).  He wrote to young pastor Timothy: Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. (1 Tim. 4:12).  He wrote to Titus: In everything set them an example by doing what is good. (2:7)

Example!  It has to do with the way we live, not just what we say.  And our example is often a much more powerful teacher of some things than our words could ever be.  That’s why 1 Peter 2:17 says: Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

This is the scariest part of all in disciple-making.  Part of the way we teach this new disciple of Jesus is to invite them to follow in our steps.  If we understood that, maybe our steps would not lead to some of the places that they do.

Parents: your primary disciple-making has to do with your children.  I wish we had here tonight all the parents who were here this morning to listen to this. If your children follow your example, what kind of marriage will they have? What kind of devotional life will they have?  What kind of neighbor will they be? What kind of witness will they be? How will they handle adversity?  If they follow your example!

I really like what Paul said there to the Corinthians: Follow me as I follow Christ.  As I walk in the footsteps of Jesus, then I can invite others to walk along with me, and together we are walking in Jesus’ footsteps.

Who is to teach?  All of us!  How are we to teach?  By our words and by our example!  What are we to teach?

We are currently in a series of messages looking at Jesus’ commands.  Those commands were not just for the first disciples; they were to teach the next generation of disciples to obey Jesus’ commands as well, and that generation would teach the next generation – clear down to us.

The content of our teaching is to be the things that Jesus commanded us to do.  That’s why we are spending this entire school year looking at the life and teachings of Jesus.  Our teaching is to have content, and the place to start is here in the Gospels with what Jesus said and did.

There are some hard things Jesus said in this book.  Have you read lately what He said about forgiving?  That’s hard.  Have you read lately what He said about marriage? That’s hard.  Have you read lately what He said about being ill-treated?  That’s hard.  Have your read lately what He said about trusting Him?  That’s hard.

Most people today like the Bible, at least they like parts of it.  But there are other parts of it they don’t like.  And there may be parts you don’t like either.  Our teaching must not just be the easy parts of the Bible, but also the hard parts.  Jesus said: Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you – even the difficult commands.

Go and make disciples of all nations.  Let’s look at that last phrase for a moment.  In the world today there are 210 nations.  Currently our Assemblies of God denomination has 2,004 appointed missionaries, 586 missionary associates and 1,500 missionary children, scattered around the world, ministering in most of those 210 nations.  Our church partners with 45 of these missionary families through our praying and our giving.

We have as a church committed to giving to that total group $6050 each month to help support them financially.  That money comes as you and I put money in our offering plates that is designated “missions”.  The money we give in an offering to a missionary who comes and speaks does not go toward that total.  The money you give to a specific missionary does not go toward that total.  It’s only the undesignated missions money that is available to meet our commitment to support those missionaries listed on the back of our faith promise form.

This morning we asked you to make a commitment to give this coming 12 months to missions.  Some of you made a commitment to God, but you didn’t write it down.  If that’s ok with God, it’s ok with me.  But many others of you did write down your commitment. That really helps our missions committee know what we can anticipate this coming year, and based on that anticipation we make commitments to more missionaries.

A missionary talked with me this week about the struggle many of them are having right now in obtaining sufficient financial commitments from churches to be able to return to the country of their calling.  I would love for us to be able to support that couple, to help them financially.  And we can do that, as you give regularly to missions.

Jesus said “Go”.  Go means a change of location.  It means that we leave where we are and go to where they are.  For the Wilsons, that “go” meant going to Russia.  For the Racuses, it meant going to Mexico. For the Ramseys it was South Africa.  For the Bellos it meant  the Dominican Republic.  For John Koeshall it means Germany.

But the United States is also one of the 210 nations of the world.  And for some of us, Jesus command to “go and make disciples” means  going next door, or going across the street, or going to the person who sits next to us in class, or going to a co-worker.

Making disciples starts with people who are disciples going to people who are not yet disciples & speaking to them the good news of Jesus.

And here is Jesus’ promise to those who obey His command: And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.  Let me give you two reasons why Jesus’ presence is important, and then we are going to take communion together.

Jesus’ presence guides us.

In John 14, when Jesus was talking about the coming of the Holy Spirit, He says in v.18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.  None of us can figure out the nature of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  But in the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus comes to us.  It is also the presence of Father and the Son in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

He will guide you into all truth, Jesus said.  He will teach you, He will lead you, He will show you.  The presence of Jesus in us and with us through the Holy Spirit gives us direction when we need it.  He helps us to know what to do, what to say and when to say it.  I am with you always, Jesus said, and will guide you in this process of making disciples.

Jesus’ presence empowers us.

Trying to keep Jesus’ commands without His power enabling us to do so is a frustrating endeavor.  Trying to make disciples without the power of the Holy Spirit is an effort in futility.  You will be frustrated and so will the person you are trying to help.

So we come to Him again tonight praying, Jesus help me.  Jesus guide me.  Jesus empower me.  Jesus, I need You.