Intro: If I ask you what does it mean to
be Christlike, few of you would say, “Disciple-maker” Poll Survey. Turn to
Matthew 28:18-20.
I keep six
honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I.
WHO:
Let’s say
Pastor Leo said “everyone just make sure the church is locked up and everything
is turned off every Sunday.” OR “For Glocal Growers, most of you bring
something for lunch.” Would that work? What is everybody’s responsibility
becomes nobody’s responsibility.
Analogy of Officers and sergeants. Most of us know in SG can appreciate military
analogies. Ladies, if you don’t appreciate army experience, you need to watch
“Ah Boys to Men”
According to
Josh McDowell, only 2% of Christendom know what the Great Commission is.
II.
WHAT: How many verbs are there in these verses? 4
real actions-
Go
Make Disciples
Baptize
Teach
Which one of
them is imperative? Just tell what is most obvious here- Everyone say one of these
verbs
Most of us
think it’s GO, but actually it’s Make Disciples.
MAKE DISCIPLES- that’s the imperative! That’s the command. When there’s a command, there’s a way.
Whenever Jesus gives a temptation, he provides a way of escape. Whenever he
gives a task, he provides us with the power to accomplish it.
III.
WHEN? Go ye therefore and (make disciples of) all
nations.
We get the impression that the word “Go” is telling us
to go to the mission field.
Go- it’s not an imperative. It’s an aorist passive.
Aorist means- simple past tense. Passive means that the action is being applied
to you. So Go, can better be translated “Having Gone about in your day to day
life” according to the LLV (Leon’s liberal version).
The “going” was not the command. It’s a given. If
“going” is the main thing, Jesus would have been a bad model, because he never
travelled more than 200 miles. But Jesus was the model of the Great Commission
even though he never had a passport. “As you are going in your day to day life”
It’s not where you go, but what you do as you go. This is comforting
because you don’t have to be a missionary. You don’t have to be full time, on
church staff.
I know a Taxi Driver, who witnesses to more than 10
people a day
I know a business owner, who has changed his shop into a
evangelistic hub
Paul said it like this “No soldier gets entangled in civilian
pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” We busy
ourselves with civilians pursuits and occasionally jump into the battle when we
feel compelled. Kingdom service is something we visit on a mission trip, day of
service, or prayer meeting. Being entangled in the civilian lifestyle has
become the accepted norm. (Follow Me, Platt xiii- Francis Chan)
IV.
WHERE? All nations. When we talk
about nations, we think about countries. Countries like Singapore, America,
Philippines. But in the greek, the word for nations is ethnos, where we get the
English word- Ethic. Different ethnic groups. Christ was telling us to make
disciples of every ethnic group. All kinds of people. You might never get out
of the Philippines, but are you lovingAll kinds of people.People outside your
dialect. People outside of your social circle.
V.
HOW: Baptizing them in the name
of the father, son and Holy Spirit
Baptize and Teach- present circumstancial participles
(to be done once, and then over and over again.)- it’s part of the package.
A. Evangelize: Baptize them in the name
of the Father, Son Holy Spirit:
The point of
baptism is to be identified with Christ. So Christ is telling us to lead people
to be know God. Why the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? I think Jesus
is asking us to be responsible in our evangelism. It’s not just about getting
them to say a quick prayer. We have to make sure people understand salvation’s
plan. Who the Father, the Son and the Spirit is. Imagine if someone wanted to
get baptized, but as you are baptizing that person, he says “I don’t believe in
the Holy Spirit” or some churches who don’t believe that “Jesus is God”.
Responsible evangelism.
B. Disciple:It’s not just teach them all
things that I have commanded you.
It’s teach them to observe.
The difference between Western and Oriental/ Asian way
of teaching.
The greeks love to give information and lecture.
The greeks love to give information and lecture.
The Orientals and Jews love to teach like a kung fu
master.
Observe, then Obey.
Confucius himself said-
What I Hear I forget
What I see I remember
What I do I understand.
Discipleship is
not just giving out information, but teaching your disciple something, and
holding him accountable to it. If I tell my kungfu master, I don’t want to
learn the basic kick, I only want to learn the flying dragon kick, He will give
me a flying dragon kick out of his school.
VI.
WHY
A.
Because He is your Lord/
Master- V.16
“Therefore”- whenever you see a therefore, you must ask
what’s the “therefore There for!”
WHY DID JESUS GIVE US THE COMMISSION? The Old Testament
for hundreds of years had anticipated a King of Israel. Finally, The Book of
Matthew is all about introducing the King of Israel, the Messiah- Jesus Christ.
In the beginning, Matthew took great pains to show the genealogy of Jesus to
link him to King David. At the end of Matthew, we find out that this King of
Israel- is actually more than the king of Israel- He is the King of the
Universe. God Himself. Because He is LORD. IN Charge. Boss. If you have a
problem with the Great Commission, you have a problem with the Lordship of Jesus.
If I ask you, why aren’t you discipling?
Second Top reason- Don’t
know how to disciple
Discipleship- put simply, is helping someone move one
step closer to Christlikeness. Discipleship is finding someone dumber that you,
and helping him love Christ more. If you can’t find someone to disciple, are
you saying you can’t find someone dumber than you?
Top reason- Too Busy.
You know in Jesus day, man those guys are just
farmers. They had a lot of chill time
nothing to do in the countryside. They didn’t have facebook and cell phones.
They didn’t have gmail. If you wanna give this excuse to Jesus, all the best. Cuz
for Jesus this is what He said to those people who were too busy-
1)
Obligations to parents- not fit
for the kingdom
2)
Obligations to work- sell all
that you have and come, follow me. He literally made his followers do that.
They had to quit their jobs and follow him. Jesus didn’t make everyone he knew
quit their jobs. But he made sure if your job ever came in between you and
following Jesus- you need a career change.
Why should you disciple? My Lord Jesus told me too.
Most of us start the Great Commission in verse 18, but
we overlook verse 17. While some disciples worshipped him, some doubted.
Meaning even though they saw Jesus crucified...and resurrected back to life,
they had doubts that they could live for God. Their gospel message would work.
That’s why Jesus, usually gentle, servant like…now he stands up tall, with fire
in his eyes…He announces- ALL Power. Is it hard to live for Jesus? Of course,
that’s why Jesus had to tell people that he had all power. If Pastor needs
someone to buy a packet of MangINasal, he’s not going to tell you, “All power
is given to me, so go therefore and buy manginasal for me.” But if Living Water
Baptist church wants to start a gospel movement in the barangays of Laguna, to
have an exodus of students in the high schools livng for God, you need “All the
Power, all the authority you can get.”
And Jesus says- As you go, Make disciples!
B.
Because He is your
Friend V20
Jesus starts off telling you, Because I’m the Boss of the Universe,
Make Disciples. But He ends off telling you He’s your friend. He loves you,
He’s with you, He’s for you.
Sometimes we like to say that the Great Commission is more
accurately called the Great Omission. Based on verse 16, we are ignoring a
direct commandment from our LORD who has all authority to tell us what to do.
Ignoring the Great Commission is sin. You know, sin is more than just breaking
God’s laws. Sin is breaking God’s heart. Jesus is more than your Lord, He is
your friend. The lover of your soul. And for you to despise his commandment, it
breaks his heart. Some of us don’t respond well to aggression. I don’t. I
harden up if someone takes me on head on. But when someone comes to me with a
broken heart and tell me how I have hurt him, I will want to make things right.
Missing out?“When people say they don’t
feel close to Jesus” I ask them if they are making disciples. After all, his
promise to be with us is directly tied to his command to make disciples. While every
Christians wants to experience the power of the Holy Spirit, we often forget
that the Spirit’s power is given for the purpose of being his witnesses.
Experiencing God, which is the longing of every true believer, happens when we
are being his witnesses and making disciples.” (Chan, Follow Me, Xvi)
The Great Commission is not an assignment from God. It is an alignment
with God. It is the heartbeat of Christ and remember I asked you what is the
hallmark of Christlikeness? Disciple-making is the fruit of Christlikeness.
How are you living out the Great Commission?
How are you leading others toward Christ likeness?
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