Matthew 28:16-20 The Call to Discipleship
Notes
Transcript
Intro: Mission Possible
Intro: Mission Possible
We started the book of Matthew on October 30, 2021
75 messages later we are completing the book
A little over a year and a half in the book
We finish with one of the most important themse in the whole book…the Great Commission
If you ask people what the purpose of the church is you will get a ton of different answers
Some people will tell you its about community
Others will tell you its about teaching the Word
Still others will tell you that we were created to Glorify God so worship is the most important
While those are vital to the church the primary purpose of the church is to go and make disciples
Today’s passage is about the Path to discipleship
Read Matthew 28:16-20
Read Matthew 28:16-20
Transition
It has never been God’s will for any person “to perish but for all to come to repentance”
He “desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth”
God’s heart has always yearned to bring men back to Himself, to give them new, righteous, and eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Every time an unbeliever is saved by God’s grace, God is glorified
The great mission of the church is to call men and women to Jesus Christ
Jesus’ supreme purpose on earth was “to seek and to save that which was lost”
The last section of Matthew is to call the church to discipleship
The word for disciple here is Mathetes which means student
It’s not a classroom kind of student, but more like an apprentice
A disciple is someone who walks in the steps of a master
Be Available vs. 16
Be Available vs. 16
The first step in making disciples is to be available
At the resurrection, Jesus and the Angel told the women to tell the disciples to go to Galilee
As we get to these final verses in Matthew the disciples are in Galilee
They made the two-day trek from Jerusalem to a spot in Galilee
They listened to what they were told and made themselves available
For the great commission to be accomplished the church needs to be available
Notice there is no other qualification?
The disciples didn’t go to rabbi school
They didn’t have to pass a test
They just had to show up
The key to reaching the nations with the Gospel are people who are willing to be be available when God needs them
You are a sent missionary to your world
No one is better equipped to reach them than you
A Response to Our Worship vs. 17
A Response to Our Worship vs. 17
Making disciples should always be a response to our worship
When the disciples saw Jesus they worshipped him
The natural reaction to encountering the risen Jesus is worship
Would you be excited if you encountered Jesus after the crucifixion?
The Greek word here is Proskuno which means to adore and kiss
There should be a joy in our heart for our salvation
We’ve been saved from our sins and given eternal life
Our heart should rejoice at that
We should want to tell other people about that
Don Francisco song of the 80’s
Doubt is Okay
There were some in this group who doubted
When Paul tell us in 1 Cor 15 that Jesus appeared to 500 after his resurrection many believe that many of them were here
It wasn’t just the disciples at this encounter
Thomas doubted but Jesus came to him in the upper room
So these are some other people
They worshiped Him; but some doubted:
even if some had to overcome uncertainty and hesitation – probably from feeling it was too good to be true, and lingering shame from having forsaken Jesus during His suffering.
David prayed in Psalm 51 restore to me the joy of my salvation
Rev 2 Jesus tells Ephesus to return to their first love
Go In Power vs. 18
Go In Power vs. 18
The next step in making Disciples is to Go in power
Means permission, liberty, and power to do something
Making disciples done under our own power will end up with robots
Done in the power of the Holy Spirit will result in life transformation
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
They were enabled to speak the Word with boldness
You don’t have to do this under your own power
You just need to be available and be led by the Spirit
That may sound vague and unplanned but it isn’t
Discipleship isn’t a class it is a journey
To disciple someone you need to walk through a stage of life
There is teaching and accountability, but it needs to be modeled for the disciple to see in action
Evangelize vs. 19a
Evangelize vs. 19a
In order to make disciples you need to evangelize
vs. 19 says Go therefore and make disciples
The Gospel of Mark elaborates
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
The Gospel needs to go into every part of our world
The great need in the church is for a spirit of evangelism, not just a spurt of evangelism.
John Blanchard
Evangelism is not a human enterprise; it is a divine operation.
A. Skevington Wood
Disciple All Nations vs. 19b
Disciple All Nations vs. 19b
The whole world needs to be evangelized
This was revolutionary to the disciples
They were content with keeping the Gospel to Israel
Gentiles were considered dogs
Jesus had to speak to Peter thru a dream in Joppa and tell him 3x’s
God’s plan of redemption was to start with Israel and then move from there
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The outpouring of the Spirit and proclaiming of the Gospel would start in Jerusalem but then stretch to Judea and Samaria then the four corners of the world
In a very short period of time the Gospel spread throughout the Roman empire
Thousands of missionaries continue to take the Gospel to unreached people
God is opening doors into places like Saudi Arabia
Teach Them to Obey vs. 20
Teach Them to Obey vs. 20
Once someone accepts Jesus it is time to teach them to obey the Word of God
Teach the Word
The early church exploded because the Holy spirit was moving and the Apostles were teaching the Word of God
Peter and John would go to Solomon’s porch in the temple in the afternoon and teach the growing church
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
They would combine the Wisdom of the Old Testament and Jesus’ teachings
Obedience is Key
The key was obedience
New Believers need to know that they are accountable to the Word of God
That is expressed through Obedience
Jesus is with you
The best part is knowing the Jesus is with us till our time on the earth is done