It's Time To Go

Keith Shoulders

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Introduction

Being a Christian requires worship and work. It means coming in and going out, gathering and dispersing. We are to worship in the church and work outside the church. It’s time out for just coming to church. It’s time to be the church. It’s time to fulfill the mission of the church. This passage down as the Great Commission has historically been marked as the Church’s mission statement. It describes the purpose of the church. The church as of late has been misunderstood as just a place where people go on Sunday. This misconception has caused the Church to lose value in the eyes of many of the younger generations of Christians. Evidence of these sentiments are made clear with sentences like this: “I can have church at home”. You can have private worship at home, but you cannot carry out the mission of the church at your house. Being Christian isn’t just about worship, it’s about working.

After Jesus had escaped the grip of the grave, he stopped Mary Magdalene and the other Mary who were making their way to tell the disciples about the empty tomb, and he told them to tel the disciples to meet him in Galilee. The two women were excited to deliver the news of the risen Savior and after hearing this the disciples packed their bags and made their way to the rendezvous location where they would meet Jesus. The Bible says that when they got to they mountain they saw Jesus and they worshipped him. Their response to seeing Jesus was the proper response, because worship is an expression of faith. Worship is giving reverence to the revered. It means giving praise and honor where praise and honor are due. Worship isn’t a recommendation it’s a requirement. When they saw Jesus they worshipped him. They gathered in the place that was designated by Jesus to worship Jesus. It was while they were worshipping Jesus that Jesus assigned them their work. Brothers and Sisters, that is because Jesus desires his followers to worship and work.

After the worship Jesus begins his charge to the worshippers:

“All authority has been given Me in Heaven and on Earth. Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of all the age.” All of us have been charged with a great responsibility. Now it’s time for us to go. I want to talk to you about what we should do as we go.

The charge is to make everything outside the church look like everything inside the church.

Evangelize (Make Disciples)

Our first assignment on this mission is to evangelize. Jesus says,

“Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"

However, we cannot make disciples out of unbelievers. Jesus commissioned people who were disciples to make more disciples. They had to believe in who he was. Believe in what he had done, and believe in what he would do. We have to pay attention to the crowd that was gathered when Jesus gave the orders. Although there is some debate between whether or not there were just 11 people on the mountain with Jesus or the 500 that were mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:16, it is safe to say that Jesus pointed these words at those who already believed in him. The text says that some worshipped, while some doubted. That word doubt doesn’t mean the they didn’t believe in Jesus. That word means hesitant. They were hesitant because they weren’t sure if the person that was standing on the mountain with them was in fact Jesus. This same thing happened in when the disciples saw Jesus after the resurrection on the shore. They had not caught any fish and he told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat, and they would find plenty. It wasn’t until after they had caught so many fish that they couldn’t haul them in that Peter realized that it was Jesus on the shore. Their uncertainty was not unbelief. It’s the same as running into someone in Walmart who you had not seen in some time and they look very different from the last time you saw them. You know the person but you are unsure that the person you see is the person you know. So Jesus points this imperative to go ye therefore and make disciples to disciples. This is an important fact that we must take into consideration when we complain about our churches being empty and our communities becoming increasingly less Christian. Only disciples can mold disciples. Much in the same way apple trees produce apples. Flowers produce more flowers. Lions produce more lions. So as Christians should be produce more Christians. But we cannot make disciples unless they first believe in Jesus.

As we go we must tell them about Jesus. Our first assignment is tell them about who we follow. Evangelism is about sharing the Gospel and calling for a decision. Sharing the Gospel is part of evangelism but it isn’t all of evangelism. After the Gospel has been shared we must make it clear that there is a decision that must be made. We have mislead people into thinking that hearing about Jesus, and believing what we hear about Jesus is the sum of what it means to be Christian. At some point a decision has to be made to submit and serve.

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

If I could put it in today’s terms:

The Lord brought you into this world. The Lord kept you. The Lord fed you. The Lord clothed you. The Lord protected you from your enemies. The Lord pulled you out of the pit of problems you dug. The Lord watched over you. The Lord has been good to you. Now therefore, you ought to serve the Lord in sincerity and faithfulness. Put away the gods that you served in the world. Choose on this day who you will serve.

Jesus commands his disciples to make disciples. Discipleship begins with a decision.

Equip (Teach)

Secondly, after we evangelize and they make their decision to follow Christ, we must teach. Jesus explains the means of making disciples in verses 19 and 20:

“baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you;”

Discipleship does not end at a decision. That is only the beginning. After unbelievers have accepted Christ there has to be some dedication from both parties to teaching and learning the ways of Christ. We have to learn that disciples are made not by beating people with the Bible, but by teaching people the Bible. Teaching is such an important component of faith that Paul warns his young pupil Timothy to teach sound doctrine because both his life, and the lives of those who he teaches are at stake. Teaching is the act of continually equipping followers of Jesus so that they can live as Jesus lived. Disciples are equipped for every good work through the teaching of scripture. Teaching is the tool by which those who take on a new life learn what that life should look like. Getting people to join church is not enough, they need to be taught, so that they may be matured. So when they are tried, their faith would fail not. Corporate settings for reading the scripture are important. Places like Bible Study, and Sunday School, are paramount for the progression of your faith. That’s where you break that plateau of faith that makes you feel as though you’re stuck or your faith seems stale. Learning what the scriptures say is the only way to take your faith to the next level. It won’t just drive your faith to the next level, it will drive your character to the next level. It will change the way you handle your children. It will change the way you deal with your coworkers. It will change the way you deal with your problems. It will change the way you give your money. It will change what you post on your facebook. Our hearts are changed on the day of decision by the Holy Spirit working in us to believe in Jesus Christ. But we will be continually changed inwardly through the teaching of the ways of Christ through the word of God.

Corporate settings where we teach are important. But there has to be a more intimate mode of teaching that accompanies it. After all most of you will only remember about 30% of this sermon later on this evening. By Friday it would be a surprise if you remembered more than 5% of what I will spend the next few minutes saying. Observation and imitation are powerful tools for teaching. In other words, people will remember a sermon they see better than they will a sermon they hear. Jesus commands the disciples to teach the people to observe all that he has commanded them. To observe, they must take what they have learned and put it into practice.

In Paul is educating the Church at Ephesus on the Christian Walk. He tells them to lay aside the old self, and to put on the new self. Don’t steal. Don’t let corrupt speech come from your lips. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you. He says all these things, thens says, “Therefore, be ye imitators of God, as beloved children”. Imitate what you’ve seen for that is clearer than anything that I can say. Coming on Sundays, and Wednesdays is good. It’s not just good it’s necessary. We need it as Christians, especially those of us who are new in the faith or are struggling to develop a closer walk. But there has to be some teaching done by some mature Christians, not with our lips but with our lives. By being good stewards, good neighbors, strong witnesses, moral people, faithful servants. Jesus commands us to teach not just on Sundays and Wednesdays, but to teach every day of our lives. Teach at home. Teach at work. Teach in the gym. Teach on the job. Teach at choir practice. Teach in the barbershop. Teach in the beauty shop. Teach at Walmart. Teach at your favorite restaurant. Show people what a disciple should look like. Teach!

Disciples are formed through teaching. Observation and imitation.

Empower (Trust)

It’s time to go. But as we go we have to trust God in the work. We must trust God because we are doing his work under his authority. We have received a charge to go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This is a charge from on high. Jesus was handed all authority from heaven. Jesus then handed us the responsibility to carry out heavens work on earth, but at the end of the commission he says, and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age. Jesus begins the charge by saying I have all power. He ends the charge by saying I’ll be with you alway. The man with the authority has partnered with us for the assignment. Jesus has assured us that we will have holy help for the assignment. That is a comforting promise because it is not an easy assignment. Just think about how much time and effort we spend on trying to come up with ways to make the church relevant again. Think about all of things we’ve tried. All of the people we’ve tried to encourage to find their way to the church. Think about all of the money we’ve spent to host events thinking that it would reignite the flame. None of those things were failures. Those were reminders that we don’t have enough genius and creativity to do the assignment. We don’t have enough power to make the changes we seek to make on our own. We can build big buildings, but that doesn’t mean that they will come. We can have concerts, but that won’t lead to converts. All of these things are reminders that we need help.

I can remember quite vividly as a child doing math homework and practically at some moments being at the verge of tears. You know how it is. One of those nights where you just sit at the table for hours on end and all you have on paper is the problem that you wrote down out of the book. You can’t figure it out. You don’t even know where to start. You paid attention in class. You followed the teacher on the board, but now that you’re at home by yourself the book through something at you that wasn’t on the board in the classroom and you have to figure it out on your own. I thank God that ministry isn’t like that. The disciples had walked with Jesus, and observed him healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, turning water to wine. Teaching the Gospel, telling parables, winning souls to the Kingdom, and they were charged to carry out the mission when Jesus left. Now we’ve run into some problems that we’ve never seen before. Ministry is becoming harder to do. It seems that there are challenges today that aren’t mentioned in the Bible. So what do we do? We trust the master. Unlike being stuck at home to figure out a new problem with no help. Jesus says I’ll be with you always. We have the authority and the assistance that we need to complete the assignment. We can lean on the Lord to help us.

We have limitations. We have a limited supply of money. We have a limited supply of workers. We have a limited amount of space. We have a limited amount of time. We have to operate within our means and our limitations but Jesus operates above and beyond our means. All authority has been given him, and he has partnered with us in this ministry.

Conclusion

We are partners in ministry with Jesus. As Jesus gets ready to make his way back to heaven he gathers his disciples and gives them their assignment for while he is away. While Jesus is away preparing Heaven for his people. He has subcontracted his people to prepare people for Heaven. The ministry belongs to him. He is the author and finisher of our faith, but in between authoring and finishing there has to be discipling. It’s time to go tell people about Jesus. It’s time to urge people to make a decision. It’s time to teach them about Jesus. And it’s time that we trust him in the work. We’ve started sitting on the job. We feel that it’s a lost cause to keep preaching the same message and nobody’s responding. We keep sharing the same message and nobody’s getting saved. We keep opening the doors and the same people keep coming in. But keep keep preaching, keep teaching, keep sharing, keep working, keep opening the doors, and trust God. Keep planting, keep watering, and God will provide the increase. We have a job to do. We have to tell people that there is a hell to shun and a Heaven to gain. We are getting ready for that day of reckoning when the King will appear on his white horse ready to take a people back to his home. Our job is to prepare everyone for that place. It’s time to go!

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