[0:00] Would you open up your Bibles now and would you read with me Matthew chapter 28? Robin's going to put it up on the screen behind me if she hasn't already.
[0:16] Children, rooted. Children, please go to your King's Kids classes. Thank you for getting up and leaving first to remind me. You need to know your cues.
[0:36] This is our risen Lord Jesus speaking. Would you give Him your full attention? And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
[0:57] Go, therefore. And make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
[1:09] And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. May God bless the reading of His Word.
[1:19] If I polled all of you right now and asked you, do you believe in the Great Commission? Yes or no?
[1:32] I'm guessing most everybody in the room would say, yes, I believe that Jesus has sent His disciples to go to the nations and make disciples. But we all know there's this gap between what we profess and what we practice.
[1:50] So here's the question. This is to put some dissonance in you. Why are there so many people who profess to be disciples of Jesus, who agree with the Great Commission, and yet they are not actively carrying out the Great Commission?
[2:13] They're not moving people towards Jesus. Why is it that people aren't moving people towards Jesus very purposely?
[2:24] Now why is that? The elders of Christ the King Church have spent over a year wrestling with this question.
[2:36] And first with regard to ourselves. This book that we've been referencing a lot, The Vine Project, phase two is to evaluate yourself in light of all of these convictions that we've been walking through.
[2:53] And each and every one of our elders has evaluated themselves and seen the gap between our profession and our practice. Phase two of The Vine Project is evaluating the church.
[3:06] We've seen a gap between our profession of the Great Commission and the practice of the Great Commission. There's a disconnect. There's a disconnect between what we say is true and living out that truth.
[3:24] There's a disconnect between saying we believe in these words of Jesus and actually obeying them. It's the difference that I've been trying to describe as the difference between a biblical affirmation, yes that's true, and a biblical conviction.
[3:43] I must act on that truth. Last week I shared the story of watching in Ocean City as a young man the building of a boardwalk, of a sledgehammer driving down a wood pylon through the sand all the way down to bedrock.
[4:09] And multiple of these pylons were driven down and there's this interconnected boardwalk built on top. Brothers and sisters, we're not building a boardwalk.
[4:21] We're building a church culture of disciple making. And that culture is built upon these biblical convictions that we've been working through.
[4:33] Conviction one, why make disciples? And for that conviction, we have a diagram. Are you with me? Is that up?
[4:46] Remember this diagram? Conviction one, why make disciples? There is first and foremost the triune God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit who is reigning over all things.
[5:02] And then, there is this big plan for the fullness of time. And at the end of that plan, all things, God is moving all things to that day where Jesus sits upon His throne.
[5:21] And He's going to judge all people everywhere. That's Matthew 25. At the center of this plan, remember this is a Christocentric plan, is the cross.
[5:37] And it's this cross through which God is pouring out grace upon sinners. This plan is not just Christocentric, it's a people-moving plan.
[5:51] Do you remember this? We've got people, oh man, I'm getting bad. We've got people living in the DOD, not the Department of Defense, the domain of darkness, running away from God.
[6:07] And God, in His mercy and His grace, is calling people and flipping them by His grace, God's power to save through the cross of Jesus.
[6:17] And He's flipping people and giving them new life. And now they run together for Jesus. this is the kingdom of light.
[6:31] It's a people-moving plan. It's a disciple-making plan. And we also know that God, through this plan, is making worshipers all around the throne from every tribe, tongue, and nation in the world.
[6:46] And He's doing that right now. He's doing it right now. People praising Him, surrounding Him in glory. It starts even now in us. This group of people right here, that's us.
[7:00] Those who've been called by God's grace to follow Jesus, to lay down our lives daily, to learn from Jesus, to live for Jesus, to become like Jesus because we love Him.
[7:13] So conviction number one, why make disciples? God's got a huge plan. And He's carrying it right now all around the world. and He's flipping those who are running away from Him and transferring from the dominion of darkness and transferring them into the kingdom of His beloved Son.
[7:32] That's conviction one. We get to join God in His work. Conviction two, what is a disciple? Mark chapter eight. Jesus says, if anyone would come after me, He must, He must lay down His life, take up His cross, and follow me.
[7:49] We lay down our lives in order to learn from, live for, become like Jesus all because we love Him. Conviction three, how do we make disciples?
[8:01] That's the four Ps. The proclamation of God's Word, the prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit, people are God's fellow workers, we're all in this together, your conversion was your commissioning, as well as the final P, perseverance step by step.
[8:16] Hey, making disciples is hard work. It takes time and effort, long suffering. Conviction four is, who makes disciples?
[8:29] I pointed you to Ephesians 4, 11 through 16. We do. Remember, going to the Christ the King Church website, you click on the Christ the King Church ministry staff, and it's person after person, the regular attenders and members of this church.
[8:46] Y'all are God's ministry staff here at Christ the King Church. We are equipping the saints for the works of ministry. Conviction five, where are disciples made?
[9:01] That's the last conviction. That's the last conviction of this series at the heart of the revision series. It's where are disciples made? And if you're following along in your notes on your bulletin, we're now at revision conviction five, the claim.
[9:18] Here it is. It's nine words. Wherever there are disciples, there must be disciple making. Wherever there are disciples, there must be disciple making.
[9:33] Wherever there is the church, a community of disciples, there must be moving people towards Jesus, non-Christians and Christians alike. And so this morning, I want to show you the four greats coming out of the Great Commission in Matthew chapter 28, 18 through 20.
[9:55] So if you now would look back to Matthew 28, our review is over. Let's get into God's Word so that we can see where disciples are to be made.
[10:08] wherever there are disciples, there must be disciple making. Number one, the first great, His great authority over us.
[10:19] We see this in chapter 28, 18, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Those are the words of Jesus. After Jesus has been raised from the dead, He has gathered His disciples to speak His final words before His ascension.
[10:35] We all know the importance of final words, right? Central to these final words is a command in verse 19. It's the command, make disciples.
[10:46] That's the heartbeat of the Great Commission. But here in verse 18, Jesus prefaces that command with something that's very important.
[10:57] It's an appeal to His authority. What is authority? Well, this is a little roughshod, but authority is the right to tell you what to do and expect you to obey it.
[11:11] That's what authority is. The right to require something of your life. And Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth. He can require all of your life.
[11:22] Our government has the authority and right to require its citizens to pay taxes and penalize you if you don't. Our city's police officers have the right to pull you over if you're speeding and write a ticket for you.
[11:41] If you're an employee, your employer has the right to require job performance of you and pay you accordingly. Growing up, our parents had the right to tell us to make our beds, to bathe, to finish our vegetables, to be considerate of our siblings and spank us if we didn't.
[12:10] In all of these examples, it's a limited authority. When you look at the scope of Jesus' authority, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
[12:26] What you need to realize, He has full and complete authority over all of creation. He has the right to require His will to be done from everyone and everything.
[12:40] I don't think there's a better picture of His authority than the throne. In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus pictures Himself as this King on the throne at the end of time on that day and all of His angels assemble before Him every person that has ever lived on the face of the earth and He judges them and separates them as the sheep from the goat.
[13:05] Do you know what that's a picture of? Authority. authority. He has the right to judge all. All will give an account to Him.
[13:19] In 2 Corinthians 5.10, it's true of us Christians. Paul says, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
[13:33] When Jesus prefaces a command with this appeal to all of His authority in terms of the last words before He ascends, you've got to realize whatever He's going to say next in terms of His command, it is super important to the risen Jesus.
[13:53] It's of utmost importance. And you've got to feel the weight of His authority. Jesus has unlimited right to require our total obedience to Him.
[14:10] So here's the question I want you to start asking yourself. Are you thinking about that day? Are you thinking about that day when you'll stand before Him?
[14:21] That day when you'll give an account for your life to Him and specifically, on that day, you will give an account for how you've been moving people towards Jesus.
[14:33] That's of utmost importance to Him. You need to think about today in light of that day.
[14:46] Now, when we think about moving from being a disciple of Jesus to being disciple makers for Jesus, here's how that works. No longer do you just think about yourself standing before Jesus on that day.
[15:03] You start thinking about other people standing before Jesus on that day. You start to be burdened for other people that they stand before Jesus on that day and be able to say, I've given it all for you.
[15:16] To hear Him say, come into the joy of your Master. It changes the way. When you start getting a disciple making mentality, it changes the way to see yourself, the people in your home, the people in your church, your non-believing friends and family and co-workers.
[15:40] Speaking pastorally, my desire is that every one of you stand before the Lord Jesus Christ on that day with as little regret as possible and with greatest amount of joy.
[16:03] When we read about Jesus' great authority, you need to feel the weight of that. His great authority over us. But He also makes, number two, His great promise to us.
[16:21] And that's at the end of verse 20. Remember, central to the Great Commission is verse 19, this command, make disciples. At the end of the Great Commission is a great promise.
[16:35] It's the second half of verse 20. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. Notice what Jesus is promising.
[16:52] I am with you always. That phrase always, you can translate it every day.
[17:03] I am with you every day until the end of the age. What a promise. He's promising to be personally present with us every day.
[17:21] Now, of all the things that Jesus could have promised, promised at this moment, it's very interesting that He promises to be present with us.
[17:31] He doesn't promise that we're going to avoid suffering for Him. He doesn't promise ease in this life. He doesn't promise that all of our loved ones will come to Christ and follow Him.
[17:47] He doesn't promise that. What He does promise is the greatest thing He can promise Himself. The all-authoritative Christ is with us every day.
[18:04] Now, why does Jesus make this great promise to us in the Great Commission?
[18:17] One may say to comfort us. His presence is a comfort. He is an ever-present help in time of trouble. But I don't think that's the primary reason He makes this great promise.
[18:32] The real reason Jesus promises to be with us every day is to put courage in our hearts.
[18:45] The task of making disciples requires courage. There are different decisions to be made. There are hard things to be said.
[18:56] There will always be pushback, fallout, pressure to compromise, moving people towards Jesus takes courage. Back in the book of Joshua, Moses is now off the scene and God is going to lead His people into the promised land through Joshua.
[19:22] He's got a great task for Joshua. Challenging task. Listen to these words at the beginning of Joshua. Chapter 1, verses 5 through 9.
[19:35] I'm just going to let it soak in. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
[19:50] I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause the people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses, my servant, commanded you.
[20:05] Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.
[20:19] For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
[20:35] Joshua was given a great task that requires great courage and God gives this great promise, I'm with you. We've been given a great task that requires great courage and Jesus is saying, I'm with you every day.
[20:52] I'm with you. How do you apply this? Does the thought of talking to someone else about Jesus, whether a non-Christian or a Christian, does that frighten you?
[21:11] Does that put dismay in your heart? Could that be the cause of disconnect between our profession and our practice? Jesus says, do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
[21:31] Jesus says, behold, I am with you every day to the end of the age. Jesus, in his all-authoritative being, his risen fullness fullness has promised to be with us.
[21:49] And so, you know how to respond to that? You take courage. That puts courage in your heart. It's a great promise.
[22:01] It gives great courage. Number three is great task entrusted to us. The central command of the Great Commission is make disciples.
[22:13] And what I've shown you so far is the preface to that is an appeal to his great authority and what follows that is an appeal to a great promise. What is this great command?
[22:27] When Jesus commands his disciples to make him more disciples, he's telling them, move people towards me. Wherever you are, be moving people towards me.
[22:40] What I want you to feel with this command, make disciples, is that Jesus is speaking that to you. To you. He's calling you to make disciples.
[22:54] You're part of his ministry strategy. The book, The Vine Project that we've been going through, it helps us think about making disciples.
[23:09] It helps us to think about in terms of a process with different phases. So let me lay out these four phases to you because I think it will help you. In terms of making a disciple, phase one is to engage with someone, to find common ground with them, to build rapport with them.
[23:29] I, for the last three years, have been running across a man named Stan in the Kenosha Dunes. I hike there a lot and Stan is there every spring looking for birds. this weekend I interacted with him and it came out that I'm a pastor of Christ the King Church.
[23:50] Just moving the ball, just engaging with them, just starting a conversation. Engaging people, finding common ground. The reason why I got, I asked a bunch of people to help with the Kenosha Marathon, the Wisconsin Marathon, was to engage people on that Saturday morning and we did.
[24:11] There's various ways we can engage but it's part of making disciples. That's phase one. Phase two is evangelism. Telling non-Christians the good news about Jesus Christ and what he's done on the cross and extending Christ's call to them to come follow him.
[24:31] That's good news. The invitation from Jesus to come be my disciple. Good news. So engage, evangelize, and then establish.
[24:46] For those people who respond to Christ's call, they become Christians, they respond to God's grace. To establish a Christian means to get them on their solid ground, get their feet underneath them, help them understand what the Bible is, how to pray, who they are in Christ Jesus, help them to understand the importance of the church.
[25:06] It's really just showing them the means of grace in terms of following Jesus so that they can grow into Christ our head. The last phase is to be equipped.
[25:19] And what equipping is is training Christians to know how to engage and evangelize non-Christians and how to establish Christians where they are.
[25:30] it's all about moving people, whether non-Christian or Christian, towards Jesus. So wherever some way it may be, we seek to help them take the next step towards Jesus because wherever there are disciples, there must be disciple-making.
[25:52] This great task is spelled out in Matthew 28 of making disciples, of moving people towards Jesus. in Matthew 28, 19, there are these three words that describe more fully this disciple-making process.
[26:09] Look at verse 19. The first word is the word go. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations. Going means going, moving towards people.
[26:20] In order to engage and evangelize, establish and equip, we need to move towards other people, all people, but especially those people immediately around you.
[26:33] You know, this command is to go to all nations. Jesus is at work all around the world. But we're not directly responsible for what's happening in China.
[26:43] We're responsible for making disciples first and foremost here in Kenosha. So we're to think globally, but act locally. We move towards people wherever and whoever they are because everyone needs Jesus.
[27:00] 2 Corinthians 5 talks about our task as being ambassadors for Jesus. We're representing Him to our family, to our church, to those people who we are interacting with on a regular basis.
[27:12] He sends us out daily. The second description of this making disciples is baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Remember what baptism is.
[27:26] It's simply a public announcement of your inward commitment to Jesus, this being united to Christ and His death and resurrection, your conversion. Your baptism announces it publicly.
[27:40] And so our task is not just moving people towards Jesus, but those who respond, we need to help them identify with Jesus publicly. It's not optional for those who believe.
[27:53] It is a command. Over the last nine months, we've baptized four people to help them to publicly identify themselves with Jesus. The last description is teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.
[28:10] We are moving people towards Jesus and obedience to Him. Obedience to His initial call to come follow me and obedience to His commands that we see all throughout the Gospels.
[28:26] Here's what I want to emphasize. In the ESV, in verse 19, we read this, excuse me, verse 20, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
[28:37] That word observe actually means to keep. When you read it, it looks like, it seems like you're just saying, look at those words of Jesus, right?
[28:48] But we know it carries a heavier sense, a bigger claim, to keep. When we are teaching people to observe all that Jesus commands, what we're teaching them is not to be a hearer only of what Jesus says, but to be a doer of what Jesus says, to help them to keep Jesus' words, to put them into practice, to not stay at profession but move into putting His words into play.
[29:25] And so what we're doing is when we are parents, you are the disciple makers of your children, what you're seeking to do is not just help your children learn about Jesus, but to learn in order to live for Jesus.
[29:39] We learn from Jesus to live for Jesus. And what we have here is a change of lifestyle. To become a follower of Jesus is to change the way you live.
[29:57] Where does all this happen? where does all this going, baptizing, teaching, moving people, engage, evangelize, establish, equip, where does all that happen?
[30:11] Wherever there are disciples, there must be disciple making. It happens wherever we are. This is the great task given to us by Jesus. And it's not optional to carry out.
[30:25] How do you respond to this? Because you take action. You step out. And that's where I want to bring you next.
[30:38] The fourth great is the great opportunity before us. Where our disciples made, wherever we are, wherever the church is, wherever the kingdom of light is intersecting the domain of darkness.
[31:00] So four opportunities, starting with yourself. Have you heard of when Jesus talks about going to your prayer closet? I want you to think of your prayer closet as your go closet.
[31:17] Every morning you find a place to lay your heart out before the Lord Jesus Christ, to confess Him as your Lord and King and to lay down your life once again in order to learn from Him and live for Him and become like Him because you love Him.
[31:34] In your go closet, you walk into your go closet needing a heart change. But you leave your go closet sent by Jesus.
[31:47] go closet. When you're in the go closet, you've got to be asking questions of yourself like this. Today, am I treasuring Jesus above all else?
[31:59] Is He my number one? And if not, who's my chief rival and how can I repent of that? one of the greatest things that you can do in your go closet to be ready to be sent by Jesus as His ambassador, to go make disciples of the nations, the best thing that you can do to prepare yourself to make disciples of other people is to remember what Jesus has done for you.
[32:32] To remember that you were running away from Him in the domain of darkness and by His grace and grace alone He called you to Himself. One of the things that I think is a problem with our evangelism, one of the stymieing points is this, we don't think we have things to tell people.
[32:52] We don't think people care of what we have to say. So one of the things that you can do to enhance your evangelism and to make your following Jesus relevant to other people, is to ask this question.
[33:09] What difference is Jesus making in your life right now? What difference is He making? Now you've got something to tell somebody else. So you start with the opportunity of yourself.
[33:28] Stepping into the go closet and stepping out sent as an ambassador to Jesus. And the next opportunity is your home. parents, you are the disciple makers of your home.
[33:40] You are the ambassadors for Jesus to your children first and foremost. Not exclusively, but primarily. Unprecedented opportunities day in, day out to speak of Jesus, point to Jesus again and again, loving your children that way.
[33:57] Here's how I want to help you in your parenting and your discipling of your children. Think about each of your children along those phases. Engage, evangelize, establish, equip.
[34:10] Where are they at? Where are they at? Meet them there. Meet them there. Don't meet them where you want them to be.
[34:22] Meet them where they're at. But here is, I think, a very important tool in your discipleship to your children.
[34:35] Make sure you're using your life. Make sure you're bearing testimony to them. Make sure you are telling them why you are a follower of Jesus.
[34:47] Make sure you are telling them the difference that Jesus makes in your life and you wouldn't have it any other way. Live it out before them.
[35:00] The difference that it makes. You know what? They can reject Jesus in due time, but don't let them use your life as reason not to believe in Jesus.
[35:17] Follow Jesus. I could say more about how to love your spouse, but we've got to keep moving. The third opportunity is your church.
[35:30] Moving your church towards Jesus. We've talked about moving yourself towards Jesus. We've talked about moving your family towards Jesus. Now moving your church towards Jesus. Christ the King Church.
[35:41] Can you all start seeing Sunday morning as the flagship discipleship event in our lives together? This is where we gather as disciples, where we're engaging non-Christians, evangelizing non-Christians, and establishing and equipping Christians to then scatter out for Jesus so that we're all laying our lives down, learning from, living for, becoming like Jesus, all because we love Him.
[36:15] If you want more on this, listen to last week's sermon. The fourth opportunity I want you to be aware of in terms of moving people towards Jesus is moving your non-Christian friends and family and co-workers to Jesus.
[36:38] I'm not going to give you a four-point, step-by-step, how to evangelize them right now. I'm just going to, I'm going to give you some recommendations to start preparing your heart for that.
[36:52] Start praying for specific non-Christians God has put into your life. Start praying for them by name. Start imagining them standing before Jesus and standing before Jesus' throne someday.
[37:08] Let that burden you. be burdened for your non-Christian friends and family. Be asking God for opportunities to bear witness to God's grace to them.
[37:24] God, give me an opportunity to speak to my CPA. I got to share the gospel with my CPA this past week. He didn't buy it. But man, was it clear.
[37:37] He didn't buy it. One of the greatest questions you can be asking yourself in preparation of talking to your non-Christian friends and family, what difference is Jesus making in your life right now?
[37:53] Tell them, I've got hope. I'm not afraid. I'm looking forward to.
[38:04] I've got strength for today. Hope for tomorrow. I was so encouraged to hear that the women's book club, their next book is The Gospel Comes with a House Key.
[38:18] And I would just encourage every woman to get into that women's book club to read that book. Because that's going to speak of hospitality as an engagement tool with non-Christians.
[38:32] It's a great book. And brothers and sisters, in terms of other opportunities coming, we've got something brewing right now in our church. An evangelistic tool for a whole church to lay hold of.
[38:47] But it's in the early stages. And there will be a time to share more of it. But pray, pray, pray that God would bring together a team for our whole church to use an evangelistic tool.
[39:04] Where does this discipleship take place? wherever there are disciples. These are the opportunities before us. Wherever the church is, we are making disciples.
[39:16] We are moving people towards Jesus. And we have opportunities in front of us right now. Why are there so many people who profess to be disciples but are not making disciples?
[39:28] disciples? Because of a disconnect. And this morning with the Great Commission, I wanted to help make the connection for you. That His great authority over us, we need to feel the weight of that.
[39:44] That His great promise to us, we take courage from that. That this great task entrusted to us, we act on that. We move people towards Jesus because we've got great opportunities to make disciples right here, right now.
[40:03] You're going to leave this building this morning, walking under a door frame that's going to say, you are now entering your mission field. Wherever there are disciples, there must be disciple making.
[40:18] Where are disciples made? Spirit, wherever you are, you've been commissioned. Next week is going to be a call to prayer because this work is way bigger than any one of us.
[40:33] Let me pray. God in heaven, would you do a work in us that you get us over our fears, that you help us to step out in faith, and that you give us words to speak of your goodness towards us in Christ.
[40:51] God, would you do a work by your spirit in which the gospel goes out from Christ the King Church in power, and that you move non-Christians to faith in Jesus, and you move Christians to greater, greater degrees of discipleship, more and more maturity, greater and greater equipping God to send more and more out.
[41:13] Lord, only you can do that, Lord. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.