WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.200 Today we're going to focus on these two great topics of discipleship and mission. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:12.280 This is the first Sunday of the year and it's a really good opportunity for us to stop and 00:00:12.280 --> 00:00:20.640 to think about what our priorities are as individual believers and as a church together. 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:26.679 And two of our greatest priorities should always be what we have before us there, discipleship 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:27.679 and mission. 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:34.840 They're both big topics and today as I suppose is always the case, we'll only just scratch 00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:35.840 the surface. 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:38.320 And what I want to do is just something very simple. 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:42.439 I want us to ask five questions. 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:45.439 What are we talking about when we say discipleship and mission? 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:46.719 Why do we do it? 00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:47.719 Who does it? 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:49.359 How do we do it? 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:53.719 And now what are the implications of it? 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:56.920 What why, who how and now? 00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:00.440 We'll just look at each one very, very briefly together today. 00:01:00.440 --> 00:01:05.400 So when we talk about discipleship and mission, what do we mean? 00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:07.960 What are we referring to? 00:01:07.960 --> 00:01:13.079 Well the basic meaning of these terms is really very simple and that's something to really 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:17.960 emphasize that we don't want or need to over complicate this in any way. 00:01:17.960 --> 00:01:22.560 A disciple is simply somebody who is a follower of Jesus. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:23.560 That's what Jesus did. 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:27.480 He called people to follow him and they did exactly that. 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:31.159 They went after him and they learned from him. 00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:39.120 And ever since those days, the gospel message has been calling people to become followers 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:40.800 of Jesus. 00:01:40.800 --> 00:01:48.480 And so when we talk about discipleship, really all we're talking about is our growth and 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:56.040 our development as we seek to follow Jesus, as we seek to become more effective disciples 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:58.960 who are following our Savior. 00:01:58.960 --> 00:02:05.600 And mission simply refers to the fact that as disciples we have a goal and a purpose. 00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:11.879 And that goal is to fulfill the command that Jesus gave to go and make disciples of all 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:13.500 nations. 00:02:13.500 --> 00:02:18.840 So when we talk about discipleship, we're just talking about growth and maturity and becoming 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:21.439 more and more like our Savior. 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:27.159 When we talk about mission, we're talking about being a witness for Jesus, of heralding 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:31.000 and sharing the good news. 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:35.159 And these are two of the great goals of the Christian life. 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:40.080 And from the very beginning, when Jesus began to call disciples, these two emphasis are 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:41.080 there. 00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:44.240 We saw that in the first passage that we read. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:51.240 There's two key phrases in that section of scripture on the screen, Matthew 10, 1 to 00:02:51.240 --> 00:02:52.240 5. 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:54.960 One of the key phrases is in verse 1. 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:58.360 The other key phrase is in verse 5. 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:04.560 It says, Jesus called to him the twelve disciples. 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:10.920 And then in verse 5, it says, these twelve, Jesus sent out. 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:15.119 And those two phrases are highlighting our two great themes today. 00:03:15.119 --> 00:03:19.439 The fact that we're called to follow Jesus as disciples and the fact that we are sent 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:23.879 out by Jesus on a mission. 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:33.719 And what I also want us to recognize is that these two areas are inextricably linked. 00:03:33.719 --> 00:03:39.479 Sometimes we focus on one or on the other, so we maybe talk about mission on the one 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:42.879 hand, with discipleship on the one hand, mission on the other. 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:46.639 We can think of these two things as separate. 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:49.039 But it should never be a case of either or. 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:56.799 It should always be a case of both and, because these two areas always feed into each other. 00:03:56.799 --> 00:04:03.599 Because the goal of discipleship is to go out on mission. 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:08.319 And the goal of mission is to bring in more disciples. 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:10.039 So we can see that with a wee picture there. 00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:12.400 The writing's a bit small, but I'm sure you can see it. 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:18.000 That people start to follow Jesus, and so they are disciples. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:19.319 They grow in their faith. 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:23.279 As they grow, they become equipped to share the gospel. 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:27.560 As a result, they can go out with the gospel and engage in mission work. 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:30.439 Through that mission work, other people come to faith. 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:33.199 So they become new believers who are then disciples. 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:36.800 And so it goes on and on and on and on and on. 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:43.120 And these two means are the means by which Jesus has been building his church ever since 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:47.400 the days when he called his first disciples. 00:04:47.400 --> 00:04:54.080 And it's a great reminder that, as I'm sure you've probably been told before, there are 00:04:54.080 --> 00:04:57.800 really ultimately only two categories of people. 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:04.439 There are missionaries, and there are those who are a mission field. 00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:11.360 And so we're all either disciples being prepared to go out with this gospel message, or we 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:16.120 are the mission field who desperately needs to hear it. 00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:19.920 And that's a really, really important thing to remember. 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:25.639 When we talk about mission, we're not talking about going overseas necessarily. 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:29.680 Mission means out there in Edinburgh. 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:37.639 Mission means among your family, your friends, in your school with your colleagues. 00:05:37.639 --> 00:05:41.199 These are the great mission fields of 2019. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:45.519 And every week, at the beginning of the week, on a Sunday morning, we come together, and 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:49.439 then for the rest of the week, we scatter. 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:54.600 And God is placing you all in offices and schools and communities and workplaces and 00:05:54.600 --> 00:06:00.040 homes where you can be a witness for him. 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:05.480 So as we grow in faith, we want that growth to equip us so that we can stand out in the 00:06:05.480 --> 00:06:11.879 world and reach out with the good news, so that many, many, many more people will become 00:06:11.879 --> 00:06:15.040 disciples as well. 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:18.760 The two go hand in hand. 00:06:18.760 --> 00:06:22.400 So why is it important when we talk about discipleship and mission? 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:25.479 Our second question is why? 00:06:25.479 --> 00:06:29.279 There's an awful lot that we could say here, but I want us just to focus on two key truths 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:36.039 that Matthew 10 and Matthew 11 are setting before us. 00:06:36.039 --> 00:06:38.879 And these two key truths are as follows. 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:45.879 We want to engage in discipleship and mission because Jesus is Lord, and history has changed 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:48.519 forever. 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:55.120 Very often in the Bible, we can read statements that look pretty simple and seem fairly straightforward, 00:06:55.120 --> 00:07:00.240 but behind them lie massive truths concerning history and reality. 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:06.799 And we see an example of that in Matthew 11 at the very beginning where we read, when 00:07:06.799 --> 00:07:11.839 John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:14.319 said to him, are you in the church? 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:18.680 And about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, are 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:23.279 you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:24.480 John's question seems really simple. 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:26.639 He's basically asking, has the Messiah come? 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:29.079 Has God's anointed king come? 00:07:29.079 --> 00:07:33.159 And that was, of course, a really important question for the Jews because up to this 00:07:33.159 --> 00:07:39.279 point, the religious lives of the Jewish people was bound up with a hope and expectation 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:45.719 that one day God's anointed king, the Messiah, was going to come. 00:07:45.719 --> 00:07:50.959 But what we have to recognize is that the coming of the Messiah is not just a turning 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:53.399 point for Jews. 00:07:53.399 --> 00:07:57.639 It's the turning point for the whole universe. 00:07:57.639 --> 00:08:00.759 All of history is centered on this point. 00:08:00.759 --> 00:08:06.679 Prior to the coming of Jesus, the whole universe is under the illegitimate rule of the kingdom 00:08:06.679 --> 00:08:08.959 of darkness. 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:15.959 Humanity has failed in its God-appointed duty to rule over God's creation, and instead, 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:19.560 sin has wrecked the world and has wrecked humanity. 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:25.159 And the hope that humanity and the universe has is that in the midst of this situation 00:08:25.159 --> 00:08:33.079 where sin has wrecked the world, God's appointed king, his Messiah, is going to come and establish 00:08:33.079 --> 00:08:38.279 God's kingdom and put things right. 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:43.879 That's the great goal of the Messiah, to put things right. 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:48.559 And the fact that he has come is the turning point of all history. 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:51.679 It's the moment when the world changes forever. 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:57.759 On that day, the great restoration work is going to get underway. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:07.360 God is going to restore a broken world, and he's going to raise up a new humanity. 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:12.120 And John is saying, has that day really come? 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:16.159 Has the moment really come? 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:19.000 And Jesus gives the most brilliant answer. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:22.120 He answers him and says, go and tell John what you see and hear. 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:25.320 The blind receive their sight and the lame walk. 00:09:25.320 --> 00:09:30.159 Leopards are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:36.000 good news preached to them. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:41.080 John knew that the Messiah was coming to fix humanity. 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:45.559 So when Jesus sends John's disciples back to him with an answer, he says, go and tell 00:09:45.559 --> 00:09:51.399 John that humanity is being fixed. 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:55.840 The work of restoration has begun. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:10:00.120 Jesus has come to put things right. 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:02.600 History has changed forever. 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:05.960 And all of that means that ultimately there's two humanities. 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:09.840 There's the old humanity, which is still under the destructive power of sin. 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:15.400 And then there's the new humanity, which is being restored through union with Jesus Christ. 00:10:15.400 --> 00:10:21.200 And that new humanity is made up of disciples of Jesus Christ. 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:27.879 And these disciples have got a great mission to bring this good news of restoration to everyone 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:32.440 in the old humanity across all the nations of the world. 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:35.360 So that means that when we're talking about discipleship and mission, we're not talking 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:37.360 about small things. 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:42.240 We're not talking about just something that churches do. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:47.800 We are talking about the outworking of the central turning point of history. 00:10:47.800 --> 00:10:54.519 We are talking about the transformation of the world. 00:10:54.519 --> 00:11:02.080 In Jesus Christ, the age of restoration has been inaugurated, and it's going to culminate 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:08.680 when He returns where there will be a new heavens and a new earth. 00:11:08.680 --> 00:11:12.440 That means that the whole reason that there are disciples and the whole reason why they're 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:18.879 on mission is because 2,000 years ago, history changed forever. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:23.320 And at the heart of that change is the fact that Jesus is Lord. 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:28.120 The decisive change that took place in the coming of the Messiah is the fact that God's 00:11:28.120 --> 00:11:30.320 kingdom rule has now begun. 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:36.120 That's why when Jesus began his message, he said, the time is fulfilled, the kingdom 00:11:36.120 --> 00:11:39.120 of God is at hand. 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:43.360 That kingdom is ruled by God's King, Jesus Christ. 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:48.440 And as a result, all citizens who come into that kingdom are under His rule. 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:52.960 That's what we mean when we say that Jesus is Lord. 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:56.960 And that's part of the reason why He performed the miracles that He did to show that He has 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:03.320 authority, authority over nature, authority over illnesses, authority over demons, authority 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:05.560 even over death. 00:12:05.560 --> 00:12:07.440 He is Lord. 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:14.360 And that lordship extends over all aspects of discipleship and mission. 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:18.960 We saw that emphasized at the beginning and at the end of our readings. 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:25.080 At the very start, He called His disciples to Him and He gave them authority because 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:26.080 He is Lord. 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:31.680 And at the end, we read in Matthew 11, 27, how He says, all things have been handed 00:12:31.680 --> 00:12:34.240 over to me by my Father. 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:38.400 And that's a very simple point, but it's a really important one. 00:12:38.400 --> 00:12:44.080 All discipleship and mission is under the lordship of Jesus Christ. 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:47.680 It's His kingdom that we call people into. 00:12:47.680 --> 00:12:49.920 It's His message that we reach out with. 00:12:49.920 --> 00:12:52.560 He is the leader who the disciples follow. 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:59.679 And in every part of our lives, we want to live under His lordship. 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:07.279 Now this is something that we have to protect and something that we have to guard because 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:14.239 in 2019, there's a lot of forces competing for lordship over you. 00:13:14.239 --> 00:13:20.839 Now that might be a private temptation to sin that nobody else knows about, but yet 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:26.399 it's trying to dominate you and trying to have authority over you. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:35.440 Or it might be the great anti-Christian ideologies that seem to be so prominent in our world 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:36.440 today. 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:48.879 Either way, there's a huge amount of pressure to dethrone Jesus from being Lord of our lives 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:51.960 and for something else to take his place. 00:13:51.960 --> 00:14:00.039 We want to make sure that we live under His lordship and our great goal and prayer is that 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:06.519 His lordship would be extended into the lives of others as well. 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:16.080 And it's a great reminder that at the heart of discipleship and mission is obedience. 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:18.240 And that's a very important thing to remember. 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:24.120 One we can think that when it comes to discipleship and it comes to mission that the most important 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:33.320 things are success or fruit or growth or progress or achievement, that we're only pleasing 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:39.519 God if everything is booming and going really, really well. 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:43.159 It's not true. 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:52.719 The most important thing is obedience because Jesus is Lord and we love Him and we are committed 00:14:52.719 --> 00:15:01.079 to discipleship and mission because we want to obey Him and live for Him. 00:15:01.079 --> 00:15:02.600 So why do we engage in discipleship? 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:09.679 We do so because Jesus is Lord and history has changed forever. 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:14.120 Another question is who? 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:15.719 Who's discipleship and mission for? 00:15:15.719 --> 00:15:18.079 Who are the people who should be involved? 00:15:18.079 --> 00:15:23.319 Well when we hear these words discipleship and mission, we can very easily think that 00:15:23.319 --> 00:15:27.639 these are categories reserved for the elite. 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:32.479 So there's the ordinary Christians who on the whole are struggling and mucking up in 00:15:32.479 --> 00:15:34.359 their lives. 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:41.200 And then there's the elite and the elite are the ones who are really plugged into discipleship 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:43.480 and who are really engaged in mission. 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:51.080 And it's very easy to think that these are the ones that God is really interested in. 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:57.680 That discipleship and mission is for the elite. 00:15:57.680 --> 00:16:00.080 Is that true? 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:03.639 No, for lots of reasons. 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:08.080 Jesus tells us that actually the opposite is true. 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:12.240 The complete opposite is true. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:17.639 The brilliant statement there in 11, 25, 26. 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:22.240 At that time Jesus declared, I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've hidden 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:29.080 these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:36.360 Yes Father, for such was your gracious will. 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:45.280 In other words, the great truths of God's kingdom are not for the elite religious intellectuals, 00:16:45.280 --> 00:16:52.360 therefore the people whose knowledge and expertise and skill is such that they are like little 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:55.520 children. 00:16:55.519 --> 00:17:00.360 And little children need to learn a lot. 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:03.840 Little children make a lot of mistakes. 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:08.000 Little children are vulnerable. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:16.119 And Jesus says that's exactly the kind of people to whom God wants to reveal the truths 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:22.619 of his kingdom. 00:17:22.619 --> 00:17:27.959 So if you try to read the Bible with a friend and you get stuck with a question you can't 00:17:27.959 --> 00:17:35.319 answer or you reach a passage that maybe seems a wee bit unclear or you're really nervous 00:17:35.319 --> 00:17:42.799 doing it and you feel awkward and you think I am so totally, totally not cut out for this, 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:51.079 Jesus says, exactly the kind of person that I can use. 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:54.000 He's not revealed these things to the elite. 00:17:54.000 --> 00:18:00.879 He's revealed it to little children. 00:18:00.879 --> 00:18:07.559 It's a great reminder that discipleship and mission are not elitists, therefore everyone 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:09.720 in God's kingdom. 00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:15.319 And it's reinforced for us further by the great words of Matthew 11, 28. 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:21.480 Matthew 11, 28 is one of the most famous verses in the Bible and often we can take that verse 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:25.359 on its own and we can discover so many amazing truths. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:30.319 But it's really important to also remember that verse 28 comes after verse 27. 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:32.639 So what does Jesus say in verse 27? 00:18:32.639 --> 00:18:40.679 Well in verse 27 Jesus is talking about the most privileged people on the planet, the 00:18:40.679 --> 00:18:44.960 most privileged group of people on planet earth. 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:49.120 The people to whom the Son will reveal the Father. 00:18:49.120 --> 00:18:52.640 All things have been handed over to my Father and no one knows the Father except the Son 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:58.079 and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal 00:18:58.079 --> 00:18:59.840 Him. 00:18:59.840 --> 00:19:06.600 It's impossible to exaggerate the magnitude of that statement that Jesus is saying that 00:19:06.600 --> 00:19:10.840 there are people to whom God Himself is going to be revealed. 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:15.119 So you think of all the great names of the Old Testament who had a glimpse of God, Abraham, 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:21.919 Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, these are the forerunners of a unique category of people 00:19:21.919 --> 00:19:25.279 to whom God is going to reveal Himself. 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:34.759 And you ask yourself, you think, who, who on earth would fall into that category? 00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:42.000 And you think it would be the strong, the wise, the holy, the devout, the faithful, the 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:43.119 capable. 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:48.680 So if Jesus is going to tell the people who are going to be revealed to them, He's going 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:54.319 to tell these people, these super people to come to Him, isn't He? 00:19:54.319 --> 00:20:01.720 So He says, come and I'll reveal amazing stuff to you, you super capable, wonderful, astonishing 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:02.720 people. 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:13.279 Well, in verse 27 He calls them, He says, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden. 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:15.279 And I will give you rest. 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:17.559 Now isn't that amazing? 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:21.160 Jesus doesn't call the strong or the capable or the wise because they don't really exist 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:23.000 anyway. 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:28.960 He calls the weary and the burden. 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:35.360 And it's a wonderful reminder of the fact that Jesus meets us where we are. 00:20:35.360 --> 00:20:42.319 And I want you to always, always remember that, that Jesus meets us where we are. 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:46.920 If anyone here is not yet a Christian or not sure about where they stand before God, you 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:52.920 need to remember that, that Jesus meets us where we are. 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:57.279 So you don't need to renovate yourself in order to become a Christian. 00:20:57.279 --> 00:21:01.000 You don't need to sort yourself out before Jesus will listen to you. 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:05.480 You don't need to make yourself attractive so that Jesus will notice you. 00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:08.399 You don't need to reach a certain standard. 00:21:08.399 --> 00:21:17.160 You just need to come to Jesus as you are because He meets us where we are. 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:19.319 And so if you're not yet a Christian, you need to remember that. 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:23.119 But as Christians, we also need to remember that. 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:32.599 So as we want to engage in discipleship and mission as a congregation, Jesus meets us 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:36.199 where we are. 00:21:36.199 --> 00:21:44.159 So who are the Christians in here whom Jesus wants to help grow into maturity? 00:21:44.159 --> 00:21:48.799 Who are the Christians who Jesus wants to use as his witnesses? 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:58.799 Who are the Christians who are 100% ready to get involved in discipleship and mission? 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:03.200 Which ones is it? 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:07.839 All of you. 00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:10.240 Every one of you. 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:12.440 Because discipleship is for everyone. 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:13.519 Mission is for everyone. 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:16.039 We are all in it together. 00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:17.919 We all need each other. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:19.840 We all work together. 00:22:19.840 --> 00:22:24.039 And our weaknesses and our baggage don't matter. 00:22:24.039 --> 00:22:31.440 Jesus says that's exactly the kind of people I'm going to work with. 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:32.840 Our second last question is how? 00:22:32.840 --> 00:22:37.240 When we talk about discipleship and mission, how do we do it? 00:22:37.240 --> 00:22:41.400 Well again, there's a lot that we could say and I want us to highlight two or three points 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:45.600 that Matthew chapter 11 sets before us. 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:51.439 First thing that is highlighted for us in Matthew 11 is that discipleship and mission 00:22:51.439 --> 00:22:55.119 involve responding to Jesus in the right way. 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:56.119 That makes perfect sense. 00:22:56.119 --> 00:23:01.719 If Jesus is Lord, then we should respond to him, to his claims and to his commands in 00:23:01.719 --> 00:23:03.279 the appropriate way. 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:08.559 And yet Jesus emphasizes that that's the very opposite of what the people around him 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:09.559 were doing. 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:12.719 He says, to what should I compare this generation? 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:16.360 It's like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to their playmates. 00:23:16.360 --> 00:23:18.839 We played the flute for you and you did not dance. 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:21.000 We sang a dirge and you did not mourn. 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:24.519 For John came neither eating nor drinking and they say he has a demon. 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:27.680 The son of man came eating and drinking and they say, look at him. 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:32.680 A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collector and sinner. 00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:36.600 Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds. 00:23:36.600 --> 00:23:41.799 Jesus rebukes the people by comparing them to children who are stubbornly refusing to 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.000 respond to the opportunities that have been given to them. 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:48.000 So no matter what their friends offer, they disagree. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:49.440 Do you want to be cheerful and dance? 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:50.440 No. 00:23:50.440 --> 00:23:51.720 Do you want to be serious and mourn? 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:52.720 No. 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:55.119 Whatever the option, the answer is no. 00:23:55.119 --> 00:24:00.359 We would probably use the phrase shifting the goalposts to express the same thing. 00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:04.759 It's a very kind of childish way to behave. 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:09.879 Sometimes you have children and they can maybe, they say that they're really, really hungry. 00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:13.920 And so you say, here, here's some food, I don't want to eat it. 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:19.240 And you can shift the goalposts and say no, no matter what. 00:24:19.240 --> 00:24:20.400 Adults do it as well. 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:22.160 We do it in lots of different ways. 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:29.360 So we complain that high street shops are shutting down and yet we hate it when the high 00:24:29.360 --> 00:24:31.680 street is busy. 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:36.640 We hate seeing farmers exploited, but we all go and buy the cheapest milk. 00:24:36.640 --> 00:24:41.240 We're very good at shifting the goalposts depending on what suits us. 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:44.720 And Jesus' point is that people do that towards God. 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:47.080 So they rejected John because he abstained. 00:24:47.080 --> 00:24:49.600 They rejected Jesus because he didn't abstain. 00:24:49.600 --> 00:24:55.960 They used any excuse they could to keep shifting the goalposts and reject God. 00:24:55.960 --> 00:25:00.680 And that action demonstrates their lack of wisdom, as Jesus says, wisdom is justified 00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:03.300 by their deeds. 00:25:03.300 --> 00:25:05.560 People have been doing that ever since. 00:25:05.559 --> 00:25:08.960 The world is not submitting to the Lordship of Jesus. 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:11.119 The world is not following him. 00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:15.599 And the foolishness of that is evident all around us. 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:20.879 The key point is that disciples are different. 00:25:20.879 --> 00:25:25.720 Disciples are following Jesus, even though the rest of the world is doing everything 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:28.839 they can to ignore him or reject him. 00:25:28.839 --> 00:25:33.639 That's why a key part of being a disciple is being different. 00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:37.080 It means being different. 00:25:37.080 --> 00:25:41.200 And so you need to be ready to stand out in a world that's ignoring Jesus. 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:44.040 You need to be ready to stand out in a good way. 00:25:44.040 --> 00:25:49.200 So when everybody else at work is being impatient, be patient. 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:52.840 When everyone else at work has been harsh, be gentle. 00:25:52.840 --> 00:25:59.800 When everybody else at work is looking after themselves, be unselfish and considerate. 00:25:59.799 --> 00:26:05.119 Stand out in a good way because we need to be different. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:08.919 As disciples, we need to respond to Jesus in the right way. 00:26:08.919 --> 00:26:12.200 Which of course raises the question, what is the right way? 00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:16.759 That's also highlighted before us in this chapter, that discipleship and mission are 00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:19.480 grounded in repentance. 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:22.720 So discipleship and mission involve responding to Jesus in the right way. 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:25.879 They're also grounded in repentance. 00:26:25.880 --> 00:26:32.440 In verses 20 to 24, Jesus rebukes the cities which witnessed many of his great works. 00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:33.760 Why was it that he rebuked them? 00:26:33.760 --> 00:26:35.040 Well, the answer is in verse 20. 00:26:35.040 --> 00:26:36.880 Can you see what he says? 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:41.040 He began to denounce the city where most of his mighty works has been done because they 00:26:41.040 --> 00:26:44.600 did not repent. 00:26:44.600 --> 00:26:48.040 And the key point is that even though these places had great experiences, they had not 00:26:48.040 --> 00:26:49.560 done the most important thing. 00:26:49.560 --> 00:26:51.560 They had not repented. 00:26:51.559 --> 00:26:56.039 And repentance is the key action required for entry into the kingdom of God. 00:26:56.039 --> 00:27:01.240 You'll remember that Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent and believe in 00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:02.319 the gospel. 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:08.960 That word, repent, is a brilliant word because it basically means to turn around, to change 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:12.879 your thinking and to go in a new direction. 00:27:12.879 --> 00:27:14.319 And it makes perfect sense. 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:18.799 It makes perfect sense because Jesus has come to inaugurate the kingdom age. 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:23.919 God is putting things right and restoring a new humanity out of the wreckage that sin 00:27:23.919 --> 00:27:25.200 has caused. 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:28.359 Old humanity is on a path to destruction. 00:27:28.359 --> 00:27:38.240 And so the new humanity needs to turn around and think and live in a new way. 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:42.960 And one of the points been emphasized by Jesus is that the priority for mission and discipleship 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:45.359 is not experience. 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:47.279 It's repentance. 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:51.799 So often we prioritize the value of experience in our spiritual lives. 00:27:51.799 --> 00:27:54.240 So we think, wouldn't it be amazing to see great days? 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:59.960 Wouldn't it be amazing to see what places like Capernaum and Bethsaida saw when Jesus 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:00.960 did his mighty works? 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:03.639 We think, wouldn't it be amazing to have an experience like that? 00:28:03.639 --> 00:28:11.680 And yet Jesus says that kind of experience is irrelevant in comparison to repentance. 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:19.799 In fact, without repentance, these experiences can even count against you. 00:28:19.799 --> 00:28:24.759 Because God's great goal is not that we would witness from remarkable events. 00:28:24.759 --> 00:28:28.519 God's great goal is that we would enter the new humanity. 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:34.680 And the way that we do that is to turn away from the old one and to follow Jesus. 00:28:34.680 --> 00:28:41.799 Discipleship and mission is grounded in repentance. 00:28:41.799 --> 00:28:46.880 And we also see that discipleship and mission involve learning. 00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:48.279 Jesus says that towards the end of the chapter. 00:28:48.279 --> 00:28:52.799 He says, take my yoga upon you and learn from me. 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:55.600 Now this is a very important point. 00:28:55.600 --> 00:29:01.080 Learning is an absolutely fundamental aspect of discipleship. 00:29:01.079 --> 00:29:05.279 That's what the Greek word for disciple means, just basically means to be a learner. 00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:06.839 And it makes perfect sense. 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:11.879 Everything, everything about the Gospel makes perfect sense when we think about it. 00:29:11.879 --> 00:29:13.519 Repentance means to change your thinking. 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:16.119 We're no longer following our old way of thinking. 00:29:16.119 --> 00:29:18.519 Instead we think in a new way. 00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:21.639 That means we've got a lot to learn. 00:29:21.639 --> 00:29:27.319 And when I look back about my own experience as a Christian, there's two things that amaze 00:29:27.319 --> 00:29:29.839 me. 00:29:29.839 --> 00:29:37.439 One is that I became a disciple knowing so little. 00:29:37.439 --> 00:29:47.159 I think back to when I became a Christian, I knew so, so little about anything in terms 00:29:47.159 --> 00:29:49.519 of the Gospel. 00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:54.000 And yet it's a great reminder that we're not saved by knowledge, we're saved by faith. 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:56.599 And so I'm amazed at how little I knew when I started. 00:29:56.599 --> 00:30:02.240 But the second thing that I'm amazed about is that as a disciple, I have learned so much. 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:04.359 And there's still so much that I don't know. 00:30:04.359 --> 00:30:09.559 But boy, I have discovered so much amazing stuff in the Bible. 00:30:09.559 --> 00:30:16.319 And life and the universe makes sense when you see it through a biblical worldview. 00:30:16.319 --> 00:30:20.399 Learning from Jesus is absolutely thrilling. 00:30:20.399 --> 00:30:25.439 That's why it's brilliant to be studying something like the New City Catechism together. 00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:28.720 And answer is a brilliant way to learn. 00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:32.519 And so when we ask the question, what's our only hope in life and death, the answer is 00:30:32.519 --> 00:30:33.519 superb. 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:39.240 That we're not our own, but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and 00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:42.360 to our Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:30:42.360 --> 00:30:43.680 That's teaching us so much. 00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:46.720 It's teaching us that if we trust in Jesus, we belong to God. 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:50.960 We are His possession, so we are utterly safe. 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:54.759 We are His treasure, so we are incredibly special. 00:30:54.759 --> 00:30:57.480 We're His child, so we are forever loved. 00:30:57.480 --> 00:31:03.920 There's so many amazing things to learn from Jesus. 00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:08.599 And in our work of mission, we aim to teach people, Jesus said, to go and make disciples 00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:10.240 and to teach people. 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:11.799 And that's a really important thing to remember. 00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:16.440 We're not just shouting at the world, trying to get them to listen. 00:31:16.440 --> 00:31:20.879 We want to actually teach them the truth. 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:25.360 We want to teach the world the truth. 00:31:25.360 --> 00:31:32.080 And if you're not a Christian, you've really got to ask yourself that question about truth. 00:31:32.080 --> 00:31:39.120 What is truth about, what is the truth about life and death, about you, about the world? 00:31:39.120 --> 00:31:41.520 Where are you going to find the answer to that? 00:31:41.520 --> 00:31:50.280 We're here to say that the answer is in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. 00:31:50.279 --> 00:31:55.119 So discipleship and mission involve learning. 00:31:55.119 --> 00:31:59.440 So last of all, we're going to say now, what's the implications of all this? 00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:02.079 Well, in 2019, we want to grow as disciples. 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:05.000 We want to reach out and engage in the work of mission. 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.480 We do that because Jesus is Lord, because history has changed forever. 00:32:09.480 --> 00:32:16.680 We don't do that as experts or as religious elite, but as little children who are weary 00:32:16.680 --> 00:32:20.840 and who are completely dependent on Jesus. 00:32:20.840 --> 00:32:23.080 And we want to take up his work. 00:32:23.080 --> 00:32:24.960 We want to serve him. 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:27.360 We want to live for him. 00:32:27.360 --> 00:32:30.519 And in one sense, that involves a lot of hard work. 00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:35.360 There's lots to do, lots to learn, lots of ways to serve, lots of things that we need 00:32:35.360 --> 00:32:37.400 to get involved in. 00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:42.120 There's a sense in which discipleship and mission involves working very hard. 00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:48.000 But I want to close by emphasizing that Jesus reminds us of something else that's really 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:49.000 important. 00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:55.919 Yes, living the Christian life can involve hard work. 00:32:55.919 --> 00:33:07.799 But the truth is, following Jesus is actually where we find true rest, where we find true 00:33:07.799 --> 00:33:13.480 peace, where we find real purpose for our lives. 00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:21.319 So I says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. 00:33:21.319 --> 00:33:24.960 And you will find rest for your souls. 00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:30.480 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:36.119 There are so many things in 2019 that are going to try and consume your time and your 00:33:36.119 --> 00:33:41.079 energy. 00:33:41.079 --> 00:33:46.959 All those things will ultimately give you tiredness. 00:33:46.959 --> 00:33:54.439 So the busyness of work and the pressure of emails and the stress of finances and all 00:33:54.439 --> 00:33:58.759 of these different things, ultimately all those things will give you tiredness. 00:33:58.759 --> 00:34:03.479 But serving Jesus will give you rest. 00:34:03.480 --> 00:34:09.920 That's why being a disciple is brilliant. 00:34:09.920 --> 00:34:12.920 Let's pray. 00:34:12.920 --> 00:34:26.119 Dear God, our Father, we pray that in the year ahead in our individual lives, in our 00:34:26.119 --> 00:34:34.519 families and as a congregation, that we would be engaged in this work of discipleship and 00:34:34.519 --> 00:34:41.960 mission, that we would grow in faith ourselves, that we would build each other up, but also 00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:49.839 that we will be able to reach out and welcome new people in so that they too will grow and 00:34:49.839 --> 00:34:53.719 be discipled and be ready to serve as well. 00:34:53.719 --> 00:34:59.759 We pray that in everything we would do it with our eyes fixed on Jesus, our Lord and 00:34:59.759 --> 00:35:01.599 our Savior. 00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:07.759 We thank you that He came and that He changed history forever. 00:35:07.759 --> 00:35:11.759 We thank you that you have changed all of us as well. 00:35:11.759 --> 00:35:17.519 We just pray that you would lead us on in your ways so that we would all serve you while 00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:19.519 we live our lives. 00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:26.519 Amen.