“Unparalleled Commission”
Series: The Mystery Revealed
Sunday, February 15, 2009; Matthew 28:18-20
Introduction: It is interesting that the end of the gospel is actually the beginning of our story. As Jesus was coming to the end of His time here on earth, it actually marks the start of our ministry. Up to this point the disciples were following Jesus, watching Jesus, and taking in all that Jesus was doing. They were followers, disciples, but they had not been set loose to really do ministry. Jesus has sent them out a couple of times, but this was really just a test; a trial period.
As we look at our scripture passage for the morning, Matthew 28:19-20, I want us to understand that Jesus is giving us an unparalleled commission; a commission like no other has ever been given. But even more, it is a commission with a promise; the promise that we will have Jesus’ presence, and Jesus’ power. It seems straight forward, but there is much to understand.
I. Jesus assures them of power- (John 1:1; 14:1-6, 11-14, 16:7, 12-15; Matthew 8:29)
a. All authority- We start out by seeing that Jesus claims to have all
authority. I say that He claims to have authority, because you can say you have something, but it doesn’t mean you really possess it. Jesus was very confident when He made this statement. What makes Jesus so confident?
1. Jesus is confident because He knows where He comes
from. Jesus knows that He is from heaven. In the gospel of John, 1:1, we are told: “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” Jesus is the Word become flesh. Jesus came from heaven to earth to guide us, and lead us, and save us. Jesus walks with authority, and talks with authority because of where He is from. Jesus knows that even though He is on the earth, His place of origin is heaven.
2. Jesus is confident because He knows who He is. Along
with knowing where He comes from, Jesus knows who He is. Throughout the gospels Jesus is trying to help the disciples, and others know who He is; the Son of God. Jesus is very clear of who He is. It is interesting to see that even though people struggled to fully understand who Jesus was, the demons did not.
In one scene, Jesus encounters 2 demon-possessed men. As they come upon Jesus, they say in Matthew 8:29, “What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” The demons know exactly who Jesus is and the power that Jesus possesses. They know that Jesus has the power to remove them, exorcise them from the men.
I could do a whole sermon on who Jesus is, but for this morning, it is important to know that because of who Jesus is, the Son of God, God in the flesh, Jesus possesses the power of God.
3. Jesus is confident because Third, Jesus is confident
because He knows where He is going. In John 14:1-3 we hear Jesus saying: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 My Father's house has plenty of room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” Jesus here is telling the disciples that He is going to go back to heaven. Because He is going back to heaven, He will be restored to His heavenly place, and in so doing, will again have the full power of being God, the Son. From heaven, Jesus will be able to assist believers in many ways, one of which is to pass on His power to us.
b. Power passed on- In John 16, Jesus tells the disciples why He had
to leave; John 16:7- “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” We see the third part of the Trinity at work. Jesus had to leave, so the Holy Spirit could come to live within us. By living within us, we are given access to God’s power, as Jesus tells us in John 16:12-15: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
Jesus had also taught the disciples that by faith they could do great works. In John 14:11-14 Jesus says: “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Because through faith, Jesus passes on His power to us, we are able to do all that God calls us and commissions us to do! But we must have faith, we must believe this to be true, or we won’t step out.
Now an important note, is that we need to trust in Jesus, and learn how to access the power of Jesus. Jesus tells us that nothing is impossible with God, but most things are impossible without God. This is not about us trying to show off power, but rather trying to utilize God’s power to do God’s work.
II. Jesus gives them a commission- (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:3-4)
a. Go- As Jesus gives the disciples the commission, He simply says, “Go.”
Illus.- (from Charles Swindoll’s, Come Before Winter devotional, pp. 283-284).
On March 10, 1904, the London Daily Illustrated Mirror challenged Houdini to escape from a special pair of handcuffs they had prepared. There were 6 locks on each cuff and 9 tumblers on each lock. On March 17 a crowd of 4,000 spectators came to witness Houdini try and escape. At precisely 3:15 p.m. Houdini was handcuffed, and then he stepped into an empty cabinet, which came up to his waist. For 20 minutes he squatted down, out of sight, working feverishly to get loose. He then stood up and smiled to the crowd. The crowd began to applaud thinking that he was free; but he was not. He asked if he could have more light. He knelt back down, out of sight, and worked for another 15 minutes. When he stood up the crowd again began to applaud. This time Houdini told them that he had to stretch his legs. Down in the cabinet he went for another 20 minutes, as the crowd began to murmur. A third time Houdini stood up, and a third time the crowd applauded. This time Houdini jumped out of the cabinet, grabbed a knife with his teeth, and pulled his jacket over his head. He then cut it into pieces until he could remove it, explaining to the crowd that he was getting hot! Jumping back into the cabinet he worked for another 10 minutes. With a dramatic flourish he jumped from the box showing that he was free!! Houdini had achieved the incredible, if not the impossible. Later Houdini was interviewed. Everyone wanted to know why he had to interrupt the process of his escape by continually standing up. He smiled, and with a twinkle in his eye he said: “My brain is the key that sets me free! I knew that I could get loose, but I wanted the applause from the audience to give me the encouragement I needed and to help keep up my enthusiasm.”
The first part of this commission is our understanding that we need to “Go.” When our minds understand this call, then we will be able to indeed go out beyond ourselves; beyond our comfort zone; beyond our church walls to do the impossible. But along with our minds, we need to know that God is there applauding for us, cheering us on, keeping our enthusiasm up!
b. Make disciples- And what are we commissioned to go and do? We
are commissioned to “make disciples.” Someone who is commissioned derives authority directly from a sovereign power. The sovereign power here is God. The authority is to make disciples. So it is not something we have to get permission to do, it is something that we are obligated to do as the commissioned one.
So what does it mean to “make disciples?” At the core, it is moving people from a place of not believing in Jesus, not following Jesus, to a place where they do believe and follow. In terms of how we are to do that let me give you a little strategy:
First, we need to select someone. While making a disciple can just happen, more often than not it happens when we have someone specific in mind. As we pray about this opportunity, God will lead us to that person. Second, once we know whom God wants us to reach out to, we should then begin to associate with them. Learn about them, and let them get to know you. Lifestyle evangelism is one of the best ways to help people learn about Jesus.
Third, we then begin to impart our life and our knowledge of Jesus to them. Just as Jesus spent time with the disciples to share Himself with them, so we need to utilize some of the time we have with people to share Jesus with them. Most of all during this time we share the love of Jesus. That is what giving ourselves away is really about. Fourth, we demonstrate our lives. As we are getting to know this person, we demonstrate to them who we are in Christ. Because we ourselves are disciples, we have been changed by Christ. As we demonstrate this to them, they will see the changes in our lives; they will see how Christ has impacted our lives. Hopefully this will lead them to ask questions and desire change. Fifth, is their turn around. What I mean by this, is as they ask questions, they will come to want to know and follow Jesus. Whether it is you or someone you know, they can be led at this point to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. Once this happens, they are then put on the road to “Go and make disciples” as well!
III. Jesus promises them a presence- (Romans 6:3-4; Matthew 28:20)
Lastly, we see in this commissioning, that we are promised the presence of
Jesus. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus says, “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Now you may wonder why God would charge you and me to take this important life-saving message to a lost world. We are sinful, we are irresponsible, we are at times even afraid. Isn’t this a great risk on God’s part?
But we need to understand who we are. The apostle Paul, in Romans 6:3-4 tells us: “Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Just as Christ was raised from the dead to glory, so we have new life. We are not who we were before we knew Jesus. We might act like it much of the time, but we are not. We are a new creation. We are given power, and authority, and the ability to do impossible things!
A couple weeks ago I came across a reading called “The Lost Generation,” by Jonathan Reed. This reading is about how today’s generation is viewed. Let me read it for you… (see reading at end of sermon)
I think that this is a similar sentiment to our commissioning. It might be thought that this generation of Christians is lost. And it will be true unless we reverse the trend by understanding who we are, the authority we possess in Jesus, and the fact that we have the presence of Jesus with us.
We have to live like Jesus is with us. If Jesus was walking with you throughout each day, would you behave any differently? Would you take advantage of your opportunities more?
Illus.-The other day in my daily devotional reading, I was reading the upper room. And the writer was telling a story of how she was buying some flowers at a florist for the church. When the florist found out that they were for a church, she put some extra ribbon on the flowers. The writer, her name was Deb, asked the florist how much the extra ribbon would cost. The florist replied: “No charge. I’m working to get in. Points for heaven, you know?” Deb let the comment go by and left. Later in the day she realized that she had failed to take advantage of an opportunity to share the truth about salvation and discipleship.
Conclusion: Undoubtedly, God could have chosen another way to accomplish this all-important task. But he did not. He chose you and me to play a key role in carrying out this mission. We are in essence co-missionaries with God. This is perhaps another of God’s most profound stewardship privileges that God has given to us. As we seek to become effective stewards in every area of life, we become better equipped for the profound task to play a part, however small or large, in the unparalleled commission of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
I hope this sermon has challenged you, and maybe even motivated you to want to fulfill this commission God has given to us. My prayer is that as individuals, and as a church, we would go out and make disciples, on behalf of Christ. Amen.
THE LOST GENERATION
By Jonathan Reed
I am part of the lost generation and I refuse to believe that I can change the world.
I realize that this may be a shock, but
“Happiness comes from within”
is a lie. and
Money will make me happy.
So in 30 years I will tell my children that
they are not the most important thing in my life.
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family.
I tell you this,
once upon a time,
families stayed together.
But this will not be true in my era.
This is a quick fix society.
Experts tell me
30 years from now I will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of my divorce.
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making.
In the future
environmental destruction will be the norm.
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this earth.
It will be evident that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic.
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope.
And all of this will come true unless we reverse it.
There is hope. It is foolish to presume that My generation is apathetic and lethargic. It will be evident that My peers and I care about this earth. No longer can it be said that environmental destruction will be the norm. In the future I will live in a country of my own making. I do not concede that 30 years from now I will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of my divorce. Experts tell me This is a quick fix society. But this will not be true in my era. Families stayed together once upon a time, I tell you this, family is more important than work. I have my priorities straight because my employer will know that they are not the most important thing in my life. So in 30 years I will tell my children that
“Money will make me happy” is a lie and true happiness comes from within. I realize that this may be a shock, but I am part of the lost generation, and I refuse to believe that I can change the world.
Series: The Mystery Revealed
Sunday, February 15, 2009; Matthew 28:18-20
Introduction: It is interesting that the end of the gospel is actually the beginning of our story. As Jesus was coming to the end of His time here on earth, it actually marks the start of our ministry. Up to this point the disciples were following Jesus, watching Jesus, and taking in all that Jesus was doing. They were followers, disciples, but they had not been set loose to really do ministry. Jesus has sent them out a couple of times, but this was really just a test; a trial period.
As we look at our scripture passage for the morning, Matthew 28:19-20, I want us to understand that Jesus is giving us an unparalleled commission; a commission like no other has ever been given. But even more, it is a commission with a promise; the promise that we will have Jesus’ presence, and Jesus’ power. It seems straight forward, but there is much to understand.
I. Jesus assures them of power- (John 1:1; 14:1-6, 11-14, 16:7, 12-15; Matthew 8:29)
a. All authority- We start out by seeing that Jesus claims to have all
authority. I say that He claims to have authority, because you can say you have something, but it doesn’t mean you really possess it. Jesus was very confident when He made this statement. What makes Jesus so confident?
1. Jesus is confident because He knows where He comes
from. Jesus knows that He is from heaven. In the gospel of John, 1:1, we are told: “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” Jesus is the Word become flesh. Jesus came from heaven to earth to guide us, and lead us, and save us. Jesus walks with authority, and talks with authority because of where He is from. Jesus knows that even though He is on the earth, His place of origin is heaven.
2. Jesus is confident because He knows who He is. Along
with knowing where He comes from, Jesus knows who He is. Throughout the gospels Jesus is trying to help the disciples, and others know who He is; the Son of God. Jesus is very clear of who He is. It is interesting to see that even though people struggled to fully understand who Jesus was, the demons did not.
In one scene, Jesus encounters 2 demon-possessed men. As they come upon Jesus, they say in Matthew 8:29, “What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” The demons know exactly who Jesus is and the power that Jesus possesses. They know that Jesus has the power to remove them, exorcise them from the men.
I could do a whole sermon on who Jesus is, but for this morning, it is important to know that because of who Jesus is, the Son of God, God in the flesh, Jesus possesses the power of God.
3. Jesus is confident because Third, Jesus is confident
because He knows where He is going. In John 14:1-3 we hear Jesus saying: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 My Father's house has plenty of room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” Jesus here is telling the disciples that He is going to go back to heaven. Because He is going back to heaven, He will be restored to His heavenly place, and in so doing, will again have the full power of being God, the Son. From heaven, Jesus will be able to assist believers in many ways, one of which is to pass on His power to us.
b. Power passed on- In John 16, Jesus tells the disciples why He had
to leave; John 16:7- “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” We see the third part of the Trinity at work. Jesus had to leave, so the Holy Spirit could come to live within us. By living within us, we are given access to God’s power, as Jesus tells us in John 16:12-15: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
Jesus had also taught the disciples that by faith they could do great works. In John 14:11-14 Jesus says: “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Because through faith, Jesus passes on His power to us, we are able to do all that God calls us and commissions us to do! But we must have faith, we must believe this to be true, or we won’t step out.
Now an important note, is that we need to trust in Jesus, and learn how to access the power of Jesus. Jesus tells us that nothing is impossible with God, but most things are impossible without God. This is not about us trying to show off power, but rather trying to utilize God’s power to do God’s work.
II. Jesus gives them a commission- (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:3-4)
a. Go- As Jesus gives the disciples the commission, He simply says, “Go.”
Illus.- (from Charles Swindoll’s, Come Before Winter devotional, pp. 283-284).
On March 10, 1904, the London Daily Illustrated Mirror challenged Houdini to escape from a special pair of handcuffs they had prepared. There were 6 locks on each cuff and 9 tumblers on each lock. On March 17 a crowd of 4,000 spectators came to witness Houdini try and escape. At precisely 3:15 p.m. Houdini was handcuffed, and then he stepped into an empty cabinet, which came up to his waist. For 20 minutes he squatted down, out of sight, working feverishly to get loose. He then stood up and smiled to the crowd. The crowd began to applaud thinking that he was free; but he was not. He asked if he could have more light. He knelt back down, out of sight, and worked for another 15 minutes. When he stood up the crowd again began to applaud. This time Houdini told them that he had to stretch his legs. Down in the cabinet he went for another 20 minutes, as the crowd began to murmur. A third time Houdini stood up, and a third time the crowd applauded. This time Houdini jumped out of the cabinet, grabbed a knife with his teeth, and pulled his jacket over his head. He then cut it into pieces until he could remove it, explaining to the crowd that he was getting hot! Jumping back into the cabinet he worked for another 10 minutes. With a dramatic flourish he jumped from the box showing that he was free!! Houdini had achieved the incredible, if not the impossible. Later Houdini was interviewed. Everyone wanted to know why he had to interrupt the process of his escape by continually standing up. He smiled, and with a twinkle in his eye he said: “My brain is the key that sets me free! I knew that I could get loose, but I wanted the applause from the audience to give me the encouragement I needed and to help keep up my enthusiasm.”
The first part of this commission is our understanding that we need to “Go.” When our minds understand this call, then we will be able to indeed go out beyond ourselves; beyond our comfort zone; beyond our church walls to do the impossible. But along with our minds, we need to know that God is there applauding for us, cheering us on, keeping our enthusiasm up!
b. Make disciples- And what are we commissioned to go and do? We
are commissioned to “make disciples.” Someone who is commissioned derives authority directly from a sovereign power. The sovereign power here is God. The authority is to make disciples. So it is not something we have to get permission to do, it is something that we are obligated to do as the commissioned one.
So what does it mean to “make disciples?” At the core, it is moving people from a place of not believing in Jesus, not following Jesus, to a place where they do believe and follow. In terms of how we are to do that let me give you a little strategy:
First, we need to select someone. While making a disciple can just happen, more often than not it happens when we have someone specific in mind. As we pray about this opportunity, God will lead us to that person. Second, once we know whom God wants us to reach out to, we should then begin to associate with them. Learn about them, and let them get to know you. Lifestyle evangelism is one of the best ways to help people learn about Jesus.
Third, we then begin to impart our life and our knowledge of Jesus to them. Just as Jesus spent time with the disciples to share Himself with them, so we need to utilize some of the time we have with people to share Jesus with them. Most of all during this time we share the love of Jesus. That is what giving ourselves away is really about. Fourth, we demonstrate our lives. As we are getting to know this person, we demonstrate to them who we are in Christ. Because we ourselves are disciples, we have been changed by Christ. As we demonstrate this to them, they will see the changes in our lives; they will see how Christ has impacted our lives. Hopefully this will lead them to ask questions and desire change. Fifth, is their turn around. What I mean by this, is as they ask questions, they will come to want to know and follow Jesus. Whether it is you or someone you know, they can be led at this point to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. Once this happens, they are then put on the road to “Go and make disciples” as well!
III. Jesus promises them a presence- (Romans 6:3-4; Matthew 28:20)
Lastly, we see in this commissioning, that we are promised the presence of
Jesus. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus says, “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Now you may wonder why God would charge you and me to take this important life-saving message to a lost world. We are sinful, we are irresponsible, we are at times even afraid. Isn’t this a great risk on God’s part?
But we need to understand who we are. The apostle Paul, in Romans 6:3-4 tells us: “Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Just as Christ was raised from the dead to glory, so we have new life. We are not who we were before we knew Jesus. We might act like it much of the time, but we are not. We are a new creation. We are given power, and authority, and the ability to do impossible things!
A couple weeks ago I came across a reading called “The Lost Generation,” by Jonathan Reed. This reading is about how today’s generation is viewed. Let me read it for you… (see reading at end of sermon)
I think that this is a similar sentiment to our commissioning. It might be thought that this generation of Christians is lost. And it will be true unless we reverse the trend by understanding who we are, the authority we possess in Jesus, and the fact that we have the presence of Jesus with us.
We have to live like Jesus is with us. If Jesus was walking with you throughout each day, would you behave any differently? Would you take advantage of your opportunities more?
Illus.-The other day in my daily devotional reading, I was reading the upper room. And the writer was telling a story of how she was buying some flowers at a florist for the church. When the florist found out that they were for a church, she put some extra ribbon on the flowers. The writer, her name was Deb, asked the florist how much the extra ribbon would cost. The florist replied: “No charge. I’m working to get in. Points for heaven, you know?” Deb let the comment go by and left. Later in the day she realized that she had failed to take advantage of an opportunity to share the truth about salvation and discipleship.
Conclusion: Undoubtedly, God could have chosen another way to accomplish this all-important task. But he did not. He chose you and me to play a key role in carrying out this mission. We are in essence co-missionaries with God. This is perhaps another of God’s most profound stewardship privileges that God has given to us. As we seek to become effective stewards in every area of life, we become better equipped for the profound task to play a part, however small or large, in the unparalleled commission of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
I hope this sermon has challenged you, and maybe even motivated you to want to fulfill this commission God has given to us. My prayer is that as individuals, and as a church, we would go out and make disciples, on behalf of Christ. Amen.
THE LOST GENERATION
By Jonathan Reed
I am part of the lost generation and I refuse to believe that I can change the world.
I realize that this may be a shock, but
“Happiness comes from within”
is a lie. and
Money will make me happy.
So in 30 years I will tell my children that
they are not the most important thing in my life.
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family.
I tell you this,
once upon a time,
families stayed together.
But this will not be true in my era.
This is a quick fix society.
Experts tell me
30 years from now I will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of my divorce.
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making.
In the future
environmental destruction will be the norm.
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this earth.
It will be evident that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic.
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope.
And all of this will come true unless we reverse it.
There is hope. It is foolish to presume that My generation is apathetic and lethargic. It will be evident that My peers and I care about this earth. No longer can it be said that environmental destruction will be the norm. In the future I will live in a country of my own making. I do not concede that 30 years from now I will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of my divorce. Experts tell me This is a quick fix society. But this will not be true in my era. Families stayed together once upon a time, I tell you this, family is more important than work. I have my priorities straight because my employer will know that they are not the most important thing in my life. So in 30 years I will tell my children that
“Money will make me happy” is a lie and true happiness comes from within. I realize that this may be a shock, but I am part of the lost generation, and I refuse to believe that I can change the world.
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