As You Go – Part 1 – As You Go
So if you have your Bibles with you, please open them up with me to Matthew 28 today. We are going to be looking at verses 16-20 today. Matthew 28:16-20.
Passage:
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)
Intro:
- today, we’re starting with something Jesus made very clear to His disciples that we are called to do – in the passage that we read this morning and in many other places in the New Testaments: and that is we are called to make disciples.
- We are called to share our faith – and I think that’s something that most likely many of us know – maybe even agree with – but often we are honest don’t actually do.
it’s one thing to believe that sharing our faith is important. It’s another thing to actually to take the step and do it.
- today, I want each of us to ask ourselves this question: Where’s one place God has already put me where I can live on mission?
1: All Christian are called
And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. (Matt. 28:18-20a)
make disciples – is the central mission of the church – whether that is in the form of introducing people to Jesus – teaching people about Jesus – or showing people how to follow Jesus.
In 2 Corinthians 5 – Paul says this “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” (2 Cor. 5:18-20)
- What Paul is saying is that just as ambassadors represent their home country in a foreign country – we as Christians are ambassadors for Christ representing him to the world.
there is no Christian alive today, not called to the mission. If you have the holy spirit residing in you – you are an ambassador. I love what Pastor J.D. Greear said about this
- “You are either one of two things: a missionary or a mission field. There is no third option.” – J.D. Greear
- It’s God’s job to save, It’s his job to change hearts. But we are the ones he has entrusted to carry that message to people.
2: Everyday Life is the Mission Field
Looking back at your text in Matthew 28:19 – When Jesus says “Go therefore and make disciples…” – The word for “go” here is really interesting
Go therefore here – means quite literally “AS you go” it’s where we get our series title.
- As you go. Meaning – as you go down this mountain – as you walk into your life – make disciples.
Making disciples very simply is just walking the light into the dark.
- When you start looking at your life as a torchbearer walking into the dark – God will put you in some interesting places.
3: You Don’t Go Alone.
I want you to look at the first verse and the last verse of our text- verse 16 and verse 20. Look first at verse 16 – (SLIDE 18)
- “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.” (16)
- the Scripture says, that as they go to the mountain that Jesus told them to go, they saw him – they worshiped him – but their hearts had doubt.
- the word here for doubt is interesting – it is the greek word – Distazō
- Distazo – is not necessarily, like “I doubt this is really Jesus here”
- No – it’s actually more like – hesitation – it’s that feeling of uncertainty before you go and do that big new thing – or put yourself out there – that uncertainty, lack of confidence of how all this is going to work out.
- We are broken people – they were broken people – but we don’t go alone. Look at your last phrase in verse 20. (SLIDE 19)
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
- I want to return to the question we asked at the top (SLIDE 20)
- Where’s one place God has already put me where I can live on mission?
Where is that place for you?