We Are Part of Something Big and Beautiful

Study Notes

We Are Part of Something Big and Beautiful - Week 6 - Study Notes

We Are Part of Something Big and Beautiful

Matthew 28:16-20

     When I was a new transfer student at Wheaton College, two senior students, Lyle Schrag and Paul Matthews, asked me if they could come visit me at my dorm room one evening.  I thought they might want to play some basketball.  But, when they arrived, they were wearing ties and carrying clipboards and they asked me very seriously, “Greg, what role would God have you play in what he is doing in the world??”  I was caught off-guard and replied, “I haven’t been thinking about that recently.  I was planning on playing basketball.”  But, they wouldn’t let me ignore the question so they said, “Greg, you’ve told us you are a Christian. So, according to the Bible, Jesus commands you to be a part of “making disciples from among all people groups” (Matt. 28:18-20). So again, what role are you playing in what God is doing in the world?”

     Now, here I am over 40 years later, and I look back over my life and realize that the question they asked me that evening has shaped the way I think about almost every part of my own life and ministry.  Think about it:  If you and I really believe that God is doing something in this world and that he calls us to be a part of his mission, then each day of life has the potential of being eternally significant. 

     The evening after Lyle and Paul visited me, I couldn’t sleep because I kept asking if that really is true, i.e., that, when we follow Jesus, God calls each one of us to be involved in his global work.  So, I took out a legal pad and began writing down my thoughts.  As a 21-year-old college junior, I wrote this:

What God is doing:  Making everything right in his creation (including me).

     I saw a new heaven and a new earth… He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death… or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

     He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new (Revelation 21:1-5)!”

Who ultimately will accomplish this: God himself in the person and work of Jesus.

All things will be made new “in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17).  All things will be reconciled to God “in Christ” (Col. 1:19-23).  The heart of the good news according to Paul in 1 Cor. 15 is that Jesus came, died for our sins and that he rose again.  Jesus came ultimately so that all that is wrong might be made right – so that all that God has made will reveal the glory of its Maker.

What the main instrument is for God completing this: Local churches planted in neighborhoods

• Through the Spirit at work in the church, “each one” will be made complete (Col. 1:28-29)
• Through the love of diverse people united in Christ, the world will see and believe (John 13:34-35; 17:20-21)
• The church makes known the glory of God to the world (Eph. 3:10,21)

To whom this good news about Jesus will come: All People Groups

• The good news about Jesus will go to all people groups.  The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).
• And people from all people groups will ultimately respond in faith to Jesus:  I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Revelation 7:9).

What my role is:  To be a witness about Jesus to all peoples -- both in my words and deeds

• Go and make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19)
• Y (Acts 1:8).

     I remember that night feeling that God had stirred me and put these things deep into my heart.  So, this past week, I went back and re-read what I had written.  And, I’m quite sure God wants me to challenge you today in the same way those two young men challenged me that evening.  So, my aim and my prayer today is, first, to have you again hear the commandment about being a part of God’s global work that Jesus gave us personally just before he ascended into heaven.  And second, I want to have everyone here today to begin living your life in the light of God’s mission in the world.  Here’s the question I want to ask you today:  What role would God have you play in what he is doing in the world?

     And that brings me to that final commission Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:18-20.  Look at it.

#1:  The World-Changing Claim – “All authority has been given to me.”

     Jesus is claiming here that he truly can and will make everything right and new.  He’s saying that what he promises, he can and will complete.  These disciples needed to know that in Matthew 28.  Remember that they had seen him die.  But, that day in Matt. 28, they were looking at him as risen from the dead.  You might think that they would be utterly fearless after seeing that their Lord is greater than death.  But no, when you look at Matt. 28:17, you see that though the 11 disciples worshipped him, they still had doubt.  They still were uncertain and afraid.

     Here’s what I want you to come to grips with:  The greatest problem with Christians going out into the world, showing the love of Jesus to people, and giving witness to the salvation that comes only through Jesus has always been fear.  Isn’t that still true? 

Why Are Christians Afraid of the Great Commission?

• We may not do it well –
• There may be questions we cannot answer –
• We may have to give up too much to reach out to the needs of people as Jesus did –
• Especially, people may reject us.

     Because of that, Jesus, in what has been called his “Great Commission”, immediately reminds us that all authority in this world belongs to him.  When we obey him, we have nothing in this world to fear.  So, let me try to communicate to you what Jesus is saying here.  He claims that all authority in heaven and on earth:

• authority over all weather systems: winds, rains, hurricanes, tornadoes,
• authority over bacteria, viruses, parasites, germs;
• authority over all the parts and functions of the human body: every beat of your heart, every breath of your diaphragm, every disease that might consume you;
• authority over all nations and governments: congresses and presidents and kings;
• authority over all armies and weapons and bombs and terrorists;
• authority over all industry and business and finance and currency;
• authority over all entertainment and amusement parks and media;
• authority over all crime and violence; over all families and neighborhoods!

     This is what Jesus claims! Our Lord, Jesus Christ, has all authority in heaven and on earth, because our Lord Jesus is God.  This is the One who calls you to himself and then sends you out into your school, your workplace, and your community to represent him.

#2:  The Confidence-Giving Promise – "I Will Be with You”

     When Jesus calls you to be a part of what he is doing in the world, he goes with you.  Let me tell you, it’s when you step out and find the courage to live in this world as God’s Word directs you, to love those in need in this world as Jesus did, and always to give witness to him, you will begin to see that he really is with you.  I think that many of us have a rather fuzzy experience of God’s presence in our daily lives.  Why? --  I think it’s often because we live so safely and cautiously that we don’t have to depend utterly on him.

     As I was preparing this message on Friday, I stopped for a while to think of the businessman who overcame his fear to give witness to my father.  My Dad was a salesman at the time and was on a search for “something” that was missing in his life.  One day, a colleague came over to his desk and told him that he thought that what my Dad was looking for was Jesus.  I don’t know how long it took – but after a period of talking about the questions about God and the gospel, my father gave his life to the Lord. And this man became committed to my father’s growth in his faith, i.e., to my Dad’s discipleship.  And it changed everything.  Humanly seen, I wouldn’t be a Christian today – and certainly not a pastor today – had a businessman not gone to my father in obedience to Jesus and in the power of Jesus.

     With that in mind, I want you to look at what Jesus promises here: He, the one who has all authority in heaven and earth, promises to be with you always.  Pray that God will open your eyes to what this means for you. This Jesus, with all authority over every enemy you may face, over every disease you may have to come to grips with, and over every failure in your past says,   "Listen to me: I will be with you always."

     Notice also that he promises to be with you to the end of the age.  That means until all is made right – until his justice reigns and all evil is defeated. As long as the world lasts and all is made right, Jesus will be with you in this world. This is the loving promise that gives us confidence and power to live for him: the One who has died for you and risen for you and triumphed over your sin and guilt and shame -- this one promises to be with you today and always until his work in you is complete and his work through you is accomplished.

#3:  The Life-Directing Command – "Go and Make Disciples.”

     Our primary role in what God is doing in this world role is clear.  It starts with us “going”.  I won’t give you a lesson in the Greek grammar Jesus’ command, but I will tell you that he literally said, “Going, make disciples…” Jesus assumes that all of us will leave our time of worship and “go” into the world.  In Acts 1:8, Jesus directs us to go first to our own communities as his witnesses.  Today, when you go home, Jesus commands you to go as his representative.  Tomorrow, when you go to school or to work, you “go” intentionally to give witness to his salvation and to his love.  “Going,” Jesus says.  When we follow Jesus, we view each place we go as a place that, in the providence of God, we have been sent.  God places all of us in this church here in Southern California to be a light in the midst of darkness. 

     “Going” – As you go – wherever you go each day -- look for opportunities to tell people about Jesus and to show his love practically.  God sends his people into every occupation, into every school, and into countless neighborhoods.  When you go today and tomorrow, go to represent Jesus well.

     Specifically, as you go, you are to make disciples.  This is a term that isn’t used much in our world so I think I’d better explain it.  A disciple is one who trusts in and learns from the one he follows.  But a disciple is more than being a person who simply believes something and learns something.  A disciple is one whose entire life is changed and directed by the one he follows.  I love how Joe Kapolyo from Zambia put it in the Africa Bible Commentary:  “Jesus commands us to make disciples, not just converts.  To be a disciple demands a total surrender of one’s identity, security and being to the Lordship of Jesus.”  This is exactly what the businessman did with my Dad.  He led him to believe in Jesus.  Then, he brought him into the community of the church and made a commitment to my father’s discipleship.  It changed my Dad as a man, as a husband, as a father – indeed, becoming a disciple of Jesus changed everything about him.  As Jesus put it so succinctly, My Dad’s friend made a commitment to teach all that Jesus has taught and commanded so that his entire life might honor God.

     Here’s the way I have come to put this call of Jesus:  What we become when we trust Jesus:  Disciples being made called to go our and make other disciples.  Again, notice from v.17 that these disciples were not yet complete.  They still had doubt and fear.  But, even while their own walk with God was growing, they were sent into the world to have a beautiful impact on others, i.e., to introduce them to Jesus so that others might become disciples of Jesus too. 

     So, at last, we come to the part of the call that our lives are to have a role to play in what God is doing in the world.   "Go and make disciples of all people groups…, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you." This is a command that is given to all Christians.  No other command in the bible is stated with the same authority as this one.  No other command in the Bible has more eternal consequences. 

     This is not saying that every Christian is to be a traditional missionary.  But, it’s clear to me that every church should be intentionally and strategically involved in fulfilling this commission. If we ask why God has put us in this world at this time, this commission from Jesus surely gives us one of the reasons.  Do you see it?  And, although not every Christian is called to be a traditional cross-cultural missionary, each one of us should be invested in God’s global work through prayer, stewardship and in any other way God might lead you.  And, of course, one of the realities of the place God has located us at LAC, is that God is bringing people from all people groups into our geographical area.  We have an incredible opportunity to fulfill our Lord’s Great Commission as almost no local church ever has.

     So, I ask again:  What role would God have you play in what he is doing in the world?

     There are several ways that you can respond to my message today.  I’ll ask our Global Mission Pastor, Scott White, to join me and help me direct you in this:

1. Set a prayer commitment for the rest of this year for a people group or a missionary.  We will have our global mission calendar available for you at a table set up in the lobby.
2. Read a good missionary biography or other book on  God’s global mission.  The book Scott has recommended is Missional Church.  A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America edited by Darrell Guder.   For those who want their children or grandchildren to start to understand what God is doing in the world, I recommend Around the World with Kate and Mack put out by Wycliffe Mission.
3. Take the Perspectives Course on the World Christian Movement that will be offered __________.
4. Take up our opportunities Pastor Scott offers frequently for mission-education and ministry here in our own neighborhood.
5. Young people and young adults – look into Urbana 2015.

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor

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