Sermon Tone Analysis

The Greatest News

Shaun LePage, November 6, 2005

 

I.

Introduction

A.   Review

1.     We’re in the midst of a series of messages related to our Core Values.

Those core values are printed on the back of your bulletin.

As I’ve said, your elder board developed this list before I ever came into the picture— When I did come into the picture, we found that we shared these values.

It’s not an exhaustive list, but a helpful one as we consider the direction Community Bible Church should take in the future.

a)     We believe these values are biblical.

b)    We believe these should be a grid through which we evaluate our programming and make our decisions.

2.     I’ve asked you to think in terms of three relationships as we look at these values: Your relationship with God, your relationship with unbelievers and your relationship with believers.

a)     We spent a couple weeks looking at our relationship with God—that our purpose as individuals and as a church is to glorify Him.

The way we glorify Him is basically through the Greatest Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

The values on our list that most closely related are worship and prayer.

b)    Of course, the second greatest commandment is inseparable from the first—love your neighbor as yourself.

If we say that we love God but hate our neighbor, we are liars.

Love for God must result in love for neighbor.

So outreach, community and our other values are all closely related to these commandments.

c)     Two weeks ago—before the Fall Bible Conference, I began discussing the Great Commission found in Matthew 28.

My case is this: The Great Commission is the work of those who love people because they love God because they desire to glorify God.

3.     Today I want to talk about the first step of the Great Commission: Going.

a)     Before I go into this “going”, I want to say this: I have not arrived.

I have no intention of making you feel guilty.

I want to be on your side, not your back.

In fact, my point in preaching these great and foundational passages of Scripture as I assume this pulpit ministry is not so much for you as it is for me.

I’m a big picture kind of guy.

I need to step back before I take on any task and I need to say, “What is it we’re trying to do here?”

If you need to hear these things again and be reminded of what we’re all about then that’s wonderful, but I’m not just preaching at you—I’m preaching to myself in this series.

b)    My great dream is that we—as a small group of Christ-followers in the middle of America at the beginning of the 21st century—would glorify God by being all about His work.

I don’t know about you, but I need to remind myself over and over.

Our lives as individuals—and as a church—are like a truck going down the highway.

You can’t just point it in the right direction and take off without ever touching the wheel again.

You’ve got to steer it.

Steering is a matter of constantly making the necessary adjustments in order to keep heading in the right direction.

You and I need to steer our lives and this church according to the Word of God—to make sure we’re headed in the right direction.

We can’t do that one time.

We must constantly evaluate to make sure we’re headed in the right direction.

I hope these messages—including our time this morning—will help us do just that.

c)     *Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”

*(Matthew 28:16-20, NASB95) [1]

d)    Again, the primary command here is “make disciples”.

So we must be clear on what a “disciple” is.

Some say a “disciple” is equivalent to “Christian” because of the way the word “disciple” is used in Acts.

Maybe so, but I don’t think it’s that simple.

The word is actually used of unbelievers in John 6.

So we’ve got to dig a little deeper to understand what Jesus meant by the word “disciple.”

e)     “Disciple” is the Greek word *matheteV*.

The root of this word means “to learn.”

So a disciple is a pupil, a learner, an apprentice.

It was common for rabbis in Jesus’ day to have “disciples” who studied under them.

The disciple left his home and moved in with his teacher.

He became a servant to his teacher and treated him as an absolute authority.

He didn’t just learn head knowledge from his teacher, but he was expected to imitate his character and lifestyle.

The rabbi in turn would take care of his disciples—providing for them.

(See /Encyclopedia of Bible Words/.)

f)Here’s the frustrating part of all this.

The word “disciple” is never used after Acts.

All throughout the Gospels and Acts, this word is used repeatedly.

But the epistles never use the word.

Not in Paul.

Not in Peter.

Not in John.

Not in Jude.

As important as the Great Commission is, the word “disciple” was dropped for some reason.

That’s frustrating to me.

If I was writing the Bible, I would have followed up the Great Commission with an entire letter dedicated to defining and explaining and describing exactly what a “disciple” is.

But we don’t have that.

g)     But when we look a little closer, we can find answers to our questions.

(i)    Luke 6:40 is very helpful.

Jesus said, *“A pupil *(matheteV; disciple) *is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”

*(Luke 6:40, NASB95) [2]

(ii) A “disciple” is one who is “like his teacher”—or at least one who is working hard at becoming like his teacher.

So this sheds light on what Jesus meant in the Great Commission.

What is a disciple?

One who is “Christ-like.”

This is very helpful because even though the epistles—the letters of Paul, Peter, John and the others—don’t use the word “disciple,” they do have much to say about Christ likeness.

When we approach things with this understanding, we find much in the epistles that helps us understand what it means to “make disciples.”

(iii)     So, Jesus gave us a three-step plan—if you will—for how to do that: Going, baptizing and teaching (three participles).

The “going” implies evangelism.

So, even though the Great Commission is a beautiful and perfect plan, it does not fill in all the details.

It’s a “big picture”.

The rest of the New Testament fills in the important details.

(iv)     Here’s why I think all this is so important: As we read the rest of the New Testament, we discover that “disciple” is not equivalent to “Christian”.

We need to make this distinction clear in order to guard the treasure which has been entrusted to us: The gospel of Jesus Christ.

Salvation is a free gift, but discipleship comes at a high cost.

h)    This morning I want to talk about that first step for disciple-makers—“going.”

After the induction service next week, we’ll get into the “baptizing and teaching” part of this.

But, when Jesus said, “Go…and make disciples” He was telling us that “making disciples” must begin with evangelism.

(i)    The Greek word for “go” is used for walking or living as well as going from one place to another.

And again, since it is a participle, it could be translated “as you are going”.

But it is stronger than just “going”.

It has an imperative force.

Matthew 28:7 is a good example.

“Go” in this verse is the same root word.

It is an aorist participle, but it wouldn’t make sense to translate it “as you are going.”

There is clearly an imperative sense.

In other words, the “Go” in the Great Commission is a command.

(ii) So yes, we should be sharing Christ “as we are going” through life, going to work, going to school, going to the mailbox, going, going, going.