What is the point?
Notes
Transcript
It is interesting how I arrived at the passage we are studying this morning. It began as I prepared for the annual meeting. It was the first one that I had to prepare for. So I found some from the past from different pastors and I examined them content and order. Then I read the pastor’s reports to see how other s before me wrote them. It I noticed a pattern of recap from the past year and so form of direction for the future. Some had broad goals and some very specific. Honestly before that experience, I had not really thought about our direction as a church. I didn’t really have goals or a vision. I had a plan, actually a very basic plan. I wanted to teach and preach the truth. Stick to the Word and let the results up to God. But this began my thinking about what should our vision be. Then I was caught off guard when someone asked me what my vision was. So I started sharing some of the thoughts I had. The problem was it wasn’t real clear or well thought out. it was very early on in my thought process. Then as most of you are probably aware, we have been visiting the deaf church in Frederick. This year they introduced a new benediction. To close the service they stand together and recite the great commission and Amber and I have been discussing doing the same here. We really liked the reminder of what we are called to. And then Jeremy and I went to a District sponsored elder training yesterday and we were reminded of our clear mission as the church.
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 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,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
It is that simple. We are called to make disciples.
14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
What does our passage say about God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit?
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
Our passage tells us that Jesus is God. Why do I say that?
8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked.
9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,
10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.
11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”
12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out,
15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.
Jesus received their worship but what was Paul and Barnabas’ reaction to worship?
What else does our passage say about Jesus?
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
He is the ultimate authority! And He has given us marching orders!
19 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,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
So we are called to MAKE DISCIPLES. That is why we are here this morning. To get equipped to go out and make disciples.
As we make disciples, we are called to teach, but not just teach we are called to obey and we are given power.
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
I want share from Max Lucado’s book “In the Eye of the Storm.”
When I was in high school, our family used to fish every year during spring break. One year my brother and my mom couldn’t go, so my dad let me invite a friend. I asked Mark. He was a good pal and a great sport. He got permission from his parents, and we began planning our trip.
Days before leaving, we could already anticipate the vacation. We could feel the sun warming our bodies as we floated in the boat. We could feel the yank of the rod and hear the spin of the reel as we wrestled the white bass into the boat. And we could smell the fish frying in an open skillet over an open fire.
We could hardly wait. Days passed like cold molasses. Finally spring break arrived. We loaded our camper and set out for the lake.
We arrived late at night, unfolded the camper, and went to bed—dreaming of tomorrow’s day in the sun. But during the night, an unseasonably strong norther blew in. It got cold fast! The wind was so strong that we could barely open the camper door the next morning. The sky was gray. The lake was a mountain range of white-topped waves. There was no way we could fish in that weather.
“No problem,” we said. “We’ll spend the day in the camper. After all, we have Monopoly. We have Reader’s Digest. We all know a few jokes. It’s not what we came to do, but we’ll make the best of it and fish tomorrow.”
So, huddled in the camper with a Coleman stove and a Monopoly board, we three fishermen passed the day—indoors. The hours passed slowly, but they did pass. Night finally came, and we crawled into the sleeping bags dreaming of angling.
Were we in for a surprise. The next morning it wasn’t the wind that made the door hard to open, it was the ice!
We tried to be cheerful. “No problem,” we mumbled. “We can play Monopoly…again. We can reread the stories in Reader’s Digest. And surely we know another joke or two.” But as courageous as we tried to be, it was obvious that some of the gray had left the sky and entered our camper.
I began to notice a few things I hadn’t seen before. I noticed that Mark had a few personality flaws. He was a bit too cocky about his opinions. He was easily irritated and constantly edgy. He couldn’t take any constructive criticism. Even though his socks did stink, he didn’t think it was my business to tell him.
“Just looking out for the best interest of my dad’s camper,” I defended, expecting Dad to come to my aid.
But Dad just sat over in the corner, reading. Humph, I thought, where is he when I need him? And then, I began to see Dad in a different light. When I mentioned to him that the eggs were soggy and the toast was burnt, he invited me to try my hand at the portable stove. Touchy, touchy, I said to myself. Nothing like being cooped up in a camper with someone to help you see his real nature.
It was a long day. It was a long, cold night.
When we awoke the next morning to the sound of sleet slapping the canvas, we didn’t even pretend to be cheerful. We were flat-out grumpy. Mark became more of a jerk with each passing moment; I wondered what spell of ignorance I must have been in when I invited him. Dad couldn’t do anything right; I wondered how someone so irritable could have such an even-tempered son. We sat in misery the whole day, our fishing equipment still unpacked.
The next day was even colder. “We’re going home” were my father’s first words. No one objected.
I learned a hard lesson that week. Not about fishing, but about people.
When those who are called to fish don’t fish, they fight.
When energy intended to be used outside is used inside, the result is explosive.
Instead of casting nets, we cast stones.
Instead of extending helping hands, we point accusing fingers.
Instead of being fishers of the lost, we become critics of the saved.
Rather than helping the hurting, we hurt the helpers.
The result? Church scrooges. “Bah humbug” spirituality. Beady eyes searching for warts on others while ignoring the warts on the nose below. Crooked fingers that bypass strengths and point out weaknesses.
Split churches. Poor testimonies. Broken hearts. Legalistic wars.
And, sadly, poor go unfed, confused go uncounseled, and lost go unreached.
When those who are called to fish don’t fish, they fight.
But note the other side of the fish tale: When those who are called to fish, fish—they flourish!
What hope do we have from our passage?
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”