3 Loves Summary

Everyone seems’ to have a mission. A mission is what gives purpose to existence. It propels people forward to great accomplishments. It shapes there life, thoughts, intents, social media posts and conversations. Mission is even what provides the reason for an institution to continue and advance.

God Himself has a mission. We see this clearly from the entire scope of Scripture. He is always sending Himself or others to accomplish something. God’s Mission is to redeem and restore all of creation and have a people for Himself.

Point - God’s Mission is accomplished through planting disciple-making churches.

Now this is important to realize. Many people and churches and ministries have there own missions. Many of you come to this church with specific agendas and passions and missions. Many people think the Church has its own mission and any church should be conformed to the passion of your heart. But that is not the case. The church doesn’t have a mission, you don’t have your own mission, God’s mission has a church, God’s mission has you. “When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” -Joshua 5:13-14 or as Abraham Lincoln said when he was asked what side God was on during the Civil War: “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right."

And what is this mission? God is active in His world redeeming and restoring all things, unto the day when Jesus returns and permanently re-creates all things. That is God’s Mission. To redeem and restore all things; physically, emotionally, relationally, etc. And this happens by creating a people for Himself who Love God, Love Neighbors and Love the World, the 3 loves we have been talking about the past month!

And today I want to talk about how that works: 1. God’s Mission. 2. Call’s Us to Go. 3. And Make Disciples.

Point 1 - God’s Mission - [18] “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

Explanation – Now it’s important before we move further to realize that God’s mission is centered on Jesus and His Kingdom authority. We have to get His identity right first! Before we do anything, before we are even mentioned, the first part of this passage that we’re looking at emphasizes one thing… Jesus is Lord.

Many people want to be involved in mission, social justice and evangelism, but separate from Jesus and His claim. We must see this claim to absolute authority for all that it is. Jesus, who some see as just a religious teacher or nice man, is claiming that He has ALL authority not just in heaven… but on earth as well. This is a staggering claim! Jesus had just been crucified and resurrection, an earth-shaking event in itself. Now He stand before His followers after 40 days of instructing them in His resurrected body, and He says He has ultimate power and control everywhere!

But this isn’t an untested claim. Throughout the entirety of Jesus’ life and ministry He showed His authority. What authority is it?

Jesus calmed the sea in Matthew 8, He healed people in Mark 1, He forgave people’s sins in Matthew 9, He raised people from the dead in Luke 7. You see Jesus has authority over nature and nations in Mark 4 & Revelation 2! Jesus has authority over disease and demons in Luke 17 & Mark 5! Jesus has authority over sin and death in John 11! Jesus has authority over our lives and every life!

Do you see what this means? All of this points to what He said about Himself! Jesus is Lord, He is God, and He does have all authority in heaven and earth! And that’s the whole reason we are on Mission! It’s not our clever idea to help spread our brand. No, we’re not here just to do church or just be citizens holding onto our rights. We are sojourners and pilgrims in this world. The ultimate King has sent us into His world to bring as many people alongwith us as possible!

And this is what God’s mission is centered on. If it isn’t Jesus, it isn’t God’s mission.

Illustration – I’ve seen many friends embrace God’s mission, but without Jesus. Here’s what I mean by that. Some embrace Jesus’ message without imitating His ministry while other imitate His ministry without sharing His message. Some just simply leave Him entirely out of the conversation. It looks like this. I have friends who serve the homeless and advocate for refugees and I have friends who protest outside of Abortion clinics, but none of it is ever with the message of Jesus or the way of Jesus. Jesus just isn’t even in the picture. I have friends who are rabid evangelists and will share about Jesus at the drop of a hat, but how they do it never seems to reflect the manner Jesus went about doing it.

The controversy we have seen this past week is another example… Think about how you process Masks or Vaccines? Is it done with the message of Jesus, under the authority of a Sovereign God who has put leaders over you? Is it done in the way of Jesus, in humility, kindness, gentleness and self-control? Is Jesus even in the picture? Or are your beliefs about these things more shaped by politics, mainstream media or alternative media? Does your social media posting give the message of Jesus or the message of anti-masking or pro-masking?

Application – What does this mean for us? It means the words and way of Jesus must be combined in our lives. If God’s mission is to redeem and restore all things, we must commit ourselves both to evangelism and social justice. If God’s mission is centered on Jesus, then the words of Jesus must be on our lips and the way of Jesus must be lived out through out walk In Matthew 7:24, Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Is the gospel, the message of Jesus on your lips? Do you declare Him? In Matthew 11:29, Jesus said, “…learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Are you aquainted with the way Jesus walked and lived His life? Do you have the mind and attitude of Christ?

Jesus is Lord! That’s His claim in this passage. Lord of everything. Therefore, we must declare that and demonstrate it. So you must ask yourself, given your gifts and interests, how can you fulfill God’s mission, not your own? Is Jesus the Lord of your conscience, your response, your face, your interaction with people and what you post on social media? Let’s talk masks a little bit. Some people can wear a mask and get a vaccine because they are terrified of the sickness, that doesn’t show trust in Jesus’ Lordship. Some people can refuse to wear a mask and refuse a vaccine because they hold onto their rights and rebel against authority and fear government overreach, and that doesn’t show a trust in Jesus’ Lordship. Some people can wear a mask and get a vaccine because they love their neighbor and don’t want to spread anything or for the good of the community, trusting Jesus’ Lordship over their health. Some people can also refuse a mask or vaccine because they want to see people’s faces and interact in neighborly ways showing a trust in the Lord’s Lordship. There are good and bad reasons to do both! Why are you doing what you are doing? Does it show Jesus’ Lordship in your life or not? Can outsiders truly observe that Jesus is your Lord? Do you use a mask or not, a vaccine or not as a way to love and meet new people and hopefully get an opportunity to share about Jesus. Do you demonstrate and declare the good news?

If Jesus has all authority, then we can be confident in hope and joyful in faith as we venture into Mission. It means that we can look into our lives, health, culture, city, future and nations without any fear! If Jesus has all authority, therefore nothing will and can happen outside of His reach or control. Which even further means what we may see as the dark fearful void of the future is actually under His authority. Therefore, we can embrace what we see as risk and follow Jesus into the future in faith. God’s mission is unstoppable, so we can have concrete faith in Jesus’ leadership of our lives.

Point 2 - Calls us to Go - [19] Go therefore and make disciples

Explanation – Jesus’ authority also compels us to Go as seen in this next point. The crucified and Risen Lord of Heaven and Earth commissions His followers to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus’ very worth compels them and us to mission! In other words, we go because Jesus is worthy of the worship of every person and the confession ‘Jesus is Lord!’ needs to be rang out in every place on earth!

Now interesting here is that the word ‘Go’ has always had the most attention paid to it, as if it’s the imperative in the passage. Yet going isn’t the imperative or even the fulfillment of the mission. We just don’t simply go places. In fact, the original language word for ‘go’ is more passive, it’s assumed. In other words, “as you go…” Jesus is acknowledging that as they go to the nations or as they go about their lives, they are to do the work of this mission.

How was going seen in Jesus life? Jesus always invited diverse people to participate in His life and the practice of His ministry, far before noticeable transformation. We can often do it backwards, we wait for people to transform and then we invite them to participate with the church. Jesus didn’t share the gospel until people responded and then proceeded with an 8-week discipleship curriculum. No, he invited 12 men into His life, to follow Him, and learn from Him. We may call this pre-conversion discipleship.

Do you realize that when Jesus called His disciples they were not already converted, they were actually sworn enemies of each other? They spent 3 years of their lives fully with Jesus and they kept asking the same question, ‘Who is this Man?’ Even in verse 17 of this passage, after Jesus has been Resurrected from the dead and spent 40 days with them, right before He commissions them, the verse says, ‘and some doubted”! Isn’t that great! They were weak in faith just like you and me at times!

As Jesus was going… As He was going about the mission His Father had laid out for Him, He invited these disciples to follow Him and participate with all that He was doing and saying. Discipleship was an all of life approach to Jesus. He didn’t just meet once a week with them, but intentionally included them in everything He did everywhere He went. Sure, there were intentional teaching times, such as the Sermon on the Mount. And of course, throughout the entire 3 years, He made shocking claims about Himself, which we imitate when seek to always share the gospel. But these were and are also ‘as you go’ conversations.

Illustration – These are the little conversations we have with our children all the time. As we’re driving, as we’re at home, as we’re at the store. They will ask about something or say something which presents me an opportunity to point them to scripture and to Jesus. This is exactly what Jesus did, discipleship on the go. Just the other day, my sons were arguing over a toy. One of them took it immediately and didn’t want to wait. Brooke used that as an opportunity to tell them about patience. Well he listened and gave the toy back to his brother reluctantly with a big pouty face. But Brooke took that as an opportunity to affirm him for patiently sharing just as Jesus shared with us. “You did a good job.” She said. “You just shared with your brother. Jesus is teaching you how to share. Just like Jesus shared His life with you. You are becoming like Jesus.”

This is what I sought to do as a youth pastor. Whenever I had to go on an errand or work of some nature, I would text a few of the teens and invite them to go with me. And it’s in the car where their walls would break down and they’d start opening up to me or asking questions. I can’t tell you how many meaningful and instructive conversations I had while doing that. I was making disciples ‘as I was going’.

Application – So, how can you start including people in your life? Thinking of your already scheduled busy life, how can you simply invite people into what you’re already doing? It could a variety of people, not just your kids or friends. What about your neighbor? Do you know them? Have you been over to their house? What about some not-yet-Christians in your life? Have you heard their stories? Have you invited them out for a drink? How can you ask them to follow you, as you follow Jesus? Is your approach toward masks and vaccines something that invites people into your life or creates an obstacle for them to come to faith?

In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 Paul said, “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to winJews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law ofGod but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

Think about that! Is your approach to politics and cultural issues, to masks and vaccines, open handed or close-fisted? Can you adapt them to the people you are around for the sake of the gospel! If wearing a mask wins people to Christ, I will wear them every day! If refusing a vaccine wins someone to Christ, I will never take it! Are these things the hills you are going to die on? The liberal hill? The conservative hill? Or will you do whatever it takes to win people to Christ alone. That’s the Redemption Hill and that’s our core message and mission! Do you want to be part of that, or not?

Point 3 - And Make Disciples - [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.

Explanation - If going in itself isn’t the mission, what then is? I don’t want to minimize going in any way. Jesus is not inviting any of us to be comfortable, but to go to our neighborhoods and the unreached nations. However, the imperative in the passage is making disciples, not just going. This is very important because Christians do not just go persuading people to convert, but to make disciples who follow Jesus in all of life. God’s mission is ultimately about making disciples. We make disciples when we bring others along to know and follow Jesus and when we help existing followers of Jesus mature in obeying Jesus in every area of life. That is discipleship and that, in essence, is what the Christian life is all about.

So, what is a disciple? A disciple is simply a learner or an apprentice. Discipleship is actually an ancient Jewish practice as demonstrated through Jesus’ life. A Jewish Rabbi would invite young men to follow him as his disciples. This would entail all of their lives as they would abandon occupation, family, and all aspirations to learn from the Rabbi. This learning process was not academic like the Greek classroom culture, but was fully immersed, like Medieval apprenticeships. The disciples goal was to be exactly like the Rabbi- in the way he prayed, talked, walked, dressed, and even used the restroom. Yes, what you’re thinking is exactly what happened. They would follow him into the restroom to observe. That Rabbi’s goal was to reproduce himself fully and faithfully through his disciples. That is discipleship! That is God’s mission in redeeming the world!

Now how do we do that? Jesus give us 2 ways- Baptize and Teach to Obey…

First, when a person comes to faith in Christ, they are to be baptized into the name of the Trinity. Baptism is part of what it means to be a disciple. Water baptism is a visual demonstration of a person’s union with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection.

Or as the old time Pentecostals says, baptism is the watery grave, where we go down to die to an old life and rise again to the new Christ life.

Yet beyond the water and sacrament itself, to be baptized into the name of the Trinity is a much more profound event. This speaks to all of life, not just a one-time event. Baptism just means immersion and so when we baptize people here, we fully immerse them into water. But the event itself is just the beginning of a life now immersed in the reality of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This now initiates a God-soaked life. A disciple now lives as an adopted child of the Father, a sinner forgiven by the Son, and a saint empowered by the Spirit.

Second, as we make disciples, we teach them. When a person becomes a Christian, they should immediately enroll in a local Bible College or Seminary! I’m just kidding. Actually, it may be the opposite. Notice that Jesus said to teach people to observe everything He has commanded. That’s much different than enrolling in a class. I can teach you things. Hopefully I’m doing a good job at teaching you what the Bible says. But that’s not the same as teaching you to observe or obey everything in the Bible. To do that require much more work, resources and time. It requires life on life imitation.

And what He taught about the Christian life is the 3 Loves we have been discussing the past month. Love God, Love Neighbor and Love the World. That’s it. Being a Christian is nothing more than that and nothing less than that. And everything we do, say, think, post and believe must be filtered through those 3 things!

Think about that: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love God with all your emotions and affections. Love God with all of your inner being, thoughts and desires. Love God with all of your thoughts, meditations and imaginations. Love God with all of your and labor and talents and skills and efforts.

Love Your Neighbor as you already love yourself. Love your neighbor! Love your neighbor who doesn’t look like you, think like you, love like you, speak like you, pray like you, vote like you. Love your neighbors, no exceptions! Love your neighbors no matter their mental health, immigration status, sexual orientation, economic status, gender identity, disability, religion, ethnicity, believes about CRT or BLM, whether they wear a masks or not, whether they have a vaccine or not. Love your neighbor. No exceptions!

Love the World! Live on this mission! Go into all the world and makes disicples of Jesus, not disicples of your pet passion or favorite misison. Everything you do and say is to make disciples of Jesus, alone. That’s the mission!

And here’s the thing, when Jesus disciples wanted to learn how to pray, they didn’t read a book. They asked him how and then He prayed in front of them. That’s how people are taught to obey something. You don’t just tell them the facts, you show them how to do it. Which requires proximity and experience. To make disciples, we must first be a disciple who has been discipled and now just seek to reproduce the life we have observed and now live. Or as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

Illustration - That verse has been the basis for all my discipleship efforts. I clearly remember reading it to a group of 12 year olds at a summer camp years ago. My first day with them, I told them my story and then invited them to follow and imitate me and everything I do as I follow and imitate Jesus’. That was brave and courageous and kept me always mindful of the impression I was making. Yet they listened to me and actually sought to imitate me. I vividly remember seeing this during one of the worship nights. We were on the front row singing and I was being personally impacted during the music time. I kneeled down in worship and after a few minutes, I raised my head and opened my eyes. And there, to my left, were all of my 12-year-old campers kneeling just as I was. They were imitating me, just as I was seeking to worship and imitate Jesus.

Application – So how are you making disciples? We rely so much on information in our discipleship processes, whether it’s Bible studies, books, curriculum, conference, content, or whatever else it might be. When we do this, we could possibly miss the heartbeat of discipleship and the way most of us really transform. We don’t really only think our way into a new way of acting. Being a disciple encompasses what we believe, how we feel, what we do, and how we live? Our head, our hearts, our hands and our habitats. Maybe you need to grow in Christian doctrine of belief? Maybe how you see your identity needs to be more in line with what God thinks about you? Maybe you need to embrace new spiritual disciplines or activities? Maybe you need to change how you engage in social media?

You can’t make disciples until you are a disicple! Is your way of life worth imitating and bringing others into follow? You are already being shaped by something! I’ve been in some form of pastoral ministry for 10 years now, and today I lament that memes have more formational power over your lives than the spiritual rythms of life together. It seems that people are more formed by the media content they devour for 6 days than the Word of the Lord they hear on Sundays. What is shaping your thoughts? Your favorite pundit, politician or pastor?

Maybe you’re a busy Father trying to figure out how to lead your family? Why don’t you grab a Jesus Storybook Bible and read to your children once a week and then pray for them?

Maybe you feel isolated and stuck? Why don’t you jump into one of our discipleship groups and share your story with other people?

Maybe you’re a business man trying to figure out how to integrate your faith and work? Maybe you could find someone who is doing that well and ask them to coffee with some set questions to ask them?

Maybe you’re a mom who is struggling with your children? Maybe it would be helpful to remember that everytime you pray for them, things are moving forward even a little in the right direction?

Maybe you’re not even sure if you are following Christ as a disciple? Maybe you don’t even know if He truly has authority? Maybe you should examine the claims He made about Himself. Read the Gospel of Mark or John and hear His words for yourself. He didn’t immediately answer any of the disciple’s questions, He just beckoned them to follow Him. Maybe He’s doing that to you?

Maybe you’re married and struggling, feeling stuck in the same things? Maybe you can invite an older or more experienced married couple over for dinner and, knowing they are not perfect, share your story and ask for wisdom?

Also notice that Jesus instructed them to make disciples of all nations, all ethnic groups. In the midst of our racially charged culture, how are you making an effort to meet, befriend, listen and learn from other ethnicities and cultures? You have to be intentionally about this, or all of your disciples and friends will end up the same race, class, and culture…

Closing - And do you know the beautiful thing about all of this? It’s the last thing Jesus said before He ascended into heaven! He said in verse 20, ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age’! Do you know what that means? No matter how successful or not we are in pursuing God’s mission, Jesus is with us! No matter our failures or accomplishments, Jesus is with us! No matter our confidence or anxiety, Jesus is with us! No matter how large or small our congregation grows, Jesus is with us! No matter if this church plant survives or collaspes, Jesus is with us! This is the hope of the gospel. It’s the good news that even while we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us! This is the attitude of this Man who has all authority in Himself – to be with His people… always! And this is actually the very goal of God’s mission…

As Dr. John Piper says, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.”

And so we can look to Jesus, who has all authority. We can learn from Him. Imitate Him. Spread His fame. But ultimately long for the day when we see Him face to face.

As Philippians 2:6–11 says, we can look to Jesus, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

And so now, as a church we get the opportunity and privilege to experience the special presence of Jesus with us, through the sacrament of His body and blood. He said He would be with us forever and one way He does that is through this table that He as a gift gave us. This table and these elements tell us about Him and what He has done. So, no matter our condition today, we can look at Him through this bread and juice, see His sacrifice and remember His dying words, “It is finished!” Amen!

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