Onmissionforgod
ON MISSION FOR GOD MATTHEW 28:16-20
This morning, we are going to study a passage that is very familiar to all of us. In fact, many of us have heard numerous messages on this passage. It is the passage found at the end of the Gospel of Matthew and is known as the Great Commission. Matthew 28:16-20 is the climax or focal point of the entire book, as well as, the entire New Testament. So if you will open your Bibles to the last chapter of Matthew and let me read our text.
In reading this commandment, we have to ask ourselves are we truly making disciples. Are lives being transformed? Is our church making disciples like Christ made disciples? These are difficult questions to answer, but I believe that if we are going to be on mission for God, then we must answer these questions. And we must be honest in our evaluation of ourselves; otherwise we will lose focus of what God would have us to do.
I wonder if you took a survey of those who say they belong to God what would you say is the purpose or mission of the church; how many different answers you would receive. I believe that you would likely get multiple answers for why the church exists. John MacArthur in his commentary on this passage provides several answers people might give for the mission of the church.
Some might suggest to us that the purpose of the church is fellowship. The church is a place to make friends with good people, honest people, godly people who strengthen your life. It's a place to provide activity for the family, enjoyable activity, meaningful activity. It's a place to enjoy music, the best of music, recreation, to cultivate relationships. It's sort of a place to hang out at until the Rapture. It's a place where love is cultivated and shared.
And all of that is certainly important because Jesus Himself said if we have love; all men will know that we are His disciples. But one step higher than that attitude would be the attitude of those who suggest that the mission of the church is teaching, that the primary objective of the church is to put out doctrine, to strengthen believers, to articulate theology, to give principles for practical Christian living, to train people for various responsibilities in the church, to instruct children and young people in obedience to the law of God with an objective of bringing them to maturity in Christ. And that certainly is a very important part of the church's ministry because those who are given to the church are given for the perfecting of the saints which occurs through the Word.
But even a step higher than that would be those people who suggest to us that the real purpose of the church is praise to God. The church is really a praising community, a community of people who exalt God for who He is and what He has done. And obviously they suggest to us that this is the central activity of heaven and that is praise and adoration and honor and reverence and awe and homage being given eternally by all the saints redeemed and all the angels who are holy forever and ever and ever. Therefore if that's the primary responsibility of those in heaven, it certainly must be the primary responsibility of those on earth. In Revelation 4 and 5, we find that heaven is occupied with praise.
I believe all of these functions have a place in the church. We need fellowship and we need teaching and we need praise, but are these really the purpose, the mission, or the goal of the church. Is this why the Lord leaves us here in the first place? MacArthur goes on to say, “If God’s primary purpose for the saved were loving fellowship, He would take believers immediately to heaven, where spiritual fellowship is perfect, unhindered by sin, disharmony, or loneliness. If His primary purpose for the saved were the learning of His Word, He would also take believers immediately to heaven, where His Word is perfectly known and understood. And if God’s primary purpose for the saved were to give Him praise, He would, again, take believers immediately to heaven, where praise is perfect and unending.”
So we know from reading the Bible that it is biblical to fellowship with others and teach God’s Word and praise His name, but still we must ask why does God leave us here after salvation? This brings me to another question that I want to ask you “what is one thing that we do here that we will not do in heaven?” What is the one activity in heaven that we will not participate in? The answer is found here in our passage. It is disciple-making, otherwise known as evangelism or witnessing.
As you read the Scriptures, you find that after the fall of Adam and Eve that God has been on mission to redeem those who are lost. Why? The reason is that Adam after his sin did not go seeking God. In fact, Scripture says that he and Eve hid from God because of their guilt and shame. But Genesis states that God went after them. God took the initiative to redeem them after the fall. In the very first book of the Bible, God had a purpose to rescue sinners from their sin. The first presentation of the gospel was found in Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel.” So early on in the history of the world God had a mission for redeeming humanity.
If you turn to the very last book of the Bible, in the last chapter of that book God extends an invitation which says, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Revelation 22:17). So from the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible, God has been inviting sinners to come to Him. He is the one who does the seeking, not sinners. Paul tells us that no one seeks after God in Romans 3. So in the beginning and in the end and all between God desires to save sinners.
In Genesis 12, God calls a man by the name of Abram who later was named Abraham to be a father of all nations. This was the beginning of the nation of Israel. It was through these people that God was going to reach the world. Isaiah 49:6 says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Therefore, God was going to use the people of Israel to reach the world, but they failed. Now this does not mean that God is done with His people Israel, but God has a new group, a new Israel if you will called the church to reach the world for Christ.
God was so serious about His mission that He sent His son, Jesus Christ into the world. In John’s gospel, we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . .And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14). Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:19 that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.”
As you read the gospels, Jesus said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). So all through the gospels, you find Jesus saving those who are lost. He is continually preaching the kingdom of God.
If that is the mission of the Savior, then don’t you believe that this is the mission of the church? In fact, this is what we find Jesus commissioning the church to do at the end of every gospel and at the beginning of the book of Acts. Read Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-48, John 20:23, Acts 1:8. Listen to me this is our mission the same as the Savior. We are to bring lost men and women to Christ for the glory of God. We are an extension of the Lord’s ministry to the lost world. We are the instruments that God uses to proclaim salvation.
In 1983 a fifty-year-old tradition was quietly dropped by the U.S. House of Representatives. The tradition involved the annual reading of George Washington’s farewell address on the occasion of his birthday. Democratic and Republican leaders decided it was useless to continue to read the lengthy address to a mostly empty chamber. “It’s too bad,” said GOP aide, “but it’s time for this to be consigned to the dustbin.”
Stated “The Calgary Herald”: “In past years, it was almost holy writ that the address must be read. Through war and storm for half a century, a member of each chamber has been chosen to read the address.” Declared the newspaper heading, “Nobody listens to Washington’s farewell address.”
We are afraid that something parallel to this is taking place in the Christian church. Fewer and fewer believers are listening to Christ’s farewell message. To His disciples Christ gave clear instructions - to go to all nations with the Gospel and there to make disciples. So today, I am sounding the trumpet for us as a church to get on mission for Christ. I want us to remember and obey rather than to forget and be complacent.
Over the past several months, God has slowly been placing a vision in my heart for this church. A church that I and everyone in this room loves. But if we are going to be the church that God desires, then we must stay focused. We must not get side-tracked. It is important that we, the body of Christ at Marble City Baptist Church, remain faithful to the commission that the Lord has given us.
It is tragic, when you read that 75 to 85% of the churches in America are plateau or declining. It is disheartening, when you hear that 85 to 92% of the young people when they leave for their first year of college never return to the church. Why is this the case? I believe because churches have gotten off mission. We have lost our focus. So this morning and next Sunday, I want us to examine this commission that the Lord has given us and get back on track to be the church that God has called us to be in the kingdom. After all, this commandment is not to be followed just to grow our church, but we want to grow the Kingdom of God.
I believe the mission that the Lord has given us is pretty simple. It does not state multiple commands, but one command is given. That command is to make disciples. This is our calling. This is why we are here. The word disciple means a pupil, a learner, or a follower. It is someone who is a learner of, a follower of, a student of. The Bible says we are to be disciples of Christ.
Notice, that Jesus did not say we are to make decisions for Christ, but we are to make disciples for Christ. Phil Newton, pastor of Southwoods Baptist Church, said, “Decisions come and go. Disciples remain firm and resolute (Luke 9:23). Decisions can change by the influence of more persuasive voices. Disciples have heard One voice above others and give themselves to steadfast following after Christ (John 10:1-18). Decisions can be made that merely affect the emotions without correspondingly affecting the will and one's actions. Discipleship involves the whole person for the whole of life (Matthew 10:34-39).”
So disciple-making is the mission of the church. Our goal is to bring people to Jesus. Disciple-making is a process, a journey, a marathon if you will. The saying that Rome was not built in a day, well neither are disciples. It is the task of the church to make disciples. It is our mission to help people love God, love others, and serve the Lord.
S.D. Gordon has written a lot of little books years ago called Quiet Talks, Quiet Talks on Service, Quiet Talks on Prayer. One of them is called Quiet Talks on World Winners and in it he has a marvelous, marvelous illustration. He says a group of people were preparing for an ascent to the top of Mount Blanc in France in the Swiss Alps. On the evening before the climb, a French guide outlined the prerequisite for success. He said this, "You will only reach the top by taking just the necessary equipment for climbing and leaving behind all unnecessary accessories. It's a difficult climb."
A young Englishman disagreed and proceeded along the following pattern. In the morning he showed up and he had a rather heavy brightly colored blanket, some large pieces of cheese, a bottle of wine, a couple of cameras and several lenses hanging around his neck. And also some bars of chocolate. The guide said, "You'll never make it with that. You can only take the bare necessities to make the climb." But strong willed as he was, he set off on his own in front of the group to prove to them he could do it.
The group then followed under the direction of the guide with just the bare necessities. And on the way up toward the summit of Mount Blanc, they began to notice certain things left behind. First a brightly colored blanket, then some pieces of cheese, a bottle of wine, camera equipment and some chocolate bars. Finally when they reached the top, they discovered that he was there...having jettisoned everything in the process.
S.D. Gordon then makes this application to the Christian life. "So many people when they find that they can't make it to the top with all their accessories let the top go and pitch their tent in the plain and the plain is very full of tents." You understand that? It is very full of tents. And the question comes to you and to me is: do we understand why we exist? Can we say to the Savior, "I know why the Father sent You into the world to glorify Him by winning the lost...I know why You send me into the world to glorify Him by winning the lost...but You don't understand, I can make it with all my accessories." No, it's not so. "Too many people," said S.D. Gordon, "let the top go and pitch their tent in the plain."
So let me from this passage, give you some ingredients to making disciples. I believe that there are five ingredients clarified in this text either stated explicitly or implicitly that help is in the process of making disciples. I must admit that I have borrowed them from John MacArthur in his commentary on this passage, but they are availability, worship, submission, obedience, and power.
AVAILABILITY – 16
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. Here in this verse, it is implied that the disciples made themselves available. Someone once said, “The greatest ability is availability.” Isn’t that a great statement? We are to make ourselves available to the Lord. If we are going to make disciples of all nations, then we must be available for God’s service with our time, talents, spiritual gifts, resources, etc. Don’t you want to be a part of something that will matter for eternity?
In Matthew 28, we read in the first seven verses the report of the women who went to the tomb of Jesus; beginning in verse 8 the false report of the guards at the tomb of Jesus is given, now Matthew is telling us the report that the church is to give about the resurrection of Christ. So verse 16 is a connection to what had proceeded before in this chapter. The eleven disciples are mentioned because the are important to the issue of disciple-making. But they were not the only ones there as I will share in just a few moments.
In Matthew 26:32, Jesus told the disciples before the cross and resurrection, “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” In Matthew 28:7 and 10, after the resurrection, Jesus said, “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold I have told you. . .then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.’”
The Bible states that Jesus made at least ten appearances over a period of forty days. In the first eight days, Jesus appeared to the two Mary’s, the two disciples on the Emmaus, the ten apostles minus Thomas, and then eight days later the eleven apostles in a room in Jerusalem. He later met with James his half brother, the apostles on the shores of Galilee, and to the five hundred, which I believe is receiving the Great Commission.
Jesus had instructed them to meet him on a specific mountain, at a specific time, but Scripture does not tell which mountain Jesus was going to meet them at. God as we know from the bible often spoke to His people from a mountain. He gave Moses the Ten commandments at Mount Horeb, He revealed He was the only true God when Elijah and the prophets of Baal called on their gods to consume their sacrifice. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus first sermon was preached on the Sermon on the Mount, later He took Peter, James and John to the Mount of Transfiguration, fed the five thousand from a mountainside and would later ascend to heaven from the Mount of Olives just outside of Jerusalem. So Jesus met them on a mountain in Galilee to give them the great commission.
As I stated earlier, I believe that more then the eleven apostles were there to receive this great commission. I believe that this is where Jesus met with the five hundred. If Jesus wanted the disciples to know about His mission for the church don’t you think that He would have just told them there in Jerusalem? Yet, he gave specific instructions to go to a mountain in Galilee.
This commissioning was not just for the eleven, but was intended for those who believe in Jesus. Galilee was the likely venue for this purpose to be stated because that was where the majority of believers were from. Remember that Jesus spent most of His time among the cities of Galilee preaching and teaching the Kingdom of God. Back in Jerusalem there were the threats of persecution and the religious structure of Judaism was in such an uproar. So Jesus went to where the people were. Now remember, the disciples were not the most educated, noble or wealthiest, but they were to be commended for being ready for service. They made themselves available for the commissioning of Christ. Jesus said be there and they were there.
Folks, can I say That you will never begin in your own life to fulfill the reason you're not in heaven if you're not, to begin with, available. And by that I mean your time and your talent and your gifts and your finances and your resources are set in availability before the Lord to be used as He would desire for the purpose which He has called you to fulfill. Because they were there, they were commissioned. Because they were there, they met Christ. Because they were there, they received a promise of presence and power.
You see, just being there was critical. You know, little people with puny plans never show up at great events, they're too busy with trivia. Church for them is a whimsical thing. The place of the Word, the place of prayer, the assembly of the people of God is negotiable to them. It doesn't matter that the Bible says, "Forsake it not," that doesn't matter to them. And the problem with them is not that they don't go to reach the world, the problem is they don't even come to get their orders. These people were available. They were there. You have to ask yourself that question to begin with. I mean, are you even in the place where you're getting the orders? Are you available? Are you willing to say no to whatever you possess and whatever time you think is yours if the Lord says it's His?