Untitled Sermon (17)

Mission and Vision: Discipleship and Multiplication

Purpose: Getting in touch with and understanding the call of God on your life (macro vision)

Key Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)“And Jesus came and said to them, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Key Topics Covered during Teaching:

Without Vision, we perish/go unrestrained (Proverbs 29:18) - "When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful." Jesus has vision for your life (Great Commandment - Matt 22:37-40) - "Jesus replied, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." Jesus is calling us onto His mission. The natural outworking of the Great Commandment is the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20)

Related Verses:

2 Corinthians 5:16-20 (NLT) - "So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, 'Come back to God!'” Acts 1:8 (NLT) - "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Isaiah 6:8 (NLT) - "Then I heard the Lord asking, 'Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?' I said, 'Here I am. Send me.'" Psalm 96:3 (NLT) - "Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does."

Notes:

John Arnott talks about the three journeys: The upward, the inward, and the outward. That is simply the Great Commandment split three ways. The benchmark of our growth as followers of Jesus is how well we love God, ourselves, and others.Co-mission - invited into the mission of Jesus. Going from the Father towards the world.Baptizing them - immersing them in the knowledge and love of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. St Augustine: The Trinity consists of the Father who is the Lover; the Son who is the Beloved, and the love that flows between them is the Holy Spirit. God is love. We have been brought into the divine cuddle of God.T he greatest thing you can do with your life in Christ is to disciple others in the ways of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.Nothing will lead you into maturity faster than having to lead someone else. You are not in a lake but a river (outflow and inflow vs just inflow).The outflow is giving away what you have received from Jesus. As you give it away, God gives you more. The Catch The Fire Atlantic Cluster’s goal is to “Walk in God’s Love and then give it away to Atlantic Canada and the world”.Catch The Fire wants to empower and mobilize our church family on the mission of God.

The Pyramid Illustration:

Most people think of leadership as a pyramid, with leadership at the top and the “lay” person at the bottom. The problem with pyramids is that they are only found in deserts, are relics of old regimes and are full of dead men’s bones. Leadership is more like an arrow. It is aerodynamic and designed to always move forward.God is calling you to extend your leadership (influence) and lead others to Him and disciple them. We are not called to make converts but disciples; showing people the ways, truth, and love of Jesus. We do this with our lives and by teaching/showing them who Jesus is. Who are some of the people in your life you can begin discipling and giving away what you have received? A great way to begin discipling others is through leading an Ignite group. it’s easy to run one, and you can run it over a long term, or for 10 weeks, or less. We can even provide you some curriculum if you like. What the Lost need are people who can say “Yes! I’ll provide a space for people to be discipled and for community to grow in my realm of influence.” Will you say yes to the call to disciple others?