Jesus’ Command: Go!

Jesus Command: Go! Malawi 2024

Jesus' Command: Go!

I. Jesus’ Command

A. Go With Power

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Fight the Spiritual with the Spiritual

We are not allowed to “Go” without the Holy Spirit.

They had to wait on the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual Armor

Ephesians 6:10–20 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Belt of Truth

Breastplate of Righteousness

Shoes of Gospel Proclamation

Shield of Faith

Helmet of Salvation

Sword of Spirit

Praying (18-20)

Pray for the proclamation of the Gospel

Gates of Hell

Matthew 16:18 ESV

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Gates are defensive, not offensive.

We are to storm the gates of hell.

Storm with our only offensive weapon= The Word of God.

B. Go With Purpose

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

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.”

The word means to live your life with the purpose of making disciples.

2 Parts of Making Disciples

1. Baptize

2. Teach

Jesus’ Example

John 4:1–26 ESV

1 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

7 Ways Jesus Connected With People

1. Jesus was Deliberate (1-5)

John 4:4 ESV

4 And he had to pass through Samaria.

The unfortunate events of the Pharisees beginning to target Jesus and him needing to find a new location did not stop him from his purpose.

Luke 19:10 ESV

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

"he had to pass" or "it was necessary"- this was not only way. He was following the leading of God.

This was not a detour. It was part of the plan.

ILL- Scenic routes. Describe a time you got lost.

Dad every time driving through Santa Fe when I was a kid.

What appears to us as a detour was all part of His plan.

2. Jesus was Present (6-7)

John 4:6–7 ESV

6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”

Jesus paid attention to what was going on around him.

(physical need did not keep him from spiritual work)

6th hour= noon- it was hot.

Jesus' physical condition did not stop him from doing his spiritual work. In fact, he used it in his favor.

Our current situation should not sidetrack us but focus us.

Jesus Saw with Physical and Spiritual Eyes

Physical Eyes (3 Characteristics)

1. See Differences (27)

John 4:27 ESV

27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”

Race- They couldn’t see what Jesus was doing because they were blind to their hate.

Colossians 3:11–16 ESV

11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. 12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Don't let your political views make it impossible to be able to share the Gospel with those who don't agree with you.

2. See Need (31)

John 4:31 ESV

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

Physical need blinds to what God is trying to do.

Could see Jesus was hungry but missed he was doing the work of God.

3. See Obstacles (43-45)

John 4:43–45 ESV

43 After the two days he departed for Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.

ILL-- Call to Wewoka

But he still went.

Some believed but many did not.

Spiritual Eyes (4 Characteristics)

1. See People (28-30)

John 4:28–30 ESV

28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.

Urgency (left jug)- urgency to tell others.

First thing she could think to do was to let other people know she found the Messiah.

2. See God's Will (34)

John 4:31–34 ESV

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

Life does not keep him from seeing God's will.

Busyness blinds us.

3. See Opportunity (35-38)

John 4:35 ESV

35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

How do you see the crowd.

ILL- Illustration of a crowd being a big inconvenience

leaving the OU game- 20 minutes of not moving in a parking lot.

Is the crowd a burden or souls ready for harvest?

It takes everyone- 36-38= The Body of Christ.

John 4:36–38 ESV

36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

1 Corinthians 12:12–30 ESV

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

Activity: Break into groups of 4. Have everyone in group talk about whether you would prefer to lose an arm or a leg and why.

Application: It is hard to make that decision because every part of the body is important.

We all need to do our party in serving the body so we can tell the world about Jesus.

4. See Truth (39-42)

John 4:39–42 ESV

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

ILL- Thomas needing to see for himself.

Make it your own.

They came because of Samaritan woman's testimony. They left as believers.

John 8:31–32 ESV

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

3. Jesus was Accepting (9)

John 4:9 ESV

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

Good Samaritan

Jesus shocked her by bucking the social expectations.

She expected belittled judgment.

She received unconditional love.

4. Jesus was Relevant (10-15)

John 4:10–15 ESV

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Mars Hill (Paul)- Temple to the Unknown God

He didn't argue the truthfulness of the woman's claim. Arguing does not lead anyone to Christ.

Much of her claims were tradition but not true.

He pointed her to eternal life.

Found an illustration that she understood.

Nicodemus heard about a second birth.

Samaritan Woman heard about living water.

Same truth= You only receive eternal life if you have been spiritually born.

5. Jesus was Truthful (16-18)

John 4:16–18 ESV

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

Called sin, sin.

speak truth in love

Ephesians 4:15 ESV

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

6. Jesus was Specific (19-24)

John 4:19–24 ESV

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

He didn't let her get him off topic (19)

John 4:19 ESV

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.

Worship is spiritual not physical.

7. Jesus was the Answer (25-26)

John 4:25–26 ESV

25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

Go to the Gospel

Be able to share your faith.