Discipleship Path - Share

Discipleship Path Share - Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 2:2; 1 Peter 3:15-16 February 1, 2026 Most businesses or organizations have a mission statement. The mission statement is generally a brief, clear statement of purpose and primary objectives. Well, churches do this as well. Many times, this is a component that people look for when they are searching for a church home. We too, of course, have a mission. Here it is: Know Jesus. Grow & Serve. Go & Share Our mission as a church is developed directly from the words of Jesus as He addressed His followers after His resurrection and shortly before ascending to His Father in heaven. This command is commonly known as the "Great Commission." Let's read this Great Commission to get started this morning from Matthew 28:18-20: 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." To put it another way, Jesus too, has a mission statement for His Church. As a local church, our mission is to help people come to Know Jesus and enter into a personal relationship with Him, Grow in their relationship with Him and Serve others in the name of Jesus both inside and outside the church, and to prepare them to Go and Share their faith with others who will then be equipped to follow those same steps in their lives. * It was with this in mind that we developed this path that we've been talking about for the past five weeks. * This morning, we'll be discussing the last of these steps: SHARE. Here is the main idea, one that will answer - at least in part - the "what" in which we are to share: The Good News of Jesus Christ is a gift to be shared. We are to share the "Good News" of Jesus. Don't worry, we will define this shortly. Let's first discuss this GREAT COMMISSION in more detail. * Notice first that there are one primary part to this commission. o Which is the command to: MAKE DISCIPLES. o Jesus, in turn shows us how in three steps: * Go to them. * Where are we commanded to go? o To all nations. * So, we must "go." * Then what does Jesus command? * Baptize them. * We spoke about this progression just a couple of weeks ago when we talked about "commit," didn't we? * Once I commit to follow Jesus, next, I am to get baptized as an outward expression of my faith. * It's an act, both of commitment, and of obedience. * Jesus then says to His followers: * Teach them. * Here is where the sharing comes alive. * Teaching all that Jesus had commanded them. * One must ask, how can that even be possible? * Remember John said that he only recorded a small portion of what Jesus did. * But, he did answer our question back in John 14. * In John 14, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will be with the disciples when Jesus leaves this earth and returns to His rightful place in Heaven with the Father. * In verse 12 Jesus says this: TRULY, TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, WHOEVER BELIEVES IN ME WILL ALSO DO THE WORKS THAT I DO; AND GREATER WORKS THAN THESE WILL HE DO, BECAUSE I AM GOING TO THE FATHER. * In verse 26 we see how in this promise: BUT THE HELPER, THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS AND BRING TO YOUR REMEMBRANCE ALL THAT I HAVE SAID TO YOU. * So, it is fitting that before He ascended, He would once again remind us that His presence will remain in us and give us the ability to remember all that He commanded. * So, Jesus makes it clear that we are to go and share. o We can summarize it in a phrase: Share the Good News of Jesus Christ. o We'll see here, that the Word is also important when it comes to sharing the Good News. WHAT IS THE GOOD NEWS? * It's what we know as the Gospel. * The word "Gospel" literally means "good news" or "good message" or "good tidings" * Late Pastor, Theologian and educator, R.C. Sproul summarizes it this way: The gospel is about Jesus-what He did, His life of perfect obedience, His atoning death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, and His outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church. * Paul summarizes it for us this way in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5: 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. o This short summary emphasizes three details about Christ: * He died * He was buried * He was raised on the third day o I love this summary from Paul. o He qualifies it with "ACCORDING WITH THE SCRIPTURES" o Another reinforcement that the Message of Jesus Christ is found in the Scriptures. o That is the authority. o That is the source. o And, according to Paul (once again) in Romans 10:17: SO FAITH COMES FROM HEARING, AND HEARING THROUGH THE WORD OF CHRIST. o The Gospel is meant to be shared with others. o And until He returns, this is what we're called to do. o In fact, we see why from Peter. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us: THE LORD IS NOT SLOW TO FULFILL HIS PROMISE AS SOME COUNT SLOWNESS, BUT IS PATIENT TOWARD YOU, NOT WISHING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD REACH REPENTANCE. o He is giving every unsaved person an opportunity to hear the Gospel. o That begins with each and every one of us. o But let's face it. There is a challenge. o I've shared this before, but comedian Jerry Seinfield told a joke highlighting what people fear the most. o Here's my paraphrase of his joke. * A poll showed that public speaking is the number one fear of people. * Death was number two. * This means that more people would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy. o The reality is people are afraid to share their faith. o Instead of attempting to give you a "three-step process" in sharing your faith, let me give you some reasons for ... SHARING THE GOSPEL I've already given you the "why." from Matthew 28:18-20. Simply stated, Jesus said so! But what else do the Scriptures tell us? Let's take a look at 2 Timothy 2:1-2, where Paul encourages Timothy: 1 YOU THEN, MY CHILD, BE STRENGTHENED BY THE GRACE THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS, 2 AND WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD FROM ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MANY WITNESSES ENTRUST TO FAITHFUL MEN, WHO WILL BE ABLE TO TEACH OTHERS ALSO. I mostly want to touch on verse 2, but verse 1 helps us to see that it does require God's strength through His grace. Verse 2 reminds us of this: * The Gospel must be carried from person to person. o Or to say it another way, we are to come alongside others and help them to make that same journey. o Another key point is ... * I must know what I believe. o Here's how Peter put it in 1 Peter 3:15-16: 15 BUT IN YOUR HEARTS HONOR CHRIST THE LORD AS HOLY, ALWAYS BEING PREPARED TO MAKE A DEFENSE TO ANYONE WHO ASKS YOU FOR A REASON FOR THE HOPE THAT IS IN YOU; YET DO IT WITH GENTLENESS AND RESPECT, 16 HAVING A GOOD CONSCIENCE, SO THAT, WHEN YOU ARE SLANDERED, THOSE WHO REVILE YOUR GOOD BEHAVIOR IN CHRIST MAY BE PUT TO SHAME. o In this chapter, Peter is discussing suffering for the Lord. o But the larger principle is simple, know what you believe, so that you can respond accordingly - in all circumstances. o Here is how we put it in our Discipleship Path: Each individual needs to be confident enough in his or her faith to communicate the basics of the gospel to others. o This is one of the reasons I like that 1 Corinthians passage we saw earlier. Christ died. Christ was buried. Christ was raised on the third day. o There are many resources out there that could help us share our faith - like the "Evangecube" I showed the kids earlier, or the well-known "Romans Road" that takes us through various passages in Romans to teach us why we need a Savior. o There are several books on the topic. Several systems also. o Not one system - which is why I'm not necessarily going to give you a single one - will work for each of you, but I think I can - at least - give you some pointers. o First, it begins with a relationship. * One of the reasons the 1 Peter passage works so well in personal evangelism is the fact that it implies that people see you and want to know why you are the way you are. * Peter cites "hope" here. This means that those who observe you see something in you and want to know more about why you respond a certain way. * It's a personal witness to others that may spark opportunities for witness. o Second, it requires love. * Notice how Peter says to speak the truth in GENTLENESS AND RESPECT. * This means we're not only speaking the truth, but we're speaking the hard truth. The one that reveals that hard truth that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. * This also means that you love your neighbor enough to introduce them to Jesus. * I've shared this quote before, but I think it is worth sharing again: o "I've always said that I don't respect people who don't proselytize. I don't respect that at all. If you believe that there's a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward-and atheists who think people shouldn't proselytize and who say just leave me along and keep your religion to yourself-how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? o "I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn't believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that." * That's a quote from atheist Penn Jillette, of the magician duo, Penn & Teller. * In many ways, Penn is challenging the disciple of Jesus to share their faith with others. * Another difficulty in sharing is the general lack of immediate results. * There are many times you may not see the fruit of your witness - but that doesn't mean that God is not working in their hearts. o Third, we leave the results to God. * This is what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7: 6 I PLANTED, APOLLOS WATERED, BUT GOD GAVE THE GROWTH. 7 SO NEITHER HE WHO PLANTS NOR HE WHO WATERS IS ANYTHING, BUT ONLY GOD WHO GIVES THE GROWTH. * I read somewhere that many people are afraid to share their faith because of fear. * Fear of rejection. * Fear of not knowing what to say. * Fear of a negative response - I think this one is very relevant today. It's unfortunate that those who identify as Christian usually is looked upon poorly. o This is why that "GENTLENESS AND RESPECT" part of 1 Corinthians is key. o I recall reading a book a couple of years ago called "Thou Shalt not be a Jerk," which obviously addressed this very thing. * When we leave the results to God, that should lead us to trust Him to provide the words and the timing of sharing our faith with others. * Jeremiah is a great example of this. From what we have available to us, he never "converted" anyone during his ministry, but we are still blessed by his work in the present. o Fourth, remember, the Gospel is about Jesus, not you. * In other words, all the fears we just talked about aren't relevant because they are based on self. * Of course, as I recognized earlier, speaking is not always easy for people. * I'm sure we're all familiar with Moses' story by now - one of my favorites - he wasn't a good speaker, but God reminded him that He was the Creator of His mouth and therefore would give him the words to speak. * Yes, it takes courage, a little bit of work, but our God is bigger than all of that. * Do you trust in our Big God? I said earlier - in our main idea - that the Good News of Jesus Christ is a gift to be shared. Think about it. Someone shared this message with you. It's a beautiful gift that has been given, and we should desire to share that with others. We all have to get to the point where we are freely sharing our faith with others, out of love. Just as we opened this sermon this morning, I'll close with our mission. Know Jesus. Grow & Serve. Go & Share. Let's pray. 2