Sent Series: Sent to Make Disciples

Announcements

Fellowship Service: Greater Nations Church 1026 Pope Street Columbia, SC March 13th @ 7 PM

Apostle Fred Graham Celebration Service Pentecostal United Churches of Christ March 21th @ 11 AM

Bible Jeopardy- April 18th

Kentucky Trip October 9-11

Happy Women’s History Month

Pre-Sermon Prep

Share the fact that we are entering a new series as a follow to the Spiritually Formed series. This 7-week series, to continue both Sunday and Wednesday, will demonstrate why Selfless Church places its highest priority on discipling and being discipled.

Encourage everyone to look at Wednesday’s bible study From Believer to Disciple.

Caution the audience to listen up and pay attention to what is being said, because it is prophetic in nature.

Introduction

In every generation, the church has to take a striking action to declare its commitment to Christ above all else. These actions become a moment in history where the church distinguishes the difference between those who are casual believers of some form of religion and those who are true disciples of Jesus Christ.

In the 1930s the German church found itself in a very peculiar position as growing support was being given to the Nazi government . The Nazi government demanded complete loyalty to its ideas with threats of action against those who dared to oppose them. Hitler and his administration used brutality and psychological coercion to force the church into support of its German nationalism. Pastors who thought it necessary to stand against the evils of Nazism would be imprisoned. Non-compliant Christians were beaten, arrested, terrorized, and given over to all sorts of injustice, because of their refusal to submit to Hitler’s new government.

The German Reich Church provided unwavering support to Hitler and Nazism and would challenge other churches who failed to be loyal to Hitler’s cause.

It is important to understand the meaning of the word reich. The word means realm, empire, or state. By definition, this church was known as the German Realm or Empire Church. It was formed in 1933 after 28 regional Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches merged under Nazi pressure, which demanded complete loyalty. The goal of this church, therefore, was to present a pro-Nazi German church that would promote and advocate the Nazi cause and ideology. As a result Positive Christianity was formed, which removed Jewish-centered traditions from the Bible, rejected the Old Testament, and condoned Nazi racial positions. Images of the saints were removed from churches and replaced with leaders of Nazism; crosses were removed and replaced with swastikas.

Are you all hearing what I’m saying. There was a time where the government demanded undying loyalty to ideas that countered the Church’s core convictions and values. This philosophy of government led to World War II where many lives were lost, and a moment in history was marked for all the wrong reasons. Remember, when evil is at work it always leverages the influence and power of the church.

The German Reich Church was a state-ran church and there are no positive examples of any state’s rule over the church.

However, there was a young pastor and theologian who led a Confessing Church who dared to challenge those churches who had aligned with Nazism. He became convinced that a new way of being the church was needed to counter the current expression of Christianity in Germany under Hitler and Nazism. He declared this was no time for compromise or alliance with political powers. Rather, it was time for the church to be the church.

He challenged the typical Protestant ideals that leaned too heavily on faith and grace—leaving the church inactive and compliant with acts of evil. He resented the Patriotic Germans who glorified Hitler, instead of God. He redefined grace and gave us a model of discipleship that would last for generations.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer taught us that real disciples readily moves from cheap grace to costly grace; that standing up against the evils of this world is not simply a matter of courage. It is a matter of discipleship.

In his book Discipleship, Bonhoeffer wrote, “Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without the living, incarnate Jesus Christ. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which has to be asked for, the door at which one has to knock. It is costly, because it calls to discipleship; it is grace, because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly, because it costs people their lives; it is grace, because it thereby makes them live. It is costly, because it condemns sin; it is grace, because it justifies the sinner. Above all, grace is costly, because it was costly to God, because it costs God the life of God’s Son.”

What Bonhoeffer discovered is that discipleship is not simply a form of piety. It is the means by which God changes the world. Here’s a point I think you should write down: When God wants to change the world, He calls on disciples. When God is intentional about doing something to address the woes of creation, He calls those who have committed to following Jesus Christ and bring the light that He is into a very dark place.

Here’s my premise for today’s sermon: Discipleship is not a function of the church. It is the mission of the church.

Understanding Matthew 28:16-20

Matthew 28:16-20 is a narrative account concluding the Gospel of Matthew. It presents the final appearance of the risen Jesus and his commissioning of the disciples. The eleven disciples addressed in this passage were Jewish men living in a Roman-occupied region saturated with Jewish tradition as they awaited the great victory of the Messiah. With the Roman government ruling, the Jews expected that the Messiah would arrive and restore Israel as in the days of David and Solomon. However, in this commissioning, Jesus, the Messiah, flips this Jewish expectation on its head by demonstrating how Israel would not be saved by the sudden acts of a Messiah, but that the entire world would be revolutionized by His Spirit-filled disciples.

Here, the disciples are preparing to go to a mountain, suggesting there will be a transfer of divine revelation. What was the revelation they received? Jesus has authority over heaven and earth [ἐξουσία from root word is ουσία, which means property or wealth; means authority over a domain or sphere of influence—often political or religious]. This revelation carries undertones to what Daniel prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14 (expound on Daniel 7:13-28).

What this passage shows is that Jesus’s suffering was the event in His life that authorized Him for the purpose God had on His life. It is a reminder to us that what we go through is not simply a shaper of our character, but the way in which we become authorized to do the things we have been called to do.

1. Daniel’s prophecy is given in a context where God’s people are being oppressed by foreign powers and empires.

Daniel 7:7 “Then in my vision that night, I saw a fourth beast—terrifying, dreadful, and very strong. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled their remains beneath its feet. It was different from any of the other beasts, and it had ten horns.”

Daniel 7:21 “As I watched, this horn was waging war against God’s holy people and was defeating them,”

2. The Ancient of Days is seated on His throne to render judgment.

Daniel 7:9–10 “I watched as thrones were put in place and the Ancient One* sat down to judge. His clothing was as white as snow, his hair like purest wool. He sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire, and a river of fire was pouring out, flowing from his presence. Millions of angels ministered to him; many millions stood to attend him. Then the court began its session, and the books were opened.”

3. The Son of man is sent to gain authority and the kingdom; demand obedience from all nations. Then the kingdom is given to the people of God.

Daniel 7:13–14 “As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man* coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.”

Daniel 7:18 “But in the end, the holy people of the Most High will be given the kingdom, and they will rule forever and ever.””

Daniel 7:22 “until the Ancient One—the Most High—came and judged in favor of his holy people. Then the time arrived for the holy people to take over the kingdom.”

We should take a moment to thank God there’s a righteous Judge who sits on the throne with an appointed day to execute judgment on behalf of His people.

When Jesus declared all authority in heaven and earth is given to him, He was saying the time of Daniel 7 has arrived. God’s judgment is on the way, because the Son of Man has come to right the ship and call all to the judgment of the Messiah. Through the cross, Jesus satisfied the debt that was owed and the time of vengeance for the sake of the holy people was at hand. However, it would look incredibly different from what the Jews of the time might have imagined.

Instead of the Messiah swooping in like one of the judges or David during his battle with Goliath and the Philistines, Jesus would empower His disciples to be the new change agents in the world. The declaration that Jesus has power is followed with four commands:

1. Go- get or being on your way (participle).

2. Make disciples- initiate or instruct a disciple in the ways or teachings of a specific teacher or leader (imperative).

3. Baptize- initiatory rite (participle).

4. Teach- Impart skills or knowledge (participle).

The only imperative in these four commands is make disciples. This means, one’s travels, baptizing, and teaching are all secondary actions to the more pressing command of making disciples. Again, the church was not made to simply spread the message through travel and expansion; we were not called to baptize; we were not sent to simply teach new knowledge. The disciples of Jesus Christ were commissioned to make new disciples.

Upon this command, Jesus made this promise in Matthew 28:20 “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

Point: God protects and provides for those who disciple others.

Application: How Can I Make Disciples?

Write three (3) names on a card.

Pray for the individuals on this card daily.

Build relationships with them.

Look for ways to share your testimony with them.

Invite them to share in community with you.