God's Glory Alone

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H:

FCF: Who gets the glory?

BI: God gets the glory

God’s glory is the manifestation, declaration, and recognition of God’s holiness: ()

Body

Prayer of Illumination:

God gets the glory because God is for God

God is

God is eternal

God is independent

God is creator and sustainer

God is for God in creation

God is for God, you should be too

God is for God and you should be too

God is for God in salvation

God

God get the glory, so don’t boast

God get the glory, so make disciples of all nations

Glorify God through the making disciples

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Conclusion

Conclusion

Introduction:

To God be the glory alone:

God’s glory is the manifestation of His infinite attributes:

God is for God

He shares His glory with no one:

He creates for His glory:

He saves for His glory: ,

He judges for His glory: ;

God is for God, so you should be too

Glorify God in all things: To glorify God is to recognize, love, reflect, and declare our need/desire for God and His majesty

In the trivial: ;

In the moral: ;

In the mission:

Stats about the American Church

There are roughly 22 million American evangelicals.

3.7 million of these evangelicals are in the age range of 18-29.

2.6 million of these 18-29-year-olds will leave the faith and the church before they turn 30. That is 260,000 each year or 712 every day.

Of this 2.6 million only 900,000 will return. 1.7 million will leave and never return.

Add on to these startling facts that many 361,000 of the most faithful givers and attenders of the older generations die every year.

The church in America is not in good shape. This is also seen in our denomination of 16 million, yet only 6.7 million of this 16 million attend church.

Why is the American church struggling? What is the solution? These are all important questions. I believe that the problem and the solution are one in the same. The American church—namely we who make up its members—has lost sight of its mission.

What is the Mission of the Church and your mission? Look at verse 19 of our text. Our church’s mission is to Make Disciples. A disciple is a learning follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, One who recognizes and reflects the glory of God in all things and teaches others to do likewise. The 19th and 20th century saved this job for those who were uniquely gifted like Billy Graham or highly trained pastors. However, Jesus in this passage commands all of his followers to be disciple who make disciples. If we each take Christ command seriously and obey it, then I believe that we can overcome the dark states I mentioned early. In the remained of our time I want to look how we make disciples.

Body: Make Disciples.

Make Disciples by the Authority of Christ: 18

How did Christ receive authority?

Jesus has been given authority for His obedience to the Father in becoming man and dying on the cross for the sins of all who believe in him.

Jesus has been given authority for His obedience to the Father in becoming man and dying on the cross for the sins of all who believe in him.

What does Christ have authority over?

Nature and Nations:

Disease and Demons:

Sin and Death:

Our Lives:

Over Every Life:

What are the implications of His authority?

You must obey Him

All must obey Him

We know that our mission cannot be stopped.

We seek to bring all to recognize his authority for their salvation and His glory.

Make Disciples by Going to Unbelievers: 19a

Explanation:

By going Jesus means that we are physically insert ourselves in the proximity of unbelievers of all nations or people groups. He does not say go to people who look like you, vote like you, work like you, or sin like you. We are to be indiscriminate in who we go to. We are to go to those who we work with, those in the impoverished areas of our communities, those who are black, white, or any and every other race. We are not only to go to them, but we are also to preach the gospel to them.

A person becomes a disciple by hearing the gospel preached and accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. We are to tell all people that God made them and they are accountable to him. We are to tell people that they like us have fallen short of God’s perfect standards. That God, being holy, cannot acquit the guilty. They and we left to ourselves rightfully deserve is infinite and eternal wrath. But God sent His Son into the World. He became the man Jesus and lived in perfect obedience to the expectations of His Father. He then willingly bore the wrath of God for sin on the cross. God was satisfied with His sacrifice and rose Him from the grave showing that Sin and its consequence death had been defeated. All who repent from their sins and trust in Him and His work as sufficient to pay the penalty of their sins and submit to His Lordship are restored right relationship with God and will have eternal life with Him. Then we plead with them to repent from their sins and trust in Christ.

Application:

Do you go?

One problem with our going is that we don’t mainly go, but we mainly give or invite.

Another problem with our evangelism is that it is overly dependent on the highly gifted.

Build relationships with those who don’t know Christ. Get to know them, ask questions and show them Christ in actions and words.

Witness to people who don’t look like or act like you do.

Make Disciples by Baptizing Believers: 19b

Explanation:

When people respond to the gospel with repentance—turning away from their own lordship and sin—and faith—reliance upon the person and work of Jesus Christ—we baptized them. Baptism is the outward sign that someone has committed their life to following Christ. In being baptized a person declares publicly that they are a follower of Christ. It symbolizes our death and burial with Christ in our being immersed under the water. It symbolizes our resurrection and new life in Christ in our being raised from underneath the water.

In Baptist life Baptism is gives someone the privilege of being a member of the visible and local church. Therefore, we should not be hasty in baptizing someone when they do not evidence the new birth, but we should also not expect a new convert to be perfect before we baptize them.

After we go and preach the gospel we baptize and bring believers into the visible and local church.

Application:

We don’t baptize infants of believing parents.

We don’t baptize unbelieving adults.

We only baptize those who confess with their mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God rose them from the dead. Will you follow Christ.

Make Disciples by Teaching the Baptized: 20a

Explanation:

Here is where the American church can do better. We are okay at going and okay at baptizing, yet we often let people remain infant in the faith. We often in our gospel presentation forget to mention that Christ expects total submission and not just mental agreement with the facts of the gospel.

We are to teach those who respond to the gospel in faith, repentance, and baptism how to observe all that Christ has commanded. The command to make disciples is a part of all that Christ has commanded us. If a man believes the gospel and is baptized, then we are to teach him how to be a man of God. If a woman believes the gospel and is baptized we are to teach her how to be a woman of God. This command to teach is simple to understand, but is difficult to practice.

Implications:

Making disciples is not rapid, but slow: Christ commanded a lot and we have those commands in the four gospels and they are further explained in the remainder of the New Testament. It will take a life time for us to learn and teach others how to obey

If we all commit to teach others how to follow Christ, our church can survive and even thrive.

This can only be done by intentional relationships between mature and immature believers. It means immature believers must humble themselves to learn from more experienced and knowledgeable believers. Also, it means more mature believers must patiently, lovingly, and compassionately give time and effort to see immature believers grow in Christ likeness.

Application

Ask the pastor of that church if he could find someone to disciple you.

Those of you whose parents take you to church ask them questions and ask them to disciple you.

Take every opportunity to proclaim the good news to your friends and family. Do it respectfully.

Make Disciples by the Presence of Christ: 20b

Explanation:

Jesus who commands us to make disciples has all authority and he promises to be present with us in our obedience to this command. The one who has all authority has commanded us and is with us.

Implications:

This means making disciples is not dependent on our status or power.

This means making disciples is dependent on Jesus and his power in and through our lives.

This means making disciples is going to end in Jesus’ second coming.

Practical Suggestions:

Have a Lifestyle of Evangelism

Join a Discipleship Group

Do not Neglect Meeting Together

Conclusion:

Our mission is to make disciples

Our mission cannot fail, but we can fail to participate in the mission.

Our mission cannot fail, for it is by Christ authority and presences that we accomplish the mission.

God’s glory will be recognized by all and over all: