A Radical Mission for Doubting Men

Introduction

Adoniram Judson grew up in a pastor’s home. He knew everything that you were supposed to know about Jesus and the gospel, but he could never shake the pervasive doubt that ate away at him. The answers that he had weren’t enough. While he was in college at Brown University, he fell in with a crowd of very skeptical students, and by the time he graduated from Brown he was a professing unbeliever in God. Still seeking answers, he received a special exemption to attend seminary, even though he was not even a Christian. And, it was during these years that God saved him. Not long after, God began to call this skeptic, this doubter toward the mission field.

Judson desired to marry his love interest, Nancy, and then set sail for India to live out the Great Commission for the rest of his life. He wrote this letter to Nancy’s dad seeking her hand in marriage: “I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair.” Judson married Nancy on February 5, 1812 and set sail to India on February 19, 1812. I tell you that Judson’s story because it is just one of thousands that are just like it. This is the seriousness with which our Christian heritage has taken the words that we’re going to read this morning. This is a radical mission for doubting men, like Judson, like us.

God’s Word

Read

Two Pillars of the Great Commission(Headline)

v. 16 “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them.” In , Jesus had told his disciples that after He was raised from the dead that He would meet them in Galilee. He sends a calendar reminder to them through the Angel of the Lord and a personal reminder to them himself when He intercepts the ladies. And, this is where we find them in our passage this morning. Jesus is gathering his disciples together likes troops before their general. They had given the last three years of their lives for this moment, the moment in which Jesus was give them their marching orders to do what He had prepared them to do. I want us to see two pillars of the Great Commission (headline) that Jesus gives to his disciples before He ascends to the right hand of the Father. Two pillars upon which all of the church would rest upon over the next two millennia.

Jesus’ Disciples are Sent in Jesus’ “Power”.

First, I want you to see that Jesus’ disciples are sent in Jesus’ “power.” Jesus bookends the Great Commission with these two accomplishments resulting from the Resurrection: 1) Jesus has consolidated all authority unto himself. 2) Jesus has assured that He, with all of his authority, will go with us everywhere at all times. These are the two anchor points from the resurrection that Jesus gives to his disciples so that they will not be blown away by the frustrations and hardship and struggles that will come during this life and his mission. These anchor points, his authority and his presence, come together to express his power in the life of his disciples. That is, Jesus’ disciples have Jesus’ power with them personally and collectively wherever they go steadying them, assuring them, emboldening them.

Jesus Gives Us His Authority

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” The first anchor point of the resurrection is: Jesus gives us his “authority”. Think about the specific authority claim that Jesus makes. He says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Jesus is saying this against the backdrop of the resurrection. If there’s any proof that you are not the chief authority on earth, it is your mortality. It is that you will die, and you have no say over it. You will go back to the earth, and your life will come to an end, and there’s nothing you can say about it. But, this is not true of Jesus. The resurrection proves that death holds no sway, no authority over him. By controlling that which is least able to be controlled, Jesus demonstrates that there is no circumstance beyond his control. By overcoming life’s greatest threat, He shows that He has consolidated the authority of the cosmos unto himself, slaying his the ruler of this world. So, you see, there is nothing that is not in submission to him. The Soviet military and the North Korean nuclear program are under his authority. The Dow Jones and the 2020 elections are under his authority. President Obama, President Trump, and President whomever are under his authority. ISIS is under his authority. Famines and floods, tornadoes and plane crashes are all answerable to him. This is why says that Jesus came in the form of a servant and emptied himself, but will be the very one before whom all congresses and all parliaments and all powers unseen by the human eye and all creatures indescribable by the english language will one day bow before him and declare that He is the Lord. He, and He alone has walked out of the grave that He was placed in by the very power that resides within himself. And, He has been given by the Father as his gift the dominion over it all.

Jesus Gives Us His Presence

“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Now, the second anchor point of the resurrection Jesus gives to his disciples to hold them steady is the last part of verse 20. That is, Jesus gives us his “presence”. He says, that He will always be with them. Jesus promises his disciples his presence at all times in all places across all ages. That is, loneliness is only a lie, a deception by the enemy, never an actual reality in the Christian life. You may feel lonely, and the enemy may convince you that you are lonely so that you won’t have joy, but you’re never actually lonely. I say this is a resurrection reality because of what Jesus taught his disciples in and 16. Jesus’ death and resurrection was for the purpose of placing the very Spirit of God within you to give you a new heart and new life and new holiness. So, you are marked by the authority of Christ and the presence of Christ simultaneously.

Jesus’ Power to Do the Impossible (Through Us)

APPLICATION: Bring these two anchor points together and you see that the greatest power in all of the cosmos, the one before whom every creature seen and unseen will bow their knees in worship, the One whom will torment the demons and condemn the enemy, He is always with you! Jesus’ “authority” over all things goes with you to all “places”. Do you see how liberating this is? This is how Adoniram Judson and his young wife boarded a ship to India with no plans to return. This is how teenagers are overturning generations of hopelessness in the lives of their friends. This is how parents throughout the Kingdom of God are changing the life of an orphan. Jesus’ “authority” and Jesus’ “presence” supply Jesus’ “power” for the radical call on your life. You’re supposed to raise your children as disciples in the midst of a culture that is pulling them from every side, hoping to catch their eye with cash or popularity or fun or sex or any other glitz and glamor that can be mustered. What hope do you have to raise them as disciples of Christ? The power of Christ is in you and with you. You’re charged with taking the gospel with you to work, where it can cost you your job, to your neighbors, where it can cost you your friendships, and to your community, where it can cost you your acceptance. How can we possibly muster up the courage and the wisdom to go anyway? The power of Christ is in you and with you. You’re called to grow as a disciple of Christ and your health is failing, your finances are thin, and your appetites seem to work against you. What hope do you have to make it to the end as a disciple of Christ? The power of Christ is in your and with you, and it’s the power of Christ that allows you to live a powerful life! You have been sent to do the impossible, but you have been sent with Jesus’ power over the impossible!

Jesus’ Disciples Are Sent on Jesus’ “Mission”.

v. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...” The second pillar of the Great Commission I want you to see is: Jesus’ disciples are sent on Jesus’ “mission”. v. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...” There’s a particular reason that Jesus is driving home his power and his presence going with them. Jesus is sending his disciples with his power and his presence to accomplish his mission. You can see this with how verse 19 is phrased. He says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” So, here’s what Jesus is saying when he says, ‘therefore.’ “I have authority over the whole universe. There’s not a baby that cries, a king that rules, or a demon that torments over which I am not sovereign. So then, you can go. You can go to every people in every nook and cranny of all creation and tell them the Good News. You can go to people that have never heard my name before across the world, and you can go across the street to people who have heard and didn’t care. You can go to countries that will threaten your lives and you can go to classmates that will threaten your popularity and you can go to bosses that will threaten your career aspirations. I rule over them all. All of them are answerable to me. I am in control of it all, and I’m going with you.”

Making Disciples is Being Disciples

v. 19 “make disciples” It’s important for us to notice the specifics of Jesus’ mission. These were men that Jesus had MADE into disciples. They didn’t come ready-made so that all Jesus had to do was inspire them, sign them up, and then move on to the next group. From the beginning, Jesus had told them that He would “MAKE them into fishers of men.” It was a painstaking process by which these men became disciples. In fact, they didn’t fully understand who Jesus was and what Jesus was doing until after Jesus had lived with them for three years, died for them, and then been raised from the dead. And, Matthew says, that even after all of that, some of them were still doubting! Oh, and Jesus is the greatest disciple-maker in history! So, when Jesus tells his disciples that their marching orders, their mission is to go and make more disciples, they don’t need clarification. They don’t need Jesus to give them a 12 step plan. They know what it means. They know what it looks because they’ve just been a part of it themselves. It means patiently, painstakingly, persistently forging the character and conscience of others into the image of Jesus.

v. 19 “make disciples” It’s important for us to realize that The Great Commission was Jesus’ mission first. These were men that Jesus had MADE into disciples. They didn’t come ready-made so that all Jesus had to do was inspire them, sign them up, and then move on to the next group. From the beginning, Jesus had told them that He would “MAKE them into fishers of men.” It was a painstaking process by which these men became disciples. In fact, they didn’t fully understand who Jesus was and what Jesus was doing until after Jesus had lived with them for three years, died for them, and then been raised from the dead. And, Matthew says, that even after all of that, some of them were still doubting! It was Jesus’ mission to make disciples like him who would make disciples like him. This isn’t a new mission; this is the advancement of the original mission. When Jesus commands them to ‘make disciples’, He is essentially commanding them to be the disciples He’d trained them to be. “Making” disciples is about “being” disciples.

No Shortcuts

And so, when we realize that full force of Jesus’ command, we see that there are no shortcuts, no bypasses, if we are actually his disciples. This runs as a corrective of two perversions that we see in churches today, perversions that be tempting for us. We’re tempted to shortcut making “disciples” by making “converts”. That is, it’s the temptation that if we can just get people here, get them emotional for a bit, and get them to make a profession of faith in Jesus, then we can move on to the next person. If they fall out of the church, at least they know and we know that they are saved because they’ve been converted. They may not be a disciple, but at least they’re converted. This is the church that is only interested in the count. How many were there, how many were baptized, how many are a part of our programs. It’s superficial. It’s a perversion of the truth.

This runs as a corrective of two perversions that we see in churches today, perversions that be tempting for us. The first perversion it corrects is the temptation to just make converts. That is, it’s the temptation that if we can just get people here, get them emotional for a bit, and get them to make a profession of faith in Jesus, then we can move on to the next person. If they fall out of the church, at least they know and we know that they are saved because they’ve been converted. They may not be a disciple, but at least they’re converted. This is the church that is only interested in the count. How many were there, how many were baptized, how many are a part of our programs. It’s superficial. It’s a perversion of the truth. Throughout the NT, we see that there is no difference between a convert and a disciple. The two cannot be separated. One who is truly born again in Christ will begin to follow after Christ and live for Christ and be shaped by Christ. And, this is far harder work for us as the church. We can’t just convert them, count them, and carry on. By the authority of Christ and the power of Christ and the presence of Christ, we have to make them into disciples. We have to work to forge their character and their consciences into the image of Jesus.

We’re tempted to shortcut making “disciples” by making “excuses”. Where the first church is a superficial church, this is a satisfied church. They are satisfied with who’s here, satisfied with what they’ve seen, satisfied with as much of the power of God as they’ve already witnessed. If their church never sees another person walk through the baptistry, they would hardly even notice, let alone care. In fact, they’ve got plenty of reasons, plenty of excuses why they aren’t spending their lives for the gospel. Life’s busy, people are mean, kids are young, jobs are overwhelming, money’s tight, and no one will listen anyway. The first church only wants to count, but this church never wants to count. And, this church will be dead within a generation.

The second perversion it corrects is the temptation to make nothing. Where the first church is a superficial church, this is a satisfied church. They are satisfied with who’s here, satisfied with what they’ve seen, satisfied with as much of the power of God as they’ve already witnessed. If their church never sees another person walk through the baptistry, they would hardly even notice, let alone care. In fact, it would be one less person to have to get to know, to befriend. The first church only wants to count, but this church never wants to count. And, this church will be dead within a generation, for God is pleased to let churches that exist for his mission but ignore his mission to die.

Conversion and Discipleship are Inseparable

APPLICATION: To make disciples implies that our mission is far more than to merely have someone attend a service. It’s far more than having someone raise their hand at the right time. It may include those things, but it is far more than those things. It’s to train them to love Christ and live for Christ. It’s leading them to a radical reorientation of their lives around Jesus. The demons believe in Jesus and tremble at his name, James tells us. Satan believes with all of his heart that Jesus has raised from the dead. But, neither the demons nor satan will spend eternity in the enjoyment of God. No, there is no separation of conversion and discipleship. To be converted is to become a disciple. It is, as Paul says, to begin with the milk of the word and to grow to maturity so that you can enjoy the steak. It is, as James says, faith that leads to works, for faith without works is dead, phony, powerless. It is, as John says, obedience to God that evidences love for God. It is, as Jesus says, the one who does the will of the Father who is his brother and sister and disciple. You will not find a separation in the NT between converts and disciples. We are not saved by faith plus works, but saving faith is always a faith that does work. A disciple does what Jesus did the way that Jesus did it because Jesus commanded it. Is that you? Are you a disciple? What about the people around you? Are you not sharing the gospel with them because you are still trying to convince yourself that they are really saved when they have no fruit of discipleship?

APPLICATION: To make disciples implies that our mission is far more than to merely have someone attend a service. It’s far more than having someone raise their hand at the right time. It may include those things, but it is far more than those things. It’s to train them to love Christ and live for Christ. It’s leading them to a radical reorientation of their lives around Jesus. There is no separation of conversion and discipleship. The demons believe in Jesus and tremble at his name, James tells us. Satan believes with all of his heart that Jesus has raised from the dead. But, neither the demons nor satan will spend eternity in the enjoyment of God. To be “converted” is to become a “disciple”. We can’t just convert them, count them, and carry on. It is, as Paul says, to begin with the milk of the word and to grow to maturity so that you can enjoy the steak. It is, as James says, faith that leads to works, for faith without works is dead, phony, powerless. It is, as John says, obedience to God that evidences love for God. It is, as Jesus says, the one who does the will of the Father who is his brother and sister and disciple. You will not find a separation in the NT between converts and disciples. We are not saved by faith plus works, but saving faith is always a faith that does work.

v. 20 “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Finally, I want you to see that Jesus’ disciples are sent with Jesus’ “method.” Jesus doesn’t leave us in the dark about how this is to take place. Jesus tells us how we can make more than converts. We’re going to talk about this from the big picture this week and then look at it from a more practical standpoint next Sunday. I want to focus on what it says at the beginning of verse 20, which is not something that I think we genuinely think of when we think of the Great Commission. As part of the Great Commission, Jesus tells his disciples that they are to ‘teach.’ They are to teach potential disciples all of what He has taught them about being disciples. Now, remember that Jesus has been teaching them for over three years, and now, He is instructing his disciples to take on disciples for themselves. It’s apparent this is going to take some time. This is not ABC’s to Jesus and this is not three easy step evangelism. This is a life commitment. When we think of evangelism and the Great Commission, very often, I think we’ve been conditioned to think in events and in huge crusade altar calls, and perhaps, those can play a role. But, they are a step toward the Great Commission, not the Great Commission itself. The Great Commission requires a life commitment from disciples for the purpose of making other disciples.

The Great Commission is not just about making disciples; it’s about being disciples. This itself is a commandment of Christ, and it is assumed that you will obey the very commands that you are to teach. It’s about walking with Jesus, and then walking with others to Jesus. That is, evangelism/the Great Commission/outreach is not a transaction that happens and then is over, just as true salvation is not a decision that one makes and then moves on from. The Gospel requires comprehension which requires teaching, often over a long period of time. Further, the gospel doesn’t just bring us into God’s Kingdom; it ever more brings us into submission to God’s rule. That is, we enter the narrow gate, and then we begin to walk down the narrow path. We enter the Kingdom through Christ, and then we learn more and more how to live in submission to Christ’s reign so that we can know the fullness of joy Christ has offered and God might find pleasure in our lives. And, this teaching, this instructing, this charting the path to godliness and maturity is done by those who are already disciples. This is Jesus’ method. This is why it’s unstoppable. He trained twelve, then trained hundreds, and they trained thousands. Making disciples is about being disciples.

The Parable of the Hell-bound Believer

There’s a man that lives on my street that is going to be surprised when he finds himself in hell. Back when he was a teenager, he wasn’t a bad kid, just mischievous and hormonal like the rest. He liked to have a good time, and he liked to laugh with guys, but he always knew when to clean it up. One Wednesday night after football season, he was invited by one of his friends, one of the same friends that he partied with, to go to a big event that his church youth group was having. He knew some of the girls that would be there and that was motivation enough. When he got there, he fit in just as well there as he did in the locker room as he did at the parties. That night, there was a man there that told a story about a young man who was driving home from prom when he was killed in a wreck, and it scared my neighbor to death. He said that he even cried that night. That night, he raised his hand during the invitation when the preacher asked if he would like to believe in Jesus and not go to hell if he wrecked driving home. He talked with the youth minister for a minute or two and was so excited when the youth minister explained that he would never have to worry about this again. If he believed in Jesus, he was going to heaven and nothing could stop him. He came to church for a month or so after that, but it didn’t really take. It was just boring, and it didn’t seem that anyone there was all that different from him. He tried to stop cussing for a while, but then he figured it wasn’t that big of a deal, and even if it was, God had forgiven him forever any way. He went to college, sowed his wild oats, and now, he has a family that seems to be about as normal as a family can be. He’s been invited to church a few times, but it’s just not his thing. He figures that God is everywhere, and He’s forgiven; so, what’s the big deal? He’s thankful for Jesus, but he’s also thankful that he’s not one of those radical, extreme Jesus types. If you press deeper for him to talk to you about his salvation, he won’t shut you down. In fact, he’ll actually get serious very suddenly and tell you about how real what he felt was, so real that he even cried, and he’s not the crying type. He felt it, and he believed in Jesus, and he’s thankful to have his eternity settled. Then, last week, he actually did die in a wreck driving home from work. As he stood before the Lord Jesus, he was in an instant terrified and realized that the gates of heaven were no laughing matter. Jesus said to him, “Depart from me, for I never knew you, you worker of lawlessness.” He tried, best he could, to make his case before the Lord. He told Jesus about the night he cried and the night he felt something so strongly and the day he was baptized. He told Jesus what the youth minister had said, and how he had even given church a shot once. He showed how much time he’d spent with his kids and how he always provided well. But, Jesus responded: “Salvation is not by works, but faith. You trusted your tears, you trusted your feelings, you trusted your baptism, you trusted your actions, but you never actually trusted me. Where in your life can we find faith? Where in your life is the evidence of your love for me? Where in your life did you live as though I was your Lord and your Treasure and your Hope? You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. You believe in me with as much faith as hell. I know it’s a shock to you, but you are not my disciple. Depart from me.”

APPLICATION: Is this story true? How is it that we can knock on a door and 9 out of 10 people in our community will say they believe in Jesus, but it’s 2 out of those same 10 people that are active in God’s church? How is it that most of the people that you work with believe they will go to heaven when they die while at the same time they live as though Jesus doesn’t exist? They are under the delusion that you can be converted without being a disciple. They have been confused by our Christian marketing and our Christian cliches into believing that there is a Christianity lite that lets us count you and you avoid any responsibility in the faith. And, brothers and sisters, it is sending our community to hell. It is sending our church attenders to hell. It is sending to hell nice people who want to toe the line between paganism and Christian extremism only to find out that Jesus spews the lukewarm out of his mouth. We must be disciples, and we must make disciples. It’s life and death.