Going Forward

A few weeks ago, I spoke at communion about how much of a difference a week can make. I had no idea just a few weeks later we as a congregation would be thrust into the change we just heard about.

Like many of you, I just kind of thought Gene would be here forever. You all heard me say Gene would be back today. That was truly what I was expecting, so when the elders came to me about a week ago and dropped this bomb shell on me, you can ask them, I was speechless. I know many of you are in shock and will be for a while.

So many questions have run through my mind:

How can Lake Shores go on without Gene?

Is there a Lake Shores without Gene?

Who are we?

Where are we going?

What's next

But God has reminded me of some answers as well

But here is what God has laid on my heart. So, I am pretty confident God is going to use this today.

God is still God and is all powerful.

Jesus is still Jesus and is the answer.

The Holy Spirit is still present and empowering us.

The church is the bride of Christ and Jesus is still fighting for it.

As I have been praying this week, God really brought a passage to my heart. The passage I cling to for serving God and especially in serving God during change. Because even though we are now in a transition, a HUGE transition, our mission, our purpose and our calling have not changed either.

Just like the disciples after Jesus had died on the cross, been resurrected, and was about to leave them to go to heaven. God has a message of encouragement and inspiration for us.

Matthew 28:16–20 NIV

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Change is scary.

Change is scary for us, but can you imagine the feelings that must have been going through the disciples.

In Matthew’s gospel, this is the first and only report of Jesus after his appearance at the empty tomb. We know from the other gospels, that Jesus appeared to the disciples many times over the 40 days between his resurrection and his ascension. But here Matthew is finishing his gospel message focusing on Jesus being the son of God and the Messiah, and reminding all his disciples they had a mission, so he ended his gospel with this command.

So here is a little context:

The disciples were sent back to Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. , and . Probably confused, definitely unsure and worried about the future, but still obedient.

I think that is an important point here.

The disciples were obedient even though they had no idea what would happen next. We have that same calling in our lives. Be obedient to what God has called you to do, especially when you really do not have any idea what is about to happen.

I think God gave us this command so that when we have no idea what is next, we have something to hold onto. Stability in a time of Chaos. He gives us our next step. which sometimes is the only one we can make.

Listen, I am not comparing what we are going through at LSC to what the disciples were going through, or even what we go through individually when we feel like we have lost everything and really have no idea what to do next, but there are many messages for us in this scripture. Some work along side our transition at Lake Shores, and others as we go through the struggles of our lives. That is why this is such an important scripture lesson for us. We can hold onto anytime we don’t know what the plan is but also everyday. After all, these are Jesus’s last words for us on earth.

So let’s keep listening for his message to us.

G

I love verse 17. It shows the humanity of the disciples.

Matthew 28:17 NIV

When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

Matthew 28:17

Some worshipped, Some doubted. Some trusted God’s plan, some did not. How often I have fit into one of these categories. Sometimes in the confusing times, I turn completely to God and worship Him, trust Him, Celebrate what he will do, and then sometimes, way more often that I would like to admit, I doubt. I doubt that God, can do what he says. I don’t trust his plan. I try to make my own plan or my own way.

Then Jesus came to them…

How cool is it that! Jesus, doesn’t judge them. He doesn’t condemn them. Whether they trusted his plan or doubted it was him. He understands exactly what they need. He comes to them. and encourages them.

Matthew 28:18 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

:

Matthew

And he comes to us where we are. Whether we live our lives in connection with him or we run away from him. He comes to us. He does not wait for us to come to him, he comes to us. AMAZING. Jesus comes to us.

And Jesus has come to us right now by the presence of the Holy Spirit in this place.

But once he comes to us, we have a choice to make follow him or not. It’s the same question, he has had for us all always. Will you follow me? Will you be my disciple? Will you listen to my voice?

So Jesus says to his disciples and to us today…

Matthew 28:18 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Christians call this the Great Commission. The final marching orders of Jesus. What we are to do until Jesus comes back. Our basic mission. Our calling. The steps we know are always called to do. A foundation of being a disciple of Jesus. And I am 100% sure that this is what we as a church and we as disciples were supposed to be doing yesterday, what need to be doing right now, and what we are called to do tomorrow and every tomorrow after that.

Matthew 28:18–20 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19–20 NIV

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Christians call this the Great Commission. The final marching orders of Jesus. What we are to do until Jesus comes back. Our basic mission. Our calling. The steps we know are always called to do. A foundation of being a disciple of Jesus. And I am 100% sure that this is what we as a church and we as disciples were supposed to be doing yesterday, what need to be doing right now, and what we are called to do tomorrow and every tomorrow after that.

There are some key foundations to this scripture that Jesus gave us that we need to pay attention to. First Jesus has All authority.

Jesus has ALL authority

If this were not true, then we would be wasting our time. We would be what unbelievers say about us. A lot of misguided people who follow some man. BUT that is not who we are because that is not who Jesus is.

This is one of those Jesus claiming to be God without directly saying I am God passages. He is claiming to have all authority everywhere. On earth, physical, and in heaven, spiritual. Only God has authority over everything. Yes some people have authority over certain things, but only God has authority over everything.

This authority is the key to our ability to move forward in life whether in good times or bad. Jesus has sent us and he has the authority to back us up.

We don’t like authority. We American Texans especially don’t like people telling us what to do. We are individuals darn it. We can make up our own minds. We don’t need anybody. But as disciples of Jesus we know that is not true. We need God. We need his plan. We need Jesus to restore our relationship with God. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide, direct and empower us. We truly need the authority.

Authority is not a bad thing. In fact , Jesus’s authority takes the pressure off of us to perform. It’s Jesus not us that does the work. It’s Jesus not us that makes the change. It’s Jesus not us that gives us the power. His authority is what makes the rest of the great commission possible.

So what is the great commission?

Matthew 28:19–20 NIV

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:

Christians call this the Great Commission. The final marching orders of Jesus. What we are to do until Jesus comes back. Our basic mission. Our calling. The steps we know are always called to do. A foundation of being a disciple of Jesus. And I am 100% sure that this is what we as a church and we as disciples were supposed to be doing yesterday, what need to be doing right now, and what we are called to do tomorrow and every tomorrow after that.

Go Make Disciples

Make Disciples

As I have grown in my faith, God has shown me this is really what being a follower of Christ. This is the command. This is our mission. Go make disciples of all nations.

This statement is packed with stuff.

To make disciples you have to be a disciple.

Go. you can’t sit still and be going.

Disciples of all nations

A disciple quite simply put is someone who lives their life under the guidance of someone else. But in the time of Jesus it meant more. And as Christians it means more to us.

A disciple spent every waking hour with his or her discipler. He lived with them. Learned from them. Imitated him until he came to the point he started to act and even more so think like him. A disciple became the image of the person.

You and I know without Jesus we are not people other people should be trying to replicate, but Jesus is. So, for us to disciple others we need to be a disciple of Jesus.

How do we do that. We spend time with him. We live life with him. We learn from him. We act like him and we think like him. How do you do that in when we do not see the physical Jesus. We do that by first trusting in him. Then spend time in his presence through prayer, Bible study, small groups, worship. We sit under those who look like Jesus.

For me, I have had many disciplers in my life. People who help me to become more like Jesus. They challenge me. They hold me accountable. They encourage me. They teach me. But most of all they show me Jesus.

And that is what we are called to be for others. We are called to disciple them. To show them Jesus. To show them how to become more like Jesus.

We are called to GO. The literal translation of this verse says “As you go”. This is important. Jesus assumes we are moving. We are not sitting still. We are not just sitting in our comfortable building, in our comfortable job, or in our comfortable families doing nothing. We are moving. We are making disciples wherever we are, but we are also looking for opportunities to make disciples. To show them Jesus.

We are to make disciples of all nations. Jesus is saying all people. No matter who they are. We should strive to make them disciples. It is not our job to determine who needs to be a disciple. We are under Jesus’s authority and he said ALL nations.

Now that definitely means we are to take the gospel to other countries as missionaries, and quite frankly that is something I feel strongly called for us to do. To be a mission minded church. So, I look forward to us to start going from the Highland Lakes Area into the world to make disciples of all nations. Because we don’t have a choice. Jesus told us we need to.

But all nations or all people, also has a local connotation. We are to make disciples of all people in our community. We are to continue as a church to reach out to those that don’t look like us. That don’t act like us. This is something I believe Lake Shores has always done well. Could we do it better? Absolutely, but I truly believe we do this better than many others. We must continue to be a church that reaches out to ALL people with the gospel. To make them disciples. To show them what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus.

Here is what Jesus says we need to do.

Baptize

We baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

We are to show them they, like us, need to die to their old selves and be reborn in Jesus. To become a new creation. Ultimately, isn’t that what baptism is? The act of obedience to Christ to show the old sinful self died on the cross with Jesus and was raised into a new life by the power of his resurrection.

Galatians 2:20 NIV

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Isn’t that exactly what it means to be a disciple of Christ. We have died and we no longer live, but Jesus live in us. That is baptism. That is what it means to be like Jesus. It is to die to ourselves and become something new.

I am excited to see where God continues to grow our evangelism. We have always done a great job of sharing the gospel. Of sharing hope in a broken world, and we will continue to Show the world Jesus and offer them the new life we have in him … because that is what disciples do.

Teach

Teach

A disciple teaches them to obey everything Jesus has commanded. This is where we have always been so blessed by the teaching gifts of Gene. But you know what, we have and will continued to be blessed by the teaching gifts of so many others. People like prayer team who have taught us how to pray. People like our elders who have taught us what it looks like to be a disciple in all that we do. People like our greeters who show us how to welcome and love all. People like our Real life Group leaders who have taught us how to care. People like our children’s teachers and nursery workers who have brought our children to Jesus. People like our Men’s and Women’s ministries who have taught us how to be better men and women. People like our marriage ministry teams that have helped us learn what a Godly marriage can look like. People like Esther who have taught us how to worship and so many others. Those people are still here and still teaching us to be more like Christ.

We are all called to teach. To teach people to follow Jesus’s commands. We just spent the last several months in 1 John where we were reminded of Jesus’s Command. LOVE! All other commandments can be summed up in this one command. Love. So we are called to teach others how to love.

So, we help others learn how God loves. We show them in your own life what the love of God looks like. Show them: the love your neighbors and your enemies kind of love Jesus lived. Show them the deep love for God that we live in. Show them how to love. We LOVE THEM. We help them dive into God’s word. See the story of his love through history. Teach them about the incarnation of Love who is Jesus. Encourage them to dive into the Bible. Let the Holy Spirit transform us by the power of his word.

Teaching is one of the foundations for making disciples. But in order to do it, we must be students. Not one of us has all the answers, but all who believe have THE answer, Jesus.

And that leads us to the end of the Great Commission. Quite possible the single most important part of Jesus told his disciples and is telling us today!

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Jesus has been is and always will be with us!

Jesus is always with us

Something we often take for granted is that Jesus is with us. But, it is the one thing we should never take for granted. Jesus who has been given all authority is always with you. Therefore, you are never alone. When trouble strikes Jesus is with you. When death occurs Jesus is you.

But in the context of the Great Commission, and I believe the message we need to receive today, is Jesus is always with us. He empowers us to make disciples. He gives us new life. He teaches. They are his disciples because he is with us. He lets us be in relationship with him and allows us to walk alongside others on their path to discipleship.

And the truth is Jesus is with us as the congregation of Lake Shores Church makes disciples of all nations beginning in the Highland Lakes Area and that will never change. Because surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age!

So yes, we are in a time of transition. Yes our path is new, but our mission has not changed and will never change.

Matthew 28:18–20 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew

Matthew 28:18–20 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28

PRAY

Homework

Pray for Gene and Kaye

Pray for Lake Shores Church

Pray for who you are to disciple.