Be Faithful to Teach
Strengthen This Body Through Your Faithfulness! • Sermon • Submitted
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Goals for ABC in 2021
The goals I will lay out for you today lead us in a particular direction. In other words, there is a flow to them that will, if followed will perpetuate itself.
You will find that it is very simple. But I am telling you, if we purpose to pursue this kind of culture at ABC, we will fulfill the Great Commission He has given us!
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1. Gather - Create a warm, welcoming, and truth-filled place of worship for those who need a church family (Acts 2:42-47)
2. Rescue - Intentional, personal and corporate outreach by every member of this body (Romans 10:14-17)
3. Teach - Robust discipleship available for every new convert as well as all who attend ABC (Matthew 28:18-20)
4. Encourage - Groups of ABC believers throughout this community meeting together for encouragement, prayer, service and love (Hebrews 10:24-25)
“Strengthen This Body Through Your Faithfulness!”
Introduction
Attention (Why should they listen to you?) I want to ask you a question - who was your favorite teacher in school? Why were they your favorite teacher? What about them helped, encouraged,
What is the Hearer’s problem?
What is the Biblical Solution?
What do the hearers need to know?
Main Textual Idea:
Main Idea: Jesus commands you to TEACH others to observe his commands
Interrogative:
Transition:
Remember Who is Telling You To Teach (vs. 18)
Lead in…Sometimes it’s good to remember who’s in charge!
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
This is it! The culmination of Jesus’ ministry. He lived His sinless life, died on the cross, was buried, and now raised from the dead. Everything He predicted He would do was complete. He and the eleven traveled to Galilee for one last meeting.
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
What an interesting scene. They went to the mountain for one last “staff meeting.” A meeting with the resurrected Christ. Awaiting, no doubt, the list of final instructions from their Rabbi.
It ended up being a worship session. They finally realized who they were dealing with - God come in the flesh.
17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
This is a great reminder that Jesus Christ is God. Why do I say this? He didn’t refuse their worship.
But what is really interesting is the last part of verse 17 - “...but some doubted.” What? After all they had seen? Even experienced? They saw Him die and then rise from the dead. They were able to eat with him, touch him, even put their hands in His wounds! And yet some doubted?! Wow! This gives me a little hope - there are days when I doubt and I have never seen the resurrected Christ.
This sets the scene to what I would call one of the most powerful directives we see in the Holy Scriptures.
We call it the “Great Commission” because Christ is commissioning His disciples to go and turn the world upside down with the gospel!
But I want to, in the first point, show you what Matthew shows us.
Why should these men do what this guy has to say? Who in the world does He, Jesus, think He is?
Well, we already have a clue by them worshiping him.
But Matthew takes it even farther when He reports the very words of Christ to us. Look at verse 18...
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Jesus make Himself very clear to these men, His disciples - “I have ALL authority everywhere!”
Abraham Kuyper: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!”
(Quote from Kuyper’s inaugural address at the dedication of the Free University. Found in Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader, ed. James D. Bratt (Eerdmans, 1998), 488).
“Christ is the origin and the destiny of every object you have ever seen, every person you have ever heard or encountered, every idea you have ever contemplated.[2]Without his express immediate and personal sustaining this very instant, the objects you see in front of you right now would cease to exist before you could finish reading this sentence, and you would not outlast them. He is the past, the present and the future of every thing and every one you will ever touch, see, hear, smell or taste, and of many more that you will never know existed (Matthew 10:29). Furthermore, God’s plan for the whole universe, including you, is to bring it all under Christ’s rule (Ephesians 1:22).”
https://thechristianscholar.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/lets-read-keller-8-abraham-kuyper-did-not-say-there-is-not-a-square-inch-in-the-whole-domain-of-my-personal-devotions-and-churchgoing-over-which-christ-does-not-cry-mine/
Jesus, in a not so subtle fashion lets these men, His dear friends know just who they are talking to. He is the creator God of the universe and in Him all things, including their lives, hold together.
Remember the powerful words of the Apostle Paul regarding our Lord...
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Jesus has ALL AUTHORITY!
Why does He tell them this? Because we, even as disciples, so easily forget and think that we are in charge. This has been the case since the fall of man. “Nobody tells me what to do!”
And, if we are going to be honest, even as disciples of Jesus, we still struggle with this fleshly tendency.
So, Jesus flexes his muscle a bit to make Himself abundantly clear.
Illustration - Mark Allan Green, I am your MOTHER! Run for the hills!
Argumentation - Jesus needs them to remember that He is not only the long awaited Messiah, but that He is God very God!
Because what He is about to tell them to do needs to be done. There is no plan B!
Application - Do you realize who is telling you to make disciples? Is our obedience to the Lord optional? Do we as followers of Christ get to pick and choose what we will obey and not obey? No! The answer is a resounding no!
Jesus, wants you to do what he says because He is God and He has all authority. I think sometimes because we live in the age of grace we forget our responsibility to obey the sovereign King of kings.
Jesus hasn’t changed! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
He must be glorified through our lives of obedience!
Have you submitted your life to the One who has all authority? This means you will be determined to obey Him - not perfectly, not legalistically, but faithfully!
Especially in this area of discipleship...
Review - Jesus commands you to TEACH others to observe his commands
Remember Who is Telling You To Teach
Understand What You are Supposed to Teach (vs. 19-20a)
Lead in...What is the tension here?
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.”
Explanation - Because Jesus has all authority, His disciples are to “go…and make disciples of ALL nations.”
Disciples of Christ will go and teach others to go!
Let me share three thoughts from the text...
First, disciples are to go! The idea is, “As you are going.”
Second, the point embedded in this text is an expectation of reproduction.
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.
1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,
Third, disciples are to make disciples of all nations. They were to go everywhere and pursue everyone.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
We are in our “little corner of the vineyard” (as Bill Amstutz says). We have a responsibility for our concentric circles. We will give an account - I will give an account on how well we did for such a time as this.
God, as I said last week, is not looking for fruitfulness (After all, He brings forth the fruit).
He is not looking for fruitfulness, but FAITHFULNESS! Your FAITHFULNESS!
Disciples of Christ will baptize and to teach others to baptize - What is the first action of the newly minted disciple? The disciple-maker is to baptize the disciple!
Why? What is so important about baptism?
First - Baptism is a Picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That’s why it is immersion.
Second - Baptism is a public witness of faith in the Triune God head! “In the NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Third - Baptism is a public identification that you are a subject of the King. That was the point of Jesus’ baptism - He identified himself as the King (messiah). Now we who follow in the waters of baptism get to identify with Him that He is King of Kings.
The point is simple and a big deal to Jesus. All disciples, after they become disciples are to be baptized.
ARE YOU BAPTIZED?? We baptist call it the first step of obedience. Are you, as a disciple-maker encouraging others to be baptized as well?
Disciples are to go and teach others to go
Disciples are to baptize and teach others to baptize.
Disciples of Christ will observe the commands of Christ and teach others to observe also! - This is a big one, folks! And it is no small task!
First, to teach others assumes something. What does it assume? It assumes that you have something to teach. You and I must continue to grow in our knowledge of our Lord and his word.
This was Paul’s passion...
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
This must be our desire and passion.
Yes, we are to be knowledgeable about many things. But as a Christian, you must pursue much knowledge in Christ.
“Visit many good books, but live in the Bible.”― Charles Spurgeon
This verse also assumes something else. It assumes you are observing what Christ has commanded you in His word. We are to be obedient doers of His word, not hearers only! If we just know the commands, what good is that? We must do them!
A parent tells the child to go and clean their room. The child hears the command of his parents, goes to his room, gets out a piece of paper and writes down the command. He then diagrams the sentence of the command. He then studies the history and the context of the command. Then he sets out to memorize the command. Then he spends an hour praying over the command. Then he calls his friends over to his home and they do a group study of the command. He asks his friends, “what does this command mean to you?” But after an entire day after the command from his parents was given to clean his room, he never actually gets around to obeying the command!
Friends, we do the same thing with God. We don’t need to pray about obeying God. We don’t need to feel right about it. We just need to do what He says. And we are to teach others to do the same.
Do as I say and not as I do doesn’t cut it anywhere and especially in the Christian community.
Jim Gerakinis, one of our elders taught the rest of the Elders the other night in our elder meeting that we as elders must model what we expect the rest of you to do as well. - Give examples.
The point is this - all believers are disciples and all believers are disciple-makers. We all have this responsibility.
But wait, Pastor Mark, I’m a new Christian and I don’t know very much to disciple others with. Good point! But you do know the gospel. You need to know and understand the gospel in order to be saved. So if you know it, you can disciple others in it.
Teach what you know. Learn what you don’t. Share all you can!
Notice one other thing in this verse. Jesus says “teaching them to observe “ALL that I have commanded you.”
This means we must continue to pursue knowing ALL that Jesus commands so we can teach it.
This means we are never done learning.
This bible is a thick book that will take a lifetime to master. Yes, we can understand the simple message of the gospel, but the beauty of the Bible it can take you deeper than you could ever imagine. You will never run out of material. And you will never run out of deepening your understanding of the material.
Illustration - Dave VanEnk and Kurt Joliff
Argumentation - This was God’s plan A and there was and is no plan B. The proclamation of the gospel and the discipleship of ALL nations now rested on the shoulders of these eleven disciples.
And think about this - They were faithful! They did the 2 Timothy 2:2 model that Paul lays out...
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.
Faithfully teaching the next generation of Christians. Faithfully equipping the saints for the work of the ministry. Faithfully handing the message to the next generation with the expectation that the next generation will do the same to the next generation.
Application - Micro Groups....
Review - Jesus commands you to TEACH others to observe his commands
Remember Who is Telling You To Teach
Understand What You are Supposed to Teach
Realize You are Not Teaching by Yourself (vs. 20b)
Lead in...What is the tension here?
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Explanation - Secular teachers do not have this amazing promise, but we do! We have the power of God dwelling within us! A superior power that will never leave us!
Think about this from the perspective of the disciples. They had just recovered from watching their Rabbi not only taken forcibly by a cohort of Roman soldiers, but brutally murdered on the cross for crimes He was innocent of.
They thought they lost Him, but as you know the story, death could not keep Him and so He rose triumphantly from the grave!! They had Him back, but now they face losing Him again! It’s so hard for us to put ourselves in their circumstances.
But when we try to understand what they were thinking and how they were feeling, the story comes alive and becomes more powerful and meaningful.
But Jesus tenderly and lovingly reminds them that He will still be with them!
This harkens back to the begging of Matthews gospel that says this...
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Jesus came from heaven to physically be with his people!
After His ascension back to heaven he promised to be spiritually with his people until he comes again to retrieve His people.
Why would the Lord tell the apostles this?
To encourage them! To let them know that they will never be in this alone!
Friends, think about the monumental task they were facing! They were the foundation of the (yet to be) church! Everything was riding on their shoulders - no plan “B”. Frightening!
But Jesus would be with each of them and EVERY disciple, including YOU even to the end of the age.
Illustration - Do you ever feel alone? Like this whole Christian life thing rests squarely on your shoulders?
A little guy mowing the lawn while his dad is pushing the mower all along.
Argumentation - The disciples might have began to be worried at the thought of the enormity of the task and that they would have to pull it off in their own strength. Jesus wanted them to know that they were never alone! He would never leave them, He would never forsake them.
Did you know that if you are a disciple of Jesus the same is true for you? He will be with you always! Until He comes again, or when you take your last breathe on this earth, you will NEVER be alone even if you are all by yourself.
Application - Would you daily remind yourself of this beautiful and comforting truth? What would happen in your life if your regularly reminded yourself that Jesus is with you throughout your day and night. He never sleeps nor slumbers. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. A big and powerful brother!
What do you think would happen if this truth was constantly in your mind. I’ll tell you what will happen. You will be bold as a lion. Nothing and no one can touch you without His permission!
So, you want to stop being timid? Remember this one truth!
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Review - Jesus commands you to TEACH others to observe his commands
Remember Who is Telling You To Teach
Understand What You are Supposed to Teach
Realize You are Not Teaching by Yourself
Conclusion
Review opening illustration (if appropriate) Mr. Holland’s Opus...
I had a real blessing happen to me the other day. Tell about Luke...
Review Main Idea -
Give final application
Land the Plane.
Connection Group Reflection Questions
1. What do these verses teach me about our character?
2. What do these verses teach me about God and his character?
3. Because these words are from God, they are TRUTH! What truth is he asking me to believe?
4. What do I need to do to obey him?
5. With whom can I share these truths?