A Disciple is Commissioned

Our Assignment - The Great Commission

2. Matthew 28:18-20 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.”

   1. as believers, we are commissioned by Someone who has all the authority in heaven and earth at his disposal… to do what?

   2. to make disciples of all nations - that is our mission

      1. the U.S. Armed Forces have a mission - to defend and protect the Constitution, the citizens, the territory, and the interests of the United States of America around the world.

      2. each branch of the Armed Forces has a mission under that overall mission - land, sea, air

      3. each unit (e.g. armored division, fighter squadron, carrier battle group) of each branch has a mission

      4. each member of each unit of each branch has a mission

4. likewise, the church has a mission and each individual member of the church has an individual mission

6. so what is our mission assignment as individuals?

   1. it is to become involved in the process of making disciples

   2. our church’s vision - to become a training center that produces fully-equipped followers of Jesus Christ

      1. so each member of our church ought to be contributing to that process in some way

      2. that is the purpose for you being a member of this church - to see other people come to Christ and become fully-equipped followers of Him.

Our Anxiety - The Great Conflict

2. In the 1960’s Viet Nam conflict - many young men fled to Canada to avoid the draft. Why did they go?

   1. they were afraid

   2. they didn’t want to go into battle

   3. they wanted to sit on the sidelines

4. the same can be true of Christians:

   1. we make excuses for not being involved in the Great Commission

      1. “evangelism isn’t my gift”

      2. “I won’t know what to say”

      3. “I’m in favor of evangelism; I’ll even give money to get it done, just don’t expect me to do it.”

   2. but it really comes down to the fact that we are afraid, we are anxious. Satan wants us to sit this one out.

6. 1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

   1. Africa - the lions who roar are the old males

      1. they stampede the prey in the other direction, where the females lie in wait to kill them.

      2. the devil is like a roaring old lion

      3. the Bible says that if you resist the devil he will flee from you.

8. Ephesians 6:10–12 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

10. We have been given an assignment - The Great Commission, which takes us into a battle - The Great Conflict—and Satan doesn’t want us in that battle.

    1. he wants to neutralize us; he wants us to sit on the sidelines

    2. but we have an answer for him…

Our Authority - The Great Counselor

2. John 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. If you love me, you will obey what I command.

4. John 14:16 = And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

6. Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

8. During the Persian Gulf War, whole battalions of the Iraqi army surrendered to one or two U.S. soldiers. Why?

   1. was it because those soldiers were superhuman or especially skilled warriors? No.

   2. it was because those soldiers came with the authority and the power of United States Armed Forces behind them

10. When you and I go into spiritual battle as we carry out our mission to make disciples, we carry the full power and authority of the Great Counselor, the Holy Spirit of God.

    1. And Jesus said “Because of that, you will do even greater things than I have done.”

12. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit day by day; walking with God moment by moment in order to be truly be effective as disciple makers

    1. and the fruit of the Spirit is… love

Our Attitude - The Great Commandment

2. John 13:34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

4. Our attitude, our motivation, our enerigizing force in making disciples has to be love—the love of God that we have experienced in our own lives.

   1. if you haven’t experienced God’s love; if you haven’t experienced God’s grace working in your own life, you aren’t going to be very interested in evangelism and making disciples.

   2. Because “you can’t share what isn’t there”.

6. 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

8. 2 Cor. 5:14 For Christ’s love compels us… to want to reach out and help others come to know Christ.

1. Evangelism that is rooted in love is the best kind of evangelism there is, and the only kind of evangelism that God blesses.

Our Action Plan - The Great Commitment

1. If we are going to be involved in the Great Commission, which leads us into the Great Conflict, empowered by the Great Counselor, motivated by the Great Commandment, we are going to have to make a Great Commitment.

   1. that commitment involves five parts of us:

      1. our knees

      2. our eyes

      3. our feet

      4. our hands

      5. our mouth

2. Our Knees - prayer is always the beginning of any work we do for God.

   1. Catch the Vision brochure - 4th panel - My Personal Action Plan for Prayer - pray for those who need salvation

   2. Pray for your community, your neighborhood, your friends, your acquaintances at work, your family members

   3. As part of your action plan, please write down the names of 3 or 4 people that you will begin to pray for regularly.

      1. if you get serious about praying, God gets serious about answering!

      2. God’s answers may not always be what you expect - in fact they are always better than you expect!

      3. in the process of praying, God changes your heart and deepens your faith and your character.

3. Our Eyes - Henry Blackaby in Experiencing God: “Watch to see what God is doing and join him there.”

   1. Many times we are guilty of praying - “God, here is what I want to do for you, will you please join me and bless me in that endeavor?”

   2. Instead, we should pray “Lord, help me to see what You are doing; help me to sense where You are at work, and please let me join you there.”

   3. Henry Blackaby tells how his church tried for two years to start Bible studies at a nearby college campus and got nowhere. Nothing they tried seemed to work.

   4. Finally, one week he told his leaders to just go to the college campus and watch for evidence that God was at work. Watch for evidence that God might be drawing someone to Himself. For example, if a student started asking spiritual questions, drop what you’re doing and go with that student to see what God is doing.

   5. So the leaders followed his advice. And on Wednesday one girl reported that she had had an encounter with a girl after one of her classes. The girl said “I think you might be a Christian. I need to talk to you.” So the Christian girl skipped her next class in order to go to the cafeteria to talk to this girl. And the girl told her that she and eleven of her friends had been studying the Bible in their dorm, but they didn’t understand what they were reading. She asked “Do you know of anyone who could lead us in a Bible study?”

   6. God was at work! As a result of that contact, they started five different Bible studies among the students.

   7. It may be that you have been praying for Person A, but you begin to sense God working in someone else’s life - Person B. Join God where he is working, because He may intend to use Person B to reach Person A.

5. Our Feet - we need to be willing to change direction in order to join God in what He is doing.

   1. every time God spoke to someone in the Bible, he challenged them to change direction in order to join Him in what He was doing.

      1. Abram - get out of Ur and go to a place I will show you

      2. Moses - leave these sheep and go to Pharaoh

      3. Paul - stop persecuting me and start preaching for me

      4. disciples - leave your nets and follow me

   2. If you want to go with God, you have to be willing to point your feet in a different direction. Are you willing to do that?

6. Our hands - we need to be willing to roll up our sleeves and get involved in the process of reaching out to people.

   1. we have this weird idea that evangelism involves mainly preaching to people.

   2. but the most effective evangelism involves acts of service

      1. helping people with their needs

      2. showing concern for their problems and pain

      3. getting involved in their struggles

      4. and it is only when we have done that, will they hear us when we share the good news

      5. “People don’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care”.

   3. Catch the Vision brochure - 5th panel - My Personal Action Plan for Evangelism - friends name; first effort - act of kindness; event; personal witness; second effort, etc.

7. Our mouths

   1. Romans 10:13 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But…How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

   2. There’s no such thing as a silent witness!

   3. If you are involved in loving the lost for Jesus sake, you will not be at a loss for words when the time comes to share the Good News with them. The Holy Spirit, working through your life, will give you the words.