Purpose Driven Life: Mission

Let me say a word about the test, and then we're going to get into the lesson for today. This is just a tool. It's not the absolute definitive about where you stand spiritually, but it is a tool that Rick Warren uses when he teaches the purpose-driven life. And here's what I would ask you. First, he gives a scale at the bottom.

So for each section, you've got a score, and he says, in that section and see how you compare based on his scoring system. 0 to 5 just beginning, 5 to 10 fair, 10 to 15 getting going, 15 to 20 very good, 20 to 25 he calls well developed.

I'm more interested sort of in the relationships between these. I'm wanting to see where am I strongest, where am I weakest. And I would ask you this, where are you strongest? I would ask why am I the strongest in that area? What is it about me and my relationship to the Lord or about my personality that makes that the strongest area for me? And I think a lot of times we'll find out we are wired in a certain way.

Some of us are more relational than others. Some of us are much more service oriented than others. and you will find that your strengths often relate to what you are like. But the reality is, and I think Warren makes a good point, we should have strengths in all of these areas. These all are important aspects of the Christian life.

So what we're looking for is improvement, right? So where we particularly are weakest, that's a good place to start. And ask the question, why am I weakest here? What is it that about me or about my relationship with the Lord or about how I am approaching the Christian life that makes me the weakest in this area? I'm going to ask for true confessions here, and if you don't want to answer, this is okay.

How many of you was your weakest area of all the areas the area he calls share? You were made for a mission. Me too. Okay? It seems often that we can be strong in many areas of the Christian life, but then when it comes to that share part, we sort of back up.

Why is that?

We're uncomfortable sometimes. Okay. Other thoughts?

Okay, we don't know what our message is, or maybe we're not comfortable articulating the message. Other thoughts? Yes?

Okay, there's a fear of rejection. Even though it's the message in Christ that is being rejected in reality, we can have a sense of personal rejection. Other thoughts?

Okay. We have a certain community of friends that are often churched folks, and we either don't have means or don't want to find means to really connect with people who really are different from us in their philosophy. about life and in what they believe. We sort of run in circles where we all walk, talk, and look alike, don't we? And sometimes we have to be very intentional about finding and interacting with folks who don't think the same way we do or go at life the same way we do.

That's not always easy. It's not always comfortable. Other thoughts? Well, this is the beginning of how we begin to think about how to share. Sometimes I think, and I'm just speaking for myself personally, All these reasons you have given, I know I have felt, you know, you don't want to look weird.

You don't want to be rejected. You don't want to offend people and so forth and so on. Sometimes maybe we've approached this issue of sharing by trying to press square pegs into round holes. And we've sort of said, well, you're supposed to do it this way, folks. And we've told everybody this is how you share your faith.

and we try to make everybody do it the same way following a set pattern and a set routine. And we've said in a sense that there's sort of one way to do it. And I think all of us will find that that's not the case and we have to find a way of sharing that is intentional but is something that is comfortable in the way we do it. another point I would make is the commands to share are commands to the community you hear me that means it involves each of us but most of the commands in scripture go and make disciples make disciples is a plural command it's a command to the community of faith and sometimes we try to make people take a responsibility for making disciples that is not the way they are wired to help make disciples give you an example. Sometimes we tell people, you must be the one who stands up and shares the gospel verbally. And some of you, the notion of standing up and sharing the gospel verbally is about the most frightening thing you can think of. But you know what? You can be part of making disciples as part of the community, even though you aren't the one standing up saying the words, right? Hubert Lynch. So he helped share the gospel and make runs a sound system, you bet.

When we serve a meal and bring people in where we can share the gospel, are those serving the meal helping make disciples? You bet. So I think what we have to learn is this is a community effort and we need to find the niche that every member of the community needs to fill so that we will share the gospel. Now I'm not trying to let anybody off the hook from the responsibility of sharing the gospel. I'm saying let's do it the way Christ told us to do it.

our area of giftedness and using that to then do the big mission. But not everyone is wired to stand up in front of a group and share the gospel. Right?

But we all need to be part of making disciples by being a part of the effort that does that. I do think it's important to learn how to do one-on-one as we have friends share the gospel. But then we need to learn how to do that.

I will tell you some approaches that I have found very unhelpful over the years, and I've tried a lot of them. It is usually, I think, in this society, I'm going to talk about the United States right now, I think in this society it's usually not helpful typically to cold call people. Typically. Go knock on the door. You know, you get those phone calls at home at night.

Now we have that thank you for that system where you can get on that do not call registry list. when you get a cold call at home, what is our reaction typically? Oh no, don't bother me. The same is, it doesn't matter what's being sold, folks, whether it's the gospel or something else. Most people don't like a cold call, unexpected, out of the blue.

There needs to be some introduction. The other thing is, I think we need to make it more of a natural part of life. It's just in the conversation. You don't, so often I've tried to force sharing the gospel in the past. You know, sit down, let me get you from A to Z in three minutes so I can say I shared the gospel with you.

That is a very unnatural way of doing it. I think an unbiblical way, typically, we typically do it in a more natural fashion where we're having conversation with people, we're open about who we are, what we're doing, and in that conversation, things begin to develop. Conversation begins to develop. So I would say relax a little bit in the sense of let's be willing just to have conversation with people. But let's not relax in the sense that we just don't do what we're supposed to do.

Be willing to talk about who we are, what Christ has done in our lives, what's important in our lives. If you are serious about the Christian faith and you're honest in your conversations with people, it's going to come up. It's just going to come up. And I have found the best times I have had to talk about Christian faith and about Christ are not times I planned or forced. It just came up in the conversation.

But when it comes up, you don't step back. You step forward and be willing to talk and share.

So let's talk a minute about what Christ taught us. But let's start with Johann Sebastian Bach. SDG. Johann Sebastian Bach was a great composer

who was one of many children in his family. At nine years old, he lost both his parents. He was a widower in his mid-30s and remarried. He had 20 children from both marriages.

13 died before they got to be adults. in his life. But he was a brilliant musician who was noted in his day for being one who could really capture the glory and grandeur of the Lord God Almighty in his music. Yesu, joy of man's desiring. Everybody heard that one? That's your friend Bach. Here's a good picture, Bach. I always liked the wigs.

but Bach would end most of many of his masterpieces he would end with the initials s d g s d g soli deo gloria glory to God alone that's what this whole book the purpose-driven life has been about. It has been about learning to live life for the glory of God. We want our lives to have the initials on it, SDG. Glory to God alone. He also had another, a couple of initials that many people don't know about, JJ, that he would put on many of his works.

And I'll tell you what that means in just a few minutes. Here's the review. So far in this book and this is the last session we have covered these areas our purpose in life is to glorify god we do that through worship through fellowship through discipleship through ministry and then today through mission which is the part of the book where rick warren talks about making disciples for jesus christ and it's to that we go today let's begin with some last words i I always like to hear last words that people spoke. I'm talking about last words before they departed and they were no longer with us. Well, Jesus gave us some last words.

And those last words are found in Matthew 28, verses 18 to 20. So if you have your Bibles, let's turn there. Or you can look on your sheet, the handout. The verses are printed out right there on the front page under Mission, Making Disciples.

and here's what Jesus says about this aspect of making disciples then jesus came to them and said all authority in heaven 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 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. Let's pray. Lord, I pray that this morning as we talk about for a few moments this idea of making disciples that we will not let the familiarity of the words diminish the importance of the words. I pray that we will for a moment take seriously these very important last words that our Lord Christ gave to us. And I pray that they will be impressed on our minds and our hearts.

And that we will be more intentional about doing what our Lord has called us to do. Of course, in Christ's name we pray. Amen.

Aren't these familiar words? And I will just make confession for myself. Usually when I start hearing these words quoted, I sort of turn them off. Because I've heard them so many times. and familiarity sometimes causes us not to take something as importantly or give it the importance that we should.

Oh, I've heard that before. You don't need to tell me again. I've heard that before. Haven't we Baptists heard that a lot?

But I guess I'm ready for us not just to hear it but to do it in the way that Christ called us to do it. and he began as he gave this command by talking about his authority and i think you've got to start with verse 18 we often quote verses 19 and 20 therefore go and make disciples i think you got to start with verse 18 where christ talks about all authority and this word all is going to be repeated in several points throughout these few verses and this is it's an all-encompassing sort of thing but that hear the words about all authority when we talk about all authority we mean that christ has complete ruling power and authority and complete jurisdiction

so this word authority has the sense of ruling power and jurisdiction over a territory

it is a universal authority all authority in heaven and on earth has been given in other words there is no place in the universe where god where christ authority does not exist. He is the sovereign ruling power everywhere.

Do you hear me? So we better listen, right? Because the king of kings and lord of lords is speaking. He has all authority.

The basis of this authority work of Christ on the cross. That's not explicitly stated. All authority has been given me. Who gave him the authority? Who gave him the authority? Come on. God the Father gave the Son this authority. Why?

Because of his obedience and going to the cross. You can go to Philippians 2 and read it. Because Christ is obedient to death on a cross therefore God exalted him to the highest place gave him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father he has earned it has he not but in a sense too it is given by the Father you remember Satan tried to give You remember that? When Jesus was tempted, Satan says, oh, if you'll just bow down, you can have all these worldly kingdoms. Well, there was a sense in which Satan could not do that because the authority rested with God the Father, and he has now given it to the Son because of his obedience to death on a cross.

And who cannot see, as we've seen the passion of the Christ, how this gift is a gift that the Father gave out of deep gratitude for the obedience of the Son for what He had done. The work of Christ on the cross. Now, what is Christ's admonition? The one who has all authority is speaking. He now gives us an admonition that will go to all nations.

and the admonition is make disciples of all nations. You see that word all again in the text.

This is a binding command, folks. The words make disciples in the Greek text, and we can see it in the English, are imperative. It's a command. It is a second person plural command. It is not a command just to me individually.

It is a command to the community of faith. Those that were present at the time the command was given were the disciples of Jesus Christ, but they were as representatives for all disciples were receiving this command. So this is a command to the community. When we think about sharing the gospel, we so often think about this individually. We think about it individually.

And we train people individually to share the gospel. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with us each knowing how to individually share the gospel. that. But we don't think as a community enough. We need to think more intentionally about how we can employ all the skills and gifts of all the people in the church to be more effective in taking the gospel wherever it needs to go. Which means we don't need just preachers and teachers, right? We need haulers and lifters and cookers and diggers and builders and anybody who can help advance this effort by doing something for the community so it can be more effective in what it's doing.

We've got to think as a community. Do you hear me? We've got to think as a community. And we need to get a little bit away from this being such an individual responsibility and make it a community responsibility. I loved it when we went to the prison with the Good News team a few weeks ago.

People didn't say a word in terms of sharing the gospel while we were in the prison. Some just went back there and shoveled food. Mutt's barbecue for those prisoners. They were a part of, though, helping to make disciples. Some rode their Harleys.

Some sang. Some spoke. Some shared. Some prayed. But it was, I think, the way it's supposed to be done.

Not everybody doing the same thing, but all of us doing something with a common goal, to make disciples. And it's something we must take seriously because it is commanded. The meaning of making disciples is this. In a sense, we don't make disciples, right? I mean, there's a sense in which it's only through the Spirit of God that anybody can be a disciple of Jesus Christ because the Spirit has to open our hearts and minds to receive Christ.

But what Christ is saying by giving us this command is we are to be agents of Christ seek to cause more people to become followers, students, and submissive servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what a disciple is. Someone who's a follower, a student. He's learning from somebody. And he's a submissive servant.

That is, he obeys. And in this case, the person they are following, being students of and submitting to is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we're to be about.

scope of this command is global all nations jesus christ has not given us a small task he has given us a big one it is a multinational task the church is a multinational organization with a multinational agenda.

Jesus said, I want you to get the whole world. Every nation, tongue, and tribe. It is not a small thing, but it can't be a small thing if he wants our lives. We only give our lives to big causes. And this is a big cause.

It is, Christ is saying, I want the world to be transformed. I want people to be my disciples.

So we've got to think globally, not just locally. We've got to think locally. But we've got to think globally, folks. We can't forget the people of Eritrea, of Mali, of Somalia, of Sudan. How many of you in the last month have prayed one day for the salvation of any soul?

Let me start it this way. Any soul anywhere.

Well, I wasn't asking for a response, but I appreciate it. That's great. All right. Well, let's just keep responding. How many of you pray for the salvation of one soul in the continent of Africa?

Love it.

But you see, we begin sometimes to forget the global nature of this. And part of the global nature means we need to be thinking globally and praying globally. Because God wants the whole world. He wants the whole world. How do we do it?

We go. Now, you know, this is one of these go and make disciples. A Greek scholar would tell you this is a participle. That means it's one of those ing words, going. But it's a participle that does have an imperative sense.

And it's an aorist participle. That's a lot of fancy stuff to say this. before you can make a disciple you got to go right you got to go and find somebody to make a disciple and the sense of the text here is this going and it we're to do it as we're going but the sense is an imperative command that you must go if you want to make disciples the reality is folks unbelievers are not going to just show up at Greer First Baptist Church would you if you were an unbeliever unlikely unlikely you're just going to show up at a church one day unlikely the way we make disciples is we go get them we do not sit in the walls of the church we go somewhere we make more people come to faith in christ outside the walls of this church each year by the efforts of people in the church than within the walls of the church. And that's the way it ought to be.

We go to Honduras, more people will commit faith in Jesus Christ in that one week there than will all year here this year in all likelihood. That's the way it's been for the last several years anyway. We had eight people come to faith in Christ in the prison when we went a few weeks ago. We have people come to faith in Christ when our youth mission team goes. If we're going to make disciples seriously, we've got to go.

They're out there. We've got to take the message to them. And that's the sense here. It is an imperative sense to this go. We've got to get outside the walls.

It's not to say that we don't want people to come to church. It's not to say we don't want them to come to faith here. It's just the same reality as both unbelievers are here. They're out there. We've got to go get them.

Secondly, we baptize. We baptize into the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. It says baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. And the sense we have is, when you baptize somebody, we say we do it in the name of the Trinity. Well, the Greek text there, there's a little word that we translate in that literally means into.

And here's the picture. are baptized, it is the outward public confession of an inward reality that they have gone from being outside of Christ, Father, Son, and Spirit, and have joined with them. It's a picture of uniting with Christ. We bury our sins, we raise to new life, but this baptized into has the sense of becoming a part of the Father, Son, and Spirit. And it's the picture of the Father, Son, and Spirit becoming owners of us.

We unite with them. We're now part of them. We are now possessed by the Father, Son, and Spirit.

And lastly, we teach. We teach them to obey Christ's commands.

that is an essential aspect of making disciples. We baptize them into the faith. They profess faith in Christ. The baptism is the public declaration of their allegiance and submission to Christ. It's the picture of them being united with Christ, being a part of that.

But then we teach them. They don't know it all when they come to faith in Christ. So we have to begin to teach them, sort of like we do our children at a young age. We teach them what is right and wrong, do what they should not do. Now we do it in a respectful way, but we're to teach them what is right and wrong from the viewpoint of Christ and how they are to live their lives. That's part of becoming a disciple is learning and obeying Christ's commands. Now here's Christ's assurance, and this is the last verse. He will be with us literally all the days until the end of the age.

You see that word all again? Literally, it's all the days. This is an assurance of his presence,

particularly through his spirit. And there's an assurance of completion. He'll be with us to the end of the age, and the picture is that one day this age is going to end and another age is going to be ushered in. So we can look forward to that day.

The task is too big for us to do it alone. to have the presence of Christ. And I'll be honest with you. It helps me to think about the end. That I'm working toward the end.

I'm preparing people, helping to bring people into the kingdom. But one day it's all going to be consummated. Everything's going to be set right. And then we'll get to enjoy the fruit of all our labors in a sense. And Christ gives us the assurance that that's going to happen.

Now here are my lessons for life. Let's go.

Let's go. What are we sitting around here for?

If you've never been on a mission trip, you need to go on one. They're available. It's easy to do. Sign up. Go to Honduras.

If you don't sense that call to go there, well, go here. But it's not an optional thing. We're to go. So find a place to go and be a part of making disciples. Secondly, our mission is a mission of mercy both spiritually and physically.

Part of making disciples is taking the love of Christ and helping people who have physical needs, which is the greatest and best way to be able to share about their spiritual needs. One little fault I would have with Warren's book is I don't think he puts enough emphasis on caring for the physical needs of people, quite frankly, in the book. on evangelism which is important but I don't think you can separate those two pieces in the New Testament I think you've got to marry the idea of evangelism and caring for the physical needs of people you separate those two words can sound hollow if they don't aren't shown by acts of love but acts of love are not truly acts of love unless we're concerned about eternal destiny too so you got to marry those two things together I think evangelism I would say has priority but you marry the two together thirdly discipleship can never be separated from lordship if jesus christ is not your lord then you are not his disciple if jesus christ is your lord then you are his disciple and if he is your lord it means that you have bent the knee and say all right lord you're my master whatever you say i will do that's what lordship is and if that is of your heart, if the attitude of your heart is not, you are my Lord, whatever you command, Lord, I will do to the best of my ability, if that is not the attitude of your heart, then I would ask you to reexamine the issue of discipleship. I would ask you to reexamine the issue of salvation. Because until the attitude of our heart is, Lord, with all that I understand and all that I can do, I'm going to serve you and follow you as my Lord and Master.

There is neither salvation nor discipleship. If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart that God raised him with the head, you will be saved.

Fourthly, find your niche and be a part of making disciples. Don't let us press you into a round. If you're a square peg, don't let us press you into a round hole. God needs the round holes. He also needs the square pegs, the triangular pegs.

He needs them all. Find your niche and do it for Christ. Be creative. Don't do it the way everybody else has done it. Learn.

And there's nothing wrong with imitation. but sometimes I think we're creative in so many areas of life but then we're not creative sometimes it seems when it comes to things of the faith. How can we be more creative about introducing people to faith in Christ? What's a different way we can do it? How can we capture their imagination?

How can we capture the thoughts of people? How can we introduce them in a way that hasn't been done? There was a bike night last night in downtown Greer. What a great idea. Motorcyclists from all over bringing their Harleys to downtown Greer.

to go and listen to a little music and hear about Jesus. You know, I had a little contest. Who had the best Harley? You know? Creative way to get people to come and listen.

Sixthly, pray specifically for opportunities, courage, countries, workers, those who will believe. Pray specifically.

And then, J.J. Yesu Yuva.

Bach put that on a lot of his works too it means Jesus help me Jesus help me you know what he will he will if we'll let him so let's ask him to help us to be all that he wants us to be let me pray for us and then we'll have a couple of announcements

Lord I pray for us

faith. I pray first that you will forgive us for our lackadaisical attitude about this great commission. We are not intentional enough. We admit it. We are not focused enough.

We admit it. We are distracted too often by other things that do not matter nearly so much as this commission. And we admit it. But I pray for us as a community, Lord, and I pray it is the prayer of the hearts of all here that we will be a people who love you enough and love other people enough to go, to go, to go to every corner of every place in this world and every corner of every place in this community to share the love of Jesus Christ.

We praise you and honor you for what you have done for us on the cross.

We did not deserve it.

But I thank you. And I must admit that it is joy, joy, joy, unspeakable to have you as my Lord and as my Savior. And I pray that the joy will grow as more come to know you and understand you and follow you. For it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.