FaithFit
Great Commission Living
Sunday May 2, 2021 - Pastor Richard Reave
Matthew 28:18-20
Opening Illustration
It's a Wonderful Life
The story of George Bailey.
We can do this. In fact, if you are a disciple of Jesus, you are called to do this! Listen to the words of Don Everts in his book Go and Do.
There is something incessantly, wonderfully bothersome about Jesus. After a couple of decades of following him, I'd say this is perhaps what I love most about him. He's not content being my Savior, but also insists on being my Lord. He's not content with me knowing the right answers about the faith; he wants me to actually live by faith. He's not content with the ways I have been marked by God's work in this world (forgiven, healed, clothed, embraced); he seems equally interested in me getting caught up and involved in God's work in this world (as a witness, a neighbor, an agent of his kingdom).
We are all called to engage in what we could call Great Commission Living. It comes from Jesus' final challenge to His disciples at the end of Matthew's gospel.
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."
What Great Commission Living is not
- GC Living is not just about over there; it is about right here.
- GC Living is not for super Christians; it is for common Christians.
- GC Living is not about someday when I'm more prepared; it's about every day.
What Great Commission Living Is
Let's reread 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."
So, what is Jesus talking about here? Does His subject concern discipleship or mission?
Experiencing God
Here are the first three of Blackaby's seven Realities of Experiencing God:
- 1. God is always at work around you.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NIV)All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
And how is God reaching out to the lost of the world? Through what Jesus did. Jesus said, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." John 12:32 (NIV).
- 2. God pursues a love relationship with you that is real and personal.
John 3:16 (NIV)For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Have you accepted His loving overture to you?
- 3. God invites you to join Him in His work
Let's go back to 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NIV)All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
It is a call to help others take positive steps towards our Savior.
- Some people are just beginning to see God's revelation to them.
- Some are farther down the road.
- Some are just on the brink.
Great Commission Living:
It doesn't matter what you believe. What matters is that God chose you.