9/20/2009 Pastor Tim Pusey

LOOKING BEYOND OURSELVES
Matthew 28:16-20

I grew up in a home with three boys—of which I was the youngest. My parents were big on assigned chores—so on any given week we’d each be given specific tasks that we were to do—like washing the dishes, drying them, taking the trash out or mowing the lawn. Now I’m a pretty nice guy most of the time, but you better believe that I wasn’t about to do the chores that had been assigned to one of my brothers that week. No sirree! That was his job!

I sometimes wonder if that’s our mentality regarding some aspects of the Christian life—and one thing we likely prefer to consider someone-else’s job is the Great Commission—the label often given to the words of Jesus I just read to you. “Evangelism is someone else’s job!” we think—as we go on our merry little way.

Many of you know that I pastored Kansas City First Church of the Nazarene for nearly six years before coming to Meridian. Some of you may be familiar with the name Dr. Chic Shaver—a man known in many circles as “Mr. Evangelism.” Chic is uniquely gifted in being able to lead people to Jesus Christ. He is an “evangelist” in the truest sense of the word. Chic taught evangelism for many years at Nazarene Theological Seminary and, throughout those years, traveled widely holding revival services and training probably thousands of people in how to share their faith. And, as if he didn’t already have enough to do, he also served part-time on the pastoral staff at First Church, leading their personal evangelism efforts and doing so diligently. He’s a marvelous and gifted man—who has been for many the means by which they came to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Now, I hadn’t been at Kansas City First Church long before I began to pick up that there were too many who, in the shadow of such a gifted personal evangelist, conceded that evangelism was Chic’s job! They wouldn’t have said it, but it seemed like they had concluded that they didn’t have to be concerned with the Great Commission—because someone else would do it! The problem with that kind of thinking is that the Great Commission—the words of Jesus that we just read from Matthew 20—weren’t given just to a select few. They were given to us all. They become the marching orders of the whole church—and it can never be accomplished by merely a few. In other words, you and I don’t get to opt out of it. It’s our job as followers of Jesus—the task belongs to all of us.

We’re in the middle of a series of sermons that flow out of Valley Shepherd Church’s mission statement:
PASSION FOR GOD
COMPASSION FOR PEOPLE
We’ve already talked about the way in which we are to carry out that mission together as we respond to the needs of people around us. We’re in this together. We’ve talked about the concept of us living out our passion for God within our fellowship, and we’ve labeled that Discipling. Now we’re going to focus on our Passion for God out in the world. The heart of God is broken over spiritually lost people—people who are not in fellowship with their Heavenly Father and, whether they know it or not, are without God and without hope. Our Heavenly Father loved lost people so very much that He sent His Son to die for them. And He loves them so much today that He sends His Church out to where they are, offering them forgiveness of sin, a fresh start, and an everlasting hope. That’s where we come in—Evangelizing.

Interestingly enough, Christ-followers throughout the ages have struggled to know what to make of Jesus’ words at the close of Matthew’s Gospel. There have been those who brushed aside their responsibility in making disciples of all people by concluding that these words were just for the Early Church—the first century Church. But, thank the Lord, there were those who, several hundred years ago, embraced the challenge and took up the mandate with a seriousness that began to spread the Good News of the Gospel across Europe. It was this passage of scripture and the passionate commitment some made to it that initiated the work of missionaries as we know them today. They did so at great risk to themselves and to their families and many of them gave up their lives in their commitment to take the Gospel to the spiritually lost. And it’s for the cause of Christ and the Great Commission He has entrusted to us that many are placing their lives on the line today.

There’s an underlying premise about this Great Commission that I want to make sure we all understand. The underlying premise of the Great Commission is that every person has the opportunity to become a follower of Jesus. Every person can be saved. Every person can experience the forgiveness of their sins by the grace of God. Every person has the capacity to learn to walk in God’s ways.

And if you’re wondering on whose authority I’m making such a statement, go back with me to the first part of the passion we just read—
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…” (Matthew 28:18-19)
My statement that every person can become a follower of Jesus Christ is based on the authority of Jesus. What I’m saying to you this morning is wonderfully reliable!

And it’s also amazingly inclusive. The American culture has become consumed with “inclusivity.” We’ve taken it to ridiculous extremes—not all of which are blessed by the Lord, I might add. But one thing I will say is that the invitation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has never been discriminating. All are welcomed into this fellowship—all, that is, who are willing to turn from sin in order to follow Jesus.

Now you can first apply that to yourself. You are included in God’s gift of salvation. There’s nothing in your past and nothing in your background that would disqualify you for salvation. One of the most well-known assurances of this comes from Jesus’ words from John 3:16—
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. (John 3:16)
That “whoever” part means you! Don’t let yourself and don’t let anyone else convince you otherwise! That brings hope to each of us—regardless of what our situation is life might be!

But the Great Commission also always gets us looking beyond ourselves!—because this Good News is Good News for everybody! Every person can become a child of God, forgiven by the grace of Jesus Christ. There’s not a person you have ever met or will ever meet that is beyond this invitation. And that truth is a vital premise of Jesus’ words to us today.

I’m not sure where it best fits into my message this morning, but I do want to note a significant part of what Jesus said in the Great Commission. His call for us to make disciples of all nations includes the command to “baptize” them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The making of disciples then is characterized by both baptism and instruction. Baptism is not something the follower of Christ is to take casually. It’s not something to which we can be indifferent.

The New Testament can barely conceive of a disciple who is not baptized. Baptism is a sign of entrance into Christ’s covenant community as well as a pledge of submission to His Lordship over our lives. Baptism is a blessing to which every follower of Jesus is invited. It’s the outward sign of the inner work of God’s redemption—something every follower of Christ finds delight in. And while we don’t believe that we are saved by the act of baptism, it is certainly considered by Jesus to be a significant step for every person who experiences the redemption of their lives by the love and grace of Christ. I guess my question then would be: Why would any genuine follower of Jesus not want to be baptized? Why would we not want to embrace this simple act by which we symbolize the wonderful grace of God we’ve experienced and by which we declare our humble submission to His Lordship? Why?

I’m guessing that if we were to go through this sanctuary this morning and ask who has been baptized, we would discover quite a few who have never taken this step. You may have reasons that seem rational to you, but again I need to ask you, “Why would any genuine follower of Jesus not want to be baptized?” And recognizing that we’re going to have a baptismal service in a just a few weeks, may I suggest to those of you who fall into that category that now would be a marvelous time for you to make that significant step in your spiritual journey! Besides all the other things I’ve just mentioned, it is a wonderful testimony of the breadth of God’s mercy and grace—that every person can become a follower of Jesus.

Based on that premise that every person has the opportunity to become a follower of Jesus, now let me talk with you about the calling we find in the Great Commission—the calling for each of us to “go and make disciples of all nations…” The Great Commission was given to us all. It’s not okay for us to simply assume that someone else is going to do this! It’s not okay to relegate this to the pastor, or to gifted personal evangelists, or those we see as super Christians. God has called you to be part of this Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations! Somehow, we each need to grasp God’s desire and expectation for us to play a part in His effort to save the lost!

I might draw to your attention our church’s long-range plan that commits us to both a Great Commission and a Great Commandment lifestyle, embracing God’s desire for people of all ages to receive Christ as Savior. While the Great Commission comes from the passage we read earlier, the Great Commandment is a passage we focused on a few weeks ago:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and…Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39)
It’s simply how we’re to live our lives.

I’m guessing there may be those of you who are wondering why I’m not putting this in the context of spiritual gifts—our understanding that God equips each of us in unique ways to be part of His work in our world. And that’s true. I understand that there are those who are particularly gifted by God in reaching people for Jesus Christ—people like Dr. Chic Shaver, who I mentioned a few minutes ago. And I understand that we all must do our part—the part God has uniquely gifted us to do—in order for the Church to function most effectively. And all that’s true. But we all must share in this Great Commission endeavor!

How? We participate in the Great Commission when we’re willing to simply tell others what Jesus Christ has done for us and the difference He continues to make in our lives. We do this kind of sharing in our homes, in our family circles, when we’re going about our work, in our greater circle of friends and with people we get to know in the community.

Some of you have laughed about Cindy and my quickness to tell people that we’re having a grandbaby in January. Why do we tell that? Because it’s exciting! Because it’s good news! And I got to wondering: why, then, wouldn’t we be just as quick to tell others about what Jesus has done for us? Some of you are quick to talk about the Boise State game or your latest project or your most recent bargain or the funny thing your child did this week or the worst thing that happened to you this week. Why would we not be as open to talk about the difference Jesus has makes in our lives?

There are many ways we can participate in the Great Commission effort—
• We participate in the Great Commission when we’re open about our faith—not just our church life.
• We participate in the Great Commission when we’re willing to be involved in ministries to children and teens—and when we do so with an openness and willingness to share with them what Christ has done for us.
• We participate in the Great Commission when we visit those in jails and prisons, offering the hope that Christ offers to each of us.
• We participate in the Great Commission when we share with those struggling beneath the loads of life the encouragement and help our relationship with Christ brings. Some of you are natural listeners and encouragers whom other people gravitate to.
• We participate in the Great Commission when we support missionary endeavors going on near and far away—though I might add that we need to be careful that we don’t excuse away any responsibility beyond just “throwing money” at missionary endeavors. For some of us that might be the easy way out, and God may be wanting more from us than just that!

And let’s not forget the influence upon others of how we live our lives—Great Commandment style! The witness of our lives speaks volumes to others—and it will either add credibility to our Great Commission efforts or it will detract from it, depending upon how we are indeed living our lives…how we respond to others, whether our words and our actions match up, the attitudes that reveal the condition of our hearts.

And when Jesus spoke of “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” He was not talking about mere dogma steeped in abstract theorizing! The “teaching” part sounds pretty simple to me—“teaching them to obey everything” that Jesus has commanded us. In other words, we’re to teach others how we are to live our lives—and may we never forget that the best teaching method is carried out by what we model before others.

And, honestly, can we just admit that this may all seem a bit overwhelming to us! And it’s even more alarming when we realize that our failure to make disciples of others reveals the inadequacy of our own commitment to Christ. Being a disciple of Jesus means that we’re involved in discipling others!

Now, lest we all become so overwhelmed that we just throw in the towel and write it all off as impossible, let’s go to the very last verse that I read earlier—the last verse of Matthew’s Gospel.
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)
There’s a powerful promise that becomes the icing on the cake of the Great Commission—that Christ will be with us always as we are about His great work in this world! Matthew’s Gospel ends, not with a command, but with a promise. It’s the promise of Jesus’ comforting presence, which, if not made explicitly conditional on the disciples’ obedience to the Great Commission, is at least closely tied to it.

David Livingstone was a pioneer medical missionary who is credited with opening the heart of Africa to Christianity back in the first half of the 1800’s. He eventually died in carrying out his mission, but not before he had made a huge impact upon the lives of many. When asked what had sustained him in all the perils of his pilgrimage in Africa, he answered by quoting the promise from the end of Matthew’s Gospel. It is said that when his wife died in Africa, he helped prepare her body for burial, helped make the coffin, helped lower it in the grave, and helped cover it with earth. Then he opened his New Testament and read this text, following it with words to his African friends, “Jesus Christ is too much of a Gentleman not to keep His word; let us get on with the task.”

Such commitment seems almost foreign to many of us—too demanding for us to embrace…and yet the commitment can be made because of the promise Christ has given us—“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Let’s just admit that the kind of commitment Christ calls for from each of us is counter-culture in our world—it always has been, if that makes you feel any better! The conflicting message to this Great Commission that is propagated today is that we can all believe whatever we want to believe and that it’s all equally valid. We know that’s not true, for it’s surely not what Christ taught and it’s surely not what Scripture teaches. But if we determine to go counter-culture in embracing the Truth Christ taught, then we’re going to need God’s abiding Presence day by day in order to live it out! And the Good News is that God has promised that very thing—to be with us to the very end of the age!

Matthew’s Gospel ends with the expressed expectation of Jesus that we His people will continue His redemptive work in this world. We are to carry on the ministry of Jesus Christ! And in a unique kind of way, the Gospel of Matthew is not a closed book, for the final chapter is being written even now in the “going” and teaching efforts of Jesus’ disciples today. In that sense, we are part of the writing of the 29th chapter of Matthew!

I’ve been trying to think through where this Great Commission work begins in our lives—and how God’s Spirit nurtures it and how we can feed it. And I don’t pretend to have all the answers. Certainly it finds it foundation and motivation in our love for God—our “passion for God,” if you will. But when we look at the big picture, it’s perhaps our compassion for people and the awareness of their lostness that will stir us into action.

And it seemed to me that if I, as your pastor, could get you to begin to pray for the salvation of at least a few specific individuals, that God will then guide you regarding your role in helping them to see their need for Jesus. That’s why we’ve put two cards in your bulletins this morning—one for you to keep as a reminder for you to pray and the other for you to lay upon this altar, signifying your commitment to the Lord to pray for these individuals, and also giving to me and to our staff the names of people for whom we can join you in prayer…