Gospel Significance: Matthew 28:18-20

Please take your copy of God's Word and turn to Matthew chapter 28.

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

! Our text for this morning will be Matthew chapter 28, verses 18-20.

Matthew 28:18–20

!

The gospel has eternal weight. It has massive significance.

The world needs to be reconciled to God in Christ.

The penalty of sin is death and it's eternal separation from the Lord God Almighty.

And God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation.

Restoring relationship between God and mankind.

There's much talk these days about calling.

And what you can be sure of is that if you have been called to follow Christ,

you have been called to the ministry of reconciliation.

Let me read to you from 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.

We've been given a new identity.

All of this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself

and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself,

not counting their trespasses against them,

and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.

God making his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ.

Be reconciled to God.

For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin,

so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is the message of reconciliation that has been trusted to us as followers of Christ.

And you may have noticed this morning that I placed a globe on the lectern.

I really hope you noticed I placed a globe on the lectern.

We have other issues to address if you didn't notice that I did that.

This globe sat in my father's study when I was a child.

I don't even know if he realizes that I have it.

It's an old globe.

In fact, it has still on it the Soviet Union,

so it's not an accurate globe.

But as a child, I used to look at this globe

and dream about the places in the world that I might go.

I love it because it comes off the stand,

and I can play with it like a ball,

and dream about as a child where I'd want to go in the world.

When I discovered that it was being discarded,

I grabbed it up, and it now sits in my study.

And it sits right in front of where I sit in my study,

and it reminds me to dream about the places that our church might go

to declare the good news of Jesus Christ.

And so, not to prop for silly reasons,

but that's why it's sitting here this morning,

both for me and for you to dream together

about how God might use Christ's Family Church, Dahlonega,

to advance the good news of Christ to the world.

The world currently holds approximately 7.4 billion people.

I can't even fathom what that number means.

7.4 billion people.

And those 7.4 billion people are divided into 11,498 ethno-linguistic groups.

I don't know exactly what that even means.

But divided into peoples, 11,498.

6,803 of those people groups

have less than 2% evangelical Christians as part of their population.

Typically, missiologists talk in terms of 2% and above is a reached people,

which is a low statistic.

But 6,803 of those people groups

have less than 2% of evangelical Christians,

which I would say are the only type of Christians.

3,040 of those people groups are not engaged by any Christian work.

None whatsoever.

There's no one on the ground working amongst those people.

This means that today,

roughly 7 billion people do not have the gospel.

Today, 7 billion people could die eternally,

separated from the goodness of God,

if the gospel is not proclaimed to them,

and if they do not believe.

This is a great problem.

This is a massive problem.

And the great remedy to this great problem

is found in our text this morning.

It doesn't get any more complex than this.

Matthew 28, beginning in verse 18.

And Jesus came and said to the apostles,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

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,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded

you.

And behold,

I am with you always to the end of the age.

Beloved, this is God's word to us.

It was written for His glory and for our good.

We would all do well this morning to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

Now, over the past four weeks,

we have been considering the Christian life.

We have been giving you so-called hooks

to hang the Christian life on,

beginning with our gospel identity.

And we've been kind of rolling out

some summary statements to you

and the summary statement for our gospel identity,

what we want you to have in your mind

when you see the church logo

and all of the many places that it shows up,

by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.

So this is both the nature of our faith

and the object of our faith.

We are justified before God,

forgiven and adopted by Him.

This is the new identity.

This is now who we are

if we have believed,

by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in the personal work of Jesus Christ.

We're justified before Him,

forgiven and adopted.

This precious truth,

this gospel identity,

is our great motivation for worship.

So out of who we are

comes everything that we do.

We are accepted by God in Christ,

so we live how He wants us to

in all things.

And this is worship.

Not just music.

It includes music.

It's everything that we do

is a result of who we are

to God in Christ.

Having experienced the mercies of God

to us in Christ,

we live for Him.

Our identity motivates our action.

So we've been talking about

four areas of Christian living,

and they are as follows.

Gospel conviction.

Being justified before God,

forgiven and adopted by Him.

We worship Him through gospel conviction.

Knowing God,

through His word and prayer.

We worship Him through gospel community.

Loving the church

in varying means of fellowship and service.

Last week we talked about

worshiping Him through gospel character.

Conforming to Christ,

both in private and in public.

And today we come to the last of these

four C's and the conclusion

of this little five-week series

and our break from the book of Acts

to talk about gospel commission.

And the summary statement is

as follows.

It's found on your notes.

I hope you have.

Being justified before God,

forgiven and adopted by Him.

We're not tired of saying that, right?

Because of who we are.

Because of who we are.

Because of who we are.

Right?

Justified before God,

forgiven and adopted by Him.

We worship Him through gospel commission.

Proclaiming the gospel

to the ends of the earth.

We find in Matthew chapter 28,

Matthew 28:18–20

verse 18 through 20,

what is most often referred to

as the great commission.

And we find in it a command.

But what is that command?

Many suggest that the command is go.

You see therefore in verse 19.

Go therefore.

Or that the command is go.

And the command is make disciples.

And that the command is baptize them.

And the command is teach them

all that I have commanded you.

Let me posit to you

that the command found

in Matthew 28,

18 through 20,

is make disciples.

And if you study the Greek,

if you look at these verbs,

not a single one of those

is an imperative form of the verb.

All of them are non-imperative forms

of the verbs.

The only imperative form,

which is the command form

in the Greek language,

is make disciples.

So when we look at go therefore,

we can rightly read it

in your going therefore.

Or as you're going along therefore.

This doesn't exclude the ends of the earth.

But what it does is it includes

everywhere we go.

It includes everything.

It actually makes the verse

much more powerful, right?

That the command is to make disciples.

As followers of Jesus Christ,

those who claim to follow Him,

we make disciples.

Jesus sums up His ministry in this way

in Luke 19, verse 10.

Luke 19:10

He says,

I came to seek and to save the lost.

And He imparts this ministry to us.

As followers of Christ,

disciples under His overview,

under His guidance,

we do what He did.

And what He does in us.

We should be about the very same work.

So what follows in Matthew 28

is the where and the how

of making disciples.

What does that look like?

What is the command to make disciples

look like in a broader sense?

And so let's address first the where.

The where.

To the ends of the earth.

He says,

last part of verse 19,

make disciples of all nations.

Matthew 24, 14,

Jesus says,

And this gospel of the kingdom

will be proclaimed throughout the whole world

as a testimony to all nations.

And then the end will come.

There could be much debate

about what is meant by all nations

or the whole world

or every tribe,

nation,

and tongue.

I've heard a lot of explanations

about what that could possibly mean.

We recently,

just a moment ago,

talked about the classification

of ethno-linguistic people groups.

Is that number exactly correct?

11,498?

I don't know.

We can't be sure.

But what we can be sure of

is that we are not done proclaiming

because the end has not come.

Disciple making,

which begins with gospel proclamation

as part of making disciples,

proclaiming the gospel.

It does not end with gospel proclamation, right?

Verse 19,

we're going to baptize them.

Verse 20,

we're going to teach them

all that Christ has commanded.

It includes guidance in obedience,

growing people up in Christ.

But disciple making begins

with gospel proclamation.

And it starts at home.

Go, therefore,

in your going,

as your going,

make disciples.

That means that we are to make disciples

of our roommates

and our classmates

and our co-workers

and our families

and people at the coffee shop

and those we encounter at restaurants

and that guy that cuts us off on the road.

We are to make disciples,

to regard no one any longer

according to the flesh.

We have the eyes of Christ, right?

To seek and to save the lost.

To see people as eternally secure

or eternally damned.

And to come to their rescue

with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And I find for many of us

the great problem

in proclaiming the gospel,

making disciples,

is that we don't find ourselves

that often around the unsaved.

Now this congregation

is a little unique

from many churches in this nation

in that a lot of you

are college students

and you're college students

on a secular campus.

And I say to you,

that is a wonderful opportunity.

Praise God

that you have at your fingertips

a bounding opportunity.

So many of you,

this is not very pertinent,

but for some of us it is.

For some of us it's extremely pertinent

that we have a difficult time

being around people

who need the gospel of Jesus Christ

because we tend

to sequester ourselves off.

We're being limited

in our exposure to people

because we're at home

and we're at work

and we're at church.

There's a sociologist,

a secular sociologist

by the name of Ray Oldenburg

who wrote a book

and a number of other books

on the idea

that this book is called

The Great Good Place.

And my brain got turned on

to this by John Cochran,

so thank you.

At least I think it did.

I think the information came to me

by way of John Cochran.

The Great Good Place.

And he talks about how

societies have thrived

because of these

common gathering places

that are informal,

that are public,

like the marketplace,

right?

or the pub,

places where people

gathered together

and the community

was drawn together

because of these

great good places.

He also calls The Great Good Place

a third place,

right?

So think in terms of work,

home,

and that other place

that you frequent

and that you're at.

The bordega on the corner,

it's where you go

consistently

and encounter people

in that way.

And we all need

a third place.

You need to be seeking out

a third place

where you can encounter

the lost people here

as you're going.

Now, moms,

this third place

could be at home

with your unbelieving children.

Students,

this could be at school,

what you would deem work

for many of you.

It could be at school.

It could be your place

of employment.

For some,

there's many,

many opportunities

to encounter lost people

at their place of employment.

For some,

they sit in a cubicle

and they put on a headset

and they might encounter

a couple people

from time to time.

It's not a good place

to foster relationships

of this nature,

although you should be

sharing the gospel

at your workplace as well.

We need to be creative

about this third place.

many of you,

I hope,

and I hope in a continuing way

as,

particularly as college students

come through,

the life of this church

will be sent elsewhere.

And I hope that many of you

are sent to the ends

of the earth.

I would love to see that.

It is a dream

of the leadership

of this church

that we would equip

and send people

to the farthest reaches

of this planet

to share the good news

of Christ.

But many of you

will stay right here.

You'll stay in North Georgia.

You might go as far

as Atlanta.

And you have a part

to play

in this glorious process

of advancing

the kingdom of God.

So many where we live

claim to be followers

of Christ,

claim to be

quote-unquote

Christian,

and they desperately

need the gospel.

They need to be shown

what it looks like

to follow Jesus.

There's been this trending

in relational evangelism,

and I think that it has

goodness at its root,

but so often,

people are investing

themselves into the lives

of other individuals

in the hopes

that maybe someday

something might happen

that will bring about

a gospel conversation,

and I'm just building

the relationship,

and I'm building

the relationship,

and I'm building

the relationship.

We see this happen often

with well-intentioned

individuals who get

involved with fraternities

and sororities on campus.

They say,

I'm going to get in there.

It's a mission field.

They're lost people.

I'm automatically connected.

We've got a club thing

going on,

and I'm going to get

in the midst of that,

and some years later,

the trouble persists,

and their life is declining

in holiness

rather than increasing

in holiness.

They're getting wrapped up

in the society of it all.

If you love people

and you set your intention

on them to be in relationship

with them,

the aim of it should be

that you would fellowship

with them around the things

that matter most.

If you're following Christ,

you have very little in common

with people who are not

following Christ.

Christ.

Some of you experience this

with your families,

how you just have nothing

to talk about anymore

when you go home

because you're pursuing the Lord

and your family's heading off

in an opposite direction

or your old friends

from high school.

You used to be so close

and have so much to say

and so much to do,

and suddenly you find

that the way they live their lives

is distasteful to you.

We need to press,

and we need to press

as quickly as we can

to gospel proclamation.

To some,

it's going to be

a precious gift to them.

And to some,

they're going to hate it.

And at least you know

where you stand

in your relationship with them.

So the where is

to the ends of the earth.

It's to everywhere.

It's to as you're going.

The how

is by the power of God.

We proclaim the gospel truth

by the power of God.

And I'm so thankful

for the way

that this gospel commission

is sandwiched.

Verse 18,

Jesus says to them,

All authority in heaven

and on earth

has been given to me.

Right?

I am the king.

I am reigning over all things.

And then he gives this command

to go and to make disciples

and to baptize them

and to teach them.

And then verse 20 he says,

And behold,

I am with you

always to the end of the age.

And so until this mission

is complete,

I am with you

with all of this authority

bringing about

my good will.

What a massive motivation

to share the gospel

of Jesus Christ

with the lost and dying

around us.

Jesus has all authority

and he is with us.

It is by the power of God

that the gospel

is proclaimed

and believed.

But it also happens

by the activity of men.

I promise you

that you will never

under some

imaginary

felt

compulsion

just start talking

and you are not going

to know what you are saying

and you are just going

to start sharing.

You are going to be moved

to get up

and call that friend

that you haven't talked to

in a while.

You are going to suddenly

find yourself hanging out

in that place

where people need to hear

the gospel

and declaring it

from the street corner.

It won't happen.

It is also by the activity

of man.

God gives this,

Jesus gives this command.

Right?

I have got all authority.

I am going to be with you.

Go

and make disciples

of all nations.

Baptize them.

Teach them.

There is command

that comes along

with this.

We must recognize

that we have a part

to play.

Romans chapter 10

Romans 10:13

verse 13

14

and 15

Paul writes

for everyone

who calls

on the name

of the Lord

will be saved.

How then

will they call

on Him

in whom

they have not

believed?

And how are they

to believe in Him

of whom

they have never

heard?

Hear this carefully,

beloved.

No one is getting

some revelation

of Christ

post-death.

They have to hear

the gospel

of Jesus Christ

and believe in it

to be saved.

How can they

call on Him

in whom they have not

believed?

And how are they

to believe in Him

of whom they have

never heard?

And how are they

to hear

without

someone

preaching?

Paul is not

just talking

about what I

do on Sunday

mornings

and what many

men do

on Sunday

mornings.

He's talking

about you

preaching the

good news

of Jesus

Christ

to your

friends

and your

co-workers

and your

classmates

and your

family.

Verse 15

And how are they

to preach

unless they are

sent?

As it is written,

how beautiful

are the feet

of those who

preach

the good news.

So gospel

proclamation

is the beginning

of

disciple making.

There are

two

axioms

I want to present

to you.

Axioms

are statements

that ideas

hinge upon

that change

things.

So two

axioms

for gospel

proclamation.

Number one,

we are all

different.

We are all

different.

This means

in order to

share the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

well,

you need

to know

people.

You need

to know

people.

You need

to learn

the art

of asking

questions

and listening

to answers.

I find it

fascinating

that so many

Christians

walk into

some form

of spiritual

conversation

and they

bear the

burden

of proof.

We have

the upper

hand in

this.

You know

that,

right?

We follow

the one

true

living

God.

We have

the

scripture

in our

hands,

I hope

in your

minds

and in

your

hearts.

I would

suggest that

the burden

of proof

lies on

the world.

Ask the

atheist to

help you

understand

how they've

arrived at

their

conclusion.

Ask the

agnostic.

Did you say

you believe

in a God?

How can you

believe in a

God and

not follow

some version

of his

way?

Ask good

questions and

listen to

the answers.

Get to

know people.

Just have

conversations.

And I will

tell you,

and I use

the word,

learn the

art.

The only

way to get

good at it

is to do

it.

Start talking

to the

people you

know about

religion,

about the

world,

about the

gospel.

Understand

people's

uniqueness.

People have

a unique

history.

They have

a unique

set of

circumstances.

They have

a unique

set of

hurts.

They have

a unique

worldview.

We're all

different.

But the

second

axiom,

we're all

the same.

We're all

the same.

We're all

a part of

God's

redemptive

story.

We have

all at

one time

set ourselves

against

God.

We have

rejected

His

good

word.

We have

said to

Him with

our

activity,

I hate

you.

All of

us have

been in

that

place.

All of

us deserve

the just

condemnation of

God for

the way

that we

have

treated

His

good

reign

over

our

lives.

All of

us need

the salvation

that is

found in

Christ.

We're all

part of

God's

redemptive

story.

We call

this,

if you

want a

big word,

the

meta

narrative.

There's

stories

within a

great,

big story.

God's

creation of

the world

and the

fall of

that world

and His

rescue of

that world

and His

soon-and-coming

restoration

of that

world.

It's a

big,

beautiful

story that

we are

all a

part of.

So we're

all different.

That means

we have

to get

into the

mix with

people.

We have

to love

people.

We have

to know

people.

And we're

all the

same.

We all

need that.

Our little

stories

connected to

the great,

big story.

I want to

show you,

I tend to

shy away

from stuff

like this,

I think

because of

the

hokiness

of so

many

churches

that do

multimedia

things.

That may

even be

sinful on

my part.

I want

to show

you,

I think

the guys

are getting

ready,

a video

that's a

little over

five minutes,

which is

the story.

It's actually

called

the story.

The story,

short film.

It's a

wonderful telling

of this

great,

big,

redemptive

picture.

It uses

that pattern,

creation,

fall,

rescue,

restoration.

So I'm going to

let those guys

play it for you

and then I'll

pop back up

here.

there is only

one story

that answers

life's most

essential

questions

and gives

a lasting

sense of

purpose

and meaning.

It's the

story that

inspires

all other

stories.

It's the

true story

that defines

every one

of us.

This is

that story.

How did

it all

begin?

Like all

stories,

this one

begins in the

beginning with

the author,

who is God.

He spoke

everything into

being.

With a word,

galaxies appeared

with stars and

planets.

Earth was

designed for

life to

flourish.

Everything God

made was

gloriously good

and breathtakingly

perfect.

The highlight

of God's

creation was

the first man

and woman,

Adam and

Eve.

God entrusted

everything he

created to his

beloved children,

giving just one

more.

They were not

to eat fruit

from a specific

tree.

They lived in

loving obedience,

worshiping God

as their heavenly

father, and

enjoying perfect

harmony with

creation, each

other, and

God.

Considering our

world today,

its obvious

perfect peace

didn't last.

Turmoil,

! War,

sickness,

troubles.

We each have

our share.

What went

wrong?

It started

when a fallen

angel named

Satan grew

jealous of

God and

determined to

ruin the

perfection of

creation.

Satan took

the form of

a serpent and

enticed Adam

and Eve to

question God's

goodness and

rebel against

his one rule.

In disobedience

they ate the

fruit, and

peace unraveled,

ushering in sin

and death, which

still plagues us

today.

If we are

honest, we are

very much like

Adam and Eve.

We all rebel

against our

Heavenly Father,

making our

hearts heavy

with fear,

guilt, and

shame.

Our bodies are

weary with

sickness, disease,

and death.

Earth is

afflicted with

storms, calamities,

and disasters.

Even worse, sin

has separated us

from God, causing

a permanent

divide, a

miserable

separation

called hell.

The fallout of

sin has been

catastrophic.

it's inescapable

with no way to

fix it, leaving

us all to

wonder, is

there any

hope?

The love that

prompted God to

create us also

prompted him to

send a Savior who

would set everything

right again.

As centuries

passed, God

shared exact

details of the

coming Savior's

birth, life,

and death.

Everything in the

Bible points to

this rescuer.

Father, almost

2,000 years

ago, Jesus

came to

earth as God

the Son to

fulfill the

promise.

He was born

miraculously, as

his mother was a

virgin.

Just like us, Jesus

grew up and

experienced life on

earth.

But unlike us, Jesus

never sinned and

always obeyed the

Father.

When Jesus was in

his 30s, he began

teaching all around

Israel, pointing

people to God's

kingdom, and

performing many

miracles.

after a few

years, he was

wrongly accused

and sentenced to

an agonizing death

on a cross.

Jesus lovingly gave

up his perfect

life as a

sacrifice to pay

for the sins of

mankind.

He died a perfect

death, taking our

place, the

innocent for the

guilty.

But the grave

couldn't hold

Jesus.

Three days later,

God brought Jesus

to life again.

Jesus defeated

sin by dying on

the cross, and

defeated death by

rising from the

dead.

Today, Jesus sits

at God's right

hand as king and

judge over all

creation.

This is the story

of rescue God has

authored.

He invites us,

through repentance

and faith, to make

his story of rescue

the one we trust in

and live from.

When we do,

everything changes.

And now, what

will the future

hold?

For everyone who

trusts in Jesus

alone for rescue,

God has promised to

restore your heart

and set you free

from sin's hold,

because God is

loving, kind,

merciful, forgiving,

tenderhearted, and

true.

God has also

promised to make

all things new.

One day, there

will be a new

heaven and a new

earth, forever free

from sin.

Everything that

causes pain and

sadness will be

gone.

God has also

promised to be

with us forever.

The moment you

trust in Jesus,

your relationship

with God is

restored, because

Jesus has closed

the divide sin

caused.

Getting to know

this all-loving

God starts today

and continues

forever.

For God's story

never ends.

You can make

God's story the

foundation of your

life even now

by admitting your

need for God's

rescue,

asking forgiveness

for your sin,

trusting in Jesus

Christ alone to

rescue you,

following Jesus in

faith from this

moment on.

This is God's

story.

will you make

it yours?

So I think

that's a wonderful

like big flyover

of the redemptive

story of

scripture.

You have creation

and fall just in

the first three

chapters of the

book of Genesis.

And everything that

follows through the

Old Testament is

about pointing to

the future promise

of Christ.

People were saved

then by faith in

this future promise.

And we're now

drawn back to

believe in the

realized promise of

Christ and the

redemption of our

sin in his

person and his

work.

It's a wonderful,

wonderful story.

And this is what we

want to draw people

into.

They're unique,

but we are the

same.

Now,

each year,

Lifeway Research

conducts and

releases a

denominational

report entitled

the Annual

Church Profile

Report.

Some of you may

not know this,

but we're a

Southern Baptist

Church.

So this is for

the SBC.

In 2006,

they reported

that the member

to baptism

ratio for SBC

churches was

86 to 1.

So that's saying

that they're just

counting the stats

up and we know

stats can get all

skewed and funky

like probably a lot

of those people

that were counted

as members were

counted multiple

times because they

probably had

membership at

multiple churches.

Certainly,

we can't be

sure that every

baptism was a

true conversion

or that every

person that

converted was

necessarily

baptized,

recognizing full

well that

statistics can be

skewed,

but all the same,

this report

looks at the

number of

members of

SBC churches

and the number

of baptisms

reported,

and that's

86 to 1

in 2006.

So that's to

say that it

took 86 members

to see one

person converted

to faith in

Christ.

I hope that's

a staggering

number to you.

That means there's

a lot of

inactivity in

the church in

2006.

This year,

they reported,

so for last

year, an

improvement on

that ratio.

I'm thankful

for, praise

God, that it's

for last year,

2015, 52 to

1.

Better, but

not great.

Now our

church.

You recall

that we

have sent out

a survey for

our members,

we've called it

the Member Health

Survey, in

which we made

this statement

and we asked

people to

strongly disagree

or strongly

agree and a

range of

answers in

between, and

the statement

was this,

I have led

someone to

faith in

Christ this

year.

I have led

someone to

faith in

Christ this

year.

And again,

we recognize

that gathering

this kind of

information,

even the way

some people may

have read

the question

could be

misleading.

So we

recognize this

full well, but

all the same,

if we take

the answers

that were

given, three

people said

agree and

three people

said strongly

agree.

That's six.

That's six.

Which brings

our ratio, and

again, praise

God, praise

God our ratio

is better than

the average

Southern Baptist

church, I

suppose, with

this ratio of

52 to 1 to

15 to 1.

So this is

us right

now.

I'm thankful,

man I'm

thankful, I

am so thankful

that last

year, by the

work of six

members of our

church, or

maybe one, I

guess is

possible, no

it's not

possible, six

members, they

answered in

that way, agree

or strongly

agree, that

six people came

to faith in

Christ.

What a

wonderful,

wonderful reality,

we should

rejoice in

that, but I

would say to

you, beloved,

it's not

enough.

It's not

enough.

That means

that a lot

of us are

not actively

sharing the

gospel with

those around

us.

So the

challenge that

the elders of

CFC Dahlonega are

issuing to our

fellowship this

morning, we

want to see

happen across the

next year, is to

change that

ratio, to see

that ratio

change.

And I am not

saying that this

is not a work of

God.

I am not

saying that we

are going to

knuckle down and

get it done.

That is not

what I am

saying.

What I am

saying, though, is

that this work

of God also

requires work on

our part.

And I am going

to go on to

suggest to you

that I think

it is that we

are not doing

the work, not

that he doesn't

desire to work

out salvation in

the lives of

this community.

So the

challenge being

issued to our

fellowship this

morning is to

see this ratio

change next year

to one to

one.

And that

means, and this

is being pressed

upon and

expected of,

members of

Christ Family

Church, if

you are not a

member of

Christ Family

Church, you

should be a

member of a

church, whether

it is here or

not, so you are

not entirely off

the hook in this

regard.

If you are a

follower of

Jesus Christ, you

are not off the

hook, you are

meant to be sharing

the gospel of

Jesus Christ, but

we are going to

place an expectation

upon members of

our church that

they be working

at this.

Not that you

are going to get

your t-shirt when

you see somebody

come to faith in

Christ, that

we are going to

get some extra

points, a gold

star on your

chart, that you

get a new ESV

study Bible or

anything like

that.

But to set some

goals together and

say, we can do

this, let's start

encouraging and

pressing at one

another to be

actively sharing

our faith in a

way that we're

used like this by

God.

I'd love to see

it go beyond

this.

I'd love to see

it be 1 to 2

or 1 to 10

or 1 to 20.

Let's press

this next year

to see it be

1 to 1.

Not legalistically,

I'm not suggesting

that.

You won't be

kicked out of

the church if

you're not seeing

someone converted

in your life.

If this seems

extreme to you,

if you go,

but Nathan,

come on,

man.

We're going to

double the

fellowship in

this next year.

Let me say to

you that I

have for a

long time

operated under

this notion

that we live

in the days

of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah,

if you're not

familiar with

him as a

prophet,

we see some

evidence across

his whole ministry,

his lifelong

ministry of

calling people

back to God.

Possibly one

person who

turned back

to God,

a very fruitless

ministry as far

as following

God was

concerned.

And I have

long thought,

if we're going

to be true and

we're going to

be faithful,

that's not

appealing to

people.

We're just

going to have

to keep

grinding,

right?

We're just

going to keep

grinding,

keep doing

the thing

that we're

doing.

And I don't

think we live

in the days

of Jeremiah,

and I want

to show you

that.

I want you

to turn to

Luke chapter

Luke 10 · chapter mention

10 with

me to see

this.

this is the

account of

Jesus sending

out a broader

group of

disciples to

proclaim the

good news of

the gospel.

Beginning in

verse 1,

after this the

Lord appointed

72 others

with 36 pairs

and sent them

on ahead of

him,

two by two,

into every

town and

place where

he himself

was about

to go.

They went

ahead of

him as

heralds.

And he

said to

them,

the harvest

is plentiful,

but the

laborers are

few.

Therefore,

pray earnestly

to the Lord

of the harvest

to send out

laborers into

his harvest.

Jesus goes

on to tell

them that

some will

receive them

and their

message and

others will

not.

There should

be an

expectation on

their part

that as

they're going

and proclaiming

the coming

of the kingdom,

the good news

of Jesus

Christ,

that some

will accept

it and

some will

not.

But then

he does

this really

curious thing.

Note carefully

this thing

that he does

say,

the harvest

is plentiful,

but the

laborers are

few,

and then he

tells them

to pray.

And he

doesn't suggest

that they

pray for

the harvest.

Now,

I don't

believe that

what we

should take

from this

is that

we ought

not pray

that people

be converted

to Christ.

We should

definitely

do that.

We should

definitely

be praying

that people

would respond

in faith

to the

gospel

proclaimed.

But that's

not what

he tells

them to

do.

He says,

there is

a harvest.

It's a

plentiful harvest.

It's a

huge harvest.

Souls ready to

but there's

a problem.

The

laborers

are few.

So pray

for

laborers.

Therefore,

pray earnestly

to the

Lord of the

harvest to

send out

laborers

into his

harvest.

And I

think reading

this rightly,

we should

see that

there is a

harvest in

the place

that we

live.

People that

God intends

to save.

And he

wants

laborers

to go

out and

bring the

harvest in.

There's a

harvest.

It is the

Lord's

harvest.

Pray for

laborers.

And we

asked some

other questions

in the

member health

survey.

We asked

the question,

I share the

gospel or

made the

statement,

I share the

gospel with

my friends,

co-workers,

classmates,

and or

family.

And we

went through