Conviction 5: Where Are Disciples Made?

Would you open up your Bibles now

and would you read with me

Matthew chapter 28?

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

Robin's going to put it up on the screen behind me

if she hasn't already.

Children, rooted.

Children, please go to your King's Kids classes.

Thank you for getting up and leaving first to remind me.

You need to know your cues.

This is our risen Lord Jesus speaking.

Would you give Him your full attention?

And Jesus came and said to them,

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.

May God bless the reading of His Word.

If I polled all of you right now

and asked you,

do you believe in the Great Commission?

Yes or no?

I'm guessing most everybody in the room would say,

yes,

I believe

that Jesus has sent His disciples

to go to the nations and make disciples.

But we all know there's this gap

between what we profess

and what we practice.

So here's the question.

This is to put some dissonance in you.

Why are there so many people

who profess

to be disciples of Jesus,

who agree with the Great Commission,

and yet they are not actively

carrying out the Great Commission?

They're not moving people towards Jesus.

Why is it

that people aren't moving people

towards Jesus very purposely?

Now why is that?

The elders of Christ the King Church

have spent over a year

wrestling with this question.

And first with regard to ourselves.

This book that we've been referencing a lot,

The Vine Project,

phase two

is to evaluate yourself

in light of all of these convictions

that we've been walking through.

And each and every one of our elders

has evaluated themselves

and seen the gap

between our profession and our practice.

Phase two of The Vine Project

is evaluating the church.

We've seen a gap

between our profession

of the Great Commission

and the practice

of the Great Commission.

There's a disconnect.

There's a disconnect

between what we say is true

and living out that truth.

There's a disconnect

between saying we believe

in these words of Jesus

and actually obeying them.

It's the difference

that I've been trying to describe

as the difference

between a biblical affirmation,

yes that's true,

and a biblical conviction.

I must act on that truth.

Last week I shared the story

of watching in Ocean City

as a young man

the building of a boardwalk,

of a sledgehammer

driving down a wood pylon

through the sand

all the way down to bedrock.

And multiple of these pylons

were driven down

and there's this interconnected

boardwalk built on top.

Brothers and sisters,

we're not building a boardwalk.

We're building a church culture

of disciple making.

And that culture

is built upon

these biblical convictions

that we've been working through.

Conviction one,

why make disciples?

And for that conviction,

we have a diagram.

Are you with me?

Is that up?

Remember this diagram?

Conviction one,

why make disciples?

There is first and foremost

the triune God,

Father, Son, Holy Spirit

who is reigning over all things.

And then,

there is this big plan

for the fullness of time.

And at the end of that plan,

all things,

God is moving all things

to that day

where Jesus sits upon His throne.

And He's going to judge

all people everywhere.

That's Matthew 25.

At the center of this plan,

remember this is a Christocentric plan,

is the cross.

And it's this cross

through which God

is pouring out grace

upon sinners.

This plan

is not just Christocentric,

it's a people-moving plan.

Do you remember this?

We've got people,

oh man,

I'm getting bad.

We've got people

living in the DOD,

not the Department of Defense,

the domain of darkness,

running away from God.

And God,

in His mercy

and His grace,

is calling people

and flipping them

by His grace,

God's power to save

through the cross of Jesus.

And He's flipping people

and giving them new life.

And now they run together

for Jesus.

this is the

kingdom of light.

It's a people-moving plan.

It's a disciple-making plan.

And we also know

that God,

through this plan,

is making worshipers

all around the throne

from every tribe,

tongue,

and nation

in the world.

And He's doing that right now.

He's doing it right now.

People praising Him,

surrounding Him in glory.

It starts even now

in us.

This group of people

right here,

that's us.

Those who've been

called by God's grace

to follow Jesus,

to lay down

our lives daily,

to learn from Jesus,

to live for Jesus,

to become like Jesus

because we love Him.

So conviction number one,

why make disciples?

God's got a huge plan.

And He's carrying it right now

all around the world.

and He's flipping those

who are running away from Him

and transferring from

the dominion of darkness

and transferring them

into the kingdom

of His beloved Son.

That's conviction one.

We get to join God

in His work.

Conviction two,

what is a disciple?

Mark chapter eight.

Jesus says,

if anyone would come after me,

He must,

He must

lay down His life,

take up His cross,

and follow me.

We lay down our lives

in order to learn from,

live for,

become like Jesus

all because we love Him.

Conviction three,

how do we make disciples?

That's the four Ps.

The proclamation of God's Word,

the prayerful dependence

on the Holy Spirit,

people are God's fellow workers,

we're all in this together,

your conversion

was your commissioning,

as well as the final P,

perseverance step by step.

Hey, making disciples

is hard work.

It takes time and effort,

long suffering.

Conviction four is,

who makes disciples?

I pointed you to Ephesians 4,

11 through 16.

We do.

Remember,

going to the Christ the King Church

website,

you click on the

Christ the King Church

ministry staff,

and it's person after person,

the regular attenders

and members of this church.

Y'all are God's ministry staff

here at Christ the King Church.

We are equipping the saints

for the works of ministry.

Conviction five,

where are disciples made?

That's the last conviction.

That's the last conviction

of this series

at the heart

of the revision series.

It's where are disciples made?

And if you're following along

in your notes

on your bulletin,

we're now at

revision conviction five,

the claim.

Here it is.

It's nine words.

Wherever there are disciples,

there must be disciple making.

Wherever there are disciples,

there must be disciple making.

Wherever there is the church,

a community of disciples,

there must be moving people

towards Jesus,

non-Christians and Christians alike.

And so this morning,

I want to show you

the four greats

coming out of the Great Commission

in Matthew chapter 28,

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

18 through 20.

So if you now would look back

to Matthew 28,

our review is over.

Let's get into God's Word

so that we can see

where disciples are to be made.

wherever there are disciples,

there must be disciple making.

Number one,

the first great,

His great authority over us.

We see this in chapter 28,

18,

all authority in heaven and earth

has been given to me.

Those are the words of Jesus.

After Jesus has been raised

from the dead,

He has gathered His disciples

to speak His final words

before His ascension.

We all know the importance

of final words, right?

Central to these final words

is a command in verse 19.

It's the command,

make disciples.

That's the heartbeat

of the Great Commission.

But here in verse 18,

Jesus prefaces that command

with something that's very important.

It's an appeal to His authority.

What is authority?

Well, this is a little roughshod,

but authority is the right

to tell you what to do

and expect you to obey it.

That's what authority is.

The right to require something

of your life.

And Jesus has all authority

in heaven and earth.

He can require all of your life.

Our government has the authority

and right to require its citizens

to pay taxes

and penalize you if you don't.

Our city's police officers

have the right to pull you over

if you're speeding

and write a ticket for you.

If you're an employee,

your employer has the right

to require job performance of you

and pay you accordingly.

Growing up,

our parents had the right

to tell us to make our beds,

to bathe,

to finish our vegetables,

to be considerate of our siblings

and spank us if we didn't.

In all of these examples,

it's a limited authority.

When you look at the scope

of Jesus' authority,

all authority in heaven

and on earth

has been given to me.

What you need to realize,

He has full and complete authority

over all of creation.

He has the right to require

His will to be done

from everyone and everything.

I don't think there's a better picture

of His authority

than the throne.

In Matthew chapter 25,

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

Jesus pictures Himself

as this King on the throne

at the end of time

on that day

and all of His angels

assemble before Him

every person that has ever lived

on the face of the earth

and He judges them

and separates them

as the sheep from the goat.

Do you know what that's a picture of?

Authority.

authority.

He has the right

to judge all.

All will give an account to Him.

In 2 Corinthians 5.10,

it's true of us Christians.

Paul says,

For we must all appear

before the judgment seat of Christ

so that each one

may receive what is due

for what he has done in the body,

whether good or evil.

When Jesus prefaces a command

with this appeal

to all of His authority

in terms of the last words

before He ascends,

you've got to realize

whatever He's going to say next

in terms of His command,

it is super important

to the risen Jesus.

It's of utmost importance.

And you've got to feel

the weight of His authority.

Jesus has unlimited right

to require our total obedience

to Him.

So here's the question

I want you to start asking yourself.

Are you thinking about that day?

Are you thinking about that day

when you'll stand before Him?

That day when you'll give an account

for your life to Him

and specifically,

on that day,

you will give an account

for how you've been moving people

towards Jesus.

That's of utmost importance to Him.

You need to think about today

in light of that day.

Now, when we think about

moving from being a disciple of Jesus

to being disciple makers for Jesus,

here's how that works.

No longer do you

just think about yourself

standing before Jesus

on that day.

You start thinking about other people

standing before Jesus

on that day.

You start to be burdened

for other people

that they stand before Jesus

on that day

and be able to say,

I've given it all for you.

To hear Him say,

come into the joy of your Master.

It changes the way.

When you start getting

a disciple making mentality,

it changes the way

to see yourself,

the people in your home,

the people in your church,

your non-believing friends

and family and co-workers.

Speaking pastorally,

my desire

is that every one of you

stand before the Lord Jesus Christ

on that day

with as little regret

as possible

and with greatest amount of joy.

When we read about Jesus'

great authority,

you need to feel the weight of that.

His great authority over us.

But He also makes,

number two,

His great promise to us.

And that's at the end of verse 20.

Remember, central to the Great Commission

is verse 19,

this command,

make disciples.

At the end of the Great Commission

is a great promise.

It's the second half of verse 20.

And behold, I am with you always

to the end of the age.

Notice what Jesus is promising.

I am with you always.

That phrase always,

you can translate it every day.

I am with you every day

until the end of the age.

What a promise.

He's promising to be personally present with us

every day.

Now, of all the things that Jesus could have promised,

promised at this moment,

it's very interesting that He promises

to be present with us.

He doesn't promise

that we're going to avoid suffering for Him.

He doesn't promise

ease in this life.

He doesn't promise

that all of our loved ones

will come to Christ

and follow Him.

He doesn't promise that.

What He does promise

is the greatest thing He can promise

Himself.

The all-authoritative Christ

is with us every day.

Now, why does Jesus

make this great promise

to us

in the Great Commission?

One may say

to comfort us.

His presence

is a comfort.

He is an ever-present help

in time of trouble.

But I don't think

that's the primary reason

He makes this great promise.

The real reason

Jesus promises

to be with us every day

is to put courage

in our hearts.

The task of making disciples

requires

courage.

There are different decisions

to be made.

There are hard things

to be said.

There will always be pushback,

fallout,

pressure to compromise,

moving people

towards Jesus

takes courage.

Back in the book of Joshua,

Moses is now off the scene

and God is going to

lead His people

into the promised land

through Joshua.

He's got a great task

for Joshua.

Challenging task.

Listen to these words

at the beginning

of Joshua.

Joshua 1:5–9

Chapter 1,

verses 5 through 9.

I'm just going to

let it soak in.

No man shall be able

to stand before you

all the days of your life.

Just as I was with Moses,

so I will be with you.

I will not leave you

or forsake you.

Be strong and courageous,

for you shall cause

the people to inherit

the land that I swore

to their fathers

to give them.

Only be strong

and very courageous,

being careful to do

according to all the law

that Moses,

my servant,

commanded you.

Do not turn from it

to the right hand

or to the left,

that you may have

good success

wherever you go.

This book of the law

shall not depart

from your mouth,

but you shall meditate

on it day and night

so that you may be careful

to do according to

all that is written in it.

For then you will

make your way prosperous

and then you will

have good success.

Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and courageous.

Do not be frightened

and do not be dismayed,

for the Lord your God

is with you

wherever you go.

Joshua was given

a great task

that requires

great courage

and God gives

this great promise,

I'm with you.

We've been given

a great task

that requires

great courage

and Jesus is saying,

I'm with you

every day.

I'm with you.

How do you apply this?

Does the thought

of talking to someone

else about Jesus,

whether a non-Christian

or a Christian,

does that frighten you?

Does that put dismay

in your heart?

Could that be the cause

of disconnect

between our profession

and our practice?

Jesus says,

do not be frightened

and do not be dismayed,

for the Lord your God

is with you

wherever you go.

Jesus says,

behold,

I am with you

every day

to the end

of the age.

Jesus,

in his

all-authoritative

being,

his

risen fullness

fullness

has promised

to be with us.

And so,

you know how to respond

to that?

You take courage.

That puts courage

in your heart.

It's a great promise.

It gives great courage.

Number three

is great task

entrusted to us.

The central command

of the Great Commission

is make disciples.

And what I've shown you

so far is

the preface to that

is an appeal

to his great authority

and what follows that

is an appeal

to a great promise.

What is this

great command?

When Jesus

commands his disciples

to make him

more disciples,

he's telling them,

move people

towards me.

Wherever you are,

be moving people

towards me.

What I want you

to feel with this

command,

make disciples,

is that Jesus

is speaking that

to you.

To you.

He's calling you

to make disciples.

You're part of

his ministry strategy.

The book,

The Vine Project

that we've been

going through,

it helps us

think about

making disciples.

It helps us

to think about

in terms of

a process

with different

phases.

So let me lay out

these four phases

to you

because I think

it will help you.

In terms of

making a disciple,

phase one is

to engage

with someone,

to find common

ground with them,

to build rapport

with them.

I, for the last

three years,

have been running

across a man

named Stan

in the Kenosha

Dunes.

I hike there a lot

and Stan is there

every spring

looking for birds.

this weekend

I interacted

with him

and it came out

that I'm a pastor

of Christ the King

Church.

Just moving

the ball,

just engaging

with them,

just starting

a conversation.

Engaging people,

finding common

ground.

The reason why

I got,

I asked a bunch

of people to help

with the Kenosha

Marathon,

the Wisconsin

Marathon,

was to engage

people on that

Saturday morning

and we did.

There's various

ways we can engage

but it's part

of making disciples.

That's phase one.

Phase two is

evangelism.

Telling non-Christians

the good news

about Jesus Christ

and what he's done

on the cross

and extending

Christ's call

to them

to come follow him.

That's good news.

The invitation

from Jesus

to come be

my disciple.

Good news.

So engage,

evangelize,

and then establish.

For those people

who respond

to Christ's call,

they become Christians,

they respond

to God's grace.

To establish

a Christian

means to get them

on their solid ground,

get their feet

underneath them,

help them understand

what the Bible is,

how to pray,

who they are

in Christ Jesus,

help them to understand

the importance

of the church.

It's really just

showing them

the means of grace

in terms of following Jesus

so that they can grow

into Christ our head.

The last phase

is to be equipped.

And what equipping is

is training Christians

to know how to engage

and evangelize

non-Christians

and how to establish

Christians where they are.

it's all about

moving people,

whether non-Christian

or Christian,

towards Jesus.

So wherever some way

it may be,

we seek to help them

take the next step

towards Jesus

because wherever

there are disciples,

there must be

disciple-making.

This great task

is spelled out

in Matthew 28

of making disciples,

of moving people

towards Jesus.

in Matthew 28, 19,

there are these

three words

that describe

more fully

this disciple-making

process.

Look at verse 19.

The first word

is the word go.

Go, therefore,

and make disciples

of all nations.

Going means going,

moving towards people.

In order to engage

and evangelize,

establish and equip,

we need to move

towards other people,

all people,

but especially those

people immediately

around you.

You know,

this command is to go

to all nations.

Jesus is at work

all around the world.

But we're not

directly responsible

for what's happening

in China.

We're responsible

for making disciples

first and foremost

here in Kenosha.

So we're to think

globally,

but act locally.

We move towards

people wherever

and whoever

they are

because everyone

needs Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5

talks about our task

as being ambassadors

for Jesus.

We're representing

Him

to our family,

to our church,

to those people

who we are interacting

with on a regular basis.

He sends us out

daily.

The second description

of this making disciples

is baptizing them

in the name of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

Remember what baptism is.

It's simply a public

announcement of your

inward commitment

to Jesus,

this being united

to Christ

and His death

and resurrection,

your conversion.

Your baptism

announces it publicly.

And so our task

is not just moving

people towards Jesus,

but those who respond,

we need to help them

identify with Jesus

publicly.

It's not optional

for those who believe.

It is a command.

Over the last nine months,

we've baptized

four people

to help them

to publicly

identify themselves

with Jesus.

The last description

is teaching them

to observe

all that I commanded you.

We are moving people

towards Jesus

and obedience

to Him.

Obedience

to His initial call

to come follow me

and obedience

to His commands

that we see

all throughout

the Gospels.

Here's what I want

to emphasize.

In the ESV,

in verse 19,

we read this,

excuse me,

verse 20,

teaching them

to observe

all that I have

commanded you.

That word observe

actually means

to keep.

When you read it,

it looks like,

it seems like

you're just saying,

look at those words

of Jesus, right?

But we know

it carries a heavier sense,

a bigger claim,

to keep.

When we are teaching

people to observe

all that Jesus commands,

what we're teaching them

is not to be

a hearer only

of what Jesus says,

but to be a doer

of what Jesus says,

to help them

to keep

Jesus' words,

to put them

into practice,

to not stay

at profession

but move

into putting

His words

into play.

And so what we're

doing is

when we are parents,

you are the disciple

makers of your children,

what you're seeking

to do is not just

help your children

learn about Jesus,

but to learn

in order to live

for Jesus.

We learn from Jesus

to live for Jesus.

And what we have here

is a change

of lifestyle.

To become a follower

of Jesus

is to change

the way you live.

Where does

all this happen?

where does

all this

going,

baptizing,

teaching,

moving people,

engage,

evangelize,

establish,

equip,

where does

all that happen?

Wherever there

are disciples,

there must be

disciple making.

It happens

wherever we are.

This is the great

task given to us

by Jesus.

And it's not

optional to carry out.

How do you

respond to this?

Because

you take action.

You step out.

And that's where I want

to bring you next.

The fourth great

is the great

opportunity

before us.

Where our disciples

made,

wherever we are,

wherever the church

is,

wherever

the kingdom

of light

is intersecting

the domain

of darkness.

So four

opportunities,

starting with

yourself.

Have you heard

of when Jesus

talks about

going to your

prayer closet?

I want you

to think of

your prayer closet

as your

go closet.

Every morning

you find a place

to lay your

heart out

before the

Lord Jesus

Christ,

to confess

Him as

your Lord

and King

and to

lay down

your life

once again

in order to

learn from Him

and live for Him

and become like Him

because you love Him.

In your

go closet,

you walk

into your

go closet

needing a

heart change.

But you

leave your

go closet

sent

by Jesus.

go closet.

When you're

in the

go closet,

you've got to

be asking

questions of

yourself like

this.

Today,

am I

treasuring

Jesus above

all else?

Is He my

number one?

And if not,

who's my

chief rival

and how can I

repent of that?

one of the

greatest things

that you can

do in your

go closet

to be ready

to be sent

by Jesus

as His

ambassador,

to go make

disciples of

the nations,

the best thing

that you can do

to prepare

yourself to

make disciples

of other

people is to

remember what

Jesus has

done for you.

To remember

that you were

running away

from Him in the

domain of darkness

and by His

grace and grace

alone He

called you to

Himself.

One of the

things that I

think is a

problem with

our evangelism,

one of the

stymieing points

is this,

we don't think

we have

things to tell

people.

We don't

think people

care of what

we have to

say.

So one of the

things that you

can do to

enhance your

evangelism and

to make your

following Jesus

relevant to other

people,

is to ask

this question.

What difference

is Jesus making

in your life

right now?

What difference

is He making?

Now you've got

something to tell

somebody else.

So you start

with the

opportunity of

yourself.

Stepping into

the go closet

and stepping out

sent as an

ambassador to

Jesus.

And the next

opportunity is

your home.

parents,

you are the

disciple makers

of your home.

You are the

ambassadors for

Jesus to your

children first and

foremost.

Not exclusively,

but primarily.

Unprecedented

opportunities day in,

day out to speak

of Jesus,

point to Jesus

again and again,

loving your

children that way.

Here's how I want

to help you in your

parenting and your

discipling of your

children.

Think about each of

your children along

those phases.

Engage, evangelize,

establish, equip.

Where are they at?

Where are they at?

Meet them there.

Meet them there.

Don't meet them where

you want them to be.

Meet them where

they're at.

But here is,

I think,

a very important

tool in your

discipleship to

your children.

Make sure you're

using your life.

Make sure you're

bearing testimony to

them.

Make sure you are

telling them why

you are a follower

of Jesus.

Make sure you are

telling them the

difference that Jesus

makes in your life

and you wouldn't

have it any other

way.

Live it out

before them.

The difference

that it makes.

You know what?

They can reject

Jesus in due time,

but don't let them

use your life as

reason not to

believe in Jesus.

Follow Jesus.

I could say more

about how to love

your spouse,

but we've got to

keep moving.

The third

opportunity is your

church.

Moving your church

towards Jesus.

We've talked about

moving yourself

towards Jesus.

We've talked about

moving your family

towards Jesus.

Now moving your

church towards

Jesus.

Christ the King

Church.

Can you all start

seeing Sunday

morning as the

flagship discipleship

event in our

lives together?

This is where we

gather as

disciples, where

we're engaging

non-Christians,

evangelizing non-Christians,

and establishing and

equipping Christians to

then scatter out for

Jesus so that we're

all laying our lives

down, learning from,

living for,

becoming like Jesus,

all because we love

Him.

If you want more on

this, listen to last

week's sermon.

The fourth

opportunity I want

you to be aware of

in terms of moving

people towards Jesus

is moving your

non-Christian friends

and family and

co-workers to Jesus.

I'm not going to

give you a four-point,

step-by-step, how to

evangelize them right

now.

I'm just going to, I'm

going to give you some

recommendations to

start preparing your

heart for that.

Start praying for

specific non-Christians

God has put into your

life.

Start praying for

them by name.

Start imagining them

standing before Jesus

and standing before

Jesus' throne someday.

Let that burden you.

be burdened for your

non-Christian friends

and family.

Be asking God for

opportunities to bear

witness to God's

grace to them.

God, give me an

opportunity to speak to

my CPA.

I got to share the

gospel with my CPA

this past week.

He didn't buy it.

But man, was it

clear.

He didn't buy it.

One of the greatest

questions you can be

asking yourself in

preparation of talking

to your non-Christian

friends and family,

what difference is

Jesus making in your

life right now?

Tell them, I've got

hope.

I'm not afraid.

I'm looking forward

to.

I've got strength for

today.

Hope for tomorrow.

I was so

encouraged to hear

that the women's

book club, their

next book is

The Gospel Comes

with a House Key.

And I would just

encourage every woman

to get into that

women's book club

to read that book.

Because that's going

to speak of

hospitality as an

engagement tool

with non-Christians.

It's a great book.

And brothers and

sisters, in terms of

other opportunities

coming, we've got

something brewing

right now in our

church.

An evangelistic tool

for a whole church

to lay hold of.

But it's in the early

stages.

And there will be a

time to share more

of it.

But pray, pray, pray

that God would bring

together a team

for our whole church

to use an evangelistic

tool.

Where does this

discipleship take place?

wherever there are

disciples.

These are the

opportunities before us.

Wherever the church is,

we are making

disciples.

We are moving people

towards Jesus.

And we have

opportunities in front

of us right now.

Why are there so many

people who profess to be

disciples but are not

making disciples?

disciples?

Because of a disconnect.

And this morning with the

Great Commission, I wanted

to help make the

connection for you.

That His great authority

over us, we need to feel

the weight of that.

That His great promise to

us, we take courage from

that.

That this great task

entrusted to us, we act

on that.

We move people towards

Jesus because we've got

great opportunities to

make disciples right here,

right now.

You're going to leave this

building this morning,

walking under a door

frame that's going to

say, you are now entering

your mission field.

Wherever there are

disciples, there must be

disciple making.

Where are disciples made?

Spirit, wherever you are,

you've been commissioned.

Next week is going to be a

call to prayer because this

work is way bigger than any

one of us.

Let me pray.

God in heaven, would you do

a work in us that you get us

over our fears, that you help

us to step out in faith, and

that you give us words to speak

of your goodness towards us

in Christ.

God, would you do a work by

your spirit in which the

gospel goes out from Christ

the King Church in power, and

that you move non-Christians to

faith in Jesus, and you move

Christians to greater, greater

degrees of discipleship, more

and more maturity, greater and

greater equipping God to send

more and more out.

Lord, only you can do that,

Lord.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.