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(Matthew 22:34-40; 28:19-20; Acts 1:7-8)
September 16, 2007
1st – thanks for emails, stories, comments after my message on depression; greatest response I’ve had to a message in memory
2nd silence to pray & open your hearts to God
3rd Lord Christ, you are welcome in this place today, in our lives, in our hearts, in our response. Fill me with your Spirit. Speak to us today. In Jesus name, amen.
4th no edit video interviews – what does it mean to be a disciple?
This is Why…
1. today begins a new 6 week series entitled This is Why…why we as the CAC exist; why we do what we do.
2. As we move into the fall, move into our new facility, I believe it’s of utmost importance that we be reminded of our reason for being.
3. if you work for Starbucks you will get their This is Why talk. (By the way, next time you go to Moscow a venti mocha will cost you $8.98 at Russia’s first Starbucks) Their mission – Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow. This is why Starbucks exists – to make the finest coffee in the world available to us here in Canby.
4. Starbucks was forced to create its own mission statement. They had to roast, steam, froth it up. Not so with us. Ours is a given. Ours comes from Scripture & the mouth of Jesus.
5. turn to Matthew 28:19-20 – the Great Commission. Let’s read this together.
6. now turn to Matthew 22:34-40. The Great Commandment.
7. put the Great Commission & the Great Commandment together & what you have is our mission statement. This is Why….we exist. To make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God and love others. Let’s say this together. Again.
Jesus Christ
1. we start with Jesus. I like what E. Stanley Jones wrote in 1930 – there are four pillars upon which Christ’s gospel rests: his life, his cross, his resurrection, and his coming into the lives of men, Pentecost. This is the Jesus that we have to deal with.
2. he walked this earth as the Son of God, fully God & fully man. He died on the cross for our sin. He rose from the dead to defeat sin, death & Satan. And he comes into our lives & empowers us through the Holy Spirit.
3. its popular today to take Jesus & add to him as well as subtract from him. 10 years ago I interviewed Mary Manin-Morresey, who at that time was pastor of the Living Enrichment Center in Wilsonville (imploded because of financial improprieties).
She added to Jesus. Jesus was their primary teacher but they also resourced Buddha, Mohammed & a ton of pop psychology. Jesus +.
She subtracted from Jesus as well. The Living Enrichment Center emphasized the soft side of Jesus while ignoring his hard sayings like – deny self, take up cross, follow me OR I am the way, the truth & the life.
Jesus -.
4. the Jesus of our mission statement is the Jesus of the Scriptures, all of him, 100%. The Jesus of the historic creeds of the Christian church. The Jesus who is our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer & Coming King.
Disciple
1. very simply a disciple is a learner, a follower of someone. Disciple is NOT a uniquely religious concept. The world has always had disciples. Plato & Socrates had disciples in ancient Greece.
2. today, Oprah has her disciples. People who religiously watch her program. They listen to her words, embrace her viewpoints & practice her eclectic brand of spirituality.
Ernest Hemingway had his disciples. He published a novel in 1927, The Sun Also Rises, about Paris in the 1920s. His writing was sparse, minimalist. A whole band of writers tried to imitate his new style.
3. Disciple is the primary term used in the New Testament to refer to Jesus’ followers. While the word ‘Christian’ is found 3 times, ‘disciple’ is found 269 times.
5. a disciple is someone who whole-heartedly follows after Jesus Christ. This following is marked by personal attachment & commitment.
6. I’ve been a Christ-follower since 1974. I’m just as much a follower of Jesus now as then. Just as much a learner of his person & ways now as then. I hope that’s still true in another 30 years. We never arrive.
7. a disciple of Jesus Christ is someone who follows him & learns from him.
Make
1. Jesus commands his disciples to make disciples. What does this mean?
2. 1st making disciples begins with witness (Acts 1:8) – you will be my witnesses. We tell people about Jesus. We speak of him to others.
3. this witness also involves the way we live. Words + deeds. Does our lifestyle, character match our confession?
4. 2nd making disciples involves asking for a response. Eventually we ask people to decide. What are you going to do with Jesus? When my brother Tom was dying of cancer 18 months ago, I asked him if he was ready to say “yes” to Jesus. Ready to make a commitment.
5. 3rd making disciples involves passing on the faith. To those who say “yes” to Jesus, ours is to – teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. There is a body of truth to be learned & lived out.
6. this is where our Common Ground classes come in for adults – 10:30-11:30am once we move into the new building. Tanis Snyder will be teaching a class on Prophecy, Israel & the End Times. I will be teaching a class entitled: A Journey into Spiritual Formation: what it means to be formed into Christ-likeness. I’ll be talking about things like spiritual direction, personality types, spiritual habits or disciplines, the affect of American culture upon our faith…
7. Transformation groups fit in here as well – small groups of 10-16 people who regularly meet for community, sharing, study & prayer. Sign-ups begin today on the back table:
à Tim Barton – discuss the days sermon
à Ken Baker – 2 Samuel
à Dennis Trussell – The Jesus Creed
à Dave Gordon - Andy Stanley DVD study called Take It to the Limit (time management & margins)
à Brands/Robison – topic to be determined
8. women’s bible studies fit in here. The Weekly lists 2 bible studies for our women to choose from.
9. baptism is also a part of discipleship – baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This afternoon I am going to baptize 5 people in the Molalla River at the church picnic.
10. baptism is important for a Christ follower. It takes your faith public. It’s your declaration that you have become a disciple of Jesus Christ & intend to be his follower. Talk to me or Kyle if you want to be baptized today – there’s still time!
11. 4th making disciples is done in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) – you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. We can’t make disciples apart from the power of God. Only God can convict a person of their sin, of their need for salvation. Only God can change or transform a human life. Making disciples will fail without the power of the Holy Spirit.
12. many of us feel guilty at this point. We are not giving witness, asking for a response, passing on the faith, in the power of the Holy Spirit. We lack courage or don’t care.
13. don’t let guilt get you down. Give it over to Jesus. Get rid of it. And let Jesus be your power, hope & courage. Pray. Take things 1 step at a time. And think about gardening.
14. my dad loves to garden. He takes care of his soil. He breaks it up, lets it breathe. He feeds it. He plants it. Waters it. Weeds it. Enjoys its company. But does he make his tomatoes or corn or cucumbers grow? No. He would be the 1st to tell you that all he does is prepare the garden for growth. God turns those seeds into plants & those plants into potatoes, onions & watermelon. I was home in August. The day I left dad went out to his garden & picked the first cantaloupes of the summer. I ate one of them – so sweet, juicy, and bursting with flavor!
15. we’re told the exact same thing about disciple-making in I Corinthians 3:5-9. I planted the seed. Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. God makes disciples but he gives us part of the process. We speak. We serve. We love. We listen. We give a Bible. We invite to a Christmas dessert. We bring to a youth event. We share our faith. And God brings the harvest!
Love God & love others
1. disciples of Jesus love God & love others. If you follow Christ you will be someone who passionately loves God & sincerely loves others. Love defines the live of a Christ-follower. Our primary way of making disciples is love.
2. love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
3. love your neighbor as yourself. This is the nitty-gritty of life. Loving our families, friends, church family, co-workers, even strangers we meet in the parking lot of Fred Meyers.
4. if we want to know how to love all we have to do is look at Jesus:
à John 3 – he loved Nicodemus, Pharisee, who came to see him at night so no one would see him – he was a coward
à John 4 – he loved the woman at the well who defines the term promiscuous – she was a moral wreck
à John 8 – he loved the woman caught in adultery – go & sin no more
5. I Corinthians 13:1-13. This kind of love combined with the power of the Holy Spirit will bring people to Christ & transform them into Christ-followers.
6. years ago we lived in an apartment on Territorial. Frank was our neighbor – hard to talk to, unfriendly, distant. I tried to build a relationship with him & his wife. Frank came down with cancer. I visited him. The barriers began to come down. I simply loved & cared for this man who was afraid of cancer & afraid to die. I prayed for him. I told him about Christ. I gave him a chance to make a decision. And one day he said “yes” to Jesus a few weeks before he died.
7. what the world needs now is love, sweet love…as the song goes.
3 commitments
1. Christ: renew your commitment to be a follower of Christ & spend time with him daily in prayer & Scripture. Choose Christ if you haven’t already & become 1 of his followers!
2. His Body: commit yourself to the Body of Christ by becoming a regular member of a Transformation group or a women’s bible study or a Common Ground class beyond Sunday morning. For community, growth & accountability.
3. World: commit yourself to the world we live in. Love it as Jesus did/does. Begin praying for 1 person you can love & share Christ with before Christmas.
Lord Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit help each one of us here today to invite people into this way of life called discipleship, following Jesus. Help us to do it in loving words & loving deeds. Thank you that you promise to be with us always, to the very end of the age. Amen.
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