Transcript
More and better disciples. Here we go. My name is Jacob. I'm an associate pastor here at the church, and I'll be preaching this morning. I'll be bouncing around the scriptures a lot, so I apologize.
We'll have it on the board, though. But if you want to get going, the first place that I'll be is in Mark twelve. So you can find Mark twelve. You're welcome to jump around with me this morning. Be doing more of a topic here about discipleship.
I did have a God story that I wanted to share with you as you're looking. It's from Ashley Bixler. And she says this. She says one of our children desperately needed costly medical treatment that our insurance wouldn't cover much of. We tried pretty much everything else to no avail.
As her condition escalated, we decided last Tuesday to go ahead with the treatment regardless of the cost. On that Friday, we received an unexpected check in the mail that would cover 40 treatments. Now, we praise God for that.
And she said this. She said God had already provided provision for our family before we knew the need. And this isn't the first time. If you remember a couple months back, something similar happened to the Bixler family, and God just provided, too. And she says this, he consistently reminds me that he loves our babies even more than we do.
Isn't that sweet? Hey, today's sermon title, it's in your worship guide. It's this. Stop inviting people to church. Right?
What a unique title for a pastor to tell a congregation here. Stop inviting people to church. And we'll break that apart and it'll make sense by the time we're done. I hope so. When I was in high school, I want to start here with this sermon.
When I was in high school, I was nearing the end of a semester, and I had a really big paper that I had to complete before I could pass that class. And so I'm a procrastinator. So I waited last minute, of course, and then I started hitting it there because I really needed this to be an excellent paper. After sleepless nights, gobs of trips to the library, I finally completed the paper and I turned it in. Man, I was really proud of this guy.
Three days later, when all the students got their paperwork back, I found these words written in red on my paper. Good research. Thank you. Great illustrations, wonderful bibliography. Grade F.
Wrong assignment. Whoops. And from that moment on, I decided I would never, that would never happen to me again. I would never not know the assignment that I was supposed to be completing. And I imagine the Lord could give such a grade to churches as well.
Great building and nice events, wonderful prayer meeting. Whew. Fantastic music. Grade F. Wrong assignment.
You focused on the wrong thing. So this morning we're going to search the scriptures and we're going to find out what is our assignment? What are we supposed to be doing while we're here on earth? Because we don't want to hear, man, great job. Nice car, beautiful home.
Great f. Wrong assignment. You focused on the wrong thing. But we do want to hear. Well done, good and faithful servante.
Those are the words that we want to hear our lord speak to us. So what's our assignment? I think first, if we were to look at the scriptures, the best place to start, among other things, is this command to love your neighbor. I really like it when I get new neighbors. I don't know if that's everybody or if it's just certain types of personalities, but I like the idea of what it could be.
Right? Someone moves close to me. It's kind of exciting. They could be great friends. They could have kids that are the same age as my kids.
They could be a grill master and let me sample things all the time. They could be someone whose yard is greener than mine and puts mine to shame and helps me up my game of my landscaping. But on the other hand, this could be the last time I ever even noticed them. We could just move on with our lives, and I never think about them or see them again. But no matter who my new neighbor turns out to be, the Bible's advice on how I should treat them is very clear.
It says, love your neighbor as yourself eight times. Actually, the scriptures tell us to do that not once, not twice. Eight times. Loving your neighbor as yourself is so important that Jesus not only repeats it, but he makes it a command. And it's not just one command and a long list of commands, either.
Jesus coupled loving your neighbor with the command to love God. Look at mark 1230. I'll read it for you. It says, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.
And the second is like it. It's this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There's no other commandment greater than these. And look, loving your neighbor is not always easy. I had once when I lived in a zero lot line house right next to another house.
There were two bachelors that were my neighbors, and they had three dogs that never stopped barking. I probably never stopped barking. Do you hear me? They always had people in and out of their homes, and I'm pretty sure they got busted for drugs at least once. They were hard to love.
But most of my neighbors have been decent folks. So more often than nothing, the difficulty we face in loving our neighbors is because we simply don't know how to love them, or we don't know the goal of why we should be loving them, or we just try to avoid them altogether. And maybe that's why God made this a command, because he knew we'd struggle with it. And maybe he thought, hey, they're going to treat this as optional. So I'm going to be real clear how I want them to treat their neighbors.
And I do want you to hear this. Your neighbor is not just the people that live next to you. It's the people God's placed around you. It's where you live, work, eat, and play. It's the places you go and the people you see.
And this entire summer, we've been spending time answering the question, how does great commission church make disciples? This is institutional discipleship. When someone comes into our congregation, how are we to make disciples of them? What's the path they should follow? When we talked about, it's with Jesus in person, through groups and on teams, because we know that if you meet with someone with an on purpose goal and with an on purpose relationship in person, it super boosts your spiritual disciplines.
And we know that if you get in a group, you are going to foster life changing relationships that are based and focused around Jesus Christ. And we know if you get in a team on Sunday morning, you serve the bride of Christ, you will have a joy and a sense of fulfillment from loving the bride by using your gifts. But what about this individual discipleship? What's your responsibility when it comes to making disciples? Because there's a lot of confusion anytime I have a conversation with someone about making disciples.
Typically when someone says, hey, I need someone, I want a disciple maker. I want someone to make a disciple. For me, it's kind of across the board what they actually mean. And so I'll ask a few questions because what they mean could be, well, I just want to sit across from someone and just, I got stuff I got to talk about. I want to, man, I got some stuff I'm struggling with, some sins I'm dealing with, and I just need to get it off my.
I need like a counseling almost. Or maybe they want, hey, I just really need a friendship. I want a close believer in my life, a friend. Or sometimes they think, hey, I want to study the scriptures with someone, or I want someone to spoon feed me the scriptures. Or they might think, I really need someone to hold me accountable.
Or even, hey, I want to memorize some scripture with someone. So there's a lot of these really great answers of what someone means when they want a discipleship relationship. But if we look really hard at the first part of that command to make disciples, we discover something that's really easy to miss. And so we're going to hang out there just for a second. I want you to look at the great commission.
It's in matthew 28. I'm going to start in verse 19.
This is the command to go make disciples.
It starts like this. Go. Therefore, now stop. Don't read on. Go.
This is basically saying, go. As you're going about your life, you go with purpose. You go with a mission. You can ask yourself, well, where do I go? Well, where do you work?
Where do you play? What are your hobbies? Where do you live? Where do you eat? Who are your neighbors?
The people you see, the places you go. So as you're going to these places, you live, work, eat, and play, you, what's the next verse? Make disciples. These are followers of christ. They're little christs.
They're believers of all the nations. So everyone you see as you're going, all nations is a tall order, but that means that it's ongoing. The goal is all nations. So this is a continuous command. As you're going to the places you work, you never stop doing this thing.
And then what are you supposed to do with them? How does Jesus want us to make disciples? Well, the next phrase is, you baptize them. So as we go, we're baptizing. And what happens in order for someone to be baptized?
They hear the good news, which is called the gospel, and they believe that Jesus is their lord and savior. And in order for that to happen, someone evangelizes them. So step one, as we're going about our lives, is to evangelize people. How do you love your neighbor? You evangelize them.
And we always seem to skip that part when we talk about making disciples. And I can't wait for the next person to ask me, hey, I really need someone to make a disciple of me. It's like, well, do you want to be baptized, or do you want to go find someone to baptize? Let's start there and see where we go. So what Jesus commanded was to love God and love the people around you.
And while you go about your life you baptize people, and then you help those new believers do the same thing with the people in their world. So you win your world and help people win their world. Discipleship starts with the relationships and it leads to baptism. It's easier said than done, though, right? I think deep down, if you're like me and you've went on this journey of I want to obey Jesus by loving my neighbors and making disciples.
I want to evangelize people. You come to this conclusion that, my goodness, how is sharing this good news? Why did it always make me feel bad? Like, what's up with that? Because it can be relationally awkward.
The gospel is offensive. And like many of you, my life was changed by the love of God when I was introduced to Jesus. And like many of you, I really do want to obey Jesus command to love my neighbor and to go and make disciples. And I also, like many of you, I want my family and my friends and my neighbors to experience what Jesus has done in my life. So how do you make disciples?
How do you introduce people to Jesus? There was a Barna study that I can't stop thinking about. It lists three qualities that non believers said, hey, if someone possesses these three qualities, that they would listen and talk about spiritual matters. Here they are. This represents the people that live near you.
This represents the people you work with, the people that are close to you but far from God. Here's what they say. If you possess these three qualities, I will listen to you and you can tell me about Jesus. Are you interested? The first one is listen to me without judgment.
Listen to me without judgment. The second one is the believer needs to have a confidence in sharing their perspective. This doesn't mean. This doesn't necessarily mean apologetics, but it's a. Here's my story of how Jesus changed my life.
And the third one is, allow me to draw my own conclusions. So, listening, letting them think for themselves, and sharing your story is what they're looking for, because they really do want to know your story. They really do want to hear your experiences. But they also want to know that it's real and that it's genuine and that you are coming from a place of confident convictions. Now, 79% of the unchurched people, this is a study that tagged onto this, 179 percent of unchurched people agreed with the following.
I don't mind talking to a friend about their faith if they really value it. I don't mind talking to a friend about Jesus if it's really important to them. So all this research seems to point to one glaring thing. People are looking for a friend. It's that simple.
I think it's actually also that challenging. They're looking for a friend who's gonna live the good news, be the good news, share the good news in a way that's loving to them. They're not looking for someone to close the deal. That's not your job, by the way. They're not looking to be a project.
They're not looking for a drive by Jesus talk. They're not looking to be a transaction. They don't want to just sign on the dotted line and say, good luck, bud. They don't want a hard sell. People are looking for a friend.
Do you know what one of Jesus nicknames was? Matthew, 1118 and 19. It says this, for John came neither eating nor drinking. And they say he is a demon. The son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, look at him.
A glutton and a drunkard. A friend of tax collectors and sinners. Jesus was called a friend. A friend of sinners. And being a friend of sinners, Jesus showed that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.
Now, it was easy for a friend of sinner to stick when it came to Jesus, because everywhere Jesus went, he befriended people and blessed them. Befriended and blessed them. His entire life and ministry was this rhythm of befriending and blessing. Befriending and blessing. Jesus blessed every person and every place he encountered from the twelve disciples, these common men.
Jesus befriended them and blessed them. He changed the world through them. The woman at the well who was disowned by her community. He befriended and blessed her and changed her trajectory of her life. Mary and Martha, who hosted Jesus in their home.
Blind Bartimaeus, who was healed. The roman centurion who was concerned about his paralyzed servant. Zacchaeus, the tax collector who made a living ripping off his neighbors. Jesus shared a meal with him, and from that point on, everything changed. The criminal on the cross, as Jesus was dying, blessed him.
But what if I told you that God's mission to seek and to save the lost did not start when Jesus came to the earth? The truth is that God had a mission, an assignment for his people from the very beginning. We see three moments that I want to talk about. Three moments in Genesis, from the very beginning of scriptures where God blesses something. Genesis 122.
It says, God blesses animals, saying, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. And it was so. The second blessing is Genesis 128. It says, God blesses humans, saying, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. And it was.
So each time God blesses, it's an effective blessing, meaning that it brings into reality the things that God is saying. There's a hint of that when someone sneezes. And we all say, bless you. We hope that. Hey, I hope that these words bring health to you, that God brings health to you, that God blesses you.
Each of God's creative acts in Genesis one is blessed with a calling to multiply and fill the earth. God is the ultimate producer. But the moment he blesses a living creature, he gives it the opportunity and responsibility to produce and reproduce. And I want you to hear. I want to step aside for a second, because I want you to hear this.
We can live lives that are pleasing to God and bring him glory whether we have children or not. Okay? I don't want you to feel convicted, or I don't want you to feel shamed through this sermon. I'm not trying to compel you that the only way to be blessed in a blessing is by multiplying and having kids. You will see that very clearly when we tie all this together and we go back to Matthew 28 again, because we can be spiritually fruitful and multiply the citizens of the kingdom of God when we obey Jesus command to go and make disciples of all nations.
Okay, our third blessing we see in Genesis twelve. And this is my favorite. Abraham or Abram, was blessed to be a blessing. And through him, all the families of the earth will be blessed. See, Abram was called to produce God's people.
Let's read it in Genesis twelve. One, three. It says, now, the Lord said to Abram, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you. I will curse. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Do you see it? God says to Abram, I will bless you, and you will be a blessing.
And I will bless those who bless you. And not only that, but all the people will be blessed on planet earth. Whoa. That's a big promise. You see, God does not bless a man so that he can soak it in, but so that he can pass it on.
And it's right there in Genesis twelve, God's very first strategy for reaching the world was blessing people through people. And God said in verse one, Abram, go. And as you go, be a blessing. Now, this is important. We need a film director, what film directors call a deep focus.
And what a deep focus is, it requires a lens, a special lens that they put on their cameras, that it keeps the image in the foreground crystal clear, but also can bring a very sharp image in the background in at the same time and focus on both of them. So this is helpful. In the foreground, we have Abramouse later. He's called Abraham. He's about to launch out into uncertainty and change.
Nothing is going to be the same for him. He's an ordinary man with family and career responsibilities, with hopes and fears, and he does not know where he's going. He does not know what awaits him when he gets there. Yet this man is the beginning of the cure of all creation. He's the beginning of the cure because he's in the beginning of a line, a very long line that runs through great men of reputation, like King David, and through women of bad reputation, like Rahab, the harlot.
It's a line that runs through religious leaders like high priest Joshua, and through pagans like the Moabite Ruth. It runs through forgotten people, like obed and unforgettable people, like Solomon. It's a long line that runs through a young woman, almost a child, named Mary. And then the line comes to a point, a point of contention for some, the point of no return for others, but a point of it all for those who believe it's through Jesus that the promise comes to fulfillment. All the nations of the earth will be blessed, and creation itself will be cured.
And that promise is not an empty one, because if we flash forward to the end of the picture, we find some stirring words in revelation, chapter seven, verse nine. After this, I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language. Do you recognize those people? Those are the people of the blessing of Abraham standing in front of the throne and before the lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands, and they were shouting with a great roar, salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne and from the lamb.
And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. They fell before the throne with their face to the ground and worshiped God. And they sang, amen. Blessing and honor and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever. Amen.
Ladies and gentlemen, the recipients of the blessing of Abraham. You're there, too. Now remind, let's rewind just for a minute, because I want to know how we got to that scene. I want to know what took place from the time God promised to bless every person on planet earth from Abraham. And then thousands of years later, how do we get to that?
Genesis twelve one says this. Now, the Lord said to Abram, go. And he did. The command to go is very normal to us, but it was not normal during that time period. It was not only a call to leave his land, but also a call to leave everything behind.
He was all in, from his native people to his house, to his heritage, for the sake of following God. And Hebrews eleven eight confirms that Abram walks by faith, not by sight, to an unknown future, to an unknown place. And this promise of a new place finds its fulfillment in Christ through the restoration of the Garden of Eden that arrives through the coming of the new creation. The gospel is a call to go home. And so the command is essentially, hey, go and bring people home.
And the beauty of this text is that you and I get to be a part of that story. We are disciples of King Jesus, commissioned and sent out by him to proclaim his death, life and resurrection, starting with our neighbors, starting with the people that we work with, the places we go, the places we eat, the people we play with, we hang out with. It's the places we go and the people we see. And God said to Abram, go in Genesis twelve. And then in Matthew 28, Jesus repeats God's words by telling his disciples, to what?
Go. And not only are we on a mission wherever we go and as we go, but everything we need to accomplish that mission comes from God.
And God says, I will bless you, and then you will bless others with that very blessing. He said, I'm not blessing you so that you can go hoard it and just reflect on how blessed you are. He says, no, God says, I'm blessing you to go bless people. He's saying, however, I have blessed you, you need to use that to go bless other people. You don't have to manufacture anything, ladies and gentlemen.
Just bless others with who you are, where you're at, and what God's given you. He's given you salvation. He's given you eternal life. He's given you a family of believers. He's given you a church.
We are blessed because our sins are forgiven and can no longer be counted against us. So what now? What do you do now? What are some practical ways that we can live a life that blesses people. If God really wants people to bless people, what are some practical ways that I can go and I can love my neighbors, I can make disciples, I can win people to Jesus.
Here's how I would suggest you start. Ask God, where do you want me to bless people? Who's someone you want me to bless? Who is someone close to me but far from God? Who is someone that I have a burden for, like a real, like a, like a gut wrenching burden for, like a.
Like a wake up in the middle of the night because I fear for their eternal life. If you don't have someone ask God to give you a holy burden for someone, because that really sounds like a prayer he might actually answer, doesn't it? You know, this was me a few months ago. I'll kind of conclude with this. I'll tell you my story.
So I started asking God. I said, God, would you give me a burden for someone in my life? I decided that I needed a one, right? I needed a sinner to be my friend. Because I live in a christian bubble, probably awkwardly.
So. I work at a church. I'm a professional Christian by trade. I eat with christians. I hang out with christians.
My kids play homeschool sports. Their coaches are pastors. I eat, breathe and live this stuff. Guys, how can I find me a sinner? So I started asking God, God, you're going to have to give me someone.
You're going to have to do something. And I asked him, I said, would you give me such a burden, a gut wrenching, painful burden for someone, because I know they're going to hell and I have to stand in their way. I have to. And God's so loving and kind. Listen to how he answered this prayer.
He gave me this idea for a food truck in my neighborhood, as crazy as that sound. He said, you need to just get your neighbors together. You're surrounded by sinners. Which was so kind of the Lord, because he knows I love food. I think food trucks are cool.
I think they're overpriced. But, man, they just. They hit different. I love them. And so he made it even simpler.
Listen to this. A week later, after I had this idea, he puts a food truck owner in my circle. This guy says, hey, I'm starting a food truck business. I'm wanting to get something going. I said, I'll tell you what, boy, do I have an idea.
I said, I'll get my neighbor. I'll spread the word. I'll get my neighbors to come on. Our Facebook group, you cook and make money. Deal.
He said, deal. And so I let my neighbors know through the food. The Facebook group, man, they seemed super excited. We needed to get together, too, as a neighborhood. The HOA stuff, it was just nasty right there.
So we needed, like, some morale. We needed to get together. So the day finally arrives. I gather up my family, we start walking to where the food truck was going to be by one of our ponds, and I start thinking, man, what if no one shows up? Man, I'm gonna be disappointed.
So I go and I look. Lo and behold, there's a line. So God blessed my small efforts. So I go stand in line, and the people just kind of start talking to me. I'll say, this is awesome.
The first lady I spoke with was really involved in her church. And as soon as I found that out, I thought, oh, I gotta stop talking to you. I need to. Sinner. I don't need you.
So I promise I did. I turned and start talking to the guy behind me. And come to find out, lo and behold, he's another Christian. You're kidding me. And he actually, I come to find out he's really influential in our community.
And I realized at that moment, hey, God's given me some allies in this. And I thought, I'm not just about to win a sinner or get a sinner to be burdened, for I'm about to win my neighborhood. And so I got my smash burger. Ooh. He was on point, too.
I went up the hill to go eat it. My family's kind of going, talking, playing kind of by myself. And about that time, a couple around 35 years old comes walking down the street, and he said, hey, what's up with these food trucks? You see, he's not on the Facebook group, so he didn't know he had been driving home from McDonald's from a long, hard day at work, saw the food trucks and thought, we should go meet some neighbors. And so I asked him his name.
I reach out my hand to shake his, and he said, my name is Andy. And all I heard was, Jacob. You have been blessed to be a blessing to Andy. And now my prayer is not to give me a burden, but it's to save Andy. Because very soon, I'm going to be able to share my story, my testimony with Andy, and I'm going to baptize him.
There's another one of our members, Jessica Qualls. She was eating at a waffle. I'm telling you, God blesses when there's food involved guys. She was eating at a waffle house, and the waitress was super friendly. She said she talked for, they talked for quite a bit.
And she went back the next day. She said I'd got to go see her again. So Jessica went back the next day and she was there again. So she purposely sat in her section. She said that she began talking to me about several things, some that made me realize she'd been through some tough times.
She said, I'm normally really quiet and shy, but I've been trying to push out of my comfort zone and be intentional about sharing my faith. So when I left, I wrote a note on a napkin and I gave her my phone number, and I told her I'd love to talk with her more. I'd love to be her friend, is what she said. And would she like to come to church with me sometime? She said, I've never done that before.
And so she texted me a few days later and thanked me for listening and being so nice to her. She said she's been wanting to find a church and wanted to know more about our church. You see, Jessica was building relationships in the places that she was at with the people she sees. And she said, why don't you come and sit next to me, friend? I really do believe that we want to love people in the places we work, play, eat.
And I really do believe that you want to win your world. And I really do believe that you want to help your kids win their world. And I really do believe that you don't want to just wait for people to come to you, but you want to go to them. And I really do believe that you don't want to just invite random people to church, but you want to start bringing people to church with a purpose. And I really do believe that if God would give you a burden for someone that because of Jesus, you would love them well, because you've been blessed, you have a desire to be a blessing.
Isn't it unrealistic to insist that the rest of the world just kind of come to us so we can love them? Do you believe that God loves policemen? What about teachers, construction workers? It salesmen? Because I believe he does.
And if he truly does love these people and wants to reach them with the gospel, then what would be the very best way to do that? I think the best way to reach a teacher is to get another teacher to do it. So what does God do? He takes full time ministers you, disguises them as a teacher and sends them to our schools. So what if we stopped only inviting people to church, but started bringing people to church.
Would you pray with me? As we think through this God, we are grateful that you have made it so clear and simple that you want us to be a blessing to the people around us and God, I pray you give us a holy burden for someone in our life, God, that we want to invest in them, that we want to pray with them, that we want to share the love of God, the gospel with them. Give us favor in this area. In Jesus name we're thankful. Amen.
Hey, as we conclude today, I think a great way to respond is if you get that prayer card out right smack dab in the middle. On the prayer side it says, people close to me but far from God. That's an on purpose sentence. People close to me and far from goddess, who is that in your life? Who do you have a burden for?
Who do you want to bring to church with you soon? Who do you want to see God save? And if you don't have someone, maybe put that on the card, ask, say, I need a burden for someone. And the staff and elders, man, we will pray for you for that burden because that's a holy prayer right there and I want you to write that down. Let us pray for you.
There's also two tools, if you're really wanting to dive into this, two helpful tools for me on my journey. I put in the worship guide. One is this 1 minute miracle. I think it's what it's called. It's a website that basically just helps you develop your testimony.
Kyle found it. It's a great, great experience. It asks you some questions, you type it in and emails your testimony. The other one's so cool. It's a little creepy, but it's cool.
It's called the bless app. B l e s s. Bless app. And what it does is you put in your address and it shows you, your neighbors, their names. Okay, that's weird.
But it does. It shows their names and it reminds you. It gives you five every day to pray for. Start praying for these neighbors. Praying for these neighbors and it'll bounce it around for you.
My neighbors are freaking out because I know all their names now. But it's been a good time. Hey, we're going to have some prayer team up here at the very end of the service. Love for you to receive prayer, but anything that you came in want to minister, we'd love to minister to you. So prayer team, go ahead and come forward as everyone else stands.
Don't rush. Say hello to someone. Nothing's waiting on you outside. Lunch is still a few hours. Love you guys.
You're dismissed.
We'll have it on the board, though. But if you want to get going, the first place that I'll be is in Mark twelve. So you can find Mark twelve. You're welcome to jump around with me this morning. Be doing more of a topic here about discipleship.
I did have a God story that I wanted to share with you as you're looking. It's from Ashley Bixler. And she says this. She says one of our children desperately needed costly medical treatment that our insurance wouldn't cover much of. We tried pretty much everything else to no avail.
As her condition escalated, we decided last Tuesday to go ahead with the treatment regardless of the cost. On that Friday, we received an unexpected check in the mail that would cover 40 treatments. Now, we praise God for that.
And she said this. She said God had already provided provision for our family before we knew the need. And this isn't the first time. If you remember a couple months back, something similar happened to the Bixler family, and God just provided, too. And she says this, he consistently reminds me that he loves our babies even more than we do.
Isn't that sweet? Hey, today's sermon title, it's in your worship guide. It's this. Stop inviting people to church. Right?
What a unique title for a pastor to tell a congregation here. Stop inviting people to church. And we'll break that apart and it'll make sense by the time we're done. I hope so. When I was in high school, I want to start here with this sermon.
When I was in high school, I was nearing the end of a semester, and I had a really big paper that I had to complete before I could pass that class. And so I'm a procrastinator. So I waited last minute, of course, and then I started hitting it there because I really needed this to be an excellent paper. After sleepless nights, gobs of trips to the library, I finally completed the paper and I turned it in. Man, I was really proud of this guy.
Three days later, when all the students got their paperwork back, I found these words written in red on my paper. Good research. Thank you. Great illustrations, wonderful bibliography. Grade F.
Wrong assignment. Whoops. And from that moment on, I decided I would never, that would never happen to me again. I would never not know the assignment that I was supposed to be completing. And I imagine the Lord could give such a grade to churches as well.
Great building and nice events, wonderful prayer meeting. Whew. Fantastic music. Grade F. Wrong assignment.
You focused on the wrong thing. So this morning we're going to search the scriptures and we're going to find out what is our assignment? What are we supposed to be doing while we're here on earth? Because we don't want to hear, man, great job. Nice car, beautiful home.
Great f. Wrong assignment. You focused on the wrong thing. But we do want to hear. Well done, good and faithful servante.
Those are the words that we want to hear our lord speak to us. So what's our assignment? I think first, if we were to look at the scriptures, the best place to start, among other things, is this command to love your neighbor. I really like it when I get new neighbors. I don't know if that's everybody or if it's just certain types of personalities, but I like the idea of what it could be.
Right? Someone moves close to me. It's kind of exciting. They could be great friends. They could have kids that are the same age as my kids.
They could be a grill master and let me sample things all the time. They could be someone whose yard is greener than mine and puts mine to shame and helps me up my game of my landscaping. But on the other hand, this could be the last time I ever even noticed them. We could just move on with our lives, and I never think about them or see them again. But no matter who my new neighbor turns out to be, the Bible's advice on how I should treat them is very clear.
It says, love your neighbor as yourself eight times. Actually, the scriptures tell us to do that not once, not twice. Eight times. Loving your neighbor as yourself is so important that Jesus not only repeats it, but he makes it a command. And it's not just one command and a long list of commands, either.
Jesus coupled loving your neighbor with the command to love God. Look at mark 1230. I'll read it for you. It says, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.
And the second is like it. It's this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There's no other commandment greater than these. And look, loving your neighbor is not always easy. I had once when I lived in a zero lot line house right next to another house.
There were two bachelors that were my neighbors, and they had three dogs that never stopped barking. I probably never stopped barking. Do you hear me? They always had people in and out of their homes, and I'm pretty sure they got busted for drugs at least once. They were hard to love.
But most of my neighbors have been decent folks. So more often than nothing, the difficulty we face in loving our neighbors is because we simply don't know how to love them, or we don't know the goal of why we should be loving them, or we just try to avoid them altogether. And maybe that's why God made this a command, because he knew we'd struggle with it. And maybe he thought, hey, they're going to treat this as optional. So I'm going to be real clear how I want them to treat their neighbors.
And I do want you to hear this. Your neighbor is not just the people that live next to you. It's the people God's placed around you. It's where you live, work, eat, and play. It's the places you go and the people you see.
And this entire summer, we've been spending time answering the question, how does great commission church make disciples? This is institutional discipleship. When someone comes into our congregation, how are we to make disciples of them? What's the path they should follow? When we talked about, it's with Jesus in person, through groups and on teams, because we know that if you meet with someone with an on purpose goal and with an on purpose relationship in person, it super boosts your spiritual disciplines.
And we know that if you get in a group, you are going to foster life changing relationships that are based and focused around Jesus Christ. And we know if you get in a team on Sunday morning, you serve the bride of Christ, you will have a joy and a sense of fulfillment from loving the bride by using your gifts. But what about this individual discipleship? What's your responsibility when it comes to making disciples? Because there's a lot of confusion anytime I have a conversation with someone about making disciples.
Typically when someone says, hey, I need someone, I want a disciple maker. I want someone to make a disciple. For me, it's kind of across the board what they actually mean. And so I'll ask a few questions because what they mean could be, well, I just want to sit across from someone and just, I got stuff I got to talk about. I want to, man, I got some stuff I'm struggling with, some sins I'm dealing with, and I just need to get it off my.
I need like a counseling almost. Or maybe they want, hey, I just really need a friendship. I want a close believer in my life, a friend. Or sometimes they think, hey, I want to study the scriptures with someone, or I want someone to spoon feed me the scriptures. Or they might think, I really need someone to hold me accountable.
Or even, hey, I want to memorize some scripture with someone. So there's a lot of these really great answers of what someone means when they want a discipleship relationship. But if we look really hard at the first part of that command to make disciples, we discover something that's really easy to miss. And so we're going to hang out there just for a second. I want you to look at the great commission.
It's in matthew 28. I'm going to start in verse 19.
This is the command to go make disciples.
It starts like this. Go. Therefore, now stop. Don't read on. Go.
This is basically saying, go. As you're going about your life, you go with purpose. You go with a mission. You can ask yourself, well, where do I go? Well, where do you work?
Where do you play? What are your hobbies? Where do you live? Where do you eat? Who are your neighbors?
The people you see, the places you go. So as you're going to these places, you live, work, eat, and play, you, what's the next verse? Make disciples. These are followers of christ. They're little christs.
They're believers of all the nations. So everyone you see as you're going, all nations is a tall order, but that means that it's ongoing. The goal is all nations. So this is a continuous command. As you're going to the places you work, you never stop doing this thing.
And then what are you supposed to do with them? How does Jesus want us to make disciples? Well, the next phrase is, you baptize them. So as we go, we're baptizing. And what happens in order for someone to be baptized?
They hear the good news, which is called the gospel, and they believe that Jesus is their lord and savior. And in order for that to happen, someone evangelizes them. So step one, as we're going about our lives, is to evangelize people. How do you love your neighbor? You evangelize them.
And we always seem to skip that part when we talk about making disciples. And I can't wait for the next person to ask me, hey, I really need someone to make a disciple of me. It's like, well, do you want to be baptized, or do you want to go find someone to baptize? Let's start there and see where we go. So what Jesus commanded was to love God and love the people around you.
And while you go about your life you baptize people, and then you help those new believers do the same thing with the people in their world. So you win your world and help people win their world. Discipleship starts with the relationships and it leads to baptism. It's easier said than done, though, right? I think deep down, if you're like me and you've went on this journey of I want to obey Jesus by loving my neighbors and making disciples.
I want to evangelize people. You come to this conclusion that, my goodness, how is sharing this good news? Why did it always make me feel bad? Like, what's up with that? Because it can be relationally awkward.
The gospel is offensive. And like many of you, my life was changed by the love of God when I was introduced to Jesus. And like many of you, I really do want to obey Jesus command to love my neighbor and to go and make disciples. And I also, like many of you, I want my family and my friends and my neighbors to experience what Jesus has done in my life. So how do you make disciples?
How do you introduce people to Jesus? There was a Barna study that I can't stop thinking about. It lists three qualities that non believers said, hey, if someone possesses these three qualities, that they would listen and talk about spiritual matters. Here they are. This represents the people that live near you.
This represents the people you work with, the people that are close to you but far from God. Here's what they say. If you possess these three qualities, I will listen to you and you can tell me about Jesus. Are you interested? The first one is listen to me without judgment.
Listen to me without judgment. The second one is the believer needs to have a confidence in sharing their perspective. This doesn't mean. This doesn't necessarily mean apologetics, but it's a. Here's my story of how Jesus changed my life.
And the third one is, allow me to draw my own conclusions. So, listening, letting them think for themselves, and sharing your story is what they're looking for, because they really do want to know your story. They really do want to hear your experiences. But they also want to know that it's real and that it's genuine and that you are coming from a place of confident convictions. Now, 79% of the unchurched people, this is a study that tagged onto this, 179 percent of unchurched people agreed with the following.
I don't mind talking to a friend about their faith if they really value it. I don't mind talking to a friend about Jesus if it's really important to them. So all this research seems to point to one glaring thing. People are looking for a friend. It's that simple.
I think it's actually also that challenging. They're looking for a friend who's gonna live the good news, be the good news, share the good news in a way that's loving to them. They're not looking for someone to close the deal. That's not your job, by the way. They're not looking to be a project.
They're not looking for a drive by Jesus talk. They're not looking to be a transaction. They don't want to just sign on the dotted line and say, good luck, bud. They don't want a hard sell. People are looking for a friend.
Do you know what one of Jesus nicknames was? Matthew, 1118 and 19. It says this, for John came neither eating nor drinking. And they say he is a demon. The son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, look at him.
A glutton and a drunkard. A friend of tax collectors and sinners. Jesus was called a friend. A friend of sinners. And being a friend of sinners, Jesus showed that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.
Now, it was easy for a friend of sinner to stick when it came to Jesus, because everywhere Jesus went, he befriended people and blessed them. Befriended and blessed them. His entire life and ministry was this rhythm of befriending and blessing. Befriending and blessing. Jesus blessed every person and every place he encountered from the twelve disciples, these common men.
Jesus befriended them and blessed them. He changed the world through them. The woman at the well who was disowned by her community. He befriended and blessed her and changed her trajectory of her life. Mary and Martha, who hosted Jesus in their home.
Blind Bartimaeus, who was healed. The roman centurion who was concerned about his paralyzed servant. Zacchaeus, the tax collector who made a living ripping off his neighbors. Jesus shared a meal with him, and from that point on, everything changed. The criminal on the cross, as Jesus was dying, blessed him.
But what if I told you that God's mission to seek and to save the lost did not start when Jesus came to the earth? The truth is that God had a mission, an assignment for his people from the very beginning. We see three moments that I want to talk about. Three moments in Genesis, from the very beginning of scriptures where God blesses something. Genesis 122.
It says, God blesses animals, saying, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. And it was so. The second blessing is Genesis 128. It says, God blesses humans, saying, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. And it was.
So each time God blesses, it's an effective blessing, meaning that it brings into reality the things that God is saying. There's a hint of that when someone sneezes. And we all say, bless you. We hope that. Hey, I hope that these words bring health to you, that God brings health to you, that God blesses you.
Each of God's creative acts in Genesis one is blessed with a calling to multiply and fill the earth. God is the ultimate producer. But the moment he blesses a living creature, he gives it the opportunity and responsibility to produce and reproduce. And I want you to hear. I want to step aside for a second, because I want you to hear this.
We can live lives that are pleasing to God and bring him glory whether we have children or not. Okay? I don't want you to feel convicted, or I don't want you to feel shamed through this sermon. I'm not trying to compel you that the only way to be blessed in a blessing is by multiplying and having kids. You will see that very clearly when we tie all this together and we go back to Matthew 28 again, because we can be spiritually fruitful and multiply the citizens of the kingdom of God when we obey Jesus command to go and make disciples of all nations.
Okay, our third blessing we see in Genesis twelve. And this is my favorite. Abraham or Abram, was blessed to be a blessing. And through him, all the families of the earth will be blessed. See, Abram was called to produce God's people.
Let's read it in Genesis twelve. One, three. It says, now, the Lord said to Abram, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you. I will curse. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Do you see it? God says to Abram, I will bless you, and you will be a blessing.
And I will bless those who bless you. And not only that, but all the people will be blessed on planet earth. Whoa. That's a big promise. You see, God does not bless a man so that he can soak it in, but so that he can pass it on.
And it's right there in Genesis twelve, God's very first strategy for reaching the world was blessing people through people. And God said in verse one, Abram, go. And as you go, be a blessing. Now, this is important. We need a film director, what film directors call a deep focus.
And what a deep focus is, it requires a lens, a special lens that they put on their cameras, that it keeps the image in the foreground crystal clear, but also can bring a very sharp image in the background in at the same time and focus on both of them. So this is helpful. In the foreground, we have Abramouse later. He's called Abraham. He's about to launch out into uncertainty and change.
Nothing is going to be the same for him. He's an ordinary man with family and career responsibilities, with hopes and fears, and he does not know where he's going. He does not know what awaits him when he gets there. Yet this man is the beginning of the cure of all creation. He's the beginning of the cure because he's in the beginning of a line, a very long line that runs through great men of reputation, like King David, and through women of bad reputation, like Rahab, the harlot.
It's a line that runs through religious leaders like high priest Joshua, and through pagans like the Moabite Ruth. It runs through forgotten people, like obed and unforgettable people, like Solomon. It's a long line that runs through a young woman, almost a child, named Mary. And then the line comes to a point, a point of contention for some, the point of no return for others, but a point of it all for those who believe it's through Jesus that the promise comes to fulfillment. All the nations of the earth will be blessed, and creation itself will be cured.
And that promise is not an empty one, because if we flash forward to the end of the picture, we find some stirring words in revelation, chapter seven, verse nine. After this, I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language. Do you recognize those people? Those are the people of the blessing of Abraham standing in front of the throne and before the lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands, and they were shouting with a great roar, salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne and from the lamb.
And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. They fell before the throne with their face to the ground and worshiped God. And they sang, amen. Blessing and honor and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever. Amen.
Ladies and gentlemen, the recipients of the blessing of Abraham. You're there, too. Now remind, let's rewind just for a minute, because I want to know how we got to that scene. I want to know what took place from the time God promised to bless every person on planet earth from Abraham. And then thousands of years later, how do we get to that?
Genesis twelve one says this. Now, the Lord said to Abram, go. And he did. The command to go is very normal to us, but it was not normal during that time period. It was not only a call to leave his land, but also a call to leave everything behind.
He was all in, from his native people to his house, to his heritage, for the sake of following God. And Hebrews eleven eight confirms that Abram walks by faith, not by sight, to an unknown future, to an unknown place. And this promise of a new place finds its fulfillment in Christ through the restoration of the Garden of Eden that arrives through the coming of the new creation. The gospel is a call to go home. And so the command is essentially, hey, go and bring people home.
And the beauty of this text is that you and I get to be a part of that story. We are disciples of King Jesus, commissioned and sent out by him to proclaim his death, life and resurrection, starting with our neighbors, starting with the people that we work with, the places we go, the places we eat, the people we play with, we hang out with. It's the places we go and the people we see. And God said to Abram, go in Genesis twelve. And then in Matthew 28, Jesus repeats God's words by telling his disciples, to what?
Go. And not only are we on a mission wherever we go and as we go, but everything we need to accomplish that mission comes from God.
And God says, I will bless you, and then you will bless others with that very blessing. He said, I'm not blessing you so that you can go hoard it and just reflect on how blessed you are. He says, no, God says, I'm blessing you to go bless people. He's saying, however, I have blessed you, you need to use that to go bless other people. You don't have to manufacture anything, ladies and gentlemen.
Just bless others with who you are, where you're at, and what God's given you. He's given you salvation. He's given you eternal life. He's given you a family of believers. He's given you a church.
We are blessed because our sins are forgiven and can no longer be counted against us. So what now? What do you do now? What are some practical ways that we can live a life that blesses people. If God really wants people to bless people, what are some practical ways that I can go and I can love my neighbors, I can make disciples, I can win people to Jesus.
Here's how I would suggest you start. Ask God, where do you want me to bless people? Who's someone you want me to bless? Who is someone close to me but far from God? Who is someone that I have a burden for, like a real, like a, like a gut wrenching burden for, like a.
Like a wake up in the middle of the night because I fear for their eternal life. If you don't have someone ask God to give you a holy burden for someone, because that really sounds like a prayer he might actually answer, doesn't it? You know, this was me a few months ago. I'll kind of conclude with this. I'll tell you my story.
So I started asking God. I said, God, would you give me a burden for someone in my life? I decided that I needed a one, right? I needed a sinner to be my friend. Because I live in a christian bubble, probably awkwardly.
So. I work at a church. I'm a professional Christian by trade. I eat with christians. I hang out with christians.
My kids play homeschool sports. Their coaches are pastors. I eat, breathe and live this stuff. Guys, how can I find me a sinner? So I started asking God, God, you're going to have to give me someone.
You're going to have to do something. And I asked him, I said, would you give me such a burden, a gut wrenching, painful burden for someone, because I know they're going to hell and I have to stand in their way. I have to. And God's so loving and kind. Listen to how he answered this prayer.
He gave me this idea for a food truck in my neighborhood, as crazy as that sound. He said, you need to just get your neighbors together. You're surrounded by sinners. Which was so kind of the Lord, because he knows I love food. I think food trucks are cool.
I think they're overpriced. But, man, they just. They hit different. I love them. And so he made it even simpler.
Listen to this. A week later, after I had this idea, he puts a food truck owner in my circle. This guy says, hey, I'm starting a food truck business. I'm wanting to get something going. I said, I'll tell you what, boy, do I have an idea.
I said, I'll get my neighbor. I'll spread the word. I'll get my neighbors to come on. Our Facebook group, you cook and make money. Deal.
He said, deal. And so I let my neighbors know through the food. The Facebook group, man, they seemed super excited. We needed to get together, too, as a neighborhood. The HOA stuff, it was just nasty right there.
So we needed, like, some morale. We needed to get together. So the day finally arrives. I gather up my family, we start walking to where the food truck was going to be by one of our ponds, and I start thinking, man, what if no one shows up? Man, I'm gonna be disappointed.
So I go and I look. Lo and behold, there's a line. So God blessed my small efforts. So I go stand in line, and the people just kind of start talking to me. I'll say, this is awesome.
The first lady I spoke with was really involved in her church. And as soon as I found that out, I thought, oh, I gotta stop talking to you. I need to. Sinner. I don't need you.
So I promise I did. I turned and start talking to the guy behind me. And come to find out, lo and behold, he's another Christian. You're kidding me. And he actually, I come to find out he's really influential in our community.
And I realized at that moment, hey, God's given me some allies in this. And I thought, I'm not just about to win a sinner or get a sinner to be burdened, for I'm about to win my neighborhood. And so I got my smash burger. Ooh. He was on point, too.
I went up the hill to go eat it. My family's kind of going, talking, playing kind of by myself. And about that time, a couple around 35 years old comes walking down the street, and he said, hey, what's up with these food trucks? You see, he's not on the Facebook group, so he didn't know he had been driving home from McDonald's from a long, hard day at work, saw the food trucks and thought, we should go meet some neighbors. And so I asked him his name.
I reach out my hand to shake his, and he said, my name is Andy. And all I heard was, Jacob. You have been blessed to be a blessing to Andy. And now my prayer is not to give me a burden, but it's to save Andy. Because very soon, I'm going to be able to share my story, my testimony with Andy, and I'm going to baptize him.
There's another one of our members, Jessica Qualls. She was eating at a waffle. I'm telling you, God blesses when there's food involved guys. She was eating at a waffle house, and the waitress was super friendly. She said she talked for, they talked for quite a bit.
And she went back the next day. She said I'd got to go see her again. So Jessica went back the next day and she was there again. So she purposely sat in her section. She said that she began talking to me about several things, some that made me realize she'd been through some tough times.
She said, I'm normally really quiet and shy, but I've been trying to push out of my comfort zone and be intentional about sharing my faith. So when I left, I wrote a note on a napkin and I gave her my phone number, and I told her I'd love to talk with her more. I'd love to be her friend, is what she said. And would she like to come to church with me sometime? She said, I've never done that before.
And so she texted me a few days later and thanked me for listening and being so nice to her. She said she's been wanting to find a church and wanted to know more about our church. You see, Jessica was building relationships in the places that she was at with the people she sees. And she said, why don't you come and sit next to me, friend? I really do believe that we want to love people in the places we work, play, eat.
And I really do believe that you want to win your world. And I really do believe that you want to help your kids win their world. And I really do believe that you don't want to just wait for people to come to you, but you want to go to them. And I really do believe that you don't want to just invite random people to church, but you want to start bringing people to church with a purpose. And I really do believe that if God would give you a burden for someone that because of Jesus, you would love them well, because you've been blessed, you have a desire to be a blessing.
Isn't it unrealistic to insist that the rest of the world just kind of come to us so we can love them? Do you believe that God loves policemen? What about teachers, construction workers? It salesmen? Because I believe he does.
And if he truly does love these people and wants to reach them with the gospel, then what would be the very best way to do that? I think the best way to reach a teacher is to get another teacher to do it. So what does God do? He takes full time ministers you, disguises them as a teacher and sends them to our schools. So what if we stopped only inviting people to church, but started bringing people to church.
Would you pray with me? As we think through this God, we are grateful that you have made it so clear and simple that you want us to be a blessing to the people around us and God, I pray you give us a holy burden for someone in our life, God, that we want to invest in them, that we want to pray with them, that we want to share the love of God, the gospel with them. Give us favor in this area. In Jesus name we're thankful. Amen.
Hey, as we conclude today, I think a great way to respond is if you get that prayer card out right smack dab in the middle. On the prayer side it says, people close to me but far from God. That's an on purpose sentence. People close to me and far from goddess, who is that in your life? Who do you have a burden for?
Who do you want to bring to church with you soon? Who do you want to see God save? And if you don't have someone, maybe put that on the card, ask, say, I need a burden for someone. And the staff and elders, man, we will pray for you for that burden because that's a holy prayer right there and I want you to write that down. Let us pray for you.
There's also two tools, if you're really wanting to dive into this, two helpful tools for me on my journey. I put in the worship guide. One is this 1 minute miracle. I think it's what it's called. It's a website that basically just helps you develop your testimony.
Kyle found it. It's a great, great experience. It asks you some questions, you type it in and emails your testimony. The other one's so cool. It's a little creepy, but it's cool.
It's called the bless app. B l e s s. Bless app. And what it does is you put in your address and it shows you, your neighbors, their names. Okay, that's weird.
But it does. It shows their names and it reminds you. It gives you five every day to pray for. Start praying for these neighbors. Praying for these neighbors and it'll bounce it around for you.
My neighbors are freaking out because I know all their names now. But it's been a good time. Hey, we're going to have some prayer team up here at the very end of the service. Love for you to receive prayer, but anything that you came in want to minister, we'd love to minister to you. So prayer team, go ahead and come forward as everyone else stands.
Don't rush. Say hello to someone. Nothing's waiting on you outside. Lunch is still a few hours. Love you guys.
You're dismissed.
Come and join us this Sunday at the Great Commission Church for a truly remarkable and uplifting experience. Great Commission Church is not just any ordinary place of worship; it's a vibrant community where faith comes alive, hearts are filled with love, and lives are transformed. Our doors are wide open, ready to welcome you into the warm embrace of our congregation, where you'll discover the true essence of fellowship and spirituality. At Great Commission Church, we are more than just a congregation; we are a family united by a common mission – to follow the teachings of Christ and spread His love to the world. As you step inside Great Commission Church, you'll find a sanctuary that nurtures your faith and encourages you to be part of something greater than yourself.
We believe in the power of coming together as a community to worship, learn, and serve. Whether you're a long-time believer or just starting your spiritual journey, Great Commission Church welcomes people from all walks of life. Our vibrant services are filled with inspiring messages, beautiful music, and heartfelt prayers that will uplift your soul. Every Sunday at Great Commission Church is an opportunity to deepen your relationship with God and connect with others who share your faith and values.
At Great Commission Church, we believe that faith is not just a solitary endeavor but a shared experience that strengthens and enriches us all. Our church is a place where you can find purpose, belonging, and the encouragement to live a life in accordance with Christ's teachings. Join us this Sunday at Great Commission Church and experience the transformative power of faith in action. Be part of a loving and supportive community that is committed to making a positive impact in our world. Together, we strive to fulfill the great commission to go forth and make disciples of all nations. We look forward to having you with us at Great Commission Church this Sunday, where faith, love, and community intersect in a truly amazing way.
Great Commission Church is a non-denominational Christian church located in Olive Branch, Mississippi. We are a short drive from Germantown, Southaven, Collierville, Horn Lake, Memphis, Fairhaven, Mineral Wells, Pleasant Hill, Handy Corner, Lewisburg and Baylia.
See you Sunday at Great Commission Church!
