Were on a Mission from God! Matthew 28:16-20

 The Great Commission

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

As we get to the last 5 verses of the first gospel, the gospel of Matthew, we hear Jesus' last words to his disciples.  Someone's last words represent their last will and testament.  They represent what the person wants to be remembered for after they leave this earth.  In this case Jesus' last words represent what we call "The Great Commission!"  As someone has said the church doesn't get to vote on the Great Commission. It is every church's primary mission statement. 

Matthew 28:16-20 is the foundational verse for my purpose as a Christian, and my calling as a pastor.  These are MY marching orders.  At the end of my life, I feel my life will be measured by how well I fulfilled and realized the Great Commission in my own life, and the churches I pastored.  You will often hear the phrase, "Remember the main thing is to remember to keep the main thing the main thing".  The Great Commission is the main thing in the church.  At the end of the day the most key metric for any Christian church is ...

HOW MANY DISCIPLES DID YOU MAKE???

Jesus commissions his disciples to "go and make disciples".  Notice it says "go".  You don't make disciples by sitting around waiting for people to come to your church.  It is very intentional.  It is hard work that is empowered by the Holy Spirit.  The Great Commission is a Co-Mission between God and His Church.  We are on a "mission from God" as the Blues Brothers said.  We cannot do the mission without God, and God cannot fulfill his mission without us. God can do anything, so he could do it independently of us, but he chooses to involve us in the most important mission on earth.  

Notice whose authority we use to fulfill this mission?  Jesus says, "All authority has given to me and now I give it to you!"  This part of the Great Commission is fundamental and vital to accomplishing it.  Authority is the "the right to exercise power".  We need power to fulfill this Great Commission because our enemy hates us making disciples more than anything on this earth. 

What exactly does it mean to make disciples who make disciples?  First let's say what it is not!

1.  It is not recruiting church members, or even necessarily measured by the amount of people who frequent our churches.  A person could sit in the pews in their whole life and never really be a disciple, nor make any other disciples. 

2. Making disciples is not only the pastor's job.  The pastor's job is to equip others to be disciples and make disciples.  A pastor's job is to create an environment where disciples are made and reproduced in the power of the Holy Spirit.  The pastor is to be a model of being a disciple, and they also make disciples, but they are not the ONLY ones doing it.  The reliance on the pastor to do the "discipling" is the failure of many churches today.  Pastors for their part contribute to it by trying to do it all the work by themselves.  

3. Being a disciple is not about following all of the rules, or other legalistic definitions of what a "true Christian" should be.  Though bible study, praying, being in small groups, and evangelizing are all part of being a disciple, they do not necessarily prove someone is a disciple.  

So what is a disciple of Jesus?  Dallas Willard has given us the simplest and best definitiion of being a disciple.  He says being a disciple is ...

"Living my life as Jesus would if he were me."  Yes, it is really that simple! But it is also hard because we would rather live in our power, in our control, and on our agenda.  The only way we can really live our lives as Jesus did is as we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.  Note the Holy Spirit IS the Spirit of Jesus!  Jesus said to his disciples, "I will not leave you alone but I will send you the Holy Spirit, who will be with you and live in you. The Holy Spirit is also known as the "counselor" and "helper".  It is the Holy Spirit who literally comes alongside of us to live a life worthy of our calling as a disciple of Christ.  

The key question every church must ask itself is, 

"Is the natural outcome of what we do at our church disciples who make odisciples?"

If not, something is awry.  A church can have the nicest building, the coolest praise band, the "hippest" pastor, but if it is not making disciples who make disciples, it is not the church Jesus commissioned 2,000 years. 

How about you?  Would you call yourself a disciple of Jesus?  If others watched your life would they conclude that you are a Christ follower?  Note: I am not asking if you are a perfect person.  Rather, are you trying to live your life as if Jesus would if he were you?  

Finally a word of encouragement! Being a disciple and making other disciples is what were truly made to do on this earth.  Being a disciple of Jesus frees you to live the best possible life, Jesus calls it the "abundant life".  All other attempts to find meaning and purpose are futile, as we see every day in our culture.  Following Jesus and fulfiling his purpose in your life and investing in other people brings TRUE and LASTING meaning to your life!

These are Jesus' last words for a reason.  They were the most important words he could leave his disciples with and they are equally important for us today!