April 1, 2001

Matthew 28:16-20

Our Purpose in Christ

1. Introduction

1. Illustration – Albert Minor wrote, God is sometimes the disrupter of our established lives. We work long to build comfortable ways of doing things, approaches to our living which serve our purposes, to form routines which both enable and entrap us. Then something happens to make those trusted or necessary patterns seem like fond dreams of former times… New creation, a new heaven and a new earth, newness of life – these are the promises that our patterns will be broken and our beliefs changed. Following Jesus to the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, the sick, the unloved, the dying and the spiritually dead is not the same old life. God stirs us with his whirlwind and scatters our structures so we may live in him.
2. Context – There are those who would take Minor’s remarks as an excuse to advocate absolute mayhem and disorganization in their Christian lives. They miss the point. God is the one who must disrupt us. When He disrupted the lives of the disciples, they were transformed. Jesus’ final instructions to them in Matthew 28:16-20 disrupted their lives in such a way that the world will never be the same. We need to take a close look at those instructions to see how God wants to disrupt our lives.

1. Scripture Passage

1. Matthew 28:16-20 - 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."
2. It’s significant that this gospel ends with these words, because Jesus gives us the purpose God has in disrupting our lives – His reason for our existence on this planet.

1. Belief or Doubt

1. Now the disciples had left Jerusalem and traveled to Galilee as they had been told. Can you imagine their conversations on the way up? What thoughts filled their minds as they walked the long road? The disciples had a real chance to think through everything that had happened. Jesus, the center of their lives for over three years, crucified. Then the astounding report of those women that He had risen, and that He wanted them to go to Galilee to meet them. Like those disciples, we have an opportunity to consider what has happened in our lives, to look at the disruptions God has placed in them. We need to find out whether who we are and what we do matches up with what the Bible has to tell us about Jesus. Then we need to let our lives be disrupted and move on toward Him, just as the disciples did.
2. After their journey and the chance to sort out who they were and who Jesus was, they saw Him. Their reactions went two ways: those who believed and worshiped Him; and those who doubted. Think about it – they’ve had a long journey on foot to think about their lives and to talk through their common experiences with Jesus, and some still doubted when they saw Him. Too many of us doubt when we see Jesus, whether it is in the Bible or in our experiences or in someone else’s life. We still doubt in spite of the many reasons to believe. My guess would be that those disciples who found their lives not measuring up to Jesus’ teachings and who were unwilling to change were the ones who doubted. Of course some may have doubted just from the shear shock of seeing Him alive and having seen His horrible death. But we, like those disciples, have a choice between doubt and belief. Which one we choose will have a definite impact on how we receive the rest of Jesus’ message to us.
3. Illustration – Malcolm Muggeridge writes, Human beings are only bearable when the last defenses of their egos are down; when they stand, helpless and humbled, before the awful circumstances of their being. It is only thus that the point of the cross becomes clear, and the point of the cross is the point of life. The disciples who doubted didn’t get the point. Those who believed did, and moved on to do great things by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s only when we get the point, when we really see who we are and who God is, that we can move forward with Christ. Then we will truly believe.

1. Our Purpose

1. Once we take care of the issues of doubt and belief in our lives, then we have to face up to the fact that we were created for a greater purpose, other than just living out our lives. God had a mission in mind when He created us, and He had a mission in mind in the founding of this church. And Jesus gave us that mission in this passage in Matthew. But He didn’t just give us "marching orders" and leave us to fulfill them on our own. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore…" Jesus didn’t just say, "Do this stuff." He gave us His authority to do it with. Whatever we do according to His will we do with His authority. So we can gladly and with confidence work to accomplish the purpose He has given us here on earth. But what is that purpose?
2. The last weekend in February, fourteen leaders from this church met at a conference center. We prayed, shared communion, heard from God’s Word, and then embarked on the task of putting into words the purpose or mission and the vision God has for this church. We will be taking a look at the vision next week. After much discussion, we were able to condense our mission as being this: Sodaville Evangelical Church exists to: Love God; Share His love with you; Reach out with compassion; and Apply the Bible and prayer to real life. Let’s take a look at how these purposes fit in with Jesus’ final command in Matthew.
3. Jesus tells us to go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything He commanded. That’s a big job, but Jesus gave us His authority to do it with, and He has given us as the part of the body of Christ known as Sodaville Evangelical Church a specific role in doing that job.
4. God, through the Holy Spirit, has revealed to us that we are first and foremost to love God. We have to love God in order to model that love to others. We have to love God in order for our words and our lives to match up. We have to love God if we are to be true Christians. And that love has to be lived out in our everyday lives. How do we show our love to God?

• In John 14:15, Jesus says, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." So the first mark of loving God is obedience. This isn’t saying that we have to try to earn our salvation; it is saying that the extent to which we obey God is the extent of how much we love Him. If we love God, we have to obey His commands.
• In John 15:12, Jesus says, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." We love God by sacrificially loving each other.

1. Which brings us to the second point – sharing His love with you. Loving God involves sharing His love with other people. Why did we use the word "you"? Because we can’t just share God’s love with those we choose. We have to share it with everyone, which is what "you" includes. We share God’s love with everyone, not "others," not those we choose to, but with everyone.

• Matthew 5:44-48 records what is perhaps one of Jesus’ harder teachings for us to stomach - But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus isn’t talking about being infallible; what He is talking about is being perfect in love. In other words, loving others as God loves them. Allowing God to fill us with such a love for even those we can’t stand that this love overflows onto them. That is the kind of love that transforms lives. And that love will move us to action, to demonstrate the love of God in the way we live our lives. That is what sharing His love with you is all about.

1. But again, there is an action component. Reaching out with compassion. That doesn’t just mean reaching out to those in our church. And it doesn’t mean reaching out only to those outside our church. There are many people, inside and outside Sodaville Evangelical Church, who desperately need a hand of compassion reached out to them right now.

• Matthew 25:37-40 describes how we do this: "Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ⁴⁰ "The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’" Jesus is talking about those who make it into heaven and those who don’t. The righteous make it because their love for God overflows into enough of a compassionate concern for others that they work diligently to meet those physical needs. But there’s more.
• Reaching out with compassion requires that we seek to meet the needs of the whole person. In other words, sometimes it’s easier to write a check or drop off some food than it is to sit with someone and listen to their problems and try to help them through. There is nothing wrong with writing a check or dropping off some food – as a matter of fact, that is an excellent way of reaching out with compassion. But if we leave it at just the physical needs and fail to allow God to use us to meet their emotional and spiritual needs, we are missing the boat. As time goes on we are going to see more and more people come through these doors who have significant problems, and God is going to ask us to work toward meeting their needs. We can’t be "comfortable" with our Christianity anymore. We have to be willing for God to use us as He sees fit if we are going to effectively reach out with compassion.

1. The fourth facet of our mission, God’s purpose in having this church exist, is to apply the Bible and prayer to real life. When we love God and share His love with others and we reach out with compassion, we have to be standing on solid ground in order to be effective. That solid ground is the solid ground of living out our beliefs. When we apply the Bible and prayer to real life, in real life situations, we are living our beliefs. Unless it is applied, it is useless to us.

• Jesus illustrated this point in Matthew 7:24-27 - "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." That is where the rubber meets the road. If we apply the Bible and prayer to our real lives every day, we will not only be transformed people, but we will effectively model our faith to those around us. And when those who are new in the faith, those who come to Christ because of our love and how we have reached out and shared it with them, they can see that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ can be lived out each and every day. It becomes real. If we are going to have an effective impact on those around us, we have to live what we believe.

1. Illustration – In one of his books, Jimmy Carter wrote about traveling through Amish country in Pennsylvania. He and his companions stopped to talk to a farmer. They asked him if he was a Christian. The farmer thought for a few minutes, then he began writing a list of names on a piece of paper. He said, "If you want to know if I’m a Christian, ask one of these men." Those who knew the Amish man best could tell if he was a Christian, because of the way he lived his life. Let us so live our lives that everyone around us will be able to see Christ in us. And let us so live as a church body that everyone will see Christ in all we do.

1. Conclusion

1. At the end of Matthew 28, Jesus gives us His assurance that He will always be with us. He will always be empowering us to do what He has called us to do. He will always be empowering us to fulfill His purpose for our church.
2. One warning has to be given here – if we don’t work to accomplish His purpose in His way, we lose His blessing and His presence. So if we are going to commit to doing His will as the congregation of Sodaville Evangelical Church, we must do it wholeheartedly. And since we are only as strong as each individual is, we all have to commit to this purpose in order for it to be fulfilled. Are you willing to commit to God's purpose for Sodaville Evangelical Church? Are you willing to love God, to share His love with everyone, to reach out with compassion, and to apply the Bible and prayer to real life? Don’t take this commitment lightly, but at the same time don’t let this opportunity pass you by.
3. For others, there may be another issue. I referred to it earlier. Has anyone in this room allowed doubt to keep you from following Jesus Christ, from having a personal relationship with Him? If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and you would like to begin that relationship today, please come forward now and we’ll pray with you.
4. If you do have a relationship with Jesus Christ and you want to commit to following God’s purpose for Sodaville Evangelical Church, not as a lone ranger but working together with the body of Christ here, please stand and come forward. God has placed a great and mighty calling on us. If you want to be a part of that, please come forward now.
5. Let’s pray.