Sunday, January 20, 2019

The Commands of Christ – Part 1: Make disciples, baptize them and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you - HOFC


The Commands of Christ – Part 1:
Make disciples, baptize them and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you - HOFC - Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.  For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org, or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on facebook at House of Faith Church

SERMON INTRODUCTION
Matthew 28:16-20
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 nationsbaptizing 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.”



SERMON SERIES
Part 3 – Honor God’s Law, be reconciled, do not lust and keep your word
Part 4 – Go the second mile, love your enemies, be perfect and practice disciplines in secret
Part 5 – Lay up treasures in heaven, seek God’s Kingdom, judge not, but do not cast pearls
Part 7 – Pray for laborers, be wise as serpents, fear not, and hear God’s voice
Part 8 – Take my yoke, honor your parents, beware of leaven, and deny yourself
Part 9 – Despise not little ones, go to offenders, beware of covetousness and forgive offenders
Part 10 – Honor marriage, be a servant, be a house of prayer and ask in faith
Part 11 – Bring in the poor, render to Caesar, love the Lord and love your neighbor
Part 12 – Await my return, take communion, be born again and keep my commands
Part 13 – Watch and pray, feed my sheep, baptize my disciples
Part 14 – Receive God’s power and make disciples



TODAY’S SERMON
Part 1 - Make disciples, baptize them and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you

SCRIPTURE READING
So, the first thing we need to ask about Matthew 28, is;
·        Who is speaking?
o   Jesus, after His resurrection, just before His ascension
o   Because of the Cross, Jesus now has full authority over heaven (everywhere outside of earth) and earth (and everything underneath it)

·        Who is He speaking to directly?
o   Disciples who have committed themselves to Christ
o   Though some had doubts
o   Their faith had to be stronger than ours, they did not yet have the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength, this would not happen for 10 more days and the Day of Pentecost, where Jesus told them to wait for the promise from the Father

·        What does this mean for us today?
o   IF we claim to be a follower of Christ, we too are disciples
o   This instruction is for His disciples, even before they received the Holy Spirit
o   Some followers of Christ today have yet to receive, because they have doubts

·        And what is it He is telling us to do?
o   Go (share the gospel) and make disciples (followers of Christ) of ALL (no exclusions) nations
o   Baptize (the believer’s response) in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
o   NOW teach them (after they decided to follow Jesus and responded with the action of baptism) to obey all that I commanded (past tense) you

This series will focus on the past tense of Jesus command in the Great Commission in Matthew 28 to the Disciples.  What He commanded them in the nearly 3 ½ years He was with them.


       I.            GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS
a.      The Great Commission
                                                             i.      This passage in Matthew 28 is referred to as The Great Commission

                                                          ii.      40 days after His resurrection, 10 days before we received the promise of the Father (The Holy Spirit), and just before His ascension

                                                       iii.      God’s Will for His people in these times (the dispensation of the church, the age of Grace) could not be any clearer

                                                        iv.      People often ask me, I don’t know what God’s will is for me, and I always answer;
1.      Get saved!
2.      Show others how to get saved
3.      Serve the Lord in the unique way He has enabled you to accomplish #2

                                                           v.      Once you are a follower of Christ, you must share the Gospel with others who also need Him in your special way


b.     Go (share the message)
                                                             i.      Go simply means an action in sharing the Gospel with others

                                                          ii.      Ephesians 6:10-18 "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

                                                       iii.      Part of our Armor of God from the Holy Spirit is the Shoes of readiness

                                                        iv.      Meaning, being prepared to share the Gospel!

                                                           v.      How are we ready? That readiness comes from the Gospel of Peace!
1.      The helmet of salvation means remember our salvation in the Lord protects our minds from attacks!
2.      Our weapon for battle is the Word, our sword


c.      Make Disciples of ALL Nations
                                                             i.      So we are to GO, preaching the gospel in our own specific way given to us by God
1.      Each of us have different gifts to serve in different ways

                                                          ii.      Making disciples of ALL nations!
1.      Meaning, no one is excluded from the sharing of the Gospel!

                                                       iii.      1 Timothy 2:3-6 “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man CHRIST JESUS; WHO GAVE HIMSELF A RANSOM FOR ALL, to be testified in due time" 

                                                        iv.      “But what if they are;
1.      Pagan
2.      Agnostic
3.      Muslim
4.      Atheist
5.      A witch
6.      A warlock
7.      A IRS agent
8.      A Democrat
9.      A porn star
10. A drug user
11. An alcoholic

                                                           v.      ALL, means all…


   II.            BAPTIZE THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT
a.      Baptize them (those who received and accepted the message you shared)
                                                             i.      This command comes AFTER they receive and accept the message

                                                          ii.      This is, but isn’t a water baptism
1.      John the Baptist baptized with water, what did he say;
a.      Matthew 3:11-12 I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

2.      John baptized with water for repentance…an outward expression of a Spiritual Truth
a.      The water does not cleanse you
b.     The water does not save you
c.      The water does not change you
d.     Simply shows all those around you, there has been a change inside you, a decision for repentance and following Christ Jesus

3.      John said Jesus was coming, and He was more powerful than John, and He would baptize with the HOLY SPIRIT and FIRE

4.      This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit we all need!


b.     In the name of
                                                             i.      So we are not called to be baptized in the name of John…

                                                          ii.      Rather, Jesus calls us to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

                                                       iii.      This does not mean getting dunked 3 times in water…this doesn’t even mean water baptism…
1.      Remember the thief on the cross accepted Jesus as Christ, and Jesus told him he would be with Him in Paradise…He didn’t tell him to get water dunked first.

                                                        iv.      However, if you are not on your death bed as the thief, and you will be serving the Lord in this life as He commands, you NEED the Holy Spirit, and the water baptism is an outward expression of that spiritual truth which has taken place inside you, and it was AFTER the water baptism Jesus received the Holy Spirit!

                                                           v.      So, why Father, Son and Holy Spirit?


c.      Complete baptism
                                                             i.      Father - “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17) We accept the Truth of God’s Word and the teachings of the Law and Prophets! This shows the “need” for Jesus!

                                                          ii.      Son - Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15)  We accept Jesus’ sacrifice and payment for our sin, and accept the covenant which was purchased in His blood. This is “needed” for salvation and the forgiveness of sin exposed by the Father!


                                                       iii.      Holy Spirit – We receive the Holy spirit openly after our outward expression of submission to God, and through the Holy Spirit we receive;
1.      The Full Armor of God – To equip us to serve the Lord
2.      Spiritual Fruits – Aid in sharing the Gospel uniquely with others
3.      Spiritual Gifts – To build and strengthen the church (believers)
4.      The Promise of the Father – The proof and evidence that God will fulfill His promises (all of them) to us!
5.      This is the ONLY way we can effectively serve our Lord!


III.            TEACH THEM TO OBEY ALL THAT I COMMANDED YOU
a.      Teach them (those who are baptized)
                                                             i.      This is the third step in Christ’s Commission, preach the gospel, baptize those who receive and accept it, THEN teach them to obey all Christ had commanded them!


b.     To obey
                                                             i.      “If you love me, keep my commands” – John 14:15

                                                          ii.      “You are my friend if you do what I command” – John 15:14

                                                       iii.      “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.” – 2 John 1:6

                                                        iv.      “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it” – Luke 11:28


c.      All that I commanded (past tense) you
                                                             i.      Past tense

                                                          ii.      All that Jesus had commanded them over the time He spent with them

                                                       iii.      Over the next few weeks we will look at the condensed version of His commands to the disciples

                                                        iv.      Condensed in the sense that many commands, although worded differently are really saying the same thing, so basically, there were 49 commands Jesus had given the disciples, and we will examine those.


CONCLUSION
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

End of what age? The age we are currently in!  The church age, this age of grace!

So, until the church age (age of grace) ends, we are to obey the great Commission, and as we do this, Jesus IS with us!

Want to learn more about Salvation and Getting Saved?   

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