The
Commands of Christ – Part 14:
Receive God’s power and make
disciples
HOFC
- Pastor Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON INTRODUCTION
Matthew
28:18-20
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.”
SERMON SERIES
Part 14 – Receive God’s power and
make disciples
TODAY’S SERMON
Receive God’s power and make disciples
SCRIPTURE READING
Jesus is giving this command, to Preach, Baptize
and then Teach, to everyone
who is a follower of Christ Jesus. He
spoke this to the disciples then, and today to His disciples, who are Followers
of Christ Jesus.
I.
RECEIVE GOD’S POWER
a.
The power of God
i.
“Then he
opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This
is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the
third day, 47 and
repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.49 I am going to send you
what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been
clothed with power from on high.” – Luke
24:45-49
b.
Important points in the verses
i.
He opened their minds so they could understand scriptures
1.
Without the Lord, the
scriptures stay closed to our minds
ii.
He explained all that was written in a sentence
1.
This is
what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the
third day, 47 and
repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
iii.
He explained their part in the big plan
1.
You are
witnesses of these things.49 I
am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city
until you have been clothed with power from on high.
iv.
They could NOT serve the Lord until they received
God’s Holy Spirit
c.
How do you receive God’s power?
i.
When you have salvation,
you receive God’s Holy Spirit and all the power and benefits that come with Him
1.
Understanding of scriptures
2.
Fruit of the Spirit (to
draw others to Christ)
3.
Spiritual Gifts (for
building and strengthening God’s Church)
4.
Whole Armor of God (for
Spiritual Battle)
II.
MAKE DISCIPLES
a.
The Great Commission
i.
“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.” – Matthew 28:18-20
b.
For those who are His followers
i.
If you are “saved” you are
to e a follower of Christ
c.
How do you become a follower of Christ?
i.
Being born again!
III.
BEING A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST
a.
You must be born
again
i.
Born again is not a
physical rebirth, but a spiritual one.
ii.
It refers to a change of
heart, from indifference and hostility toward God to a love for Him and a
desire to live for Him.
b.
How are we “Born Again”?
i.
First, we must understand our sinful human nature
1.
Jesus said our problem
begins in our hearts…sin
2.
We fail to do what is right
3.
Whether we realize it or
not we try to fix this problem ourselves, and we will never find peace because
there is nothing we can do to resolve this issue with sin.
4.
Unless we have Jesus in
our lives and the eternal hope of being with Him forever.
ii.
Nicodemus asked Jesus, “What
must I do to be born again?” – John 3:7
1.
Jesus told Nicodemus,
“Unless you are born again you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” – John
3:3
iii.
To be born again
1.
We must ADMIT our sin
a.
Confess we cannot live up
to God’s perfect standard on our own.
2.
We must ASK FOR FORGIVENESS
a.
Forgiveness for our sin
i.
Jesus says, “Ask and you
will receive.”
3.
We must REPENT of sin
a.
Meaning turning away from
it, stop doing it, stop living in it
4.
Finally, we SUBMIT to the
Lord
a.
Asking Jesus to be active
in our lives
iv.
This is when God’s Spirit
enters our hearts to guide us, lead us to be more like Him. That is when we are
born again!
v.
God Himself puts it this way: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ezekiel
36:26). From then on, He gives us a new purpose and new goals for
living. We no longer live for ourselves but for Him (II Corinthians 5:15).
c.
How can we be sure we are saved?
i.
To those who doubt or
sometimes feel like they are missing something, missing the joy of the
Christian faith, questioning whether or not they are actually Christians, you
can be sure you are saved.
ii.
Faith always implies an object—that is, when we
believe, we must believe something. That something I call the “fact.”
iii.
Now let me give you three words that will help you understand
the Christian life: fact, faith and feeling. They
come in this order, and the order is essential. In this order, you will have
the joy and confidence of one who can say, “I know whom I have believed” (II
Timothy 1:12).
1.
FACT - You
are saved through personal faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ as defined in
the Scriptures. The Gospel refers to the news of Christ’s death and
resurrection in order to pay the penalty for our sins and provide a way to
eternal life. The work of Christ is a fact, His cross is a fact, His tomb is a
fact and His resurrection is a fact.
2.
FAITH - Faith is
rationally impossible where there is nothing to believe. Faith must have an
object. The object of Christian faith is Christ. Faith means more than agreeing
with the claims of Christ; faith involves the will—a decision to believe in
Christ. If you say with your mind and your heart, “Yes, I believe in Christ and
receive what He has done for me”—that He died for my sins—then you have eternal
life. Faith, then, means surrender and commitment to the claims of Christ. It
means acknowledging sin and turning to Christ. We do not know Christ through
the five physical senses, but we know Him through the “sixth sense” that God
has given every man and woman—the ability to believe.
3.
FEELING - Feeling is
the last of the three words, and it must remain last in your thinking. I
believe that earnest and honest seekers for the salvation of God have unrest
and uncertainty when they think they must have some kind of emotion to make
conversion a true experience. If you are seeking salvation as it is presented
through the Scriptures, you will want to know what kind of experience the Bible
says you should have.
a.
I have read carefully through the New Testament to
see just what kind of experience you are entitled to. I have looked to see what
the nature of the experience of conversion is, and I have found that the New
Testament reveals only one: the experience of faith.
b.
Believing is an experience as real as any
experience, yet multitudes are looking for something more—some electric
sensation that will bring a thrill to their physical bodies, or some other
spectacular event. Many have been told to look for such spiritual thrills, but
the Bible says that a man is “justified by faith” (Romans 3:28), and not by
feeling. A person is saved by trusting in the finished work of Christ on the
cross and not by bodily sensations and religious ecstasy.
c.
To have a guilty conscience cleansed and to be free
from its constant accusation is an experience, but it is not the cleansing of
the conscience that saves you. It is faith in Christ that saves. A cleansed
conscience is the effect of a right relationship with God. – Hebrews
9:14
d.
Joy is a feeling as well. So is inward peace. Love
for others is a feeling. Concern for the lost is a feeling. But these feelings
are not conversion. Again, the only experience you can look for and expect is
the experience of believing in Jesus Christ.
e.
Finally, someone might say, “I believe the historic
facts of the Gospel, but nothing has changed for me. I don’t think I’m saved.”
Perhaps you are not, for the faith that saves has one distinguishing quality:
Saving faith is a faith that produces obedience. It is a faith that brings
about a way of life. Some have successfully imitated this way of life for a
time, but for those who trust Christ for salvation, that faith brings about a
desire to live out that inward experience of faith. It is a power that results
in godly living.
CONCLUSION
Matthew 28:18-20
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.”
Jesus promises His us, while we are obeying
His commands to preach, baptize and teaching others to obey His commands, He
will be with us to the end of this age!
Want to learn more about
Salvation and Getting Saved?
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