Citywide Baptist Church
Shoebox Sunday: On a mission from God
The Great Commission sets our agenda
Locations & Times
Citywide Baptist Church (Mornington)
400 Cambridge Rd, Mornington TAS 7018, Australia
Sunday 10:00 AM
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https://www.citywidehobart.org.au/payment-or-gift-to-citywide/There are four accounts of Jesus sending the Disciples...
Many people assume we are called to preach based on Mark...
Many people assume we are called to preach based on Mark...
The three other places where we are sent are much more important and set a much bigger agenda than simply preaching.
The Matthew passage becomes known as "The Great Commission"
Eleven disciples are a reminder of the betrayal...
The Great Commission occurs on the final mountain of Matthew's narrative... it brings the story to a conclusion by announcing a great shift in power.
4:8 - the temptation
5:1 - The sermon
14:23 - the quiet place of retreat for Jesus
15:39 - feeding 4000
17:1 - Transfiguration
21:21 - faith can move mountains
28:16-20 - The Great Commission
4:8 - the temptation
5:1 - The sermon
14:23 - the quiet place of retreat for Jesus
15:39 - feeding 4000
17:1 - Transfiguration
21:21 - faith can move mountains
28:16-20 - The Great Commission
The disciples were human.
Jesus doesn't wait until they have no doubts to give them a new story.
Jesus doesn't wait until they have no doubts to give them a new story.
Because of what happened on the cross things have changed.
Before the cross, Satan somehow had authority over the kingdoms of the world
Before the cross, Satan somehow had authority over the kingdoms of the world
In announcing that he has the power, Jesus is also announcing that the Daniel prophecy is now fulfilled.
The very first word that Jesus tells his disciples after announcing that everything is different was "go"
“There’s a rule in the armed forces—always obey the last order you got, until you get new orders from command headquarters. The last order I got in my Bible was ‘Go!’ ”
Keith Green (No Compromise p. 412).
“There’s a rule in the armed forces—always obey the last order you got, until you get new orders from command headquarters. The last order I got in my Bible was ‘Go!’ ”
Keith Green (No Compromise p. 412).
The sphere of God's saving activity has expanded from Israel to all nations. - we are all included
'Apprentice' may be a better word to capture the meaning of disciple. - there is a new way of life
Baptism is the symbol that we have died to the way the world works and entered into the new life through Jesus
'Apprentice' may be a better word to capture the meaning of disciple. - there is a new way of life
Baptism is the symbol that we have died to the way the world works and entered into the new life through Jesus
It's not enough to make a new start with Jesus, we are to live his teaching... and that's not just for special people.
Making Disciples, Baptism and Obedience are all reflections of making Jesus Lord of our lives.
It doesn’t make any sense to be a Christian and not to be a Christian - to call him Lord but not do what he says.
That would be like saying to my wife, 'I know I’m your husband. I have a certificate to prove it, but I can’t live with you. I can’t take care of you. I can’t spend time with you. I can’t sleep with you. But praise God for our commitment to each other. Praise God for our marriage.'
Saying you’re a Christian when you aren’t willing to open your home or aren’t willing to sacrifice your time, energy, money, and possessions is like saying to God, 'I know you’re my Lord, but I can’t act as if you’re my Lord. I can’t do the things you want me to do. I can’t sacrifice the things you’ve commanded me to sacrifice. But bless your name, you’re my Lord.
Saying that to God may seem crazy, but all too many of us say to him and live it out in our actions...
A girl wrote me a poem recently. One of the lines said, 'It isn't the ship in the water that sinks the ship, it's the water in the ship that sinks it.'
It isn't the Christian in the world that creates problems, it's the world in the Christians that does. Our willingness to compromise Christ's lordship over us, sinks us. But if we believe the Word of God is true, we have no excuse. We have no other choice but to make Jesus Lord of our lives. We have no other option but to take seriously the things He has clearly commanded us to do.
But across the nation, many Christians are asleep. They’ve been lulled by the message delivered from many pulpits. A message that says we’re doing fine. That the Lord is pleased with us. That all we need to do is hold on, because Jesus is coming back for us soon.
For a while, I was lulled by this message. Until I read in Revelation the letters to the seven churches and thought about the situation. These seven churches seemed to have things together a whole lot better than I did, but God took a tough stand against them. So how come the only message I was hearing was that God was pleased with me?
I didn’t have to wait long for an answer; the Lord spoke directly to my heart: 'Keith, you’re not listening to the right message. You’re listening to the bless-me gospel. I want to mould your life after me, not modern Christianity. I want to be your Lord. But you must surrender that place of authority to Me; I won’t take it by force. I want your willing submission and obedience.
Keith Green - A Cry in the Wilderness p 146-147
It doesn’t make any sense to be a Christian and not to be a Christian - to call him Lord but not do what he says.
That would be like saying to my wife, 'I know I’m your husband. I have a certificate to prove it, but I can’t live with you. I can’t take care of you. I can’t spend time with you. I can’t sleep with you. But praise God for our commitment to each other. Praise God for our marriage.'
Saying you’re a Christian when you aren’t willing to open your home or aren’t willing to sacrifice your time, energy, money, and possessions is like saying to God, 'I know you’re my Lord, but I can’t act as if you’re my Lord. I can’t do the things you want me to do. I can’t sacrifice the things you’ve commanded me to sacrifice. But bless your name, you’re my Lord.
Saying that to God may seem crazy, but all too many of us say to him and live it out in our actions...
A girl wrote me a poem recently. One of the lines said, 'It isn't the ship in the water that sinks the ship, it's the water in the ship that sinks it.'
It isn't the Christian in the world that creates problems, it's the world in the Christians that does. Our willingness to compromise Christ's lordship over us, sinks us. But if we believe the Word of God is true, we have no excuse. We have no other choice but to make Jesus Lord of our lives. We have no other option but to take seriously the things He has clearly commanded us to do.
But across the nation, many Christians are asleep. They’ve been lulled by the message delivered from many pulpits. A message that says we’re doing fine. That the Lord is pleased with us. That all we need to do is hold on, because Jesus is coming back for us soon.
For a while, I was lulled by this message. Until I read in Revelation the letters to the seven churches and thought about the situation. These seven churches seemed to have things together a whole lot better than I did, but God took a tough stand against them. So how come the only message I was hearing was that God was pleased with me?
I didn’t have to wait long for an answer; the Lord spoke directly to my heart: 'Keith, you’re not listening to the right message. You’re listening to the bless-me gospel. I want to mould your life after me, not modern Christianity. I want to be your Lord. But you must surrender that place of authority to Me; I won’t take it by force. I want your willing submission and obedience.
Keith Green - A Cry in the Wilderness p 146-147
We are all to be on a life-long process of learning to obey Jesus... and as we do, he promises to be with us
We don't have to do life on our own... we can do it with Jesus if we are willing to lay down our lives and listen to his voice.
The LIFE WITH GOD posture is predicated on the view that relationship is at the core of the cosmos: God the Father with God the Son with God the Holy Spirit. And so we should not be surprised to discover that when God desired to restore his broken relationship with people, he sent his Son to dwell with us.
His plan to restore his creation was not to send a list of rules and rituals to follow (LIFE UNDER GOD),
nor was it the implementation of useful principles (LIFE OVER GOD).
He did not send a genie to grant us our desires (LIFE FROM GOD),
or did he give us a task to accomplish (LIFE FOR GOD).
Instead God himself came to be with us—to walk with us once again as he had done in Eden in the beginning. Jesus entered into our dark existence to share our broken world and to illuminate a different way forward.
Jethani, Skye. With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God (p. 101). (Function). Kindle Edition.
His plan to restore his creation was not to send a list of rules and rituals to follow (LIFE UNDER GOD),
nor was it the implementation of useful principles (LIFE OVER GOD).
He did not send a genie to grant us our desires (LIFE FROM GOD),
or did he give us a task to accomplish (LIFE FOR GOD).
Instead God himself came to be with us—to walk with us once again as he had done in Eden in the beginning. Jesus entered into our dark existence to share our broken world and to illuminate a different way forward.
Jethani, Skye. With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God (p. 101). (Function). Kindle Edition.
The promise of the first chapter of Matthew is now fulfilled.
Questions:
1. Why do you think Jesus chose to trust the eleven disciples, even though some doubted? What does that tell us about the kind of people God uses?
2. In what ways does the Great Commission show that everything changed because of the cross and resurrection?
3. What does it mean for Jesus to have “all authority in heaven and on earth” today? How does that affect the way we live and the way we see the world?
4. The word “disciple” can also mean “apprentice.” How does thinking of yourself as an apprentice of Jesus change the way you approach your daily life?
5. Keith Green said, “It isn’t the ship in the water that sinks the ship, it’s the water in the ship.” What are some ways “the water”— the world’s attitudes and priorities — can leak into our lives?
6. Skye Jethani writes that God’s plan is for us to live with Him, not under, over, from, or for Him. What would it look like for you to live with God in the week ahead?
Pray for each other.
1. Why do you think Jesus chose to trust the eleven disciples, even though some doubted? What does that tell us about the kind of people God uses?
2. In what ways does the Great Commission show that everything changed because of the cross and resurrection?
3. What does it mean for Jesus to have “all authority in heaven and on earth” today? How does that affect the way we live and the way we see the world?
4. The word “disciple” can also mean “apprentice.” How does thinking of yourself as an apprentice of Jesus change the way you approach your daily life?
5. Keith Green said, “It isn’t the ship in the water that sinks the ship, it’s the water in the ship.” What are some ways “the water”— the world’s attitudes and priorities — can leak into our lives?
6. Skye Jethani writes that God’s plan is for us to live with Him, not under, over, from, or for Him. What would it look like for you to live with God in the week ahead?
Pray for each other.