INTRO...“FOR THE ONE”

…living our lives —> “FOR THE ONE”...I want this to be more than a title of a sermon series here at Creekside, my prayer is that in the days and years to come this three word statement becomes the anthem of creekside church!

WEEK 1 > OUR CALL…LOVE GOD AND OTHERS
-- QUESTION...Who is your ONE?

WEEK 2 > OUR POWER…THE GOSPEL
-- Our ‘first brick’ PROCLAIM CHRIST… When we are “Proclaiming Christ” we are demonstrating and declaring the GOSPEL…and we identified 3 ways the GOSPEL is applied to our lives:
1. JUSTIFIED (saved from penalty of sin)
2. SANCTIFIED (being saved from the power of sin) and
3. GLORIFIED (will be saved from the presence of sin)

WEEK 3 > OUR IDENTITY…BAPTISM
-- FATHER/SON/SPIRIT…FAMILY/SERVANT/SENT

WEEK 4 > OUR PURPOSE…MAKE DISCIPLES

[MATT 28:16-20] THE GREAT COMMISSION…

“16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

THE DISCIPLES RESPOND IN WORSHIP...

MATTHEW 28:16-17
“16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted..."

-- The disciples had already seen Jesus a few times after his resurrection
-- We learn a few things about them from this text…

1] They OBEYED him, by making their way to Galilee to go where he directed them at the last passover meal they shared before his crucifixion

[MT 26:32]
“32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

2] They SAW him (he was visible, resurrected) here is another testimony in the gospels of Jesus’ bodily resurrection

3] They WORSHIPED him…they were convinced he was the Son of God, the Messiah, he was worthy of praise and worship

4] BUT…Some of them DOUBTED…I mentioned this interesting comment from Matthew last week…
-- We are not sure, but there may have been more than just the eleven disciples on the mountain in Galilee…we know according to Paul that Jesus appeared to over 500 people at the same time after his resurrection

[1 Corinthians 15:6]
“6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”

-- This word for “doubted” in the Greek might be better translated or understood as “some of them were hesitant…”
-- One commentator said… “it is a figurative word taken either from a person standing where two ways meet and not knowing which to choose, or from the quivering motion of a balance when the weights on either side are approximately equal (when first one side, then the other, seems to be predominate).”
-- Some of the disciples there (maybe some of the eleven or maybe some in the crowd) were still having a hard time processing all that had happened in the last few days and weeks. It wasn’t that they didn’t believe, it was just one of those moments that was a bit overwhelming… “I can’t believe my eyes” kind of a moment… there was a sense of awe and worship in the presence of the risen King Jesus

—> WORSHIP IS AT THE HEART OF MISSION...
-- Jesus was about to send these disciples out to a world that desperately needs the saving, empowering work of Jesus…and as they worshiped him they exhibited the very heart of what mission is about…its about the worthiness and holiness of Jesus. We need to remember that too as we embark on the mission of Jesus to make disciples…it starts with us being a disciple who is surrendered to Jesus. Worshiping him with all of our life.

JESUS' POWER AND AUTHORITY...

MATTHEW 28:18
“18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

-- Jesus started with himself. Jesus establishes the reason we should obey him...this power and authority was given to Jesus by the Father
-- Jesus was given ALL AUTHORITY…which means he can do as he pleases with all of creation!
-- He displayed his authority over sin and death by his resurrection… he is all powerful
-- Jesus has authority over events, over human hearts, and over every circumstance in creation. This includes sustaining, protecting, and enabling His disciples and His Church. He uses angels and circumstances and even people to accomplish his purposes.
-- This is great news to know as a disciple as we “go out on mission”…we have his unlimited power, his unlimited authority to accomplish the things he desires for us to do
-- Jesus clearly sensed the “doubt” that was present with the disciples…he wanted to remind them again that he has all authority and power and they have every reason to trust him and believe in him. Even ordinary people like Jesus’ disciples (and like you and me!) can make a major difference in the world when they go out under their Lord’s authority.

JESUS COMMANDS US TO MAKE DISCIPLES...

MATTHEW 28:19-20a
"19 Go therefore and MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

-- “THEREFORE”…Jesus says in light of his authority, we need to be about his mission…which he lays out clearly in this command…we need to MAKE DISCIPLES
-- In this statement, MAKE DISCIPLES is the only command given
-- But, there are three active things tied to making disciples
1] GOING
2] BAPTIZING
3] TEACHING TO OBSERVE MY COMMANDS

—> MAKE DISCIPLES…

-- As we are striving to make disciples here at Creekside…we are committed to reorient everything we do around this command from Jesus
-- We are committing ourselves to seriously consider all of the implications of this command
-- The Spiritual Leadership Team and the Staff are working through a 10 month cohort with about 8 other churches specifically around this command || We have rewritten our mission statement to reflect the beginning stages or our journey and are currently using several hours a week as a team to define what a disciple is and what a disciple does…at every stage of maturity
-- We have finalized our Definition of a Disciple as a person who is...
1. ABIDING IN JESUS
2. BEING TRANSFORMED BY JESUS
3. AND ON MISSION WITH JESUS

-- I will be unpacking each of those statements over the next three weeks
-- MAKE DISCIPLES Is not a suggestion by Jesus, this is a command for us to obey, by his authority, by the power of the Holy Spirit
-- I talked about this a couple of weeks ago when I addressed OUR POWER, which is THE GOSPEL (BRICK ONE: We will Proclaim Christ crucified, buried and risen)
-- Making a Disciple is not ONLY about a person becoming a christian…that is the first step, but remember the Gospel has three applications in our lives…
1. JUSTIFIED…saved from the penalty of sin
2. SANCTIFIED…being saved from the power of sin
3. GLORIFIED…will be saved from the presence of sin

-- Making disciples involves all of this, it is wholistic…and we need to be committed to all aspects of what it means to be and make a disciple

READ ACTS 14:19-23

The Pauline Cycle
- pray and fast (earlier in acts)
- call to go
- enter a place/with a specific people
- preach the gospel make disciples
- strengthen and encourage
- appoint leaders
- pray and fast
- do it again

Q: Are you doing any of these steps?
Q: Honestly assess your life, are you making disciples or not? It is an easy question to answer. If you are…then you are in obedience to the main mission Jesus has given us…if the answer is no…then you are in disobedience and are out of step with his plan and mission

-- In answering some worldview questions we list on the back of the weekly “who am I and what do I do”…as a christian, a disciple, you are...
- an ambassador of Jesus…
- you are a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven…
- you are a Servant to the King…
- and your job is to obey Jesus out of love…primarily to MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations

--> FOR THE ONE: for the glory of our King and for the sake of the lost…who is your ONE? ||

-- Since I have all supernatural authority given to me by Jesus, I do what I am commanded to do (Make Disciples) not in my natural strength but by the power Jesus has promised me in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

—> GOING…

-- Jesus says “as you are going…”, as you are living your life, fulfilling my plans for you, living out your mission…that is where I want you to make disciples
-- Usually they are not going to come to you…I want you to see that it is up to you…as a disciple, to go to them (the spiritually lost/dead)…to rearrange or reorder my life to seek and find the lost ONE, to Listen to them, to Care and serve them, to tell them the story of Jesus and call them to respond to the gospel
-- We are to be faithful, but only by the indwelling Spirit of Christ can we be fruitful. [Our job is to go and sow, His job is to make it grow)

Go...
[1] Because Jesus commanded it
[2] Because Jesus has promised to impart all the needed strength; Jesus’ authority enables the disciples to execute the commission…and
[3] Because He is worthy of our allegiance and obedience.

—> BAPTIZING…

-- Once a person repents and believes in Jesus…it is our job to help establish them in their new identity
-- I spent all of last week walking through what that means
[1] Baptized in the name of the FATHER (I am family and love others as family)
[2] Baptized in the name of the SON (I am a servant of Jesus and of the least of these)
[3] Baptized in the name of the HOLY SPIRIT (I am a sent missionary empowered by the Spirit to demonstrate and declare the gospel)

** Baptism does not save a person, but it helps us understand our new identity, it also is a public proclamation of our new life in Jesus
** Explore Baptism today after 2nd service. If you are a follower of Jesus and you have never been baptized, it is time to take the plunge! Out of obedience take this step!

—> TEACHING TO OBSERVE (OBEY) MY COMMANDS…

-- This is a big statement from Jesus. As a disciple I need to be obeying the commands of Jesus
-- That implies that I am hearing his commands, which implies that I am reading the Bible that contains his commands

Q: Are you reading God’s Word regularly, consistently in your life?
Q: Are you obeying his Word as you hear him speak to you?

-- The last two REAP questions on the back of the Weekly: What is Jesus saying to you? What does Jesus want you to do?
-- It starts with us obeying the commands of Jesus
-- As we build relationships with other people who are either believers or non-believers, we call them to obey. But we also Teach them what the Bible says! This is a lifelong process…but it is necessary for our own maturity and for the maturity of all disciples.

JESUS' COMFORTING PROMISE...

MATTHEW 28:20b
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age…”

-- Wow what a comforting statement that Jesus leaves with his disciples and with us
-- It is no small task what Jesus has asked of us
-- it is going to take your whole life committed to this
-- It is going to take time, energy, sacrifice…you will experience persecution, difficulty, ups and downs
-- But remember, you don’t do this alone. I am going to be with you always! -- Let that sink in! Was there a moment, any moment this week, that you were very aware of the presence of Jesus by his Holy Spirit?
-- How often do we just flit through life, not really giving any recognition of Jesus’ presence…his power, his authority, his comfort, in our life…in all moments, at all times….he said I am with your ALWAYS!

-- Thank you Jesus!!!

PRAYER, REFLECTION AND COMMUNION…

Are you a Disciple?
Are you making Disciples?
What is Jesus saying to you through His Word today?
What is Jesus asking you to do?...will you obey Him?

Who is the ONE you are called to love?