What Is Your Mission?
Do you find it difficult to stop long enough to think carefully and deeply about the direction of your life, about what you’re doing, about what you hope to do? Does your life have direction, aim, purpose, or vision?
What if I told you that, in mercy, Jesus simplified the lives of his followers by giving them a clear and understandable vision for their lives? And what if I told you that aligning your life to Jesus’ vision for your life is where you’ll find life? Jesus said, “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39).
If a Dead Guy Shows Up
You may ask, “As long as I’m a pretty good person, why should I care about Jesus’ vision for my life?” Well, the reason you should care, or at least the reason you should give Jesus a hearing, is because he died and then came back to life three days later.
What if I died today and then showed up at your house on Tuesday and said, “Hey, remember me, I’m back from the dead. Dying was terrible, but I’m about to go sit on a throne in heaven and be in charge of everything that happens in the universe. But before I go, this is what you need to do with your life.”
Whatever I say next would never leave your mind. You’d never forget what I told you. You’d probably have lots of questions, but you’d reevaluate everything you’re doing in light of what I say to you. If I told you that God put me in charge of everything and that I’m going to be with you all the time, wouldn’t you drop everything and obey?
If you’re a follower of Jesus, this is actually what’s happened to you. Jesus died and rose on the third day, then told all his followers exactly what they should do. So if you believe that Jesus is alive today, then your life has a direction and purpose and vision.
The question becomes, is the vision of your life shaped by Jesus or by you? Someone or something is shaping the direction of your life. Who is it?
Objections to the Resurrection
In Matthew 28, we read about Jesus’s resurrection from the dead and the vision or mission he gives to his followers. We’ll look at Jesus’ resurrection first and then Jesus’ marching orders for his disciples (vv. 1-10).
Lots of people deny the reality of Jesus’ resurrection, saying things like, “Jesus didn’t really die on the cross, he just passed out and was buried alive.” But, after being crucified, Jesus would’ve been covered with wounds from head to toe. Would a man who’d been crucified be able to stumble out of a grave and convince anyone that he’d risen from the dead?
Others will say, “Jesus died but his appearances to his followers were just hallucinations.” According to the American Psychological Association, a hallucination is a perception of something that isn’t actually present. A hallucination is a mental event. We can’t share a mental event with someone else. Since Jesus is said to have appeared to groups of people (e.g. the Twelve and over five hundred at one time), the hallucination theory requires that each disciple experienced an individual hallucination at the same time and in the same mode (i.e. visual). And the hallucination theory doesn’t explain the empty tomb, so you need two theories: one to explain the appearances of Jesus and one to explain the empty tomb.
Everyone must do something with the empty tomb. The preaching of Jesus’ resurrection began in Jerusalem. This is the last place it would’ve begun had Jesus’ grave still been occupied. An afternoon walk by the authorities would’ve disproved the resurrection. Interestingly, the Jewish leaders admit the reality of the empty tomb (vv. 11-15). These leaders paid off the soldiers and began circulating a false narrative because they knew the tomb was empty. Their story assumes that the disciples could overpower a guard of Roman soldiers. This theory also assumes that the disciples spent the rest of their lives spreading something they knew to be false and then willingly died for a lie.
Others will deny the resurrection on the grounds that miracles simply don’t happen. A worldview that begins with a closed universe will always end by denying the resurrection. But if you at least allow for the possibility of God’s existence, anything is possible.
Philosopher Richard Purtill says it this way, “We cannot settle whether miracles occur by looking at the ordinary course of nature; we must ask what kind of universe we live in. This is a philosophical, not a scientific question.” In other words, if we live in a universe that God created, then the resurrection of Jesus is at least possible. The evidence for it make it highly probable, not just possible.
Resurrection Implications
The reality of the resurrection has massive implications for our lives. If Jesus rose from the dead, everything changes. If Jesus defeated death, there’s no dark thing in you or around you that he can’t defeat. Resurrection power isn’t restricted to a borrowed grave outside of Jerusalem two thousand years ago. It can be yours through faith in Christ. Paul says in Ephesians that “the immeasurable greatness of God’s power…that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead” is given to “us who believe” (1:19-20).
Linger at the empty tomb this morning and remember that whatever you’re facing, Jesus is greater. He’s greater than your sin, sickness, chronic pain, unbelief, shame, guilt, embarrassment, exhaustion, fear, anxiety, marital problems, dissatisfaction with your job, loneliness, depression, despair, and doubts.
Linger at the empty tomb. Listen to what it says. It says that God flexed his muscles to meet our deepest need. It says that he sees you, hears you, loves you, has the power to save you, and desires to walk with you through whatever you’re walking through.
It says that we don’t have to be afraid of anything. We don’t have to fear Supreme Courts, what people will think of us, the future, disease, or death. As the hymn puts it, “Because he lives I can face tomorrow; because he lives all fear is gone; because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives.”
New Life Creates New Mission
After Jesus rose to life, the end of chapter 28 tells us that he sent his followers on a rescue mission. He sent them out to spread hope in a world dying and suffocating with sin (vv. 16-20).
This Commission isn’t just for them. If we’ve put our faith in Jesus, then we also have a new mission, a new vision, a new purpose and ambition for our lives. These are our marching orders.
Verse 18 says that, because of his obedience to his Father, Jesus now has “all authority” in the universe. Jesus’ supreme authority over the universe means that we can’t linger at the empty tomb in awe and amazement and then walk away ambivalent about what he wants us to do. His resurrection doesn’t allow us to ignore his commission.
What Is a Disciple?
Jesus tells us exactly what we’re supposed to do in verse 19, “Make disciples of all nations.” I want us to consider the phrase “make disciples” this morning, and next week we’ll look at the “all nations” part.
“Make disciples” is a command, an imperative. Jesus tells his followers to do this, so to not do it would be to disobey Jesus. Jesus is speaking to all his disciples, not just these eleven. He promises to be with his disciples to “the end of the age” (v. 20), so this command is for his disciples until “the end of the age.”
What does it mean to “make disciples”? First, we need to know what a “disciple” is. A disciple is someone who follows Jesus. A follower of Jesus is someone who understands that they’ve sinned against the God who created them, knows that they can’t do anything about it, looks to the cross of Jesus as their only hope, and calls out to him in faith, asking him to save them from the wrath of God that they deserve.
A follower of Jesus commits to walking with him long-term. Being a disciple means starting a new life of obedience to Jesus because you love him more than anything else. If you aren’t living this kind of life, you aren’t a follower of Jesus. But you can be!
What is “Making Disciples”?
A disciple is a follower of Jesus, so “making disciples” means intentionally helping someone else follow Jesus. “Making disciples” means making other people what you already are. It means duplicating yourself.
This is the mission and vision for every Christian’s life: make disciples. Help other people follow Jesus.
Our elders pray and promote a culture of discipleship. We want our church members to see discipleship as the normal way Christians live together in a church, not just something people with extra time do. Discipleship isn’t a program or a curriculum. It’s a way of life meant to be lived out in corporate and personal contexts.
Corporate Discipleship
In the Great Commission, Jesus instructed his disciples to make disciples by baptizing and teaching those who’re baptized everything that he commanded. The command to baptize means that the main context of discipleship is the local church because, in the New Testament, being baptized meant being brought into a local church.
In a broad sense, discipleship should happen in the life of our church as we worship and serve together. Here are a few examples of how we disciple one another in this way.
We attend the Sunday morning worship gathering. We come to church to encourage, exhort, and edify one another. We come to hear from God, sing, and pray with the church. We help each other follow Jesus when we come ready to hear from the Word of God and stay a while and talk to others.
We can attend Sunday morning Training Classes. These are great opportunities to build relationships in a context of teaching, prayer, and fellowship. Our Training Classes are a great opportunity for discipleship! Bring someone with you and plan to discuss the material after the class. I’m teaching Church History right now and John Hudlow will be teaching on Singleness starting in a few weeks.
We help each other follow Jesus through prayer. The PHBC member directory is a tool to help you pray for each member of the church. If you don’t know the person, pray the Scripture you read that day over them. You could even send them an email or invite them over to get to know them.
We disciple by initiating hospitality. We bring others into our life. We can do this by inviting a visitor, new member, or member we don’t know to our home to get to know them. Hospitality could also be initiating coffee or a lunch.
Disciples of Jesus understand that community is built, not found, something we work toward, not something that just appears. The command to disciple means we must proactively get out of our comfort zones and reach out to people.
Discipling starts with evangelism if the person is not yet a Christian. We want to help people follow Jesus even if they don’t know him. We can team up with someone in the church to take the gospel and engage the neighborhood around where we live or around the church building. We pray and look for ways to give the gospel to the people who’re already present in our lives. We can let others in the church know how they can pray for our evangelistic efforts.
We can disciple by serving in a ministry. Serving in ministry isn’t driven primarily by a desire to express our gifts, but by a desire to love and edify others.
Personal Discipleship
These are some ways we corporately, or all together, help each other follow Jesus. But our discipling ministry should also have a personal component to it. Jesus ministered to large crowds in his ministry, but he focused his discipleship on a few. The relationships we build in broad discipleship should move towards a focused discipleship with a few. A culture of discipleship is marked by initiating intentional relationships centered around the Word, transparency, and prayer. This won’t always be easy! But this is what gospel ministry is all about.
If you’re not sure who to meet with, you might start by attending a community group. Our community groups aren’t mandatory for our members, but they’re strategic places to begin discipling other believers and working together to reach the lost. Our groups are designed to create space in our lives where we can spend time applying God’s Word to each other’s lives and praying together.
We often struggle to know who we should disciple. Start with those in closest proximity to you and work out from there. Parents start with kids, then move out to other church members, then to neighbors and friends and coworkers. We can’t disciple everyone, but we should be discipling someone.
A Concern
Followers of Jesus are supposed to be helping others follow Jesus. My concern is that some followers of Jesus are always learning and never arriving in discipling relationships. I fear that we in the American church, because of the incredible access we have to solid resources, are getting spiritually fat and not exercising. We’re learning more and more but not doing. We’re listening to podcasts all weeks but not helping anyone else follow Jesus.
This is self-centered Christianity. Yes, we must learn to follow Jesus. But if we’re always learning and never discipling, then who’s the learning really for: Jesus or ourselves?
We must be learners. And we must be disciplers. This is our mission. Jesus told us to do this. How will people follow Jesus unless we help them? Weren’t there others in your life who helped you start following Jesus? We can’t complain about growing secularism in our culture and in the church when, frankly, we’re not helping anyone follow Jesus but ourselves.
“Making disciples” isn’t a program in the church. It’s something all Christians are called to do in their day-to-day lives. Every single follower of Jesus is supposed to help other people follow Jesus. This is the last command that Jesus gave us, meaning that it ranks at the top of the list of important things Jesus wants us to do. If we have no desire and never make any effort to help others follow Jesus, we must ask ourselves if we’re following the Jesus of Scripture.
“I Am with You Always”
Jesus knew that this would be hard, so he ends his marching orders with a promise (v. 20). Notice that he says, “I am with you,” not, “I will be with you.” The presence of Jesus is a current reality in the life of his disciples. Those who follow Jesus and are helping others follow Jesus will never be alone.
This promise is meant to empower our discipling ministries. We’re nervous; he’s with us. We don’t know what to say; he’s with us. We don’t know how it’ll go; he’s with us. We don’t think we’re qualified to help anyone; he’s with us. We don’t have the strength; he’s with us. The task is overwhelming; he’s with us. People may reject our help; he’s with us. People may flake out on us; he’s with us. People may need more help than we can give; he’s with us.
The One with complete power over the entire universe promises to be with us as we walk towards discipling relationships. No matter how it goes, we know who goes with us.
Go to Jesus
This promise means that the presence of Jesus is a present reality for all his followers all the time. We know this in our heads, but we struggle to believe it or feel it in our hearts. By his Spirit, Jesus is with us all the time.
I love how Dane Ortlund ends his book Gentle and Lowly. He says that the Christian life can be boiled down to two steps. Step one, go to Jesus. Step two, see step one.
Christian, if Jesus is with you, why don’t you go to him? What keeps you from his embrace?
Ortlund says, “That place in your life where you feel most defeated, he is there; he lives there, right there, and his heart for you, not on the other side of it but in that darkness, is gentle and lowly.”
Jesus lives with you in your anguish. He lives with you in your pain. He lives with you in your suffering. He lives with you in the dark nights of your soul. By putting your faith in him, you didn’t just invite him over for a visit, you invited him to take up permanent residence in your life.
You say, “But I’m in sin, I’m straying, I’m doing things that I hate, I’ve done things I hate, I have secrets and shame and stuff that no one knows about.” Jesus hears you, and says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).
Friend, what’s keeping you from going to Jesus? If you knew his heart, you would. As we go to him, his heart ignites our hearts to go to others. Jesus’ mercy comes to us so that it might go to others. Helping people understand the merciful heart of Jesus is the mission of the church.