SERMON: THE WAY OF THE MASTER

THE WAY OF THE MASTER
1 November 2009

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 28

16. Then 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 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."

-- The story is told of a preacher in a small European village -- He was greatly loved by the people there and they believed he had an especially close relationship with God -- the preacher had this strange habit -- every Friday, he disappeared for several hours and could not be found -- the villagers boasted that during those hours the preacher actually ascended to heaven and talked with God face-to-face
-- now, there was a newcomer in that village -- he was a skeptic who made fun of the faith of all the other people -- and he got increasingly irritated by all the claims about the minister and his supposed devotion to God -- so the newcomer became determined to find out where the preacher really spent his time on Fridays -- one Friday, the skeptic hid near the preacher's house -- he watched as the preacher rose early, spent time in prayer, and left his house in the clothes of a peasant.
-- The young skeptic followed the old man from a safe distance -- he watched him cut down a tree and chop up a large stack of firewood -- he continued to watch as the preacher made his way to a shack in the poorest part of the village and stacked the wood -- it was the home of an old woman and her sick husband -- after leaving the couple enough wood to last them a week, the preacher quietly returned to his own home without a word to anyone
-- The villagers were startled the next Sunday when the young newcomer was in church -- they were even more surprised when he became a Christian shortly thereafter -- the former skeptic thought highly of the church's godly minister and -- upon his death -- became his successor and took over as the preacher for the village -- for the rest of his own life, whenever he heard one of the villagers speak of his predecessor and say, "On Fridays he would ascend to heaven," he would add softly, "If not higher."

-- this story may or may not be true -- I don't know -- but it does dramatically portray for us the words of Christ that we opened with this morning -- the very last words that Christ spoke to His disciples before He ascended to heaven
-- this is the passage that we call "The Great Commission" -- the final command of Jesus to His followers -- these words of Jesus given to the 11 remaining disciples are their marching orders -- this was to be their calling -- their purpose -- their reason for existence -- this is what we are supposed to be doing as the church -- as Christ's hands and feet in this world -- this is why we are here
-- the question, then, is why are we failing at it so miserably?

-- to be honest, I don't personally know of a single church that is living out the Great Commission today -- I don't know of any church that is fulfilling this command of Christ today -- and that includes us -- that includes me
-- I have pondered for a long time the state of the church in America -- I have agonized in prayer over this church and our ministry here -- over the Methodist Church and the direction it is going -- over the American church in general and the path it is following
-- I have shared with you the statistics that prove we are failing -- the declining membership -- the declining influence on morals and culture in our country -- the self-reliance in areas of authority and finances and ministry
-- and you can try to explain it away all you want -- you can point to the scholars who tell us that the younger generations don't like organized religion
-- you can blame it on our "I" culture and all the things in our world today that continue to isolate us in our individualism and that keep us from becoming community -- I-phone -- I-pod -- TV and movies on demand -- fast-food drive-thrus -- My Space -- Facebook -- Twitter
-- you can blame it on changing demographics -- population shifts -- seeker-friendly worship services -- increasing diversity in religious choice
-- but, the fact remains, we are failing -- we are not fulfilling the Great Commission in our churches -- in our homes -- in our lives
-- and I don't care how many catch-phrases and bumper stickers our churches put out -- how many instruction manuals on church growth and finding your purpose -- how many programs we fund to increase membership -- until we get back to a basic understanding of this passage -- no, correct that -- until we get back to following and doing what Jesus told us to do in this passage -- the church is going to continue to fail and to continue to lose relevance in our world and our country and our culture
-- so, the question to us -- as Christians and as Christ's church is this -- what do you want to do about it?
-- Is the church in America ready to fundamentally change what we have been doing so we can fulfill the Great Commission? -- or are we simply going to continue on doing things as we always have -- content to live life behind the facade of traditionalism and our self-defined orthodoxy while Rome burns around us?
-- that's a question that we all need to answer -- for ourselves -- and for this church
-- I'm not going to answer this question for you -- but, what I will do is lead you through this familiar passage again -- to remind you of what Jesus said -- of what He is calling us to do -- and I will encourage you to take an honest look at your life -- at this church -- and at our denomination -- to see if we need to change

II. Scripture Lesson (Matthew 28:16-20)
-- look back with me at verse 16

16. Then 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.

-- as I've said, this passage occurs after the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday but before His final ascension to heaven
-- in the verses before this, Matthew tells us that Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdelene in the garden where He had been buried -- He instructed her to tell the disciples to meet Him in Galilee
-- and, so, as we open this passage again, that is where we find the disciples -- they have come to Galilee at the direction of Jesus -- and it is there that they meet Him for the final time

-- Matthew's account of the resurrection and of Jesus' appearances to the disciples is briefer than the other gospel writers -- he doesn't mention the appearance of Jesus to the disciples in the upper room -- he doesn't tell us about Jesus appearing again in the presence of Thomas -- or of Jesus walking along with Cleopas and his friend on the way to Emmaus
-- Matthew gets right to business -- for him, what is important is the fact that Jesus has risen just as He said and that He is leaving them to carry on His ministry on earth -- and so he carries us straight to Galilee -- which begs the question, "Why Galilee?"
-- surprisingly, most of the commentaries I looked at were silent on this -- they didn't say anything -- but as I studied this passage, it occurred to me that this made perfect sense given the context of these verses and the Great Commission that was to come
-- you see, Galilee was the starting place -- it was in Galilee that Jesus lived most of His life -- it was in Galilee that most of Jesus' public ministry took place -- especially in Nazareth and Capernaum -- and, it was in Galilee that most of the disciples were originally called -- it was in Galilee where Peter and James and John heard Jesus say, "Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" -- and now, it is in Galilee where Jesus will once again call the disciples -- this time to an even greater ministry
-- typically, when people read the Great Commission, they tend to skip verses 16 and 17 -- I think one reason they do so is because of verse 17 -- Matthew tells us that when the 11 disciples saw Jesus, they worshiped Him -- but, he says, some doubted -- and that part of the verse troubles us
-- Jesus had appeared to the disciples several times -- in response to Thomas' doubt, He had appeared to him in the upper room and told him, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe," -- and even Thomas believed
-- so, why does Matthew say here that some doubted?
-- I don't think it's because they doubted Christ -- I think it's because they doubted themselves

-- first, they doubted their own preconceived notions about who the Messiah was and what He would do -- as Jews, they had believed their whole life that the Messiah would come to overthrow the oppressive Roman government and establish the throne of David in Israel once and for all
-- but instead of having them meet Him at the temple or at the Roman Governor's mansion where His conquest would begin -- Jesus has them meet Him in the wilderness of Galilee -- it was becoming evident that Jesus was not going to be a conquering Messiah -- at least, not as they originally thought
-- second, they doubted their own traditions and orthodoxy -- Jesus was not only rearranging what they thought about the Messiah -- He was rearranging what they knew about being Jewish -- He had already changed the Passover Meal and introduced a new sacrament -- Holy Communion -- and, He had instituted a new covenant, fulfilling the old Jewish Law and making a new covenant of grace through His death on the cross -- all that they knew -- all that they believed -- was being shaken before their eyes
-- and, finally, they doubted themselves -- they were not men of position or power -- they were fishermen -- tax collectors -- common, everyday folk -- they were not priests or scribes -- they were not Pharisees or rulers -- but now Jesus was calling them to change the world -- and they doubted their abilities -- they doubted whether they could do it

-- which brings us to verse 18

18. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.


-- in other words, Jesus said, "Don't doubt" -- I have the authority over heaven and earth -- it was I who established who the Messiah was and what I would do -- it was I who fulfilled the Jewish Law -- it was I who poured out myself for your sins and the sins of the world -- and it is I who will fill you and who will empower you to go forth in My name to do great things
-- the world does not define you -- I do -- the world does not give you position -- I do -- the world does not give you power -- I do
-- it is My authority and My will for you to go forth and to change this world in My name -- don't doubt who you are -- you are Mine -- and I have give you this charge today

-- verse 19

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."

-- this is the heart of the Great Commission of Christ -- this is the heart of the church -- our purpose -- our calling -- our mission -- our responsibility -- this is what we are failing to do
-- we're failing for several reasons:

-- first, we're failing for a lack of trying
-- Jesus tells us here to "go" -- the Greek word that is used here literally means "as you are going" or "go and keep going" -- we're not doing that -- we're not going
-- I think we've gotten complacent -- since the time of Constantine, the Christian church has been the dominant religion of the world -- at least, the western world -- and I think we've gotten used to being in a position where we're the only game in town
-- why bother to go and seek disciples when there's no where else for them to go? -- it's easier to just sit here within the walls of our churches and wait for them to come to us -- and for most of the history of Christianity, that approach worked -- the churches were built -- the bells rang out on Sunday morning -- and the people came
-- but, now they're not coming -- and instead of going after them, we just ring the church bells louder -- we come up with catchy slogans and snappy bumper stickers -- we put little Jesus fish on our car and say, "Follow us -- we're going to church" -- and we wait and we wait and we wait while the culture drifts away
-- we are failing because of a lack of trying

-- second, we're failing for a lack of understanding
-- somewhere along the way, we substituted the word "disciple" for "member" -- look at verse 19 again

19. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations

-- "Go and make disciples" -- not "Go and make members" -- there's a big difference between a member and a disciple -- I was hoping to be able to go over this in more depth this morning, but I have run out of time -- and so we'll cover this next time
-- suffice it to say that the major difference between a disciple and a member is in commitment and calling
-- a member warms a pew -- a disciple warms the heart of another
-- a member fills a spot on the roll -- a disciple fills the roll
-- a member comes to receive -- a disciple comes to serve
-- we've go over this more next time, but the point I want you to understand here is that for way too long, the church in America has been trying to make members -- they've been trying to fill the pews and add names to the roll -- rather than trying to help people follow Christ and grow in grace

-- finally, we're failing for a lack of power
-- the church in America has been operating with a lack of power for quite some time -- we've become self-sufficient -- self-sustaining -- self-reliant -- and we're getting exactly the results you would expect
-- when you rely on doing church in your own power and with your own ingenuity and with your own resources, you are limited by yourself
-- Jesus says here, "Therefore" -- He's referring back to His authority and His power -- "Therefore" since I have the authority -- since I have the power -- and since I have given it to you, you can go now and make disciples of all nations -- you can do what I have called you to do
-- the Apostle Paul said, "When I am weak, then I am strong because I am not relying on myself but on God who empowers me."
-- we can continue to do church in our own power -- we can count the members -- we can count the money -- we can count the space we have within these walls -- and come up with our plan for ministry
-- or, we can stop relying on ourselves and start relying on God -- we can go to battle like Gideon -- with only 300 warriors against an army of thousands -- knowing that in our own strength we will fail but knowing that with God we will prevail
-- we can go forth in faith and say, "We know we don't have the people to pull this off -- we certainly don't have the money to pay for the costs of doing this -- we know our church isn't big enough to handle all these people -- but we trust God will make it happen"

III. Closing
-- lack of trying -- lack of understanding -- lack of power -- these are the reasons we are failing to be an obedient church -- these are the reasons we are failing to have any influence on the morals or values of our culture -- these are the reasons we are failing
-- I'm going to close now -- we'll pick this up again next time -- but I want to leave you with this thought -- Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
-- we have been doing church the same way over and over again for years and expecting different results -- if we are going to see any change in our churches, we're going to have to do something different -- something revolutionary -- we're going to quit doing church in our own power and our own strength and start trusting God to fulfill the Great Commission through us with His power and authority

-- for a long time, the church in America has been happy just the way it is -- just being the traditional church -- we're comfortable in that place -- we're comfortable just doing church within our walls -- and even if we've lost a few members along the way, we still have a majority in this country -- we see no need to change -- if we're not seeing results, it's not because of us -- it's because of the culture around us that refuses to respond to our message

-- when I started this message this morning, I began by reminding you of the state of the church -- and I asked you this question, "what do you want to do about it?" -- not, "what are you going to do about it?" but "what do you want to do about it?"
-- that's the question I want to leave you with -- Do you want to do anything about the state of the church or do you want to just leave well enough alone?
-- let's pray