Matthew 28: The Church's Mission, Making Disciples

Introduction

"EMR, a Church that brings us closer": for the pastor of the Assemblée de Dieu de Montpellier Richter, this is not a slogan, it is something to live out. A Church that brings us closer to God and closer to one another. He preaches this message during a time of fasting and prayer, convinced that God wants to do a work in the midst of his Church.

For a whole year, the pastoral team and about forty people met Saturday after Saturday to reflect on what the Church can be in the city of Montpellier and what God expects of it. Three points came out of it: the mission, the vision, and the values. That Sunday, the preacher speaks mainly about the mission.

The mission answers a simple question: why does the Church exist? It concerns not only a local church, but the Church with a capital C. And the Master himself set it, in Matthew 28:18-20.

Message Outline

1. Jesus Gives Lost Disciples a Direction

• "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20, WEB)
• These words were spoken nearly two thousand years ago. They are still at work, and for good reason: they are eternal.
• Why did Jesus insist on giving a direction before going up to heaven? So that his disciples would not wander off. After the resurrection, they are lost: Cleopas and another disciple head off toward Emmaus, Peter announces "I'm going fishing," and others are in confusion.
• The Lord clarifies things: this is what you must do, this is the direction to take. Be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
• For us today, the ends of the earth are even farther away. This mission must resonate in our hearts and in our lives.

2. Judges 17: When Everyone Does What Seems Right to Them

• The preacher goes back to a difficult period for Israel. Micah, from the hill country of Ephraim, had taken the eleven hundred shekels of silver from his mother, who had pronounced curses. He returns them to her.
• His mother dedicates the silver to the Lord to make a carved image and a molten image. Micah has a house of God, makes an ephod and household gods, and consecrates one of his sons as priest.
• The sentence comes back several times in the book: "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes." (Judges 21:25, WEB) There was no authority to set a direction for the people.
• The intentions may have seemed good: the mother wants to express her gratitude, and Micah wants a house of God for the Lord's honor. But the way is not the right one. They are from the tribe of Ephraim, not Levi, and it was to Aaron that God had entrusted the priesthood.
• When everyone does what seems best to them without seeking God's will and plan, they inevitably miss what he desires.
• Later come Saul, then David, the king after God's own heart, then Solomon, who will build the temple. A framework and a direction are put in place.

3. Isaiah 6: The Throne Is Empty on Earth, Not in Heaven

• "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up." (Isaiah 6:1, WEB) Uzziah is dead, and Israel's throne is empty. It is a bit like the time of the judges, with uncertainty about which way to go.
• That is the moment God opens Isaiah's eyes. While the throne is empty on earth, the Lord is still seated on his own. If there are shortages on earth, there are none in heaven.
• "If at times there is a bit of uncertainty in our lives, let us remember that God still reigns": he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and he has not said his last word. Those who trust in the Lord renew their strength.
• God speaks and gives a direction: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" (Isaiah 6:8, WEB) The preacher adds a parenthesis: this plural evokes the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• God has a plan. He is looking for men and women who hear, who are moved by what moves the Father's heart, and who answer: "Here am I. Send me!"
• Sending implies a mission, a place to go, a movement. God alone knows how, where, and why. He is looking for those who are ready to take his yoke and receive his instructions.

4. Making Disciples Takes More Than a Tract

• God wanted a kingdom of priests. What Israel did not live out, he accomplished through Jesus Christ, and Peter says it: we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9, WEB).
• The Lord's goal is that those who have been touched go and touch others, who in turn will touch others. The mission is clear: go and make disciples.
• That is why an honest diagnosis matters for the local church: what is our part, what are our strengths, our weaknesses, the things we need to improve? Just as we examine ourselves before taking the bread and the cup.
• He was told the story of a brother who was handing out New Testaments in the street. To a person who refused, he replied that they were going to burn in hell. The pastor corrected him: "That is not the gospel, that is not God's love."
• The goal is not to tell someone: as long as you are not a Christian, we cannot welcome you. Love welcomes even the one who is not yet converted. Jesus went to eat at the homes of sinners, and it was the religious people who criticized him for it.
• "Who would we be ready to sit down and eat with?" It is not we who convert, it is the Holy Spirit who convicts. We are called to be a pleasing aroma, through our attitude, our behavior, and our compassion.
• The goal is not to gain members, as in an association or a club, but disciples of Jesus, people who learn to love him and to discover who he is.

5. The Patience God Teaches

• The preacher loves the times of revival that France has known. He remembers a pastor telling, at a youth meeting, how a woman on the verge of suicide had been drawn by the singing of a prayer meeting, walked in, and was converted on the spot.
• He acknowledges that today things are not always like that. God has not changed. But he wants his children to be less impulsive, more courageous, and more patient with those who do not yet know him.
• One day, he sees a man who comes now and then walk into the church. The man plugs in his phone to charge it. The pastor confesses his first reaction: "He comes to charge his phone at church, really?" Then he senses the Lord telling him: "Let it be."
• Later, he finds him sitting in the front rows, eyes fixed on the screen, as if he were talking to the Lord. "This is not my house, this is not your house, it is God's house." Who knows whether he did not find a calm, a peace there?
• One Friday, at the end of the prayer meeting, this young man comes to see him and asks whether he could one day share what Jesus has done in his life.
• Making disciples takes more than a brochure, even if that is already a door. Behind it lies the commitment we make and the time we are ready to give to sit down, talk, and share.

6. The Vision: A Welcoming Church

• The vision is where we are going, what we must be in order to fulfill the mission. It came out of joint work by the pastoral team: "The EMR Church, a Church that brings us closer, is a Church that wants to be welcoming, where everyone can discover God's love, find peace, grow in faith in Jesus, share joy, and serve others with generosity."
• This is the gospel: the Samaritan takes the wounded man to an inn, a place of welcome, so that he can be cared for. It means telling those who come: "God loves you," whatever you have been through and whatever is not yet in order in your life.
• God also loves the Christian. None of us can say: "I have arrived." God puts his patience to work so that we grow, and he keeps accepting our praise even when it is imperfect.
• This is agape love, God's selfless love: "For God so loved the world." He looked at neither skin color, nor diplomas, nor success, nor failure. The Church must love this world that God loves.
• "Not a sentimental love" that says everything is fine and everyone is beautiful. God's love is powerful, as strong as death. To the one who feels rejected, it says: "Come as you are, and I will change your life."
• Peace: such a small word, so hard to obtain in our world, despite treaties. Nothing equals the peace of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. The Church must be a place where people feel at peace.
• Walking alongside new believers: that morning the church had prayed for a newborn. Imagine parents saying: "The hardest part is done, she is born, let's put her in the crib." She would not survive. It is the Church's responsibility to care for the newborn in Christ, through mature believers who spend time with them.
• The apostle Paul founded churches, then, at some point, let the Holy Spirit do what only he knows how to do. "Lord, do what you know how to do."

7. Good Stewards of God's Many Kinds of Grace

• 1 Peter 4:10-11: each one should use the gift they have received to serve others, as good stewards of God's many kinds of grace, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
• A steward is a manager, someone who takes care of what has been entrusted to them. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights (James 1:17). The Church overflows with men and women who have received graces from God.
• The question is put to each person: what do you have in your hands? What has God given you? What one person has received is not what another has received, and the richness of the Church lies in discerning what God has given to each.
• There are places the Church will never enter as such, but where brothers and sisters are present. The preacher worked for a few years in prison chaplaincy. He calls for vocations: does God not want to touch men in the Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone prison and elsewhere?
• The vision rests on values, that is, behaviors: peace and joy, hospitality, generosity. The pastor makes clear that this is not gospel truth and that a vision must always be renewed.
• The goal is for the forty or so ministries of the church to put these realities into practice. He mentions the visuals prepared by the Sunday school teachers to welcome the children: it does not seem like much to adults, but for a child, it is touching.
• In the closing prayer, he asks that there be men and women who, like Isaiah, answer: "Here am I. Send me!"

Key Takeaways

• The Church's mission was set by Jesus himself: go and make disciples of all nations.
• Without a direction, everyone does what seems right to them, and even good intentions can miss God's will.
• When the throne is empty on earth, the Lord still reigns, and he is the one who gives the direction: "Whom shall I send?"
• Making disciples takes welcome, patience, and time. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts, and we are called to be a pleasing aroma.
• Each person has received a grace from God to put at the service of others, like a good steward.

Personal Application

1. In what area of your life are you doing what seems right to you without truly seeking God's will?
2. Who would you be ready to sit down and eat with, even if they do not yet know Jesus?
3. How do you react when someone does not look like what you expect of a future disciple: with judgment or with patience?
4. Is there a new believer around you whom you could accompany in their first steps?
5. What do you have in your hands? What grace has God given you, and how can you put it at the service of the Church?

Verses Cited

• Matthew 28:18-20
• Luke 24:13-35
• John 21:3
• Acts 1:8
• Judges 17:1-6
• Judges 18:1-2
• Judges 21:24-25
• Isaiah 6:1-8
• Hebrews 13:8
• Isaiah 40:31
• Matthew 11:29
• 1 Peter 2:9
• Mark 2:16
• 2 Corinthians 2:15
• Luke 10:30-35
• John 3:16
• Song of Solomon 8:6
• 1 Peter 4:10-11
• James 1:17

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Jesus give his disciples a clear mission?

After the resurrection, the disciples were lost: two of them were heading to Emmaus, and Peter was going back to fishing. Before leaving, Jesus gave them a direction so that they would not wander off: go, make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them everything he commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).

What does Judges 17 teach us about church life?

At that time there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what seemed right to them. Micah's mother has silver melted down for an idol, and Micah consecrates his son as priest even though he is not from the tribe of Levi. The intentions may have seemed good, but without seeking God's will, we miss what he desires.

How can a church make disciples?

Not by threatening those who refuse a tract, nor by demanding that they be converted before welcoming them. Jesus ate with sinners. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts; the Church is called to be a pleasing aroma, to take time, to welcome with patience, and to walk alongside new believers after their baptism.