Rock Springs Reboot: Our People Investment Strategy, part 2

You were created to be something special.  You were created to make an eternal difference with your life.  You were not created to pour your life into projects, for they will soon come to an end.  You were not created to pour your life into fame, for you will soon be forgotten.  You were not created to pour your life into money, for it will soon be spent.  You were not created to pour your life into possessions, for someday they will belong to someone else.  You were not created to pour your life into experiences, for they will soon become distant memories.  And you were not created to pour your life into pleasures, for they will not last.  No, God created you so you could pour your life into people.  God saved you so your life might make an eternal difference in the life of others by blessing them.

And we saw last week how God wants you to be a blessing: by helping others trust and follow Jesus.  By pouring your life into others so they might come to know and follow the Jesus you love.  And last week we learned what God gave you so you can actually do this.  You can do this because God gave you the authority of Jesus to do this.  You can do this because Jesus promises to be with you to help you do this.

And yet, most Christ followers today aren’t sure how to do this.  How do we help our friends,  neighbors or family members come to trust and follow Jesus?  Is there a plan  to follow?  Is there a strategy for making disciples that actually works?  Well, that’s what we’re going to look at today as we unpack the strategy Jesus gave us for making disciples found in Matthew 28:18-20.

So, if you have your Bible with you today, let me encourage you to find Matthew 28:18-20, where Jesus gives us our people investment strategy.  Where Jesus shows us how we can help people trust and follow Jesus and make an eternal difference with our lives.  So if, you’ve found this passage, let me read it for us once again:   Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

There is only one command in this passage.  And that command is very clear.  Jesus commands His followers to make disciples of all nations.  Here is where we see Jesus transferring His mission to His disciples.  Jesus made disciples who made disciples.  If you have a faith in Jesus Christ today, it is because the Christ followers who came before you obeyed this command.  They made Jesus’ priority their priority.  They made Jesus’ mission their mission.  So they poured their lives into helping others trust and follow Jesus.  And because of their obedience, we are here today.  That means Jesus’ mission is now our mission too. So let’s look now at how Jesus would have us make disciples – how we are to help people trust and follow Him.  So here’s the first how:

“Going”  We make disciples by living as people who have been sent by Jesus   This is our missionary identity.  It’s the same identity that characterized Jesus coming to us. Jesus came into the world to become one of us, to serve us and lay down His life for us.  This world was not his home.  He was just passing through.  Yet his passing through was full of intentionality. He came to those who were hungry for God, to those far from God and to those in need of mercy.  That’s why when Jesus says, “go” Jesus is telling us to live just like Him.  “As the Father sent me, so I send you.” 

So Jesus’ method of going began when he entered into our world and began to intentionally invest his life in the lives of others. Jesus had a people investing strategy. He invested time with people.  He talked with them, listened to them and looked for ways to love them. He entered their world, went to their parties, ate meals in their homes and eventually he invited them into his world.

Jesus modeled for us how we are to begin making disciples: We are to intentionally love people with the love of Jesus.  Robert Coleman, who wrote the book, “The Master Plan of Evangelism” tells us in his words the priority of love in helping people come to trust and follow Jesus.  He writes:

“Nothing disarms a person like love.  Everyone likes to be loved and for someone to express love to them in tangible ways.  When you know you’re loved, you’ll listen and open up. It was Christ loving people, His service to them, His ministry to them – healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, delivering those possessed by demons, teaching them about the kingdom of God – that drew people to him, and the same is true with our ministries.  You have an audience with everybody who knows they’re loved and knows you care about them.  The incarnation is the foundation upon which we must begin to express our life in Christ.  It’s a beginning place to fulfill the Great Commission, starting with reaching out just as Jesus did in making disciples.”

This is what Jesus did and this is what Jesus calls us to do.  He wants you to initiate friendships, welcome people to your table, invite them into your life.  He wants you to listen to their stories, look for ways to serve them and one day even share Jesus with them.  Our going is about helping those who don’t know Jesus to see Jesus in us.  Our going is about loving people with the love of Jesus.  Showing them there is alternative way of life that’s filled with kindness, grace, truth and love.  Becoming friends with people far from God so that one day we might introduce them to God.  Our going may take months or even years.  But the timetable is not up to us.  We are just simply called to live as a sent one, and trust God to do the rest.  This is our missionary identity.  We are sent by Jesus, to go and make disciples of Jesus, by loving them like Jesus.  That’s our going.

But part of loving people like Jesus loved us involves telling them about Jesus.  Who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.  You see, most people have some idea about Jesus.  But very few are picking up a Bible and studying the life of Jesus.  So many simply believe Jesus was a good teacher or a model for morality.  But they’ve never had someone share the good news about Jesus with them.  That’s leads us to the next how that Jesus gives us about making disciples:

“Baptizing” We make disciples by intentionally sharing the good news about Jesus so they might trust in Jesus and become of His family through baptism.  Jesus said, “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”.  If you’ve experienced the saving power of the gospel: if Jesus has freed you from God’s judgment; removed your guilt and shame; made you clean and declared you innocent. If Jesus has given you a new life with him: a life of peace, joy, hope and love; then you have a story to tell.  So then, if the gospel is good news to you – it will communicate as good news to others. For no one comes to trust in Jesus without first hearing the good news about Jesus.

That’s why there are four gospels in the Bible.  Every gospel reveals the good news  found in Jesus.  Every gospel reveals Jesus’ compassion and mercy for sinners.  Every Gospel reveals Jesus’ power and authority over evil.  Every Gospel reveals Jesus’ love for the least of these; Jesus’ love for children; Jesus’ love for the broken; Jesus’ love for the abandoned; and Jesus’ love for the worst of sinners.

So here’s the thing.  You don’t have to learn a gospel presentation to help someone trust in Jesus.  You just need to keep loving and praying for this person until they are ready to hear about your Jesus. Then you can ask them if you can read them the story of Zacchaeus, or the story of the woman Jesus refused to condemn, or the story of the good Samaritan.  If you’ve invested in this relationship, your love will earn you the right to be heard.  And all you have to do is let the message do the work. Remember, God’s Word says: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17

Here’s the other thing about helping a friend come to trust in Christ. It’s not all up to you. Remember, Jesus said he would be with you.  How is He with you today?  By the presence of the Holy Spirit that He promised to send. Listen to what Jesus said about the promised Holy Spirit: When He (The Holy Spirit) comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;  concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.  John 16:8-11

So you are not in this alone.  The Holy Spirit is already at work helping to draw people to faith in Jesus.  But He uses the message of Christ delivered through the people of Christ. So now you can help people trust in Jesus by inviting them to hear the message of Christ.  And you can help people to trust in Jesus by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their lives.   And once they come to that place where they are ready to trust in Jesus, you can be right there to help them begin to learn what it means to follow Him in life of obedience.  That’s the final how of the disciple making process:

Teaching: We make disciples by intentionally helping people learn what it means to obey Jesus  “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” 

Helping people follow Jesus is not just about teaching God’s Word.  It’s about teaching them to obey God’s Word. This is what Jesus did with his disciples for three and a half years.  He taught them about who He was.  He taught them about the kingdom of heaven.  And He taught them what it means to obey His commands.  Many people think that teaching people to follow Jesus is about imparting knowledge of Jesus, and that’s a part of it.  But what is more important to Jesus is how we RESPOND to what God’s Word says about Jesus. Listen to what Jesus said to His disciples about their obedience to his teaching:  He said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and disclose myself to them.” John 14:21

This is why God wants every new follower of Jesus to be connected to His church through baptism.  For once you put your trust in Jesus, the first step of following Jesus is to obey Him by being baptized.  For when you are baptized you are saying that you are leaving your old life behind – the old life where you only obeyed your desires, only obeyed your sin, only followed your will, not God’s.  Now when you are baptized, you are proclaiming that you died with Christ and were buried with Christ. And now you are a new creation in Christ and are ready to live the new life Jesus has given you. And the proof of your willingness to live this new life is seen in your obedience by being baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Your baptism symbolizes your new life in Christ, communicates the change of direction of your life and connects you with God’s family.  And now as a member of God’s family you need the help of brothers and sisters to teach you how to live this new life as a follower of Jesus.

That’s where we come in.  God has put us together in His family so we might learn how to follow Jesus together. Paul describes it this way to the Colossians:  Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.  Colossians 3:16  Teaching people how to obey Jesus is not the ministry of a few, it’s the ministry of every believer. God expects us to teach one another about Jesus.  God wants us to learn how to obey His Word together. That’s why we have Journey Groups.  As we dig into the Word of God together, we can share what we are learning with one another, encourage one another to obey and help one another put His Word into practice.  We can help one another follow and obey Jesus together.

And one of the things you can do to show that you are becoming a disciple maker is to do what Jesus did.  He invested in a few.  You can do that too.  You can take a friend under your wing and teach them what it means to follow Jesus.  Everyone needs another Christ follower to help them learn how to study God’s Word, how to pray, how to share the gospel and how to love one another, carry one another’s burdens, and so on. We are to follow the example of Christ and share our lives with others so we might help them trust and follow Jesus.

What Paul did with the Thessalonians serves as an example of how God would have us invest our lives in helping others follow Jesus.  He said it this way: Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.  1 Thessalonians 2:8  It’s not enough to simply learn to obey God’s Word  We need to share our lives in helping one another follow Jesus.

You see, if there’s been a breakdown in the US Church in modern times, it’s this intentional investment of love, of training, and teaching in the lives of Christ followers.  In fact, if I were to ask you, “Who helped you study God’s Word, how to pray, and how to follow Jesus?” Very few of you could point to anyone of significance.  So we need to change this.  Jesus wants your life to count for eternity.  Jesus wants your life to make an eternal difference in the lives of others.  That’s why He gave us His strategy for making disciples.  And His strategy is now our strategy.  His strategy is meant to be our people investment strategy.  His strategy of making disciples is the way He has designed our mission to succeed.  And His strategy is why we exist as a Church.  That’s why our mission is and has always been: People helping people become friends, family and followers of Jesus.  And now we have Jesus’ people investing strategy:

He has shown us how to do this:

by intentionally loving people with the love of Jesus

by intentionally sharing the good news about Jesus, and

by intentionally teaching people what it means to obey Jesus 

God wants us to be a disciple making church.  For when we help people trust and follow Jesus, we will be the blessing He has called us to be.

So where do we start?  For some of you, God may be calling you to embrace His disciple making mission for the first time.  If that’s you, don’t just be satisfied with just having a little Jesus in your life.  See yourself as a sent one and start seeing everyone as someone Jesus wants you to love, hear the good news and become a follower of Jesus.

For some of you, God is moving you to start serving as a disciple maker.  You’re ready to do this, but you’re not sure where to begin.  If that’s you, begin where Jesus did and start investing your life in one or two people who are spiritually open to Jesus.

For some of you, God may be calling you to start following Jesus today.  He wants you to trust him with your life, learn to walk with Him, obey His commands, and follow Him.  If that’s you, then maybe God’s calling you to trust in Him today and be baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

And finally, for some of you, you’ve never been discipled by someone who can help you trust and follow Jesus, but you long to be discipled.  If that’s you, then perhaps where God may be leading you today is to connect with a Journey Group.  For it’s in one of these groups you can receive the love, teaching and support you need to help you trust and follow Jesus.

You were created to make an eternal difference with your life.  This is where it begins – when you obey Jesus and begin to help others trust and follow Jesus.