Sermons

Introduction: This sermon fits into a series on the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus told his disciples to make Disciples of Christ by "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." How are we to go about this process of learning and subsequently teaching?



Making Disciples: from Crowds to Followers
Jesus gave the disciples a mission. And this mission has been passed on from generations of followers of Christ down to us. He told them to go to the ends of the earth, to all the nations to do one thing. What was that? 

TO MAKE DISCIPLES. 
Disciple is an interesting word. In essence, it means a "follower, student, or adherent," of a great master or religious teacher. When Jesus was on earth, he had two basic audiences--disciples and the crowd or multitude. What was characteristic of Jesus' ministry? He taught and trained the disciples in a closer and closer relationship, while he continually gave a call out to the crowds to become disciples.

Today, the call is no different. Jesus wants disciples who follow Him in a closer and closer relationship. There is a general process that takes place to make a CROWD and DISCIPLE. Lets look at that commission Jesus gave his disciples after His Resurrection.

Matt 28:18-20
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."

What is interesting is that Jesus gave this commission to His disciples. They would become his mouth, hands, and feet to bring the CROWD to become true LEARNERS and EMULATORS of the Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. So it is important for us today, generations, later, to understand the basic process of Making Disciples.

Today let's look at the aspect of growing into maturity through the commands of Christ.



Introduction: The Education Process

Chinese Culture and Education
As a Chinese American, I learned very early in life what was important. My parents were pretty tight with money, but there was something they would spend any amount of money on: EDUCATION. If I wanted a toy--it was a maybe. If I wanted a book or take a special course, money was not an issue. When I received a "D" on a fourth grade report card, I was disciplined. At most every turn EDUCATION took precedence over just about everything.
Now as an adult I understand why that is. I believe it has a lot to do with the Chinese culture.

Chinese Culture: Education's Importance
On July 10th, the SJMN ran a front page article called "IN CHINA, ONE TEST DECIDES LIFE COURSE" 

The ''dragon gate,'' according to Chinese mythology, stood in the middle of the Yellow River. Carp that succeeded in leaping over the gate were transformed into dragons and ascended into heaven. Those that failed remained fish, doomed to end up on someone's dinner plate.
That myth may have been on the minds of many high school seniors and parents last weekend, when China's marathon three-day college entrance exam was held. Ever since imperial exams were instituted 1,800 years ago, giving those of lowly birth a chance at an elevated station, exams have been among the pivotal moments in Chinese life. 

While college aptitude tests are stressful in many countries, they carry extraordinary weight in China, where there are millions of good students, only a handful of good universities and admission is determined almost exclusively by a single test.
Also available were government-sponsored buses bearing tanks of oxygen. The buses cruised from test site to test site, offering students a few mind-clearing breaths. 

While it is true that it is more than one test that determines our FUTURE, what has been instilled in our culture for 1,800 years is the importance of education, and the TEST, for future success.
As an ABC (American Born Chinese), I now understand why I feared school grades, SAT's, and other exams so much: I didn't want to be the fish that ended up on my parent's Dinner Plate.
I would be a hypocrite if I said we shouldn't get an education. I went to school for 21 years of my life. I know some of us have even more years under our belt. We are educated people with various college degrees, good grades, academic achievements, and so on.

An Education for our Hearts
But when we come to the Scriptures we understand that there is an education that is just as, if not more, important than our academic successes. This is an education is different than what we are used to thinking of. This is an education in how to be like Jesus.
The Commission here in verse 20 exhorted the Apostles to teach the commands of Christ: Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded them. And these commands are to be learned and then taught by the next generation of disciples. All the way down to you and I.

How important is this education process to us?

Words of Life
Our Lord Jesus would say very IMPORTANT. Why? In John 6 there is a story I would consider quite sad. Jesus had just taught about how He is the BREAD of LIFE. But many of those in the crowds following Him couldn't stomach the teaching. Jesus responds in verse 63: 

John 6:63
63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

John 6:66-68
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

The Disciple knew something we need to understand every day of our lives. That the words of Christ are Life. One test in China or one test like the SAT's or GRE's may determine the fate of our life here on this earth. But learning the words of Christ, his commands and teaching, are valuable for eternal life--the kind of life God sent Jesus to die for us to Experience. And this life starts TODAY.
We need to say with Simon Peter, You have the words of Eternal Life.



I. Learning

Our Approach to Learning 
Many of us would agree that what Christ said is important, and that we should put a great emphasis in our lives learning his commands and getting to know Christ personally.
This is a great task, though. If we look closely, the GREAT COMMISSION has a repeated word. What is that? ALL. Go to ALL nations. ALL authority has been given to me. And here, Teaching them ALL of my commands. Whether we starting learning Christ's commands 5 days or 50 years ago, there is always something else to learn.

So how do we approach Learning the Commands of Christ? I believe there are two ways we can go about learning. One way relates to the Commands of the LAW, and the other relates to the Commands of CHRIST.

First: Force Ourselves to Memorize Rules

The language that Jesus used is similar to the OT (Old Testament). With the OT the teachers and priests placed a great emphasis on following the Law as given to Moses. The Law was something they had to be dedicated to and work at. But no matter how hard people tried, the proliferation of Laws became too heavy a load-tiresome and burdensome-and people's backs broke, metaphorically, under the pressure. Jesus condemns the Pharisees and teachers of the Law for placing such a burden on people:

23:4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. (NIV)

Why had it become this way?
1. The Law ceased to be living: it became a written code to follow.
2. To gain favor, one had to know the rules, and perform accordingly.
3. If one failed, then condemnation would follow.
4. The result: Law became a burden that brought condemnation. 

When we approach the commands of Christ the way we approach the commands of the Law, we will feel burden and overwhelm. There is another way to go about Learning:

Second: Receive from the Great Teacher
1 John 5:3 tells us that God's commands are not burdensome. For those of us who have believed in the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, have a gentle and humble teacher:
One of my favorite passages is from 11:28. It is a general calling to those who are carrying this burden of trying to fulfill the written code and finding utter frustration: 

Matt 11:28-30
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Learning the commands of Christ should never be burdensome! Many times when we share prayer requests I hear a recurring one--pray that I will do my Quiet Times. All too often we think of Christian Education as something we should do, like eating our vegetables or finishing our homework. It is something we know is good for us, but it is not what we most look forward to. We see it as a discipline. Somehow or another we get around to it, but most of the time we need nagging and reminders. 

Mary and Martha 
What may help us is getting a different picture in our minds about the education process. Jesus invites us to learn from Him. He is our Teacher. There is someone who I often think of when I am very busy serving God or just plain busy in my life. That is Mary.
In Luke 10, Jesus goes to the house of people he had been getting to know, Mary and Martha. There Martha is busy doing things for Jesus. What is her sister doing? 

Luke 10:39
39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.
She was sitting at the feet of Jesus listening. This is the kind of picture of learning I pray we have when we think about learning the commands of Christ. We sit at the feet of the Greatest Teacher the world has ever and will ever see.

When I was in college, there would be various guest lecturers. One of them was a prominent news anchor. I very much respected him as a news anchor, and heard he might be a Christian. I had no problem taking time out of my schedule, and to even pay an entrance fee, to listen to him.
Today we have free access to the Words of Christ in our Bible. And we have a living Savior Who has sent His Spirit to help us understand the teaching. Learning Christ's commands need not be like eating vegetables. IF we take them as LIFE giving words, it will be a joy to learn and follow.

Learning the Commands of Christ is not an end to themselves. The Great Commission takes learning one step further--to Obeying or Observing what we've learned. In other words, we have to live it out.



II. Observing/Living it Out
What would motivate us to live out what we learn? First, the words of Christ are relevant today.

Relevance
When I was in school, one of the major complaints we students had was whether or not what we were studying would ever be relevant or not. Now that I look back on it, learning how to add and multiply was good. Reading and writing, also helpful. Vector Analysis and Astronomy, not as relevant. Sure, studying and learning every topic brings discipline and trains our mind. But whether those topics had significance for every day life, I'm not all too sure.
The Teachings of Christ, though, are always relevant. He wants us to teach and learn them for how long? For a couple of generations? No, until the end of the age. Every person in every generation can find relevance in these words. They are applicable and authoritative for life in every sense.

They are to be treasured.

Obeying vs. Observing
The Word for Obey or Observe is an interesting word. It talks not so much about blind adherence to a rule. It is more about GUARDING or KEEPING something. How can we guard and keep the commands of Christ?

First, See the Value of the Commands
At home I have two places I put files. One is in my den, where I put most of my files like manuals or copies of bills. But then I have a special box hidden in my bedroom where I place my most important documents like birth and marriage certificates. This box is fireproof and has a key.
Those file places remind me of this word Obey, or Observe. The Commands of Christ are so special and dear to me that they should be hidden in the safest corner of our Heart. They should be guarded so that no circumstance, no amount of false teaching, can touch that safe place. 
It is not about putting our Bible in a safe, but allowing the word of God find a resting place in our hearts. For these words come from the one and only one who can give us eternal life.

Second, Follow the Commands through Relationship
Parental Relationships and Learning: In a few weeks, Lydia's school will screen the students' hearing, language, and learning abilities. She brought home a questionnaire the parents are to fill out as a pre-screen to any possible problems the child may have. One of the questions was about language. "Does the child speak with the same sentence structures as spoken in the home?" It hit me that my little daughter emulates and learns from me. My 8 month son just says, "Da, Da, Da, Da, Da" and Lydia used to say the same thing. But by living with me and working on speaking, she has indeed learned to talk like me.

Following the Commands of Christ are not burdensome. They are not blind rules to follow. For when we understand that we learn through a relationship with Him, our growth will be natural. We sit at the feet of our Teacher; we walk and talk with Him wherever we go; we share our lives with Him. And before we know it, we will be talking and living like Him from our hearts--Christ's Home.



Conclusion:
Baton Passing: Many of you know I used to be a track and field runner. I ran relays like the 4x2mile or the 4/440yd relay. Something I will never forget is practicing passing the baton. There is one thing about baton passing that I had to remember. Unless I was the last leg, my goal was to pass the baton as quickly as possible to the next runner. 
In a similar sense, our learning is not for us to keep. As we receive it and digest it, the next task is to pass it on.

What have you been learning? How have you been growing in your faith? Have you Passed it On?

Today we've talked about the commands of Christ. They are both to be LEARNED and OBSERVED. We can approach learning Christ's commands with a new zeal, for we know they are Words of Life. We will naturally follow them because through our sitting at our Teacher's feet, we will become like Him. But my learning was not just me and my Bible. Others have taught me, they've passed along the baton.

We can have that kind of relationship with one another. None of us are super-Christians. There is no one, not the pastor, elder, or Sunday school teacher, that cannot learn from any one of the other of us. When the Spirit illumines the Word of God to us, we can share that with one another. And when we see someone who could gain from what God has taught us, we are compelled to share it. And to share it as Christ would, with all gentleness and humility of heart.
The Great Commission teaches us this principle: Disciples Make Disciples. That is our ministry.
We can keep the Baton, drop the Baton, or Pass the Baton. Let us be disciples who keep passing it along to those who would want to come in from the crowds and get closer to Jesus.

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