Wirksworth | 22/03/26 | On A Mission Together | Jo Hassan

Wirksworth

Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/354059/episodes/18886655-wirksworth-22-03-26-on-a-mission-together-jo-hassan.mp3

Jo continued our series about the fundementals of church life, looking at the importance of being a church on a mission together.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

See on the screen there. Um, On a Mission Together is the title that we've been given. And I've written at the bottom the Great Co-mission. We often hear this talked about as the Great Commission. But the title on a Mission Together really, really intrigued me. Before we begin, I want you to imagine you're heading out on a mission. A journey a bit like Mission Impossible, or maybe a long journey like Lord of the Rings, or maybe you're someone special, like Paddington, who had his sandwich underneath his hat. But what we carry with us, and I've got here my wrapsack, which I'm going to use this morning, is important. It matters. Because what we carry sustains us on our journey. This morning we're going to be looking at a really familiar passage in the New Testament. It references the Great Commission when Jesus sends his disciples out on a mission. There are several records of this event within the Gospels and Acts, each providing different insights, but for today I want us to look at Matthew's account. It may be a passage you know very, very well, it might be quite new. Whatever, the question we hold as we begin this journey is what does Jesus give them to carry? So if you like to turn in your Bibles, if you've got your Bibles with you, to Matthew 28.

unknown 1:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

As we explore this morning, I kind of encourage you to try and keep your Bible open because what we're going to do is we're going to look at this passage verse by verse to see what it can teach us. So we're going to read them, we're going to explore them, and at the end that'll be an opportunity to respond to them too.

unknown 2:09

Okay, next time.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

So let's read this. I'm just doing it from the New Living Translation. So let's just have a look at this together. Then the disciples, the eleven disciples, left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. Jesus came and told his disciples, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this. I am with you even to the end of the age. Now, let's begin at the start. Verses 16 and 17. It says the disciples go where Jesus told them to go, they see him, they worship him, but some doubted. What's striking about this is that Jesus speaks into this place exactly where they are. He doesn't withdraw the mission because they had doubts. He speaks into all their humanness. The mission that Jesus is talking about is entrusted to people who are worshiping and maybe even doubting. Still working things out, which I think is something just to think about. I've not seen that before. Isn't it amazing? This is such a well-known passage, and there have been things that have jumped out of me that I've not seen before.

unknown 4:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

So let's look at verses 18 to 20. Okay. It says, Jesus came and said, told his disciples, I've been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you, and be sure of this, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Because he begins with, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth, which is a promise. Therefore, go make disciples, and then at the end, be sure of this, I am with you always. It's almost like a promise, a mission, and a promise. Have you seen that before? Excellent. So in my rock sack, I have what do you think is in my top of my box? A sandwich. One way of understanding it is like a sandwich. Okay. Those who enjoy um studying scripture, I'm just gonna leave this. There's a sandwich. Those of you who are quite interested in scripture and how scripture is structured. Um this passage does follow a chiastic pattern. Yeah, I've can see heaven over there nodding at me. Yes, so it's a chiastic pattern. And Jesus uses a lot of his teaching, kind of it's the it's the meaty middle. In Europe, in the UK, we follow it when we tell you when we sort of explain things, a very different structure, A, B, C. Beginning, middle, end, moral. Yeah, we're used to that. This talk was quite a similar structure, beginning, middle, and end. But with nomadic um oral traditions, they do things quite differently. They kind of do the story and people look for the meaty middle, and this is what Jesus is doing here. So he's bound, he's kind of almost the authority at the top of the sandwich, his promise of presence beneath the sandwich, and then the mission in the middle is the meaty middle. Okay, right. So let's look at each of these promises in terms. So, first of all, let's look at verse 18, where Jesus says, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. This is the authority of the Lord Jesus, which we read about in Philippians and Ephesians, and even earlier in the Old Testament, we see Daniel prophesying about Jesus' authority. When Daniel said he was given honour, authority, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race, nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal, it will never end, his kingdom will never be destroyed. So our mission begins not with us, but with him. Let's go on to the next promise. Okay, so this is at the end of the passage in verse 20 when Jesus says, I am with you always. All the way through scripture, we see God reminding us of his presence with us. So many beautiful promises. So in Isaiah 41, we have, do not be afraid, for I am with you, don't be discouraged because I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will hold you with my victorious right hand. And again, another verse which I'm sure all of you know in Deuteronomy, do not be dismayed or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you, he will be with you, he will never fail you nor abandon you. So the mission begins with him, but it also ends with him. Next slide. The bread holds everything together. Now, if we think about my sandwich over there, if we took away the bread, we would just have a whole load of filling, wouldn't we? And the important is we have got the bread to hold it together because without it everything's fall apart. Okay, so let's now think about the middle, the filling. We've looked at the promises, now let's look at the filling. And that is in verses 19 and a little bit of verse 20. Okay, so therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you and be sure of this. I'm with the 10H, so that's the promise at the end. And what I've done is I've shown you the fillings. So metaphorically speaking, so we've got the go, make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and then teach these new disciples to obey. So let's go on to the next slide, please, thank you. So let's start with the go. This one we sometimes forget, you know. This is movement. This isn't waiting until we're ready. It's not waiting until we're perfect and we've got everything susped out. We're stepping into what Jesus is already doing. This is a command, this is a mandate, a declaration for all believers. Those who are worshiping, those who are even doubting, still working things out. All. Jesus says in John's gospel chapter 20, 21, as the Father has sent me, I am sending him. And then there's that verse, isn't there, in 1 Peter, which talks about being prepared to give an account to anyone who asks us. So we all need to be ready, even if we don't think we've quite worked things out. It includes all of us. Make disciples of all nations is the next filling. What is a disciple? I think sometimes we can look it up in a dictionary and get a quite a different understanding of what disciple means. Now, I kind of I've had it written in a notebook, I haven't a clue where it was referenced from, but I'm going to share it with you because it really um, yeah, her talk, I obviously didn't write down where it was referenced from, and it says, a disciple back in Jesus' day was an active apprentice and devoted follower who sought not just to learn a rabbi's teachings but to exactly imitate their entire way of life. The relationship was of a total commitment, often requiring living families and professions, but literally becoming a living copy of their master. That's what being a disciple is about, and that's what we're called to do is to make disciples. And in Romans 12, we've got about that process of becoming like we're living sacrifices, being transformed by the renewing of our minds. And in Luke, Jesus says the student who is fully trained will become like their teacher. And in 1 Corinthians 3 18 we read, and the Lord by his spirit makes us more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. So that's what being a disciple and being discipled is all about. Now, this comes to this brings me to a bit of the books club because I know Mia wants us to plug a book. I'm actually going to plug a website where you can actually download an app. Now, when um I've ever since I've been tiny, one of the things my parents had, and we used to have copies quite regularly of Operation World. Did anyone have that book, Operation World? Sort of looking around the room. Yeah, yeah. Used to be a bit like the Guinness Book of Records, it used to kind of go out of tape quite quickly. Um but it was all about different parts of the world, parts of the world that maybe had not heard about Jesus at all, gave quite sort of um clear directions, particularly if we were praying for different countries. So I really recommend a website called the joshuaproject.net. You can download an app and it means you can pray for different countries. Because this is going to be quite sobering, what I'm going to share with you now. I'm going to use an illustration to help me. I've got six bottles in here, all containing the same amount of liquid. Okay, now these six bottles represent our world. All the people in our world. Right, get the right bottle out first, right? First bottle. This is sobering. This is the real thing. This is represents people who are really going for the Lord, who are actively being discipled themselves and discipling others. One bottle at six. Right. We then have where is it? Pepsi. Imitator. Not quite the real thing. Um, so yeah, so this is one bottle, okay. And then we're gonna have these. I've got here apple ties kind of thing. Fanta orange and lemonade. Now, some people are literally doing something totally different, or they're mixing things together. I don't know if you've been to the Ojin recently and tried to get a drink, you can now mix flavours together. I think it's a bit weird, but anyway. But there are people within our world who are just taking little bits that they like and rejecting other things, making things um as they want them to be. Okay. Can you have a these are the um, these represent the cultures or the nations that we actually see. Um, and although it's says to make disciples of all nations, nations in the original translation is actually cultures, which kind of widens things out a bit. Um, so I was talking to Kate, and he was talking about culture last week, and I think it's one of those things that's really expanding within our world, and and um change the next slide for me. Thank you. Um the ones I've just shared with you are the cultures we know about. This bottle is a bottle of water, it's completely unlabelled. This is represents those who are unheard, unnoticed, unseen, unlabelled, and this is growing at the expense of the others. So although we can see these, the unknown are growing. I'm not just talking about countries of the world that we haven't haven't heard about the Lord Jesus, I'm talking about the fact that even within our own culture there are people who've never ever heard about Jesus at all. Um and we don't know about them yet, and this is said this is really sobering. I got this from the Joshua Project, this illustration, and it really this is only one strong one one bottle. We've got a lot of work to do, guys, haven't we? Lots and lots of work. Okay, right. What's amazing is that in these verses, Jesus is encompassing everyone when he's talking about discipleship. And I will go back to that. So, so us, these bottles, Jesus includes everybody, he's not missing anyone out. So let's look at the next filling, please. Baptising, it says that baptising keeping the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We will be covering baptism later on, aren't we, Neil? So a few weeks' time. So I'm not going to go into that, although for this illustration I'm talking about immersion baptism. But I think what's really important to recognise is that Jesus says, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We're covering everything, everything about who he is, not focusing on one aspect, all of it, all of the Godhead. And this is all about baptizing people into a relationship with the Father and with the Son and the Holy Spirit, having a belonging, an identity, being brought into the very life of God. This is huge, everyone. An enduring feature of many folks' struggles, as you know. I'm a therapist, I work with a lot of people who are really, really struggling. And one of the common features of this is people feeling lonely, feeling isolated, having a lack of identity, a lack of community. Here through baptism, Jesus is offering an opportunity to fully immerse into belongingness. Think what that means for us too. For those who are discipling and being discipled. It means what we practice in the core of our being that we are a child of God, a daughter, a son of the king. Verse 20. Teaching to obey. It's another feeling, isn't it? Teaching and to obey everything. I, says Jesus talking, I have commanded you. Not the not the latest Christian celebrity, the latest podcast, the latest praise, what Jesus says. This is some of the things that we often get lost in. We can place a lot of emphasis on conversion and less on discipleship and even less on obedience. But Jesus is very clear. This isn't just teaching, this is not just understanding. It's obeying. This is about transformation. Romans 12. Being transformed by the renewing of our minds. James 122. Not just hearers but doers. Jesus says, if you love me, you will keep my commands. And this is a process over time. This isn't instantaneous. This is being transformed into his likeness over time. Discipline that eventually produces righteousness. And it's working out what God is working out in our lives. This is where discipleship becomes real. It's not what we know in our heads, it's how we live. And this is something I really want to share with you because this is something that I feel God wants for us. As I look around this room and the amazing, amazing people we've got here, my yeah, family, aren't we? And I just love just seeing the way the Lord Jesus is shining out of us out of everyone here's lights. It's just so exciting to see. But there's an important message here that I want to share with us, and that is we are ourselves discipled as we disciple others. It's not just about discipling others, it's the fact that we are discipled ourselves through doing that. This happens in the ordinary lived reality of following Jesus and drawing alongside those who are beginning their discipleship journey or have even been disciples for years. The process is sometimes not very easy. We can find it challenging, yet through it our relationship with the God is deepened and it refines our own relationship with Him. And we do this through prayer, through time with God, through being shaped in community, which we are here, through learning obedience in real situations, and through the ongoing work of sanctification, of becoming more and more like Jesus. We're not waiting to be fully formed. We are being formed in the going. And we see this so clearly in Acts. Okay. Acts 8. We have Philip, don't we? Who suddenly finds that he's catapulted in to talking to the Ethiopian unit about scripture and he has to do that. Just imagine what that must have been like. That is what God required of him. And he was learning as he was explaining things on the road. I think that's so powerful. And what about Peter? Peter was really, really struggling with the idea of actually taking Jesus and what Jesus had done into people who weren't Jews going out into people who were Gentiles, and he really, really struggled with that. And I'm sure you remember about the blanket that comes down full of all the different animals kind of representing what he was going to eat. Peter was really, really freaked out by this. He was working it out. And then Cornelius comes along and invites him to a group of people who really wanted to learn more about Jesus and became and gave their lives to the Lord. So that was in action. We've seen Philip and Peter really, really working things out in action. And then, of course, we have the early church learning, sharing, growing together, following the and obeying what the um what the apostles are saying, Jesus is teaching. And they saw their numbers grow. Notice they are not standing outside of mission. They are in it. Learning by doing, eating the sandwich. Another bit of a book plant. If you want to know what it's like to disciple people, read the gospels. Look at how Jesus does it. Jesus doesn't bombard people, he draws alongside them, he meets them where they are and he loves them. That's the kind of that's what Jesus is looking for. Drawing alongside people and loving them and finding an opportunity to share Jesus with them. Now all over. My sandwich is in a box, in a container. Please can use the next slide. Now the sandwich is pretty neat, isn't it? We've looked at the fillings, that's a lot. A real lot. Even the promises are quite challenging of remembering those every day. The reason we put sandwiches in a plastic box is to protect them, to stop them from getting squashed, keeping it fresh when we're going out with our upset on an adventure. And the Holy Spirit is like that container. In Acts 1, Jesus, where we've also got an account of when Jesus sends people out, he says to wait, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. The mission is not possible without the Holy Spirit. And if we return to the image we are holding, our sandwich, the Holy Spirit keeps things fresh. It keeps us safe from being squashed. It helps us to hold on to what's been given, preserving what we know, keeping it fresh and nourished and empowered as fuel for the journey. Why does this matter? Without the Holy Spirit, mission becomes effort, obedience becomes a burden, discipleship becomes performance, but with the Holy Spirit there is life, there is renewal, there is ongoing transformation, and there is power. My final slide now. These are the key highlights. But we are not sent alone. We are sent, held in his authority, held in his presence, and within that we step into the mission of going, making disciples, baptizing into belonging, teaching to obey, and as we do, we are discipled as we disciple others. This isn't a solo mission. This is co-mission. Held by his authority, held by his presence, sustained by his spirit. And as we go, we go with him. But we also go with each other. So everyone just to shut their eyes. Really, really tune in to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you this morning. Think about your own situation. Who am I discycling right now? Who is discipling me? What do I need? Ongoing support and encouragement? Maybe from Christian Friends or your community group. What do you need? What do you need within our community here? How do you think as a community we can be better at discipling? Discipling others and also being discipled ourselves. As I finish now, I really want to encourage you to not leave here, to actually come forward for prayer. Don't leave here without actually coming before the Lord and really seeking Him as to how He can use you over these kinds of people that you need at work within your family, whatever the place it is that God has placed you.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

I'm just going to read a passage from the end of it, three.

SPEAKER_01 33:09

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my request for all of you with joy. For you have been my partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the time you first heard about it until now. And I am certain that God who began the good work within you will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Jesus returns. I pray for each one of you here in this room that your love would overflow more and more and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. So that you understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation, the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ. For this will bring much glory and praise to God. Thank you for the fact that you have invited us, each one of us here, on a journey with you. A journey where we can share your love for us with other people so that they may discover you for themselves. What a privilege it is to be invited to journey alongside you. And as we we go from this place, Lord, I pray that your Holy Spirit would go with us so that we can shine radiantly in every situation that you have placed us. So that people will be attracted to that light and begin to ask us questions as to why we are the way that we are, and that they would have an opportunity to actually come into relationship with you. Holy Spirit, we want more and more for more people to know you, to come into relationship with you, to know you as your as our own Lord and Saviour. Lord, you gave us a very hefty mandate, but Lord, it is a privilege and an honour to journey alongside you as we seek to achieve this in your name and in your power. Lord Jesus, thank you for inspiring us this morning. And I pray this in your name.

unknown 36:05

Amen.