Refuge Church Byhalia is a new nondenominational evangelical church located in Byhalia, MS that exists to share the hope of Jesus, grow together, & love our neighbors in Byhalia, Marshall County, Lewisburg, & surrounding areas. Below is a sermon outline from a recent sermon from the book of Matthew titled ‘News Worth Sharing’ that is the final part of our ‘Pinnacle of History’ series where we are looking at Jesus’ Final Days.
Intro
- Welcome to Refuge Church
- So glad you’re here tonight as we wrap up our series ‘The Pinnacle of History’
- Where we are looking at Jesus’ final days.
- From His arrival into Jerusalem
- His eventual betrayal by Judas
- His terrible mistreatment in trial, in beatings, & in crucifixion and how that was treatment for our sin
- And last week on Easter, we celebrated His victorious resurrection
- And the reality is – we all have to do something with Jesus
- We have to respond to His life, His Death, His Resurrection, & eventual Ascension
- Because Jesus gave many instructions
- Many of which are ones only God can give
- Well tonight we will spend some time looking at one of His final instructions for His followers, which becomes instruction for the church.
- Tonight we are looking at the ‘Great Commission’
- So open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 28 which is found on page _____ in the Blue Bibles around you.
Matthew 28:16-20
The Great Commission
16 Now the eleven disciples fwent to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they gworshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, h“All authority iin heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 jGo therefore and kmake disciples of lall nations, jbaptizing them min2 nthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them oto observe all that pI have commanded you. And behold, qI am with you always, to rthe end of the age.”
Let’s pray – “Our Burden”
- Honestly, I just have a few questions tonight.
- Who is speaking?
- With what authority?
- Who is the audience?
- What is the instruction to the audience?
- How long is the audience to do this?
- Who is speaking? Jesus
- Jesus gathering his followers in galilee
- Has an important instruction for them to carry out
- To go and tell people of His life, death, resurection & the hope found in believing in Him
- And He gives this command with All Authority
- With what authority? All Authority
- Through his obedience and his conquering of sin & death, Jesus has all authority – including telling His followers what to do
- His followers are HIs Audience
- Who is the audience? Every Disciple, Ever
- This command is given to Jesus’ followers or disciples
- But it’s a command given to them to give to others as well
- So every Christian
- Every little Christ
- Every believer
- Is to obey this instruction
- And what were they instructed to do
- What is the instruction to the audience? (4 Things) Go, Make, Baptize, Teach
- GO – as you go, wherever you go, have an eternal perspective
- Put a markee over everyones head that says ‘destined for hell’
- Because until you know a person has a saving relationship with Jesus, that’s what we should assume
- And because of our hope this should burden us to share the hope of Jesus
- With every tribe tongue and people
- Wherever we go, whenever we go
- This isn’t just for the professional full time church folks
- Which Refuge doesn’t have anyway.
- But as we go we are to make disciples
- We ar eto share the hope of JEsus and as Jesus brings forth the reward and moves people from death to life
- We are to be excited for that new life in Christ – and help that baby christian to know more of God and His commands
- Including the command to identify with Him in water baptism
- To publicly profess faith in Christ
- And just as we are to teach Baby Christians water baptism is a command ot obey, we are to continue teaching and living out the one another commands beyond that
- Including the command ot go make disciples as the great commission states
- How long is the audience to do this? Til Death or Christ Returns
- Well how long are we to do this
- The answer – Til we die
- Or Christ returns
- Who is speaking? Jesus
Why should we do this? (beyond out of obvious obedience)
- Quite simply – we live in a world full of fallen image bearers – that don’t know God
- And to not know God means they are lost in their trespasses and sins
- And the wages of sin is death
- And we have the antidote to sin and death
- That is – the person and work of JEsus
- His perfect life, substitutionary death, & victorious resurrection
- Knowing their are lost people – and knowing we know the fix for their problem that has earned them death in a sinners hell, should burden us to obey the great commission and share the hope of Jesus.
- We should love our neighbors enough to do this.
I’ll use a popular and personal favorite quote from Charles Spurgeon: ‘If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.’ -Charles Spurgeon
- May we be burdened to live out the great commission. TO make disciples & take them on a journey.
- To engage our neighbors, friends, family, & coworkers far from God & invite them on a journey.
- Y’all have heard me say and seen it on just about everything we put out. Refuge is all about Sharing the Hope of Jesus, Loving Neighbors, & Growing together.
- This is how we obey the Great COmmission.
- We love neighbors through kindness & engagement.
- We love them enough to share the hope of Jesus, because outside of knowing Jesus, their depraved sinful state earns them eternity in hell.
- And as brings forth a harvest as we labor for the harvest, we teach new believers and invite them to grow together with us.
- Here’s how it looks for us at Refuge
Refuge Church’s Engagement Pathway
- So here we are – the core team of Refuge Church Byhalia
- And we are aiming to be faithful laborers in the field of Byhalia
- And all around us we have neighbors, friends, coworkers, family members, & divine appointments at gas stations, grocery stores, and beyond with outsiders
- Outsiders – (meaning) people not currently actively engaged with Jesus & His church.
- And they can be of varying extremes – they could be outspoken atheists
- Wanting nothing to do with God
- They could be a Christian In Name Only – someone claiming a to know who Jesus is, but there is no fruit, or evidence, of a relationship with Jesus & His Bride, the church.
- They may be a CEM – Christmas, Easter, & Mother’s Day
- They may even be a baby believer that hasn’t found a local church
- Or a nomadic believer – new to the area
- Or an injured believer – between churches due to some sort of issue
- At the end of the day there are outsiders around us everywhere that are not currently active with a local church
- And the commission we have been given – is to as we go – make disciples and engage image bearers
- And through a bold introduction at a gas station, a bold text message to a friend, a bold invite at a family dinner
- A randoms social media post, a random sharing of that social media post
- We, RCB, will engage an outsider with the Hope of Jesus
- And with a response to that engagement a person transitions from an outsider to a seeker
- A Seeker – (meaning) a person engaging with you and/or Refuge Church.
- A seeker is an outsider that has been engaged
- And maybe that’s God blessing a bold conversation at a gas station that turns to the Gospel
- It could be through Holy Easedropping a waitress hears about your love of the Lord, your love for your church, or the hope you found in Jesus who rescued you from a multitude of sins
- It could be here at Refuge – through random social media activity someone decides to visit us and you greet them in the parking lot or at the door and are the first to make a meaningful connection with them.
- And a person may remain a seeker for a while
- They show up here and there
- You may talk to them on the phone, grab coffee, have them over for dinner
- And they spend some time kicking the tires of Refuge
- And it stays there for a while
- But our hope isn’t just to have friends of Refuge – but to see lives changed, for eternity
- So at some point – through the Next Steps we discuss here
- Or A bold conversation where we ask of our seeker friend, ‘So what do you think of Jesus? Do you believe He died for your sins? Has anything changed for you recently? Are you loving things you didn’t use to love? Are you hating things you used to love?’
- And at some point
- By the grace of God, we will joyfully hear “Yes, somethings different. Yes, I do think Jesus died for me. And yes I have this strange desire to show up to church more. I want to read my Bible more. I’m saying no to things I used to say yes to all the time that I’m learning aren’t good for me and my life.”
- And this is when it get’s exciting
- Because even the smallest, simplest, most basic idea of Jesus died for me in a seeker
- Means that God has made a Seeker into a New Believer!
- A New Believer – someone who has made a simple and basic profession of faith that Jesus died for him or her.
- But is not yet baptized
- And this will begin the fun
- This will be huge
- God has crossed someone from death to life
- They are now alive
- They now know the hope that is found in the person and work of Jesus
- And God used you
- God used us – to get that hope to them
- And God wants us to keep helping them in that hope, from the moment of faith and beyond
- Helping them to Know that Hope more better, and all that is tied with it
- And that starts with a brief period of demonstrating sustained faith
- Followed by a public profession of faith through water baptism where the new believer will say publicly ‘God has rescued me’
- and our church can Praise God for a new brother or sister in Christ
- And at that moment, when a new believer publicly identifies with Christ and a local church, they go from a New Believer to a Growing Believer
- A Growing Believer – is growing in the things of God, both privately & publicly.
- A Growing believer is an active participant in a local church
- And then the church should be there, guiding, & discipling
- Just as the great commission stated that we read in Matthew
- Teaching them to obey all that JEsus commanded, the whole counsel of God
- To help them get off of spiritual milk, and like the babies in those rooms back there, move on to rice cereal, then blended up fruit, and eventually we learn to enjoy a good steak and potatoes
- And this is the responsibility of the church to help all believers new & old mature
- But also, A Growing believer is going to grow in their personal spiritual disciplines of prayer & time in the Word.
- And all of us will be in this category in one form or another til Christ returns or calls us home.
- Because A Growing Believer is going to live out what it means to be a meaningful member of a church.
- This means they will live out the following 6 ideas connected with being a part of a church family.
- I confess that Jesus Christ is my Lord & Savior. (Romans 8:9-10)
- I commit to regular participation in weekend & midweek services to include small group meetings. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
- I commit to support the church through regular financial giving. (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)
- I commit to serve regularly on a ministry team. (Ephesians 4:11-12)
- I agree with Refuge Church’s statement of faith and commit to the vision and mission set forth by the leadership of RCB. (Hebrews 13:17)
- I commit to pray for and submit to the leadership of Refuge Church. (Hebrews 13:17)
- And as a Growing believer – people will have different giftings
- Different areas to serve
- Different skills and talents
- But all are vital, all are important
- All are to live out the one another commands, til death or Christ returns.
One Another Commands – POSITIVE COMMANDS
- Love one another (John 13:34 – This command occurs at least 16 times)
- Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10)
- Honor one another above yourselves (Romans 12:10)
- Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16)
- Build up one another (Romans 14:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:11)
- Be likeminded towards one another (Romans 15:5)
- Accept one another (Romans 15:7)
- Admonish one another (Romans 15:14; Colossians 3:16) Greet one another (Romans 16:16)
- Care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25)
- Serve one another (Galatians 5:13)
- Bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
- Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:2, 32; Colossians 3:13)
- Be patient with one another (Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:13)
- Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15, 25)
- Be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32)
- Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19)
- Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21, 1 Peter 5:5)
- Consider others better than yourselves (Philippians 2:3)
- Look to the interests of one another (Philippians 2:4)
- Bear with one another (Colossians 3:13)
- Teach one another (Colossians 3:16)
- Comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18)
- Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
- Exhort one another (Hebrews 3:13)
- Stir up [provoke, stimulate] one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24)
- Show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)
- Employ the gifts that God has given us for the benefit of one another (1 Peter 4:10)
- Clothe yourselves with humility towards one another (1 Peter 5:5)
- Pray for one another (James 5:16)
- Confess your sins to one another (James 5:16)
- Beyond those commands for each other, all Growing believers
- Are now enlisted to start the process over – to obey the great commission and make disciples
- Matthew 28:16-20
- The Great Commission
- 16 Now the eleven disciples fwent to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they gworshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, h“All authority iin heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 jGo therefore and kmake disciples of lall nations, jbaptizing them min2 nthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them oto observe all that pI have commanded you. And behold, qI am with you always, to rthe end of the age.”
- By engaging an outsider
- And enjoying them becoming a seeker
- And as they Seek God, help plant seeds that God will grow as He makes seekers into New Believers
- And as a New Believer publicly professes faith and becomes a Growing believer
- Coming alongside them to see the beauty and majesty of God – His Word – His Salvation
- & His Hope
- And we must fight to never be content, and always be ready to engage more fellow image bearers with the hope. TO never be content with the number of empty chairs, but always be burdened for them to be filled.
- So where are you?
- If you’re here you’ve got 4 choices
- You’re not an outsider
- You’re at least a seeker, maybe a new believer,
- If that’s you, and you want to talk to me or someone about Jesus and His salvation
- If you want to talk about going public with your faith,
- Grab that ministry card and mark Salvation/Baptism
- We would love to talk to you about that.
- Many of y’all are Growing believers
- Meaning, you’re active here, you see the vision and mission of Refuge and are bought in and are working hard to be a laborer for the harvest Christ will bing
- Let me say thank you
- Thank you so much
- I praise God for you regularly
- If that’s you – right down Growing believer on the ‘pray for you line’ if you don’t have something else to write
- But then in obedience to the great commission, write down a name of someone you are hoping to see cross from outsider to seeker.
- But finally I want to warn us. Recall I said there are 4 options for us in this room
- Seeker, New Believer, & Growing believer I’ve mentioned
- A 4th option is a disobedient wandering sheep
- Which means you’re not consistently engaged with the God of the universe in Prayer and through time in His Word
- You’re also not consistently engaged with Christ’s bride, the church.
- And that means you aren’t all in on growing in faith
- Being a Growing believer.
- All of us can quickly fall into this spot
- My hope is none of us do. But prayerfully guard against being a disobedient wandering sheep
- We must guard and fight to not become a disobedient wandering sheep.
- Dive into a church
- Show up
- Serve
- Live otu the one anotehr commands with that church
- Even though she may be mightily imperfect
- Hitch your wagon somewhere
- Til you die, or Christ returns
- This is what we at RCB will do – travel the Engagement pathway in obedience to the Great Commission.\