|
Sermon by
John
Tucker
THE
AIM series
What on earth is the church to
do:
Grow
Matthew 28.16-20
28 October 2001, Milford
Baptist Church
Getting
the foundations right
Right
across the road from where I live there's a new church
being built. It's been interesting to watch the process.
First the site was bulldozed. Then the ground was
levelled. Then the concrete foundations were poured. The
whole process of preparing the foundations took weeks.
Then, once these foundations were laid, the frame of the
building itself went up almost overnight. But first the
builders got the foundations right.
One
builder who didn't get the foundations right was Boanno
Pisano. He designed the famous bell tower in Pisa, the
leaning Tower of Pisa. It is now so unstable that in a
desperate bid to save the tower, engineers have tried
anchoring its foundations with lead; they've tried
drilling underneath the foundations; and when Lorraine
and I were there last year they were using huge steel
tension cables to keep it up. But the leaning tower of
Pisa will probably topple down anyway. Why? It's built on
bad foundations. They didn't get the foundations right.
As a
church - as the house of God, the temple of the Holy
Spirit - have we got our foundations right? Over the last
few weeks we've been examining our foundational purposes
- what God has called us as his church to do. We've seen
that the Bible is quite clear. God has called us to
glorify him - to reveal his character, his goodness, to
those around us. And so he's called us to go into the
world of our friends and neighbours just as Jesus came
into ours. He's called us to give ourselves in service to
those who need us. He's called us to gather as a family
of believers who belong to one another. And today we come
to a fifth and final purpose. What is it? Grow.
The
Project
God has
called us to grow. He has called us to make disciples.
Contrary to what many people think, the emphasis in this
commission does not fall on the word "go," or "baptise"
or "teach." The main verb, the key word here, is "make."
We are called - commissioned - to make disciples.
But what
is a "disciple"? The word disciple means "student" or
"learner." We are called to produce students, people who
are learning. People who are learning to become more like
Jesus. As Paul explains elsewhere (Eph 4.12-15), God's
plan for all his children is that we "reach maturity in
the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and
become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the
fullness of Christ." Disciples are people who are growing
up to look like Jesus. So as his church, Jesus has
commissioned us, employed us, to produce Christ-like
people. That's our project. But how do we do that? What's
the process?
The
Process
Have you
ever seen the movie, "Honey, I blew up the kids"? I
haven't. I'm kind of glad. It's sounds like a cheesy
American film about an inept but obviously brilliant
scientist who manages (with the aid, I think, of a
special formula) to cause his kids to grow to an enormous
size overnight. I used to think that if I found the right
formula I could grow up spiritually overnight. Some
people spend their entire lives looking for that secret
formula to instant spiritual maturity. We have instant
coffee, instant hair formula, instant weight-loss pills,
but there's no such thing as instant "just add water"
spirituality. It's a process. A process with three steps,
marked by three words: "going," "baptising," and
"teaching."
Going
The
first step in the process is "going." Jesus says to his
followers that they are to make disciples by going, or
"as they go." I guess you've all heard of Michael Jordan,
one of the great superstars of world sport. I know all
about him because back in the mid nineties some of the
kids in our youth group were rabid fans of Michael
Jordan. They wore his clothes, sported his haircut,
copied his moves, collected his pictures. They were fans.
They were disciples - they modelled their lives on him.
And as a result, they influenced others to do the same.
If we are to make disciples, we must first be disciples.
We must ourselves be followers on "the Way," journeying
with Jesus, imitating his life. Are we? Are we imitating
his grace towards those who make mistakes, his
forgiveness for those who don't deserve it? Making a
disciple is not so much about getting someone to know
what we know, as it is about getting someone to go where
we are going.
Baptising
So the
first step in the disciple-making process is going. The
second step is baptising (v19): "Go and make disciples of
all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Is that a misprint?
Why would the Great Commission give such prominence to
the simple, physical act of baptism? Either Jesus
mentioned it by accident or it's really important. As we
saw a couple of weeks ago, in baptism we aren't just
identifying with Jesus; we're identifying with his body.
We're not just saying we believe in Jesus; we're saying
we belong to his family, we're a brick in his building.
We've
discussed the myth of instant spiritual growth. I know
another "maturity myth." Some people believe that
spiritual growth is a personal, private matter. One
friend even said to me recently that we should not have
to lean on anyone else for help in growing up
spiritually. Dependence, he said, is a mark of weakness.
In the Herald recently there was a photo of the lion
cubs that have been born recently at the Auckland Zoo.
They're incredibly cute. They're just learning how to run
and jump and fight and hunt. And how are they learning?
By careful study and reflection on their own in
quarantined isolation? Or by romping with each other,
play-fighting together, watching mum and mimicking her?
Just like them we don't grow up physically or spiritually
in isolation from others. We grow up and we grow others
up by learning from others, by serving others, in small
groups and close relationships.
Teaching
Making
disciples involves going; it involves baptising; and,
thirdly, it involves teaching (v20): "teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you." Ever played the
game Bible Trivia Quiz? It's a board game that tests your
knowledge of trivial Bible data. What was the name of the
fourth headwater flowing out of the Garden of Eden? Who
was the third cousin twice removed by marriage of King
Hezekiah's niece? Those sorts of questions. Some people
think that spiritual maturity can be measured by how well
you play Bible Trivia Quiz. But spiritual maturity is not
measured by what you know or believe. It's measured by
how you behave. Being a disciple of Jesus means becoming
like Jesus. It means life-change - shedding the
selfishness and jealousy and bitterness and lustfulness
that make our lives miserable, and receiving a new heart,
a new nature, a new life. What a swap! That's what we
offer people. All because of who God is and what Jesus
has done.
So
that's the process. We fulfil our project of making
disciples by the process of going, baptising and
teaching. Simple. And impossible.
The
Promise
For
those first disciples, and for us, this is a mission
impossible. Jesus may as well have been commissioning
eleven US postal workers stricken with anthrax to find
Osama bin Laden in the next two weeks. Look at these
eleven guys. They have gazed into the face of the risen
Jesus and worshipped him and still, Matthew notes, "some
doubted" (17). Why do you think Matthew includes this
little detail? I think Matthew wants us to know that it's
to people like this, people who are far from perfect -
people like us - that Jesus gives his commission. Jesus
doesn't condemn them for their doubt or disloyalty. He
"comes" to them and commissions them. But have you ever
tried to pitch a tent that wouldn't stay up? I have,
until I realised that some of the poles were missing. I
was trying to pitch a tent without a frame. It's
impossible. And this commission, on its own, is like the
command to pitch a tent without poles, without a frame.
It's impossible. But Jesus provides the frame. He frames
his command with two incredible promises on either side.
First,
immediately before his command, he promises these
disciples that they will have his power (18): "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."
And this authority he delegates to his followers:
"Therefore," he says, "go..." He instructs them to go
with this authority. And immediately after the command,
Jesus gives these disciples a second promise. He promises
them his presence (21): "And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age." This promise is not
restricted to any special circumstances - he will be with
them "always." And the promise isn't restricted to the
immediate future either - "I will be with you always, to
the very end of the age" - to the very end of time. So
the promise applies not only to those disciples
themselves, but also to their successors, and to their
successors' successors, and even to us. Which is just as
well, because for us, on our own, this project is
impossible. But we are not on our own. Jesus continues to
be with us and lead us. Through his presence and his
power, we can fulfil our project, this great commission.
Conclusion
Besides
the Tower of Pisa, Lorraine and I saw one other great
tower in Europe last year. It was built for an
international exposition in 1889. But the citizens of the
city thought it was a "monstrous" architectural failure.
They even demanded that it be torn down as soon as the
expo was over. But from the moment this structure was
conceived, its architect defended it because he knew it
was destined for greatness. That architect was, of
course, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. Today his famous tower
is one of the architectural wonders of the world. It
stands as the primary landmark of Paris.
Like
that building, God's house, the church, is often
criticised. And it often looks like a failure. Recently
Saturday's Herald: had an article "Death knell of
Christianity tolls loudly." We often doubt, and divide,
and seem to make precious few disciples. But Jesus has
designed his church and intends it to become one of the
greatest wonders of the world, the light of the world, a
city on a hill, a landmark to which people are drawn.
Wouldn't it be great to become that landmark? Wouldn't it
be great to be a church that glorifies God as we all go
into the world each week, giving ourselves in service,
gathering together as believers who belong to one
another, growing each other up to look and act like
Jesus? Wouldn't it be great to be part of a church to
which many people are drawn in open-mouthed awe, a church
where many people - young and old - are meeting Jesus and
growing up to become all that he wants them to be? Do you
want to be part of a church like that? Do you want to
help build a church like that? You can. We have the power
of Jesus and the presence of Jesus with us still: "And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Questions
1.
Benjamin Disraeli said that, "constancy to purpose is the
secret of success." Do you agree that the purposes of the
church can be summarised as glorifying, going, giving,
gathering and growing? Why or why not
2. Do
you know any enthusiastic fans of sports stars or media
celebrities? Are you a "fan" of Jesus? How can you better
point people to him?
3.
Martin Luther said that, "Apart from the church,
salvation is impossible." He didn't mean that the church
provides salvation; God alone does that. Rather, he meant
that because "saved" people can't fulfil what it means to
be a Christian apart from the church, membership in the
church (symbolised in baptism) is an indispensable mark
of salvation. Do you agree? See Hebrews 10.24-25.
4. Is
Jesus calling you to align yourself not only with him but
also with his body, the church, by getting baptised? Is
this one way that you can make yourself available to do
whatever he calls you to do here?
5.
Jesus, the perfect human, depended on his father, and on
a group of women, and on his disciples. If so, shouldn't
those who are baptised into Jesus learn to do likewise?
Do you have people to whom you belong, on whom you
depend, and who in turn can depend on you for support in
growing up in the faith? What might God be nudging you
to do in order to guide and teach others?
6.
Matthew says that Jesus was born to be "Immanuel," or
"God with us" (1.23). How can you see evidence of this in
history? (What about the story of Acts, and how a network
of believers around the world sprang up from what began
as a handful of doubting, confused, powerless disciples.)
Does Jesus promise to be as present in your life as he
was in the lives of his first disciples? |
|