All authority has been given to Christ in heaven and on earth. Jesus commanded his disciples to “Go and make disciples.” No Christian comes fully trained. You have to make a disciple. How do you do that? Disciples are made when you teach from God’s Word. Invest time in new converts so they can become disciples. Jesus commanded his disciples to not only make disciples but to baptize them and teach them all that He had poured into them.
hello and welcome back to our Sunday
conversation we’re discussing getting
back to the basics of God’s word and
building understanding about what the
Bible is and where it comes from the
Bible is a collection of writings
obviously from several authors over a
long period of time but as we read last
week in Paul’s letter to Timothy the
Bible is given from God by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit spirit and it’s
profitable it’s good it helps us grow it
helps us grow by Doctrine it helps us
grow by teaching it helps us grow by
reproof by correction and instruction
and righteousness that you would be
complete and lacking nothing equipped
for every good work this is consistent
with what Jesus told the disciples in
Matthew chap 28: 18 19 and 20
this is where we read what we call the
Great Commission it’s our purpose and
what God has told his children to do
until the Lord’s return He said Verse 18
Jesus came to them and spoke saying all
authority has been given to me in heaven
and on earth now there’s a lot that we
could discuss from a Biblical
perspective right there but bottom line
Jesus is saying to the disciples I’m in
charge charge and then he gives them
this charge why is this important if you
are in the military or if you ever
served you understand that there’s
ranking and whenever a superior officer
gives you an order it supersedes the
order that you were previously given so
if you’re a private and a sergeant gives
you an order that’s an order but if a
general walks in and gives you an order
the Sergeant’s order is no longer longer
standing you now have a superior officer
who has given you another order so when
Jesus tells the disciples all authority
in Heaven and Earth belongs to me he’s
saying I’m a f-star general there is no
one who outranks me in heaven or in
Earth and then he gives us this order he
says go and make
disciples now we’ve probably read this
verse a multitude of times but something
I think we often Overlook in church is
the command to make a
disciple no one comes to Christ as a
fully trained disciple they have to be
made how do you make them well consider
what we said last week that God’s word
is profitable for instruction for
teaching for direction for Doctrine all
of these things are how you make
disciples you can’t make disciples in
Christ teaching them somebody else’s
word you have to teach them his word if
they’re going to be his follower his
learner someone who comes up in his way
we have to make disciples of our
children they won’t become disciples
just because they live in our house they
get made disciples when you teach them
God’s word you have to make disciples of
new converts they’re not going to catch
it like the
flu it’s something that they have to be
taught that it has to be invested in
them
so Jesus says go and make disciples of
all Nations there is no limit to where
this word can be applied baptizing them
in the name of the father of the son and
of the Holy Spirit and then he goes
further in verse 20 teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded
you he told those who had learned from
him go and teach others what you’ve
learned a few weeks ago when we started
this conversation out of the book of
Hebrews one of the things that Paul was
upset about is that the church that he
was writing the letter to should have
been teaching by now he said you should
be able to teach others and yet you have
to be taught
again many people sit in church for
decades hearing receiving being taught
the word of God and they never take the
opportunity to take what they’ve
received and share it with someone
else the Bible is good for
teaching and the Bible is good for
reprove we visited last week for a
little bit about what this word reprove
means but more directly break the word
down re means to visit again and then
proof to
correct to make something better reprove
means to kindly correct a
fault the thing that I love about the
word of God is that the Holy Spirit has
the ability to kindly correct not
everything is an absolute
judgment often times I think people give
God a very bad rap oh he’s a judge oh he
has the ability to judge and he promises
that he will
judge but he corrects those that he
loves the Bible tells us that the lord
loves those that he
chastens he doesn’t
overreact he
reproves he doesn’t
reject he tries to make you better re
means to address again prove means the
proper response when God reproves you
he’s saying let me show you how to do
that
better and if you have your faith in
this word that this is God’s word in
your life when he shows you how to do
something better you’ll act upon it what
did Jesus say to his disciples he says
why do you call me Lord and not do what
I
say God doesn’t lose his temper and run
off the handle destroy your confidence
in everything and then come back later
to say I’m sorry I I overreacted no he
allows you to hear his
word he uses the Holy Spirit
to help you understand that this is
something you need to work on and then
he gives you the chance to
decide look at Matthew chapter 6 for
example in The Sermon on the Mount read
carefully what Jesus
says he says in Matthew 6 when you do
your charitable Deeds right there for
some people that’s a
Repro I’ve had conversations with people
say Pastor I’m I’m praying about giving
Jesus didn’t say pray about it he said
when you do it and then for others read
the rest of the verse when you do your
charitable Deeds do them so that no one
knows about
them how often do we see people being
generous and charitable in front of
large crowds they present a golf size
check why so that everyone will applaud
and appreciate their kindness and and
their
generosity Jesus said when you are
charitable don’t let others know that
you’re being charitable because whenever
you allow others to recognize your
charity you are going to get your reward
from man and not from God he says when
you do your charitable Deeds do them so
they glorify God and not
you now I don’t know about you but I’d
rather have God’s reward than man’s
compliments then he goes on When you
pray right there you have a reproof it’s
a gentle reproof but it comes in the
same form as the first one the question
is do you
pray if you don’t pray you should
be Samuel the prophet told the children
of Israel God forbid that I should sin
against the Lord in ceasing to pray for
you why would he call it a sin to stop
praying if you could get by with being a
prayerless
Christian When you pray and then he said
don’t be like the Heathen trying to
impress people with the words that you
say he said when you pray go into your
closet he was describing a
talit he was saying make sure that you
have an intimate time to share your
words with the
Lord and then he teaches the disciples
to pray and he gives us what is called
in in our context the Lord’s prayer Our
Father which art in heaven Hallowed be
thy
name then he goes on to say and when you
fast he didn’t say if you fast in our
modern world we think that fasting is
something that only the spiritually
Elite do but Jesus said it’s something
that we should all do he said when you
fast don’t look
miserable don’t act like you hate life
he said when you fast wash your face and
look presentable smile and be joyful
because when you fast what you ask for
privately God will do for you
openly how many of you would like to
have the open benefits and blessings of
God in your life well listen to the
reproof of Matthew chapter 6 fast pray
give if you’re not fasting if you’re not
praying if you’re not giving if you’re
not doing what the word says to do how
can you expect his promise to be in your
life until you obey what he’s given you
instruction
in if you are doing it are you doing it
in the appropriate
way for his glory and not
yours because God says very clearly my
glory I’ll share with no
one here’s the Hope here’s the reward
that when you do it in obedience to God
he’ll do exactly what he said he may not
do it on your schedule but he’ll do it
indeed the word of God is profitable not
just for Repro but also for
correction remember correction is
stronger than reprove correction is a
limitation sometimes Repro isn’t
enough sometimes the subtle direction of
the Lord is something that we get
selective hearing on and decide we don’t
want to do sometimes there are people in
the world that no matter how many times
you tell them right from wrong they
still ignore you well the word of God is
a great tool when it comes to
correction because it will make certain
that you understand the consequences of
your choices you know I know there’s a
lot of things that are being redefined
in our world but whether you believe it
or not choices still have
consequences Repro is a demonstration
that you’re willing to listen to God’s
word correction is God’s ability to
enforce his
word something that you need to
understand about the word of God as
you’ve heard Pastor heggy say many times
you don’t break his word his word breaks
you I’ll take you to the story in the
Old Testament of the prophet
Jonah Jonah heard the word of the Lord
the word of the Lord came to Jonah and
said go to
Nineveh what did Jonah do he disobeyed
he willingly chose not to obey God’s
word many people say oh I’d never do
that but if you’re honest we’ve all done
it Jonah went the exact opposite
direction of the way God told him to go
now maybe you haven’t J graphically gone
the opposite direction of God’s word but
maybe you went and you read that verse
be kind to one another and you said no
Lord I’m not ready to be kind to that
person well guess what you went the
opposite direction of what he told you
to do forgive one another I’m not going
to forgive that person you went the
opposite direction even as I have
forgiven you how did Christ forgive us
he forgave us while we were still
Sinners he forgave us when we were
Unforgivable so while we build up this
case about well you don’t know what they
did and you don’t know how it made me
feel and you don’t know how they took
advantage of me Jesus says well if
you’re looking for an example on
forgiveness use me I forgave you when
you were unforgivable that’s how you
should forgive
them now we know the story of Jonah
Jonah tells the Lord no and he decides
that he can take a trip in an opposite
direction but he forgets that God is the
one who created heaven and earth God
controls the wind God controls controls
the weather God controls the water God
controls the
fish Jonah finds himself in a great
storm and then he tells the people that
he’s sailing with this is God’s judgment
on my life throw me
overboard how do you know that Jonah is
deliberately disobeying he knows why
He’s in the
storm the ship doesn’t start rocking and
Jonah says you know what this is
ridiculous I should just do what God
says Jonah says I’m still not going to
Nineveh throw me into the
ocean that’s
stubborn Jonah’s in the ocean and
suddenly a great fish now we tell the
story of Jonah in the whale but the
Bible just says a great fish comes and
swallows
Jonah God controls all that he creates
so he controlled the fish that swallowed
Jonah Jonah sits inside the fish’s belly
for three
days now I’m not speaking for you maybe
you could have lasted three days but I
would have probably started repenting
when I hit the water I would have
certainly not spent three full days
inside the belly of a fish but Jonah
sits there for three
days before he starts to talk to
God how long would you last in the belly
of a fish before you started praying
pray understand that inside the belly of
a fish is a volume of digestive juices
that’s meant to decompose whatever the
fish is
swallowed so there Jonah
sits having to make the decision am I
going to be lunch for
Jaws or am I going to do what God
says and many times you might say well
that’s that’s senseless that’s stubborn
who would do such a thing thing how many
of us are guilty of the
same how many of us refuse to give how
many of us refuse to pray how many of us
refuse to fast and yet the Bible clearly
says this is what you should do talk to
people all the time that are dealing
with financial struggles do you tithe no
I can’t afford to that’s stubborn that’s
sitting in the belly of a fish letting
your financial resources decomposed all
around you when all you have to do is
obey you say well it doesn’t make sense
that I should give and it would be given
to me I understand what your ademic
nature understands it doesn’t make sense
when you have a selfish nature but when
you have the nature of God a giving
nature and you put your faith in his
word then you believe that what he says
will come to
pass the word of God can correct you
it is a
rod that has been used to correct souls
for centuries Nations that have shaped
history and lives on a daily
basis the word of God is a powerful
weapon when you understand how to use it
in your
life I want you to begin to see God’s
word
differently this is his personal journal
to
you not just filled with historical
dates and prophecies that most have been
fulfilled but it’s something that if you
read it and you apply it you’ll begin to
grow and as you grow you’ll see God’s
promises come to life like you’ve never
known them before I want you to continue
to join us as we move week by week
through the basics of Bible study
understanding the principles of our
faith understanding how to share them
and what we can expect from God’s
promises when we apply them thank you
for being a part of this Sunday
conversation I look forward to seeing
you again very soon hi I’m Kendall haggy
thank you for connecting with us today
God bless you and we pray that you’ll
join us again next
week