Radical with David Platt
Radical with David Platt is a podcast that highlights sermons weekly from teacher, author, and pastor David Platt.
Radical with David Platt
A Christ-Directed Mission
Jesus has given the church the task of making disciples of all nations. Many Christians view this as a task for pastors, missionaries, or other specially gifted Christians, but the Great Commission isn’t just for a select few. In this message from Matthew 28:16–20 from David Platt, we’ll see that every Christian has a part to play in making disciples in their own neighborhood and among all nations. Yet, this is not a mission we came up with or that we carry out in our own strength. We go in the sovereign authority of Jesus, and we rely on the presence of Jesus. He has promised to be with his church to the end of the age.
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You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a weekly podcast with sermons and messages from pastor, author and teacher David Platt. If you've got your Bibles and I hope you do I want to invite you to open with me to Matthew, chapter 28. Before we jump into our time in God's Word this morning, I want to give you a picture to kind of keep in your mind as we launch into this study, this series, on what it means to be a part of a church. That's unstoppable. I remember recently I was doing a camp conference type thing up in Tennessee and part of the week involved whitewater rafting down the Ocoee River. Just out of curiosity, anybody ever been whitewater rafting before? Okay, some of you have been, a lot of you have been. Okay, well, just in case you haven't.
Speaker 1:Basically the way whitewater rafting works is you've got this raft, a boat type thing, and it's got room for about six people, two in the front and two in the middle and two in the back, and then there's another guy who sits in the very back. He's the guide and his whole responsibility is to make sure that everybody lives through the experience. And so you like the guide. It's good to have him there, and we were getting on the Ocoye River that day and it was really high, and so we knew the water was going to be really rough, and so I decided the best place for me to be was right in the back with the guide. And so that's where I immediately went, sat back there right next to him. That way, if I fall off, he saves my life very easily.
Speaker 1:And so Heather and I got on, and four others from this conference, and we started rafting down the river and basically, if you've been before, you know what it's like. The people in the front really have all the action. I mean, they're the people that are hitting the rapids first thing. The water's coming up in their face and if you're sitting in the back you're just kind of coasting along. It's a nice ride, enjoyable, not as intense as it is in the front. We it is in the front.
Speaker 1:We get down near the end of the river and our guide says okay, guys, we were coming up on the last rapid on the Ocoee today, and this is the most dangerous, the most intense rapid, and he said I need a volunteer who would be willing to ride the bull. Okay, now, some of you may be familiar with this terminology. I wasn't Never heard of riding the bull before and I thought, well, one of these guys from the conference, they're stupid enough to go out and ride the bull and I'll just kind of sit back here. And so that was what I was planning on doing. But then they all started pointing the finger at me and they said Dave will ride the bull, dave would love to ride the bull. And so I'm thinking what in the world? It was like this whole conspiracy to kill the conference speaker. And so they said all right, dave, you're going to do it. And so the guy gets in my face and he says all right, this is what you're going to do. He says what we need you to do is go up to the very front of the boat, and he said I said, okay, I can sit in one of those front seats. He said no, no, no, no. You need to sit on the very edge, the tip of the boat. You need to let your legs hang over the front of the boat and what you're going to do is you're going to reach down to this ring and we're going to go down the rapid and you're going to be face first, hanging on to this ring with all your life hoping you don't fall off. Everybody's like, yeah, I'm thinking, not a chance, okay. They're like no, do it, no do, except for heather. Heather's like don't die. And so I go crawling out to the front of the boat. I get out there, I sit on the tip, I put my legs over the front and I reach, reach down and I grab onto that ring as tightly as I can.
Speaker 1:We start going down into this rapid and I'm hitting the waves just face first. They're coming up right in me. I am on the tip of the boat just experiencing all those waves I have to offer and it starts to get pretty rough. Everybody's cheering me on. So I start to get a little adrenaline going in me and I start to think. You know, I've never ridden a bull before, but I've watched bull riders on TV and I know enough to know about bull riding that those guys who ride the bull, they don't hold on with both hands, do they? You know they have one hand loose. And so I thought, well, if I'm going to ride the bull, I'm going to ride the bull. And so, starting to get a little confident, overconfident, and so I let go of the ring with one hand and I start doing this action right here and I start really riding the bull. Well, it's about that time that the bull decides he's had enough of me and so he throws me off of himself.
Speaker 1:I find myself more under the bull right now and the boat is literally on top of me. We're going down the rapid, the waves are just piling on me and they're trying to reach in and grab me. Heather's really like, don't die now. They're trying to pull me in, but they can't get me in. I go down the rest of the rapid and they pull me in. They don't know if I'm alive, they don't know if I'm breathing. I've got water coming out of my nose, my eyes, my mouth, I mean it's coming out everywhere. And they look down at me and they're like are you okay? Are you okay? Finally I caught my breath and I looked up and I said that was awesome, all right, and it was, it was. It was a lot different than sitting in the back of the boat, kind of coasting along. I experienced literally all that river had to offer.
Speaker 1:I want to invite you this morning as we dive into Scripture. I want to invite you to the front of the boat with me. What I mean by that is this I think most of us are on the boat. There's a majority of us in this room who've placed our faith in Christ, we've been forgiven of our sins, we've trusted in Him and we're even active in church as a result. It's a sign of us being here this morning. We're on the boat and even a few weeks ago we walked through from Psalm 67 and walked from Genesis to Revelation about how we were created to make God's glory in all nations. Psalm 67, a walk from Genesis to Revelation about how we were created to make God's glory in all nations. And what I want to invite you to do is to come from coasting in the back to the front, and I want to invite you to the front of what I believe the church's mission is all about over the next six weeks, and I want to invite you to taste and experience all that this river has to offer. And I want you to know it's a little more dangerous up in the front and it's a little more risky, but I want you to know it's a little more dangerous up in the front and it's a little more risky, but I want you to know from the very beginning. It is worth it.
Speaker 1:So we're going to look at a passage of scripture this morning from Matthew, chapter 28, a passage that I'm guessing is familiar to many of you. This is one of those passages of scripture that is very widely known in the church but receives, I believe, nominal adherence today in the church. And what I want us to do is I want us to dive in and just pray that God, by his spirit, would give us fresh eyes as we look at Jesus' parting words to his disciples, matthew, chapter 28, verse 16. The Bible says the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain, where Jesus had told them to go. Just a side note here whenever you see Jesus going to the mountain, you know it's something very important, signifies an important message.
Speaker 1:Matthew, chapter 5 through through 7 sermon on the sermon on the now very good, okay. Then matthew chapter 20, 17 right in the middle, the transfiguration happens on the mountain. We see jesus coming to the end of his life on earth at this point and he says I'll take you to the mountain. Important message, it says. When they saw him, they worshiped him. Some doubted, and jesus came to them and said All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Speaker 1:What I want us to do is divide this passage up into three different sections. I want us to see the power of Christ and the plan of Christ, and then the presence of Christ, this sermon brought to you by the letter P. Okay, here we go. Let's start with, first, the power of Christ. This is the part of the Great Commission that we often browse over. Get to the meat, therefore. Go and make disciples of all nations.
Speaker 1:Well, we've got to realize that everything that Jesus is saying here is hinging on the fact that he has all authority in heaven and on earth. It's been given to him. Now, if Jesus says he has all authority in heaven and on earth, then what does that mean? Is not under his authority? That pretty much covers it. He's got it. He says I am Lord over everything. I have authority over heaven and earth. He had died on the cross, rose from the grave, conquered death, sin in the grave and therefore he was Lord over everything.
Speaker 1:I think this means two things. Number one that blank right there, he is Lord of our lives. He is Lord of all of our lives in this room. You know, I find it interesting.
Speaker 1:Sometimes people come up to me and they say, dave, I've decided to make Jesus Lord of my life. What's wrong with that statement? You really didn't have a choice in the matter. Jesus is Lord of every single one of our lives in this room. What does the Bible say? One day, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Every single one of us in this room will one day bow our knee and call Jesus Lord. The question is will we do it now or will we do it when it's too late? The question is not. Is he Lord of our lives? He is Lord of all of our lives in this room.
Speaker 1:The question is have we submitted our lives to his Lordship Now? What does that mean? Basically, it means we have surrendered every right to determine the direction of our lives. We have surrendered every right to determine the direction of our lives If he is Lord and we have placed our faith in him and trusted him to save us from our sins, then that means we no longer call the shots in our lives.
Speaker 1:And I want to speak real, frankly to you this morning, men. You don't call the shots in your family anymore. You don't call the shots for what you do with your career or your ambitions. It's not about what you desire anymore. Christ is calling the shots. You have surrendered the right to determine the direction of your life.
Speaker 1:Students, as you think about your future, where you're going to go to school, what you're going to study, what you're going to do with your life, it's not up to you, it's up to Christ. He is calling the shots. You are second in command. We have surrendered every right to determine the direction of our lives. You have surrendered the right to determine the direction of our lives. You have surrendered your right to determine the direction of the church at Brook Hills. It is not in your hands. It is in the hands of the one who has authority over this church. He is Lord of our lives. This is going to be huge. This is where all this thing is headed to when we come to the end today. So keep this in mind. But second, I believe it means he is not only Lord of our lives, he is Lord of the nations. He has all authority in heaven and on earth. And what I want you to see in scripture this morning is how this had been prophesied way back in the Old Testament and it's fulfilled when we see the end of the New Testament completely, and this is kind of a midpoint right here. Hold your place here in Matthew, chapter 28,.
Speaker 1:And turn with me back in the Old Testament to Daniel. I want you to underline a couple verses in Daniel that I think are huge for us understanding what it means for Jesus to have all authority in heaven and on earth. Daniel, chapter 7,. What we're about to read is what the Old Testament calls prophecy. This is this is a word that foretells something in the future. This was spoken hundreds of years before Christ came on the scene, before Matthew. 28, 17 said, or 28, 18 said all authority in heaven, on earth has been given to me. But I want you to see what Daniel prophesied. Daniel, chapter 7. Daniel, chapter 7.
Speaker 1:Look with me at verse 13 and 14. Listen to what Daniel saw in this prophetic vision. Underline this and think about how it relates to what we're talking about over here in Matthew 28. The Bible says in my vision, verse 13, at night I looked and there before me was one like a son of man. You can circle that phrase right there. Son of man, this is a term that basically means someone who is human yet has a heavenly origin. Son of man has human but also has a divine facet. That's exactly who Christ is. He is human, yet he's divine. Saw one like a son of man.
Speaker 1:Now look, this is talking about christ coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the ancient of days and was led into his presence. And listen to this. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power. All peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. That's talking about Christ. There's one who's going to come. He's going to have all authority, sovereign power, dominion, and all peoples, all nations are going to worship him as Lord. Well, that's what Daniel said hundreds of years before Matthew.
Speaker 1:Now I want you to go with me to the end of the Bible, revelation, chapter 7. I want you to see what Daniel has talked about here coming to a culmination Revelation, chapter 7. This is talking about a picture of where all of eternity is headed. Please catch this because this is huge for our understanding of Matthew, chapter 28. Look at Revelation, chapter 7,. Last book, 28. Look at Revelation, chapter 7. Last book in the Bible, revelation, chapter 7.
Speaker 1:Read with me, starting in verse 9. This is John talking about what he sees all of eternity headed toward. He says after this in verse 9, I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one can count. And here it is, from every nation, tribe, people and language. That sounds a lot like Daniel 7. Standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb, and they were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands and they cried out in a loud voice Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. All the angels were standing around the throne, and all the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying Amen, praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen. All of eternity is headed to this picture when every nation and every tribe and every language will bow around the throne of the Lamb who was slain, and Lamb who won the ultimate battle, and they will sing his praises. Because he is Lord, he has all authority, sovereign power over all creation.
Speaker 1:Now, when you come back to Matthew, chapter 28, and you begin to think about what this means for the Great Commission, I believe there's two main implications. Number one I want you to see that this, right here, is why we go. This is why we are going to look at making disciples of all nations and why we need to say in our lives that this should be the integrating, overriding priority of everything we do. In just a second, we're going to dive into this mission and what it's about, but I want you to see the why from the very beginning. This is why we go. So, if you're going to be thinking this morning, why should I in my life here in Birmingham, why should I say in my workplace or in my home or my community? Why should I be about one thing in my life making disciples of all nations? Why should I do this? And the only reason is because he is Lord of every single person in Birmingham and he is worthy of all of their worship. That's why we give ourselves to this mission, because we're convinced in our hearts that the people that we work with and the people in our homes are people that need to know that Jesus is Lord and Jesus has paid the price for their sins. He's died on the cross, rose from the grave and he deserves all of their worship. That's why we go, not only in Birmingham, but in other places.
Speaker 1:People have asked me even well-meaning Christians who are close to me asked me Dave, why do you go to the Sudan? Don't you know that's dangerous? Don't you know there's a lot of risk in going to a place like that? Why would you leave your wife for a couple weeks risk not coming back in order to go to the Sudan? Why would you do that? Why would you even consider doing that in this room this morning?
Speaker 1:Why would you consider packing your bags, whether short-term or long-term and moving to Africa or going on a trip to Africa? Here's why. Here's why. Here's why you go to Africa. You go to Africa because there's 3,000 tribes there that are worshiping animistic religions that are completely devoid of God, and Jesus Christ is worthy of all of their worship. He is Lord of the nations. Why should you consider going to a place like Japan or Laos or Vietnam? Here's why Because there's 350 million Buddhists in those countries today who are following Buddha's rules and Buddha's regulations, and Jesus Christ alone is worthy of their worship, not Buddha. Why should you consider going to India, pakistan, bangladesh, sri Lanka? Why would you go there? Why would that even be a consideration in your life? Because there's 950 million Hindus there that are worshiping more gods than you or I can even fathom, and there is only one God who is worthy of all of their worship. His name is Jesus. Why would you go to the communist countries like China, north Korea, others? Why would you go to a place like that? Risk going into a place like that. Here's why Because there's over a billion people in those nations that have grown up in an atheistic philosophy that says there is no God and and there is a God and he is worthy of all of those people's worship.
Speaker 1:Why should the church at Brook Hills be concerned about going to the Middle East with the gospel? Why should ladies and gentlemen in this room, why should students consider the dream of their life being going into the Middle East to share the gospel. Why would we even consider that? Here's why Because there's over a billion Muslims today who are fasting and giving alms and making holy pilgrimages to Mecca and praying five times a day to a false god. And Jesus Christ alone is worthy of all of their worship.
Speaker 1:That is why we go, because in our hearts we see that he is Lord. He is Lord of the nations, and we want to make his lordship known. That's why we surrender everything for this mission. Not only that, not only do I want you to see the motive for us going, but I want you to see this next truth under there. Not only is this why we go, but I want you to see that this mission is guaranteed. This mission is guaranteed. The beauty of what we have seen in Daniel, and then in Matthew and then in Revelation, is the fact that you give yourself to this mission. You are part of a mission that is truly unstoppable. Mark it down Every tribe, every nation is going to bow around the throne and call Jesus Lord. The question is is the church at Brookhill is going to get in on it? The question is are you going to get in on this mission? It's guaranteed, you know. You know the end from the beginning. You know that Christ is one. He is victorious, and this is huge for our understanding of what we're about to look at. All we need to realize this morning is that God does not need you and me specifically in this room, and he doesn't need the church at Brook Hills in order to accomplish this, this mission. I want you to hang with me here. Don't miss this.
Speaker 1:I remember one of these recent trips I had, uh, where I was in asia and and going around to some different places and hiking and doing some difficult things that were trying me and in different ways. I remember having my quiet time one day in the mountains and and started started thinking you know, I'm really doing something good here. It's kind of one of those moments where I started thinking you know, god, god must really be happy to have me on his team. You ever thought that before. Maybe you're not as carnal as I am, but I started to think that it was one of those moments where god said to me I'm going to accomplish this mission with or without you. He does not involve us in this mission because he needs us. He involves us in this mission because he loves us and we have the privilege of experiencing being a part of this thing, and so I want to invite you Church at Brook Hills. Do not let this mission pass you by, and I want to invite every single family that is represented in this room this morning. Do not let this mission pass you by, and I want to invite every single family that is represented in this room this morning. Do not let this mission pass you by. It's guaranteed. There's the power of Christ that sets the stage for what's next the plan of Christ. Now, when you come to the plan of Christ here, and when we begin to begin to think about this passage of Scripture. Therefore, in light of that, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Speaker 1:In this entire passage of Scripture, in the original language of the New Testament, there is only one imperative verb, and here's why this is important. Just in case you're a little far removed from English class, an imperative verb is a command verb. When my wife gives me an imperative, that's a command. I do it. Okay, right there. I need to do it at least. All right, right there In this passage of Scripture, we see one imperative. It's the imperative, the command around which this entire passage revolves. Now, when you look at those verses, you've got to put them there you may have your Bibles, or you've got to put it there on your piece of paper. What is the imperative verb? Our first thought is that it's go, but actually, in the original language of the New Testament that is not the case. Go is actually a participle, much like baptizing and teaching them to obey everything commanded you. It helps describe what the imperative is.
Speaker 1:There is one command in this passage and it is make disciples of all nations. And that is the mission that we're talking about the next six weeks and that's the mission that Jesus is talking about in this passage. One mission, our mission Make disciples of all nations. Jesus says to these disciples and the implication is to all of us in this room who have placed our faith in Christ you have one mission in your life, and no, it is not to make money and it's not to be successful, and it's not to have a comfortable family and it's not to be successful and it's not to have a comfortable family, and it's not to live nice, it's not to retire well, it's not to get a good education, not that any of those things are bad in and of themselves, but we have one mission in our lives, each one of our lives in this room, if we have placed our faith in Christ, there is one mission that supersedes everything, and it's making disciples of all nations. It's the mission around which Jesus commands us to let our lives revolve. Now I'm using that word very intentionally a command, because that's what's in this passage, and I want you to see that next blank there on your notes. This is not a call, but a command. Please hear me. Please do not miss this.
Speaker 1:What I'm talking about when it comes to making disciples of all nations is not a call that is reserved for a select few of us in this room. That's how we often look at missions. Well, this person is the one who's supposed to go over to other nations, or this person is the one who's supposed to go out and be active in sharing their faith and making disciples. That's for them. And so we relegate this to a select few and say well, they're called to do that, and what I want you to see this morning is that is just plain unbiblical. We have created this dangerous idea of calling and misconstrued what the Bible talks about when it talks about calling, I think. When you look at Scripture, I think the Bible says pretty clearly that God gives us a call to salvation. He invites us to place our faith in Him. So the call to salvation. When we respond to that call, there is a command at the center of each of our lives in this room, and it's to make disciples of all nations.
Speaker 1:Now, obviously, I'm not so ignorant as to saying that this is going to look the same way in your life as it does mine. I'm going to do different things than you're going to do. You're going to do different things than I do. We have different gifts, different talents, different personalities, and so, from this command, we all have different callings in our life. Some are called to different areas of service. Some are called to serve vocationally in the church, some are called to move overseas, some are called to do accounting, some are called to be teachers, some are called to stay at home. We've got different callings in our life, but they spring from this one command make disciples of all nations.
Speaker 1:What I think we do, though, is we confuse these two. We take the call of God and we put it in the version of our command and we think this make disciples of all nations thing is just something that only a few of us do and it's not biblical. I want you to wrestle with this morning. In your life you have one command, one mission make disciples of all nations. Every single one of us in this room, no exception. If we placed our faith in Christ, then this command drives us. Now we have different gifts.
Speaker 1:Some of you love accounting. I don't know why you love accounting, but you love accounting and so God has given you gifts and talents and passions in that area. But I want you to see that your whole command in life is not to be an accountant. Your command is to make disciples of all nations, and God has given you gifts to help that play out in that accounting world. So if you have passions in teaching, law, doctors, whatever it may be architects, construction, engineering, whatever your passions are, whatever your desires, are all of those God has given us to fulfill this command of making disciples of all nations.
Speaker 1:I don't know what you're thinking. Well, how do you do that? How do you make disciples of all nations? Well, I'm glad you asked. That's what I want us to look at. I want you to see that these participles going, baptizing and teaching help us understand what it means to make disciples of all nations. So I'm guessing that if this command is at the center of all of our lives, it would probably do good for us to know what it means to make disciples of all nations. I'm guessing that if I polled different individuals in this room and asked you what does it mean for you to make disciples of all nations? Some of us may know, some of us may not, some of us would be kind of fuzzy. Well, I kind of, I don't know. What I want us to see is that if we're going to be good at anything in the church, we need to be good at making disciples of all nations. We need to know how to do this, because it's what Jesus told us to do right before he ascended into heaven. So let's start with going. As you look at your notes, they're going. I want you to think about evangelism Christ is talking about here Going evangelize, and by that I mean go into your workplace, into your community, and tell people about Christ, introduce people to the love of Christ.
Speaker 1:I was down in New Orleans this week and serving in different places in the community around the church where I serve and it was very humbling there's just wreck and debris everywhere, scattered trailers here and there, with a few people that have come back in. I had a group that went over to one particular home. This guy working on his home just works all day and sleeps in there at night and works all day the next day when we go up. This guy has a background that involves prison and some difficulties in life. Begin to share the gospel with him and he places his faith in christ. He said I want the hope that a storm like hurricane katrina can't destroy, and so he places his faith in christ. That's, that's what going is about. It's about you and I going out into communities, into the places where we have influence, and sharing the gospel, leading people to christ.
Speaker 1:What I want you to see is that we don't stop there. We don't stop there. That's only one component of making disciples. This is where evangelism gets a bad stereotype. Evangelism gets the idea well, you're just trying to get notches on your belt, you lead people to Christ and you kind of leave them hanging. Wow, come back and tell the church, we led this many people to faith in Christ and you stop there. That's not biblical. It's not biblical evangelism. We don't lead people to Christ and leave them hanging there.
Speaker 1:My wife and I are adopting a child from Kazakhstan, a little infant from Kazakhstan. Hopefully, in the next six or eight months, and when we go and get our baby and come back over here, we're not going to sit our baby outside and say, good luck, have a good time in America. That's not what we're going to do as parents. That's exactly what we do in the church, isn't it? Lead people to Christ and expect them how to figure out how to follow Christ on their own. This is where it starts. What does he say next? Baptizing them.
Speaker 1:When you think about baptizing, I want you to think about helping people be established in their faith. Evangelize and establish people. That's why baptism was so important. That's why what you and I witnessed this morning, when we saw these guys come into this pool over here and be baptized they publicly identified with Christ and with his church. This is huge. I want to encourage you, just as a side note, if you have placed your faith in Christ but you've never been baptized, I want to encourage you to take that step and publicly identify with Christ and with his church and the symbol of being dead in your sin and raised to life. That's what this is about.
Speaker 1:So we help people get established in the church after we lead them to Christ, and then teaching them to follow, to obey everything I have commanded you. So we've got going baptizing and teaching. We equip them to follow Christ, evangelize, establish people in the faith and then equip them to follow after Christ. Evangelize, establish people in the faith and then equip them to follow after Christ, teach them how to pray, teach them how to study God's Word, teach them how to share the gospel. Now, this is huge and we really miss it here, guys. We miss it big time when we relegate this role making disciples, teaching people to follow Christ to different programs and we say, well, the institution's going to take care of that. We say, well, if somebody comes to Christ, we're going to help them be established in the church, maybe through baptism, but then we'll let an RBF teach them how to follow Christ, or we'll let them just go to worship on Sunday mornings and that'll teach them how to follow Christ. And please hear me, those are both extremely important, both a relational Bible fellowship that you're involved in studying the Bible, with community of faith, coming to worship, hearing the Word of God preached, huge.
Speaker 1:Let me ask you a question If you lead somebody to faith in Christ and they begin their walk with Christ, what's going to be the most effective way to teach them to pray? To put them in a Bible study on prayer, or for you to invite them into your quiet time and say let me show you how to pray, let me show you what I've learned about prayer and how I pray every day. Which is going to be more effective? How about teaching them to study the Bible? Which is going to be more effective? Put them in an RBF where they learn how to study the Bible. Yes, that can be helpful, but would it be helpful maybe even more helpful for you to invite them into your own Bible study to show them here's how I study the Bible. Here's the questions I ask. Here's the things I go through in my Bible study. That's going to be huge, isn't it? This is a personal investment of our lives. This takes a lot more time. This is actually building relationships. This takes a lot more time. This is actually building relationships. This is actually what Jesus is talking about, though. What's going to be the most effective way to teach someone to share the gospel To put them in a witness training course, or for you to invite them to come alongside you and you show them how to share the gospel with other people.
Speaker 1:Many of us feel very uncomfortable when it comes to this and I'm guessing that a lot of us have never had the opportunity to really be with somebody who is active in sharing their faith and learn from them. I remember that's the first time I ever shared the gospel. I got conned into it. It was deception. This guy, who was the first guy who really began to do this process in my life, began to show me how to follow Christ. He invited me and a friend of mine.
Speaker 1:We were out of school one day in high school and he said I want you guys to go do some go-kart, arcade kind of things with me at this place. We're like, yeah, we're in. We got there and he showed up with a video camera and we were like are you going to video us doing go-karts? And he said, no, no, what we're going to do is we're going to go around to different teenagers and we're going to video them. We're going to ask them what they think about Jesus, what they believe about Jesus. They're like well, can we still do go-karts? He said, yeah, yeah, we can still do that. And so that's what we did. We'd go ahead and go play go-karts or games for a little while and then we'd go over to the side and he's got his video camera there. What do you think about Jesus? This guy's talking, this teenager. And then this guy puts down the camera and he says my friend David here has a personal relationship with Jesus and he would like to share with you what Jesus means to him. And I just came to play go-karts, you know, and right there, in that circumstance, for the first time I had the opportunity to share my faith and, I'll be honest, I was hooked time I had the opportunity to share my faith and, I'll be honest, I was hooked because I'd seen it in action and somebody had poured their life into me enough to show me what it means to do this. This is huge.
Speaker 1:Let me ask you a question. I want you to be real honest. I want you to imagine this morning that tomorrow you have the opportunity to lead somebody to faith in Christ. Imagine that tomorrow, in your workplace, your home, maybe your community. Tomorrow, you have the opportunity to lead somebody to faith in Christ. I want to ask you a question this morning. What would you do with them? What is your plan over the next six months to teach them how to follow Christ? Do you have a plan for that? If I were to talk one-on-one with you today and ask you what's your plan Once you lead somebody to Christ if you lead somebody to Christ this week, what are you going to do with them over the next six weeks? Do you have a plan that you can say? Here's what I'm going to do teach them to follow Christ. I'm guessing that most of us in this room don't have that kind of plan, and I think that signals one of two things. Either number one it signals that we're not planning to lead anybody to faith in Christ tomorrow, which is problematic. Or number two, we're planning to lead somebody to faith in Christ tomorrow. We're planning on leaving them on their own to follow after Christ, and that is also problematic.
Speaker 1:We need to be good at making disciples. That's a huge commitment. This is moving from the back of the boat to the front of the boat In order to teach somebody else how to pray. You have to pray In order to teach somebody how to study the Bible. You know what you've got to be doing Studying the Bible In order to teach somebody else how to share their faith. You've got to be sharing your faith. But isn't this what happens when the community of faith starts to take responsibility for this and gives themselves to this? What would happen in this church if that was taking place? Just think about it. And the result is going baptizing, teaching.
Speaker 1:And I'm going to add a fourth participle here. We don't really see it in Scripture. I think it's implied. If you don't like it, then just don't write anything down here. But I want you to see that when we go and we baptize and we teach, the result is we start multiplying, we evangelize, we establish and we equip people to follow Christ, and that means we start to extend our life into the lives of others and what God has done in us. We begin to multiply the lives of others. I'm not saying that we make clones of ourselves the last thing we need is more of us but we begin to help people experience what it means to become like Christ with the gifts, talents, personalities God has given them, and we multiply the image of Christ in them. That's what making disciples is all about. Problem is, we miss out on this completely Many times in the church. I think we take multiplication and we turn it into addition and we miss out on the whole point of the Great Commission.
Speaker 1:Let me give you an example I want you to imagine with me. Imagine that in this room we've got a pretty packed house here. Imagine that in this room, over the next year, we were able to lead together, combined together, working together, we were able to lead one person to Christ every day over the next year. Pretty exciting. This time next year, 365 people would come to faith in Christ. Imagine we were to continue to do that, the church were to continue to do that the next year, and two years and three years, 30 years from now I think, 33 years, you do the math you'd come to about over 13,000 people coming to faith in Christ. It'd be pretty exciting. You would make a small dent in the lost population in Alabama.
Speaker 1:Let me give you another scenario, though. What if just one member at the Church of Brookhills, just one of us in this room, over the next year, instead of leading one person to faith in Christ every single day, what if, over the next year, you led just one person of faith in Christ, but you didn't stop there? Suppose, you took Jesus at his word and you showed them the importance of being baptized and you began to equip them to follow Christ. So at the end of that year they were able to go out and begin to do the same thing in somebody else's life and you began to take Jesus for real when he says multiply. So the next year, two would go out and four would go out. You know it's interesting, you do the math. In the same time frame that we saw 13,000 people come to faith in Christ over there, in this scenario you would see over four billion people come to faith in Christ. Maybe Jesus knew what he was talking about. Do the math.
Speaker 1:Church. Is it the dream of this church to go to 5,000, 10,000 people? If so, your dream is too weak. God wants to use this church and the families in this room to lead millions to faith in Christ. I believe that you say it's idealistic room to lead millions to faith in Christ. I believe that you say it's idealistic. No, it's the plan of Christ. It's why in Acts, chapter 1, 120 people gathered together. The Holy Spirit came down on them. In Acts, chapter 2, and the rest of the chapters to follow, show how these 120 people not the sharpest tools in the shed either they turned the world upside down for Christ. How do you do that? You do that because they had seen disciple making in Jesus. They began to multiply their lives in the lives of others and they began to impact nations for the glory of Christ. This is the plan. I mean, think about it. You've got a picture there that I think will help you picture this. You've got the world there at the bottom 6.2 billion people, that's a lot of people in the world. How can your life impact nations for the glory of Christ? Well, you go, you lead people to become followers of Christ, jesus followers. They become believers, but then go to the top. There there's a, not a blank there, but there should be Disciple. You baptize people and they become established as disciples of Christ. And then you don't stop there. You begin to teach them to follow Christ, so they become disciple makers, makers, and then you start to multiply. And that's how the church of Brook Hills, based on the word and the authority of Christ, can impact nations for the glory of Christ. Now, is this a plan worth getting in on? I think so. It's unstoppable, it's guaranteed. The plan's outlined right there.
Speaker 1:But let's be honest, we are tempted in the church today to do everything except for the one thing Jesus has told us to do here. Nowhere in Scripture, nowhere in the Gospels do you see Jesus tell us to build colleges, universities or seminaries. You say well, dave, you get a paycheck from one of those. I do, you're exactly right. But Jesus didn't say to do that. Nowhere does he say to establish Sunday schools or RBFs. He doesn't say to do that. Nowhere does he say to establish Sunday schools or RBFs. Doesn't say to do that. Nowhere does he say to construct buildings. Never says that. Now, I'm not saying that those things aren't good. I'm saying they can be very good. Jesus didn't tell us to do those things. He told us to do one thing make disciples in every part of the world. And as long as an RBF or a seminary or a building is helping us to be more effective in making disciples in all, every part of the world, then go for it. But as soon as we get focused on those things and we ignore the one thing he's told us to do, we have missed the whole point of our mission as a church.
Speaker 1:Now I want to ask you a question. It's going to kind of help bring this home. I want to ask you a question. You've got it there on your notes page. I want to ask you a question. It's going to kind of help bring this home. I want to ask you a question. You've got it there on your notes page. I want to ask you are you a receiver this morning or are you a reproducer? Are you a receiver or a reproducer? In order to illustrate what I mean by that, I want to take you with me to the Sudan. We go into the Sudan and our goal there is to train church leaders in disciple making.
Speaker 1:Now, I thought when I initially signed up for this trip, we were going to go into the Sudan, preach to masses of people, lead people to Christ, that sort of thing, and the guy who's leading the trip says no, dave, we're not going to do that. He said what would be more effective? For us to come in and we could attract the crowds, no doubt. What would be more effective for us to do that or for us to train some leaders who can go out and do that with the crowds who live there. I said, well, that's a good point, that would be more effective. We're not going to come in, white man, save the world, we're going to come in and we're going to train. What we did was we limited our time to church leaders who could speak English, only those who could speak English, the amount of time, the amount of material we were able to teach them, church leaders who were going to be able to go and teach these things to others. And so that's what we did.
Speaker 1:I would walk in every day to this mud hut. A bunch of guys, sudanese church leaders, crammed into this mud hut. It was amazing. I remember walking in and immediately all the guys in there would stand out of respect for the teacher, just blew me away. Let me tell you what's never happened in a seminary classroom in the United States. But anyway, I walk in, I walk in and these guys my heroes in the faith in so many ways. I remember one guy sitting up to my left, older man, practically blind, because he spent the last three years translating the Scriptures into his tribe's language. Amazing guys.
Speaker 1:We would sing and then they would sit down and I began to teach them disciple-making and as we were going through that. The whole time I was teaching them, I hardly ever saw their faces or they ever saw their eyes. Why? Because they were sleeping, they were daydreaming, they just weren't paying attention. No, they had their heads down, writing down every single thing. I said they would come up to me afterwards and they said Dave, we believe we have the responsibility to take everything that you have taught us, translate it into our language and turn around and teach it in our tribes. And, ladies and gentlemen, that is why Christianity has quadrupled in the Sudan over the last 20 years, even amidst civil war, because people are saying what Christ gives to us is not just for us, it's for others. And it changed the way they listen. They listen because they were ready to pour it into somebody else, because they were giving their life to multiplying. It's the same thing I saw in Honduras.
Speaker 1:I remember my first trip to Honduras. I went there and I was preaching my first sermon. There were some guys sitting on the front, sitting there, writing down every single thing I said intently, remember. They came up to me afterwards they said, david, thank you for your sermon. We can't wait to reteach that to someone else. I thought, man, that must have been good, until I realized they said that to everybody they heard preach God's Word Because they listened not just for themselves, they were pouring it into other people.
Speaker 1:And so I want to ask you this morning, let's be honest Are we receivers or reproducers in this room? How many of us can honestly say that we are listening to the Word of God this morning with the intent to teach somebody else what we have heard this morning this week? I wasn't here last week when you had someone talk about covenant marriage how many of you could reteach that sermon to me? Pour it into me, because you were listening, not just to receive, but to reproduce. This changes the way we listen. It changes the way we look at our Christianity.
Speaker 1:Many of us are good at coming into a worship service sitting and even if we listen, we're listening to be fed and to receive, and that is a self-centered way to listen. It's a self-centered way to receive the Word of God. What happens when we become God-centered and we say you know, what's entrusted to me is not just for me, it's not just for the people in this room, it's for the nations to know how good he is? What happens when we stop receiving and we start reproducing. That is a completely different mindset and mentality than most of us have.
Speaker 1:And I want to encourage you what would happen if what happened in here on Sunday mornings began to be reproduced throughout Birmingham and all nations? This is the beauty of this thing. Here's the biblical truth, and I pray that you are convinced of this in your heart. The biblical truth. You were created you, not just the person beside you, in front of you, behind you. You were created to impact Birmingham and all nations for the glory of Christ. It's not an either or we take this missions thing and think, well, I'm going to stay in Birmingham, other people will go over there. No, it's a both and we are involved in a global mission, all of us in this room created to impact Birmingham and all nations for the glory of Christ. And I'm just convinced. I'm convinced that if God's people started taking God at his word and said we're going to give ourselves to this plan and we're not going to be enumerated with the masses and the programs and all these things not that those things can't be good, but the center of our lives, center of our families and the center of our church is going to be one mission making disciples of all nations. If we took him in his word, I just wonder what he would do. I wonder what he would do. There's the plan Make disciples of all nations. What does that look like in your life?
Speaker 1:Thankfully, the passage doesn't stop here because, let's be honest, this is tough. Stop here because, let's be honest, this is tough. How is my life going to have a global impact? Going, baptizing, teaching these are, these are tough things to do. They're not things we feel comfortable and they're not things that we have a lot of experience many of us doing. So how do we do this?
Speaker 1:Well, thankfully, we've seen the power of Christ in the plan of Christ, but now we come to the presence of Christ, and I want you to see this. I want you to see the power of Christ and the plan of Christ, but now we come to the presence of Christ, and I want you to see this. I want you to see the importance of Christ's presence in this passage. If you, we won't go there just for sake of time, but Matthew, chapter 1, verse 21 and 22,. Just write that down and go look at it sometime, because Matthew begins his introduction to Jesus in Matthew, chapter 1 there and it says there is one who is coming whose name is Emmanuel and that name means what? God with us. And that's how Matthew starts his gospel, his introduction of Jesus. We come to the end and we see Jesus saying I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Speaker 1:So this is a pretty big emphasis that Matthew has given us here, that this mission is dependent on the presence of Christ in us. I want you to see, this morning we are compelled by the impulse of an indwelling presence. Christ lives in us, his heart beats with our hearts and when that happens, when that truly happens, then we start to give ourselves to making disciples of all nations and we rely on his presence and we need his presence. You see, here's the thing we know from Scripture, scripture, other places in scripture. We know that god has promised to be with his people. That's a guarantee. All of us in this room we have a relationship with christ. We know that god will never leave us or forsake us. We see that all over scripture.
Speaker 1:So why does jesus say this here? I think what he is saying please hear me in the original language, the new testament here jesus is saying not that there would be any doubt about whether my presence is with you, but you are never going to realize, you are never going to realize the power of the presence of Christ in your life and in the church until you are fully surrendered to this mission. We will never realize his power, the power of his presence. Until we are fully surrendered to this mission, jesus is saying you get yourself on the front lines and you start making disciples of all nations Church at Brook Hills. You start doing this. Individual families in this room. You start doing this, students going into school. Saying I'm making disciples of all nations. You are going to begin to depend on the presence of Christ and see the power of his presence at work in your life in ways that you never could have realized. I guarantee it. He has promised to show his presence. You know, if you've been involved in leading people to Christ or if you've been in, maybe, on a mission trip somewhere where you've been involved in making disciples of all nations, you know that it's in those times where you are really aware of your presence, of the need for the presence of Christ.
Speaker 1:I remember going into the Sudan and that was. It was a. It was a heart-searching, heart-wrenching trip in some ways, knowing that I was going into a place that had been bombed recently and being able to sit down and talk with Heather about some of the risks involved with this trip. And it was difficult. I remember we flew over into Kenya. We spent a couple nights in Kenya before we went into the Sudan, and the night before we were going to go into the Sudan, the guy who was leading our trip got us together and he said guys, there's some risks, some danger in the Sudan that we haven't talked about, that we need to talk about. We're like, oh great.
Speaker 1:And so he begins to share. He says guys, you need to realize that there are a lot of snakes in the Sudan. Now, some people think snakes are cool. I'm not one of those guys, not a big fan of snakes at all. The guy says six of the eight deadliest snakes in the world live in the Sudan. And he begins to go down the list one by one the green mamba, the black mamba, this snake, that snake, and we're just sitting in there, quiet as can be, just sweating, and he kind of laughs almost like it was funny. It wasn't. But he said you know, we've got a snake kit, but if you get bit. These snake kits were not made for these snakes, he said we'll just. If you get bit, we'll pray and see what God does.
Speaker 1:He begins to share a story about how one Sudanese guy had told him he was walking his cattle down a down a path in the middle of the African bush. There and there was a green mamba hiding out in the trees. It came down and bit four of his cows in a row ref African bush. There and there was a green mamba hiding out in the trees. It came down and bit four of his cows in a row, refueled instantly and all four of the cows just fell over dead right there on the path.
Speaker 1:Well, needless to say, we didn't sleep very much that night, didn't sleep at all that night. I stayed up. I stayed up memorizing Psalm 91, because it says you'll trample upon the lion and the serpent, okay, and you'll trample upon the cobra. And so I memorized the whole psalm so I'd be ready when I went in. And so I remember we got up the next morning, got into our plane, flew into the Sudan, got a landless makeshift airstrip in the Sudan, got our stuff, took a hike to a river, which is a whole other story. This is a river, that crocodile infested river, and there's a canoe that we're supposed to cross to get to the other side of the river and the canoe has a name on the side of it. The name of the canoe is the Mayfloat.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we got on the Mayfloat, which is a whole other story, go to the other side of the river and once we get there on the Mayfloat, we get out and there's some trucks waiting for us. We put all our stuff in start to pile in. Well, we realize that there's not enough room inside for everybody, so they need some of the smaller guys to get up on top of the truck. So they said, dave, this is where you come in. We need you to get on top of the truck. I said, okay, I was really excited to be in the Sudan. But I got up there and we started to drive forward and I look ahead of me and I see that we're about to go into the middle of the African bush and there are trees everywhere and I began to get the image that I got the night before, and so I start just raising my hands and saying you will trample upon the lion and the serpent, you'll trample upon the cover, and the whole time we were driving through that's what I was doing.
Speaker 1:And everywhere we went for those few weeks that we were there, just always looking for snakes, always aware of the fact that when you're on a trail there could be a snake Laying in bed at night. Going into this mud hut, just like you would picture on a movie, and the statched roof, which basically means anything that so desires can get inside it, we would lay down in the darkness of that Sudanese night and have a mosquito net over us, like that would do anything at all, and there'd be spiders on the side of the wall. But I can deal with spiders, but we would lay down, be really quiet. But then you begin to hear things above you and we started turning on our flashlights and looking around and then we learned it was better just to leave your flashlights off and we would go to sleep at night and just praying. God, help me wake up in the morning. Oh Lord, thank you.
Speaker 1:And everywhere we went, everything we did, we were constantly dependent on his presence. What I want to say to you this morning is I believe that's the way the Christian life was intended to be lived, but I want you to see. I want you to see that as long as you are sitting in the back of the boat, you will not need the presence of Christ like that. You won't need it. You won't depend on him. You won't long to see his presence. But when you're on the front lines and when you are in your workplace and in all nations making disciples, I guarantee you you will need his presence and you will see his presence in ways that you never could have imagined. His power will be at work in ways that you never could have imagined. Here in Birmingham you think singing and getting a feeling is what the presence of Christ is all about. The presence of Christ is about being on the front lines, making the gospel known, making disciples and seeing him work in miraculous ways that you never could have imagined, changing people's lives and using you to impact nations for the glory of his name. That's where the presence of Christ comes in.
Speaker 1:I remember talking with a guy in Indonesia. I asked him. I said how did you come to faith in Christ? He said I'm a part of the Batak tribe of northern Sumatra, indonesia. He said there was a day when my entire tribe was Muslim, completely Muslim tribe. He said a Baptist missionary came to us at one point and they began to share the gospel with us. Baptist missionary couple, they began to share the gospel with us, he said tribal leaders heard what they were saying, didn't like it and they killed and cannibalized that Baptist missionary couple. He said it was one of the darkest days in the history of my tribe. He said years later another missionary came and brought the gospel to us. This time the tribal leaders said this guy is saying the same thing that those others said Maybe we should listen. And so they did. They listened and they placed their faith in Christ. They were converted to faith in Christ. Within two months the entire tribe was converted. Today there are three million believers among the Batak tribe of northern Sumatra, indonesia.
Speaker 1:So my question for you is do you want in on this thing or not? I think it all comes down to one question at the very end of those notes. I want to ask you this morning this one overarching question Are you willing to give God a blank check? Please hear me this morning. I am not asking anybody in this room to say you're going to pack your bags and move to Cambodia next week. I'm not asking anybody in this room to say you're going to pack your bags and move to Cambodia next week. I'm not asking anybody to say that you have all the answers for how this is going to look in your life, but I am asking you to say to God here is a blank check with my life, with my family's life, as a student, as an adult, senior adult, whoever you are in this room to say God, I'm giving you a blank check, no strings attached. However, I can most effectively make disciples of all nations. I will do it. There's a lot of risk in that prayer. Please don't take that prayer lightly. Who knows what God has in store? My question is are you willing to say you are Lord of everything in my life and I'm going to give myself to this mission? Will you bow your heads with me? With every head bowed and every eye closed?
Speaker 1:I want to ask you, invite you in the time we're about to have, where we respond to God's Word, because it's important for us not just to hear it but to have the opportunity to respond to it. I'm going to ask you to do one of two things. I know that in a room this size, there are many people here who have never called Jesus Lord, you've never asked Him to come into your heart and to forgive you of your sins, and you've never surrendered your life to him. I want you to know he is Lord, he is worthy of all of your worship. He died on the cross for your sins. He rose from the grave and this morning you can have the opportunity for the first time Submit to him as Lord, and just a second. When we stand and we begin to sing together, there's going to be church leaders down here at the front and I want to invite you to come to one of them, take them by the hand and say I want to call Jesus Lord for the first time. Today and right here in this room, right now, you can have your life changed for all of eternity.
Speaker 1:The second way I want to invite you to respond this morning is for believers in this room, people who have placed their faith in Christ. There is a command at the center of your life. It is to make disciples of all nations, and I want to ask you this morning to be very honest. Does God have a blank check from you? Does he have a blank check from you, from your family, when you think about career plans, job, where you are in life. Does he have a blank check? And is your life right now surrendered to this one command making disciples of all nations? And if it's not, I want to invite you during this time to say to God I want to give you a blank check. That may be you coming.
Speaker 1:I pray that you would feel comfortable to come and kneel here at the front and just say to God I am giving you a blank check. Whatever this means in my life, I want to do it, whatever it takes, to make disciples of all nations with the gifts and the personalities, the talents you've given me. These church leaders are here to lead in that mission and they would love the opportunity if you'd like to pray with one of them. But I want to invite you as individuals and, as a result, this collective church as a whole, to come before the throne of God and say we give you a blank check. We want to make disciples of all nations. We want it to consume us, we want it to captivate us and we want to impact Birmingham and nations for the glory of Christ. And I want to invite you to come down to the front If you're willing to give God that blank check this morning for the first time, or for the first time in a long time, and say I'm in God.
Speaker 1:I thank you for this mission. God, I thank you for involving us. God, we praise you because we know that there is coming a day when we will all bow around the throne of Christ and we will sing his praises. And, god, we want to be used between now and that day to make your gospel and your glory known. God, we want to take you at your word and believe you when you say that we can impact nations by making the silence. God, I pray for that on behalf of all of the people in this room, lord, that you would show yourself in our response today to be Lord of our lives and to be Lord of the nations. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen. We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of Radical with David Platt. For more resources from David Platt, we invite you to visit radicalnet.