We have been sent by Jesus to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus...

This week we are looking at an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. After encountering Jesus after He was raised from the dead, some of the disciples wrestled with doubt that flowed from two fundamental questions.

The first question was “What now? What are we supposed to do now?” And the second question was this “How are you going to be present with us? If you are in Heaven, and we are here on earth, how is your presence going to be present in our lives?” And in this event from history Jesus makes a statement that is one of the most famous statements that is recorded for us in the entire Bible. And it is in this statement that Jesus provides the answer to the question “What are we sent to do?”  

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gave His disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history, a divine directive to make disciples of all nations. In other words, as followers of Jesus, we are to strive to make disciples, or followers of Jesus, as we are living our day to day lives in the spheres of influence that we have been given.

Jesus then explained that we are to make disciples in three specific ways.  First, we are to make disciples by going to those who are far from God. Whether at home, at school, at work, or in our relationships; in whatever sphere of influence we have; we are commanded to live our lives as missionaries that are engaging, investing, and inviting those who are far from God to become followers of Jesus.

Second, we are to make disciples by baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. A major part of discipleship is to be used by God to bring those who are far from God to a place where they place their confident trust in God’s transformational activity and publicly identify themselves as partner in the community of faith that is investing their time, talent, and treasure in God’s kingdom mission.

Third, Jesus explains that we are to make disciples by “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”. Now the word observe, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to persist in obedience. In other words, a disciple of Jesus will naturally grow in their faithfulness and obedience to Jesus over time. And as followers of Jesus and as a church, we are called to create environments where people are able to understand and embrace the message and teachings of Jesus in a way that results in their spiritual growth and spiritual good.

 

At the church where I serve, we believe that the Jesus teaches us that making disciples that are growing and maturing in their relationship with Him requires that we invest our time in a community group, our talents in a ministry, and our treasure through giving. And so often, most sermons on this event from history end tend to end here. But that is not where this event from history ends. Jesus still has more to say.

And in what Jesus says next, we see Jesus make an amazing statement that helps answer the question that flowed from some of the disciples doubt, which was as to whether or not God’s presence is present. So let’s look at this statement together, which is at the end of Matthew 28:20b:

and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Jesus grabs the attention of His disciples with what is translated in our Bibles today as lo. This would be like me standing up and saying “Yo, listen up!” Jesus wanted to have the disciples undivided attention because He was about to introduce something new; something previously unheard of; something that would have been viewed by the disciples as unusual. And what was so new and unusual was this: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”.

Jesus here is promising His disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history that He is fully present.  Just because God may seem silent, that does not mean that God is not present. Just because we cannot see God, that does not mean that God is not present. You see, God’s presence is evident when followers of Jesus are engaged in community with one another and on mission with one another.

When followers of Jesus gather together in community to worship, we experience God’s presence in powerful ways. When followers of Jesus gather together in community groups, we experience God’s presence in a powerful way as we support and encourage one another.  When followers of Jesus invest their talents serving God by serving others, we are used by God to reveal His presence to others. When followers of Jesus invest their treasure, we are used by God to reveal His presence to others as we create environments where people can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience community.

We are never any closer to God’s presence here on earth than when followers of Jesus are engaged in God’s kingdom mission in community with one another, because God has divinely designed the church to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His presence to one another and the world. And it is here, in this event from history, that we see Jesus reveal for us the timeless answer to the question “What are we sent to do?” And that timeless answer is this: We have been sent by Jesus to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus.

Just as it was for early followers of Jesus; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, we have been sent by Jesus to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus. If you do not buy the whole, Jesus Bible, church thing, this is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent when it comes to inviting you to church. This is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and persistent about inviting you to their community group or to an event involving other followers of Jesus.

The reason why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent in their invitation to you is because they are following the example of Jesus. And just as Jesus was sent to make followers of Jesus, as followers of Jesus we have been sent by Jesus to be the vehicle that He uses to make other followers of Jesus. And once again, as followers of Jesus, we are confronted with the reality that Jesus never asks us to do something that He has not already done.

As followers of Jesus, we are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus as we invite others to explore faith and experience genuine and authentic community. We are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their time in a community group as we invest our time in a community group.  We are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their talent on a ministry team as we invest our talent on a ministry team. And we are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their treasure in an open handed and generous way as we invest our treasure in an open handed and generous way.

So here is a question to consider. Are you being used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus? Are you living in such a way that you are the vehicle that Jesus uses to make other followers of Jesus? What is one step that you can take this week that will place you in a position to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus?

A Great Directive To Make Disciples...

This week, we are asking and answering the third question that we are going to ask during a sermon series entitled sent, which is “What are we sent to do?” In other words, if we are to be a sent people, who have been sent by a person, who was sent, then what are we supposed to be doing? What exactly is the mission that we been sent to do?

To answer that question, we are going to look at a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. As we discovered in the why Christmas series, the gospel of Matthew was written to Jewish people to explain and to show that Jesus was the Messiah that God had promised would come to rescue and restore the Jewish nation as His chosen people.

Yesterday we began to look at an event from history where some of the disciples responded to seeing Jesus after He was raised from the dead with doubt. We talked about the reality that the disciples doubt flowed from two fundamental questions. The first question was “What now? What are we supposed to do now?” And the second question was this “How are you going to be present with us? If you are in Heaven, and we are here on earth, how is your presence going to be present in our lives?”

We looked on as Jesus took the initiative so that His disciples would understand that He was Lord and Leader and was the one whom God had granted the power to exercise control over the universe and to guide God’s kingdom mission. And because of the universal authority that Jesus possess; because Jesus is large and in charge of all of creation; Jesus has the right to give His followers Divine direction when it comes to the question “What are we sent to do?”

And as Jesus continued to take the initiative with the disciples, He proceeded to give His disciples and followers of Jesus throughout history a divine directive that answers the question “What are we sent to do?” and that reveals God’s kingdom mission for followers of Jesus throughout history. So let's look at that directive together in Matthew 28:19:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;

Now whether you regularly attend church or whether this is your first Sunday in church; whether or not you regularly read the Bible, you are probably at least somewhat familiar with what Jesus says here. You are probably familiar with Jesus words here because this is one of the two sayings of Jesus that are described with the adjective great. This statement is often referred to as the “Great Commission”. Jesus here is giving His followers a mission; and that mission is to make disciples of all nations.

The phrase “go and make disciples of all nations” in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally reads “as you are going, make disciples of all nations”. Jesus is not commanding us to go. Jesus is commanding us to make disciples as we go. In other words, as followers of Jesus, we are to strive to make disciples, or followers of Jesus, as we are living our day to day lives in the spheres of influence that we have been given.

Now a natural question that arises here is “well how are we supposed to make disciples? And how do we know that we are actually being successful in making disciples?” First, we are to make disciples by going to those who are far from God. Whether at home, at school, at work, or in our relationships; in whatever sphere of influence we have; we are commanded to live our lives as missionaries that are engaging, investing, and inviting those who are far from God to become followers of Jesus.

You do not need to go to a foreign country to be a missionary. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be missionaries wherever we are. And in your day to day life, God has already positioned you in areas of influence where you can be a missionary to those who are far from God.

Second, we are to make disciples by baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we see baptisms occurring in the Bible, we discover that baptism is an outward act that serves to publicly identify one as being a follower of Jesus.  A person who is being baptized is publicly proclaiming “I am a follower of Jesus who desires to be a part of a community of believers who will encourage me and hold me accountable”. So a major part of discipleship is to be used by God to bring those who are far from God to a place where they place their confident trust in God’s transformational activity and publicly identify themselves as partner in the community of faith that is investing their time, talent, and treasure in God’s kingdom mission.

You see, evangelism is not a separate activity from discipleship. Evangelism is the first step of discipleship, where a person responds to what God has done for them through Jesus life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. And baptism is a step of identification with Jesus as His follower and with the kingdom mission that He has given us as His followers.

Third, Jesus explains that we are to make disciples by “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”. Now the word observe, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to persist in obedience. In other words, a disciple of Jesus will naturally grow in their faithfulness and obedience to Jesus over time. While there may be occasions where a follower of Jesus acts out of selfishness and rebellion to commit sin, a follower of Jesus, over time, will live a life that is becoming more like Christ in character and conduct.

And as followers of Jesus and as a church, we are called to create environments where people are able to understand and embrace the message and teachings of Jesus in a way that results in their spiritual growth and spiritual good. That is why we are such huge proponents of community groups here at City Bible Church. That is why we create environments such as the Adult Bible Fellowship and Kids Konnection on Sunday mornings. That is why we create environments like AWANA and Fusion student ministries. We desire to create environments where followers of Jesus can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience and become a part of a genuine and authentic community of followers of Jesus.

That is why that, as a church, we have three specific goals for every attender here at City Bible Church. We do not have five goals; we do not have ten goals. Instead we have three goals. And the reason why we have three goals is because we believe that these three goals accomplish Jesus command to make disciples in a way that fulfills the kingdom mission that we have been given.  As a church, we do not ask for more than these three and we do not ask for less than these three, because we believe that these are the three things that Jesus asks us to invest in as a part of His great commission and His Great Commandment to love Him with our total being and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

First, we have as a goal that every regular attender would be investing their time, in addition to being a part of a Sunday worship gathering, to be a part of a community group. Community groups meet throughout the week throughout the community and are smaller environments that are designed to foster supportive and encouraging relationships that help you take that next step when it comes to a relationship with God.

This goal matters when it comes to the question “What are we sent to do?” because it is in circles, not in rows, people experience lasting life change and transformation.  And community groups create those transformational environments where people can develop loving and supportive relationships that challenge us to take that next step when it comes to our relationship with Jesus.

Second, we have as a goal that every regular attender would be investing their talents serving God by serving others on a ministry team. Regardless of your age or stage of life, and regardless of the gifts, talents, and abilities you have been given by God, there are opportunities to reveal and reflect Christ by serving in a ministry. This goal matters when it comes to the question “What are we sent to do?” because we believe, and we have repeatedly seen, that transformational spiritual growth occurs when we are leveraging the spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities that God has given us in a selfless way that serves others.

Third, we invite and ask every follower of Jesus to invest their treasure as an act of worship through weekly and proportional giving. This goal matters when it comes to the question “What are we sent to do?” because we believe, and we have repeatedly seen, that transformational spiritual growth occurs when followers of Jesus display an open-handed generous attitude toward the treasure that they have here on earth.

As followers of Jesus, when we are generous, we reflect the generosity of God, who demonstrated His generosity by giving what was closest to Himself to rescue what was furthest away. And the investment of your treasure enables us as a church to create environments where people can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience authentic community in a way that fulfills Jesus command to make disciples.  

As a church, we believe that the Jesus teaches us that making disciples that are growing and maturing in their relationship with Him requires that we invest our time in a community group, our talents in a ministry, and our treasure through giving. And so often, most sermons on this event from history end tend to end here. But that is not where this event from history ends. Jesus still has more to say.

And in what Jesus says next, we see Jesus make an amazing statement that helps answer the question as to whether or not God’s presence is present. Friday we will look at that statement…

The Doubts That Drive Us To Two Questions...

At the church where I serve, we have been spending our time on Sundays in a sermon series entitled “Sent”. During this series our hope and our prayer is to answer four specific questions. Our hope and prayer is that we would answer the question “Who sent us?” “Who are we sent to?” “What are we sent to do?” and “Where are we sent to?” Our hope and our prayer is to answer these questions in a way that equips and empowers us to live our day to day lives as a follower of Jesus that have been sent on a mission to engage those who are far from Jesus in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus to them.

Now you might not buy the whole Jesus, Bible, church thing. You might be here and you are not sure about whether or not there is a God, let alone whether you should follow Him or live for Him. If I have just described you, I am so glad that you are reading this, because here’s the thing. What you will discover during this series is that there is a reason why followers of Jesus want to engage and talk to you about Jesus. And there is a reason and a way that followers of Jesus are supposed to talk about the claims that Jesus made about who He was and what He came to earth to do. And my hope for you is that you would see what Jesus calls His followers to do so that you can see how He feels about you and what He calls His followers to do when it comes to engaging you.

This week, I would like for us to ask and answer the third question that we are going to ask during this series, which is “What are we sent to do?” In other words, if we are to be a sent people, who have been sent by a person, who was sent, then what are we supposed to be doing? What exactly is the mission that we been sent to do?

To answer that question, we are going to look at a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. The gospel of Matthew was written to Jewish people to explain and to show that Jesus was the Messiah that God had promised would come to rescue and restore the Jewish nation as His chosen people.

And it is in a section of the gospel of Matthew that we see Matthew record an event that occurred in history that will provide us a timeless answer to the question “What are we sent to do?” So let’s discover this answer together, beginning in Matthew 28:16:

But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.

Now to fully understand what is happening here, we first need to understand the context in which this event from history takes place. After being raised from the dead, Jesus provided instructions for the disciples to travel to Galilee to meet up with Him there. The disciples, following Jesus instructions, traveled to Galilee, where they met up with Jesus. Matthew tells us that when they saw Jesus, they worshipped Him, but some were doubtful.  

Now a natural question that arises here is “what are they doubtful about”? Were they doubtful that it was really Jesus? I don’t believe so, because they all worshipped Him. They would not have worshipped Him if they were uncertain as to whether or not it was actually Jesus that they were seeing. So, why are they doubtful?

To understand why they were doubtful, we need to look back at the final conversation that Jesus had with the disciples before He was arrested. In that conversation, which is recorded for us in another account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of John, Jesus explained that He was leaving to go back to God the Father, and that they were not going to be able to come with Him.

And while Jesus also stated that they would not see Him during the time that He was arrested, crucified and buried; and while Jesus had promised that they would see Him again after He was raised from the dead, the disciples knew that Jesus was going to be leaving to go back to Heaven.

Now imagine yourself as one of the disciples. You have left everything to follow Jesus; you have followed Jesus for 3 ½ years, during which time you have become very close to Jesus. You watched Jesus get arrested. You heard about Jesus crucifixion and death. And now you have seen Jesus resurrected from the dead. And yet you know that Jesus had every intention of going back to God the Father in Heaven.

How would you be feeling? Would there be doubt? Would you have doubts? Sure you would have doubts. You left everything to follow the Messiah, who you thought was going to usher in the Kingdom of God. And now He is leaving to go back to Heaven and leaving you behind.

I believe that the disciples doubt flowed from two fundamental questions. The first question was “What now? What are we supposed to do now?” And the second question was this “How are you going to be present with us? If you are in Heaven, and we are here on earth, how is your presence going to be present in our lives?”

You see the disciples doubted how God’s presence could be present with them as they moved forward on earth while Jesus was in Heaven. The disciples found themselves wresting with the very tension that some of us may be wrestling with, which is “Is God’s presence present?”

And it is in this context that we enter into this event from history. And in this event from history Jesus makes a statement that is one of the most famous statements that is recorded for us in the entire Bible. And it is in this statement that Jesus provides the answer to the question “What are we sent to do?”  So let’s look at this famous statement together, beginning in Matthew 28:18:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

In the midst of this scene of worship of Jesus as “God in a bod” and the doubt that the disciples were feeling as to what they were to do with their future and with whether or not Jesus presence would be present, Jesus takes the initiative. Jesus did not wait for the disciples. Instead, Jesus approaches the disciples and explains that “all authority has been to Me in heaven and on earth”.

In other words, Jesus declared to His disciples, and to His followers throughout history, that He is large and in charge of everything. God the Father has formally given Jesus the right to exercise command and control over all of creation. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that He was Lord and Leader and was the one whom God had granted the power to exercise control over the universe and to guide God’s kingdom mission.

And because of the universal authority that Jesus possess; because Jesus is large and in charge of all of creation; Jesus has the right to give His followers Divine direction when it comes to the question “What are we sent to do?” And as Jesus continues to take the initiative with the disciples, He proceeds to give His disciples and followers of Jesus throughout history a divine directive that answers the question “What are we sent to do?” and that reveals God’s kingdom mission for followers of Jesus throughout history.

Tomorrow, we will look at that directive…

We have been sent by Jesus to invite those who are outsiders when it comes to a relationship with Jesus to experience Jesus with us...

This week we have been looking at an event from history that is recorded for us in an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. In this event from history as Jesus passed through the city of Jericho towards Jerusalem, large crowds came to meet and greet Jesus. And one of the members of the crowd was a man named Zaccheus. Zaccheus was a Jewish man who was a chief tax collector that worked for the Roman Government.

As Jesus was passing through the city of Jericho, Zaccheus tried to get close to Jesus. However, because of the large crowds that had also come to meet and greet Jesus, Zaccheus was unable to get close enough to Jesus. Zaccheus was an outsider who had no status or stature in the eyes of the community. Zaccheus was small in stature physically and in the eyes of the community who viewed him as a traitor who was far from God and was an outsider when it came to how God viewed him. Luke then explains that Zaccheus responded to his small stature by running ahead of Jesus and the crowds so that he could climb a sycamore tree.

You see, Zaccheus climbed the tree because Zaccheus had already been watching Jesus from a distance. And now Zaccheus wanted to be in a position where he could see Jesus more clearly. Zaccheus viewed the crowd as an obstacle to him getting to know Jesus at a deeper level. So Zaccheus was willing to do whatever it took to get a closer look at Jesus.

Jesus responded to seeing Zaccheus in the tree by asking to stay at Zaccheus house. By doing so, Jesus was communicating to Zaccheus that He desired to develop a relationship with him. Zaccheus responded to Jesus offer to hang out with Him by scurrying down the tree and warmly welcoming the opportunity to extend hospitality to Jesus. However, the crowds, upon witnessing this conversation between Jesus and Zaccheus began to loudly and publicly express their disapproval.

Luke tells us that the crowd’s accusations against Jesus for wanting to hang out with such an outsider like him provoked Zaccheus to stop in his tracks as he walked with Jesus toward his house. Zaccheus then responded not to the crowds, but to Jesus with a powerful statement: "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much."

You see, Jesus pursuit of Zaccheus; Jesus desire to hang out with and develop a relationship with Zaccheus had changed Zaccheus heart. Instead of being driven to be greedy, Zaccheus was now driven to be generous. Instead of being driven to extort money from others, Zaccheus was driven to restore what he had taken by extortion to others. And to demonstrate his sorrow for wronging others, Zaccheus was willing to pay restitution equal to four times what he had extorted from others.

Now the big fancy church mumbo jumbo talk word for what happened to Zaccheus here is the word repentance. The word repent literally means to feel remorse that results in a change of one’s mind and heart. To repent is to change the trajectory of your life that is moving away from God back to God. Zaccheus had been watching and hearing about Jesus.

Zaccheus had heard about the message and teachings of Jesus, either first hand or through his tax collector friends. And what Zaccheus had seen and heard about Jesus as he watched Jesus led Zaccheus to want to get closer to Jesus. Zaccheus heart was changed as a result of Jesus offer to hang out and enter into relationship with him. And Zaccheus change of heart resulted in a change of the trajectory of his life that was moving away from God back to God. And that change of trajectory resulted in a change of behavior that lined up with the message and teachings of Jesus. Today, we will look on as Luke then records Jesus response to Zaccheus in Luke 19:9:

And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham."For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Now when Jesus says that salvation has come to this house because he too is a son of Abraham, He is not saying that Zaccheus experienced salvation as a result of what he had done for Jesus. Salvation had come to this house because Zaccheus responded to Jesus pursuit and desire to hang out and have relationship with Him by believing, trusting, and following Jesus; Zaccheus actions were the proof of what was produced as a result of his changing the trajectory of his life that was moving away from God back towards God by placing Jesus as large and in charge of his life so as to strive to follow His message and teachings.

Jesus then explains that this deliverance from a life separated from God as a result of selfishness and rebellion through Him was due to the fact that the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Now, I don’t know about you, but a natural question that arises here is “why is Jesus talking in the third person here? Why is Jesus referring to Himself as the Son of Man? What is that all about? W

hen Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man, Jesus is using the phrase to identify Himself with the promised Messiah that was predicted and proclaimed by a prophet named Daniel in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Daniel, in Daniel 7:13. While those listening were very familiar with Daniel what 7:13 said, many of us today are not familiar with what Daniel 7:13 says. So here is what Daniel, over 500 years before the birth of Jesus, said about the Messiah:

"I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

So when Jesus says that He is the Son of Man, He is identifying Himself as the Messiah that had come from God as God in a bod to usher in the kingdom of God here on earth. Jesus here is revealing the reality that as the Son of Man, Jesus came to seek and bring back to relationship with God those who were outsiders that were far from God and had been lost as a result of their selfishness and rebellion.

As the Son of Man, Jesus came on a mission to rescue from eternal separation from God and bring back to God those who were outsiders that were far from God as a result of their selfishness and rebellion. Jesus came on a mission to provide all humanity the opportunity to experience the forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for, but had been separated from as a result of their selfishness and rebellion, through His life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

And it is here, in this event from history, that we see God reveal for us the timeless answer to the question “Who have we been sent to?” And that timeless answer is this: We have been sent by Jesus to invite those who are outsiders when it comes to a relationship with Jesus to experience Jesus with us. Just as it was for early followers of Jesus; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, we have been sent by Jesus to invite those who are outsiders when it comes to a relationship with Jesus  to experience Jesus with us.

If you do not buy the whole, Jesus Bible, church thing, this is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent when it comes to inviting you to church. This is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and persistent about inviting you to their community group or to an event involving other followers of Jesus.

 

The reason why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent in their invitation to you is because they are following the example of Jesus. And just as Jesus was sent to invite Zaccheus, who was an outsider who was small in stature physically and in the eyes of the community, to experience life with Jesus, as followers of Jesus we have been sent to invite those who are outsiders when it comes to being in community with Jesus and His followers to experience life with Jesus and His followers.

 

You see, Jesus never asks us to do something that He has not already done. We have been sent by Jesus, just as He was sent, to be the vehicle that God uses to invite those who are outsiders when it comes to God to experience Jesus as we live life in community with Jesus and one another. We have been sent by Jesus to invite those who are outsiders when it comes to Jesus to experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for by believing, trusting, and following Jesus. 

And as followers of Jesus we must create space for those who are outsiders when it comes to having a relationship with Jesus to hang out with us as we live our day to day lives so that they can experience Jesus as we experience Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we are to invite those who are outsiders when it comes to having a relationship with Jesus to experience genuine and authentic community with us as we experience genuine and authentic community. As followers of Jesus, we are to invite those who are outsiders when it comes to having a relationship with Jesus to explore faith during corporate gatherings and community group gatherings so that they can experience Jesus as we experience Jesus. Because, when it comes to who we have been sent to, we have been sent by Jesus, to invite those who are outsiders to experience Jesus with us.

So here are some questions to consider. Are those around you who are outsiders when it comes to Jesus comfortable enough with you to hang out with you? Are you inviting those who are outsiders when it comes to having a relationship with Jesus to experience Jesus with you?

What barriers, whether it involves our time, our attitude, or our personal relationship with Jesus, are keeping us from inviting others who are outsiders when it comes to a relationship with Jesus to experience Jesus with us?

An Invitation That Resulted In Transformation...

This week, we are answering the second of four questions that the church where I serve are asking during a sermon series entitled “Sent”, which is “Who are we sent to?” In other words, if we are to be a sent people, who have been sent by a person, who was sent, then who have we been sent to? Who are we as followers of Jesus supposed to be missionary’s to? To answer that question, we are looking at a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Luke.

Yesterday, we looked on as Jesus, while on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through the city of Jericho. As word spread that Jesus was passing through Jericho, large crowds came to meet and greet Jesus. And one of the members of the crowd was a man named Zaccheus.

Zaccheus was a Jewish man who was a chief tax collector that worked for the Roman Government. Jewish people so despised tax collectors that they had a separate category for them. There were tax collectors and there were sinners. As Jesus was passing through the city of Jericho, Zaccheus tried to get close to Jesus. However, because of the large crowds that had also come to meet and greet Jesus, Zaccheus was unable to get close enough to Jesus, because was hated and despised by the crowds that had come to meet and greet Jesus. Zaccheus was an outsider who had no status or stature in the eyes of the community. Zaccheus was small in stature physically and in the eyes of the community who viewed him as a traitor who was far from God and was an outsider when it came to how God viewed him.

Zaccheus responded to his small stature by running ahead of Jesus and the crowds so that he could climb a sycamore tree. Zaccheus climbed the tree because Zaccheus had already been watching Jesus from a distance. Zaccheus was already familiar with who Jesus was. Zaccheus had heard the word on the street from his tax collector friends when it came to Jesus. And now Zaccheus wanted to be in a position where he could see Jesus more clearly. Zaccheus viewed the crowd as an obstacle to him getting to know Jesus at a deeper level. So Zaccheus was willing to do whatever it took to get a closer look at Jesus. Luke then reveals for us how Jesus responded to seeing a grown man in a tree in verse 5:

  When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."

Now to fully understand the significance of Jesus response here, we first need to understand something about the culture of the first century. You see, in the culture of the day, staying at one’s house was more than simply getting a meal and a bed for the night. Instead, in the culture of the day, staying at one’s house was a sign of a desire to develop a deep and personal relationship with someone. So by asking to stay at Zaccheus house, Jesus was communicating to Zaccheus that He desired to develop a relationship with him.

Notice what Jesus says to Zaccheus here. If Jesus was talking to Zaccheus in the language we use in our culture today, the conversation would have sounded something like this: Zaccheus, hurry up and come down here. I need to you to get down from that tree and meet Me. I need you to hurry up because I must stay at your house. I must stay at your house because I want to get to know you and hang out with you so that we can develop a relationship between us. So get down here.”

Now I want us to take a minute to place ourselves in this story as Zaccheus. You’re Zaccheus. You are an outsider who is despised and hated. You have your own category. You are a tax collector and sinner. You have no standing or stature in the community. Nobody wants to hang out with you, never mind have a relationship with you. And now Jesus wants to hang out with you so that He can develop a relationship with you.

What would you be thinking at this point? What would you be feeling? How would you respond? We see Zaccheus response in verse 6:

And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.

Luke tells us that Zaccheus responded to Jesus offer to hang out with Him by scurrying down the tree and warmly welcoming the opportunity to extend hospitality to Jesus. What is so interesting is that the word gladly here is the same word that is translated as joy in our English Bibles. This word refers to having an attitude of delight in life that is not based or tied to circumstances.

You see, in spite of the fact that he was viewed as an outsider and was hated and despised, Zaccheus was fully focused on the reality that Jesus desired to have relationship with him. Zaccheus experienced an attitude of delight in life that was based on how Jesus viewed him in spite of his circumstances or how others viewed him. Luke then gives us a glimpse of how the crowds responded to Jesus engaging Zaccheus in verse 7:

 When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."

The crowds, upon witnessing this conversation between Jesus and Zaccheus began to loudly and publicly express their disapproval. Their complaint, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “What is Jesus doing! Does Jesus not know who He wants to hang out with and develop a relationship with! I mean Zaccheus is a tax collector and sinner. Zaccheus does not measure up to our moral standards and expectations. Zaccheus is an outsider who is far from God. Jesus should not be hanging out or getting to know people like Zaccheus.”

Now here is a question to consider: If you were to place yourself in this story, who would you be? If you were to place yourself as a character in the story, would you be a part of the crowd? If you were to place yourself as a character in the story, would you be Zaccheus? Who would you be if you were to find yourself in this story?

What I find so fascinating about Jesus is that those who were outsiders who were far from God felt comfortable to hang out with the Son of God, while those who thought they were insiders who were close to God were very uncomfortable hanging out with the Son Of God. Luke then reveals for us how Zaccheus responded to Jesus and the crowds in verse 8:

 Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much."

Luke tells us that the crowd’s accusations against Jesus for wanting to hang out with such an outsider like him provoked Zaccheus to stop in his tracks as he walked with Jesus toward his house. Zaccheus then responded not to the crowds, but to Jesus with a powerful statement: "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much."

You see, Jesus pursuit of Zaccheus; Jesus desire to hang out with and develop a relationship with Zaccheus had changed Zaccheus heart. Instead of being driven to be greedy, Zaccheus was now driven to be generous. Instead of being driven to extort money from others, Zaccheus was driven to restore what he had taken by extortion to others. And to demonstrate his sorrow for wronging others, Zaccheus was willing to pay restitution equal to four times what he had extorted from others.

Now the big fancy church mumbo jumbo talk word for what happened to Zaccheus here is the word repentance. The word repent literally means to feel remorse that results in a change of one’s mind and heart. To repent means more than simply feeling sorry for something you did; to repent means that you feel sorry for what you did and the sorrow that you feel drives you to change something in your life. To repent is to change the trajectory of your life that is moving away from God back to God.

Zaccheus had been watching and hearing about Jesus. Zaccheus had heard about the message and teachings of Jesus, either first hand or through his tax collector friends. And what Zaccheus had seen and heard about Jesus as he watched Jesus led Zaccheus to want to get closer to Jesus. Zaccheus heart was changed as a result of Jesus offer to hang out and enter into relationship with him.

And Zaccheus change of heart resulted in a change of the trajectory of his life that was moving away from God back to God. And that change of trajectory resulted in a change of behavior that lined up with the message and teachings of Jesus.

Friday, we will see how Jesus responded to the change that had occurred in Zaccheus…

“Who are we sent to?”

At the church where I serve, we are unpacking the kingdom mission that we have been given by Jesus to live our lives as missionaries that engage and embrace the kingdom mission that we have been given as a church to be a city in a city that reveals and reflects Christ as we love and serve the city in a sermon series entitle “Sent”. During this series our hope and our prayer is to answer four specific questions. Our hope and prayer is that we would answer the question “Who sent us?” “Who are we sent to?” “What are we sent to do?” and “Where are we sent to?”

Our hope and our prayer is to answer these questions in a way that enables and empowers us to live our day to day lives as a follower of Jesus that have been sent on a mission to those that God has already placed in our spheres of influence who are far from God in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus to them.

This week I would like for us to ask and answer the second question that we are going to ask during this series, which is “Who are we sent to?” In other words, if we are to be a sent people, who have been sent by a person, who was sent, then who have we been sent to? Who are we as followers of Jesus supposed to be missionary’s to?

To answer that question, we are going to look at a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. Now the writer of the gospel of Luke, and the book of Acts, was a doctor named Luke, who many scholars believe was from Antioch, which was a city that is located in the southeastern corner of what is now modern day Turkey. Luke was hired by a man named Theophilus, who was a wealthy Roman official who hired Luke to research and to provide an accurate and orderly account about the origins of Christianity.

And as a result of the generosity of Theophilus, Luke, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, spent several years involved in intensive research and investigation that produced this two volume set that we now have as a part of our Bibles today. Luke traveled throughout the regions where Jesus lived and ministered, investigating and interviewing individuals who were witnesses to the events that occurred during Jesus life. Luke interviewed Mary, the mother of Jesus, along with the disciples and other close followers of Jesus.

Luke is universally recognized, by skeptics and followers of Jesus alike, as being a scrupulously accurate historian. One archaeologist carefully studied Luke’s references to thirty two countries, fifty four cities, and nine islands, without finding a single error.  As a matter of fact, many have credited the gospel of Luke as being one of the most beautiful and historically accurate pieces of literature ever written.  

And it is in a section of the gospel of Luke that we see Luke record an event that occurred in history that will provide us a timeless answer to the question “Who have we been sent to?” So let’s discover this answer together, beginning in Luke 19:1:

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.

Luke brings us into this section of his account of Jesus life by providing us the context by which this event from history would take place. At this point in Jesus life, Jesus was headed to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, which commemorated God’s deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery at the hands of the nation of Egypt. Most scholars and historians believe that this event from history occurred within two weeks of Jesus arrest. Within two weeks of this event from history, Jesus would be arrested, tried, and put to death.

Luke tells us that on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through the city of Jericho. As word spread that Jesus was passing through Jericho, large crowds came to meet and greet Jesus. And one of the members of the crowd was a man named Zaccheus. Now if you grew up in church, you are probably familiar with Zaccheus because Zaccheus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he, or at least that’s how I heard that the song goes. 

Zaccheus was a Jewish man who was a chief tax collector that worked for the Roman Government. In other words, Zaccheus was great at his job. Zaccheus was a great tax collector. Zaccheus was so good at his job that Luke tells us that he was a very wealthy man. And Zaccheus was so good at his job as a tax collector that he was promoted to the position of being the supervisor who was in charge of all of the tax collectors that worked for the Roman Government.

As we have talked about before, Jews who were tax collectors were hated by their fellow countrymen for two reasons. First, these tax collectors were hated because they would often charge higher taxes than necessary in order to make a profit. Since the Romans did not care what these tax collectors charged as long as they received what was due them, many tax collectors became wealthy by charging over and above what the Romans asked. So Zaccheus had become wealthy at the expense of his fellow Jewish countrymen.

Second, Jewish tax collectors were hated and were viewed as traitors because they were working for the enemy. Jewish people so despised tax collectors that they had a separate category for them. There were tax collectors and there were sinners. There were those who sinned and then there were tax collectors. After providing the context for the story, we see Luke bring us into this story in Luke 19:3:

Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.

Luke tells us that as Jesus was passing through the city of Jericho, Zaccheus tried to get close to Jesus. However, because of the large crowds that had also come to meet and greet Jesus, Zaccheus was unable to get close enough to Jesus, because Zaccheus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. But it wasn’t simply that Zaccheus was small in physical stature that he was unable to get close to Jesus.

Remember, Zaccheus is the chief tax collector. Zaccheus is hated and despised by the crowds that had come to meet and greet Jesus. Zaccheus was an outsider who had no status or stature in the eyes of the community. Zaccheus was small in stature physically and in the eyes of the community who viewed him as a traitor who was far from God and was an outsider when it came to how God viewed him.

Luke then explains that Zaccheus responded to his small stature by running ahead of Jesus and the crowds so that he could climb a sycamore tree. Now Sycamore trees, which grow to a height of thirty to forty feet, are one of the few trees that grow to a large height in the desert. So Zaccheus, pulled up his robe, ran ahead of Jesus and the crowds, and climbed up this large tree.

Can you imagine what that must have looked like? Can you imagine what it would have looked like to see a grown man frantically running and climbing up a tree in order to get an opportunity to see Jesus before he passed by? Now a natural question that arises here is “Why would Zaccheus expend that much energy and effort to see Jesus? I mean climbing a large tree is not something that a grown man usually does, so why did Zaccheus climb the tree?”

You see, Zaccheus climbed the tree because Zaccheus had already been watching Jesus from a distance. Zaccheus was already familiar with who Jesus was. Zaccheus had heard the word on the street from his tax collector friends when it came to Jesus. And now Zaccheus wanted to be in a position where he could see Jesus more clearly. Zaccheus viewed the crowd as an obstacle to him getting to know Jesus at a deeper level. So Zaccheus was willing to do whatever it took to get a closer look at Jesus.

Tomorrow, we will see Luke reveal for us how Jesus responded to seeing a grown man in a tree…

We have been sent by Jesus, just as He was sent, to engage those who are far from Jesus...

At the church where I serve, we are spending four weeks in a sermon series entitled “Sent”. During this series our hope and our prayer is to answer four specific questions. Our hope and prayer is that we would answer the question “Who sent us?” “Who are we sent to?” “What are we sent to do?” and “Where are we sent to?”

Our hope and our prayer is to answer these questions in a way that enables and empowers us to live our day to day lives as a follower of Jesus that have been sent on a mission to those that God has already placed in our spheres of influence who are far from God in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus to them.

Today, I would like to answer the first question that we are going to look at, which is “Who sent us?”  In other words why do followers of Jesus seem to insist on wanting to tell people about Jesus? Who told followers of Jesus that they needed tell people who do not seem interested in Jesus about Jesus? And why is it that followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so passionate sometimes when it comes to telling people about Jesus?

To answer these questions, I would like for us to spend our time together looking at a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of John. Now the gospel of John was written by the person who had perhaps the closest relationship with Jesus while He was on earth, a man named John. John is referred to as the disciple Jesus loved. John was Jesus best friend. And it is in the gospel of John that we see John, as he was looking back in the rearview mirror of his life, record for what happened in history as he spent his life following his best friend Jesus.

For three and a half years, John faithfully followed Jesus. And over that three and a half year time, John developed a deep friendship and love for Jesus. For three and a half years, John followed Jesus and had a front row seat to all that Jesus taught and did. John watched Jesus do miraculous things that only God could do. John listened as Jesus taught unlike anyone who had ever taught.

Then after following Jesus for three and a half years, John and his fellow disciples watched as the Jewish religious leaders arrested Jesus and found Him guilty of blasphemy. John watched from a distance as the Romans agreed with the Jewish leaders and crucified Jesus. John watched as Jesus gave him the responsibility to care for His mother Mary. John spent that Friday night and Saturday overwhelmed with hurt, pain, and grief as a result of the death of his best friend.

 

However, early on Sunday, a woman named Mary came to the tomb to take care of Jesus body, only to find that the tomb was empty. In panic Mary went to the disciples to proclaim her discovery of the empty tomb. Confused and concerned, Peter and John responded to Mary’s report by heading to the tomb to discover what had happened. And as John took in the scene of the empty tomb all that Jesus had been saying to them suddenly clicked. John connected the dots and placed his confident trust in the fact that Jesus had been raised from the dead as their Lord and Leader.

However, while John trusted that Jesus had been raised from the dead, Jesus was nowhere to be seen.  And it is in this context, as Peter, John, and Mary, who had followed them back to the tomb, stood at the entrance to the tomb, that John brings us into this event from history in a section of an account of Jesus life that he wrote and that is recorded for us beginning in John 20:18:

 Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her. So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

Now the reason Jesus says peace be with you, because the disciples had no peace. I mean imagine being one of the disciples. You are locked in a room and filled with fear of being arrested like Jesus was, when Jesus basically enters into the room that you are in by walking through the wall, like something out of a scene in the Matrix movies. Wouldn’t you be freaked out? John then reveals what happens next in verse 20:

And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."

John tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples and gave them a kingdom mission that would forever change their lives. “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you”. John then explains that Jesus breathed on them and said “receive the Holy Spirit”. But what does that mean?

Here we see that just as God the Father breathed the breath of life into Adam, Jesus breathed into His closest followers the Holy Spirit which gave the disciples new life as a new creation in the relationship with God that they were created for. 50 days later, the Holy Spirit would come in a way that would give birth to the church and launch the mission that they were given.

And it is here in Jesus statement to His closest followers, that we discover the timeless answer to the question “Who sent us?”  And that timeless answer is this: We have been sent by Jesus, just as He was sent, to engage those who are far from Jesus. Just as it was for John and the rest of Jesus closest followers; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, we have been sent by Jesus, just as He was sent, to engage those who are far from Jesus.

You see, just as Jesus was sent on a mission to be the vehicle that God used to reveal Himself to the world, as followers of Jesus we are now given the mission to be the vehicle that He would use to reveal Himself around the world. If you do not buy the whole, Jesus Bible, church thing, this is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so passionate sometimes when it comes to telling people about Jesus. This is why followers of Jesus seem to insist on wanting to tell people about Jesus.

The reason why followers of Jesus are to passionately and lovingly pursue and engage those who are far from Jesus with the message and teachings of Jesus is because they are following the example of Jesus. Jesus was sent to earth by God the Father to reveal and explain God to those who were far from God. Jesus was sent to earth by God the Father to engage those who were far from God in a way that would provide them the opportunity to experience the forgiveness of their selfishness and rebellion and the relationship with God that they were created for.

And as followers of Jesus we have been sent by Jesus to reveal and reflect the love of Jesus that drove Him to live the life that we were created to live but refused to live and to willingly allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. You see, Jesus never asks us to do something that He has not already done.

As followers of Jesus we are to be a sent people, who have been sent by a person, who was sent. We have been sent by Jesus, just as He was sent, to be the vehicle that God uses to reveal and explain Himself to those who are far from God. We have been sent by Jesus, just as He was sent, to be the vehicle that God uses to engage those who are far from God in a way that provides them the opportunity to experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for by believing, trusting, and following Jesus, who sent us just as He was sent. Because, when it comes to who sent us, we have been sent by Jesus, just as He was sent, to engage those who are far from Jesus.

So here is a question to consider: Are you living like a person who has been sent by a person who was sent? Are you living in a way that has embraced the reality that you have been sent by Jesus, just as He was sent, to engage those who are far from Jesus? Are you passionately and lovingly pursuing and engaging those who are far from Jesus in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus? Are you praying for opportunities to invest and invite those in your area of influence and who are far from God to explore faith and follow Jesus?