Membership Matters: Making Jesus Known

Matthew 28:16-20

“What have you achieved? What have you achieved? You lost your chance, me old son. You contributed absolutely nothing to this life. A waste of time you being here at all. No place for you in Westminster Abbey. The best you can expect is a few daffodils in a jam jar, a rough hewn stone bearing the legend ‘He came and he went’ and in between - nothing! Nobody will even notice you’re not here. After about a year afterwards somebody might say down the pub ‘Where’s old Hancock? I haven’t seen him around lately.’ ‘Oh, he’s dead y’know.’ ‘Oh, is he?’ A right raison d’etre that is. Nobody will ever know I existed. Nothing to leave behind. Nothing to pass on. Nobody to mourn me. That’s the bitterest blow of all.”

That is how Tony Hancock ended his last TV monologue appearance in 1964. Few people realized until he died four years later from an overdose that it wasn’t an act or a script, but how he actually felt.   And Tony Hancock is not alone.

The University of Wales has just published a major survey of the views of 23,000 teenagers aged 13-15. Entitled, Urban Hope and Spiritual Health - the adolescent voice, the survey found that teenagers with no religious faith were found to be much more likely to feel bad about themselves and their relationships and had low self esteem. 25% had contemplated suicide and 50% did not have a purpose for their life.

That is why the next 40 Days of Purpose are so crucial for you and your families. Together we are going to discover God’s plan for you and those you love. During this spiritual journey combining daily reading, small group bible study and Sunday sermons, we are going to answer life’s most important question: What on earth am I here for? Together we are going to discover how God’s purpose for creating you will reduce your stress, focus your energy, simplify your decisions, give meaning to your life, and most important, prepare you for eternity. Please sign up for one of our small groups and, if you have not yet seen the launch DVD of Rick Warren, join us on Wednesday evening for the Ash Wednesday communion at 6:30pm and stay on at 7:45 to watch the overview presentation by Rick Warren. Today we complete our series on Membership Matters. So far in this series we have:

1. The need for a daily walk with Jesus
2. The importance of participating in Sunday services
3. The value of being part of a small group Bible study
4. The privilege of serving in and through Christ’s Body
5. Sharing the love of Christ

Today we come to the final session that completes the circle:

6. Making Jesus known

Remember our church mission statement? “To know Jesus and make Jesus known” - to assist irreligious people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. In stark contrast to the last recorded words of Tony Hancock, I want us to examine the last recorded words of Jesus Christ. If you knew you were about to die what would you say?  Something flippant or profound? 

Your last opportunity to communicate to those you care about what really matters to you. In our readings this morning we have the last words of Jesus. Jesus condensed everything into one sentence. Moments before His ascension Jesus gives his disciples their final instructions. It is a summary of all Jesus has taught them about being his disciples. It was to be their mission, their purpose in life, their mandate. And it is ours also. As we conclude this series on membership matters I want us to consider Jesus’ last instructions under four headings.

1. The authority of our mandate

2. The purpose of our membership

3. The extent of our mission

4. The presence of our master

1. The Authority of our Mandate (Matthew 28:18)

“Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go...” 

The word ‘Mandate’ means a command from a higher authority. There is no greater mandate, no higher authority in heaven or earth than the authority of Jesus Christ. The Holy One who will determine the destiny of every single person in the world has commanded us to go and speak and act in His name. What a high honour to be called his ambassadors. How tragic that so many people do not yet know their purpose in life - to know Jesus and make him known. The authority of our mandate.

2. The Purpose of our Membership (Matthew 28:19-20)

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

Deep in every Christian there is an awareness that we are on this planet for purposes greater than having a career, paying the bills, loving our families, and fulfilling our roles as citizens. Even going to church and worshiping God - important as these are - sometimes leaves us feeling that something is missing.

After all, we’ll worship God for eternity in heaven. We don’t need to be here to do that. But there is one supreme role we can only fulfil while here on earth that will have eternal consequences. In the short time God has given us on earth we can make an impact that will outlast us here on earth, indeed will last for eternity.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

The construction of this sentence shows Jesus was placing the emphasis on his strategy, to "make disciples". This was their primary task - disciple making. Everything else was subordinate. Notice what is not mentioned. Building cathedrals is not mentioned. Appointing bishops is not mentioned. Founding theological colleges, missionary societies, or even charitable institutions, is not mentioned. These things are useful, some may even be essential to a mission infrastructure, but only in so far as they contribute to this ultimate objective, this priority, this strategy. Making disciples who will reproduce  themselves. That is what it means to be a member of God’s family.

To know Jesus and make Jesus known. Everything else is secondary. If our services, our buildings, our activities do not enable us, do not equip us to be better, more effective followers of Jesus Christ, then they are at best a distraction and at worst a diversion. Everything we do should be shaped by our overriding mandate expressed in our mission statement. “To know Jesus and make Jesus known.”  Jesus said, “Go and make disciples”  = followers of Jesus Christ. “teaching them to obey”  = devoted followers of Jesus Christ. “everything I have commanded you” = fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  This is why the purpose of our membership is “to assist irreligious people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.” This is our priority. Turning pagans into missionaries. This should be central to everything we do as a Church. All our activities, all our energy, all our time, all our discussions, all our expenditure should be evaluated by this simple criteria. Does it assist us in fulfilling our mission? We have no mandate to engage in anything that does not help us fulfil this final great commission of Jesus Christ - to assist people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

As Archbishop William Temple said in the 1945, “The church is the only society on earth that exists for the benefit of its non-members.”  

If we forget this, if we neglect this, if we ignore this we lose our mandate and we will lose God’s blessing. In Acts 1:8, Jesus added, “You will be my witnesses”. That is all Jesus ever calls us to be. His witnesses. To tell what Jesus Christ has done in history, to tell what Jesus Christ has done in our lives. The authority of our mandate. The purpose of our membership.

3. The Extent of Our Mission (Matthew 28:19-20)

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations... to the very end of the age.” 

All nations - We have a world-wide mission. We start with those we live with, work with, those we know. But our catchment area goes well beyond the parish of Virginia Water. Our aim is to work with other like-minded churches and reach everyone within 20 minutes driving distance of Virginia Water.

And working alongside the Christian Union at Royal Holloway University our mission is to witness to students and faculty from many other countries visiting our community to study. But our aim is even wider still - through our website - we aim to reach anyone, anywhere in the world with the good news of Jesus Christ - and last week around 850 people visited our websites.

And through mission partners linked to Christ Church and our mission budget, our priority is to support ministry that is evangelistic and builds up local churches and equips future leaders. That is why this year our mission allocation will focus much more on work overseas and where the need for gospel witness is greatest.  If that is the extent of our mission, lets just pause and reflect on the strategy Jesus assumes here. Just think about it - how on earth could eleven disciples reach the whole world through such a strategy?

Lets compare two different evangelistic approaches. The one most Christians believe in and the one Jesus taught. Billy Graham is often rightly regarded as the most effective evangelist in our generation. Lets just suppose that Billy Graham could preach to 50,000 different people a day, five days a week and 10% respond. So 5,000 people trust in Christ each day. That is the same response Peter saw on the Day of Pentecost.

On that basis each week Billy preaches to an audience of 250,000 people, and 25,000 people become Christians - 50 churches of 500 members founded every week. Pretty good going. In one year Billy would reach 12.5 million people, and see 1.25 million new believers. In one life time of say 50 years ministry, on those figures this greatest of living evangelists would reach 500,000 million people. What a ministry.

But this strategy fails to fulfil the mandate Jesus gave his disciples on three counts. First, the world's population is 6 billion and growing. Second, the world’s population is unevenly spread around the world and it would not be possible to get them into stadiums to hear an evangelist. Third, seeing people come to faith in Jesus Christ is not the same thing as making disciples. I praise God for Billy Graham's ministry, He is totally committed to making disciples, and I have had the privilege of serving with his ministry in the past. 

But I simply wanted to use him as a model for a particular approach to evangelism which God has greatly blessed, and which goes some way to fulfil the Great Commission, but only some way. Lets start again with one typical believer, called Joe Christian, who is learning to be a disciple of Jesus. He doesn't do anything significant in his local church. He doesn't hold any office or title, he doesn't read the lesson or teach Sunday School. What he does do however, largely unnoticed, is make friends with unbelievers.

He takes an interest in their lives. He demonstrates authenticity, integrity, moral courage, compassion, empathy. The self giving love of Jesus overflows from his life and he is infectious.  And because they are open and listen, Joe takes the opportunity to tell them about what Jesus has and is doing in his life. When one of them eventually trusts in Christ, Joe spends time with them to show them how to pray, how to read the bible, how to grow to know God better and how to tell others about what God has done for them also. Lets assume Joe gets to share his faith with one person just once a week - and lets assume that in 6 months he sees just one person trust in Christ. 

After six months Billy Graham has seen over 500,000 trust Christ. Joe has led one person to Christ. Lets call him Fred. Not much of a comparison, but here's the key. Instead of simply inviting Fred to church and perhaps to join his small group, Joe explains to Fred how he too can become a contagious Christian. So during the second six months of that first year, Joe and Fred make friends with unbelievers and aim to talk about Jesus to someone just once a week, and each have the joy of seeing one person become a Christian in the next six months. So at the end of that first year there would be... four disciples. By now Billy has founded 2,500 churches of 500 members each, while Joe has got just one small group going.

No comparison. But don't be fooled by the numbers. Something very radical is happening in Joe’s small group. If those four disciples pass on what Joe has taught them, which may not be much, but each sees one person trust in Christ in the next six months, and disciples them to reproduce themselves in the same way, as Joe taught them, at the end of year two there would be 16 disciples, year three, 64, year four, 256. Using this strategy and response rate our little band of intrepid disciples is doubling every six months. How long would it take to reach the whole world? Less than 15 years. Half of one generation. What is the difference between these two evangelistic strategies? The difference between adding and multiplying. Between adding names to an electoral roll and training disciples. If we were the only Christians in the whole world, using this strategy, taking Jesus mandate seriously, we alone could reach the whole world in under 15 years.

Jesus knew what he was talking about.  He was commissioning a movement that was both radical and revolutionary, but using a strategy that is both simple and practical. Becoming contagious in the lives of a few family and friends. Investing our lives in a few people who in turn will invest their lives in others. Everything we do as a church should be driven by this motive, judged by this strategy, shaped by this mandate - of turning irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus sent us to all nations - we have a universal mandate, and for all time - we have a timeless mandate - starting in our Jerusalem - we have a strategic mandate. It cannot be suppressed. It has not been superseded. It will succeed. No other strategy comes close.

No other strategy works.  The extent of our mission, the greatest number, the shortest time.  The authority of our mandate. The purpose of our membership. The extent of our mission.

4. The Presence of our Master  (Matthew 28:20)

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Who will always be with us? The one who has all authority in heaven and on earth. It is not so much that he goes with us. It is rather that we go with him. Jesus is not like the general waving his troops off as they go into battle as he remains safe behind the lines. Luke makes this clear in his foreword to the Acts of the Apostles. He begins with this introduction,

“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven...” (Acts 1:1-2).

He commands and we obey. He leads and we follow. The authority of our mandate. The purpose of our membership. The extent of our mission, fulfilled in the presence and power of our Master.  

Remember the last words of Tony Hancock. What have you achieved? How tragic to live and die without a purpose. Louis Pasteur, the pioneer of immunology, lived at a time when thousands of people died each year of rabies. Pasteur worked for many years seeking to identify a vaccine. Just as he was about to begin experimenting on himself, a nine-year-old, Joseph Meister, was bitten by a rabid dog. The boy’s mother begged Pasteur to experiment on her son. Pasteur injected Joseph for ten days - and the boy lived. Decades later, of all the things Pasteur could have had etched on his headstone, he asked for three words: “Joseph Meister lived.” Our greatest legacy will be those who live eternally because we have made Jesus known, because we have been infectious with the love of Christ.