Sunday 04.26.26 sermon notes – TBC

Hey yall! I felt like the sermon was really good this week so I wanted to share my notes. The series we’re in is called To Be Continued, where we study the events following Jesus’s death and resurrection. The topic today is the great commission. I did add some verses & quotes that came to mind while I was writing stuff down, but all verses used in the sermon will be included in their own white boxes for reference. 🙂 Additionally, please note that this is a sermon directed at believers. If you have not yet found Jesus, this may feel confusing or intimidating to you. Just a heads up 🙂
Hope yall are having a great day!

TBC (To Be Contnued) – The Great Commission

Last words are important – and the last words of Jesus before his ascension to heaven are no different. We call it the great commission. It takes place in Matthew 28:18-20 (and it’s our church’s motto!!).

It is not a suggestion. It is a command and an instruction manual. It is how to live as a true follower of Christ, and a picture of what that really means – and it ends in a promise.

Go.
Make disciples of all nations.
Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Teach them to observe Christ’s commands.
I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.

We learn to obey authority by listening to parents, grandparents, teachers, professors, law enforcement, etc.. That’s why God puts them in place.
If we never learn to respect them, we will not understand how to respect God. 
It’s not a matter of opinion or desire. It’s a matter of obedience. And in return, we receive protection, peace, wisdom, and relationship. It’s the same way with God – except unlike mankind, God cannot lie. He will not abandon you. He is incorruptible and unchanging. When we follow his commands and trust that he has our best interest in mind, we are in good hands. So what do we do? We go, we make, we baptize, and we teach. Because he is always with us. And in our weakness, he is strong. (2Corinthians 12:9)

The best thank you we can give him is our surrender. This is something most atheists (and some Christians) don’t understand. We don’t say “Your will be done” because we have to. We don’t say it because we’re afraid we’ll go to hell if we don’t. We say it because we know his way is the right way, the just way, and the blessed way. He has all knowledge and wisdom. We do not. He sees the full picture. We do not. He knows the hearts, thoughts, and motives of the people around us. Sometimes we do not.
Maybe that wasn’t rejection, it was protection.
Maybe he told you to give that person up because he heard conversations you didn’t.
Maybe he’s closing that door because the room’s about to catch fire.
He has a plan for you, and it’s a good one. (Jeremiah 29:11)

To fear the Lord is to recognize that there is a God, and you are not him.
It does NOT mean that you should be afraid of him. (“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” -1 John 4:18) If you believe that God is who he says he is, you have to believe what he says about you, too. He calls you loved (John 3:16). And guess what? NOTHING can take that love away (Romans 8:38-39)!! Why wouldn’t you want everyone else to know that love too? That, my friends, is the point.
To know him and to make him known.

No matter your occupation, you can bring Jesus into it. If you have authority in any way, share your faith in the way you lead. If you are “of little consequence” at your job, don’t neglect to give it everything you’ve got – and when people inevitably ask you why, why you are so dedicated to a job that “doesn’t matter,” share your faith. A dedicated, devoted heart doesn’t make sense to a world full of fleeting desires and temporary pleasures. But it is seen by God, and it bears witness to others about what a good Father we serve. And you never know, maybe their heart is hungry for more and the seed you plant in them will stick.
(“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” -Colossians 3:23-24)

There’s a “you before Christ” and a “you after him.” The latter should look very different from the former. If you have no dramatic past – you weren’t addicted to drugs, or homeless, or an alcoholic, or gay, or WHATEVER – that doesn’t mean you don’t have a past. Maybe you didn’t love people very well. Maybe you took pride in your perceived goodness. Maybe you were selfish or unsympathetic to the needy. 
No one can be the same before and after Jesus. It’s literally impossible. He changes your heart and redeems your soul. If you think you were perfect before, you’re lying to yourself and accepting the lie of pride. You need Jesus – you can’t be changed of your own accord. None of us can. (“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” -Ephesians 2:8-9) You don’t have to have a crazy backstory. You just have to have Jesus; after all, that’s who you’re testifying about. And don’t misunderstand me, it doesn’t all happen at once. You aren’t necessarily going to be cured of everything immediately. It takes time and work and dedication. Being transformed by Christ isn’t easy. But it’s worth it.

When you’re afraid, lean on Christ. Let him do the work. Just be a vessel. Feel called to pray for a stranger? Go for it! The Holy Spirit will help you. Share the gospel? Go for it! The Holy Spirit will help you. 
(“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” -John 14:26) You aren’t alone on the mission field.

If you truly believe Jesus can save, how could you not believe there’s a battle going on between heaven fighting for you and hell trying to stop you? If you believe Jesus is victorious, how could you not believe there is someone he is victorious over?
You have to make up your mind about who you believe is stronger. If you truly believe that the devil only comes to steal, kill, and destroy, (John 10:10) but Jesus came to redeem everyone who will accept him and crush the serpent under his heel… you’re already on the winning team. You have no reason to fear. (Matthew 10:28)
Remember: God and Satan are not opposites. Being opposite would imply that they are equal in power, but standing on different sides of the fence. That’s not true. The enemy would love for you to believe it, because “he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44c). But it’s not true. He only has as much power as God allows. The end has not yet come… but it has been decided.

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
~ Acts 1:7-8

Jesus isn’t going to become the center of your life on accident. He becomes your cornerstone when you ask him to be. When you put him first. 

Let’s do the math. If there are a hundred people at your church, and you make the commitment together to share the gospel with one person each, that’s one hundred people that could be changed and transformed forever. That’s one hundred people that have a shot at heaven. That’s one hundred people that no longer have to live in doubt and fear. And what happens from there? If those one hundred people believe, and they tell just one person each, that’s TEN THOUSAND people that have heard the gospel. What a jump! Don’t believe for a moment that your words don’t matter. Don’t believe the voice that whispers “I’m sure someone else will tell them” or “they probably already know/believe” or “I don’t want to interrupt their day.”
That is the voice of fear. Not logic, and DEFINITELY not the Holy Spirit.

You must make your faith louder than your fear.

"Have courage, dear heart, for there is nothing to be afraid of and never has been." 
~C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
~Romans 10:9-15

We have the greatest gift ever to share. 
So why don’t we? 

With Christ, we have an eternity with God. Without Christ, we have an eternity away from him – which is hell. (And by the way, Satan doesn’t rule hell. It was created from the beginning to be the home of HIS eternal torment. Humans were never supposed to go there.) When you don’t take eternity seriously, and you don’t share the gospel truth when the Spirit is nudging you, you’re saying “I don’t really care where you end up.” We don’t like to admit it, but it’s so often true. We don’t have cruel intent – but we don’t push past the fear, either. There’s no special training needed and there’s no certificate of approval necessary. We have the great commission. That’s enough!

"God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called." 
~Mark Batterson (maybe) 

Here’s how I think about it, especially in moments where I’m afraid to act on what God is telling me to do:
I would SO much rather be ✨slightly uncomfortable✨ for five minutes on earth than to get to heaven and have to look the God of the universe in his eyes and say “I didn’t love your kid enough to tell them the truth.” I love my God with everything I have, and I want to please him. He has given me everything, and I want to give it back. I want others to know him and experience the depths of his immeasurable love.

It’s not fair to assume that you are the only person God can use to reach someone – he can use whoever he wants. But if all of those other people he urges also say no… that someone could end up in hell. Jesus may not come back tomorrow, but tomorrow could still be that person’s last day. God urges you in the here and now because as humans, the here and now is all we have. We are not promised tomorrow. (Proverbs 27:1) You don’t need to be a smooth talker. Let the Holy Spirit work in their heart. You may plant the seed and never see it grow – but that’s okay. Planting it is your job. And maybe someone else will be called to water it. But only God can make it grow. We aren’t called to shove the gospel down a stranger’s throat – we’re called to treat them like Jesus did; in love and in truth.
With God, all things are possible… but that doesn’t mean everything will be easy. If you want to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk. Even if you limp, even if you wobble, even if you crawl. He’s got you. (“the one who is in you is greater than the one that is in the world.” -1 John 4:4b)

God sometimes asks you to do hard things. But he will never ask you to do them alone. He goes before you, walks beside you, and has your back covered too.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:9
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” -Isaiah 41:10
Ask him to speak through you, and he will. Ask him to use you, and he will. It is all in his good timing. And while you wait, don’t stop seeking God for yourself. Make sure your faith is credible, and practice what you preach. Get to know the Word before you assume its contents.

John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands.” 
It all comes down to this.
Do you really love Jesus? Or do you just love the idea of him? 
It’s a question all of us must ask ourselves, and only we can answer.

It is important to me that I clarify something before I end this post: I am no better than anyone else. I deal with the same crippling fear that a lot of people do when it comes to sharing the Good News. I’m not proud of it, but that’s the facts. I struggle with it so much that I have a TATTOO to remind me that kneeling to fear is not the answer. (That’s the photo I used for the header image of this post.)
If the disciples had given in to fear, the message would have fizzled out. We wouldn’t be discussing this right now. But they didn’t. They DIED for the message, because Jesus changed EVERYTHING for them. And now they are with him again, along with millions of others. I’m not dead yet; I’m here, and Jesus is living inside me. I’m the messenger now. We are all called to be messengers now.
And I’ve decided that I’d rather get to heaven with busted up, bent, dented, blood-stained armor than arrive looking like I’d never stepped foot on the battlefield.

Don’t kneel to fear. Kneel to king Jesus.

There have been times that God called me to share the gospel or offer to pray over a stranger, and some of those times I was massively rejected. But yaknow what? I don’t regret it at all. I left with peace – grieved for their sakes, but full of joy knowing that the Father saw me try. I was a messenger, and I carried the message as far as I could. It’s up to him to do the rest. Honestly, I rarely think of the times I’ve been rejected. But you know who does sometimes come to mind? The people who have stopped to listen or let me pray over them. The people who came back to tell me God moved in their lives afterward. The people who were surprised that someone noticed them at all. 
I don’t say any of this with the intention of “patting myself on the back.” I say it to remind you that every soul is worth it, every rejection can be prayed over and moved on from, and every acceptance is a step closer to kingdom come.
Let’s make heaven crowded. 

♡~ Skippy