What’s best-known verse in the New Testament? Probably John 3:16, right? Great verse. Very important verse. It sums up the entire gospel message very well.

As we work to make this congregation into the congregation Jesus called on us to be, I want us to consider something Jesus said that so struck the gospel writers that they all wrote about it and Luke even wrote about it twice.

John 20:21
Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." (NIV)

Luke 24:45-27
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
(ESV)

Mark 16:15-16
And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (ESV)

Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, after you have gone out, make followers for me from all nations. Immerse them by the authority of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I commanded you. Remember, I will always be with you even until the end of time!" (IEB)

Acts 1:8
But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (GNB)

Let me ask you something: is it important how a Christian acts? Let the record show the response was a unanimous, “Yes.” [Note: you can’t earn your way into heaven, but your actions after salvation are a response to God’s grace and an indication whether it has taken hold in your life.]
What makes a good Christian?

1 John 2:3
If we obey God's commands, then we are sure that we know him. (GNB)

Bible scholars have argued for 20 centuries now why the gospels include what they do. Why do some stories or sayings appear in only one of the gospels? Why do some stories or sayings appear in two of the gospels—why didn’t the other two record those moments? There are very few things that appear in all four gospels.

Now, if we believe that the Bible is the written and revealed word of God, and that everything in Scripture was put there by God, does it say something about the importance of a directive that shows up five times?

I think it does.

Think about another verse that addresses the behavior of Christians:

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (NIV)

It’s not enough to just look after yourself. That’s the “I didn’t do nothin’” defense.

You didn’t do anything? That’s the problem. James sums up faultless religion by saying that it involves both an outward and an inward focus. You haven’t polluted yourself (with whatever vice)? That’s good! I think James would also ask, “Who have you helped?”

They say a good salesman can sell anything. I am, by definition, a lousy salesman. I could never sell TVs because even though I enjoy TV myself, if a customer came in I would never be convinced they needed a TV. I know successful salespeople who have no qualms about telling a customer, “I think you need this model [TV, car, blender, etc.] here.” I’m thinking, “No, they don’t.” You might need a pacemaker, but no one with a fork really needs a blender. OK, maybe you need a fork.

Now, I’m saying this not that we are to be salespeople, but think about it: even pacemakers wear out or get to the point where they can’t address everything the body needs. Eventually the body stops even with the best pacemaker installed; so the only need anyone in this life really has is for a permanent fix: Jesus Christ. AND THAT’S WHAT YOU AND I HAVE!!!!!

Let me put it to you this way … Let’s say you’ve got some sort of sickness and it’s eventually going to kill you. You’ve been to every doctor but they can’t do a thing for you. They try, but everything they give you is just a stop-gap measure at best.

What if, though, you found out that your next door neighbor, who isn’t even a doctor, has had a cure for your sickness for years but he never shared it. [What would some of his excuses be? How about, “I was afraid you’d be mad at me.” “I figured it was your business whether you lived or died and I had no place interfering.” “Or, I don’t really care if you die, so go ahead.”]

You and I are that next door neighbor. We’ve got the cure!

I’m not pretending it’s going to be easy. Your next-door-neighbor is in the habit of drinking himself into oblivion. His marriage tanked and it’s hard to say whether his behavior drove the divorce or the divorce drives his current “coping” mechanism. If you just waltz up to his door and announce, “Hey, Loser! I got the answer to all your miserable problems!” he may not be particularly appreciative.

Well, notice how Matthew recorded the Commission, “Make disciples.” That’s the only imperative in that sentence. You can’t make disciples in an instant. It’s the work of months, years, maybe even a lifetime.

Think about how Jesus made disciples. Some of them came to him, and some he sought out. The ones who came to him, why did they do that? Because they saw something in him they didn’t just want, they saw something they needed.

How’d that happen? Did folks start knocking at Jesus’s door there in Nazareth saying, “I wanna be your disciple?” Doesn’t sound like it. It was when he got out among people that people started getting interested.

The same is true for us. Do we want to be the kind of people who are faithful to our commission? Do we want to grow as a congregation? Then it’s going to have to be intentional.

And it starts by just doing what he told us to do: make disciples.

In February we’re going to look at some practical application about how we carry that out. In March, we’re going to practice actively carrying it out.
But don’t wait until then. Start today!

What do I DO with this?

1. Pray for the people you know who don’t know Jesus (or you’re not sure about)

2. Pray for an opportunity to share the gospel with them—if necessary, use words.