hello I'm Timothy Moore your professor for intro to missions and this is uh class number two on the biblical basis for Missions and what I'd like to start with is how Jesus described our responsibility our mission that many refer to as the Great Commission and it's contained in Matthew CH 28 uh vers 18- 20 so I want to read that make some observations about our Great Commission it is a co- Mission and and what that means is you are doing this in partnership with Christ himself the spirit of Christ also known as the holy spirit
is with you in this Mission that's what makes it a commission a commission uh verse vers 18 says Jesus came and told his disciples I have been given all authority in heaven and on Earth therefore go and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teach these new disciples to obey all the commands command ments I have given you and be sure of this I am with you always even to the End of the Age let's pray together Lord open our eyes
the eyes of our understanding to what you are calling us to do with you we are connected with you in this Mission and you have given us your Holy Spirit to empower us and to give us wisdom as we carry out your assignments and in effect be your light your love your hands your feet in this world and we know that you love the world and the people in the world for you said you God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting
life and so help us reach this world and the people of this world that you love so much with the message of Christ to not just Make Disciples of Christ but to make disciple makers and to see your work be extended expand and and be uh Lord to be carried out in a way that multiplies and makes the Maximum Impact and brings the maximum amount of people into your kingdom I pray this in Jesus good name amen so Jesus tells his disciples I've been given all authority in heaven and on earth now I want to
focus on that word disciple because this is this is a key word in the Great Commission the the word in biblical Greek Co Greek for disciple is the word Maes Maas means um has multiple translations it means an apprentice it means a completely committed follower uh a a dedicated learner and so I think all of those apply like our our job in the Great Commission is um not just to be a dedicated follow follower to be uh a committed learner to be an apprentice of Jesus but to make disciples and so Jesus told his disciples
the people that followed him for three and a half years I've been given all authority in heaven and on Earth um this Authority had to be given to Christ now when we study the nature of Christ he is the Son of God he is the Incarnation of the second person of the Trinity God the father God the son God the Holy Spirit God the son second person of the Trinity co-equal and co-eternal with the father and the Holy Spirit descends he comes to this earth he never ceases to be God in in human flesh he
never ceases to be defi Divine he never ceases to be co-equal and co-eternal with the father and the Holy Spirit however he willfully chooses to limit himself for our sake in other words the one who spoke the universe into existence if we read in Colossians chapter 1 through Colossians chapter 3 about the divine nature of Christ or even John chapter 1 uh in the Gospel of John we see Jesus is is the one through whom everything is made through whom everything holds together and for whom everything was made and yet the one who breathed galaxies
into existence gave up even his ability to speak when he was born to a young virgin Maiden named Mary in in a nowhere town called Bethlehem and so he descends and in um in the study of theology that is called the kosis uh Christ emptied himself of uh the use of his attributes as God the son he made himself dependent on the father and the Holy Spirit in the time that he lived on planet Earth um that's why you have verses like Luke 2 verse 52 that said Jesus grew in wisdom in stature in favor
with God and in favor with man people have asked me about that verse and other others like it like if Jesus was God robed in human flesh that's what the Incarnation means he's the second person of the trinity how in the world can God grow in wisdom how in the world can God grow in stature how can God grow in favor with God how is that possible it's possible because Christ laid aside access he never ceased to have all of his attributes as God but he laid aside the access um in our in our very
limited minds I think an analogy um that may help it's as if there's a there's some type of massive Divine storage unit and Christ takes his attributes of omniscience and knowing everything omnipotent being all powerful um immutability where he cannot change he takes all of these incredibly EX exalted Divine attributes and he puts them in this massive Divine storage unit he locks it up he keeps the key because he never ceases to have access to those things but he chooses not to use them for 33 and A2 years on planet Earth why because he came
to be our example he came to be your example and my example and he could not be our example unless he was dependent on the father and the Holy Spirit in the way that you and I are dependent on the father and the Holy Spirit so when Christ completed that mission the mission of our Salvation the mission of our Redemption when he said it is finished on the cross and yielded up his Spirit to the father those things that were that he set aside the father says it's time for you to have those back you
you you're not going to operate apart from those anymore and so the father and the spirit say here uh here is all authority and and Jesus says I've been given all authority and in heaven and on Earth and so Theo the father and the Holy Spirit somehow were connected with him to keep all of those things in safekeeping until he completed his mission and when he completed his mission Philippians chapter 2 says he was exalted he has a name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every
tongue confess that he's Lord to the glory of God the father and he now has at this time from the time of his uh as Ascension to now and forever he has all authority I have been given all authority in heaven and on Earth not just on the Earth but in the Eternal realm also and he says because of that I want you to go and make disciples of all the nations um this Commission is to every disciple it's to every believer the mission of every believer is to become a disciple and then to make
disciples and so the Great Commission is not just be a disciple it's become a discipl maker multiply disciples and when people respond to the message of Jesus and they're committed to following Jesus to be an apprentice of Jesus a committed a committed learner of the ways of Jesus it says baptize them in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit so when we share the gospel of Christ when we invite people to receive Christ when we encourage people to not just be a believer to to but to be a committed learner
and to follow the example of Christ we are participating in the great Co Commission of Jesus when we baptize people when we take the time to fill up a container of water or go into a stream or a river or a lake and in that physical act we baptize someone in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit we are participating in the commission of Jesus Christ and we're proclaiming his death his burial his resurrection Romans chapter 6 and verse 4 says in baptism PE we are burying people and raising them
to New Life with the Lord Jesus Christ so this is Great Commission work sharing Christ encouraging people to become disciples baptizing people this is co Mission work with the spirit of Christ and he says teach these new disciples to obey all the Commandments I have given you and so it's our responsibility as Mission as people on Mission with Jesus to teach everything that Jesus taught and to encourage people to have obedient and consecrated Hearts to the Lord through understanding and applying his teaching and Jesus says in effect if you are committed to this my presence
is going to be with you my power is going to be with you in ways that you would never experience otherwise when he says I am with you always even to the End of the Age what he is saying is when you're committed to my commission I am with you in it you're not doing this by yourself if you are committed to sharing the gospel what I've achieved for people if you're committed to encouraging people to follow me fully and learn from me if you're baptizing people in the name of the father Son and the
Holy Spirit then I am with you in a in a unique and Powerful way it is a commission people I know people misapply this verse all the time and tell me Well Jesus said he's with me all always even to the end of the age and that's not exactly what he's saying here what he's saying is as you do this we're in this Mission together and my presence and my power will be upon you if you're life and your ability and your intentionality is to carry out this mission that I'm giving you it will be
a commission and you'll never be alone and I will be be with you and this power this Authority which is all authority in heaven and on Earth will be working through your life you will not be doing this in your own strength you start walking this way and I'll pour out my power and my presence upon you that is the Great Commission it is a commission with the Lord Jesus Christ so we share the gospel the gospel is referred to in scripture as uh a seed it's like a seed that we put in the ground
and it can uh it can germinate grow it can bear a harvest uh or not based on the human heart the human heart is referred to in the scripture as soil and and we're going to see that so we're going to look at Matthew Chapter 13 to see the heart of uh of humanity and there are four different soils to describe the the heart posture how people respond to the message of Christ the gospel of Christ and the idea of following Christ uh and in Matthew 13 there's a parable and a parable is just an
Earthly story with a Heavenly meaning uh Jesus taught using Parables very very often quite often um so his disciples asked him you know why are you using Parables why are you telling stories like this and in Matthew 1312 Jesus um responded to them and he said to those who listen listen to my teaching more understanding will be given and they will have an abundance of knowledge but for those who are not listening even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them that is why I use these Parables for they look but they
don't really see they hear but they don't really listen or understand so he spoke in Parables so that people who get it were the people who really wanted to get it uh and the people who were mere bystanders and onlookers he allowed it just to go right over their heads uh Jesus wants people to be serious about understanding his teaching and when when people have that kind of heart he increases their understanding uh Jesus and the spirit of Christ the Holy Spirit um are the ones that that give he is the one who gives understanding
so if you don't want it you're not going to have it so he won't Force his will on your life um if you want the amazing blessing of his plan and purpose for your life you have to choose it so um it's it's it's good to pray something like this make this a part of your prayer Lord I want to hear from you I want to learn from you I want you to open my my heart and my mind to understand exactly what you want me to um let my understanding of your perfect word change
who I am and How I Live For Your Glory in this world um have that heart and express that to the Lord and the Lord Jesus says I will increase your understanding greatly and so in verse three of that chapter he tells this story a parable he said uh he told many stories in the form of Parables such as this one listen a farmer went out to plant some seeds as he scattered them across the field some seeds fell on a foot path and the birds came and ate them other seeds fell on shallow soil
with underlying Rock the seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow but the plants soon wilted under the hot sun since they did not have deep roots and they died other seeds fell among the Thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants still other seeds fell on fertile soil and they produced a crop that was 30 60 and even a hundred times as much as has been had been planted anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand so there are players in this Parable there there are analogies metaphors things that represent other
things in this Parable and Jesus explains that the S the S is you or me if we're willing to share the gospel if we're willing to share the message of Jesus with other people we are the sers anyone willing to share the message of Jesus is a sewer the seed is the gospel the and the gospel is the achievements of Christ for our benefit uh his death his burial his resurrection the example of his life uh receiving Christ This Is The Gospel the soils here in the parable refer to the heart of the one receiving
the gospel the heart of the person who's receiving the message about Jesus and and the the description here in Matthew Chapter 13 is that the precious seed of God's kingdom does not naturally grow in the sinful human heart the soil has a very limited capacity and what is natural for the soil of the human heart are the weeds of this world 1 John 2:15 sayso not love this world or the things it offers you we're this these are the weeds in this story for when you love the world you do not have the love of
the father in you for the world offers only three things a craving for physical pleasure a craving for everything we see and pride in our own achievements and possessions these are not from the father but they are from this world and the world is fading away along with everything that people crave but anyone who is concerned with pleasing God will live forever so there are only three things in this world that are the weeds that keep us away from the gospel and the will of God and it is living for material things living for physical
pleasure and living for people making a big deal out of who you are and what you have and what you've accomplished and that's what drives the world is what drives advertising it it's what drives everything but God says those things are passing away in in James chapter 4 I believe it's verse 14 the Bible says our lives are like a vapor on a cold morning we breathe and the vapor forms and then vanishes away and so our very existence here is so temporary when you compare it to Eternity we can't even express how temporary life
is um so those are are the three things that affect the soil of the human heart and that's why naturally our hearts are not ready to receive the message of Christ some things have to happen the Holy Spirit has to uh Empower and partner with the s in order to make that human heart ready for the gospel um and indeed the hly the holy spirit's the only one that can bring people out of death out of spiritual death or separation from God into life which is faith in Christ that saves our soul and changes our
Eternal Destiny so we sers have the remedy for a world that is far sicker than they than they know a world that's dying and fading away quickly we have to share this hope that we have in Christ sewing the seeds of the Gospel so the types of the soils in the story represent the heart posture where the heart is in in humanity the soil type number one is what I call the hard heart verse 9 ver I'm sorry verse four and then described in verse 19 the key word here is uninterested so you can share
the the gospel is someone who just says I'm not interested in that that is the hard heart in this parable verse 19 Jesus saysthe seed that fell on the footpath the hard footpath are those who hear the message about the kingdom and don't understand it then the evil one comes and snatches away that seed the gospel that was planted in their hearts so uninterested Satan snatches the seed away and that's one approximately a fourth of humanity these are four different types of Hearts uh I want to share a story with you about that when we
finish describing these Hearts um and I'm going to ask my assistant here to remind me of that to share the story soil type number two is the shallow heart the key word here is unrooted there's no root and so Jesus describes this in verse 20 he explains it the seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message immediately receive it with joy man I love this message this sounds great I want this in my life verse 21 Jesus says but since they don't have Deep Roots they don't last says they fall away as
soon as they have problems or are in any way persecuted for believing God's word and so these are people that responding incredibly positively they they pray to receive Christ into their lives they pray a prayer and um they kind of perceive it as fire insurance if we if we don't go to heaven we go to hell when we die you know I punch my ticket I can live any way that I want to live but I prayed that prayer and Jesus said they're not in the Kingdom because they may they may respond with joy but
they don't have any root like they don't truly believe in me they have no intention of following me and uh and so it's an unrooted heart Colossians 2:6-7 says this now just as you accepted Christ as your lord you must continue to follow him let your roots grow down into him and let your lives be built upon him then your faith will grow strong and the truth in the truth that you were taught and you will overflow with thankfulness Jeremiah 17: 7-8 says blessed are those who trust in the Lord who've made the Lord their
hope and their confidence they're like trees planted along a riverbank with roots that reach deep into the water such trees are not bothered by heat and they're not worried by long months of drought their leaves Stay Green and they never stop producing fruit it doesn't say these trees barely make it by the Skin of Their Teeth you know people want to know how to not just how to survive but to thrive in the world and I'm telling you right now 100% that if you're rooted in Jesus Christ he will give you what you need need
to thrive that's what he called in John 10: 10 an abundant life he said I've come that you may have life and have it more abundantly so soil type number three is a tangled heart the key word is distracted Jesus described it in verse 22 he said the seed that fell among the Thorns represents those who hear God's word but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the Lord of wealth so no fruit is produced so look around your life is what Jesus is saying are you planted
in an area surrounded by Thorns that choke you out in terms of knowing and doing the will of God in terms of of being on commission with Jesus Christ um you can think about it this way is your fill in the blank whatever decisions you're making right now with your life is it making it easier or more difficult to follow Jesus is your your focus on money making it easier or more difficult to follow Jesus is the entertainment that you're looking at Movies social media Etc music that you're listening to is it making it easier
or more difficult to be on commission with Jesus and following Jesus is your group of friends in the people that you associate with making it easier or more difficult to follow Jesus be on the commission with Jesus is your girlfriend is your boyfriend making it easier or more difficult to follow Jesus is your job you go on and on is blank making it easier or more difficult if it's making it more difficult it's it's a weed it's a weed and it's choking out your Effectiveness in Christ and it's making you your heart different than what
Christ wants it to be soil type number four this is the prepared heart and the key word here is receptive verse 23 Jesus said the seed that fell on the good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God's word and produce a harvest of 30 60 or even a hundred times as much as had been planted and that's that's a harvest that's an incredible Harvest that sounds like abundance that sounds like What God Says in Ephesians 3:20 it says God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we ask or think according to
his power that's at work in us so the issue is not the skill of the swer it's not it it it's the quality of the seed not the skill of the SE it's the quality of of the seed and God getting involved like there's a God Factor that's released when our heart is fertile soil and when we're ready to be on commission with Jesus so we live in this world and it's characterized by Brokenness we don't have to look very hard to see there are things like disease disasters Wars there's a lot of pain in
this world but this is not God's original design God has a perfect design and the way that we have gotten ourselves into Brokenness is through something that the Bible calls sin sin is turning away from God's design and pursuing our own way and that leads us to Brokenness Brokenness eventually leads us to death and this death will separate us from God forever but God doesn't want us to stay in Brokenness so he's made a way out and that way is Jesus Jesus comes and he enters into our Brokenness and the death that we deserve for
pursuing Brokenness Jesus Takes akes our place and dies on a cross and his body is broken for us and 3 days after he dies he rose from the dead and he made a way out of Brokenness and people try many things to get out of Brokenness things like religion things like success or relationships education or drugs and alcohol but none of these things can get us out of Brokenness the only way out is Jesus and if we turn from our sin and believe that Jesus died died for us and rose from the dead we can
leave Brokenness and grow in a relationship with God and pursue his design and more than that we can go we can be sent just like Jesus back into Brokenness to help others come through him to pursue God's design now there's two types of people in the world there are people that are pursuing God's design and there's people that are still in Brokenness we have to ask ourselves where are we so where do you think you are so I'm going to share the story that Trent Hendrick was supposed to remind me of but uh so the
story is when I was new in Ministry I had this uh I had this Bible this was before this was before cell phones it was before apps I had an actual hard copy of the Bible that looked like a checkbook it was it was long like this about the size of a check and it had New Testament in it and I kept it with me all the time back pocket some pocket I had that new testament with me it had maybe 10 blank pages uh on the back or in the back and my goal was
to share the gospel verbally one on-one with at least a hundred people a year I'm just saying this was over 30 years ago and that was my personal goal that I felt like was an assignment from the Lord to personally share the gospel with a hundred people in a year's time and to put their names in the in the back of that uh checkbook style Bible so um at the end of the the year I had 104 names so I had I had shared what Christ had achieved for those people 104 people and I recorded
the names of those people at the end of that year I baptized uh 43 of those people at the end of the second year 26 of those people were committed followers of Jesus Christ exactly 1/4 of the people that I verbally shared Christ with so I think about this Parable in Matthew Chapter 13 where Jesus says there's four kinds of Hearts some people are just not interested and they reject it um some people receive it with joy but they they have no root and um and so um some people get distracted and deterred from it
and then some are receptive it worked out each year I kept that uh I bought several of these Bibles and I kept doing that for a few years recording all those names in the back of those Bibles and it was almost always 1/4 25% were continuing to follow Jesus Faithfully at the end of that next year so it was just something I'm just sharing that anecdotally as as a true story um that I believe connected to the soils because there's four different soils and I believe uh it even is the percentages 25% so um how
can you do this how can you make an impact uh and sew the gospel effectively I'm going to leave you with Matthew 5:116 where Jesus said let your light so shine before men before people that they may see your good works and glorify the Father in heaven so did he say they may hear your good words no he said that they may see your good works so people take the their first steps toward God through their eyes not not by their ears and so you have to live your life with Christ as his disciple in
such a way that people see a difference in your life when people see a difference in your life it clears the field so that soil might be tilled up and be fertile you're you're partnering with the Lord in that when you live out his will and his word for your life you help cultivate the soil and and help people have a thirst and a hunger for what you possess for your hope 1 Peter 3:15 says always be ready to give an answer for those who ask about the hope that's in you and that ask in
First Peter 3:15 is earned it's earned by us shining the light and love of Jesus Christ in the world that causes people to ask and we've got to be ready to share the hope that's in Jesus
