John K. Jenkins Sr - Every Disciple Making a Disciple

Father, we thank You, thank You, thank You, thank You for Your loving kindness. Many didn’t make it to this point, but we are grateful that we did. We pray for You to speak to us in these next few moments, Almighty God. Speak to hearts and lives; help us to be in the center of Your will to hear Your word. We are praying for unsaved, uncommitted, unsure people, and we pray for the saints to be strengthened and edified, and for You to be glorified. Put a hedge around this place; bind every distracting spirit, and Holy Spirit, have Your way in this place. In Jesus' name, amen.

All right, you can be seated. That song-only how many of y’all remember that song? Let me see how many of y’all know that song. Okay, these are all the older people; raise your hand. These are the people who grew up in church while y’all were out at the club. These were the people who were in church. That 's a historic song; it goes back decades. It charted the course for my life, helped me to recognize not to chase after things. Many of you are chasing after stuff. Some of y’all have made New Year 's resolutions about things that won’t matter in the end because the song says only what you do for Christ will last. It is such an important message that we need to hear and to know. I thought I would preach to you from Matthew chapter 28; this is where I’m going to preach from — Matthew 28. I was supposed to get up at 10 minutes after 11; it’s 11:30. I don’t have time to preach the whole sermon. Don 't tell me that, please don’t tell me that! Can I celebrate that y’all are here and not some other place tonight?

Matthew chapter 28 is the farewell of Jesus. He’s about to ascend into heaven. He has been crucified, buried in the grave, and risen from the dead. He has appeared to the disciples on multiple occasions during several days, but now He is about to ascend into heaven, and these are the final words He says in Matthew 28. It says in verse 18 of Matthew 28: 18, 19, and 20, " Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on Earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen.»

I want to talk to you about every disciple making a disciple. Say that-every disciple making a disciple. Look at your neighbor and say it to them: every disciple, every disciple making a disciple. Look on the other side and say, «Be a disciple and make a disciple .» Do y’all got that? Ask your neighbor, «Are you a disciple? Are you a disciple?» And, «Are you making disciples, or are you just a churchgoer? Do you just attend? Are you just present? Are you just going to church to enjoy what it is you can get out of it, but as soon as church is over, you leave?» Are you a disciple- maker? That’s what I want to talk to you about. One of the things I want to discuss in this passage is Jesus’s final farewell words to the people. He says to them, «All authority is given to Me in heaven and on Earth. Go therefore, make disciples.» He’s giving them clear instructions. In fact, what He gives them is the mandate that Jesus gives to the church; it’s what He tells the church to do.

Unfortunately, most churches in our nation are not creating disciples. We have believers and followers, but I need to tell y’all, even the devil believes. Y’all might not know that, but that’s what James 2:19 says-that even the devil believes. God wants more than believers; He wants more than people who just follow. He wants disciples. The difference is that a disciple is somebody who is a doer of the Word. The Scriptures are crystal clear that God has called us to be doers and not hearers only. So I thought I would break down these three verses and give you some instructions.

As a matter of fact, when I normally interpret Scripture, one of the processes that I use is — let me teach this to you real quick. If you haven’t heard me talk about this before, there’s a pattern in Scripture. The pattern starts with a principle being exposed. Upon following the principle is a program of how to implement the principle, and then after that is given, there is a promise. Let me give that to you again: a principle, a program, and a promise. Somebody say, «A principle.» A principle is some truth; the principle is some biblical truth that is always true, always applied, and is true forever. It is a principle. Then there is a program: how do you implement the principle into your life? And then there’s a promise. God says if you do the principle and work the program, I have a promise for you. That 's what makes me shout-that God always keeps His promises! What is the principle? I’m glad you asked the question-it’s in verse 18. Here is the principle: «All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on Earth.» That 's enough to shout about right there! Here 's what Jesus said after He has been crucified, after He died, after He was buried…