An Invitation to Go A cause to die for Steve McClure

STAGES OF MINISTRY ILLUSTRATION 2AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR UnbelieverNew BelieverDiscipleLabourerLeader Equipping Establishing Leadership Training Evangelism

AUTUMN TERM PLAN 1. An invitation to Follow – Jesus is Enough 2. An invitation to Grow – Growing to Maturity 3. An invitation to Build – Building to Last 4. An invitation to Labour – God’s Harvest 5. An invitation to Go – A cause to Die for 6. An invitation to Serve – The Worth of the Individual 7. An invitation to Pray – The Lord of the Harvest 3AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

WHAT IS A DISCIPLE? 4 ‘Mathetes’ (Greek) - a learner, follower, imitator. From the root ‘math’ indicating thought accompanied by endeavour. Vines Expository Dictionary “The disciple of Jesus is not the deluxe or heavy duty model of the Christian...He or she stands on the pages of the NT as the 1 st level of transportation in the Kingdom of God.” Dallas Willard, The Great Omission “The objective is not to "learn" a method of discipleship or a book of the Bible. To be a disciple of Jesus is to enlist in a new movement in which one is a perpetual learner whose Master is the Divine Lord.” Dr. William W Klein, Denver Seminary, Colorado AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

A VISION OF GOD (ISAIAH 6:1-9) 5 “A commission is to be entrusted with a task, a commission is a warrant conferring authority to those being commissioned” ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the L ORD Almighty.’ Is 6:5 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” Luke 17:10 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ Is 6:8 AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

THE VISION OF GOD’S HEART 6 “A vision is something that comes into view – something that comes into clear perspective.” AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

THE GREAT COMMISSION …‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ Matt 28:16-20 He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ John 21:20-21 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 1:8 7AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

GREAT COMMISSION: POWER & AUTHORITY …‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ Matt 28:16-20 He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ John 21:20-21 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 1:8 8AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

GREAT COMMISSION: HERE & AFAR …‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ Matt 28:16-20 He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ John 21:20-21 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 1:8 9AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

GREAT COMMISSION: BEING AND DOING …‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ Matt 28:16-20 He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ John 21:20-21 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 1:8 10AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (1) 1. To what extent do you think that God can use you (a sinful, inadequate, unqualified and unworthy servant)? 2. What stood out to you or surprised you about the dynamics of this commission? 11AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

THE POWER OF MULTIPLICATION 12AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” 2 Timothy 2:2

THE MODEL OF JESUS 13 “Jesus multiplied his life in the 12 so that there would be more of himself to go around…He lived with the urgency of a 3 year timeline. With the cross before him, he knew that he had to prepare the 12 to carry on his mission.” Greg Ogden, Transforming Discipleship “The initial objective of Jesus’ plan was to enlist men who could bear witness to his life and carry on His work after he returned to His father…Jesus’ concern was not with programmes to reach the multitudes but with men the multitudes would follow.” Robert Coleman, The masterplan of Evangelism AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

ENCOURAGEMENT AS WE ‘GO’ 14 “The Great Commission is mind-blowing in its reach, global in its thinking, generational its outlook and it spans the centuries.” Brian Blacklock 16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. Matthew 28:16-17 “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (2) 1. What is your reaction to the ‘power of multiplication’ and where do you think you could start with this? 2. What do you think it might it look like for you to ‘multiply your life’ in the lives of others? 15AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

GOD’S PROMISES TO US 16AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR “Since you are precious and honoured in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.” Isaiah 43:4 “17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Heb 6:17-19a “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29

GOD’S PURPOSES TO USE US (ISAIAH 55) 17 (a) The Invitation to come and to invest in that which lasts forever ‘Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Isaiah 55:1-2 AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

GOD’S PURPOSES TO USE US (ISAIAH 55) 18 (b) God is making an everlasting covenant with us 3 Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. 4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. Isaiah 55:3-4 AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

GOD’S PURPOSES TO USE US (ISAIAH 55) 19 (c) We will ‘summon nations we know not’ 5 Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the L ORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendour.’ 6 Seek the L ORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the L ORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Isaiah 55:5-7 AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

GOD’S PURPOSES TO USE US (ISAIAH 55) 20 (d) God’s Word accomplishes its intended purpose 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11 AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

GOD’S PURPOSES TO USE US (ISAIAH 55) 21 (e) This is beyond our thoughts or imagination 8 ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the L ORD. 9 ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

GOD’S PURPOSES TO USE US (ISAIAH 55) 22 (f) Go out and enjoy – watch what God will do 12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn-bush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the L ORD ’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure for ever.’ Isaiah 55:12-13 AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (3) 1. What do you think of these truths about how God wants to use you in working out His promises? 2. Which of God’s promises most motivate you in being involved in the ‘unchanging nature of His Purpose’? 23AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

WHAT WILL WE LEAVE BEHIND? 24 “During his life-time Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, ‘I have no son to carry on the memory of my name.’ He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.” 2 Samuel 18:18 AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

DO YOU WANT TO BE THAT PERSON? 25AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

THE EXAMPLE OF DAWSON TROTMAN 26 “Dawson Trotman clambered back into a motorboat one day last week after two hours of water-skiing...He was dog-tired, but before he settled down he asked one of the two girls in the boat, Allene Beck, if she could swim; when she shook her head, he traded places with her so she would be in a safer spot. Minutes later the speeding boat bounced on a wave, and both of them, 50-year-old Dawson and the girl, shot into the water. He swam to her and held her head above water until the boat could circle back and she was hauled aboard. But as hands reached down to seize Trotman’s hand, he sank out of sight.” “Religion: The Navigator”, 2 July 1956, Time Magazine AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR

RESPONDING TO THE INVITATION (4) 1. Spend a couple of minutes thinking on your own about how will you respond to this Invitation to “Go”? 2. Share a couple of quick thoughts with your groups and then pray for one another 27AN INVITATION TO GO – A CAUSE TO DIE FOR