WEBVTT 00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:08.689 Kia ora, and welcome to the St. Francis Church 00:00:08.689 --> 00:00:11.490 Sermon Podcast. We're so glad that you've joined 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:14.789 us. Our prayer is that as you listen, you would 00:00:14.789 --> 00:00:17.690 encounter God's presence, be refreshed in your 00:00:17.690 --> 00:00:20.429 faith, and equipped for everyday life with Jesus. 00:00:21.109 --> 00:00:24.129 As a church, we are learning to faithfully follow 00:00:24.129 --> 00:00:27.760 Jesus by practicing His way at His pace. For 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:30.760 more info about who we are and what God is doing 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:36.500 among us, head to stfrancis .co .nz. Grace and 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:44.960 peace. Morning, church family. You can tell the 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:47.420 season's changing because jackets are still on. 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:54.159 It is. We've had a mix of weather this week, 00:00:54.179 --> 00:00:57.920 haven't we? glorious sunny days to fog and damp 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:00.340 days and everything else in between. But that's 00:01:00.340 --> 00:01:02.399 just a change of seasons and as Dave's mentioned 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:05.340 already that's what we're in as well with the 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:09.079 church calendar. We've come 50 days from Easter 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:11.980 to Pentecost last week. A week out now we're 00:01:11.980 --> 00:01:16.019 slipping into ordinary time but it's great to 00:01:16.019 --> 00:01:20.620 kick it off this next 20 odd plus weeks with 00:01:20.620 --> 00:01:25.939 this Trinity Sunday. The readings that we've 00:01:25.939 --> 00:01:29.560 had this morning from Matthew 28 and 2 Corinthians 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:35.959 13, together with the Trinity Sunday, it's talking 00:01:35.959 --> 00:01:40.739 about the fibre of who we are as disciples. What 00:01:40.739 --> 00:01:45.019 should knit us together, what we're called to 00:01:45.019 --> 00:01:55.469 do and the people we should be every day. If 00:01:55.469 --> 00:01:58.150 you're like me, sometimes Jesus' words are so 00:01:58.150 --> 00:02:02.750 familiar that we can stop truly hearing them. 00:02:03.469 --> 00:02:06.150 Sometimes I think it's selective hearing. Other 00:02:06.150 --> 00:02:08.909 times we're just so familiar with them. Like 00:02:08.909 --> 00:02:11.810 these ones, go and make disciples of all nations. 00:02:13.669 --> 00:02:17.090 How does that make you feel? It's not for me. 00:02:17.569 --> 00:02:22.009 It's someone else to do that. But we call this 00:02:22.009 --> 00:02:25.550 the Great Commission. It sounds big and global, 00:02:25.610 --> 00:02:29.490 something that is, well, that's for missionaries, 00:02:29.569 --> 00:02:33.330 pastors, church planters, or unusually confident 00:02:33.330 --> 00:02:36.949 Christians with laminated Bible tabs and impressive 00:02:36.949 --> 00:02:41.550 prayer lives. But Jesus is speaking these words 00:02:41.550 --> 00:02:47.030 to ordinary disciples. And Matthew tells us something 00:02:47.030 --> 00:02:51.449 wonderfully honest. When they saw him, they worshipped 00:02:51.449 --> 00:02:56.599 him. but some doubt it. That's a deeply human 00:02:56.599 --> 00:03:00.800 sentence, isn't it? I wonder where you are, even 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:02.500 like this morning, where you've worshipped Jesus, 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:05.539 but where are the doubts as well this morning? 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:11.099 They're standing before the risen Jesus. Death 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:13.900 has been defeated. They've seen that. The grave 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:17.879 is empty. They've looked in there. Jesus is alive 00:03:17.879 --> 00:03:22.430 and still some doubt it. Worship and doubt in 00:03:22.430 --> 00:03:25.370 the same breath, in the same group, perhaps even 00:03:25.370 --> 00:03:31.810 in the same person. That means that God's mission 00:03:31.810 --> 00:03:34.509 was not entrusted to people who heard everything 00:03:34.509 --> 00:03:38.409 worked out. It was entrusted to worshipping, 00:03:38.409 --> 00:03:42.750 wandering, sometimes wobbly disciples. And that's 00:03:42.750 --> 00:03:48.270 good news for us today. We want to witness, but 00:03:48.270 --> 00:03:52.020 we feel awkward doing it. We want to disciple 00:03:52.020 --> 00:03:55.580 others, but sometimes we wonder whether we are 00:03:55.580 --> 00:03:59.479 following Jesus faithfully ourselves. Worship 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:04.180 and doubt. And into that mix, Jesus says this. 00:04:05.080 --> 00:04:08.919 All authority in heaven and on earth has been 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:14.520 given to me, therefore go. Now think of it when 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:20.050 we grew up. The authority of our parents or a 00:04:20.050 --> 00:04:22.750 teacher or a coach or something, go out there 00:04:22.750 --> 00:04:25.889 and do it. And we went because they said to do 00:04:25.889 --> 00:04:29.350 that. Well, Jesus says, all authority in heaven 00:04:29.350 --> 00:04:33.050 and on earth has been given to me, therefore 00:04:33.050 --> 00:04:38.790 go. Not because you and I are impressive, not 00:04:38.790 --> 00:04:42.790 because you are fearless, not because you've 00:04:42.790 --> 00:04:45.850 mastered the Christian life, but because Jesus 00:04:45.850 --> 00:04:51.620 is Lord and he is with us. So Jesus begins this 00:04:51.620 --> 00:04:53.980 great commission with this, all authority in 00:04:53.980 --> 00:04:57.639 heaven and earth has been given to me. Before 00:04:57.639 --> 00:05:00.620 Jesus gives a command, he actually gives us a 00:05:00.620 --> 00:05:05.139 reality. The foundation of discipleship is not 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:12.019 our energy. It is not our church programs. And 00:05:12.019 --> 00:05:15.860 it's not our personality type. It is not whether 00:05:15.860 --> 00:05:20.069 we are extroverts or introverts. It is not whether 00:05:20.069 --> 00:05:23.449 we feel confident explaining faith. The foundation 00:05:23.449 --> 00:05:29.170 is this, Jesus reigns. With all authority in 00:05:29.170 --> 00:05:34.129 heaven and earth has been given to me. Over the 00:05:34.129 --> 00:05:36.129 life and death, over history, over the church, 00:05:36.310 --> 00:05:39.750 over our neighbourhoods, our fears that we have 00:05:39.750 --> 00:05:42.949 in our lives, over our families, our workplaces, 00:05:43.149 --> 00:05:48.040 our schools and over our ordinary week. Jesus 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:52.660 reigns over all of that. And why does that matter? 00:05:54.100 --> 00:05:57.420 Because Christian witness today can feel intimidating, 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:02.240 can't it? We live in a context where faith is 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:08.199 often seen as it's mine, it's private. It's optional, 00:06:08.420 --> 00:06:14.199 strange, outdated or even suspicious. Many people 00:06:14.199 --> 00:06:17.829 are spiritually curious. but institutionally 00:06:17.829 --> 00:06:22.170 cautious. What's happening there? What's going 00:06:22.170 --> 00:06:26.329 to happen if I enter there? They may not walk 00:06:26.329 --> 00:06:28.250 into a church building just because the doors 00:06:28.250 --> 00:06:30.730 are open or there's a sign that's out the front 00:06:30.730 --> 00:06:36.449 that says, all are welcome. They may not understand 00:06:36.449 --> 00:06:39.810 the Christian language or the liturgies that 00:06:39.810 --> 00:06:43.470 we may use. They may have had a painful experience 00:06:43.470 --> 00:06:47.209 with religion. And they may be watching to see 00:06:47.209 --> 00:06:50.189 whether the people of Jesus, you and I gathered 00:06:50.189 --> 00:06:55.870 here, actually look anything like Jesus. So Jesus 00:06:55.870 --> 00:07:00.350 does not send us out with a swagger. He sends 00:07:00.350 --> 00:07:06.230 us out with his authority and his presence. Dallas 00:07:06.230 --> 00:07:09.410 Willard described discipleship as this, apprenticeship 00:07:09.410 --> 00:07:13.269 to Jesus, learning from him how to live our actual 00:07:13.269 --> 00:07:19.600 lives in the kingdom of God. When I was learning 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:22.199 the sign writing trade, I was apprenticed to 00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:25.399 someone to how to hold a brush, how to mix paint, 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:28.019 do all the mundane things, how to sweep a floor 00:07:28.019 --> 00:07:31.120 properly with a broom. All those things as an 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:34.139 apprentice. My dad, who was a carpenter, he was 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:35.680 apprenticed to someone else, then apprenticed 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:39.720 others. To learn the trade that you were called 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:44.100 to do or you'd chosen. We are apprenticed to 00:07:44.100 --> 00:07:50.269 Jesus to learn his way. to be his people. That 00:07:50.269 --> 00:07:52.870 is discipleship. It is not just knowing Christian 00:07:52.870 --> 00:07:57.930 information. It is learning Jesus' way of life, 00:07:58.110 --> 00:08:01.089 looking through scripture, being guided by the 00:08:01.089 --> 00:08:08.769 Holy Spirit. Can you say, what is the headline 00:08:08.769 --> 00:08:11.250 of the words at the top of our weekly newsletter 00:08:11.250 --> 00:08:20.529 that goes out each week? I was met with the same 00:08:20.529 --> 00:08:27.730 silence earlier on. See words so familiar that 00:08:27.730 --> 00:08:32.710 you lose sight of them? Who's looking on their 00:08:32.710 --> 00:08:38.769 phone for their newsletter? Practicing the way 00:08:38.769 --> 00:08:43.330 of Jesus at the pace of Jesus. Right at the top. 00:08:46.029 --> 00:08:48.710 So the question is not only do I believe in Jesus, 00:08:48.769 --> 00:08:53.529 it's also am I learning to live from Jesus, from 00:08:53.529 --> 00:08:57.710 the Holy Spirit, to be guided by them, by reading 00:08:57.710 --> 00:08:59.730 scripture, understanding what it actually means 00:08:59.730 --> 00:09:02.870 in my life to be a disciple as I apprentice to 00:09:02.870 --> 00:09:10.830 Jesus every day. So how would Jesus live my family 00:09:10.830 --> 00:09:16.000 life? How would Jesus treat my neighbour? How 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:21.720 would Jesus speak in my workplace? If we're learning 00:09:21.720 --> 00:09:26.179 from Jesus, then we live like him in those places. 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:29.139 How would Jesus handle conflict in our church? 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:32.299 Or how would Jesus respond to the lonely or the 00:09:32.299 --> 00:09:36.000 overlooked, the difficult, the poor, the old, 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:39.899 the young, the anxious or the angry? What would 00:09:39.899 --> 00:09:42.779 then be my response if I encountered anything 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:47.960 like that? Discipleship is not a Sunday hobby 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:51.940 and then you pack it away after morning tea until 00:09:51.940 --> 00:09:54.720 next week. It is a whole life apprenticeship. 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:03.679 Jesus says go and make disciples. And that word 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:08.220 go can carry the sense of as you go. So as you 00:10:08.220 --> 00:10:11.919 go from here to wherever you are today. As you 00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:15.539 go during the week to different places. Go and 00:10:15.539 --> 00:10:18.480 make disciples by the words that you speak and 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:24.620 the life that you live. Now many workplaces put 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:27.799 out shirts, don't they? Or tops which got a branding 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:31.860 on it saying who that person is working for. 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:36.039 Your life is branded very differently as disciples 00:10:36.039 --> 00:10:39.740 of Jesus. It's branded by the Holy Spirit. By 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:42.960 how you speak and behave and how you... hold 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:47.620 back words which should never be spoken. In other 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:52.440 words, this is not about going overseas, though 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:54.740 it includes that. It's not only about special 00:10:54.740 --> 00:10:58.879 events, though God can use them. It is not only 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:01.480 about church services, though they matter deeply 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:04.440 of gathering together. It is about the people 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:09.360 of God living as disciples as we go each and 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:15.179 every day. As we go to school, as we go to work 00:11:15.179 --> 00:11:18.820 or to the supermarket or to sports practice, 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:22.320 whether it's a cafe or back to our homes and 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:27.019 streets, the mission field is not only over there, 00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:30.480 it is also next door to whoever you encounter. 00:11:31.980 --> 00:11:35.740 And this is where discipleship and witness belong 00:11:35.740 --> 00:11:40.059 together. Sometimes we separate them. That's 00:11:40.059 --> 00:11:42.759 over there. They're like two railway lines running 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:45.240 parallel. We know what they are, but they're 00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:50.720 never going to connect. We think discipleship 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:52.899 is what happens inside the church and witness 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:58.799 is what happens outside the church. But in the 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:03.289 New Testament, they are joined. It's like those 00:12:03.289 --> 00:12:06.490 two parallel rails, one's being switched to come 00:12:06.490 --> 00:12:10.009 in and join together. We are discipled in the 00:12:10.009 --> 00:12:13.210 way of Jesus, and then our lives, each and every 00:12:13.210 --> 00:12:19.009 day, become a witness to Jesus. Leslie Newbigin, 00:12:19.049 --> 00:12:21.529 in his book, The Gospel in a Polarist Society, 00:12:22.169 --> 00:12:24.710 says that a church is being discipled becomes 00:12:24.710 --> 00:12:26.710 a visible sign of the gospel. And he says it 00:12:26.710 --> 00:12:30.830 this way. The church is not the source of the 00:12:30.830 --> 00:12:35.070 witness. The Holy Spirit is the witness. And 00:12:35.070 --> 00:12:37.429 the church is a community through which a spirit 00:12:37.429 --> 00:12:45.950 bears witness. That matters in today's context. 00:12:47.230 --> 00:12:50.370 In our life today. Because our neighbours may 00:12:50.370 --> 00:12:53.110 not first ask, what is your church statement 00:12:53.110 --> 00:12:57.049 of faith? Now I think that would be a lot harder 00:12:57.049 --> 00:12:59.070 to answer than, what is the top of our newsletter? 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:05.440 They may ask consciously or unconsciously, do 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:07.539 these people that are apprentices to Jesus, do 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:12.100 they love well? Do they forgive? Do they listen? 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:18.340 Do they serve? Do they tell the truth? Do they 00:13:18.340 --> 00:13:20.720 have hope in the world that's out there right 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:27.000 now? And do they make room for the lonely? And 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:29.820 do they treat children and older people with 00:13:29.820 --> 00:13:35.419 dignity? Do they handle disagreement differently? 00:13:35.539 --> 00:13:40.419 Do they care about this neighbourhood? Now, we 00:13:40.419 --> 00:13:43.700 fall pretty short sometimes on each of those. 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:49.080 But our hope is that we try and, as we confess 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:51.340 and repent, is to work better at them in the 00:13:51.340 --> 00:13:55.500 next engagement with someone. Our witness is 00:13:55.500 --> 00:13:59.700 not less than words. We must speak of Jesus. 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:04.200 But our witness is more than words. It is a shared 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:06.960 life that makes the good news believable, just 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:09.759 as Jesus did signs and wonders to point to him 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:15.299 and to his Father. Jesus does not say, well, 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:19.779 Tony, go and make attenders. He does not say, 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:26.340 well, go make consumers of who I am. He does 00:14:26.340 --> 00:14:29.259 not say, well, Tony, go and make disciples who 00:14:29.259 --> 00:14:34.200 agree with you. I know that doesn't work out. 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:41.039 OK. I want to do something. Can you all stand 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:50.580 up, please, if you wish to? OK, you can sit down 00:14:50.580 --> 00:15:00.279 now. Ah! Phew, you go. Now, I had the authority 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:04.580 and the... To get you to stand. And you did. 00:15:06.139 --> 00:15:11.720 Jesus says, go and make disciples. He has authority 00:15:11.720 --> 00:15:17.399 over heaven and earth. Easier to listen to me 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:22.019 than it is to listen to Christ. Because the sacrifice 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:24.159 and things of what he says to go and make disciples 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:26.580 is far greater than just standing up and sitting 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:32.720 down. I wonder how you felt about those instructions. 00:15:33.559 --> 00:15:38.980 What are we going to do? I want you to now hear 00:15:38.980 --> 00:15:42.039 these words from someone else. As I've said, 00:15:42.179 --> 00:15:48.679 his instructions to us all, make disciples. A 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:53.240 disciple is a learner, a follower, an apprentice, 00:15:53.659 --> 00:15:57.259 someone whose life has been reshaped around Jesus. 00:15:58.830 --> 00:16:01.049 That means the aim of church life is not simply 00:16:01.049 --> 00:16:04.950 to fill seats, it is to form people as apprentices 00:16:04.950 --> 00:16:10.830 of Jesus. To form people who love God. To form 00:16:10.830 --> 00:16:13.610 people who love their neighbours. To form people 00:16:13.610 --> 00:16:17.129 who know how to pray. To form people who forgive, 00:16:17.450 --> 00:16:22.129 who serve, who can suffer with hope. To form 00:16:22.129 --> 00:16:24.669 people who carry the presence of Christ into 00:16:24.669 --> 00:16:30.929 ordinary places. This is important for a mixed 00:16:30.929 --> 00:16:35.509 -age church. Discipleship is not just for adults. 00:16:37.070 --> 00:16:39.970 It's not just for youth. It's not just for children. 00:16:40.049 --> 00:16:44.529 It's not just for leaders. The youngest among 00:16:44.529 --> 00:16:48.950 us are not the church of tomorrow. They are part 00:16:48.950 --> 00:16:53.230 of the church today. The oldest among us are 00:16:53.230 --> 00:16:59.720 not retired from discipleship. They and you are 00:16:59.720 --> 00:17:02.080 living libraries of faith, endurance and wisdom 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:06.700 and prayer. The middle -aged are not merely busy 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:13.220 volunteers. You are called to model faith in 00:17:13.220 --> 00:17:15.579 the pressure cooker of work, family, finances 00:17:15.579 --> 00:17:18.500 and responsibility. And people are watching. 00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:22.200 And young adults are not a problem to be solved. 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:26.059 You are image -bearers called into courage, purpose, 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:33.220 Holiness and belonging. Children can pray. Teenagers 00:17:33.220 --> 00:17:37.140 can witness. Older people can disciple. New believers 00:17:37.140 --> 00:17:39.900 can encourage with the enthusiasm that they have. 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:44.599 Quiet people can serve faith powerfully. And 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:52.140 wounded people can become healers by grace. A 00:17:52.140 --> 00:17:55.200 healthy church. What does that look like? Well, 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:58.299 it is not a crowd watching a few spiritual professionals 00:17:58.299 --> 00:18:03.200 do it for you. A healthy church is a family of 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:08.160 disciples helping one another follow Jesus. Tripping 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:14.220 over, helping back up, but continuing. Paul's 00:18:14.220 --> 00:18:17.259 words in 2 Corinthians 13, well, they give us 00:18:17.259 --> 00:18:19.440 a great picture of that kind of church life. 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:24.500 He writes, finally, brothers and sisters, Rejoice. 00:18:25.740 --> 00:18:28.640 Strive for full restoration. Encourage one another. 00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:32.680 Be of one mind and live in peace. And the God 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:38.619 of love and peace will be with you. Notice how 00:18:38.619 --> 00:18:42.420 practical that is? Rejoice. Be restored. Encourage 00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:50.000 one another. Pursue unity. Live in peace. This 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:52.980 is not glamorous stuff. This is just missional, 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.720 living out life stuff as an apprentice of Jesus. 00:18:56.680 --> 00:18:58.940 Because one of the strongest witnesses of church 00:18:58.940 --> 00:19:03.039 and its people can have in a divided age is a 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:08.839 reconciled community. We live in a world that 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:11.619 is quick to outrage. I said to someone this morning, 00:19:11.700 --> 00:19:14.460 you open the news on a new day and you think, 00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:17.579 what's going to happen? Or what has happened? 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:25.240 It's quick to cancel. A world which is also quick 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:29.460 to divide, to label people, and quick to assume 00:19:29.460 --> 00:19:33.339 the worst of someone. And into that world, Paul 00:19:33.339 --> 00:19:38.160 says to the church, be restored. Encourage one 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:44.680 another. Live in peace. That does not mean pretending 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:47.700 that everything is fine, because that's wrong. 00:19:49.130 --> 00:19:51.710 It does not mean avoiding hard conversations. 00:19:52.029 --> 00:19:56.910 It does not mean unity at the expense of truth. 00:19:58.869 --> 00:20:01.289 It means we learn to deal with one another in 00:20:01.289 --> 00:20:07.289 the way of Jesus. As a leader of church over 00:20:07.289 --> 00:20:12.130 25 years, I've seen it, heard it and experienced 00:20:12.130 --> 00:20:15.269 all of the worst that we can be as disciples 00:20:15.269 --> 00:20:21.519 of Jesus and all the best. I'd rather have more 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:26.200 of the best. But it happens in the life of churches 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:30.579 because we forget who we're actually apprenticed 00:20:30.579 --> 00:20:35.200 to and how we should behave and speak and love 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:44.420 one another. We tell the truth with love and 00:20:44.420 --> 00:20:48.099 that's hard to do. We repent when we are wrong. 00:20:48.460 --> 00:20:51.460 We forgive when we are wounded. We refuse gossip. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:56.519 We honour the awkward person. And we make space 00:20:56.519 --> 00:20:59.480 for the young. And while we're doing that, we 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:02.299 also listen to the old. We carry the weak. We 00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:06.059 bless instead of bite. That kind of church becomes 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:09.839 a witness for those that enter this door, but 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:15.359 also in the community that's around us. In Matthew 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:19.829 28, Jesus... sends the disciples out together. 00:21:20.589 --> 00:21:23.450 In 2 Corinthians 13, Paul addresses the church 00:21:23.450 --> 00:21:28.509 together. This matters because we see that in 00:21:28.509 --> 00:21:32.009 the modern Western culture that often turns faith 00:21:32.009 --> 00:21:35.730 into the private individual journey. It's my 00:21:35.730 --> 00:21:40.990 faith. No one else's. It's my growth. Why are 00:21:40.990 --> 00:21:44.750 they interested? It's my calling. I'm not going 00:21:44.750 --> 00:21:46.869 to tell anyone else what God's placed in my life. 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:53.019 It's my preferences. I like this, not that. It's 00:21:53.019 --> 00:21:56.240 my worship style. Hymns to contemporary or to 00:21:56.240 --> 00:22:02.440 silence or tese. It's my spiritual life. No one 00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:06.740 else can touch it. But the New Testament, well, 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:10.880 that keeps calling us back to a people. Jesus 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:13.200 is forming a people who reveal his kingdom together. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:17.900 That means our witness is not just, Look at my 00:22:17.900 --> 00:22:21.900 personal faith. It is, come and see a community 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:27.000 learning the way of Jesus. And this is deeply 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:29.140 relevant for the neighbourhood in church life, 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:33.500 wherever churches are planted. Imagine a church 00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:36.259 known not just for Sunday services and gatherings, 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:39.599 but for its presence in the neighbourhood. The 00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:42.000 streets that are out there around this building. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:46.279 A church where community... The community would 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:51.819 notice if it disappeared. That is witness. Not 00:22:51.819 --> 00:22:55.779 flashy, not forced, not weird. Just the people 00:22:55.779 --> 00:22:58.920 of God living as a sign of the presence of Jesus 00:22:58.920 --> 00:23:05.500 faithfully. N .T. Wright speaks often of the 00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:08.839 church as a signpost of God's new creation. A 00:23:08.839 --> 00:23:11.400 people whose life points beyond itself to what 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:17.539 God is doing in the world. So when we bless, 00:23:17.619 --> 00:23:20.559 when we speak words of encouragement, when we 00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:24.980 love someone else, that is pointing to what God 00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:29.460 is doing in the world. That is the kind of witness 00:23:29.460 --> 00:23:33.099 that our neighbourhood needs. Not a church obsessed 00:23:33.099 --> 00:23:37.039 with survival, but a church alive with hope. 00:23:39.819 --> 00:23:41.920 These passages that you've heard this morning 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:45.660 from Matthew 28 and 2 Corinthians are deeply 00:23:45.660 --> 00:23:50.619 Trinitarian. Jesus says to baptise disciples 00:23:50.619 --> 00:23:54.099 and he says do it with these words, in the name 00:23:54.099 --> 00:23:56.299 of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 00:23:56.299 --> 00:24:00.940 Spirit. In 2 Corinthians, Paul blesses the church 00:24:00.940 --> 00:24:03.839 with these words, may the grace of the Lord Jesus 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:07.039 Christ and the love of God and the fellowship 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:14.299 of the Holy Spirit be with you all. This is not 00:24:14.299 --> 00:24:17.980 just a formal ending that Paul uses. This is 00:24:17.980 --> 00:24:22.420 the life that you and I are invited into. The 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:26.019 Christian life is with the triune God, Father, 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:30.119 Son, and Spirit, which is the love of the Father, 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:32.559 the grace of the Son, and the fellowship of the 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:37.569 Holy Spirit. That means discipleship As we go 00:24:37.569 --> 00:24:40.289 around being apprenticed to Jesus, it's not self 00:24:40.289 --> 00:24:43.829 -improvement with religious language. It is being 00:24:43.829 --> 00:24:49.509 drawn into the life and love of God. You see, 00:24:49.569 --> 00:24:53.470 the Father sends us in love. The Son saves us 00:24:53.470 --> 00:24:56.750 by grace. And the Spirit impels us for fellowship 00:24:56.750 --> 00:25:01.930 and for witness. And because God is not isolated 00:25:01.930 --> 00:25:05.680 but Father, Son and Spirit, and eternal love. 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:10.380 The church, well, you and I, cannot be a collection 00:25:10.380 --> 00:25:14.779 of isolated individuals. We are drawn into communion 00:25:14.779 --> 00:25:20.299 with God and to commune with one another. And 00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:23.839 this is why church unity matters. This is why 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:29.279 reconciliation matters. This is why encouragement 00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:34.900 matters. This is why peace matters. Because the 00:25:34.900 --> 00:25:37.000 life of the church is meant to reflect the life 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:42.559 of God. And when the church is cold, when it 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:45.539 becomes divided, consumeristic or self -protective, 00:25:45.619 --> 00:25:49.519 our witness becomes blurry. But when the church 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:53.500 is gracious, loving, spiritual, truthful, humble 00:25:53.500 --> 00:25:56.220 and hospitable, our witness becomes clearer. 00:25:57.660 --> 00:26:01.019 People begin to see a glimpse of God's life among 00:26:01.019 --> 00:26:06.430 God's people. And what does that look like today 00:26:06.430 --> 00:26:10.309 then? Well, five things, and I'm just going to, 00:26:10.329 --> 00:26:12.710 a couple of sentences to each one of these things 00:26:12.710 --> 00:26:17.930 today. It looks like presence. Now, you and I, 00:26:17.990 --> 00:26:21.869 we cannot witness to people. We never notice. 00:26:22.730 --> 00:26:26.309 Jesus' promise to us is, I am with you always. 00:26:28.269 --> 00:26:30.829 If he is present with us, then we can be present 00:26:30.829 --> 00:26:35.529 with others. And in a distracted age, slowing 00:26:35.529 --> 00:26:38.890 down enough to learn a name, it means listening 00:26:38.890 --> 00:26:42.289 without rushing to fix it or to ask someone, 00:26:42.809 --> 00:26:46.349 well, how are you really doing? Do you want me 00:26:46.349 --> 00:26:50.490 to sit with you? Maybe you can just spend some 00:26:50.490 --> 00:26:54.769 time. It means being interruptible. Even though 00:26:54.769 --> 00:26:56.049 you might be thinking, I'm right in the middle 00:26:56.049 --> 00:27:00.289 of this task here. In a distracted age, presence 00:27:00.289 --> 00:27:06.069 is powerful. If you jump to another slide, Stuart, 00:27:06.130 --> 00:27:07.549 the next one, then we'll come back to this one. 00:27:08.309 --> 00:27:10.750 Michael Frost, in his book, Surprise the World, 00:27:10.809 --> 00:27:13.609 says, Missional Christians don't primarily invite 00:27:13.609 --> 00:27:17.230 people into their world. They enter the world 00:27:17.230 --> 00:27:24.329 of others. Go and make disciples. So as you go, 00:27:24.509 --> 00:27:29.849 enter their world. Tell them about me. Show them 00:27:29.849 --> 00:27:33.059 about me. Let them know the love of God, the 00:27:33.059 --> 00:27:37.359 grace of Christ, and the power and the fellowship 00:27:37.359 --> 00:27:42.420 of the Holy Spirit. And then following presence 00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:46.579 formation, we need to ask in the life of this 00:27:46.579 --> 00:27:54.660 church as well, what events are we running? And 00:27:54.660 --> 00:27:57.220 then we've got to look at, should we be doing 00:27:57.220 --> 00:28:00.670 them? But we need to ask this, what kind of people 00:28:00.670 --> 00:28:05.750 are we becoming? Are we becoming more patient, 00:28:05.809 --> 00:28:09.309 more generous, more prayerful? Are we becoming 00:28:09.309 --> 00:28:12.750 more courageous and more forgiving, more like 00:28:12.750 --> 00:28:16.369 Jesus? Because the credibility of our witness 00:28:16.369 --> 00:28:19.490 as his disciples is connected to the character 00:28:19.490 --> 00:28:27.130 of our discipleship. Another thing that it looks 00:28:27.130 --> 00:28:29.890 like for us is this is shared responsibility. 00:28:31.349 --> 00:28:35.069 Making disciples is not only the minister's job 00:28:35.069 --> 00:28:38.650 or the elders of the church. It is the work of 00:28:38.650 --> 00:28:43.150 the whole people of God. Parents disciple children. 00:28:43.349 --> 00:28:47.250 Children remind adults of wonder. Youth encourage 00:28:47.250 --> 00:28:50.509 one another. Older believers mentor younger believers. 00:28:51.470 --> 00:28:56.019 Small groups become places of formation. Friendships, 00:28:56.019 --> 00:29:00.500 well, they become spaces of prayer. Hospitality 00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:03.579 becomes mission. Every believer has a part to 00:29:03.579 --> 00:29:11.160 play. But it also looks like ordinary courage. 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:17.039 Witness does not always mean preaching on a street 00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:21.660 corner. Because you wouldn't be here if that 00:29:21.660 --> 00:29:26.440 was you. Now when you see someone preaching on 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:32.900 a street corner, what do you do? You cringe, 00:29:33.059 --> 00:29:38.200 don't you? For them or for you? It would be for 00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:41.960 you. Do you walk close to them or do you walk 00:29:41.960 --> 00:29:47.839 closer to the shop front? That's not for every 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:50.680 one of us to do that. That is for some people 00:29:50.680 --> 00:29:55.599 to do. Encourage them. Say, good on you for witnessing. 00:29:57.000 --> 00:30:04.339 Sometimes it means saying, I follow Jesus. I 00:30:04.339 --> 00:30:08.599 follow the chiefs. Well, I follow Jesus and the 00:30:08.599 --> 00:30:14.039 chiefs. And saying, to be able to say that without 00:30:14.039 --> 00:30:16.880 embarrassment. Sometimes it means offering prayer. 00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:22.599 It means inviting someone to church. Or it could 00:30:22.599 --> 00:30:27.759 be apologising first. That takes courage. Sometimes 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:34.240 it means refusing to join gossip. Sometimes it 00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:36.799 means telling your story simply. This is what 00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:42.579 Jesus has done in me. Ordinary courage is still 00:30:42.579 --> 00:30:47.420 courage. And fifthly, it looks like peace. Paul 00:30:47.420 --> 00:30:51.460 says this to the church. Live in peace. And the 00:30:51.460 --> 00:30:57.680 God of love and peace will be with you. Now, 00:30:57.720 --> 00:31:02.039 peace is not passive. Peace is something that 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:06.920 we practice. We do that here every Sunday. In 00:31:06.920 --> 00:31:09.759 church life, peace means we refuse to let preferences 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:15.099 become idols. We refuse to treat people as problems. 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:18.359 We refuse to let disagreement become contempt. 00:31:19.980 --> 00:31:23.480 And when it's right, we pursue restoration because 00:31:23.480 --> 00:31:26.720 Christ has restored us. That kind of peace speaks 00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:32.740 loudly in a fragmented world. So I want to give 00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:36.319 you this illustration now of what discipleship 00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:39.200 is like. Think of a lighthouse. I've given you 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:43.680 a picture to help think of a fancy one. A lighthouse 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:46.079 does not chase ships around the ocean, does it? 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:50.119 It stands where it has been placed and it shines. 00:31:51.299 --> 00:31:55.299 But the light has to be clear. If the glass is 00:31:55.299 --> 00:31:58.880 dirty, the light is then dimmed. So if the structure 00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:03.880 is broken, the signal becomes confused. The church, 00:32:03.900 --> 00:32:08.180 you and I, God's people, is not the light itself. 00:32:08.940 --> 00:32:11.900 Jesus is the light. But we are called to be a 00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:15.420 witness to the light. Our discipleship is like 00:32:15.420 --> 00:32:19.529 cleaning the glass. Our unity is like strengthening 00:32:19.529 --> 00:32:23.890 the structure of where we stand. Our love, our 00:32:23.890 --> 00:32:27.730 love is like keeping the lamp visible. Our witness 00:32:27.730 --> 00:32:31.150 as disciples of Jesus is the light of Christ 00:32:31.150 --> 00:32:35.369 shining into the neighborhood. We do not need 00:32:35.369 --> 00:32:40.680 to be impressive. We need to be faithful. And 00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:43.000 for the church as a whole, for all of us here 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:45.500 and St Andrews and anyone else to come, our neighbourhood 00:32:45.500 --> 00:32:49.720 does not need a perfect church. We're imperfect 00:32:49.720 --> 00:32:54.259 people with a perfect God. It needs a faithful 00:32:54.259 --> 00:32:57.940 church. It needs a church that is present in 00:32:57.940 --> 00:33:02.000 the community. It needs a church that loves mixtures 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:06.839 of people. It needs to be a Jesus -shaped church 00:33:06.839 --> 00:33:13.930 to be the church. So to land this, Matthew 28 00:33:13.930 --> 00:33:17.769 gives us the commission. Go, make disciples, 00:33:18.230 --> 00:33:23.990 baptise, teach, and remember, I am with you. 00:33:25.250 --> 00:33:28.910 2 Corinthians 13 gives us the community shape 00:33:28.910 --> 00:33:35.630 of that commission. We are to rejoice. We are 00:33:35.630 --> 00:33:37.910 to be restored. We are to encourage one another. 00:33:38.920 --> 00:33:43.180 And we are to live in peace, receive the grace 00:33:43.180 --> 00:33:46.640 of Jesus, the love of God, and the fellowship 00:33:46.640 --> 00:33:50.720 of the Spirit. Together, these two passages, 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:55.720 well, they tell us that discipleship and witness 00:33:55.720 --> 00:33:59.359 are not separate callings. They are one and the 00:33:59.359 --> 00:34:03.799 same. We are formed by Jesus so that we can witness 00:34:03.799 --> 00:34:07.960 to Jesus. You and I, we are gathered in love 00:34:07.960 --> 00:34:12.960 so that we can be sent in love. We are restored 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:16.960 by grace so that we can become agents of restoration. 00:34:19.260 --> 00:34:24.159 You and I, we are filled with the Spirit so that 00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:26.519 our life together becomes a signpost of the kingdom. 00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:30.599 Not of St. Francis Church, but of the kingdom. 00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:36.599 So the invitation today is not, Will you do more 00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:40.119 for God? I want to give this invitation to this 00:34:40.119 --> 00:34:45.539 church. Will you become more like Jesus together 00:34:45.539 --> 00:34:54.639 for the sake of the world God loves? The work 00:34:54.639 --> 00:34:59.000 of Christ in this place hinges on whether you'll 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:03.920 become more like Jesus together. No private faiths 00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:06.809 here. for the sake of the world that God loves. 00:35:08.670 --> 00:35:12.710 Because Jesus still says this to us. All authority 00:35:12.710 --> 00:35:16.869 is mine, so go and make disciples. Teach them 00:35:16.869 --> 00:35:21.550 my way, and surely I am with you always, to the 00:35:21.550 --> 00:35:24.329 very end of the age. Amen.