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Salt + Light Community is a SOMA church plant in the heart of Fort Worth, TX. Here you’ll find teaching and discussions from our gatherings on Sundays.
Briefly, uh, before we move, want
to give time to celebrate God's
work and his blessing to us.
That Fortress has been.
Um, but we've been having these
conversations around being a, a
disciple, making people around,
around having a disciple, making
life, living, a disciple, making life.
Um, and we planned those kind of
the flow of these conversations
out before we knew our moving date.
Um, and just by God's grace, today's
final theme fits this moving day.
Really perfectly.
Um, and I think like
in a non enforced way.
So that's really cool.
Um, and here's why it is, it is
'cause a disciple making life is not
limited to one place like Jesus's
commission to go make disciples.
Doesn't happen just in a single space
where a church is gathered, whether
that's been a, you know, beautiful
European cathedral or a house church
under a tree in the bush of Africa.
Like that's not the only places
that, uh, those aren't the only
places that disciple making happen.
Um, and so there's been aspects of
making disciples that we've gotten
to see and experience and be part
of here at Fortress, and there'll
be aspects of making disciples that
we'll get to see and experience and
be a part of as we move to Launch Box
Collective, but also a disciple making.
Life happens everywhere, happens
wherever the people of God are.
God doesn't dwell in a building like
the Old Testament temple in Jerusalem.
What's, what's the dwelling place of God?
What's the temple of God?
Because of the resurrection.
His people, his people, like you
have Christ living richly within you.
So wherever you are, if you follow
Jesus, God is with you, empowering
you to the things that He calls us to.
And so for these five past weeks, we've
been talking about motivation for a
disciple, making life, talking about
ways to display and declare the good news
of Jesus, talking about our dependence
on God, so we can't make disciples.
So if you haven't been here again,
welcome today's the weirdest day.
You possibly could have come.
Um, but, uh, but you're also walking
into the very end of, of this series
of conversations we've been having.
Um, and so I wanna close this series
of conversations by looking at Jesus's
actual commission, um, the verses
where we see his charge to go and
make disciples, which has kind of
been the foundation of everything
we've talked about so far this year.
So if you look at Matthew 28.
You have a Bible or an app, or you just
wanna look on this guide that we handed
out and some of the last words that Jesus
said to his followers before he ascended.
The 11 disciples went to Galilee to the
mountain on which Jesus had, uh, directed
them to which Jesus had directed them.
And when they saw him, they worshiped him.
But some.
Doubt it.
And Jesus came and said to them,
all authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to who?
Not to you.
To me.
Therefore, go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching
them to observe or obey all I have
commanded you, and behold, I'm with
you always, even to the end of the H.
There's a couple things worth noting
before we look at Jesus's words.
Be freed friends.
The disciples are not perfect.
Even in the last moments.
This is after they saw
Jesus rise from the dead.
To be clear, there was this
mix of worship and also doubt.
Followers of Jesus have no option
but to be imperfect people so we can
be a weird mix of worship and doubt.
It can be a weird mix of, of sinner
and saint of, of sufferer and victor.
We can be this weird
mix of all these things.
'cause Jesus's first
followers were just like us.
They were imperfect.
It's also worth noting it.
Jesus maintains all
authority in heaven on earth.
So he didn't wind his disciples
up, disappear and say, good luck.
I'm out.
Anything we do is done in his power.
Jesus is with them always.
Jesus is with you always until he returns.
It's his presence that guides and
empowers the disciple making life.
It's his spirit that bears
fruit for the gospel.
Yes, so that motive, that power,
that purpose, that's, that's all
the stuff surrounding Jesus's
final charge to his disciples.
That's the stuff that
makes his charge matter.
That's the stuff that
makes his charge work.
He maintains authority.
He's with us, and yet we
have a job to do here.
His actual charge to his
disciples then and now.
So to those 11 and to you
and to me is go therefore and
make disciples of all nations.
Go make disciples of all nations.
That's what we've been talking
about for the last six weeks.
Baptize them.
So discipleship is not just inward facing.
It's not just Bible studies and
care for each other and rules
of life and this kind of stuff.
If we're making disciples and baptizing
them, we're seeing folks who don't
know Jesus come to know Jesus.
We have the, the honor and privilege
of helping people come from darkness,
in delight, from being, uh, a place
where they don't belong, and people
who don't belong anywhere to being
part of the family of God, go make
disciples, baptize them, and then
teach them to observe or obey all.
I commanded you.
And so making disciples doesn't
stop when someone crosses some
line from not faith to faith.
We have the honor and privilege of helping
sisters and brothers young and old grow
more into dwelling on the good news of
Jesus, dwelling on the good news of Jesus.
Us.
And so following Jesus
is not just about word.
It's not just about a one time belief.
It's about ongoing deeds and ongoing
worship and ongoing heart affection.
Again, display and declare the good
news, declare and display the good news.
And so you and I get to help people be
with Jesus, and you and I get to help
people become like Jesus, and you and
I get to help people do what Jesus did.
We get to model it and talk about
it and practice it perfectly.
No, never, but imperfectly.
Trusting the spirit, being
obedient to what God calls us to.
We get to model and
talk about and practice.
All I commanded you is what Jesus said,
including this charge to make disciples.
And so Jesus wasn't talking about
just all the other good things.
Be nice to people and and practice
healing and pray and this kind of stuff.
But this one you don't get
to do like, no, no, no.
If we're doing all that,
Jesus commanded us to.
Then it also includes this charge, this
final charge to go and make disciples.
Whose job is this?
Whose commission is this?
It's everyone.
Every follower of Jesus.
Not just a paid minister, not just
some non-existent varsity team,
not just some overseas missionary.
This is Jesus's call and charge
and empowerment for your life.
Do you believe this?
And each of us, we've said this
before, but it's worth saying again.
Each of us could trace back our
spiritual, spiritual lineage.
Someone took Jesus' charge seriously, and
God used them to make a disciple of you.
And someone before that took
Jesus' charge seriously.
And God used them to make
a disciple of that person.
And on and on and on back we could go.
And if we could do it, we would
trace every follower of Jesus back
to the 11 who heard this charge on
this day that that blows my mind.
And so a question as we end this
series of conversation, it's not
a, it's not a guilt trip question.
It's an honest question.
Will the pattern stop with you and
me or will we pay forward what we
received and boldly trust God to do
those, to make disciples of someone?
Again, you're not alone.
The same power that raised Jesus from
the dead is living and active in you.
You have the word of Christ,
the good news of Jesus in you.
Jesus is still the authority.
You don't, you don't.
You didn't get to wound up and
sent out on your own either.
Jesus is still with you
even to the end of the age.
It's God who saves.
All those things are true.
Our role is simply to pray, to be
obedient, to prioritize relationships
and look for open doors, to
practice speaking the gospel in
a way that sounds like good news.
And then to step through open
doors as Jesus allows us to.
Yes,
bottom line, we each have a role to
play as disciples, make disciples,
Jesus charge you to that task.
I will.
I will.
Plead with us as a church to obey, pray
for people, go boldly, make disciples.
But again, drawing back to the
last thing, there's one last
thing in these verses that matter.
On moving day, uh, there's
been this long debate.
It's kind of a nerdy debate
because it really doesn't matter.
But along among theologians and
seminarians, there's been this
long debate whether these verses
say, go make disciples, or as
you are going, make disciples.
Hmm.
Uh, and, and the, the language there
is admittedly a little, a little
confusing, but go says like away,
like, is it just to the nations
as you are going, says, whoever we
are, wherever we are, all the time.
As much as the, the, the original
language is unclear again, on some
point it's a, it's a moot point.
'cause who cares?
Some of you're gonna go to the
nation, some of you're gonna
love your neighbors, great.
Make disciples, wherever God has put you.
But Jesus is referencing and echoing
this age old charge that would've been
very familiar to his first hearers.
It's from Deuteronomy six.
It's called the Shema.
It was, uh, one of the first things
that, that, uh, Israelite kids would
memorize for centuries before Jesus.
Here, O Israel, the Lord our God.
The Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all
your soul, and with all your might.
And these words that I command you today
shall be on your heart and you shall
teach them diligently to your children
and shall talk of them when you sit in
your house and when you walk by the way.
And when you lie down and when you
rise, and you'll bind them as a
sign on your hand, and they will
be as frontlets between your eyes.
You'll write them on the door post
of your house and on your gate.
All right?
In summary, church, where and
when was Israel to love God
and train others to love God?
All the time.
All the time.
All the time.
Everywhere.
As you lie down, as you wake up, as
you go into your house, as you, as
you go to the market, you have these
things like as frontlets before your
eyes still today, you might see,
uh, folks who, who practice Jewish
religion with a headband and a little
like in, uh, little, little, uh, box.
Box, yes, thank you.
Box here.
And, and it has, it has these words, has
the Shama written on it wherever they go.
It's a, it's a visible reminder.
You can't look without seeing it.
If you have a box right here, um,
that everywhere you go, you're
calling people to love the Lord.
So the Great Commission
is an echo of this.
It's an echo, a, a, a
proverbial box in front of us.
The lens we see the world through being
with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, doing
what Jesus did and inviting others to
That is the charge for our everyday lives.
That's why our mission is to make
disciples of Jesus by seeking
His kingdom in everyday life.
Because God is with us when we gather,
when we have gathered here at Fortress
and God will be with us when we gather
at Lunchbox and also God is with us.
When we scatter into the various
places we live and work and learn
and play, he has as much authority
and presence there than he does here.
And so we get to make
disciples there, not just here.
Believe that there's no space or time
that's any more sacred or secular
than, than any other, wherever you are,
whatever the moment of the day is, God
has you there for a purpose, and it's
this purpose to make disciples good.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
That also means that any space God gives
us is a gift and, and anything God gives
us is meant to be stewarded well and,
and to be seen as a blessing from him.
And so in the same way, like your
home is a gift to your family.
Um, you create memories there
and you can use it for his
kingdom and celebrate his work.
Uh, next week we'll move to, to a new
gathering space and, and we'll consider
that a gift from God to Steward Wealth.
We'll create memories there and use it
for his kingdom and celebrate his work.
Uh, and also on this last day of gathering
here, we wanna remember that this has
been a gift from God to steward well.
Uh, and we want to, to, to celebrate
God's work and, and the expansion of
this kingdom that's happened here.