Preserving God's Standards - Part 4 — Zac Poonen

But like a coin, it's got two sides and the other side is Matthew 28 Which is also words that Jesus spoke Probably on another occasion before he went up to heaven. Matthew 28 it says the last three verses Is after his resurrection before he ascended to heaven Jesus came and spoke to them.

The Two Sides of the Great Commission

All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Again he talks about going into all the world. Go into all the nations, which is all the world. But this time He doesn't say preach the gospel.

Making Disciples Rather Than Mere Converts

This time he says make disciples. A disciple is a learner and a follower a Disciple is a one who sits at the feet of his master and says master teach me and Show me how I can live like you live. That's a disciple who's doing it all the time.

Teach me master every day How I should live and help me to live that way. Let me follow your example go and make disciples all over the world and then baptize them. That's of course mentioned in both places in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit and Here the emphasis is not on speaking in tongues and Healing the sick and not being harmed by serpents and like we read in Mark 16.

Teaching Obedience Through Example

That is when you do Evangelism you see all that here when you make disciples the emphasis is on Teach them after you make these disciples and maybe only ten in a particular town fine. Teach those ten people what?

Verse 20 every Single thing I commanded you teach them to do it. Now I want to ask you a little question in English. I think all you guys are pretty good in English. Can you tell me the difference if I read it like this?

Please watch teach them all I commanded you and Teach them to do all I commanded you. What's the difference? Yes obedience, but I think more than that an Example not just teach them teach them to do. When I was in the military academy I learned sailing.

Sailing a boat out in the seas with just two people and Then I had to teach other people how to sail. You could never do it on a blackboard. I had to get into that boat and ask that other young fellow come with me.

I'll teach you how to sail this boat. No matter which direction the wind is I'll take you from here to there. So there's a difference between teaching them and teaching them to do one is just saying this is what the Lord told us to do and the other is here's how to do it and What are we to teach others every single thing That Jesus commanded and if you want to teach other people to do Every single thing that Jesus come on you got to experience it yourself first.

So coming back to what I said earlier about two sides of this Great Commission. Both are equally important. I don't say one is more important than the other in fact one leads on to the other it's like having children.

That's easy. But bringing up children in God-fearing ways boy. That's not easy to become a father. Easy to be a good father. Tough so it's like that Mark 16 is Be a father become a father. Produce spiritual children bring them to Christ.

Matthew 28 is now be a good father bring them up. To follow me that stuff. So what is human tendency when you have an easy job in a tough job, which is the one you choose? So if God gives us two jobs one easy one is tough.

What you what would people most people choose the easy one and that's why 95 of Christendom concentrates on evangelism. Let's accept Christ sign the decision card raise your hand. Okay Baptize and come you're a member of the church.

Let's go and find the next fellow. I Don't despise it. I believe it's very important but It's like having children. You can have ten children all wayward Godless, it's better to have one child Who's God-fearing so the Lord's interested in disciples is not interested in just more and more children coming into his family.

The Commands Jesus Gave His Disciples

But look what he says make them disciples and not only make them decide to teach them to do. Every single thing I commanded. Let me just tell you some of the things Jesus commanded. Not to lust with your eyes.

After any woman. Do you think Christendom is filled with people who don't lust with their eyes after women you really think so don't fool yourself. Not to love money, do you think believers are churches are filled with people who don't love money.

Quite the opposite actually Jesus said don't get angry. That's in Matthew 5. Do you think churches are filled with people who have overcome anger? Forgive everybody. You think churches are filled with people who have forgiven everybody.

I'm just taking a few samples. Never be anxious. Do you think churches are filled with believers who are never anxious? Rejoice always. You think churches are filled with people who rejoice all the time.

Maybe two hours on Sunday morning. That's different. What I'm saying is why is it that all these commands of Jesus you find hardly anybody who obeys even one of them. Leave alone all of them when you hear of a school Where 100 students ran wrote the final examination 99 of them failed.

Why Leaders Must Teach the Whole Counsel of Christ

Do you blame the students or the teachers if you know nothing about either. I Say I blame the teachers. I mean it's rare to find a good school where 99 people fail. It must be the teachers must be some corporation school where the teachers don't come regularly or something like that.

So it's like that when you see 95 of Christians are not like this. I don't blame those Christians. I blame their leaders. I Blame the teachers who haven't taught them. I Been to so many churches. I'll tell you I hardly ever heard a message on not lusting with your eyes.

Hardly ever in my 47 years of my Christian life. I hardly ever heard a message on never loving money. I Hardly ever heard a message on totally overcoming anger and never shouting at your wife or anybody else never once.

I never heard a message on being totally free from anxiety and bitterness and Gossiping and backbiting hardly ever. I mean I heard message on we got to reach the lost brother. I Agree there, but is that all the Bible says when Jesus had teach them to do every single thing I commanded you.

We just concentrate on one subject. It's like a school Which has only history we only teach history in the school Kindergarten to 10th standard you think they're all gonna pass ICSC and history is very important.

I agree, but if I would never send my child to a school that only teaches history. Hey, man, there are lots of other subjects. We got maths and physics and biology and chemistry. No. No, we believe in history.

Great you run your school. I'm not gonna send my child to your school. That's the problem. Hey, we got to reach the lost. I believe that I believe with all my heart. I'm not against history and I'm not against evangelism.

Quantity Versus Quality in Christian Discipleship

But I say a church a school which is only teaching history needs a few teachers teaching other subjects and so you stack a School with 95 of the teachers teaching history. It's gonna be a very imbalanced school and that's a problem with Christendom and That's why Christendom has drifted.

Because when you major on quantity more and more more and more people coming in you sacrifice quality. Now I'm all for quantity. I wish all of India were converted. But I know they will not be converted, you know, why because Jesus said because I believe the Word of Jesus the way to life is narrow Matthew chapter 7 and verse 14 and Very few find it.

Do you believe that I Believe it with all my heart very few Find it millions may hear about it. Millions may even understand it. But actually finding it very few and because I believe the Word of Jesus.

I Say what may sound like a very unpopular thing all of India is not going to be converted. That may not be popular, but it's realistic.