What Jesus Cares About | Kylen Perry

Franklin: Hey, Porch. Join me as we read God's Word together from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 28, verses 16-20.

"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"

Now, our final message in our series called Disciple.

Kylen Perry: Porch, how are we doing? Are we doing okay? Hey, it's great to be together. Thanks for joining us here. I know it is Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, yet I don't think you could be in a better place tonight. I think God has something tremendous in store for us. I think that every week, yet tonight I think he is going to serve something up that many of us need this evening.

Now, before we get going, I do want to say "Hey" to a couple of special locations that are tuning in with us from around the nation. Special shout-out to Porch.Live Fort Worth, Porch.Live Wheaton, and Porch.Live Greater Lafayette. We love you guys. We're grateful God is working where you are and we get to be a small part of it.

It's not uncommon in ministry circles to show up to a gender-specific worship event. Some of you have been to one of these before, where you show up and it's an all-guys or an all-girls worship night. I worked for a ministry where this was an annual regularity for us. We would always put on one every single year, and it was special.

I didn't know what happened at the girls' nights, but I knew every time the guys got together it was a really meaningful time. We would find frequent references to Braveheart, and there would often be stories about hunting and lessons about women, which doesn't feel any different than your regular time with the boys, yet this was characterized by the sound of every man singing in their deepest-possible voice. It was awesome.

Now, to really put an exclamation point on these evenings, we would always bring in a big-name guest speaker. We wanted to blow the top off and make it a really special time, so we would do it with the girls and we would do it with the guys. Because I was on staff, part of my responsibility was to host the guy, to make sure he didn't need for anything.

So, we had a special guest speaker, and I was kind of his glorified shadow, a bodyguard of sorts. I know no fighting technique, yet here I was just trying to look as intimidating as possible. Everything looked totally normal. There was no difficulty over the course of our entire evening…that is, until I noticed what appeared to be some suspicious behavior. Part of my job was to be on the lookout for things that were out of the ordinary or odd.

When the evening began, things were fine. Worship started. The guys were gathering. They were booming with their voices…that is, until I looked across the room and saw what appeared to be something uniquely different, suspicious, to say the least. Across the room, there were two guys sitting there who looked different than the rest of the crowd.

You may be wondering what looked different about them. Well, it was what they were wearing in specific. Now, I never judge people for what they wear, yet these guys were dressed in black from head to toe. It wasn't just that they were wearing black from head to toe; they had sunshades on, caps pulled low, hoods thrown up over their heads, and their hands in their pockets, trying not to bring about any sort of attention to themselves.

It was odd, to say the least, especially when sunshades and sweatshirts don't make sense in a dark room where a bunch of burly men are gathered, singing and sweating all together. It just doesn't make sense. So, I grabbed a security guard and made my way over to where these two guys were. We approached them very discreetly, and as we got near to them, we realized they couldn't see us, but we couldn't see them, so I couldn't make out what was actually happening in this moment.

So, we grabbed them and pulled them out into the hallway, escorted them very gently into a lit space, so we could pull their hoods, lift their glasses, and identify what exactly was going on. I'm not kidding you when I say the most surprising thing happened in this moment. They were girls…at the guys' worship night! When I took them to task and begged them to tell me, "What are you doing here?" they told me they just loved this guest speaker so much.

Now, why do I tell you that? Because the minute we learned who these girls really were, we learned what they really cared about, so much so that they put on a disguise, hid in plain sight, and even endeavored to get as close to this guy as humanly possible. You see, tonight, we're going to see who Jesus really is, that he is the resurrected King, and we're going to see, as a result, what he really cares about: saving the world and bringing as many people into his kingdom as possible, so much so that he would put on a disguise and hide in plain sight because he wants to get as close to you and me as he can.

If you have a Bible, turn with me to Matthew, chapter 28. It's what Franklin read a minute ago. We're just going to work our way through it. You know this passage, famously, as the Great Commission. As I say that, many of you immediately begin to check out. You've heard the lessons. You've read the stories. You've memorized the verses. You know this thing better than I do. You might as well come up here and preach it yourself.

Yet, here's what I would endeavor in this moment to say. I don't know that we know the Great Commission as well as we think, so tonight I just want to walk us through this passage of Scripture, and I want to save us from falling prey to being too Christian for our own good. Meaning, we know all about Jesus, but we don't really know Jesus himself. We've been in a series called Disciple where we've been talking about that idea, the idea of walking with Christ in the wonder of who he is, because I have this deep-seated fear.

As I have visited with people over the course of my year now, what I've seen in our people that I'm desperately praying God would save us from is spiritual apathy. What I'm asking the Lord to do is to give us a sense of holy urgency, because I see too many of us slipping into the motions of being a Christian…going to the Bible studies, raising our hands, singing the songs, praying some prayers, and dropping money in the collection plate (though we don't pass collection plates any longer)…

We are slipping into the motions of being good Christians, but we're not moving with the kind of motivation to become like Christ. So, tonight, as we work through this chapter, here's what we're going to see. Jesus wants what you want. So many of us are not motivated to become like Christ because we're motivated to become something else. We want to be impactful or we want to make a difference or we want to become someone significant. We want to be connected to something that matters. We want to leave a legacy. We want to make a difference in the world.

Jesus wants the same thing for you, yet what he knows we need to know tonight, that we have worked all series long to help you understand, is that will not be found anywhere else but in him. All that you long for is found in this man and not this world. Jesus wants to connect you to something that is so significant, so important. It's so climactic. It's dramatic, even. He has a purpose for your life, and tonight we're going to talk about what that purpose is. He has given us the Great Commission to clarify it.

Before we can talk about what that purpose is, we have to talk about who that purpose is for. This is what it says in Matthew 28, starting in verse 16. "Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted."

What we need to know as we come to this passage is that Jesus has risen from the dead. He has appeared to, not one, but two different Marys, and he has given these ladies instructions on where his disciples should meet him. He has literally dropped a pin in their ancient Near Eastern GPS and said, "Hey, this is where I'm going to be. Send the boys to find me."

What we know about that location is it's in Galilee at the mountain. Why does that matter? Often, when we read these types of things, we catch a location and kind of steamroll by it. We just keep moving, because "That's not important information. There's more going on here. Jesus is going to say some things. I want to know what he's saying." Yet, this location is incredibly significant for a couple of reasons.

First, he says he's going to the mountain. There's a lot of debate about what mountain Jesus is speaking about. Some scholars think he's talking about the Mount of Commission, which is where he ascended to a high place and called his disciples to himself and commissioned them to become his disciples, to follow him. Others believe it's where he taught the Sermon on the Mount, where he unpacked what the upside-down kingdom looked like. He gave us kingdom ethics and kingdom economy so we knew how we could work through this world living in the kingdom he has inaugurated and handed over to us.

But here's what I think. I think what Jesus is speaking about is the Mount of Transfiguration. If you're not familiar with what the Mount of Transfiguration is, it's a mount that Jesus ascended, located in Galilee, where he transfigured. Literally, the Greek there is metamorphoo. He transformed in front of three disciples, Peter, James, and John, and revealed to them exactly who he is.

It's kind of like what happens at your wedding when you lift the veil on your bride and behold all her beauty. Jesus lifted the veil and revealed to his disciples, "Hey, this is who I am. I'm amazing. I'm splendorous. I'm marvelous. I am not just a man; I am the Son of Man. I am not just a good teacher; I am a Godlike figure, because I am the Son of God himself." That's what Jesus did at the Mount of Transfiguration.

The reason I think, as well as many other scholars (it's not just me; there's veracity to this point)… In this chapter, Jesus (as well as the angel who appeared to Mary and the other Mary) says, "They shall come to Galilee where they shall see me." There's one mountain in Galilee where they truly saw Jesus.

Now, why does that even matter? Because Jesus wants to verify for his disciples, here in this climactic moment where he has risen from the dead and is going to commission them out, that he is who he says he is. He wants there to be no mistake. "Hey, this is who I say I am, and to prove it, I'm leading you back to the place where I gave you a teaser one time before. Now I'm going to cement the idea as reality in your world."

Then he also says he needs them to come to Galilee. Why does Galilee matter? Well, Galilee matters for a couple of different reasons. Primarily, because it was the place where the disciples walked with Jesus over the course of his earthly ministry. This is the place where they were called to follow him and saw him do everything he did. They heard the lessons, and they saw the stories unfold.

It's why, over the course of this series, we've been staring through their perspective at Jesus, seeking to learn what it means to walk with him, because they saw him themselves and walked with him personally. So, he leads them to Galilee. What's significant… Catch this. This is so cool. They are in Jerusalem when they get the command, the instruction to rendezvous with him in Galilee. That means they have a journey ahead. They have to get up and move.

What's so significant about it is they are south and they have to go north, and as they go north, they are literally going to retrace every step, see every sight, smell the same smells, and speak to the same people, more than likely, who they encountered over the course of their ministry with him. He wants to take them down memory lane.

He wants to do with them what I did with my wife on our one-year dating anniversary. I wanted to relive all of the beauty, the glory, and the wonder of what happened in our first year together. That's what I did with Brooke. That's what many of you have done yourselves. That's what many of you probably should do yourself. It's a really good date idea, so you can take a note and slip it away in your journal.

Why did I do that with Brooke, choose to relive year one with her? Not just to contemplate the past but to accelerate our future. I knew, "As we look back, we're going to catch a vision for what's ahead. As we think about how good this has been, we're going to be motivated for how great it's going to be." Jesus wants to do the same thing. Where I had big plans for Brooke and myself, Jesus has big plans for the disciples and himself. He has a purpose for their lives. He is inviting them into something so special.

So he takes them back to where it all began, because he wants them to know, "Hey, as good as it was, it's only going to get better." The other reason he takes them to Galilee, which I think is really important, is it adds veracity to the fact that the Great Commission did not happen right before Christ's ascension, that moment where he looks to heaven and says, "Beam me up, Scotty." They didn't happen concurrently. Some of us don't know that.

It's a common misconception that Jesus gave these words, said this command, and then went straight to heaven. Acts 1:3 tells us, "He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God." Jesus puts on this 40-day master class because he wants to prove to them, "Hey, I am who I said I am, and I'm going to prepare you for what I've called you to do."

There were 40 days between his resurrection and his ascension, which I think is amazing given the fact that upon his appearance, some worshiped him, but some doubted him. How does it make you feel knowing that some of these disciples doubted him, the resurrected King? I love it. I think it's amazing, which may not necessarily be what you were feeling. The reason I love it is, first, it adds proof, veracity… It gives substance to the fact that this isn't fiction.

If the disciples were just going to make up Christianity… You don't put a giant, gaping hole in the story that other people can pour water through and ultimately puncture unto disbelief. You don't do that. That would be a terrible idea. No, you want to present an airtight defense that Jesus is the Son of God, he rose from the dead, and everybody believed, yet that's not what happens. The story doesn't read that way, because the story is true. They recounted history in this moment.

I also love it because it leads us to our first point. It tells us who Jesus' purpose is for, that Jesus gives purpose to saints, skeptics, and screwups. Which one are you? The saints are the ones who worshiped him, yet we know some doubted, that there were skeptics in their midst. These are the 11 disciples, the very men Jesus handpicked himself, who watched him firsthand in his ministry, who beheld all of the incredible things we wish we could see ourselves.

As they walked with him, they saw him calm the storm, walk on water, multiply the loaves, turn water into wine, heal the sick, raise the dead, and exorcise demons. They saw amazing things. Even still, some doubted. It's kind of like when I went rappelling for the very first time in my life. Has anybody in here been rappelling? You can attest to this. I don't care how brave or bold you are. The first time you go rappelling, which is walking down the side of a cliff face, traversing an overhang, you feel some sense of anxiety. You can't help it.

You start to pit a little bit and your hands get clammy, because the thought of walking backward off a cliff is stupid. Let's make no mistake about it. That's a crazy thing to do. In that moment I understood… We went through this really extensive safety briefing that took far longer than I thought necessary. They explained to me the fact that the rope I would be rappelling from could hold something upward of 8,000 pounds, which I am nowhere close in proximity to.

I watched peer after peer after peer after peer do the very thing I was going to do myself. I had them check and double check and triple check (I didn't have them quadruple check) all of my gear to make sure I was safe and ready to go. Even still, despite the fact that there was so much evidence that I was going to be okay, I still felt some anxiousness, some stress.

I couldn't help the inner voice, my very own conscience, telling me, "Hey, man. They're out to get you. This is all one big charade. Don't believe what they're saying. Don't look at what's happening. You're going to be the exception." Yet, how did I get down that cliff face? Well, not one to be a coward, I rappelled down it, and the way I did so, despite my doubt, is I wrestled through my doubt.

I wrestled through it by trusting the fact, "My guide is who he says he is." So, I could take one backward step of faith at a time until I, too, slipped over the lip of that cliff face and found myself walking in an experience the likes of which I had not known in this world. I experienced wonder.

Jesus knows you'll doubt. He's not disappointed by it. He's not concerned when you question. He's not annoyed by your anxieties. He isn't ignorant to the fact that this life is hard, that trouble abounds, that difficulty will come. He even says so himself. "In this world you're going to have trouble, but take heart; I've overcome the world." He knows.

Some of you in this room right here tonight, in the realest way possible, have taken some hits because of your allegiance to him. Allegiance to him has cost you family. It has cost you friends. It has cost you relationships. Convictions to Christ have led you to break off relationships and set aside friendships. You have felt persecution because you choose to follow him. He's not naïve nor unknown to that reality. He knows it's going to be hard and you'll have good reason for doubt.

He's not surprised, yet he wants to do with you what he did with them. He wants to take you to the mount, back to that place, that moment, where you were clear in knowing he is who he says he is, and he wants to walk you to Galilee, back to the place where you remember every step you've taken with him before and you can be assured of the fact that he is as faithful today as he was back then. You see, Jesus doesn't give up on you, so don't give up on him either. Lean in. Push forward. It's never too late with Christ.

We see he has purpose for saints (those who worship), he has purpose for skeptics (those who doubt), and he has purpose for screwups. You may not have seen it in the passage because it's subtly tucked away in there, yet we know there are 11 disciples in this moment. Some of you are like, "Well, there were 12." One of them hit the hay. Judas is gone, yet we know 11 still exist.

That should catch us off guard. That should feel surprising. Why? Because that means Peter is numbered amongst their group. He's the last person who should be in this room, because he's the first person who abandoned Jesus, yet Peter, this major screwup, is here in this moment, receiving Christ's purpose and moving toward a life of meaning, significance, importance, and magnitude that he has longed for and you likewise long for.

Some of you are here, and you don't need me to list all of the different ways we screw up, because you can look in yourself and find that area where you cringe most painfully and know it's likely true of you. What I would say to you is what Dane Ortlund has said. Where you cringe most painfully, it is there that Christ hugs most invincibly.

He has a purpose for you, but the way you return to that purpose is to follow the example of Peter. You repent of your sins. Not some of it, not most of it…all of it, the whole 100 percent. You confess it to God. You receive his forgiveness. I promise you will not outrace the grace of God for your life. No one is too far. No one can outrun his reach. He has forgiveness for you.

Then, you believe he has a purpose as well. Jesus is in the business of taking really broken stories and making them into really beautiful subjects that magnify the glory of God and speak to the love he has for you and me. He did it for Peter. If you're a screwup here, he wants to do it for you. He has a purpose for all of us. So, what is that purpose? We know who that purpose is for, but what is the purpose exactly? We read it in verse 18.

"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"

I don't know about you, but if you're anything like me, these verses can read like marching orders. Do you ever get that when you read the Bible? Like, you're kind of working your way along, and it's like, "And another to-do. And another to-do. And another to-do. Okay." I'm writing them out, because these are the things I'm supposed to keep. These are the commands I'm supposed to follow. This is the string of imperatives I'm supposed to guide and order my life according to.

That's what this feels like for me, like a list of marching orders that I, a good soldier of Christ, am supposed to do as I move my way into foreign territory to the glory of God and to save the world. What you need to know is this is not a series of commands but, in fact, a single command. That's what the Greek would say. So then, what is the command? The command Jesus gives us to follow, the very single and sole command he wants us to know, is we're called to make disciples. This is it, the final command Jesus ever gave, some of his famous last words.

So then, what does he mean when he says, "Make disciples"? Put very simply, the goal isn't to make believers; it's to make becomers. Now, I say that, and I know some of your antennas just went up. Some of you feel some creep under your skin. "That's heretical. That doesn't make sense. That isn't correct." Let me explain to you why I've written it the way it's written.

These two things, believing and becoming, go hand in hand. It doesn't make sense that you can be one who believes in Christ yet not one who becomes like Christ. It makes no sense whatsoever. There's no scriptural precedent that you could be one who has found Jesus but is not following after Jesus. It doesn't make sense. It's not in the Word. So, I've written this for some shock and some awe to catch our attention.

Jesus desperately wants to lead you into becoming like Christ, which means we don't just tell people what they're saved from; we tell people what they're saved for, that they're saved for a relationship with God, deep connection to other people, a kind of diversity in the family that will grow them, stretch them, and build them up, that they're connected to a life of significant meaning, impact, and difference-making. That's what's true for them now. They've been saved for that.

Yet, here's the reality. Often, when we read the Great Commission, we think of evangelism, but what Jesus said is it's about discipleship. That's what it's about. Salvation, the purpose of evangelism, we often consider as essential, yet discipleship is kind of optional. Like, salvation is the main mission; discipleship is just kind of a side quest that some of us go on but you don't necessarily have to do. Not according to Jesus. That's not how he feels about this at all.

You see, he wants to not only lead us into a life where we tell people what they're saved from but, ultimately, what they're saved for. No one gets married to save themselves from loneliness. If that's you, let me spare you the trouble. Buy a dog. If that's all you want to get married for, that will accomplish the purpose, ladies. Your dog will comfort you in the midst of your loneliness more than some man might. Don't fall prey to that idea.

No one goes to the grocery store and picks the food they pick to save themselves from starvation. No, they pick the food they pick to give them the kind of joy that something really tasty has to offer. You're not just saved from something; you are saved for something. That's what Jesus is getting at here in the Great Commission. He wants the emphasis to not solely reside on people finding him but people following him.

Now, let me be really clear, because I don't want the email. I'm not saying we don't help people find Jesus. If you're hearing that from me, then you're not listening. Yes and amen, we help people find Jesus, but you shouldn't be able to find Jesus and not follow him. That doesn't make sense according to the Word of God.

In Matthew 7:17-20, Jesus himself says, "So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits."

John 13:34-35: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." Do you catch it? Don't just believe…become. "By this all people will know that you are my [converts]…" No! "…my disciples, if you have love for one another."

James 1:22-24: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."

What are these verses saying? If you believe in him, you should become like him. True faith isn't just content in finding Jesus; true faith is urgent in following after him. Christian, listen to me. If that doesn't put fire in your bones, then this message is for you. Here's the reality. I think so many of us, if we did a sincere evaluation, if we took a hard look in the mirror, if we got really gut-level honest with ourselves for a moment, would realize that though we claim to have found Jesus, we're not following Jesus at all. We're following something different instead.

How do you know what it is you're following in life? Well, take the advice of Instagram. You subscribe to the ones you follow, and once you do, their influence fills your feed. If you want to know who you follow, then answer the question…Whose influence fills the feed of your life? When it comes to approval, are you influenced by what Jesus has to say about you or are you listening instead to what everyone else, all of your peers, have to say in contrast?

When it comes to coping, are you influenced by the promises Jesus has given you or are you persuaded instead to indulge in some substance, some shopping, some subscription, some sexuality? When it comes to your security, are you influenced by the fact that Jesus controls everything? What an amazing reality! Or are you just trusting your pocketbook to give you security in life instead?

When it comes to your reputation, are you influenced by the fact that Jesus wants to make you into his image or are you more concerned with carefully crafting your image yourself? Jesus wants you to follow him, because you're going to follow something. So, the question tonight is…Whose influence are you following?

Porch, I need you to catch this, because I love you enough to say this. If you're not following Jesus, then your purpose in life is impossible, because you can't make followers of a Jesus you are unwilling to follow yourself. No, you follow him, because whatever it is you want to find, I promise you it's yes and amen in him.

Now, as we talk through this, here's the thing. Some of you are really resonating, really jiving with this. You feel this deep desire, almost this desperation to finally get out of what you're in, to stop riding one foot in and one foot out but to go both feet of faith all the way into what God is wanting for your life, yet you don't know where to start.

If that's you, if you're desperately wanting to take action on these things tonight, to actually live into the purpose Jesus has for you, we want to help. The team and I have been working for months now to organize a way in which we can do it. Starting in the new year, for the very first time ever in Porch history, we're doing something we've never done. We're launching a discipleship initiative, and we want to invite you to come and be a part of it.

If you're here, and you're like, "Man, I want to make disciples, but I've never been made into a disciple. No one has ever shown me the ropes or taught me how to go, but I want to be spiritually developed. I want to grow in my godliness. I want to take ground and mature in Christ…" If that's you, then this is for you, and we'd love to bring you on board and let you be a part of it. You just need to text the word discipleship to 40585. It'll lead you to an interest form.

That's all it is. There's no hard commitment right now. We're not taking any money tonight. There's nothing like that happening, so you can calm down. This is just an interest form. You're simply saying, "Hey, I care about it. I want to follow. I want to go all in. I'm ready. I'm tired of hanging one foot out. I want to be all the way in with Jesus." If that's you, then you need to text this, and it'll lead you to a form. You'll fill out some info, we'll collect that, and then we will touch base with you in the new year when we launch this discipleship initiative.

Now, let me say a couple of things. When you do so, there is a small barrier to entry, because you have to create a log-in if you don't have one. I'm sorry. I wish we could remove that for you and make it easier, yet if that's all it takes to throw you off the trail of following after Jesus and getting serious about your discipleship, then you're probably not ready for it, in reality. Tough news. I promise you can do it.

Others of you are here tonight, and you're like, "I have been discipled. I'm eager to learn the way in which I should go forward." We have stuff for you too, so just hang with us, because we believe it's not just the disciple but the disciple-maker we want to invest in as well. Here's the thing. I just want to speak to you really straight about it, because I'm really serious about this.

If you're not serious about actually being a part of this, then will you just not jump in? We're going to be really serious about the people who do, and I want to give them my whole "yes," my undivided commitment to helping them grow in Christlikeness. I would love for that to be you if you're here and you want to hop in.

Now, a couple of things you should know. First, to Porch.Live, this program is not built for you, specifically, but I guarantee you your local church context does have something they would love to invite you into. So tonight, you need to take action on approaching a church leader and telling them, "Hey, I'm ready. I'm serious. I want to go all in. My chips aren't held back. They're pushed full forward. Help me grow in my godliness. Teach me to walk with Jesus. I want to be discipled." I promise you they would love to have that conversation, and they will have a next step for you.

The second thing you all need to know is this isn't replacing Tuesday nights. Okay? We're still going to gather, sit in this room, bring our friends, meet other friends, sing to God, and study his Word. Our bread and butter is not changing. We just want to help you take a first step and help you take a next step. So that's what this all means.

Now, here's the thing. For some of you, when I unpack this idea, what happens is we get a really mixed bag of response. We fall in a wide variety of places, because while we understand the call of Christ and what it means to go all in with Jesus, and we even grasp the fact that this is a really noble cause, we feel some reservation, some hesitation, some trepidation of getting in with Christ, going in on this mission. We come up with plenty of reasons not to embrace this as our purpose.

Let me just say this as plainly as possible. None of the reasons you find are good reasons, because there are no good exceptions to the Great Commission. This isn't Mission: Impossible. This isn't "Your mission, should you choose to accept it." This isn't a message that's going to terminate in 10 seconds. No, this message is an impervious message, because this call stands the test of time and goes over the course of all eternity until Christ himself comes back.

This is your mission. He has come to make it clear. That's why he says, "Go, baptize, and teach. Make disciples. You should go, you should baptize them, and you should teach them all that I've commanded you." What is he unpacking there? Well, those three words, go, baptize, and teach, are present participles, just to put your grammar hat on for a minute. The reason they're added into this text and we're bringing them up right now is they accentuate the main command of the passage.

It's the same idea as if you had a picture that was set in black and white, yet you chose to add color to it. What would happen? The picture itself would not change, yet the vibrancy of the photo would increase. It would get better because you've accentuated it appropriately. That's what these present participles are doing to Christ's command.

But they're not just doing that. They're not just qualifying what it means to make disciples. They are also, in the process, building an indestructible defense to the fact that there are no good exceptions to following this command if you follow Jesus. How do they do that? Well, we're going to go through this quickly just for the sake of time.

When he says go in the Greek, that does not mean, "Get up and go." Now, some of you should absolutely get up and go. We are firm believers that God is not just a God of this nation; he is the God of all nations, and we need to extend the gospel to the utmost ends of the earth. Tonight, there's an Ethiopia interest meeting, and some of you need to go, because he is calling you to get up and go.

Yet, in this passage, that's not the primary idea. The primary idea here is as you are going. That's what this word in the Greek means. It means, "As you go, make disciples," which sucks the air out of the first exception that many of us hide behind. "Jesus, I just don't have time to do it." According to Jesus, you don't find time to disciple; you disciple wherever your time is found.

So, if your time is found at the gym, disciple there. If your time is found at the grocery store, disciple there. If your time is found at the office, disciple there. If your time is found at spin, disciple there. You disciple wherever it is you are. You disciple as you go. According to Eugene Peterson, 90 percent of Jesus' time was spent ministering to his disciples…not speaking to large crowds, not teaching in synagogue, not speaking with strangers, but ministering to his disciples.

How is that possible? Ninety percent of his time! Because Jesus believed the majority of discipleship was meant to be informal in nature, that it happened as you go…between meals, on the way to a meeting, in the car, going to serve these people, then making your way over here next. He believed that's what it meant to make disciples. You do it as you go along. The majority of discipleship happens in the informal moment.

Here's the problem with us here in the West. We believe all discipleship happens in the formal moment, happens at Bible study, happens at Equipping Night, happens at Community Group, happens whenever I show up to that coffee once a week. We think that's where discipleship happens, yet that's not what Jesus is saying. Those things are not bad. You should absolutely do those things.

You should come to Sunday service. You should be involved in a Community Group. You should join a Bible study. Yet, you can't look at those things and say, "That scratches my discipleship itch." You also can't say that attending services like this and letting the professionals do the discipling is your way out, because that's not what Jesus is saying. He's saying you, where you are, as you are, how you are, make disciples, and do it as you go. That's the first thing we need to know.

The second thing he says is we baptize them. Now, I'll admit whenever I heard we're supposed to baptize all nations, it didn't really make sense to be in the Great Commission. It didn't feel like it fits. All of the other things make sense. This is Jesus' final mission to us as his people. "Go and save and teach." Baptism just doesn't fit in there, because I know baptism is an external expression of an internal reality.

Why the urgency? Why is it included in the Great Commission? For this reason. Don't miss this, because this is massively important. We need to know baptism is not just a symbol of connection to Christ; it is a symbol of connection to community. That's why it's available to all people everywhere, every tribe, every tongue, every nation. We should go and tell them all about the connection they can have to the family of God, which is made available through the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, or what you've done. You're now going to be a part of God's family, which blows apart the second exception I often hear people hiding behind, which is, "But I don't have anything in common with them." According to Jesus, you do. You don't have to share all of the similarities in the world. You don't have to like the same music, have the same hobbies, go to the same places, or come from the same socioeconomic background.

You don't have to have an immense number of similarities, because what you have is a singular commonality in Christ, and that is the most significant commonality you can have. What's beautiful about the people of God, the family of God, is that we're a people in unity bound by our love for one another, yet not a people of uniformity who look like one another. We're a people who are diverse. We're a people who are different yet united in Christ.

Lastly, Jesus tells us, "Teach them to observe all that I commanded you." This one is pretty easy to understand, yet it's often the one we find hardest to follow and often find ourselves hiding behind, because when it comes to discipleship, so many of us don't know what to say. Like, "What if they ask a question and I don't have the answer? What if I'm supposed to teach something but I don't know what to say? What if I'm not eloquent enough to communicate that to these people so they will believe?"

Really simply, what I would say in this moment is Christ doesn't need you to be perfect. That's not what he's looking for. He doesn't need you to be perfect. He just needs you to be faithful. He just needs you to know if you have a couple of steps in spiritual maturity on someone else, you can help them by bringing them up those couple of steps to greater spiritual maturity. So teach, speak, share, and know he'll work out the difference. He'll move because of your faithfulness.

You see, there are no good exceptions to the Great Commission. None. It doesn't matter what you're hiding behind. It's an invisible wall. We can see you. But there are only good reasons to keep it. Yet, here's the thing I know, and it's the fear I've had and the very reason we've stepped into this series. I know we can give you eight weeks of content on discipleship, and you can be here and enjoy all of the acquisition of new knowledge, yet walk away and be totally satisfied that you know more about Jesus, but you don't know Jesus personally.

If that's you, how do you avoid that from happening? Well, last story. Admittedly, I'm borrowing this from J.D. Greear. In the Civil War, President Lincoln couldn't have hoped for a better general than he found in the Union's general in chief George McClellan. George was known as a young Napoleon because he was tactically brilliant, unlike anybody else. At just the age of 15, he was the youngest member invited into the United States Military Academy. Despite being so young, he nevertheless graduated at the top of his class.

Upon graduating, he went into the service, and he did the unthinkable. He began to recruit people like no one had ever done before, so much so that the volunteer regiment grew by 300 percent in just four months' time. He was tactically brilliant. He was strategically intelligent. He was winsome to the masses. So, it was no surprise that President Lincoln made him general in chief. He had the experience, the expertise, and the woo to bring people on board. He had everything he needed, except one thing. He didn't have the willingness to fight.

For weeks, General McClellan readied his position, organized his troops, and strategized against his enemy. Outnumbered two to one, his opponent General Robert E. Lee's army laid dangerously exposed just a few miles away. They were within quick reach of crushing the rebellion, ending the war, and bringing peace to the nation again, yet, despite understanding the strategy, despite knowing all of the odds, despite having all of the men necessary, General McClellan did not have the willingness.

So, in a bold and very surprising move, President Lincoln removed George McClellan from his position, and in place of the most tactically brilliant person they had known in their modern military, he put someone else instead, one who was half the strategic intelligence of George McClellan but one who was altogether more bold and brazen for battle. He instituted Ulysses S. Grant as the Union's new general. Within a year, General Grant brought the Civil War to an end.

The difference in these two men and the legacies they left revolved around their willingness to fight. It didn't depend on which was smarter. It didn't depend on which was more admired. It didn't depend on which was more talented. It depended on which was more willing. How willing are you to fight? Here, tonight, how willing are you to not just know the right things, not just say the right things, pray the right things, or even believe the right things but to actually become the right things, do the right things, and take the right action? How willing are you to do it?

Here's the thing I know. We have every reason in the world to be willing because Jesus Christ himself was willing to enter into the fight. What we know about Jesus is he was willing to die for the sake of sinners, skeptics, and screwups, so much so that he took our cross upon himself and bore the consequence of our sin. We know Jesus was willing to rise that we might be more than mere believers; we might be becomers, people who become like Jesus, because he didn't stay dead nor buried in the grave but rose forth so that we might rise alongside of him.

We know Jesus was willing to give us good reason for the Great Commission, a mission that saves the world one person at a time by one person at a time. Jesus has a purpose for you, Porch, the last regular Porch of the year. He has a purpose for you if only you're willing. Here's what I promise: it is a purpose worth living for, because it's a purpose Christ found worth dying for. Let me pray for us.

God, I know we went long tonight, yet if we're going to give our time to anyone, let it be given to you, to your Word, and to this mission, which is most important of all. God, I pray that you would embed this truth into our bones, that as we step into the holiday season, we would do so without passivity but filled with great passion, that we have a purpose, one worthy of living for, for you, Jesus, found it worthy of dying for. So, God, I pray, help us to take next steps, to know it doesn't take this room to save souls; it takes your people to do it instead. Make us like yourself. Make the world like yourself, for your glory and our good, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.