Forward Church Cambridge Sermons

Follow | Rules and Rest (Kirk Giles)

When Jesus departed the earth to return to the Father he gave tasked His disciples with a mission: “make disciples.” Accomplishing this task would require a few things:1. It would require going, in fact it would require going to the whole world. Disciple making couldn't be accomplished through passivity it would require initiative and activity. They would need to go out into the world to invite others to follow Jesus.2. Once people had received the invitation to follow Jesus it would require initiation. A physical washing that would represent the way that through Jesus, His followers have already been washed and made clean.3. It would require instruction, specifically it would require them teaching to others everything Jesus had taught to them. This teaching was more than just theoretical instruction, it was a call to imitation, a call to step by step learn what it means to walk in the way of Jesus.4. Finally, it would require the power and presence of Jesus. Jesus knew the task He was leaving them with would only be possible with his help and so He reminded them that His help would be more than enough to accomplish the mission and that His help would always be available to them until the mission was accomplished. The mission He gave His first disciples continues to be our mission today and the promise He made to them continues forward to all those who call themselves His disciples. Application:Have you made choice to follow Jesus?If you are a disciple, have you been baptized?If you're a baptized disciple, where do you most need to grow this year in walking in the way of Jesus?Are you a disciple who is making disciples?

The first marker of Christlike maturity that Paul identifies in Ephesians 4 is humility. To grow in Christ is to grow in your understanding of just how far short of the goal of Christlikeness you fall and how incapable you are of achieving that goal on your own you are. As you grow in humility it leads you to be gentler and more forgiving with others. As you grow in your awareness of how patient God is with you, it makes you more patient towards others more able to bear with others, which makes unity with other fallible and faltering followers of Jesus more attainable.