Faith Baptist Church
09/27/26 Worship Service
John 21:17ESV
- God of the Ages
- Grace Greater Than Our Sin
- O Love that Will Not Let Me Go
Matthew 28:18ESV
- He Will Hold Me Fast
- This morning we are going to talk about the purpose and vision of our church.We are going to talk about the Great Commission.What is the Great Commission?Context:
Matthew 28:5–7 ESV 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”Sharon and I were privileged to go to the Sea of GalileeOur boatThe place where Jesus gave the Great Commission.Imagine Jesus on this mountain top looking over the Region of Galilee and beyond.Matthew 28:16–17 “16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.”Devotion Note: Part of the great commission is to make disciples because God deserves as many worshipers as possible. There were only a handful of people present at this meeting. And some of those doubted instead of worshiped. Jesus deserves both quantity and quality of worship.Matthew 28:18 ESV 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.Matthew 28:19–20 ESV 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”It is always helpful to review this most important command.What is the primary command of this text?Matthew 28:19–20 ESV 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”What are the supporting verbals that instruction us how to carry out this Great Commission?Matthew 28:19–20 ESV 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”We are commanded by Jesus who has all authority in heaven and on earth- to MAKE DISCIPLES!We make disciples by going, by baptizing, and by teaching.This is the main thing of Faith Baptist Church.Does anyone know our purpose statement? Why do we exist as a church?The purpose of Faith is to equip and inspire people to know and become like Jesus for the glory of God.Does anyone know the process we are inviting everyone at Faith to engage in? What is the simple process that helps everyone here at Faith accomplish our mission?Our Process:We Become DisciplesKnow Jesus and have a desire to become like Him.John 17:3 “3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”Our Process:We Become DisciplesWe Follow DisciplesBegin studying bible study with mature believers in the church. Follow one another to become more like Jesus.1 Corinthians 11:1 “1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”One of the ways we do this is by encouraging everyone in our church to go through Foundations: Bible Truths for Christian Growth with other mature believers in the church. This study teaches the basics of the Christian faith and equips saints to become teachers themselves.Our Process:We Become DisciplesWe Follow DisciplesWe Make DisciplesTeach someone else everything you know about following Jesus.Big idea: Spiritual replicationThe goal of making a disciple is to spiritual reproduce yourself in the life of another person.2 Timothy 2:2 “2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”So our purpose as a church is to: equip and inspire people to know and become like Jesus for the glory of God.And we want everyone here at Faith to be engaged in that purpose. The main thing here at Faith is to make disciples.The process that we want everyone to engage in isBe a discipleFollow a discipleMake a discipleWhere are you in this process?Now as we are making disciples we believe that there is a priority or a logical progress for how this mandate is carried out.And we find this logical progress in Acts.Acts 1:8 ESV 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”First and primary is our responsibility to reach our Jerusalem.As we obey the command to make disciples we believe that our primary responsibility is to reach our Jerusalem. That is to reach the community that we live in. The immediate area all around us. We are to reach Summit, and Dousman, and Oconomowoc.The bulk of our energies and efforts and dollars should be poured into reaching our immediate community.How are we going to reach our Jerusalem?Our Purpose:Faith exists to equip and inspire people to know and become like Jesus for the glory of God.Our Process:We Become DisciplesWe Follow DisciplesWe Make DisciplesWe all need to take the next steps in the process.This is primary!As we all engage in our process we also need the right tools to accomplish our mission.Trellis and Vine IllustrationThe point is to grow the vine! Vine growth in our top priority. But you can’t grow the vine without the trellis. And that is where our building addition comes in.So as we are thinking about the Great Commission, and reaching our community and fulfilling our purpose and following our process one of the steps in that is expanding the trellis.Floor PlanWorked with Dallas Putnam to update the floor plan.Explain the purpose of the rooms.ExteriorHow can you help make this addition a reality?Engage in the process of making disciples! The trellis is pointless if the vine is not growing. The most helpful way you can make this addition is a reality is by seeking to spiritually reproduce yourself.Pray!Proverbs 16:3 “3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”Proverbs 16:9 “9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”October is prayer emphasis month. Come out and pray as a church!3. Give- $750,000 estimated. Could be more, could be less. Building fund designated fund. Would you pray about giving to gospel ministry?2 Corinthians 9:6–8 “6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”2 Corinthians 8:7 “7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.”Excel in the grace of giving.As God works in your heart give cheerfully and generously to gospel ministry.Give so we can reach more effectively our Jerusalem with the gospel.But making disciples doesn’t stop there. Next we are to expand outward and reaching our Judea/Samaria.Map of the expansion of the Great CommissionHere is the heart of the Great Commission. It is spiritual reproduction at every level.Not only do we want to reproduce our selves at an individual level, but also at the church level.So how to we reproduce and reach our Judea/Samaria?Through church planting.North Oconomowoc locationHow are we going to accomplish this?Tell the story of 10 year vision. Show how the vision correlated to Acts 1:8This church plant is an outgrowth of our Disciple-Making culture.It is a desire to engage our community.It will require spiritual partnerships.Partnerships with the WebbersSam and Savannah EwenLots more spiritual partnershipsOur vision is to bring Matt Webber on to the pastoral staff of Faith Baptist Church. We would call Matt to be our church planting pastor. He would be sent out from our church, under the authority of our church (for accountability), and united with the purpose and process of our church (planting a disciple-making church).How do we pay for all that?Slide of partnerships.6 years ago when we prayerfully cast this 10 year vision, I would never have believed that we would be on the threshold of planting in 2026. That is of the Lord!How can you help Faith make disciples and reach our Judea/Samaria?How can you help make this addition a reality?Engage in the process of making disciples! Church planting is simply the outworking of a disciple-making culture in a local church. If everyone of us is not seeking spiritual reproduction individually, then we will never see long term spiritual reproduction corporately.Pray! Prayer emphasis month in October. We must commit this to the Lord in prayer. I want to dedicate a season to prayer as we take the next steps toward planting. Pray individually, pray corporately. We must depend upon the Lord for all this or it will never happen. If God is not in this church plant, if we are not depending on Him every step of the way, it will never work. So we must pray.Give! Next fiscal year we will need to support Matt like we support a missionary sent out from our church. It will require a significant investment from us. Give to our general fund. Give to gospel ministry in Jerusalem and in Judea/Samaria.Go! Some of you that live on the North Side of Oconomowoc could pray about the possibility of going with the Webbers to plant this church. Permanently or for a period of 6 months. We really want people who live in or near the target area to go with the Webbers. If you live in the geographical location begin to ask the Lord if you should go.So we are trusting the Lord for some major steps in our church. A new church addition to expand our growing vine, our growing commitment to make disciples.A new church plant to expand our disciple-making culture to our Judea/Samaria.That is a lot to take on. How are we possible going to do all that?By faith!Hebrews 11:8 ESV 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.Genesis 12:1–4 ESV 1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.Command- Go out from your country, and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.Promise- I will make of you a great nation! etc… vv. 2-3Response- So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…I love how the author of Hebrew encapsulates this progression.Hebrews 11:8 ESV 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.Command- he was called to go out to a placePromise- that he was to receive as an inheritanceResponse- And he went out, not know where he was goingIs Abraham’s faith the same as his obedience? Are faith and obedience synonymous? NO!Abraham’s faith is magnified for us in his trust in the promises of God.God gave Abraham a promise! What was the promise?Genesis 12:2–3 “2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””Genesis 12:7 “7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”Genesis 13:14–17 “14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.””Genesis 17:3–8 “3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.””God gave to Abraham some very great and precious promises! And Abraham believed God. Abraham trusted in the promises of God.How do we know that?By faith Abraham obeyed! He went out not knowing where he was going.Hebrews 11:9 ESV 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.Abraham believed God’s promises, he trust in God’s word so much, he left his family and his community and his culture and everything that made him feel safe- he left all of it to go and live in the land of promise!Yet Abraham never lived in the land as the owner of the land, he for his whole life lived in the land as in a foreign land. Abraham was in the land, but it was not his, he was a foreigner in the land. And his sons after him, Isaac and Jacob, they too were foreigners in the land, but they were also heirs with Abraham of the same promise!This is a record of Abraham’s faith!How could Abraham live his whole life as in a foreign land, never receiving the full promises of God? By Faith!Hebrews 11:10 “10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”Every day he was in the land as a foreigner- he looked forward to the future city (the city based on God’s promises). And it was a real city- it is a city that has foundations. It’s designer and builder is God. That city is still to come! God is still going to keep his covenant promises to Abraham.The faith of Abraham is the same faith we need today.God gave Abraham a command- what was it?Command- he was called to go out to a placeWhen we think about the Great Commission has God given us commands?Matthew 28:19–20 ESV 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.Acts 1:8 ESV 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”God gave Abraham a promise- what was it?Promise- that he was to receive as an inheritanceWhen we think about the Great Commission has God given us promises?Matthew 28:20 ESV 20 And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”Matthew 16:18 ESV 18 I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.God gave Abraham commands and promises. Based on those what was Abraham’s response?Hebrews 11:8 ESV 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.I fell like Abraham. I have never planted a church before! And yet the command and the promise of the Lord are clear. So I am going out, not knowing where I am going. Who is coming with me?I know the Lord wants us to make disciples. Will you follow the Lord’s command by faith?I know the Lord wants us to plant churches.Will you follow the Lord’s command by faith?Do you trust his promises? Will you show evidence of that trust in small steps of obedience?If you are not in the process of making disciples- Being a disciple, following a disciple, making a disciple- what are you waiting for?Are you willing to commit your time to the Lord through prayer?Are you willing to commit your resources to the Lord in giving?Do we really have the faith of Abraham? Do we really trust in the promises of the Lord? Let’s take some small steps of obedience together, by faith, full convinced that God is able to do all that He has promised. Matthew 28:19–20ESV
Matthew 28:19–20ESV
Matthew 28:19–20ESV
Acts 1:8ESV
Hebrews 11:8ESV
Genesis 12:1–4ESV
Hebrews 11:8ESV
Hebrews 11:9ESV
Matthew 28:19–20ESV
Acts 1:8ESV
Matthew 28:20ESV
Matthew 16:18ESV
Hebrews 11:8ESV
- For the Sake of His Name
