Skip to content Calling Kingdom Disciples Oct 14 · 37 min ...more
October 14, 2022 · 37 min · Culture Wars
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Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies.
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0:01 Those who know our ministry worldview and philosophy know it as the kingdom agenda, the visible demonstration and manifestation of the0:12 comprehensive rule of God over every area of life. In all that we are facing today, there is a clarion call from heaven to history,0:25 from eternity into time. And that is a call for Christians to become kingdom disciples. Not just churchgoers,0:38 not just religious people who carry their Bibles, but kingdom disciples. These are not part time Christians. These are full time saints0:50 who apply all of life to the rule of God as they pursue an intimate relationship with him. I often use the1:02 illustration of a football field where there are competing teams who bring different world views, different playbooks to the game,1:14 and who spend time in conflict with 1 another. We're seeing that all around us today. We're seeing the teams line up. We're seeing the Republican team and the1:26 Democratic team clash. The white team and the black team clash. The police team and the community team clash. We're seeing the1:38 poor team and the rich team clash. And we're seeing the conflict not ending, just like in a football game where1:50 the clash keeps on going for the extent of the game. Everybody trying to win. But in the midst of a clash of a football game is a2:01 third team. That's the team of officials. This officiating crew does not belong to either team that's in conflict on the field.2:14 They belong to the NFL. They belong to another order. They represent the NFL in New York on the conflict where they have been placed to represent on the field2:26 of play. They don't don the uniforms of either team because they have their own black and white identity in the jerseys that they wear. They are distinct.2:39 Each has been handed a book and that book governs all decisions made on the field of play. Their personal opinions must be subject to that book. Their2:51 preferences must be subject to that book. They know sometimes they're going to be booed. They know sometimes they're going to be cheered, but popularity is not their first concern.3:03 It's obedience to the book in the middle of the conflict that matters. You will often see this team of officials gathered in a circle so that there is a unified3:15 call regarding the play because they understand that they are to be 1 in the call no matter which team they're calling for because they3:27 represent the kingdom in New York and the chaos on the field of play. Unfortunately today, God has an officiating crew that's joined the teams.3:39 They're more Democrat than Christian or more Republican than Christian. More black than Christian or more white than Christian. More part of siding with this3:51 group versus that group than Christian. And instead of bringing order to the field of play, they are adding to the chaos on the field of play.4:04 That is because far too many Christians, far too many Christian leaders, far too many churches don't understand that we belong to another kingdom run by4:16 another king who has his own playbook. And until there's the decision to operate on earth by the playbook that comes from the kingdom in heaven by the4:27 executive who rules that kingdom, Rather than bringing order to the chaos, we will find ourselves part of the chaos and even contributing to the4:39 chaos. Jesus called a meeting of his officiating crew in Matthew 28. 3 groups attend the meeting. It says4:51 in verse 16, the 11 disciples, that is minus Judas, attended the meeting. First Corinthians 15 says more than 500 brethren attended5:03 the meeting. And then it says that Jesus concluded the meeting by saying that He's going to be with us till the end of the age. Well, we haven't come5:15 to the end of the age yet. So guess what? You and I have been invited to the meeting. So the 16, the 500, and everybody else who names the name of5:26 Jesus Christ has been invited to the meeting. So why don't we mosey on up to the hill that was designated? That is the mountain in Galilee where Jesus called the meeting to find out what this meeting is about5:39 and find out what this call is about where Jesus is looking for some kingdom disciples, not cultural Christians. Not even first American Christians,5:51 kingdom Christians who are in the culture, who are part of the nation, but who are not defined by it. It says, When they saw Him, verse 17,6:02 they worshiped. They sang their songs. They prayed their prayers. They celebrated the resurrected Christ. Because worship is always where you start.6:15 Worship is the recognition of God for who He is, what He has done, and what you are trusting Him to do. It is giving God His kudos. It is giving God the praise6:27 that His name deserves. And they did it through the worship of Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ is our point of access to the Father in heaven. You skip Him, you6:39 miss the Father. That's why Jesus could tell Philip, when you've seen Me, you've seen the Father. You're looking for the Father. Well, you better come through Me because I give you6:51 the greatest clarity of who the Father is, how the Father functions, and what the father wants. So they have their worship service. But we're told that some were7:03 doubtful. They were they were there, but they had question marks. I know when we look at all the challenges medically and culturally and racially and socially, some are doubting.7:15 They're doubting whether Christianity works, whether Jesus is as powerful as he declares himself to be. Does God care about injustice or righteousness or chaos and confusion?7:28 Some were doubting. But even though they were doubtful, they were still there. They didn't let their doubts keep them home. They let their doubts bring them out. So even if you have some7:40 questions when you see the chaos in the world, are they going to drive you to retreat or are they going to drive you to draw near? They at least let their questions bring them7:51 near, and they worshiped. When they worshiped or after they worshiped, it was time for the sermon. Jesus Christ steps up to the podium8:03 because He's the pulpiteer for the day. Jesus Christ lets out a blow your mind kind of statement. Says, all authority has been given to8:15 me in heaven and on earth. No. You didn't. All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth. Translation, I'm in8:27 charge up there and I'm in charge down here. I'm in charge in the sweet by and by, but I'm also running things in the nasty here and now. I'm in charge and forever8:39 and I'm in charge now. I run both shows. The Greek word authority is the Greek word ekousia. The number of the Greek words for power, authority in the New Testament, the8:51 1 noted most is dunamis. That's like where we get our English word dynamite from. It's it's explosive power. But that's not the word he uses here. The word igusia has to do with9:02 authority and legitimate hands. It has to do with the legitimate right to exercise power. Let's go back to football. The players are younger, stronger, and9:14 faster than the officiating crew. They've been lifting weights. They've been running. They've been training. They've been working out. So they've got Dunamis,9:27 but the officiating crew has Ecosia because they got a whistle and a yellow flag. They're outnumbered on the field of play. You got 11 on offense, 11 on defense, who are9:38 younger, stronger, and faster. The officiating crew is older, slower, and fatter. So they're outmanned when it comes to power, but not when it comes to authority because they can blow the whistle and stop9:50 the show. They can throw the flag and penalize you because even though you outnumber them and you got more dunamis, you don't have more ecusia because they10:02 got the badge of authority. Guess what Jesus says? I'm in charge now. Not only up there, heaven and earth. I'm in charge down here.10:14 I'm running the show. What Jesus is claiming is that he has been designated by the father10:26 to operate on his behalf in history. He wants to call the shots for history. He wants to call the shots not only10:38 for your life. He wants to call the shots for your family. He wants to call the shots for your business. He wants to call the shots for your church. He wants to call the shots for10:50 your politicians. He wants to call the shots for your leaders. He says, I'm in charge now. Now you know somebody can have duly authority and you still rebel against them.11:02 In other words, you don't accept their authority even though they possess legitimate authority. What we have found too far today is people have rejected Jesus' legitimate11:14 authority and they're going to their own teams exchanging jerseys and then not paying attention to what the duly authorized authority has to11:25 say. We would nearly have this mess at this level if Jesus was allowed to be in charge. And I'm not talking about some ethereal and chargeness out there in Never Never11:37 Land. Because remember, He said heaven and earth, eternity and time. But then He comes and He explains why this matters.11:50 If we're going to fix this madness, solve this mess on both the issues of injustice and the pain and the12:01 history and the circumstances that keep it going generationally, or the issue of righteousness, the right response based on God's12:13 Word. We're going to put these twin towers together since from God's throne, again, Psalm 8nine 14, comes righteousness and justice.12:25 These are not seesaws to go up and down. These are twins who are joined at the hip. You don't skip injustice and call for righteousness. You don't skip righteousness in the name of12:37 injustice. No. You gotta go for both. Because Jesus says, I'm running the show now, so I should call the shots based on my book. He says, here's what12:49 I want you to do. I want you to make disciples. Now this passage gets watered down because it gets watered down to mean make Christians.13:01 Now don't don't don't get me wrong. You need to become a Christian if you're gonna be a disciple. But he's talking about more than getting a passport to heaven.13:14 Trusting Jesus Christ as your personal sin bearer forgives you of your sins and gives you the free gift of eternal life for heaven. But His authority is not just in13:26 heaven, it's on earth. He says, I need some folk who will follow me in history. That's what discipleship is all about. Discipleship is a term for13:38 history. Conversion is your term for eternity. Discipleship is how you how you are living it out in time and space. What is13:50 a disciple? He or she is a visible, verbal follower of Jesus Christ. A disciple is a person who is progressively learning to14:01 live all of life under the authority, the rulership, of Jesus Christ. It comes from a Greek concept when Plato's influence hit14:13 Aristotle and Aristotle set up academies, schools to train people in platonic thought set through Aristotelian logic so that14:25 this generation of thinkers would invade the culture with the thinking of Plato through the system of Aristotle in order to transform the culture. We call it in history14:37 the Hellenization of Rome. That is when Rome was the military power, but it was under Greek influence because they had been culturized in14:49 their thinking and in their operation by the influence of this training. Jesus says, I'm the trainer. You're the trainee. And I want15:01 to train you with My authority in kingdom thinking, kingdom living, and kingdom operating. A kingdom disciple is a15:12 person who reflects the values of heaven in the decisions that have to be made on earth. They're not just dipping in and out of the Christian faith. They're15:24 not taking parts of the Bible that work for them and ignoring the parts of the Bible that they don't like. No. Because they're under full time authority. Many of our problems15:36 today that we're dealing with is because God has not had enough of His officiating crew on the field representing Him because they've joined the teams. They're more Democrat than Christian,15:48 Republic than Christian. As I said, you can pick the category, but they're not wearing the unique uniform of the kingdom because they're not disciples. They may be Christians on their way to heaven, but they're no16:00 good for the field on Earth, except the pieces that they like and are convenient. No. He says, I want you to make disciples. That's an imperative in the Greek text.16:12 In other words, he's not requesting it. He's demanding it. Our problem is we have too many church members who aren't willing to be disciples. They aren't willing to subject16:24 their humanity to Christ's authority. And so they run back to their teams in order to get team acceptance rather than kingdom acceptance,16:36 leading to all kinds of unresolvable chaos because the officiating crew won't officiate based on the data that they're getting from heaven for how things are to operate16:49 in history. Why is Jesus saying, I want you to make disciples? He's saying, I want you to make disciples because He only transfers His authority. Because remember, all authority17:01 belongs to Him. He only transfers Ekklesia to disciples. He doesn't transfer it just because you're human nor does He transfer it just because you're saved, you're a Christian. He transfers17:13 it because He can trust you with it, because he knows you're not gonna change books on it. See, we have Christians who change books. They go to cultural documents, racial documents,17:25 historical documents that contradict His document. You can go to those documents, but they must be evaluated based on His final authority.17:37 He says, make disciples. People who take my word and my rule and relationship with me seriously. Meaning, it determines17:49 your decisions regardless of how you feel. He gets to overrule you because he's in the position of authority. Notice when he says, I want you to disciple, because18:01 you don't often hear this when this passage is preached. He says, I want you to disciple the nations. Most of the time when we talk about discipleship, we talk about discipling individuals.18:13 And certainly we want to disciple people. But God's kingdom is bigger than just your individual life. It involves your personal discipleship, your family discipleship,18:26 your church discipleship, and your civil discipleship. That's why you can speak nationally. That's why we should be addressing not only personal sins,18:39 family sins, church sins, but national sins. He says, I want the structures that make up nations addressed18:51 as well as the structures that make up your life and your home. If you came to me and your life was out of order, I would try to take this book,19:03 give you God's standard, give you practical ways to address your need so that His authority would flow to the resolution of your personal dilemma. If you brought your19:15 family to me and said, My family is falling apart, I'd take the same book, give you God's standards for what a man is and how a man is to function, what a woman is, how she is19:27 to function, what parents and children are, how they are to function, give you practical ways to implement it, and expect His authority to bring order to your house. If your church came to me and said our church19:38 is in chaos, I'd take the same book. I'd give you His standards for what the roles are, how the roles are supposed to function, practical steps to implement it so19:50 God's Spirit could give you and transfer His authority to bringing the church and making it whole again. But what if you brought your Congress to me, or your President to20:02 me, or your Commissioners to me, or your mayors to me. Well, guess what I wouldn't do? I wouldn't change books. I wouldn't switch books because the20:14 Bible says God created government. Civil leaders aren't on their own. They don't get to choose how they run a government. God has established how a government is20:25 supposed to run. He calls the government leaders ministers of God, not just ministers of culture. And he says, I wanna instruct you how to do it. So So when a culture is in20:37 trouble, you don't switch books. And we have too many leaders switching books. And it's not just having the book or holding the book. It is utilizing the book for20:49 decision making. And until you do that, you're not taking seriously being a disciple, which means you can have all the prayer meetings you want and you won't hear from heaven.21:01 You can you can have all the prayer meetings you want and God's not gonna move because He will not define your decision. And when He knows He can't define your decision, He's not going to share His egusia, His authority,21:12 with you. But for those who are willing to become disciples in the individual family church and, cultural lives. Oh, and now you can draw heaven down into history21:24 because you're not just a Christian, you are a disciple. If you're not a Christian, you need to come to Christ. If you are a Christian, you need to be ruled by Christ as you grow in intimacy with21:36 Him by learning what that rule looks like. He shares His authority. I tell when I was chaplain of the Cowboys and chaplain of the Mavericks, I'd get tickets to the game and21:48 I'd invite people to go with me. But I say stay close to me because there are certain rights and privileges that come if you stick with me that you don't get if you wander off on your own. I have a I have a22:00 parking pass. So if you ride in my car, you get to park where I park because you're hanging out with me. You drive your own car, you pay your own price. I get to go through a private door. You come with me, you get to go22:11 through that door. But that's not because of who you are. That's because of who I am. You're close to me. You get to sit in certain seats. That's because they're my tickets. Then I'm on loan to you, so you get to sit22:22 with me. But that's not because of who you are. That's because of who you're with. When it's over, we're not trying to rush like everybody else. We go on a private exit, up a private elevator, out a private door, to a22:33 private parking lot, and you'll be home before most people have gotten out of the lot. And that is because of who you are with. Jesus says, if you wanna see my authority in heaven, you better come and hang out with me.22:44 And that that doesn't mean Christianese isn't God good all the time, all the time God is good. That's nice, but that's not enough. It means I'm submitting to biblical authority on all 4 of those categories of the22:55 kingdom. And everything has to adjust to that. Even if it's against how I was raised, even if it's against what my mom and daddy taught me, even if it disagrees with my politics or my23:07 race or my class or my culture, it doesn't deny any of those. But black is most beautiful when it's biblical and white is only right when it's amidst the God's23:19 rule. When those standards are adhered to, then you can celebrate who you are because who you are is being defined by who he is. He says there are 3 things23:31 you've gotta do if you're serious about becoming a disciple. He lists 3 participles. In the Greek construct, the participles explain and define23:44 the imperative. The imperative is make disciples. He says go, baptize, and teach. Those are the 3 participles. Go. Now you can study go in Hebrew, Greek, Ugaritic,23:57 Syriac. You can you can study it. And go means go. It means don't stay. It means publicly represent me.24:09 Oh, it's safe when we're in church. No competition there. There's only 1 team on the field. When you leave church, you have to go out there. Are you24:22 visibly representing me, or are you just talking a good game? And that has to show up in your decisions. Your walk, not your talk.24:34 Your life, not your lip. Your movement, not your mouth. He says go. That means public display. You know, when we gather in our worship services, it's like a24:46 huddle in a football game. The other team is not allowed in the huddle. And 65000 people, a hundred thousand people don't show up to24:58 watch their team huddle. They don't mind a huddle as long as you only spend a few seconds in it. What they wanna see is what difference will the huddle make. Having huddled, will you now score?25:10 What are you gonna do about 11 other men on the other side of the ball daring you to go public with your private conversation? See, they wanna see what happens when you break huddle. We got a lot of churches. We've got a25:21 lot of leaders. We haven't broken huddle enough. We've talked about love, but we haven't broken huddle with it. We talked about justice, but we haven't broken huddle with it. We talk about25:33 righteousness, but we haven't broken huddle with it. We we talk to each other in the huddle. We don't go and let the public see what kingdom disciples look like in unison because we have25:45 1 Lord, 1 kingdom, 1 authority, 1 book. Second thing he says is I want you to baptize them. He25:56 doesn't mean just get them wet. Baptizo was used of a the Greek word is baptizo. It was used of a dye maker in New Testament days where a26:08 mother would bring some cloth because she was gonna sew a dress for her daughter and the dye maker would baptize it, that is, immerse it in a color. So that if she wanted to make a pink dress, blue26:20 dress, red dress, the cloth would now reflect the color of the baptism, the baptizo, in the dye. Well, if you have come to26:32 Jesus Christ and you have been baptized, you have a color. It's red because you're to be defined by the blood. When26:44 a football team comes on the field, you don't see different uniforms. You see 1 uniform that doesn't deny the person in the uniform. If he's Black, he's still Black. White, still26:56 White. Hispanic, he's still Hispanic. Doesn't deny their humanity, but their humanity is covered by a centrally27:08 defined uniform. Our commitment to Christ must be defined by the blood, It must be defined by our27:19 unified commitment to Him. He is our identity. That's what it means. To be baptized has to do with your classification.27:31 And you must be Christian first. Let me say that again. You must be Christian first.27:44 If you're not Christian first, then you have insulted Christ. Yes. Keep your humanity. God is not27:56 calling all of us to be the same. He's calling us to wear the same uniform, though, without losing the uniqueness that He's given each of us in the spheres of our influence.28:08 It is time for the church of Jesus Christ to wear the same uniform publicly, not just privately in church where the other team's not there. That28:20 you are to be defined by your faith, not by your feelings. If mother was wrong, mother was wrong. If daddy was wrong, daddy was wrong. If my race is wrong, my race is wrong. If the28:32 community is wrong, community is wrong. If the politicians are wrong, politicians are wrong. Police are wrong. Police are wrong. Why? Because I'm wearing 1 uniform here, and it's defined in my decision making by Jesus28:43 Christ. And I'm calling it like He calls it, on every level of life. He says, no. You're to be baptized. You're to put on this this28:55 uniform. And then he says, teach them. Teach them to observe whatever I've commanded you. Oh, yeah. Teach them doctrine. Teach them numerology, ecclesiology, eschatology,29:07 angelology, anthropology. Teach them all the ologies, but the whole point of the ologies is to observe. In other words, teach them how to live it, not just learn it. You know, we got we29:18 got a lot of amens. Praise the lord. Hallelujah. You you know, we get a lot of learning, but Jesus doesn't just give authority to learners. He gives authority to observers. That29:30 is people who are ready to implement his truth, not just discuss it. See, because we pontifications are everywhere. Everybody has a thought. Everybody29:42 has an idea. Well, let me explain something. There are 2 answers to every question. God's answer and everybody else's. And everybody else is wrong when they29:54 disagree with Him. God has spoken and He has not stuttered. He's spoken about racism. He's spoken about injustice. He's spoken about classism. He's spoken about culturalism. He's30:06 spoken about politics. He's spoken about freedom. He's spoken about all the systemic injustices as well as injustices that come from our personal hearts. God has spoken about all these subjects,30:18 but what we do, unfortunately, is pick and choose. And we don't deal with the whole counsel of God. He said, no. You teach him to observe it. And not only in church, but in the workplace, in30:30 the political spheres. That's what you do. We don't have enough disciples who observe all that he's commanded, not just the parts that they like. That's what it says. He30:41 closes with a statement. He says, and I will be with you always even until the end of the age. Oh, now in the Greek30:53 text, we call this the ego, I, me construction. The word I is written twice. If you were to read it literally, it would say I, even I, will be with you. But they didn't write the31:05 word I twice. They just intensified the word I and lo I. That means show enough me. I will hang out with you if you are this. Not if you're a Christian,31:17 if you're a disciple, a person growing in relationship with to me who is simultaneously submitted to my rule in every category and who do it publicly, not just31:29 privately. Let me put it another way. Jesus does not relate to all Christians equally. Doesn't matter your color, your culture. You31:41 know, in Saint John chapter 2 verses 23 to 25, you read a statement. It says, many believed in him. Many became Christians. The Greek phrase,31:53 always means to become a Christian. Many believed in Him, got saved, got converted. But then it goes on to say, But He would not commit Himself to32:04 them because he knew what was in them. Woah. They got saved, but he wouldn't entrust himself. He wouldn't commit himself. Why? Because they weren't committed yet.32:16 They were on their way to heaven, but he couldn't use them on earth. They had believed in him for eternal life, but he wasn't ready to impart his authority to them because they weren't all in yet.32:29 The reason why we're not seeing prayers answered, the reason why we're not seeing calm in the middle of our storms socially, politically, economically, racially, and even medically32:41 is because He doesn't have enough full time commitment. We have the ability to change God's mind. And God's mind, trust me, is the 1 we need to change. But we will not change His32:52 mind until we change the comprehensive nature of our commitment. We have watered down Christianity to be heavenly and not historically33:05 implemented. He says, I will be with you always even until the end of the day. I'm a hang out with that kind of Christian, that kind of church, that kind of pastor, that kind of family who33:17 live it out publicly in all areas of life. So there's a call, a clarion call. It's a call for kingdom disciples. Men and33:29 women pursuing an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ while submitting to His authority even when they don't prefer what the rule book says. When he sees33:41 that, and the broader he sees that, especially coming out of our churches, then he he's comfortable sharing his egusia because he knows we're33:52 producing disciples, not just church members. We're producing people who are all in, not just there for the program. This is a serious34:04 meeting Jesus called because this is serious authority He came to offer. In closing, a man 1 day was on his way to his34:16 honeymoon. New bride was in his car. They were on their way to spend their first night together. But to get to the place where they were going, they had to go down a lonely country road34:28 on a heavenly foggy night. There was a big truck in front of the car and he wanted to pass the truck. When he pulled out to pass the truck, he didn't see the34:39 oncoming van and there was a head on collision. The van knocked his car up in the air and flipped it over into a ditch. Both he and his new34:51 bride were knocked unconscious. He came to first, looked over into the passenger side, and saw His bride gushing with blood. He knew that35:03 she would bleed out and die soon if there was not help given immediately. As fortune would have it, he looked out of the windshield and saw a sign that35:14 said, Office of Doctor. Bill Jones. How fortunate could it be that this accident happened in front of a doctor's office? He went over and got his beloved, then picked her up35:26 and stumbled up to the house, knocked on the door. An old gentleman came to the door. He said, What can I do for you? He said,35:38 She's dying. She's dying. Please save her. The doctor said, I am so sorry. I don't practice medicine anymore.35:50 That's when the young man angrily looked at him and said, mister, you have 2 choices. Either save her or take down your sign.36:03 But don't have a sign stuck up there suggesting that there's help here because it said office of doctor Bill Jones. But when we show up,36:15 you don't practice anymore. It's time for Christians to do 1 or 2 things. It's time for us to practice publicly full time commitment to the36:27 lordship of Jesus Christ or take down your sign. But don't give the impression you all in. But when a nation is bleeding right in front of our eyes,36:39 when hearts are broken, when injustice on 1 hand and and irresponsibility on another hand, when failure36:51 on 1 hand and maybe not legitimate response on the other hand, when when leaders can't fix it, it's time for us to37:03 either do what the sign says, full time commitment under divine authority, or just take down the sign and don't do false advertising. There's a call now for kingdom disciples.37:16 There's no issue we face now to which the lord of heaven and earth doesn't have an answer to those who are willing to do it when he reveals it. There's a call for37:27 kingdom disciples.
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