Go Tell It | Week 2 | Sermon · Rewind

Pastor Bill Bush · Dec 16, 2024 · 53 min watch · 3 min read

Go Tell It | Week 2 | Sermon

Big Idea

Pointing people to Jesus is the point — it is the mission every disciple is called to live out.

In His final words to His disciples, Jesus commissioned every follower to go and make disciples — not as an optional suggestion, but as the very purpose for which He died and for which we are still here. Pastor Bill argues that fully embracing this Great Commission requires being a disciple first: knowing Jesus personally, growing in biblical community, and going to live intentionally. These three movements are not burdens but the path to the personal fulfillment, joy, and peace every believer is searching for, powered by surrender to the Holy Spirit rather than the old self.

Key points

1
1The Great Commission is Jesus' final and most critical command — to go and make disciples is the entire point of the Christian life.
2
2To make disciples, you must first be one — knowing Christ personally through private Bible meditation and public worship together as the body.
3
3Growing in biblical community means purposeful relationships where believers are truly known, accepted, supported, and developed — bearing one another's burdens so each can carry their own calling.
4
4Going to live intentionally means stewarding your time, talent, spiritual gifts, treasure, and testimony around the mission of pointing people to Jesus.
5
5The battle against full engagement is the ongoing war between the Holy Spirit and the sinful nature — the old self still parked in the driveway — and victory requires daily surrender to the Spirit.
6
6Real trust in Jesus means believing He knows better than we do how to find what we are looking for — and that the obstacles in front of us are worth navigating because joy is on the other side.

Application

Pastor Bill frames the takeaway as a choice made daily, not just once. Every believer already has the vehicle — the new life Christ died to give — but many keep driving the old self all week and only take the new one out on Sundays. The practical next step is to get honest about which of the three areas needs attention: Are you regularly in the Word, letting it speak to you personally? Are you in a small group where you are truly known and being sharpened? Are you stewarding your time, spiritual gifts, money, and story around the mission of pointing people to Jesus? The Great Commission is not the pastor's job — it is the calling of every disciple. Come back to the cross, surrender the old self to the Holy Spirit, navigate the zigzags, and trust that the joy waiting on the other side is worth every turn.

Take it into your week

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Scripture in this message

Paraphrase of the transcript
as we come to this last message in the book of Matthew, Jesus gives his final words, and it's this thing called a great commission to us. we're gonna see today by what Jesus calls us to do. There's a challenge in this. it's a challenge to be a disciple. And what we're gonna see, the big idea this morning is simply this, pointing people to Jesus is the point. Matter of fact, it is so critical. It's the final thing that Jesus told. And this is what he says in Matthew 28 verses 18 through 20.
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From the transcript
“if you look at Philippians three ten, Paul writes this, and he's talking about kind of the base heart of what it really means, the foundation of what it means to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus that's accepted his love in your life. It says this, I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead”
From the transcript
“that leads to Galatians six one through five. It says, dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other's burdens, and this way obey the law of Christ”
From the transcript
“Matthew five fourteen says this, you're the light of the world like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is located on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly father”
From the transcript
“if you look in Galatians, again, back in chapter five, it says it this way. So I say, let the holy spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants you to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the spirit wants”
From the transcript
“As your word says in Matthew 20, your last word is as you challenged us to live as fully engaged followers, you said, and remember, I am with you till the end”

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7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

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Jesus did not whisper His final words to a select few leaders and hope it would trickle down. He gathered His disciples on a hillside and gave them — gave us — the clearest possible mission statement: go and make disciples of all nations. Pastor Bill made the point that this is not a suggestion tucked into the back of the Gospel. It is the entire point. Jesus had just defeated death, and His first order of business was to tell the people who loved Him what to do next. That tells us something important about what He values. What He values is people. Every person not yet in relationship with Him is the reason this commission exists. And notice what He said before the command: 'I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.' The mission does not rest on our cleverness or our courage. It rests on His authority. That is a different kind of foundation than we usually build on. If you have ever felt like the Great Commission belongs to missionaries or pastors, today is a good day to sit with the fact that Jesus said it to ordinary disciples — people who doubted, people who had just spent three years still figuring out who He was. He commissioned them anyway. He commissions you the same way.

For reflection

When you hear the phrase 'make disciples,' what is your honest first reaction — and what might that reaction be telling you?

Pray

Pray for a fresh, personal sense of what it means that Jesus has entrusted this mission to you specifically.

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Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

Think about the last time something felt genuinely worth the effort — when the hard parts didn't make you quit because you believed what was on the other side. This message puts that same question to the Christian life and to the Great Commission.

Discussion questions

1
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gives His final words to His disciples as a commission to go and make disciples. What do you notice about the weight Jesus places on this command — and what does it tell us about why He framed it as His last and most important word to them?
2
Pastor Bill made the case that you can't make disciples without first being one, pointing to Philippians 3:10 and the idea of knowing Christ personally. What does 'knowing Jesus personally' look like in practice — and how is that different from simply knowing things about Him?
3
Galatians 6:1-5 pictures a community where people bear one another's burdens so each person can carry their own calling. What does it look like in real life when a group of people is actually doing that — and what tends to get in the way?
4
Pastor Bill described 'going to live intentionally' as stewarding your time, spiritual gifts, treasure, and your own story around the mission of pointing people to Jesus. Of those four things, which one do people tend to think of least as a discipleship tool — and why might that be?
5
Pastor Bill used the image of a new car sitting in the driveway all week while we keep driving the old one — describing the ongoing pull between the Holy Spirit and the old self in Galatians 5:16-18. What does daily surrender to the Spirit actually involve, and how might that shape the ordinary rhythms of a week?
6
Pastor Bill closed by saying that real trust in Jesus means believing He knows better than we do how to find what we are actually looking for, and that the joy on the other side is worth navigating the zigzags. How might that kind of trust change the way we as a community talk about the hard or inconvenient parts of following Jesus?

Pray together

Daily surrender to the Holy Spirit — and the courage to trust that what Jesus is leading us toward is worth every step of the journey

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Go Tell It

Week 2 · 2 messages

Where these passages are preached

Matthew 28 Philippians 3 Galatians 6 Matthew 5

Explore related topics

Biblical Community Intentional Living Making Disciples Personal Discipleship The Great Commission

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