March 16, 2014 - The Great Commission - A Study of Matthew – Priorities

March 16, 2014 - The Great Commission - A Study of Matthew – Priorities

Matthew 28 - New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

^“18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Priorities

Matthew 8:18-22 - New International Version (NIV)

^18 “When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

²¹ Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Who did Jesus see (verse 18)?

What orders did He give (verse 18)?

Who came up to Him (verse 19)?

What did the teacher of the law promise to do (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why would the teacher of the law make that promise (verse 19)?

How did Jesus respond to the teacher of the law (verse 20)?

In your opinion, why would Jesus say this to the teacher of the law (verse 20)?

What was the other disciple’s response to Jesus (verse 21)?

How did Jesus respond to this disciple (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean when He said “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead” (verse 22)

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 8:18-22 show us about the Great Commission?

Psalm 27 - New International Version (NIV)

^1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

² When the wicked advance against me
    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
³ Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me.
⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.
⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
    do not turn your servant away in anger;
    you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
    God my Savior.
¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.
¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord;
    lead me in a straight path
    because of my oppressors.
¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
    for false witnesses rise up against me,
    spouting malicious accusations.

¹³ I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.”

What is the Lord to David (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why does David twice question who he should fear after stating what the Lord is to him (verse 1)?

What will happen when the wicked advance on David (verse 2)?

When an army besieges or a war breaks out, how will David feel (verse 3)?

What one thing will David ask God for (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does it mean when the one thing that David asks for (verse 4) is said to be not available by Jesus in Matthew 8:20?

When the day of trouble comes how will the Lord treat David (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why is David confident of this (verse 5)?

How will David respond when his “head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me” (verse 6)?

When David calls to God how does he want God to respond (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why would David request that God “be merciful to me and answer me” (verse 7)?

Why will David seek the Lord’s face (verse 8)?

What does David ask of the Lord (verse 9)?

Even though he might be forsaken by his father and mother, what does David anticipate that the Lord will do (verse 10)?

Where does David want the Lord to lead him “because of my oppressors” (verse 11)?

Who is rising up against David (verse 12)?

What is David confident of (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why did David say he would see the goodness of the Lord “in the land of the living” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what did David mean by “be strong” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what did David mean by “take heart” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what did David mean by “wait” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Psalms teach us about having a place to lay your head from Matthew 8:18-22?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Psalms show us about the Great Commission?

Philippians 3:7-14 - New International Version (NIV)

^7 “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

What does Paul consider everything that he had done or become (verse 7)?

Who is he willing to give up everything for the “surpassing worth of knowing” (verse 8)?

What has Paul found “through faith in Christ” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why does Paul want to know “the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings” (verse 10)?

What does Paul want to obtain (verse 11)?

What does “press on to take hold of” (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why does Paul forget what is behind (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why does Paul strain toward what is ahead (verse 13)?

What does Paul press on toward (verse 14)?

Who has God called Paul heavenward in (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Philippians teach us about Matthew 8:18-22?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Philippians show us about the Great Commission?

1 Peter 1:3-9 – New International Version (NIV)

^3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Who does Peter say we are to praise (verse 3)?

God, in His great mercy, has given us new birth into what (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why does Peter say that we have a new birth “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (verse 3)?

Where is our inheritance “that can never perish, spoil or fade” being kept (verse 4)?

How are we “shielded by God’s power” (verse 5)?

What are we to greatly rejoice in even, “though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (verses 3, 4, 5 and 6)?

Why have the trials come (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why will the genuineness of our faith “result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (verse 7)?

How do we react to Jesus even “Though you have not seen him” (verse 8)?

What is the “end result of your faith” that we are receiving (verses 9)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 Peter teach us about the Son of Man having no place to lay His head and about letting the dead burying the dead in Matthew 8:18-22?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 Peter show us about the Great Commission?

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