Discipleship Over Tourism: Living the Great Commission

Devotional

Day 1: When Farms Become Tourist Destinations

The church risks becoming a spiritual agritourism site – a place where people briefly experience faith without putting down roots. Like farmers who stopped growing crops to host events, many focus on attracting crowds rather than cultivating disciples. True faith requires working the soil of obedience, not just temporary encounters. Jesus commissions us to teach others to follow His commands, not just admire His fields. Lasting transformation happens when we embrace the messy work of farming souls. [36:18]

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
(Matthew 28:18-20, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you prioritized attracting people to faith events over nurturing their daily walk with Christ? What one relationship could you invest in this week to help someone grow deeper roots?

Day 2: Savior or Lord – The Tractor Test

Following Jesus requires more than emergency rescue – it demands handing over the keys. Like farm visitors who drove tractors without understanding stewardship, many treat Christ as a temporary fix rather than the owner of their lives. True discipleship begins when we stop borrowing faith for weekend adventures and start surrendering control. The risen Christ holds all authority, inviting us to work His fields rather than joyride through them. [41:39]

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?"
(Luke 6:46, ESV)

Reflection: What area of your life still has a "No Trespassing" sign hung for Jesus? How would daily decisions change if you saw yourself as a caretaker rather than owner of your possessions, time, and relationships?

Day 3: Haystack Faith vs Harvest Obedience

Sleeping in barns of complacency won’t grow spiritual crops. The farmer’s morning rebuke mirrors Christ’s call to wake up from superficial faith. Discipleship means persisting through seasons of planting and weeding, not just enjoying harvest festivals. Jesus commands active cultivation – loving God completely and neighbors sacrificially. Mature faith smells like turned earth, not hay bales. [34:31]

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
(Matthew 7:21, ESV)

Reflection: When have you confused spiritual activity for obedience? What specific commandment of Jesus have you struggled to implement this month?

Day 4: Calloused Hands of Perseverance

Real disciples develop farmer’s hands – toughened by daily labor, not softened by event planning. The church’s temptation to dilute truth mirrors farmers abandoning crops for easier income. Following Christ means embracing blisters from plowing hard soil, both in our hearts and others’. Perseverance proves our confession as we work fields the world considers unprofitable. [43:39]

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
(James 1:2-4, ESV)

Reflection: What current challenge in your walk with Christ is developing your spiritual calluses? How can you view this difficulty as preparation for greater harvest?

Day 5: Barns Full of Living Testimonies

Discipleship happens in the rhythm of seedtime and storytime. Like farmers sharing wisdom over tractor engines, we’re called to explain faith while working beside others. Every conversation about Christ must flow from lives actually tending His fields. Our barns should store stories of transformed lives, not just event attendance numbers. [50:30]

"Always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect."
(1 Peter 3:15, ESV)

Reflection: When did last week’s ordinary moments naturally open doors for spiritual conversations? How can you better integrate gospel seeds into your daily work and relationships?

Sermon Summary

The Great Commission begins with Jesus saying that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. Jesus does not send people out with a vague religious slogan. Jesus sends disciples to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that he commanded.

The often-dropped ending matters. “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” changes the meaning of the whole thing. The command is not just to get people to say Christian words, get baptized, or wear the label. The command is to bring people into a life of following and learning Jesus. A disciple is not just a person who professes to be Christian. A disciple is someone who actually observes and keeps the commandments of Christ.

Salvation is not simply a one-off experience. The river rescue picture makes the difference clear. If a person is drowning and another person throws a rope and pulls him out, that rescuer has saved him. But that rescue does not automatically create lordship. Jesus as Savior means rescue. Jesus as Lord means the saved person follows him and does what he says, to the best of that person’s ability, for the rest of life.

The agrotourism image exposes what has happened to much of Western Christianity. Farms that once grew crops became tourist destinations so they could keep the property and keep the doors open. In the same way, Christianity can keep the name, the buildings, the crowds, and the religious experience, while no longer functioning as the thing it was meant to be. The church can become a tourist spot for people who want to be saved but do not want to live the truth of following Christ.

Altar-call religion can make belief easier than discipleship. The warning is sharp: a person can confess Jesus as Lord and Savior and still reject the lordship of Jesus in practice. A decision is not merely a moment, a line, or an emotional experience. The real decision is a lifetime of living out the truth, even when it becomes hard, costly, and questioned by the world.

The invitation into faith must stay relational. Good conversation plus a God conversation can lead to a gospel conversation. The goal is not pressure, force, or a thirty-minute transaction. The call is a lifetime of walking with Christ, loving God with everything, loving the neighbor as oneself, and sharing the miraculous love of Jesus with people who are hurting.

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Key Takeaways

1. Disciples observe all Jesus commanded [37:12] Jesus does not leave the Great Commission at “go” and “baptize.” Jesus joins disciple-making to obedience, because following Christ means learning his way and living under his command. A Christianity that cuts off that last part may still sound biblical, but it has already changed the meaning of the call. [37:12]
2. Savior is not the same as Lord [40:53] The river rescue picture shows the difference between being saved from danger and surrendering to a relationship of obedience. Jesus as Savior is not less than forgiveness, but Jesus as Lord is more than rescue. A person can want deliverance from judgment while resisting the authority of Christ, and that is exactly where discipleship presses the heart. [40:53]
3. The church can become agrotourism [42:13] The farm that stops growing crops may still own the land, host events, and look alive from the outside. The church can do the same when it keeps activity, labels, and visitors, but stops forming followers of Jesus. The danger is not losing the building first, but losing the function while pretending the identity remains intact. [42:13]
4. Decision begins a lifelong journey [47:47] A real decision for Christ is not just a sentence spoken in a public moment. The decision is tested over time, especially when obedience becomes costly and the world pushes back. Discipleship is not proven by a label on the forehead, but by a life increasingly shaped by the commands and love of Jesus. [47:47]
5. Invitation must stay relational [49:56] The call to invite people deeper is not limited to inviting them into a church service. The invitation may be into a small group, a Bible study, a conversation, or a shared walk where faith becomes visible. Because Jesus calls people into relationship, the witness of a disciple must become interruptible, patient, and willing to go with the person being invited.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[31:16] - The Great Commission Read Aloud
[32:15] - Farms, Agrotourism, and Survival
[36:18] - Go and Make Disciples
[37:12] - The Part Often Left Out
[38:56] - What Disciple Really Means
[40:53] - Savior Versus Lord
[42:13] - Church as Tourist Destination
[44:20] - The Problem With Empty Altar Calls
[47:47] - Decision as a Lifetime
[48:59] - Moving Conversations Wisely
[49:56] - Invite People Deeper
[52:13] - Called to Make Disciples
[53:24] - Love God and Love Neighbor
[53:45] - Prayer for Strength and Passion

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 28:18-20
“And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'” [31:16]

Matthew 22:37-40
“And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.'” [53:24]

Luke 6:46
“'Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?'” [41:26]

Observation questions

In Matthew 28:18-20, what are the main actions Jesus gives in the Great Commission, and which part is often neglected when people talk about this passage? [37:20]
According to Matthew 22:37-40, what two commands sum up the life Jesus calls his people to live? [38:24]
In Luke 6:46, what tension does Jesus expose between what a person says and what a person actually does? [44:55]
What details in the farm and agrotourism picture show the difference between still having the name of something and still functioning as what it was meant to be? [35:19]

Interpretation questions

If Jesus says disciples are to be taught to observe all he commanded, how does that shape the meaning of “make disciples” beyond getting someone to profess faith or be baptized? [37:40]
The difference between Savior and Lord is not small. What does the river rescue picture help make clear about the difference between being rescued by Jesus and living under his authority? [40:53]
Jesus asks, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” How should that warning challenge a version of Christianity that is satisfied with words, labels, or a past decision alone? [46:41]
If the church can become like a tourist destination instead of a working farm, what might be lost first: the name, the activity, or the actual purpose? Why does that matter? [42:40]

Application questions

Where is it easiest right now to want Jesus as Savior but resist him as Lord? Is there an area of life where obedience has been delayed, negotiated, or kept at a distance? [41:54]
A real decision to follow Christ is lived over a lifetime, not just spoken in a moment. What habits or patterns in daily life are helping that decision become more visible and real? What patterns might be working against it? [47:54]
Jesus teaches his people to love God with everything and love their neighbor as themselves. Which of those two feels more stretched for this season of life, and what would one concrete step of obedience look like this week? [53:18]
It is possible to carry a Christian label without living a disciple’s life. What would be honest signs that faith has become mostly a label, and what would repentance look like in that situation? [47:17]
Inviting someone deeper into faith does not have to be forced or mechanical. Who is one person that could be invited into a more intentional next step—a meal, a small group, a Bible study, a walk, or an honest conversation? [49:56]
Good conversation plus a God conversation can lead to a gospel conversation. In ordinary relationships, what helps faith come up naturally, and what fears usually keep that from happening? [51:09]
Following Jesus can become costly and may be questioned by others. When faith has felt difficult, awkward, or expensive, what helped keep obedience from becoming just words? [48:10]

Sermon Clips

64s

“You can ask god to be your savior and reject the lordship of Jesus Christ in the same moment. And a disciple is both looking at Jesus Christ. The disciple of Christ is both putting Jesus as both savior and lord. And what the church, I believe, in my opinion, in the West and in America, probably for about fifty years, started to no longer function as a farm. It is no longer a farm for Christianity. It is a tourist spot for people that wanna be saved but do not wanna actually live out the truth of being a follower of Christ.”

37s

“When we confess Jesus as lord and savior, we there was two different words there, lord and savior. If you save me from the river, you're my savior, but you are not my lord. Unless I then therefore say, okay. Now I'm gonna follow you, and I'm gonna do whatever you tell me to do to the best of my ability for the rest of my life. You are my lord. Do you see the difference there?”

56s

“We have stopped telling the truth of what Christianity actually is, which is a full commitment that is going to be challenged by the world, that is going to be difficult to live because perseverance, which we are called to live into, we are called to persevere for the faith, is hard. And so most of the churches in the West have made it easier to be a believer because we're not actually teaching discipleship anymore. We're just telling people, come to the altar and confess that Jesus is your lord and savior, and you're gonna go to heaven, and we'll see you there.”

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