Resurrection People: Sent to Make Disciples, Transform Lives

May 03, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Torn Curtains and Shaken Ground

Jesus hung lifeless on the cross. Soldiers gambled for His clothes. At His final breath, the temple curtain ripped top to bottom. Rocks split. Graves opened. The centurion trembled: “Truly this was the Son of God!” The tearing curtain declared access—no more separation between God and His people. [06:17]

This moment shattered religious systems. God Himself tore the barrier, inviting rebels turned children to approach boldly. The earthquake wasn’t random—creation convulsed at sin’s defeat. Jesus’ death didn’t just forgive; it rewired reality.

You face barriers—shame, addiction, broken relationships. The torn curtain says “Come.” What dead thing in your life needs resurrection power today? “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart” (Hebrews 10:19-22, NIV).

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal one barrier His blood has already destroyed.
Challenge: Write “ACCESS” on your mirror. Read it aloud every morning this week.

Day 2: Firetrucks in the Station

The disciples huddled behind locked doors. Jesus appeared—alive—showing scars, eating fish. For 40 days, He taught them. Then He ascended, leaving a mandate: “Go.” They didn’t stay in the upper room. They spilled into streets, healing, preaching, turning the world upside down. [01:03:23]

Church isn’t a holy huddle. Like firefighters polishing trucks while houses burn, we fail if we only gather. Jesus sends us into addiction-ravaged streets, lonely neighborhoods, and hostile workplaces. Your mission field starts at your doorstep.

Where have you substituted meetings for mission? “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19, NIV).

Prayer: Confess three excuses keeping you from engaging your community.
Challenge: Text one neighbor: “How can I pray for you this week?”

Day 3: Scales on the Damascus Road

Saul breathed murder. Armed with warrants, he stormed toward Damascus. Light blinded him. A voice shook the desert: “Why persecute me?” Three days later, scales fell. The persecutor became the preacher. Conversion became commissioning. [01:17:20]

Transformation isn’t gradual improvement—it’s death and resurrection. Jesus didn’t reform Saul’s zeal; He redirected it. The same power that vaporized scales off Paul’s eyes vaporizes our shame, addiction, and fear.

What “scale” still distorts your vision of God’s purpose for you? “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV).

Prayer: Ask God to remove one lie you’ve believed about your identity.
Challenge: Share your conversion story with one person before sunset.

Day 4: Wet Clay on the Potter’s Wheel

Peter denied Christ three times. After the resurrection, Jesus rebuilt him with three questions: “Do you love me?” Each “yes” restored the broken disciple. Peter stopped being a spectator—he preached at Pentecost, healed the lame, faced prison. [01:14:11]

Discipleship isn’t self-improvement. It’s yielding to the Potter’s hands. Jesus doesn’t need your ability; He demands your availability. Every crack in your life becomes a channel for His glory when surrendered.

Where are you resisting the Potter’s pressure? “We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8, NIV).

Prayer: Name one area where you’ve preferred comfort over being molded.
Challenge: Call someone who mentored you. Thank them for their investment.

Day 5: Footprints in the Dust

The Emmaus road disciples trudged home defeated. A Stranger joined them—explaining Scriptures, breaking bread. Their eyes opened: “Were not our hearts burning?” They raced back to Jerusalem, becoming witnesses. [01:25:27]

Jesus walks with you in grocery stores, school pickups, and hospital waits. His presence transforms mundane moments into divine appointments. You’re never just running errands—you’re patrolling territory He owns.

When did you last sense His nearness in daily routines? “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, NIV).

Prayer: Thank Jesus for three ordinary places He’s walked with you this month.
Challenge: Set a phone reminder: “Mission mode ON” every 3 hours today.

Sermon Summary

The resurrection reshapes identity, power, and purpose. The text from Matthew highlights more than a past miracle; it establishes Jesus as Lord with absolute authority and issues a sending command. Believers receive new identity through the resurrection, then inherit Spirit-empowerment to live that identity out. That sequence moves from response to mission: repentance and changed lives, a redefined self, supernatural empowerment, and finally a commission to go and make disciples.

Authority anchors the call to action. Because Jesus holds all authority in heaven and on earth, obedience becomes nonnegotiable and mission becomes mandatory. The church must stop treating gathering as the end and start treating gathering as the deployment center from which people move into neighborhoods, workplaces, and the city. The resurrection does not authorize comfortable routines; it compels movement, risk, and engagement where people live and work.

Discipleship demands deeper change than conversion alone. Conversion can alter outward behavior or opinion, but disciple-making requires inward metamorphosis that reshapes mind, body, soul, and habit. The Great Commission frames the work as making disciples, baptizing, and teaching obedience—an ongoing process of formation that produces mature followers who live on mission. Historical examples demonstrate that radical encounters with God produce sudden, transformative reorientation of purpose and power that fuels global movement.

Practical application flows from presence and promise. The sending includes a promise: the risen Lord goes with those sent. Presence sustains perseverance and supplies words, courage, and authority in moments of fear and inadequacy. The assignment becomes local as well as global: the nearest street, workplace, and waiting room can become mission fields. Invitation alone will not suffice; discipleship requires investment, walking with others through hard seasons, and helping them follow Jesus into a transformed life.

The closing appeal insists on movement over comfort. The call centers on stepping off worn pews into neighborly engagement, investing in messy lives, and aiming for transformation that bears fruit. The resurrection empowers and accompanies those who choose to leave routine behind and carry God’s life into places of need, trusting that authentic discipleship reveals the reality of salvation and advances God’s kingdom in a city hungry for renewal.

Key Takeaways

1. Resurrection proves Jesus is Lord A risen Christ is not merely a historical fact; the resurrection validates Jesus as the ultimate authority over life, conscience, and destiny. That authority demands a posture of submission rather than selective assent. The claim changes identity: being bought by Christ reorients loyalties and reshapes daily choices. The resurrection therefore turns belief into lordship that governs how life gets lived. [58:00]
2. Resurrection people are sent people Belief in the resurrection issues a sending, not a pass to remain comfortable. Gathering functions as a deployment point from which believers carry gospel power into workplaces, neighborhoods, and civic spaces. Mission requires movement into ordinary places with the expectation that God will act through ordinary people. Remaining seated neutralizes the authority that calls for outward engagement. [62:54]
3. Make disciples, not just converts Conversion can change outward behavior or opinion; discipleship changes the heart, habits, and lifelong formation toward Christlikeness. True disciple-making involves baptism, teaching obedience, and walking with people through failure and growth until inner life matches outward evidence. A community focused on transformation builds enduring fruit rather than temporary compliance. [69:23]
4. Presence of Jesus sustains mission The command to go arrives with the promise of continual presence: Jesus accompanies and empowers those sent. That presence reframes inadequacy into partnership and supplies courage and words in the moment of witness. Mission therefore rests less on human grit and more on reliance upon a present, empowering Lord who moves with the messenger. [85:27]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[06:17] - Online access and memory verse
[44:30] - Introducing the Aftershock series
[46:23] - The resurrection changes everything
[50:33] - From identity to mission
[53:55] - Reading the Great Commission
[60:01] - All authority in heaven and earth
[62:54] - Sent to go and engage
[69:23] - Make disciples, not just converts
[85:27] - Promise: I am with you always
[98:12] - Invitation to radical transformation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Observation Questions

What three actions does Jesus command in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20)?
How does the sermon connect Jesus’ authority in verse 18 to the command to “go” in verse 19?
According to the sermon, what is the difference between a “convert” and a “disciple”? [01:10:11]
What promise does Jesus give to those who obey His command to go (Matthew 28:20)?

Interpretation Questions

Why is Jesus’ declaration of “all authority” foundational for believers to engage in mission? How does this authority remove excuses for inaction?
The sermon argues that gathering in church is meant to be a “deployment center,” not the end goal. How does this reshape our understanding of weekly worship? [01:03:23]
Why might focusing on making “converts” instead of disciples lead to superficial faith? What dangers arise if inner transformation is neglected? [01:11:48]
How does Jesus’ promise of His presence (“I am with you always”) address common fears or inadequacies in sharing the gospel?

Application Questions

Where has God already placed you (workplace, neighborhood, family) to live as a “sent person”? What would it look like to treat those spaces as mission fields this week? [01:34:10]
Identify one relationship where you’ve only focused on “inviting” someone to church. What practical step could you take to move toward investing in their spiritual growth? [01:21:37]
The sermon warns against settling for outward behavior changes without inward transformation. What area of your life still needs deeper renewal (habits, thoughts, priorities)? How can you invite the Holy Spirit into that process?
When have you felt unprepared or afraid to share your faith? How can Jesus’ promise of His presence (Matthew 28:20) change your approach to those moments?
The church is called to “aim for transformation, not temporary compliance.” What would it look like to walk with someone through a “hard season” to help them follow Jesus? [01:22:49]
What “comfortable routine” do you need to step out of to engage your neighbors or coworkers more intentionally? How can your small group pray for boldness in this? [01:41:32]

Sermon Clips

48s

#BringLightToDarkness

“I would that we would stop praying for us to get places at work to where it's only Christians. I would that we'd start praying. God, give me one of the worst jobs with some of the worst people in town. Light likes to hang around too much light. He said, take the light into the darkness. Yeah. Don't hide the light. Expose the darkness because when the light goes in, it disperses the darkness. Are you with me? I've heard it say a lot of times, there's no such thing as darkness, only the absence of light. If you don't believe it, turn the light on and see where the darkness goes. It runs.”

36s

#GodGoesWithYou

“Jesus gives more than a command. Listen to this. This is what's so beautiful about it. Greg, he gives us a promise. Listen to what he said. I'm sending you to make disciples, and I'm giving you authority. I'm giving you everything you need to get this done. And watch this. I'm gonna sit here and watch and see how you do. No. He said and watch this. I'm gonna go with you. I'm gonna walk with you. I'm gonna encourage you. I'm a inspire you and I'm a give you the words you need right when you need them. You're not in this by yourself. Glory. Hallelujah.”

40s

#IdentityBeforeAssignment

“Here's what I want you to know and let me remind you, identity always comes before assignment. I want us to get that clear. An empowerment comes before activity. If identity comes before the assignment, listen to me, the empowerment comes before the activity. Get a hold of that. That's where Wayne carried us last week. He, god's going to give you power but he's not going to give you power to sit on a pew. He's not going to give you a power that is supernatural to just keep doing natural life.”

38s

#ChurchOnMission

“The key truth, the church is not called to gather and stay but to go and engage. This is not this is wonderful. I couldn't wait to get here this morning. This is wonderful, but this is not what the rest of my week looks like. I'm not gonna keep running back to the church every moment of every day. No, I'm gonna engage the community where god has placed me in. That's right. Because he's sending me with Michael with the message that can transform the whole wide world. Why would we keep that to ourselves?”

44s

#WitnessWhereYouAre

“Some of us have been sitting way too long. Pastor, I can't do much. Listen, you can witness at the hospital. You can witness at the doctor's office when you go. Pastor, I I that's all I do is get up and and and and go to the doctor and come home. Good. Witness to the doctor. Look around in the waiting room and see who you can find up in there. Amen. Scoot over instead of saying, woo. There's a chair over there. Nobody's sitting. I'm a go sit over there and take me a nap. Find somebody and say, oh, there's an unsuspecting fool over there. I got them at zeroed in now. Tell them about Jesus. He can use you wherever, but he can't use you if all you're gonna do is sit.”

33s

#MissionWhereYouAre

“You don't have to go across the world but you do have to go across the street. I'm preaching good right now too by the way. You do have to go across the street to your neighbor. Think about where god already has placed you in a workplace, in a family, in a relationship. This is not random. This is your assignment. But we're not just sent to go. We're sent with a purpose. Now, Imma go ahead and tell you, this is where you better buckle up because I may upset you just a little bit right here if I haven't already.”

43s

#RemadeForMission

“And sometimes, he'll put you back on the potter's wheel and he'll smash you back down. Amen. So that he can work you up anew. Amen. And it feels hard when he's pushing you down but don't forget, a good potter always puts moisture back on the dry clay and he forms it and works it back up. Hallelujah. Glory to god. And a true disciple, watch this, lives on mission. Lives on mission with Jesus. Hear me. It's not casual. It's not convenient. It's not occasional. It's a transformed lifestyle driven by the new birth experience.”

45s

#SentWithHisPresence

“I can tell you this, when you invite god into your day, when you get up every morning and say, this is the day you have made. I'm rejoicing, and I'm glad in it, and I'm on assignment by god, and I've been empowered by god to carry the mission forward. I can tell you this, there'll be a little spring in your step. Amen. So when you feel inadequate, afraid, even unprepared, remember that he is with you, And you're not alone. Look at your neighbor and tell him I'm never alone. You're sent, listen to me, with authority and in his presence.”

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SHPHC South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church This sermon · AI assistant

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