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After Easter- What are we to do?Last week we celebrated Easter! And the impact of the Resurrection of Jesus! We talked about our need to live a resurrection life… The Resurrection of Jesus Christ isn’t meant to be celebrated one day a year, it is a truth that we are called to live 365 days a year! And we looked at the various stories about the resurrection told in the Gospels… one of these, in Matthew, ends with this verse, a verse that deals with both worship and doubt. (28:17 NIV) When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Those are really the only two options we have about Jesus: 1. Jesus is someone to be worshipped. And this is worship with a capital W a. To give worth too something b. And to prove it by what you do! 2. Or Jesus is someone to be doubted. The Agnostic approach. I don’t know, I’m not sure. And I think that’s an honest place to be, as long as you are willing to deal with your doubts, to engage with them! (28:17 The Message) The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally. What does it mean risk yourself totally for Jesus? I think that it begins with the mixture of those two words, worship and doubt… which when combined correctly offers working FAITH. The passage continues, offering us our walking orders… for those ready to worship, and for those who still weren’t sure… 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." Over the next few weeks we are going to start a sermon series how we can really live the Christian life… not just live life as “Christians.” Today we are going to talk about what we are called to do. Have you ever been told to do a job but not have a clue about how you are going to go about it? This past week we watched an interesting new show, “Thank God you are here!” Believe it or not people got upset about the name of the show, they said it imposed God upon them… but I’m getting off topic. Actors are dressed up in strange costumes and put into a scene that they know nothing about… they have to improvise and try to fit into a strange scene where everyone else knows what they are doing. All of the actors were scared to death to do this… And maybe we feel a bit like this when we look at what it means to be or become a Christian… we are uncertain… I want to turn that word upside down, letting us see certainty the right way, as coming from God and not ourselves.
1) Who’s in Charge? The Question of Authority (18) (28:18) Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. a) When someone gives you orders, they had better have the authority to do it! i) John 10:17-18 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-- only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." ii) The resurrection was some incredible proof of the hope we have in Christ! It’s in your face proof of who Christ is! (1) He did what He said he was going to do! Paying the price for our sins, opening the door to the kingdom of heaven… It is here! For us to live in now and forever. That’s what He taught… follow me! (2) But we don’t like to follow most of the time. There is one time when we do seem to like to follow, that’s when we are lost, uncertain, maybe even afraid… then we love to follow someone who knows what he is doing. b) And that’s what Jesus offers us. He has ALL authority! i) In heaven ii) And earth. (1) But we don’t like to let go of our control, we fight for authority. We fight to do things the way we want to do them. (2) But doesn’t it make better sense to give control to someone who really knows what they are doing? c) To turn our desire for control over to Jesus. It makes sense! He’s God! And as we’ll see in the coming weeks doing this allows us to live much more freely and filled with joy and wonder then when we fight to play god. So for argument’s sake let’s just say we’ve given Jesus some sort of control. Now let’s see what He wants us to do. 2) What are we to do? Go! (19a) (28:19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, a) Is there a question about whether or not we are to go? i) The “therefore” points back to His authority to tell us what to do! ii) So Go! b) Where? i) Throughout the world! “All Nations!” ii) And where ever we are! Our faith in Christ should affect all of our relationships! (1) In the book of Acts, this Commission is stated this way: Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (a) It starts right where you are at! (b) But the message is one that has to spread! We can’t keep this to ourselves! (2) We’ve got to go! c) Now this may seem a bit difficult. Not all of us are missionaries and evangelists, but every Christian has been changed, we have been given the Holy Spirit. i) It’s easy to try to downplay that reality in our lives and simply get caught up in the day to day issues of life. We can say, “I already have so much to do…” ii) But if we allow God to be included in the “so much to do” parts of our lives He will do so much with them. iii) God wants us to live, really live with Him, enjoying life, sharing true life, being more real than we ever imagined! 3) Getting to Work – Making Disciples (19-20) baptizing them in° the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (28:20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." a) Baptizing them in the name of the “Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”! i) Evoking a decision! ii) Developing a commitment! iii) Making a declaration! b) Teaching them i) To obey Jesus ii) To develop a living relationship with the ways of Jesus! It involves every aspect of our lives… He doesn’t say obey the comfortable things… or the understandable and applicable things… He doesn’t say just be practical about your faith! He says teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. iii) Now that sounds rough… but c) And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." i) We are not alone in this… It’s is not about you… it is about Jesus! ii) The concept of making disciples is linked directly to the reality of Christ’s presence in our lives! (1) We are following… (2) Spending time with Jesus… (3) And going and doing what He wants us to do… iii) Relationship! (1) That’s what Jesus has in mind for you! (2) Last week at Easter we celebrated the reality that Jesus has gotten loose in this world… (a) That we need to live a resurrection life… (b) The Resurrection of Jesus Christ isn’t meant to be celebrated one day a year, it is a truth that we are called to live 365 days a year! (3) NOW LET HIM LOOSE IN YOUR LIFE!
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