Where Do We Go From Here?
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Welcome
Welcome
Intro
Intro
Where do we go from here?
No, my sermon is not going to be that short.
I imagine the disciples asked this same question as they walked to Galilee.
Their world had been turned upside down.
All of this and now what do we do
Where are we going now?
I believe it is a question we should answer as well.
What do we do now?
Easter is over so now what?
The answer is the same as Jesus had for the disciples
Go!
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
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.”
It was a simple command but an important one!
All they had to do was go and tell everyone about Jesus
The Gospel of Matthew: The Triumph of the King, (Matthew 18–28), Volume 2: An Expositional Commentary Chapter 73: The Great Commission
The New Testament indicates that there were at least ten appearances of the risen Lord, plus another some years later to the apostle Paul. In eight of these appearance accounts, Christ gives an explicit commission, and in five he commands his followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel
Matthew uses this to close out his letter.
But what would be the outcome?
It was evident to him and should be to us that the life and death of Jesus should affect our speech and conduct
But these words were for more than the apostles
They were for all of us!
The Gospel of Matthew: The Triumph of the King, (Matthew 18–28), Volume 2: An Expositional Commentary Chapter 73: The Great Commission
They are for you if you have turned from your sin to trust Jesus Christ alone for your salvation and have become his disciple. If you have, then you are to work with other Christians to lead people to faith through the preaching and teaching of the gospel, bring them into the fellowship of the church through the sacrament of baptism, and, within that fellowship, continue to teach them all that Jesus has commanded
But we have to look at these words and make these commands the blood that flows through our veins
When we study this we see the word ALL used 4 different times.
These commands and promises are ALL that we need to see the Great commission fulfilled!
Jesus has ALL authority
Jesus has ALL authority
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
This is a promise that I think we overlook too quickly
Jesus has authority over heaven and earth
What does that mean?
Heaven
This could be interpreted as his power given by God
I’m not sure if that is the case as he displayed that power while he was on earth
From his teachings to the miracles he performed, I doubt there is any way people could truly deny he was the son of God
When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
The bible speaks of battling forces in the heavenly realm
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
Putting it in this context tells me that Jesus has authority over those forces of evil that are trying to come against us
No matter what attacks we have someone who already holds dominion.
Earth
This authority is over the people who have that relationship to him
Clearly, Jesus’ authority extends to the work we are called to do, including what is demanded by the Great Commission. Because we are under Jesus’ authority we are to take his gospel to the world and “make disciples” of the nations (v. 19).
It also is authority over those who do not have a relationship with him
basically means Jesus has the authority to bring fruit from our efforts of reaching the lost
Jesus is sending us to ALL people
Jesus is sending us to ALL people
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,
This is a unique way for Matthew to end this gospel.
John is considered to be the most universal gospel as it presents Jesus as the savior of the world
Luke is the gentile or greek book that presents Jesus as the ideal man as well as God incarnate
Mark focuses on the Roman audience showing Jesus as the miracle worker
He focuses less on the discourse that the others
Matthew is considered to be the Jewish Gospel
Written to show Jesus as the son of David and fulfilling OT prophecies of the messiah
It is the only gospel that is limited to the historical and ethnic climate to which Jesus was born
Matthew, James Boice, Ch 73
We as a church must look past the ethnic and cultural communities to which we are comfortable.
We must go to all nations and all people
Sunday is the most segregated day of the week
It should not be!
We must reach out to every socio-economic background
WE have to reach the poor, the hungry, the black the white, the hispanic, the gay, the straight, the scared, the confused, the broken, the hurting, the jaded, the rich, the politician, the ceo, the janitor and everyone in between!
We are not a church with walls or limits
We have to reach out to those who are beyond our comfort zone
WE have to get outside and bring them in to hear about Jesus!
We must teach ALL Jesus commanded
We must teach ALL Jesus commanded
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We taught this a few weeks ago when we talked about being an active apprentice
Teach them about the authority of Jesus
Teach them the truth of Jesus
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone
Teach them the love of Jesus
Teach that God’s love is beyond measure and freely given!
To know that Jesus loves us enough to never leave us or forsake us.
Jesus is with us ALL the days (always)
Jesus is with us ALL the days (always)
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The final “all” is that Jesus is with us always or as the Greek reads “all the days, even to the consummation of the age”
This is the EMPOWERING PROMISE that Jesus gives us
It’s like having the bigger kid in class on your side
No one is going to mess with you
And if they do it won’t end well for you.
Think about all we just talked about
Jesus has all the authority!
The ruler of heaven and earth is on your side!
HE is with you as you go
Nothing can stand in our way
tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus
The truth of Jesus is that he loves us too much to ever leave us
This is the confidence that we need to walk with our heads high and proclaim the love of Jesus!
What now?
What now?
Reaching those who have not experienced the love of Jesus is the first step in our mission
Discover God
We want to help people to discover God for the first and last time
We must be active in looking for those who need to hear the message of Jesus
We must be active in pursuit of the ones who are running from Jesus
We must be active in seeking to find those who are lost
Where do we go from here?
Where do we go from here?
Meditate -
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.”
Commit - To being a church and an individual who will go and share the love of Jesus with everyone we see!