“Let’s go on and go if we’re going”
Matthew 28:18-20
Acts 1:1-11
Ya’ll know that I love the movie Lonesome dove
And if you have been here any time at all you also know that I have seen it more times
Than is probably considered healthy
You also know if you have spent any time with me outside of church
That I quote from the movie often
It amazes me that I can’t remember important things
But little bits of trivia
And movie quotes just stick in my head like they are made of glue
When leaving for a trip
I often say
Well let’s just go on and go if we are going
This comes as some of you may know
From Lonesome dove
Gus is ready to go to Montana
Call wants to gather a few more cows
Gus says
As only Gus can
Woodrow
We have enough cows to stock five ranches
Let’s just go on and go if we are going
And go they did
This was the start of an epic adventure
That still makes an impact today almost 30 years later
Today
I want to continue our study of Easter
And more specifically the resurrection of Jesus
Even more specifically
I want to
Look at our reactions and responses to the resurrection
And look at What Jesus expects of those he willingly gave his life for
And the impact it has 2000years later
Recapping just a bit
We know that Jesus was falsely accused
Illegally tried
Beaten and tortured
And then brutally killed
For sins and crimes
That he did not commit
We know he was taken and placed in a borrowed tomb
And that 3 days later
He was resurrected
We saw the women’s reactions on Easter morning
His disciple’s reactions that same day
And last week the response of two of his followers as he met with them where they were
We saw them go from heartbroken and doubting
To seeking and finding Jesus
To having a burning desire to serve
They went
Remember they ran to tell what they had seen
That’s where we pick up today
After Jesus was raised from the dead
He remained on earth for 40 days
Appearing to many people
God’s word says over 500
Jesus Christ
Our risen Lord
Ate with his followers
And continued to teach them
He gave his closest companions intense training for what they must do once he left
And
In doing so
He gave marching orders to all who would believe
That is us – the believers
The All
Please open your bibles to Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus gives us our commission
Our job assignment if you will
Here in this verse and then he continue
It in Acts 1 just prior to his ascension
If you have spent any time here at Caney Creek
This verse should be marked in your bible
If not
Please make it now
Matthew 28:18-29
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Let’s go back top Lonesome dove for just a moment
In one scene, the hands are all lollygagging around the fire
And
Dish tells them
Let’s get back to the herd
The Captain don’t take too much of this sitting around
Put yourself in Call’s position
If you hired someone
Would you put up with them?
Sitting in the shade all the time?
Not doing their jobs
If you are anything like me
That would not set well with you
And most likely that person or those people would d be unemployed before the end of the day
Captain Call had the authority to ---hire – fire and give job assignments
With the expectation that what he said would get done
If you hire someone
You have that same authority
So let’s talk about authority
Webster’s dictionary has several definitions for the word authority
Here are just a few
1. the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.
2. The right to act in a specified way, delegated from one person or organization to another.
3. Official permission; sanction
4. A person with extensive or specialized knowledge about a subject; an expert.
Jesus says in verse 18
“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth”
Jesus says
I have the power
The right
The official seal from God
And
The expertise required to have the full authority
No one questioned Call’s authority- he said go and they went
No one should question Jesus’ authority
And because he has the authority
Jesus says
Verse 19a
19 Therefore, go
Go
Jesus says we are to go
I like how I have heard it put as well
----As you are going---
Jesus has the full authority
And he says we are to go
Go where
Out into the world
We will see in a bit from acts more about what that means
But
I need you to know
Jesus did not say
Build a church and wait for them to come
He did not say
Hold an event and hope they show up
He said we are to go
Out into the community
In the hedges in the highways as the little Warby girls sing
Out into the world that desperately needs salt and light
A world that desperately needs Jesus
“Therefore Go”
Because you are my children
Because you have accepted the grace of my salvation
Because you have surrendered to my Lordship
Go
So we must ask
Go and do what
It is hard to do a job if you don’t know what you are expected to do
Right
How many of you have worked for someone
Who was never clear on the orders?
And many times
You were in hot water
Because you did what you thought you were supposed to do
But
What the boss wanted was something different
So Jesus
With full authority
Says go
And
Then he says what we are to do as we go
Verse 19b
“and make disciples”
Go and make disciples
In today’s world
The work of evangelism often focuses on and stops
At making converts
Preaching the gospel
Leading people to the Lord
Putting a notch in your pistol and talking about how many accepted Christ at the event
This is great
This is amazing
I believe that Jesus is the only answer
And we need to lead people to him
We need to help them make a decision
Help them make a conversion from lost to found
But
Always a but
Right
In his orders
Jesus says
Make disciples
Listen
All disciples are saved
But not all saved are disciples
Jesus says we are to tell them
Help them get saved
And then we are to baptize them
Helping them to obey Jesus’ commandments
19c
“baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
In the name of God
The three in one
The trinity
God the Father
God the Son
And God the Holy Spirit
To let them show they are saved
Not to save them
But because they are saved
I will be preaching on the ordinance of Baptism next week
And then we are to teach them
Verse 20
“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.”
We are to mentor those who have made a decision
Pray with and for them
Answer their questions
Help them in their walk
Help them move from saved to disciples
Students of Jesus
Help them with their spiritual growth
Help them become Bona Fide
You see
Leading people to the Lord is so important
But
If we follow the commands that Jesus gives us
With the full authority to do so
He says we are to make disciples
Imagine going to the sale barn
And buying a trailer load of baby calves
Taking them home and kicking them out on pasture
And saying
Go eat and grow
I can tell you
Most would die
And those that survived would be so stunted that they would never be worth even what you paid
So Jesus has the authority
He gives the Orders
He says we are to go
Then he says what we are to do as we go
Make disciples
Baptize
Teach
And if we back up to
Verse 19 b
He even tells us where to go
“of all the nations”
We are to spread the gospel throughout the world
Does that mean you need to quit your job and go to Africa?
Or South America?
Maybe
If God is calling you in that direction
He will show you through your prayers
His word
And the people and circumstance he places in your life
But
For most of us
He means “as you go”
Your mission field is right outside those doors
In your own house with your family
With your extended family
At school
Work
At the feed store
Wal-Mart
As you are going
Listen
You may get called to go to some far off land
And if so
It will be amazing
And God will provide the means and the way
But so many people just stand around the fire
And don’t follow Jesus’ orders
Ignore his authority
For fear of being called somewhere far off and scary
The mission field starts right here at home
There are many
Living within
Just a few miles of here
That are lost and headed for Hell living apart from Jesus
There are many more that need teaching
In order to grow spiritually
We are to make disciples
Of all nations
And all nations start right here
Acts 1:1-11
1 In my first book[a] I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with[b] water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The Ascension of Jesus
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
In this passage Jesus is giving his disciple his final orders
He is going home
Ascending to heaven
40 days after his resurrection
And he wants to sure they understand
What “Go” means
And where they are to “Go”
Verse 8
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Go
Jerusalem- Home
Throughout Judea—Van Zandt County- Texas
Samaria- The whole country
Ends of the earth—all Nations
Jesus with full authority
Tells us to “Go”
He tells us to make disciples
And to mentor those disciples
Starting at home
And ending where ever he desires for you to go
Then he gives us assurance that we do not have to stand on our own power to do this
Back to Matthew
28:20
“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Jesus was with them when he told them this
And then they watched him ascend to heaven
So what does this mean?
Go back to acts 1:4-5
“Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with[b] water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus with them
Then Jesus in them
Baptized with the Holy Spirit- indwelled at salvation- at the time of conversion
Going in his power
To the ends of the earth
Not alone
Not without the resources
The tools
John 14:16
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[a] who will never leave you.”
Jesus with us
Always till the end of the age
Giving us the tolls we need to do the job he has instructed us to do
Close from the heart
Pray
