Matt Chandler - The Role We Play

If you have your Bibles, let’s grab Matthew chapter 28. We’ll finish our series in the book of Acts and our time together today in the book of Matthew. If that seems strange to you, I hope it isn’t; we’re going to look at really the Great Commission, or what Christ calls His people, or His church, to do. This is actually before He says the big Acts 1:8 verse that we’ve come back to over and over again, that His disciples would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they would become His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth. We know that Jesus spoke those words to those men and women, which ultimately bore the fruit of our being in this room, as the video showed—that it spread and grew. Here we are, and we have a reason to celebrate this morning; because over the last two thousand years, there have been numerous forces that have tried to crush, squelch, or make us disappear. The more pressure is put on the Bride, the more pressure is put on the Church, the more she seems to grow. Even with what appears to be increasing hostilities in our own time and space, one has to think that maybe we’re about to see something spectacular from God as the temperature increases. I’ve just never been a pessimist; it’s not really in my DNA. I’m really hopeful that as things seem to grow more hostile, we will see the Church just strengthened and grow, becoming more and more serious about the things of God. What I want to do now is read the Great Commission. So, if you’re not a believer—a little sidebar here—if you’re a guest with us, let me tell you our desire: we want you to become a Christian. That’s what we desire; we want you to repent of your sins, trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of all your sins, and find the fullness of life that can only be found in Him. That’s what we believe. Before I read this, if you’re wondering what our hope is, it’s to see you become a Christian. That’s why you were invited and why we’re glad you’re here. We hope that the Holy Spirit would open your heart to belief. With that said, let’s look at this text: Matthew 28, starting in verse 18. This is the resurrected Jesus Christ, who was crucified, was in the ground for three days, and was resurrected—not resuscitated. You track me? Those things are not the same. He wasn’t dead for 90 minutes and hung out in heaven for a while before coming back to tell us; that’s not what happened. Don’t think I’m dismissing those books; I just want to set a general rule so that we can remain theologically healthy. If someone goes to heaven and returns, and it was all about them, that’s not where they were. Someone who goes to heaven and comes back, talking about God and His glory—that would be spectacular, because God was there, and it was unbelievable and terrifying, too, because of God’s presence. Yet, in that terrifying place, I was filled with awe and joy. But if you just got to swing with Pappy, then I don’t know that that’s where you were. Now, with that said, back into the sermon—sorry for the sidebar. Back to Matthew 28, starting in verse 18, here’s what it says: «And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’» Now, I’ve said this before—let’s just get it right: it doesn’t matter what He says next at this point; all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And this is from the man who conquered death, the man who told a storm to stop storming, and it listened; this is from the man who drove out demons without debate. So, let’s have a little time of confession here, just so we can learn about each other. How many of you like those weird paranormal activity movies? It’s okay, Rach, you’re in a safe place—you like them, just kind of like to watch. Raise your hands. Now, my guess is that I don’t watch them; they freak me out. Plus, that’s just what we do at the office, so I don’t want to watch what I do at the office when I get home. Now, in the middle of those movies, if I think back to the older ones, like The Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby, they always bring in some priest or preacher, and they try to argue with the demon, but it doesn’t work. You know the girl’s head spins around, and pea soup is flying everywhere, they’re quoting scripture with a cross, and they’re terrified. That just never happens to Jesus. In fact, the demons are mortified of Him. First of all, they’re the only ones that actually get His identity right in the New Testament. While Jesus is walking the earth, people say, «Oh, we think maybe you’re John the Baptist reincarnate, or maybe Elijah, or one of the great prophets.» But the demons say, «We know who you are—the Holy One of God. Have you come to destroy us before the appointed time?» In fact, Jesus always shut them down.