Reach With Confidence

Intro:

Well good morning church how are we doing

my name is Zach Honnen and I am the former volunteers student Director of Davison and the current student and young adult Director at the River Grand Blanc:

I'm super grateful to be able to be back at Davidson. Very grateful for the time I spent here as a volunteer student director and super excited to preach this morning.

If you have your Bibles with you this morning. go ahead and open up to Matthew 28:16-20

But if you don't have a Bible this morning, please feel free to download The River Church app. We have a Bible feature on there or download any Bible app off the App Store you version is a great option as well.

The most important thing you can walk away with today is God's word. And I don't want us to forget that.

But like I said, Matthew 28 beginning in verse 16

Passage:

Matthew 28:16–20 ESV

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Prayer:

And with the reading of God's word, let's go ahead and pray.

Dear Heavenly Father I pray for your guidance. I pray for your wisdom. I pray for us to recognize your presence. Rest in your presence. and trust in you. For those of us who need to hear this word this morning. I pray that you would prepare our hearts and our mind to receive your message. God Each one of us have come. to hear from you for different reasons. but ask that you would speak to us individually. in the way that we need to hear. in your Holy Son's name. Amen.

Context:

As we expound upon the text. and begin to work through it. We need to look at the context of what has happened so far.

Throughout each of the Gospels we see a perspective on the life of Jesus. in Matthew 27 we see the recounting Of Jesus death burial. and in 28 we see his resurrection.

Jesus appears to marry and Mary Magdalene.

He instructs these two women to tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee.

And just a quick tidbit.

during the time of the writing of the Gospel acounts the testimony of a women would have been considered unusable and if a First century man was trying to fabricate a story. He would not use women as. witnesses of that story.

So we see. this interaction. take place in verses 1-10

and when we pick up in verse 16 we see that the disciples, followers of Jesus listen and go

Matthew 28:16–17 ESV

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

Immediately we see a principal that is very. important for a believer. The disciples were informed of what God wanted them to do of what Jesus wanted them to do, and they obeyed.

And that obedience is the first step into doing great things for the Lord.

Doing great things for the Lord doesn't require ability. It requires availability.

And these disciples have no ability. They are uneducated men who do nothing but just try to be available for what God calls them to.

And as we continue through our text, understand that God has called us to something and He isn't asking you to have great abilities. He's asking for your availability.

And this isn't him asking us to be perfect. You see the disciples came. But even as they were walking into what God had called them to, A few of them had doubts.

And a great question for us is when God calls us to share the gospel or be obedient do we respond with a worshipful heart or a heart of doubt.

These men saw Jesus. and worshiped, but some doubted. And Jesus didn't rebuke the doubt. He revealed himself further. He came to them and spoke. to remove the doubt that they may have had.

Whether the doubt was his resurrection or the doubt was whether that was actually Jesus. He put to rest those doubts.

And if you in this room have doubts regarding Jesus. or regarding your ability to share the gospel. I want to encourage you to draw near to God.

Listen to his words read. his words. and let him put your doubt to rest.

James 4:8 (ESV)

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you…

In the same way that Jesus drew near to the disciples. to remove their doubts, we can draw near to God, and he will draw near to us.

And we draw near to God by opening up scripture, praying. and even looking at biblical apologetics and reasons for our belief.

Matthew 7:7–8 ESV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

If we come to the Lord genuinely seeking. answers to our doubts. he will put them to rest He. will provide answers and evidence. but we have to have an open mind and an open heart.

You see unanswered doubts leads to heart of stone. Doubts that don't get brought to light and dealt with lead to unbelief. but doubt that are put in the light examined and dealt with. lead to deeper and stronger faith.

And we see this in the life of the disciples. But let's continue with what Jesus says next in verse 18.

Point 1: The Claim

Matthew 28:18 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Jesus doesn't begin his statement to the disciples with a list of rules or commands. but he begins with a claim to authority.

And not only is this a claim, but it's a fulfillment of prophecy from centuries earlier.

Daniel 7:14 ESV

14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Jesus claims to be the fulfillment of this prophecy, claiming to be the one who has authority over heaven and Earth.

But what authority is he referring to?

What does Jesus mean by all authority?

When I was in Colorado for some schooling, one of my teachers Would put it this way.

He would ask us, what do we think the Greek word for all means?

And he would let it get suspensable for about 15 seconds, and then he would just say all. the Greek word for all means all all encompassing everything.

And within this text, Jesus says all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me.

And I could go on a rant about God's sovereign control over everything, him knowing the end from the beginning, him being all knowing all powerful, always present and incomplete and total control.

I could go on and on about Jesus's authority to heal his authority over death when it came to Lazarus, who is dead for several days and rose again.

We could talk about Jesus having authority

Nature. healing. Life, death.

We could talk about his sovereignty. We could talk about his divinity. We could talk about his omnipresence, his ability to be everywhere. Always. We could talk about so many true things about Jesus when it comes to his authority over heaven and earth.

But what I believe the most important aspect of this authority for you and I today. And all of this is important. But the most important for you and I to day in this passage is Jesus authority to forgive our sins.

It is His authority to rewrite my story Your story and the stories of everyone in this world.

And I don't think we realize how substantially amazing, incredibly powerful that is.

go to Matthew 9:2-7

Matthew 9:2–7 (ESV)

2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

You see Jesus sees the faith of these men carrying this paralytic into his presence, and he looks upon the man.

And what's crazy about this story is that in the Jewish culture, to be paralyzed or injured or some sort of defect or sickness to be upon you would be considered to be because of your sin.

The Jewish belief was God punishes you for your sin in this life. Or maybe the sin of your parents through disease, deformity and suffering.

And Jesus knows this not to be true. but looks upon the man and sees the brokenness in his eyes.

This man his entire life was told you are paralyzed because you are sinful. You are. this because of what you've done. and his heart must have been breaking to be before a teacher of the law, knowing his sin and being told that he is so terrible.

But would Jesus says is take heart my son. Your sins are forgiven.

Many people in that moment saw physical problem, but Jesus saw a spiritual one. He saw a man who is broken spiritually and needed to be forgiven.

And Jesus gave him what he needed. but the Pharisees The teachers of the law. were displeased.

3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home.

This story is a picture of Jesus authority accompanied by a demonstration of authority.

People in the crowd would have known this paralytic for years His whole life, possibly. and you don't just pretend to be a paralytic with the way that the Jewish people treated paralytics.

So Jesus Performs two different miracles a spiritual one. and then a physical one to represent what had just taken place.

A man who is broken was restored both spiritually and physically.

Jesus can change your story. So when the devil attacks you about your past sin when he attacks you about your inability or your failures, you can point to Christ and say, I'm not able, but HE is able. My sins have happened, yes, but he has forgiven me.

Psalm 103:12 ESV

12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

The Devil is the accuser. and he will try to undermine the authority of Jesus in order to undermine our action upon his command.

If we live in a state where we don't trust the authority of Christ, we will not follow his commands.

Because of his authority to forgive the sins in our life, we trust in his authority to forgive the sins of those in our lives.

The Lord has forgiven me and therefore. he can forgive you, is the posture.

We're pressed for time…

We've looked at the claim of Jesus authority, but now let's look at the command he has for you and I.

Point 2: The Commanded

Matthew 28:19 (ESV)

19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…

GO therefore… Go therefore make disciples

What is a disciple

Or disciple is a student. is a student It's someone who learns from the teacher.

It's an apprentice.

It's a believer. A person who sits under the teachings of Jesus and learns under the teachings of Jesus.

To make a disciple is to go to somebody and turn them into a believer.

Well, how does that work? Well, the answer is the gospel. and brings us to the question of what is the Gospel.

Holy God, sinful man.

Romans 5:19 ESV

19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

The word gospel means good news… (Explained the good news.)

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Romans 10:9 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

At the beginning of Jesus Ministry, after he was baptized, the first things he's recorded to say is repent and believe for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

Explain repentance.

We are called to make disciples and be disciples.

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

all baptism is just an external representation of an internal reality.

It's a picture of going from death to life with Jesus.

And the last part of this command IS VERSE 20

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you

And this is an area where everyone in the congregation can step up. There's areas where we can help each other grow.

Join the team is going on and we have an opportunity to help each other learn and grow.

Whether that be through teaching Bible studies help. out with student growth communities or children's church, or whether that be serving on the OPS team We all have a role to play within building up the body.

We've been given a claim.

We've been given a command.

And now we're given A comfort.

Point 3: The comfort

Matthew 28:20 (ESV)

…And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

And this is just so beautiful, because people will leave you. whether on good terms or bad terms, people come and people go.

Pastors mentors teachers come and they go. but there's someone who stays closer than a brother, someone who remains through it all.

And his name is Jesus. He will never leave you. He will never leave me. He will never forsake you.

If you find yourself questioning if God is there. I want to remind you of. James, that you need to draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. And this is an area where we step out in faith and belief.

This is where faith comes in.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Closing thoughts:

In closing this out. we've seen the claim. We've seen the command and we know the comfort that he will never leave us.

What's in this text we see the pattern of reach gather and grow.

But something I want you to understand. is that reach isn't eternal.

We will forever be able to worship and gather with the Saints in heaven.

We will forever have access to Jesus and we will fully know him, but will gain more and more and more knowledge of who he is and the depths of his character forever. We will grow for eternity.

But reach is finite. You have for your life whether. that be 20, 80, OR 90 years. That is all the time you have to reach people for the gospel.

Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations.

I want to encourage you if you haven't shared the gospel with any one in the community of Davidson or in your life this year, please. change that.

You think you have time, but your life could be over like that. A snap of a finger.

And the lives of the loved ones that don't know Jesus, that you know their lives could be over this afternoon. There could be over this month this week. Time is short.

We will forever be able to gather. We will forever be able to grow, but you only have so much time to reach. Take advantage of the time before it's too late.

Lets Pray