I AM With You Always

The Great I Am  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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Message Title: I AM With You Always
Message Series: The Great I Am (#11)
Text: Matthew 28:16-20
Date: Sunday, April 26th, 2020

Welcome

Good morning friends. Greetings to all of you joining us online this morning, wherever you're tuning in from. I’m so glad you found us, and I encourage you to let us know you’re with us this morning by leaving a comment for us on whatever livestream platform you’re using: Facebook, Youtube, or Online Church through our CCV Website. If you’re following on Youtube or Facebook, please be sure to “like” this video and share it as well. That’s a very simple way to help it show up more often in others news feed, and invite them to get a sense of who we are at CCV. This has not become the front door of our church.

In addition, if you’re visiting with us and not a regular attender of our worship gatherings, we do now have an online Connection Card available for you to fill out. We’d love to be able to follow up on your visit with us today, if you’ll just take a moment to fill that card out online and submit it. You can find it at HYPERLINK "ccvine.org/connect" ccvine.org/connect.

2020 Vision Recap

This year (2020) CCV aims to get positioned for greatness
in the kingdom of God by embracing the mindset of humility
and the actions of servanthood that Jesus exemplified for us.

Intro to Worship

Ephesians 3:12. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Worship Set: Micah

Congregational Prayer: Kevin

Children's Message Video: Lydia

Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
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Messiage Intro/Review:
Alright friends, if you're just tuning in with us for the first time, over the last 2 months or so we've been studying together and learning about Jesus' seven great I Am statements from the Gospel of John. So let me review the themes we've covered already:
Jesus said, "I Am the Bread of Life".
Jesus said, "I Am the Light of the World."
Jesus said, "I Am the Gate for the Sheep."
Jesus said, "I Am the Good Shepherd."
Jesus said, “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Jesus said, “I Am the Resurrection and the Life.”
Jesus said, “I Am the True Vine."
Having come to the end of that list I felt it would be helpful, especially at the present time, to continue on this theme but switch our focus to some of Jesus' other I Am promises. So for the next few weeks we're going to look at some other things he said that begin with the phrase 'I Am', though they don't end with a name a title. Instead, they end with a promise.
So this morning let's begin with the promise Jesus gave his disciples after his resurrection and just before he ascended into heaven. It's the famous tail of the so-called Great Commission in Matthew 28, where Jesus says,
Ref. Matthew 28:20 "And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.”
Let me tell you about something strange that happened at our house this week.
Illustration: The Crazy Woodpecker Story… “He’s back"
Over the last week or so we’ve had a very strange occurrence taking place at our home…
What in the world is that bird hoping to accomplish? What is he thinking?
And then I started to ponder what I could learn from that crazy bird. What are we to make of something like this? Is there a lesson to be had from such behavior?
As you may know, woodpeckers were made to peck wood, not metal. Let it be a humorous sign and symbol that we should all be who God made us to be and do what God made us to do. if our energy and effort is misdirected it will only have a negative impact on us and on others.
If woodpeckers were made to peck wood, what are disciple-makers made for? This is not a trick question!
We are not just disciples of Christ. We are also created in Christ to be disciple-makers.
Disciple-makers are meant to make disciples.
Each one of us is unique and created in Christ Jesus to do good works as Ephesians 2 indicates. We are God’s workmanship, or work of art. He created us and redeemed us, giving us new birth in Christ, so that we can follow Jesus and draw others into the same experience.
What is it about a promise like this that might speak to us?
Message Point 1: When Jesus says he will do something, that’s his reliable promise to us.
If you’re looking at your own Bible this morning, and you don’t have a problem with marking it up, underline or circle the words ‘I am’, or the words ‘I will be'. This simple little word indicates a promise is on the way.
Ref. Matthew 28:20 "And surely I am [or will be!] with you always, even to the very end of the age.”
Let's start by noticing that this is a promise from the lips of Jesus to each one of us.
How do we know it’s for us too, not just for his original audience on the mountain top in Galilee?
Because they didn’t live to see the end of the age, did they? Notice the timeline indicated by that last phrase.
The end of the age still hasn’t arrived. It’s still coming. So there’s a pretty clear hint in that phrase that this promise wasn’t just intended for the original disciples. It’s for us too.
Now, a second thing I want to draw your attention to here is the verb ‘am’. This is a present tense verb in our English language, but in the Greek construction here it also carries into the future as well. In fact, maybe you’ve noticed that several Bible translations even quote this verse as “I will be…” instead of “I am…”. In truth, it’s really both. 'I am' is most literally correct, but the connotation is “I will be”.
The tense of the verb in Greek is present tense, but it’s qualified by the statement that follows to include the future as well. So this is an ongoing reality that Jesus is promising.
In Greek it literally reads, “Be perceiving, I with you AM all the days till the end of the age.” So the sense of ‘will be’ is implied because ‘Am’ is qualified by the clause that follows.
Have you ever had someone make a promise to you that you knew they would break? People aren’t always reliable are they? Especially when it comes to keeping promises. This is precisely why Jesus taught his disciples “let your yes be yes, and your no be no.”
The trouble is that sad reality has now jaded many of us. We hear a promise and we tend to think, “yah, right… I’ll believe it when I see it.” Friends, this is a promise to take seriously.
Be perceiving. Surely it will happen, Jesus says. Trust me. I am a promise keeper.
I love the song we sing sometimes with the chorus that goes, “All your promises are yes and Amen!”
That’s the kind of response a promise like this is meant to evoke. In fact, that phrase is based on a Scripture passage penned by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians.
Ref. 2 Corinthians 1:19-20. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
Here’s the point: the promises of God in Christ are completely reliable! So Yes and Amen! Is our response to his promise. It means Let it Be! Bring it on. I’m counting on you. I trust you.
But let's talk about what this promise of Christ is really for.
Message Point 2: This promise of His presence with us is a spiritual reality, not a physical reality.
Now, if you’ve got your own Bible, and you don’t have a problem with marking it up, underline or circle the words ‘with you’. This simple little word indicates this promise is about the Lord’s presence. He’s simply saying we’re never really alone, or apart from him.
Ref. Matthew 28:20 "And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.”
What is this about? It isn't just about a nice memory of Jesus. It's about the presence of his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, being with us.
Have you ever missed someone so much you just didn't know what to do?
When someone we love is no longer present with us physically, there's a natural grief we experience... a longing for what was.
Illustration: Beth Ann's story of tears at Kyria's Empty Room
As we think of Matthew 28:20 as a promise of the presence of Christ, context is vital here. Let’s remember that these words were spoken not long after Jesus' resurrection from the dead, and just before his ascension into heaven. First, he appeared to them in Jerusalem, then he appeared to them again in Galilee, and then he literally vanished into thin air right before them. Put all the post-resurrection appearance accounts together and this one in Matthew 28 is one of the last before Jesus ascended back into heaven.
Why is this significant? He knew he was leaving his disciples, and that they would no longer enjoy his physical/bodily presence with them. They needed to know he wasn't leaving them all alone.
So he was speaking a word of promise to give his followers hope and comfort after he was gone. He was focusing their attention on what was to come in his physical absence.
But if he was ascending into heaven, as he did, how could he still be with them? How does that actually work?
It's about the difference between physical presence and spiritual presence. To say right now that Jesus is here with us is not to say that he is here literally in the flesh, as he was with the first disciples. It’s to say that his Spirit is still here with us. Jesus himself is actually enthroned in heaven at the right hand of the Father. So his presence is with us in a different way.
Presence is an important concept. There are times when it is uniquely powerful just to be present with another person, even when you're not sure what to say or do.
Illustration: Being present with Umu and Adama in their grief.
Our physical presence is powerful at times like that. Yet we can only be present for a relatively short period of time. Eventually we need to get back to our own lives. At that moment, when we walk out the door, we have to know that the Spirit of Christ, the mighty Comforter, is still present even when we aren't.
Did you know Jesus said that the presence of his Spirit would be even greater than his own physical presence? How could that be?
Ref. John 16:7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
According to Jesus, this is for our good… for our best interests! How is it possible this could be better for us than his physical presence? His physical presence was limited by time and space, so that he could only be in one place at one time, just like us. But in the Spirit, Jesus is omnipresent. He can be here, there and everywhere all at the same time.
Jesus had to go to be with the Father to be able to send his Spirit to be with us.
That brings us, at last, to the purpose behind the promise of his presence.
Message Point 3: The presence of the Spirit of Christ is always with us to help us serve his purposes with his power.
Finally, if you’ve still got a pen or a highlighter handy, circle the word ‘always'.
Ref. Matthew 28:20 "And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.”
You know what this word means right? It’s forever. Unending and Unchanging. Yet, I also want you to see there’s a purpose behind the presence of Christ with us.
Don’t remember the Alamo. Remember the woodpecker.
If woodpeckers are made to peck wood, then likewise, disciple-makers are made to make disciples.
In context, this promise of his presence with us is for the purpose and power of disciple-making.
We are not just disciples of Christ, we are also disciple-makers.
In Eugene Peterson’s message translation Matthew 28:20 reads like this: "I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” Notice the change, from ‘always' to 'as you do this'.
This doesn't mean Jesus is saying his presence is conditional - and based on us doing what he wants us to do. It means his presence with us is both purposeful and powerful. It's not to give us warm fuzzy feelings... it's to help us do what Jesus has created us and commanded us to do.
The presence of Christ with us isn’t just for our own benefit. It’s for the blessing and benefit of others as well.
If you're going to do what Jesus intended, then you're going to need his presence and help.
Jesus knew he was leaving his disciples physically when he would ascend back to heaven, so he wanted to direct them and encourage them to stay focused. Think of these words with that kind of intentionality in mind.
Ref. Matthew 28:18-19 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
In short, these verse could easily be the basis for a whole series of messages themselves. But for now, let me just bullet point the key instructions:
Go
Make disciples of all nations
baptizing them
teaching them to obey
When we don't know Christ, these instructions make no sense at all. They hold no appeal at all.
But when we do know Christ, and we've committed ourselves to being his disciples, this commission becomes especially important. It wasn't just for the twelve, it was for every disciple thereafter who would seek to follow Jesus. This is what following Jesus is meant to look like for us.
We are meant to participate in the mandate to make more disciples, not to simply be disciples ourselves.
So these were the disciples marching orders. They weren't about to just say... 'well, Jesus is gone now, so we might as well just go back to fishing."
Peter tried that and Jesus showed up to redirect him.... to remind him of his calling to become a fisher of men.
But here's the reality check: If we try to do these things apart from Jesus... as we discussed last Sunday... apart from him we can do nothing. We have to abide in him to produce good fruit. In other words we need his presence with us and his help.
Illustration: An Investment Bankers journey to faith - a dramatic shift from distracted to captivated and compelled.
Conclusion
Friends, that's what the presence of Christ with us does for us. It radically changes our sense of direction and purpose in life and gives us the encouragement we need to life for him and work with him for the benefit and blessing of others.
Important Reminders/Announcements:
Zoom Room Home Group on Weds. at 7pm
Women’s Zoom Cafe on Friday at 7pm.
Communion next Sunday
Prayer Focus for April - Prayer Ministry
Benediction:
The Aaronic Blessing from Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’
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HYPERLINK "https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1%3A29-34&version=NIV" https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1%3A29-34&version=NIV
#evernote
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