In The Air Series

-we are in the second half of our series about what happened after the resurrection.

-I hope last week you heard some stories where you realized you have heard it before but didn’t realize it happened after Jesus died and rose again.

-well, last week we talked about things that happened for the weeks after Jesus rose from the dead, things He taught about and people He visited before He left.

-today we’re going to look at the last few minutes Jesus was on earth before He went up to heaven.

-we’re going to do it a little different today, we’re going to look at two different accounts and then pick them apart at what Jesus wants for us to know.

**Matt. 28:18-20 -> 18Jesus came and told His disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20Teach 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.” (NLT)

**Acts 1:8-9 -> 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.” 9After saying this, He was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. (NLT)

-these are the last two things Jesus says before He goes up into the clouds. Which, if you want to have fun tonight, you can go home and read Acts 1 and see where Jesus goes up, and the disciples just sit there waiting. Finally two angels show up and say “He’s gone. Get on with your lives. Go to Jerusalem like you’re supposed to.”

-anyway, there are some things in these two little speeches that apply to us still. The first should be obvious:

1. GO

-we are supposed to go out and tell people about Jesus. In Matthew, after Jesus says He’s God, next is, then, GO.

-and that section in Acts, Jesus says we are to be telling people everywhere about Him. Those places Jesus mentions, they are the city the disciples are in, the provinces they are in and next to them, and then the world. For us, it would be like Jesus saying we are to be His witnesses in Fishers, and in all of Indiana and the United States, and to the ends of the earth.

-but there is a very distinct point there. We are to go. Movement. Even last week we looked at a section where Jesus said He was sending us as the Father sent Him.

-see, there’s a model there. Jesus didn’t just sit in heaven and wait for us to come to Him, wait for us to make the first move. He left His home, He left where He was comfortable and He moved, He came here so we could know Him. We’re supposed to do that too. We are supposed to leave these four walls and go out and tell people about Jesus.

-as much as you feel uncomfortable going to somewhere unfamiliar or un-Church friendly and talking about God, how uncomfortable to you think people who know nothing about God, how uncomfortable do you think they feel about coming to church, especially if they don’t know anyone or no one has invited them? Do you think people are going to come and find you if they have a question about God? If they do, it’s probably only because you laid the groundwork so they know that you know something about God and they feel comfortable talking to you.

-the first generation of Christians, they went. They told everyone about Christ. In one generation, by the time the last apostle John died, the story about Jesus had made it all across Europe, to the ocean, to Spain, the story had made it as far east to India, and all of northern Africa. All these areas had heard about Jesus. In one person’s lifetime, with no phones, no cars, no planes, the story of Jesus had made it further than the Roman Empire had managed to go in four hundred years.

-they went. They were go-ers. They didn’t sit and wait for people to come ask them about Jesus, how would people even know about Jesus? They went and found people and let them know there is a God who loves them and about the sacrifice He made for them.

-but there’s more than just going. We are told to go and:

2. MAKE DISCIPLES

-it wasn’t enough to just tell people about Jesus. We are told to go and make disciples of all nations.