Matthew 28:16-20
Aww come on and bless the Lord in this house. He is worthy, is he not? Come on & bless God for our choir on this morning. Did they not sing to the Lord? Amen. amen. You may be seated in the prescense of the Lord. Amen. This text before us is a very familliar text, often being qouted in churches, and ussually, it doesn’t bother me. But for some reason, the Lord has been dealing with me concerning this text, and about what it entails. Jesus, in these closing words of Matthew, lays out the assigment for the disciples, and for every believer thereafter. He says that he "commissioned them", and in verses 19-20 it says, (Read passage.) And that’s bothering me. It’s bothering me because it is in fact, God’s assigment to the church, and i’m, and i’m trying to figure out WHY we’re not fulfilling it. Yeah, why we as a body, are not doing all that God has instructed us to do. Y’all ain’t gonna like me today I can see it already. Why aren’t we doing, what God has called us to do? hmmm. And so for a little bit of time, I wanna mess with ya real bad, and I want to ask the question, "Are We Fulfilling God’s Assigment?" "Are We Fulfilling God’s Assigment?" mmm... Help me Jesus.
My Brothers and my Sisters, if I could keep it real with you for just a few minutes on today, I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that God indeed has a purpose, and an assignment, for the church. Jesus lays it out for us right here in our text, and I am convinced today that we’re not, we’re not fulfilling it. I said we’re not fulfilling it. We have been told to do some things by God and we’re just not doing them. We have become a "Convienent & comfort driven people" who are more concerned about being comfortable & convienced than doing the things of God. In the recent aftermath of Hurricane Katrina this has become evident. Y’all know the event. Y’all have seen the pictures. You’ve heard the stories. Mass destruction. An ENTIRE city wiped out! Thousands dead and many more displaced from what they’ve known all thier lives. And with all this & so much more going on, what have we done? And let me specify when I say "we" in this message, I am speaking of the church. I’m coming hard at "Us’s" today. What have we done? We shed a tear, dropped ten dollars in a basket, donated some things, but WHAT HAVE WE REALLY DONE? We are living in a modern day hell with modern day slavery going on, but WHAT HAVE WE DONE? We are in a society where people are dying daily, but WHAT HAVE WE DONE? We are in a world where drugs, sex, and money rule our culture & our way of thinking, but, WHAT HAVE WE DONE? We live in a city where 1 in 4 people are living in poverty, but, WHAT HAVE WE DONE? We have children dying daily, people going to bed hungry, people who are lost, dying, and who are on thier way to hell for an eternity seperated from Christ, AND WE SIT BACK & DO NOTHING! Ohhhhh, I wish I had somebody who could help me! We do nothing, we do nothing. The Lord has commissioned us to be a beacon light in this world & we’re more interested in trying to blend in with the world than to become a light for God. We’ve become silent about the wrong stuff & speak up about the wrong stuff. We have a lot of meaningless conversation. Who’s dating who? or, what car you driving? or what’s the latest tennis shoe fashion? Man, who cares. THERE’S SOME SERIOUS STUFF GOING ON IN THE WORLD & WE’VE GOT OUR HEADS STUCK IN THE CLOUDS SOMEWHERE!
I’ve got news for you. I’ve got news for you. Hurricane Katrina was not for the wicked! Hurricane Katrina was for the church! Because the truth be told if it was really to wipe out a wicked city, then Baltimore shoulda been gone too. And a whole lotta other places. And God doesn’t speak to the wicked. He speaks to the church & then WE are supposed to speak to the wicked! Katrina means "Purity". People were being prophetic when they named it & don’t even know it. And if it wasn’t for the church, then why are all the churches in New Orleans and Louisianna gone? Katrina was a WAKE UP CALL to the CHURCH! And we’re still sitting back with our feet propped up, sipping iced teas & lemonades like ain’t nothing going on. IT"S TIME FOR US TO WAKE UP! We need to stop talking so much brickkabrack & start speaking up about the things of God! We are God’s hands, his feet, his mouthpieces, and we are such poor examples of a loving God! God is coming back! With a quickness! And we need to begin to get real about the things of God!
Y’all ain’t liking me I know... But it’s the truth. And so, and so we’re not fulfilling our assigment from God. But why are we not fulfilling our assigment from God? Well i’m so glad you asked, i’m so glad you asked because ya see I had a little talk with the Holy Ghost the other day, and he dropped some things on me, and since y’all already don’t like me now and i’m out there I might as well just go ahead and put myself out there some more, uh-huh. But he laid on me some reasons why we’re not fulfilling our assigment, and the first reason is because we are afraid to come out of our comfort zones. I’m on somebody’s doorstep. We’re afraid to come out of our comfort zones. We’re a comfortable people, and so long as everything is going well and God has us sitting home with our feet propped up in front of the big screen eating bon bons we’re okay. But as soon as God asks us to do the uncomfortable thing we say "Awww no, that can’t be God!" When in essence God is a God of the uncomfortable, and he will ussually have you do the uncomfortable thing. Oh, y’all think i’m making it up? I got scripture! "Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion!" God wants us to the uncomfortable! Because he knows that IT’S THE UNCOMFORTABLE STUFF THAT WILL ULTIMATELY MAKE US GROW! But we’re a comfortable people. Just look at our society. We are a conviency people, when it is convienent for us, we’ll do it! But we don’t like going out of our way! Things like the remote control, microwave, shopping on the internet, credit cards, and EZ pay systems all prove that. We love convienence & comfort! We wanna be able to wrong somebody & go to God & ask him for forgiveness, and that be it! But oftentimes, God will have you step outta your comfort zone, go back to the person, humble yourself, admit your wrong, and ask for thier forgiveness too! Y’all ain’t hearing me! When you’re saved you ain’t just saved to sit up in a pew every Sunday morning & look cute!!! GOD SAVED YOU SO THAT YOU COULD SERVE HIM, SPREAD HIS WORD AND DO SOME WORK FOR HIS KINGDOM!!!!! God wants you to be willing to STEP OUTTA YOUR COMFORT ZONE!!!!!!!! Alright, alright, i’m going to leave that one alone but i’m still not done!
Not only are we not fulfilling God’s assigment for us because we’re afraid to step out of our comfort zone, but we’re also not fulfilling God’s calling for us because we’ve lost the esscense of what I call, "Cross Centered Preaching." I’m about to bust some of y’all’s bubbles now. We as a body have become so hell-bent on preaching prosperity materially & blessing that we have forgotten about the main aim of Jesus dying on the cross, which is... SALVATION! The greatest message that Jesus ever gave was not, "Shout for your blessing!" It was not "Dance & fall out all over the floor & eat carpet & you’ll get a new car or a new house!" It was not "Bless the man Of God & God’s gonna deliver you!" And it was not "Turn around three times, drop $100 in the basket and get in the blessing line and God’s getting ready to bring you out!" No, no, noooooooo baby! The greatest message that Jesus ever preached is found in John 3:16, "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD..." But everywhere you turn now, what is being preached? "You’re coming out!""Just praise your way through! You’re getting ready to get a new car, a new house, a new honey, or some more money!" AND THAT IS NOT THE MESSAGE OF GOD!!!!! I hate to tell you, but some of y’all ain’t coming out today. Some of y’all don’t need to come out! Some of y’all ain’t gonna get a new car, a new house, a new honey, or some money. I can’t garuntee you that and anybody that can is a liar! But what I can garuntee you is that there’s a God in Heaven THAT LOVES YOU! And that sent his son to die on a cruel cross for you! Shed his blood! And THAT IF YOU ONLY TRUST HIM ON TODAY YOU CAN BE SAVED & GIVEN THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE!! THAT IS THE CENTRAL MESSAGE OF THE CHURCH!!!!! HOPE!!!!! NOT PROSPERITY!!!!!!!!!1 Y’all ain’t likin’ me. I might not have no friends after today, but that’s okay, I didn’t come to be popular... We have become sooo materialistic that we’ve lost sight of the real message of God! People getting saved now just because they think they gonna "get stuff" from God. AND IT’S SICKENING! But that’s the message we prepetuate. We wanna hear "Smooth" things as Ishiah says in chapter 30, nothing that will challenge us or provoke us to change! And i’m tired of it! I don’t wanna hear no more "shake & bake" messages! Get in a line & be blessed by God messages! I wanna hear the unadulterated gospel, the cross, the free & true word of God! Not this watered down, make me feel good stuff that everybody else wants to hear! Come on somebody! It’s tight but it’s right! And so, and so, we’ve lost the central message of God as a church body.
But not only that, a final reason we’ve not fulfilled our assigment from God is because our mindset is on the wrong things and we’ve percieved church the wrong way. We’ve made church out to be a "club", a place of a popularity contest, where people’s minds are no longer on the things of God, but are on how we can more or less fit into and be a part of the world. Jesus said, "Be in the world but not of the world", and we’re simply not doing that. We are more worried about numbers than quality, and who’s wearing, what, driving what, living in what, and dating who? We’re more worried about the latest gossip or the latest tabloids or fashion styles than reading the word of God. I know this hurts, but it’s real. We want to buy all the latest fashions, drive the hottest cars, have the fattest paycheck, live in the phattest crib, but we deny the things of God. We have a "Form of Godliness but lack the power thereof." We’re so clubbish & cliqueish, trying to get with the one with the biggest title, trying to figure out who can sing, dance, teach, or preach the best! Who can shout the loudest, who has the best 2 step, but for real, who cares! That’s dumb stuff! We act like we’re holier than thou, turning down the homeless, the drug addict, the hungry, the prostitute, the gay, the needy. OHHHHH GOD! And we forget the fact that some of us used to be just like them! They need the gospel too! But we turn our nose up at them! We don’t feed the hungry, or clothe the needy, or give to the poor! We don’t extend a hand to help somebody up! NAAAAAAAAAWWWWW, we just sit up in church, looking prissy & pretty with our feet up, while people are dying in thier needs & going to Hell! THE MINDSET OF THE CHURCH IS JAKKED UP!!!!!!! WE NEED TO GET OUR MIND OUT OF THE WORLD AND FOCUS OUR THOUGHTS ON GOD!!!!!
Ohhhhhhhhhh, I wish y’all would get with me! Y’all ain’t liking this, but it’s raw and it’s real! I wish I had a witness! And so we’re not fulfilling our assigment from God because we’re afraid to come out of our comfort zones, because we’ve lost the essencse & focus of the cross, and because, because our mindset it jakked up! Well, I feel like preaching now, can I go ahead & keep it real with you for just a few minutes? I know you think I made all of this up just to get on your case & because I didn’t like you, but for real it’s all from the word of God. Look at this text. We find ourselves this week in Matthew 28, verses 16 through 20. Jesus has just been ressurected, glory to God, and is now, is now having a meeting with his disciples at a mountain in Galleliee. And verse 17 says, that "When they saw HIM, they worshipped HIM, but some doubted." I need to stop right there and tell you that we are living in a time, ha, when God needs some true sure nuff believers in him, ha. It’s time out for doubting and for seccond guessing, ha, but God needs some true sure nuff committed saints of God, ha, that are committed, ha, to going on with Jesus, ha, allll they way! ha, I wonder on today, ha, is there anybody in here, ha, that is committed, ha, to going on with God, ha, allll the way!? ha, well now, ha, Jesus comes to the disciples and says, ha, "All power in Heaven & on earth, ha, has been given to me!" Aren’t you glad, ha, that you serve a GOD, ha, who’s got all power!? Ha, who can do anything, I said ANYTHING! Ha, I SAID ANYTHING! Ha, he’s got POOOOOWWERR to save! ha, POWER to heal! Ha, POWER! TO DELIVER!, ha, and power to do, ha, whatever, ha, you need him to do today! We serve an awesome God! We serve a powerful God! Shout Hallelujiah! ha, well, ha, can I keep it real, ha, for about 3 more minutes, ha, and i’m going back to my seat!? Ha, So then Jesus, ha, gives us, ha, the great commission, ha, he says, ha "Go and make disciples of all nations, ha, baptizing them, ha, in the nameof the father, ha, the son, ha, & the Holy Ghost!, ha, we haven’t been doing that! We’ve been so worried, ha, about everything, ha, that’s not like God, ha, but I hear God saying, ha, it’s TIME!!!!!!! It’s TIME!!!!!!!! It’S TIME!!!!!!!1 ha, for the church, ha, to wake up, ha, get real, ha, stop preaching a lie, ha, and start preaching, ha, the UNADULTERATED, ha, word of God! Ha, we need a mind check!, ha, we need a wake up, ha, we need somebody, ha, somebody, ha, that will stand, ha, in the gap, ha, and preach, ha, the unadulterated, word of God! Playtime’s over!, ha, it’s TIME!!!!!!!! IT’S TIME!!!!!!!! Somebody oughta say IT’S TIME!!!!!!!!!!! FOR THE CHURCh, HA, TO STAND UP, HA, AND BE, HA, ALLLLL THAT GOD, HA, HAS CALLED US, HA, TO BE!!!!!!!! GET OUTTA YOUR COMFORT ZONES!!!!! PREACH THAT UNCOMFORTABLE WORD!!!!!!!! Ha, well now, ha, y’all really ain’t liking me, ha, but it’s okay, ha, I didn’t come here to be liked, ha, but to give you the truth, ha, look at the word, ha, i’m going back to my seat, but Jesus says, ha "Teaching them to obey, ha, everything, ha, that I’ve commanded you." Are we teaching God’s commandments? Ha, or are we teaching, ha, a watered down, ha, you’ll get a new this or that", lie from the pit of hell? I don’t know about you, ha, but I NEEEEED a real word, ha, from the Lord! ha, I don’t need, ha, a new car, ha, I don’t need, ha, a new house, ha, I don’t need, ha, lots of money, ha, for the Bible says, ha that all those things, ha, shall, ha, pass away!!!!! You can take the car, ha, you can take the house, ha, you can take the money, ha, and the honey, ha, but I NEEEEEEED!!!!!!!! I SAID I NEEEEEEED!!!!!!!! I SAID I NEEEEEEEED!!!!!!!! I NEEEEEEEED!!!!!!!! HA, I NEEEEEEEEEEED THE WOOOOOOOORRRRRDDDDDDDDDD HA, OF GOD!!!!!!!!!! I NEED THE LORD, HA, CAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE DOUBT HIM, HA, BUT I JUST CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT HIM, HA!!!!!!! HE’S MY ALL IN ALL!!!!!!!! MY EVERYTHING!!!!!!!! HA, AND WITH AAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL HE’S DONE FOR ME, HA, THE LEAST I CAN DO, HA, IS WHAT HE ASKS ME TO, WHAT HE ASKS ME TO!!!!!!!! SHOUT YES!!!!!!!! SHOUT YES!!!!! SHOUT YES!!!!!!!! SHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTT YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m done, i’m done. I’m closing the book. I done messed with y’all enough. Ha, ha. But we need to change how we look at things and how we’re doing things in the body of Christ. We need to bring our thinking up to another level. Because we’re not fulfilling our assigment. And frankly God is not pleased. We need to get a handle on some things. Re prioritize some things. Cause some things just ain’t important no more. And some things that once weren’t important, oughta be important. Well, what’s the jist of this message? What will we do now? Where do we go from here? Do we just remain comfortable & keep living life as is? Or do we get up out of our comfort zones and start doing more for the kingdom of God? Just a thought. Something to think about. I’m not messing with y’all anymore... You may be here and not saved, not in fellowship with the Lord. The doors of the church are now open for you to come to Jesus. All of God’s people are standing to thier feet...
