When The Party's Over (Easter Sunrise Service)

WHEN THE PARTY’S OVER

Matthew 28:18-20

INTRO.- ILL.- The spring fling was great! The food, the fun, the frivolity!

- Loved those cornbread and beans.

- Loved Gary and Marilyn singing and acting, especially when the table under them about collapsed.

- Loved Gary Edwards singing and dancing “Six Days on the Road,” but I was afraid he was going to collapse.

- Loved Al and Kay dancing and acting. We didn’t know Kay could dance so well and we could see that Al can’t act.

- Loved it when Mike Morton’s horse/dear fell apart.

- Loved those twin gals from the sticks: Priscilla and Mary. Loved them, but man, were they ugly!

We all loved the Spring Fling! But what happens after the party is over? WORK. CLEANUP.

There is always work to be done after the party is over. Or after the meal is cooked and eaten. AND EVERYTHING DIDN’T END WITH THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD EITHER! That’s when the work began!

After the resurrection that’s when the work was just getting started for the disciples. The party was over, so to speak, and it was time to go to work!

PROP.- Our text deals with some important issues that followed the resurrection of our Lord which we need to think about. We’re on this side of the resurrection. We’re the cleanup crew. We’re supposed to be working for the Lord.

We’ve all heard of the three R’s: readin, ritin, and rithmatic. There are 3 R’s that relate to the resurrection of our Lord and what happened afterward.

1- The recognition of Christ’s authority

2- The responsibility of Christ’s commission

3- The realization of Christ’s presence

I. THE RECOGNITION OF CHRIST’S AUTHORITY

ILL.- One day an army sergeant came into the barracks and asked his men if any of them knew shorthand. The recruits thought that taking shorthand would be easy duty so most of them raised their hands.

The sergeant said, “Good, they’re shorthanded in the mess hall!”

Generally speaking, an army sergeant has a pretty good amount of authority. Of course, there is always someone who has greater authority in life.

Matt. 28:18 Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

“All” authority was given to Christ, not man. And not even to the disciples.

III John 9-10 “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.”

Huh? What’s that? A man by the name of Diotrephes was putting people out of the church and refused to welcome certain others. Diotrephes put himself first. He was #1 in his life. He was his own “main man.” He liked to run things. He liked to throw his weight around. He liked to control things and people.

DO YOU KNOW DIOTREPHES? Probably, but by another name.

ILL.- Remember Jim Bakker of the famed PTL Club? How could we ever forget him? I’m not here to judge him, just to take note of him. He was a “noteworthy” guy. Perhaps more than he should have been.

One of the things that got Jim Bakker into trouble was the fact that he “ran the show.” He had practically “all authority” when it came to the PTL Club.

ILL.- The editor of “Servant” magazine wrote these words about Jim Bakker. “By the mid 80s, Jim Bakker had achieved the American dream and more. Leader of the multi-million dollar religious empire known as Heritage USA, PTL, and the Inspirational Network, Bakker enjoyed prestige, power, and the adulation of millions. A premiere proponent of the Prosperity Gospel, he preached an upbeat message of optimism, health, and wealth. But in 1987 Bakker’s world caved in when his one time sexual encounter with Jessica Hahn, a church secretary from New York, became national news. The loss of his reputation was only the beginning. Convicted in 1989 of mail and wire fraud for fundraising efforts at PTL, the former confidant of presidents was sentenced to 45 years in a federal prison. There, he would lose his freedom, his dignity, and eventually, his wife, Tammy Faye. Stripped of power and subjected to the daily humiliations of prison life, Bakker began to face the issues he had always been too busy to confront. As he studied the teachings of Jesus, the former preacher was shaken to his foundations. Released after five years, Jim Bakker lives today in rural North Carolina where he spoke to Servant about his new book I Was Wrong, and the changes in his life and thinking.”