Look with me again to Matthew
chapter 28. The last few words of the song
Bobby just sang would almost serve as an introduction to my
message. Christ appears to his disciples
for the last time and he tells them that all power, all power
is given unto him in heaven and in earth. With that power, he
says, go into all the world, therefore, and preach the gospel
to every creature. And then he gives them this sweet
promise, not only to them, just as the commission was not to
them, it's to all of his church in every day. And this promise
is also to every one of his own. Lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. Amen. Our Lord appeared to his
disciples and other people after he rose from the dead 40 days
on different occasions. From the time he arose until
he ascended back to heaven, here in Matthew, the account that
we read of, forty days had transpired and he appeared on various occasions
to his disciples. Look again, if you will, at verse
16 of Matthew 28. The eleven disciples went away
into Galilee into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. Before his crucifixion he told
them I'm going up to Jerusalem, we're going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of sinners. And
they'll spit up on him, and they'll mock him, and they'll crucify
him. But after three days, he'll rise
again. And he told them, after my resurrection,
meet me here. Meet me here. This is where he
appointed them to meet him. Turn if you will in chapter 26
of Matthew's gospel and we read of this in Matthew chapter 6. That night when he said that
his hour had come, he speaks to them of this in verse 30. Matthew 26 verse 30. And when they had sung in him,
they went out into the Mount of Olives. Then saith Jesus unto
them, all ye shall be offended because of me this night. And
he's speaking to his disciples. For it is written, I will smite
the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered
abroad. But after I am risen again, remember what he told
his enemies, destroy this temple. And after three days, I'll raise
it up again. He tells his sheep, but after
I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. There's no
question about it. No doubt about it. And although
we're told in other places the disciples didn't understand this,
this was hid from them for a time. When he spoke of his death, they
seemed to have blinders on. They just couldn't understand
it. It didn't fit in with their concept of what the Messiah was
coming to do. They believed him certainly to
be the Messiah, as Peter testified of this morning, or rather in
the message that we preached this morning. But they thought
he would bring them out from under the rule and authority
of the powers of the Roman government. That wasn't his mission. They
kept looking for him to do that. So when he spoke of his death,
They didn't have a clue until after he was risen from the dead. And here in chapter 28, this
appointment that they should meet him on Mount Olivet again
after he rose from the dead is mentioned again. Remember what
the angel said to Mary and the other Mary, verse 7, go quickly. Tell his disciples that he is
risen from the dead. Behold, he goeth before you into
Galilee. There shall you see him, lo,
I have told you." And then, of course, our Lord met them just
soon after this and gave them the same message. Go tell my
disciples that I go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
This is his last appearance to them before he is taken up to
heaven. Luke tells us that after he spoke
these words, gave this command, that he was taken up. Right in
their very presence, he was taken up. High above every name that
is named. Luke also tells us where this
took place. It was on the Mount of Olives. In Acts chapter 1, Luke says,
records rather, that when he was taken up, the disciples stood
there in amazement and two angels stood by and said, ye men of
Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus,
this same Jesus, all that he is now, all that you see him
to be, this same Jesus, The same yesterday, the same today, the
same that he'll be forever. He'll come back. He'll come back. So go do what he told you to
do. They sort of shook them out of
their stupor, so to speak. Go preach the gospel to every
creature. So it was on the Mount of Olives
that our Lord ascended in the presence of his disciples back
to glory. You remember the last time they
were in the Mount of Olives? Again, if you will, turn back
to chapter 26 in Matthew's gospel. The last time he met them here,
The occasion was far different. Look at verse 36 in chapter 26. Then cometh Jesus with them unto
a place called Gethsemane. This was at the foot of the Mount
of Olives, this olive garden. And saith unto the disciples,
set ye here while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and
the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, and began to be sorrowful
and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul
is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, tarry ye here and
watch with me. And he went a little further,
and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my father, my father,
If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not
as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples,
and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What could
ye not watch with me one hour?" Remember Brother John's reading
this morning from Psalm 69, speaks of our Redeemer. So I looked
for comforters and there was none. There was none. I have trodden the winepress
alone and of the people there was none with me. Look down at verse 45 in Matthew
26. Then cometh he to his disciples
This is the last time. Sleep on now. Sleep on now and
take your rest. Behold the hour is at hand and
the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let
us be going. Behold he is at hand that doth
betray me. And while he yet spake, Lo, Judas,
one of the twelve, came and with him a great multitude with swords
and staves from the chief priests and elders of the people." Look
down at verse 56. But all this was done that the
scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples
forsook him, just as he said they would. You'll all be offended
because of me this night." Then all the disciples forsook him
and fled. That was the occasion, the last
time that they saw him on the Mount of Olives until what we
read up here in Matthew, the last chapter, when he ascends
back to glory before them. Before, on the Mount of Olives
in Gethsemane, they saw him sweat, as it were, great drops of blood. They heard him pray, Father,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. They saw Judas,
one of their own, bring a band of soldiers, a bloodthirsty mob,
to that olive garden, one of the very few places that our
Lord could find peace, where he could be at peace, so to speak,
one of the very few places on earth. There was the little home
in Bethany, his dear friends that he loved and they loved
him, Martha and Mary and Lazarus, but there wasn't many places
where he wasn't constantly hounded, where every word was attempted
to be caught by the Pharisees and twisted to mean other than
what he actually said, that they might have some reason to accuse
him. And now, even in this garden,
it becomes a place of anguish as the shadow of the cross begins
to eclipse his holy soul. And he begins to I can't find the word, anticipated,
begins to realize something of the Father forsaking Him. God forsaking God. That all took place at the Mount
of Olives. And afterwards, When that mob
drags him from the garden, and they all forsake him, as we read
a moment ago, Peter sneaks back to see the end, him and John. And Peter denies him, and then
after that, John stands at the foot of the cross with Mary,
his mother, I can't imagine what was going
through their mind, Lord. Because like I said, they did
not yet know or understand the scripture of His mission and
that He should rise again from the dead. This was the furthest
thing from their mind. Even after he rose from the dead
in Luke chapter 24, remember those two disciples, one named
Cleopas, that were walking to Emmaus that day, the day of his
resurrection, the day he rose from the dead? And he joined
himself to them, and he asked, why are you so sad in this conversation? What's this about? And they begin
to tell him about Jesus of Nazareth, not recognizing who he was. And they made this statement.
They said, we had hoped, we had hoped that he should be the one,
that Jesus of Nazareth, we had hoped that he was the one that
should redeem Israel. He had redeemed Israel, but they
didn't know it, not yet. And now John stands on Mount
Calvary next to Mary, perhaps helping
to uphold her. Now, we might understand, have
a little glimpse into those words of Simeon that day when she brought
that baby to the temple to do after the manner of the law.
And Simeon took that baby, God in flesh, in his arms. And he
said, I've seen thy salvation, I'm ready to die. Let thy servant
depart in peace, and to Mary he said, a sword will pierce
your heart also. And now, she stands, seeing that
one she gave birth to. and her heart is pierced. And John is probably helping
support her under her grief and sorrow. John is the only one that wrote
about Lazarus being raised from the dead. And now he stands at
the foot of the cross and he sees that one who at the tomb
of Lazarus, John was there, he saw that, told Martha, I'm the
resurrection and the life. He that believes in me shall
never die. Martha, do you believe this?"
And now John looks up and sees that one who said, I'm the resurrection
and the life, the one who said, Lazarus, come forth. And Lazarus
came out of the tomb. Now John beholds him as he dies. That's amazing, isn't it? That
one that John wrote of. And here on Mount Olivet, now that they meet him there
again for the last time, but before he had entered into the
wine press, it was the last time they saw him there, the wine
press of God's wrath as the substitute for his people. when they were
there before that night, right before he was made sin. And now he stands before them and he says, all power is given
unto me. Oh my soul, isn't that glorious? He comes
before them. And He says, all power in heaven
and in earth is given unto Me. All power. His very appearance, His very appearance before them,
is proof, is evidence, is the exclamation point, so to speak,
of what He cried on the cross. It is finished. And He stands before them now,
no longer the suffering Savior, but He whose suffering is over. Now He stands, Not at the foot
of the Mount of Olives, in the garden of Gethsemane sweating
great drops of blood, but now he stands on the summit of the
Mount of Olives as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, having everything
put under his feet. before he had been betrayed,
arrested there, and forsaken. But now he stands high and lifted
up. He has. I'm so thankful to say
that in the past tense. He has trod the winepress alone. It's a done deal. He has, past
tense, been made sin. Now he comes forth to those weak,
doubting, fearful disciples that had just a few days before forsook
him, denied him, didn't want to be associated with him, didn't
want to be recognized with him. And even here we're told, some
doubt it, they were just like you and I, weren't they? Just flesh and bone. After all
that God's done for me, There's no reason in this world I should
ever doubt it, but I do. I do. There's no excuse for it,
but I do. Like these disciples, just flesh,
and yet he comes before them and he says, all power in heaven
and in earth is given unto me. Go be witnesses unto me." His
resurrection proves the accomplishment of all that He came to do. Even
before He did it, as the time drew near that He should be offered
up, He always spoke of it as an accomplishment. Have you noticed
that? Now men, preachers especially,
speak of it as a possibility, like he did no more than make
an attempt, that he'd made something possible. All the anguish that
he suffered on the cross, that unknown sufferings as the
old writers referred to it as. Sufferings that you and I just
cannot enter into. Sufferings that are unknown to
only everyone, rather, but Himself. Sufferings that are exemplified
by the words, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? And they tell us all that was
for a possibility? He suffered that, Louie, for
a possibility? He never said so. Did He? He said, He shall accomplish. He has a death to accomplish. When Moses and Elijah appeared
with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration, they spoke about His decease,
His exodus, His departure, that He should accomplish at Jerusalem. Oh, bless God! That's why I can
rest my weak, doubting, sinful soul, down upon this sovereign
pillow of his absolute redemption of pain for all his people. Jesus paid it all. I come to do, is that not what
he said? Just as was prophesied in Psalms
40, I come to attempt No, no. That's not worthy. That's not
worthy of our Redeemer. No, I come to do Thy will, O
my God. And His very presence on Mount
Olivet proves that He did. That He satisfied divine justice. Turn if you will to Romans chapter
4. I find this very comforting.
In Romans chapter 4, this has been accomplished, this
has been done. Verse 24 of Romans 4, But for us also, to whom it shall
be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead, The reason God raised his son from the dead
is because his son did exactly what he promised his father he
would do, who was delivered for our offenses, or because of our
offenses, I pointed that out to you before, and was raised
again because of our justification. We were justified when Christ
arose, therefore, Paul writes, therefore being justified by
faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom? By whom? Also we have access by faith
into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the
glory of God. What a hope that is. A good hope. through grace alone, in Christ
alone. That's reason for a good hope. This too, the risen Lord proves
was accomplished, turning, if you will, to Hebrews chapter
1. And I know these are very familiar verses, but I hope,
like myself, you don't mind looking at them again, and I'm sure you
don't. Can you hear too often that our sins have been put away?
Do you ever get tired of hearing that? When the storms of life
are raging, when Satan is whispering in your ear, how can you be a
child of God? And there's something in your
depraved heart that wants to listen. Oh, when those Dark times
come. Isn't it wonderful to be reminded
and to hear, like this verse in verse 3 of Hebrews 1, speaking
of our glorious, successful, living, reigning Savior, who,
being the brightness of His glory, that is God's glory, and the
express image of His person upholding all things by the word of His
power, all powers given unto me, And when He had by Himself purged
our sins, He sat down. Mission accomplished. He sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Going over a
few pages to Hebrews chapter 9, we read the same thing here. in verse 11 of Hebrews 9. But
Christ, turning away from those sacrifices that were only typical
of Christ, that could never take away sin, that were offered,
the writer says, but Christ, but Christ being come a high
priest of good things to come by a greater, and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. But by His own blood He entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained," past tense,
obtained eternal redemption for us. Hallelujah. What a Savior. What a Savior. If Jesus paid
it all, and that's what we've seen, don't we? That's what we
just read in those few verses. If Jesus paid it all, My debt
is gone. My debt is gone. It's counseled. It's been paid in full. Doesn't
that have a nice ring to it? Those three words, paid in full. It's nice to hear. It's nice
to even see them. If you have had a debt, and I
suppose we all have, and some of them We make payments on them
for years. The mortgage on our homes or
a car just, isn't it nice when you make that last payment and
they stamp on there, paid in full, and you think, man, that's
a load off my back. That feels good. That looks good. Paid in full. The debt's been
cleared. It's satisfied. No need for them
to try to collect it again. And concerning all of our sins,
God the Father in the courts of heaven stamps, paid in full,
because Jesus paid it all. There was a debt I owed to God's
holy law that I could not pay, but Jesus paid it. So now we
can sing. We have a right to sing, child
of God. We even have an obligation to
sing with that sweet singer in Israel. Blessed is the man whose
sins are forgiven. Blessed is that man. The world,
they say the man is blessed who has the most worldly possessions. Oh, that's a blessed man. Well, that man who was rich with
all the worldly possessions that he could gather around him, while
Lazarus laid at his gate suffering, poor and hungry, that rich man
lifted up his eyes in hell. But poor Lazarus, he went to
glory. Oh no, the true riches? are those
that the psalmist described. The true blessedness is this.
Blessed is that man to whom the Lord will not impute iniquity. Psalm 32. He will not impute
iniquity. Why should he? Why would He? He's a just God. He imputed our
sins to our Redeemer. And our Redeemer satisfied them. He carried them away. And now
God says, the debt is paid. It's paid in full. Glorious thought. In Acts chapter 1, we read while
our Lord spoke to the disciples, He was taken up. Taken up. And they stand there gazing,
and I don't blame them, I would have too. Just gazing until he
was out of their sight. Taken up into heaven. Taken up to take possession of
the throne of glory. How high was he taken up? How
high did God the Father exalt him? Look, if you will, in Ephesians
chapter 1. Paul tells us here in Ephesians
chapter 1, verse 21, how high was he exalted? How
high does he reign? Well, we read in Matthew 28,
he has all power. But here in Ephesians 1, verse
21, God has exalted him far above all principality and power. Three verses here, five times
that word all is used referring to our Lord. Far above all principality
and power and might and dominion. Do you see anything left out
there? I think that pretty well covers
it all. And every name that is named not only in this world,
but also in that which is to come. And that put all things
under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things
through his church, which is his body, the fullness of him
that filleth all in all. How high So that everything and
everyone else in heaven and earth and hell are below Him. They're
under His feet. And He sets our glorious King
forever. How was He taken up? Turn if
you will to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians 2. Paul tells us again at verse
6. Speaking of our Lord, he says,
who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God? I and my Father are one. But
made himself of no reputation, and took on him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the
earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." You remember when
Stephen was preaching the gospel to those Pharisees and religious
Jews, and he said, you murdered the Son of God? And they put
their fingers in their ears? We don't want to hear that. And
then they drug him out of the city and began to stone him,
stone him to death. And Stephen said, I see Jesus. I see Jesus at the right hand
of God. And they couldn't stand that.
Isn't it interesting that in Acts chapter 7, while that mob
was stoning that child of God to death, that he said, until
thy hands I commend my spirit, and we read in verse 60, he fell
asleep. He fell asleep. Oh, with our
Lord Jesus Christ as the captain of our salvation, may he give
us grace to rest easy in his arms and just to fall asleep.
And Stephen awoke, when he awoke, He was in the arms of Jesus Christ. And you remember again, on that
occasion, that those murderers laid their cloaks at the feet
of a young man whose name was Saul. He's the one that wrote
those words that we just read in Philippians chapter 2 and
Ephesians chapter 1. That one who at one time hated
the Lord of glory, thought he was an imposter, now he writes,
God hath highly exalted him, O the grace of the great shepherd
of the sheep, how he is mighty to save. And Stephen fell asleep. I was reading something that
Brother Don wrote, and I don't even recall what he was in, one
of his commentaries or the other, it doesn't matter, but he said,
I like to be at the deathbed of God's saints when they're
leaving this world. I'm always interested as to what they might see and
what they might tell me when they're stepping out of this
world and into glory. Stephen did, didn't he? Just
as he was leaving this world, he said, I see Jesus. at the
right hand of the majesty on high. Back in Matthew chapter
28 verse 20, look what our Lord said, after giving them that
commission, He concludes with this blessed promise, Lo, I am
with you always, even into the end of the world. What a comfort
that must have been to these men, his promise and his presence. He told them go into all the
world before. He had told them if the world
hates you, The rather hates me, the ill hates you. If they persecuted
me, they'll persecute you. The servant is not greater than
his master. Don't expect any better treatment
from their hands than what they've given me. Has the world changed? No. Has it improved? No. Not
now and not then. But neither has that one who
sent them. Neither is that one who said,
all power is given unto me. All power. The way to show that you believe those words
is to do what he said. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel as you're going through the world. One translation puts
it, as you're going through the world. Wherever God puts you,
wherever you have opportunity, in whatever sphere you are already
placed, as you're there, preach the gospel. Witness that one
again at whose feet they laid their cloaks as they stoned Stephen,
Saul of Tarsus. Afterwards, he said, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel of God. It's the power of God unto salvation. It's the dynamite of God unto
salvation. Why? Because it has that one
of whom the message is about saying, all power is given unto
me. Do you believe that? Go therefore
and preach the gospel unto every creature. Oh, what a sweet promise
this is. I'm with you always. The promise
and His presence are so intertwined that you can't really separate
the two, can you? He made the promise and He is
the promise. Jesus Christ Himself is the comfort
of His Word. I am with you. I am with you. Now, child of God, I have no
idea. what you might be facing at this
very moment. I have no idea, not for you,
not for myself, what tomorrow holds. But isn't it great to
know who holds tomorrow? This same Jesus. He says, I am
with you. I will not leave you comfortless,
he told his disciples that night, right before his arrest. You
know what that word is? When he said, I will not leave
you comfortless, I will not leave you as orphans. I won't leave
you like orphans. That's the word. I will come
to you. I will come to you. And has he
ever broken that promise? Oh, there have been times we
felt like it, but then we found out it wasn't so. It wasn't so. I am with you. Present tense. Remember when God revealed himself
to Moses? That's the name that he used. I am that I am. Moses said, who
shall I say has sent me? Tell them I am that I am. And our Lord in John's Gospel
applied that to Himself, didn't He? Seven different times, I
am that I am. He's the one who spoke those
words to Moses. When He said that, what He was
saying is this, I am Jehovah. I am God. I am your Savior. I am the bread of life, John
6. I am the light of the world. I am the door. I am the good
shepherd. I am the resurrection and the
life. I am the way and the truth and
the life. And I am the vine and ye are
the branches. He's all that. And as all that
he says to you, I, I who am all that, am with you. What likest
thou? What likest thou? With you. Verse 17 again, they worshipped
him and some doubted. But he says, I'm with you. Doubting
child of God, I'm with you. Fearful child of God, I'm with
you. Oh, but I know it's not determined
by you. Your weakness, but His strength. Not your doubts, but His faithfulness. Child of God, we're never alone. Never alone. He loved me from
eternity. He came here and gave himself
for me. There was never a time that he
didn't love me. And there'll never be a time.
There'll never be a time. There'll never be a place. There'll
never be a circumstance that he's not with you. In such a way as though you were
the only one of his elect that there were. He could do that. And he says, last of all, always,
I'm with you always, even into the end of the world, as long
as life shall last, to supply you with all the grace that you'll
need to bring you to glory. And that's a bunch for this sinner.
And the captain of my salvation says, I have enough. I have enough. My need will never
exceed his supply. The death of a child of God is
the funeral of all his sorrows. God, by the prophet Micah, said,
arise and depart, for this is not your resting place, because
it's polluted. It's polluted. Our funeral will
be the death of all of our sorrows. It'll be the death of sin. It'll be the death of sorrow.
It'll be the death of affliction. It'll be death to temptation.
In short, to everything except that which glorifies Christ. Turn if you will to Hebrews again,
chapter 9. We'll read a verse there before
we close the message. Hebrews chapter 9. We have the
sweet promise of His return. If I go away and prepare a place
for you, I'll come back and receive you into myself that where I
am, there ye may be also. And in the meantime, he says,
I'm with you always. Hebrews chapter 9, let's read
verse 27 as well. as it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ was once offered to
bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for Him shall
He appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Whether by death or His coming, so shall we ever
be with the Lord. And until whichever comes first,
he promises, lo, I'm with thee always, even unto the end of
the world. Amen.