MATTHEW 28 JESUS IS ALIVE2006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Matthew 28 Jesus Is Alive

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006. Here in Matthew chapter 28, we have the completion of the story.

Verse 1 tells us that it was the first day of the week. And as this first day of the week, which would be a Sunday, as it began to dawn, and so we find these ladies coming to the tomb very early on Sunday morning.

It says that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, they came to see the tomb and behold, there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. Incredible. You could see the picture. This angel coming down, the earth shaking, the stone being rolled away. And there's the angel just kicking back on top of it.

The guards now, it tells us, start to freak out. They shook for fear of him. Literally, it talks about their knees knocking together. They had no control over themselves. They were completely freaked out. It says they became like dead men. But the angel speaks, and he speaks to the women at this point, and he says, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who is crucified.

That's why Easter is always on a Sunday morning, because it was Sunday morning that Jesus rose from the dead. Early that Sunday morning, that tomb was shown to be empty, the body gone, because Jesus had come back to life. Can you imagine the guards at that time? Here they are, they're watching Jesus. It's been a couple days since he's been crucified, and

They've been there all night and the first rays of the morning light start to shine. They see the sun beginning to come up and then suddenly this bright light just blinds them completely. And there's this great earthquake that takes place. And they see this angel rolling away the stone and sitting upon it. They're freaked out. Can you blame them?

I think we could understand. If the same thing were to happen in our lives, we would be freaked out as well. And so the women come and now they become fearful as well. Here's this angel.

bright and shining before them but he encourages them in verse 5 it says the angel answered and said to the women do not be afraid and that's always what angels have to say to people first when they appear to them don't be afraid don't get freaked out i'm here with good news i'm here as a messenger and so the angel tells him don't be afraid and he tells him why they shouldn't be afraid he says don't be afraid because i know that you seek jesus who was crucified

According to the Bible, that phrase is true, that statement is true for every single one of us. You and I, what we are seeking is Jesus. And the angel tells them, don't be afraid because you're seeking Jesus and he is alive. What we desire in our lives is Jesus. What we are thirsting for is Jesus. If you find yourself without joy this morning,

If you find yourself not satisfied, it's because you are seeking Jesus, but trying to fill that need with other things. We need Jesus, and only He can satisfy us. We are seeking Him, whether we like it or not. Now, as we continue to look at this portion of Scripture, we'll look at three examples, three groups of people who were seeking Jesus. They responded differently, and their hearts were in different places.

So perhaps you will be able to relate to one of these groups. Will you let God speak to you this morning as we spend more time here in Matthew chapter 28? We're going to look at the women. The women who came to the tomb who were believing and obedient and they got to see Jesus. We'll see the guards who saw all that happened but were bought off by the chief priests.

went away telling lies about what had taken place. And then we see the disciples who had seen Jesus several times but yet when he appears to them in this portion of scripture we find them doubting and wavering not fully committed to Jesus Christ. The first group of people we see is the women and we see this in verses 6 through 10. Allow me please to read them for you. Verse 6 the angel is speaking to them and he

He has just told them that they are seeking Jesus. And in verse 6 he says, He is not here, for he is risen, as he said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead, and indeed he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him. Behold, I have told you.

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, rejoice. So they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see me. Jesus Christ said,

is shown to them. He's known by them. He's alive. In verse 6, the angel tells them, he is not here at this tomb. You can look inside, come see for yourself where he was laid and discover he has been risen. He's not here. We just got back a couple of weeks ago, a group of us that went to Israel to see the sites where many of these things took place.

And we got to go to the garden tomb where Jesus Christ had been laid. And all 14 of us from this fellowship that went were able to go inside and look and verify, yes, there is no body in that tomb. He is not here. He is risen. And it has that inscription on the door of the tomb so that you know Jesus Christ is alive. And the angel said, come.

See the place where the Lord lay. And I invite you, just take a second for a quick commercial break. Next year, in March, we're going again to Israel. Come, see where the Lord lay. See for yourself. The tomb is empty. He has risen indeed. Jesus Christ is alive.

But he is not here, the angel says. He is risen. But then he goes on to say, as he said. And this is important to know because Jesus told the disciples and his followers in advance that he would die, that he would be buried, and that he would rise again, that he would resurrect. And his resurrection proves and authenticates his ministry and his message. It proves that what he said, what he did, and who he claimed to be

It proves that it's true. Now, if someone comes and claims to be God, if Jesus had claimed to be God, but then died and we never heard from him again, then we would know that he was lying because he said that he would rise again. If he came and claimed to be our Savior, but died and we never heard from him again,

we would know that he's not our Savior. He's not able to save us. He can't even bring himself back from the dead. The claims of Jesus are authenticated and proven by his resurrection, by the fact that he rose again. He claimed to be God. As we're studying through the book of John on Sunday evenings, we're learning that from every chapter.

Week in and week out, Jesus claimed and proclaimed himself to be God. He claimed to be the only way to the Father in John chapter 14 verse 6. He claimed to be able to forgive sins in Luke chapter 5. He claimed to be able to satisfy our thirst in John 7, 37 and 38. He claimed that if we believe on him, we will be saved in John 3, 16 and many others. His resurrection proves that these claims are true.

Because he had the power to raise from the dead. And so the angel tells them, come look and see, the tomb is empty. And they verify, indeed, it is empty. And verse 8 says that they went away quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy. And they ran to bring his disciples word.

Now Luke tells us that when the angels spoke to them, they remembered Jesus' words and his promise to come again. And as they go away quickly, they have mixed emotions. Could it be? Is it really true that the tomb is empty? Has he really risen from the dead? You can imagine in their hearts, it was too good to be true. They had fear, it says. Well, what if it wasn't true? What if someone really did just come and steal away the body?

They had fear. He's risen. What does this mean? What's going to happen now? But then it also says they had great joy. Oh, it's true. He told us. And so you can see the mixed emotions, the battle that's going on within them, the fear and then the great joy, realizing and wanting to believe and know, yes, it is true that Jesus has risen from the dead, that Jesus is alive.

They wanted to believe and yet had fear at the same time. You and I experience these emotions as well as we hear about Jesus Christ, about his desire to have relationship with us, to forgive us of our sins and give us eternal life. Fear is usually our first response. What does this mean? Why do they think I need to hear this? What would happen if I let Jesus be my Lord and Savior?

Is it really true? There's that fear. But the more that we understand and the more that we receive the message of Jesus Christ, the greater joy we experience. We learn that He forgives us unconditionally as we put our faith and our trust in Him. He frees us from the guilt and gives to us eternal life simply by believing in Him. Oh, there's no greater joy than knowing the living God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

They had some fear, but they had great joy. See the difference? They had some fear. There was some fears in their hearts, but they experienced great joy. Their fear was overcome by their great joy. And you can know this, whatever fears that you have about God, about a relationship with Jesus Christ, you can just let them go because there's greater joy in Jesus Christ than your fears are worth holding on to.

In verse 9, it says, Now, often people ask,

Why doesn't God just reveal himself? You know, just kind of poke his head through the clouds and say, Hello world, here I am, I'm God. Believe in me, love me, and serve me. People often say, show me, and I will believe. And if God did that, then I would believe. But you know, God desires a real and meaningful relationship with us.

He desires us to believe him at his word. Not to be forced into belief or there's no alternative, but he leaves that element of uncertainty so that we may place our hope and our trust completely in him. We may believe him at his word. He desires our faith. God says, believe and I will show you. And we see that in the example of the women here. They received the word from the angels.

They believed and they obeyed. How do we know that they believed? Well, we know because they obeyed. They followed the word of the angels and went to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen. They believed and it was proven by their obedience. But it's wonderful to see as they obeyed, as they were on the way, Jesus met them. Jesus revealed himself to them.

They believed first. And as they responded to the word of God, Jesus met them. You know, this morning, Jesus wants to reveal himself to you. He wants to have a wonderful, intimate, and personal relationship with you. But you must believe. And as you believe, he will meet you. As you believe and are obedient to his words.

He will meet you and reveal himself to you. What is his word to you? Well, it depends on where you're at. If you have never received Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, if you don't have a relationship with God, and Jesus says to you, repent, be baptized, come to me, that you may have life and life abundantly.

If you're in a backslidden state, Jesus is saying, come back. Turn around. Make a 180 degree and come back into my arms. I'm right here waiting for you. And if you're walking with the Lord, Jesus says, abide in the vine. Stay close to me. Abide in my words and let my words abide in you. And you will bear much fruit. We need to believe Jesus at his word. As Ronnie was sharing with us, that childlike faith.

It doesn't mean a gullible faith. We're to use our minds. God reasons with us from the scriptures. But to believe simply what God says and to receive it, knowing that it is true. In verse 10,

It goes on to say that Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and they will see me. Notice that Jesus says to the women again, Do not be afraid. The angel told them not to be afraid. They went away in fear and great joy. And now Jesus again says, Do not be afraid. And I'll remind you, in Jesus Christ, your fears will be put to rest. Come unto him. Allow him to meet with you and reveal himself to you.

And he'll remind you, you don't need to be afraid. Don't let fear keep you from experiencing joy this Easter morning. Don't be afraid, but come to Jesus. The women we see in this portion, they experienced fear, but they did not let that keep them from believing. And as a result, they got to see Jesus and had great joy.

Now as we go on in verses 11 through 15, we look at the next group of people who were at the scene, who were involved in the situation.

And that was the guards that had been stationed there before the tomb. In verse 11, it says, Now while they were going, that is, the women were going to tell the disciples, Behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, Tell them his disciples came at night and stole him away while we slept.

And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure. So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And the saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. The guards here in this portion are in a quite different situation than the women. They also experienced fear as the women did that morning.

But they did not believe and receive great joy as the women did. They experienced fear and they go off to the chief priests and the elders and come back agreeing to tell a lie and to be deceitful and to hide the truth. Notice that Jesus does not meet them on the way.

Because they were not believing. Instead, while the women are running to tell the disciples the wonderful news, they go to the chief priests and they give them the bad news. For the disciples, it's wonderful news. For the chief priests, it's bad news. The guy we crucified who claimed to be the Messiah, who said that he would in three days rise again. Guys, we lost him. You can imagine the guard.

Excuse me, sir. Remember that body you told us to guard? Well, you see, what happened was, there was this... Well, the body's gone. There was this earthquake and this angel or something, a bright light. Maybe it was our imagination. I don't know, but he's gone. Now, as they come to the chief priests, these were a group of people who were always against Jesus Christ. They hated everything about him. Yet, they were very religious. Yes.

And so we know that religion does not make us spiritual. They did not have a relationship with God. They were just very religious. Religion, instead of drawing us close to God, does actually the opposite and keeps us from what God wants to do. And the chief priests, the scribes, the elders of the Jewish people at that time demonstrate that for us.

When we become religious, we become like the priests. And we have the attitude, don't tell me the truth if it does not fit what I believe. More concerned about the rituals and the tradition. More concerned about everything else except the truth. So the guards go and tell them what happened. And they consult together and they come up with a plan. Here's the best thing for us to do. We're going to go and worship Jesus because he's really God. He resurrected and that proves that he's God.

Well, no, that would have been an adequate and appropriate response, but that's not what they did. They consulted together and they came back and said, hey, let's do an investigation to let everybody know the truth, if this really has happened and if he's really resurrected. No, that's not what they did either. Here's what they do. Let's cover it up. Let's hide it. Keep it quiet. Make sure nobody finds out. Why? Why would they want to cover this up?

Because otherwise, people will believe in Jesus, which frustrated them completely for his whole ministry. They'll believe in Jesus and they will follow him instead of following them. Their position, their power, their authority was threatened. And so they said, forget about the truth. Who cares about the truth? Cover it up. Tell this lie that the disciples came and stole him. Well, just put it

down as quickly as possible and hope that it doesn't spread. So in order to make this effective, they give the soldiers a lot of money. Say, here's the story that you're to tell. Anybody see anything wrong with this situation? With this scenario? What these guys are doing? Hey boss, an angel came and rolled away the stone and Jesus is alive? Oh well, here's a lot of money. Just tell everybody that the disciples stole him and be quiet. Completely corrupt. Deceitful.

The chief priests are committing the worst evil in keeping the people from knowing the truth that Jesus is alive. They're agents of the devil at this point because this is what the devil desires. The devil desires, hey, let's cover up the truth. Let's keep it quiet. Don't let people find out because otherwise people will follow Jesus and not follow me.

The devil, his plan, his purpose is to keep people from Jesus Christ. And that was the same plan that the chief priests had this morning. Now, as we look at the guards this morning, I ask, have you been like the guards? Have you been bought off by the devil? The devil has three basic tactics when it comes to buying us off, keeping us quiet, keeping us from sharing the truth.

In 1 John 2, verse 16, we find them. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. The lust of the flesh speaks to us of all of our sinful cravings, specifically and probably appropriately in our society, of immoral relationships, adultery, sex outside of marriage, pornography. It's the lust of the flesh, the cravings of our flesh. The lust of the eye speaks

Speak to us of riches and glamour. The deceitfulness that's there. And the pride of life speaks to us of position, prestige, power, popularity, fame. The guards saw that Jesus was alive. They saw the angel. They saw the empty tomb. But they were bought off. And maybe this morning you have been the same way. You've seen God work and

You know that Jesus is alive. You've been around and seen some miraculous things, but you're not following Jesus because you've been bought off. You know the truth, but you're telling a different story because here's what the devil has told you.

Well, you can follow Jesus if you want, but I'll give you better things, a better life. He holds in front of us money and riches. He says, don't follow Jesus. Don't commit to him. Look at the money that you could earn, that you could have. Look at what you could gain if you do things my way and not his way. Man, you follow Jesus and be involved in church. How are you going to

Spend the time that you need to working that overtime or earning that extra money. How are you going to get to the places that you want to get if you're committed to church and those things? He holds in front of us the deceitfulness of riches and says, come on, take this instead. Tell a different story. Oh, church, yeah, that's good for you. It's good for other people. He holds in front of us women or men.

And sexual relationships and immorality. And he says, look, don't follow Jesus. Look at all the sex you can have. The good times, the partying, the great things. Look at, you can't have this following Jesus. Don't be silly. You won't be happy in that. You need this relationship and these experiences in order to really be happy and be satisfied. For he holds in front of us popularity, power and prestige.

Don't follow Jesus. Look at how powerful you could be. Look how high you could go up the corporate ladder or how popular and famous you could be. It's not popular and real cool thing to do to follow Jesus. Look, he was crucified. You don't want people treating you like that. Don't follow Jesus. The devil is seducing us by these things. He holds these things out in front of us

And he attempts to buy us off. Don't tell the truth. Don't hold on to those miraculous things, knowing that Jesus is alive. Instead of believing, he invites us to be deceived and to deceive others. But here's the problem. Remember verse 5? The angel told the women, Hey, I know that you seek Jesus who is crucified.

The problem is, you can fill your life and heart with all those things. With money, with sex, with popularity, prestige, power, whatever the case. All the things that you might be yearning for, you can fill your life with those things. But if you haven't discovered it yet, you soon will. Those things do not satisfy. What Jesus has to offer you is a million times better than what the devil ever could offer.

The guards experienced fear. They decided that

Taking the money, though, was easier than believing. And as a result, they deceived many. As the word says here, it's commonly reported to this day that the disciples came and stole it. And Matthew is referring to this day as the time when he is writing. Yet, even to this day, 2006, it's commonly reported. People saying, well, I just think the disciples stole them away. They're wrong.

Choice to not believe has affected many for the past 2,000 years. The final group that we see here in verses 16 through 20 is the disciples. It says this in verse 16, Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. Now, as we come to this last group of people, the disciples,

I love the picture that is painted here because I can relate to it so well. I can understand what these disciples were going through and maybe you can too. Let's again put ourselves in their shoes for a moment. These are the men who had walked with Jesus and were close to him for the past three years. They loved him dearly. They believed that he was the Messiah, but then he was crucified. So they went through all the thoughts of, well, I guess we were wrong. Their hopes now were dashed to pieces.

Then the women come and tell them, hey, the tomb is empty. Peter and John go run and check it out. It's true. It's empty. What's happened? What's taken place? Then Mary comes and says that she has seen Jesus, that he appeared to her. Other reports begin to come in that two disciples on the road to Emmaus, they come back. Yeah, we've seen Jesus. It's true. He was known to us in the breaking of bread.

And then Sunday evening, the day that he had resurrected, there in Jerusalem, the disciples are gathered together and Jesus appears to them, reveals himself to them and they're beside them so they can't even believe it. It's too good to be true. But then he disappears. They don't hear from him for a couple of days and a couple more days. And finally, a week's gone by. Maybe it was our imagination. Did he really appear to us? Was he really there?

And then that Sunday evening, the next Sunday after he rose from the dead, he appeared to them again there in Jerusalem. This time Thomas is there. He wasn't there with them the first time, and so he was still doubting, but that second time Jesus appears and Thomas says, Oh my Lord and my God. He believes in Jesus and believes that he really did rise from the dead. But then he disappears again. They don't hear from him for a while.

Now they're in the region of Galilee. It would have taken them a few days to get to Galilee. It was approximately 80 miles north of Jerusalem. By foot, by camel, that's a long ways, a couple days journey. So sometime later, we don't know exactly,

exactly when but they've seen him the day that he resurrected that evening they saw him again a week later and now they're gathered together in galilee and jesus comes to them and when he comes they're amazed they worship him but it says verse 17 but some doubted and then jesus goes on to give them the great commission to go and to preach the gospel and to make disciples

So when Jesus comes down to the disciples in Galilee, they've already seen him at least twice, and it's been a couple of weeks since he rose from the dead, yet verse 17 says they worshipped him, but some doubted. And this is where I can really relate to the disciples. They've seen Jesus a couple times, know that he's alive, and yet here he is again, and there's still those doubts.

The wonderings. Is this really true? Is this really Jesus Christ? This word doubted, it means to waver. I looked up some synonyms for waver and I think you might be able to appreciate these to help understand what the disciples are going through here. Waver, some of the synonyms are hesitate, to be indecisive, to vacillate, to falter.

to be wishy-washy, to wiffle-waffle, to shilly-shally, to dilly-dally, and to hem and to haw. And so you could picture this, right? There's Jesus, they're worshiping him, but at the same time, they're not really sure if they want to commit to it. It's like, well, you know, I like that phrase, hem and haw. It's like, hmm, that's... They're doubting, wavering. Have you ever had to make a difficult decision? You found yourself convinced one way,

And then, a few moments later, you talk yourself out of it. You talk yourself into the other direction. And you go back and forth up until the time that you have to make the decision. You're wishy-washy, back and forth.

And that's how the disciples were. And they're doubting. They're wavering. They're wiffle-waffling. They're shilly-shallying. They're dilly-dallying and hem-and-hawing. They're hokey-pokey. Right foot in. Okay. Oh, no, no. Right foot out. Okay. Put right foot in, but shake it all about. You know, they just, they don't know if they want to get in. Do they want to commit? Are they going to follow the Lord and be His disciples? Or are they not? Can you identify with the disciples at this point? Understand that

What's going on within their hearts? They're being torn. They believe and they want to believe, but at the same time, they just have not made that commitment. They know the truth. He's right there before their eyes. They see it clear as day. And that's the point. That every single one of us, we know the truth. We know that Jesus is alive. But that's not enough. We have to make a choice to follow Jesus Christ. To commit. To stop doubting and wavering.

And to give ourselves wholeheartedly, completely to him. Maybe you find yourself in the same boat as the disciples this morning. You know that he's alive. And you even worship him as we gather together. But you find yourself wavering, doubting, going back and forth. Sundays is one thing, you're in the circle. And then Mondays, kind of on the way out of the circle. Tuesdays, all the way out. Back to Wednesday, alright, let me get back in.

wavering and doubting i think i want to believe i think i want to commit i know jesus is real man the times of worship are beautiful but you must make the choice to follow jesus completely and wholeheartedly jesus appears to them and what does he tell them to do these disciples who are worshiping him but then some are still doubting what does he tell them to do

In essence, he says, stop doubting, stop going back and forth, and make a decision already. Believe and be obedient. Go tell the world and make disciples for my name. He's calling them to a full-fledged commitment to him and to stop being lukewarm in their faith and their walk. And he encourages them in two areas. He says, listen, I have all authority and I'm going to be with you. So go, commit to it already. Make the choice. Follow me.

And stop wavering. Jesus says, I have all authority. I'm the one who's in charge. So I'm the one that you want to please. Stop trying to please those around you. Whiffle waffling back and forth because you want to please this person and then you want to please this person and then you want to try to please the Lord and you're being torn. Jesus says, just please me. I have all authority. I have the final say. Come and serve me.

Make a solid commitment to follow Jesus Christ and preach the gospel. Make disciples. Jesus, again, is calling them to a wholehearted commitment. And this morning, he's calling every single one of us to make the same commitment. Jesus, I believe, is speaking to many of you this morning. And he's saying, listen, you've been lukewarm for long enough.

You've had one foot in the world and one foot out long enough. You've been wishy-washy long enough. Make a real commitment to follow Jesus Christ, to abide in him, to be his disciple. The disciples, they saw Jesus and they worshipped, but still doubted and wavered. And so Jesus calls them to make a solid commitment to follow him. This morning, as we celebrate Easter,

It's a morning of great joy because Jesus is alive. He resurrected from the dead, which proves that he is who he claimed to be. He is God. He is the Savior. He is the only way to the Father. He is to be obeyed. And as we have seen in the examples, these three groups of people, I would ask you now to evaluate this.

Which one best describes you? What place are you in this morning? Because Jesus Christ desires a radical commitment from us. A radical commitment to follow him. To make him the supreme Lord and Savior in our lives. The most important thing in our lives. An unwavering, wholehearted decision. Maybe you can identify with the women of this story.

You know that Jesus is alive and you know what he has told you to do, be it to accept him as Lord and Savior and start to follow him or come back to him or maybe step out in a new direction that he's been speaking to your heart. You know what he's told you to do, but you're fearful. I would encourage you to be like the women. You have fear and that's okay. Believe, just believe and commit to it.

And Jesus will reveal himself to you. He'll meet you on the way. Jesus wants to have a relationship with you and be close to you. He desires us to believe. And as we believe and are obedient to what he says, he meets with us and gives us everything that we need. Peace, hope, love, whatever the case. Maybe you identify with the guards. You know that Jesus is alive, but you've been bought off.

You've been chasing other things. Other things have been more important to you than the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord. You know those things will not satisfy you. The world cannot offer peace, forgiveness. The world cannot offer the release of guilt for our sin. The world can't offer everlasting life, but Jesus Christ can.

And so I would encourage you to stop being like the guards and chasing those other things, whatever they may be. Repent. Believe. And start walking in the truth. Walk with Jesus Christ. Maybe you identify more with the disciples, the final group. You know that Jesus is alive. In fact, you've seen him work. And you know that he's real. But you just haven't made the commitment to be his disciple at all costs.

You haven't made, really, you haven't made up your mind if you're going to follow him or not. And Jesus says to you, says to me this morning, stop doubting, stop wavering, and make a real commitment to Jesus Christ and live for him. Let's bow our heads together. Heavenly Father, as we are here before you this morning, God, we acknowledge, Lord, we know we may have

reasons and excuses that we try to use, but we know, God, that you are alive, that you are real. Jesus, we know that you came and that you died on the cross for our sins. And Lord, we can try to use distractions and stories like the guards, but Lord, we know it's not the truth because you've been speaking to our hearts. Jesus, you are revealing yourself to us through your word. And so, God, I ask for all who are here, for all who can

Hear what you are saying this morning through Matthew chapter 28. God, I pray for those who have fear. Lord, they know what you've instructed them to do, but they're fearful. God, I pray that you would give them great joy as they're obedient to you. Lord, that you would meet them on the way, that they would enjoy a freshness, a renewed relationship with you. God, I pray for those who are like the disciples. Lord, who've been around before,

who have worshipped you, who have seen you work and know that you're alive and real. But Lord, they just haven't made that commitment to really follow you. And so they find themselves in the world for a while and in the church for a while, following you for some time and then walking away from you again. God, we ask that you administer to those hearts. Bring us, Lord, to the point of a radical commitment with you. God, I pray for those who...

Identify with the guards. Lord, they haven't been walking with you, but they do know that you're alive as we celebrate this day, your resurrection. God, I pray that they would not be blinded any longer by the deceitfulness of riches, by the things that the devil would give to seduce them. Lord, open their eyes that they may see that what they truly are seeking is you. I pray, Lord, that they would receive you this morning. And if that's you this morning, if you would...

like to receive the gift of God's Son, forgiveness, eternal life, if you would like to make a commitment to follow Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter if it's your first time coming to Jesus and asking Him to forgive you. It doesn't matter if it's the hundredth time. God says, whoever comes to me, I will no way cast out. He receives every one of us as we approach Him by faith, believing,

what he said. And so I would encourage you this morning with every eye closed and every head bowed to allow God to speak to your heart and make the commitment to follow Jesus Christ. I'd like to lead you in a prayer and you can just pray this prayer in your heart after me. Whether it's your first time or you want to come back to the Lord or make a solid commitment to Jesus Christ, just agree with me and pray this prayer in your heart. Lord Jesus, I thank you for dying on the cross for me.

that my sins may be forgiven, that I may be washed and cleansed and made right before your eyes. God, I ask now that you would forgive me and I ask, Lord, that you would come into my life and make me new. Lord, make me born again, that I may walk in a spiritual life in relationship with you. God, I ask that you would help me to make a radical commitment to follow you, not to be wavering and doubting,

But God, as I believe you at your word and I'm obedient to you, Lord, I pray that you would meet me on the way, that you would reveal yourself to me. God, I want to walk with you and follow you. I want to go into the world and make disciples and be a witness for you, Jesus. Give me strength. Fill me with your spirit. In Jesus' name, amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.