You have to be in opposition to your past. You have to be in opposition to yourself to take up your cross and follow Jesus. Pastor Jonathan Evans says if you want to share in the authority of Jesus, you have to move past self-reliance.
You've got to roll with Him in order to piggyback on who He is and what He has. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Truth's biggest questions often revolve around purpose, why we're here, and what we're meant to do. In today's message, special guest Pastor Jonathan Evans explores how Jesus answered those questions for His followers, giving them a mission that still applies to us today. Let's join him in Matthew 28 as he unpacks how to carry out that mission with purpose and impact. I don't know if you know it or not, but Jesus has given the church marching orders.
So if you're confused on what your calling is, if you're trying to figure out what God is telling you to do, if you're praying about your purpose in this life, He's already given it. He gave marching orders to the disciples. And the reason why this is so important is because there were a group of people at the same time that had opposing marching orders. See, if you understand the context of Matthew 28, you understand that here Jesus has risen and there were some guards that were there at the tomb. After what had happened at the tomb, the guards went and told the chief priests. The chief priests and the elders came together and said, let me give you a payoff, and I want you to tell everybody that while you were sleeping, the disciples came and stole the body. Translation, the resurrection is not real. I need you to go proliferate a lie in the culture that He has not risen from the dead, even though I know you saw that angel that scared you to death.
Don't tell nobody about that. I need you to go out there and tell them that the body was stolen and we'll give you a payoff for that lie. If you look at Matthew 28, 15, it says, and they took the money and did as they had been instructed, and this story is widely spread among the Jews and is to this day. So they went to a meeting, the guards, they said what happened, they got a payoff, they got instruction on what they should do, and they took their marching orders, which is why there are people today who do not believe in the resurrection. They believe that His body was stolen.
They believe the lie from the payoff. What Jesus did is say we're going to have another meeting. If you look at Matthew 28, 16, the first word there is but. But the 11 disciples proceeded to Galilee to meet Jesus at a certain mount, and He had another meeting with them because He said, we need to penetrate the culture with the truth because there's another group that's trying to penetrate it with a lie. And so if in our community more people believe a lie than the truth, there must not be disciples that are at the meeting. And God has called us as disciples to come to the meeting and take our marching order and send the truth out into the culture. We have 11 disciples that are saying they went to a meeting after the resurrection. That means they are eyewitnesses to these things.
We're willing to die horrible deaths for what they have seen and what they have lived with. Matter of fact, if you go to 1 Corinthians 15, 6, it says 500 people that saw Jesus after His death and could proclaim to you, oh, He has risen. The lie that many people believe, even the Jews to this day that are not Messianic Jews, they'll tell you, oh, He was a common criminal back in His day.
They got crucified for all of His troubles just like all the other crucifixions. He's alive. We need to stop living like He's dead. We stand at attention and we're trying to hear what our Savior is saying. If you believe that He's risen, then He is giving you marching orders and telling you what to do no matter who you are, no matter what happens to you, no matter what your past is, no matter who hurt you, no matter the struggle that you face, no matter the excuses that you have.
If He is risen and giving you marching orders, it's the church's job to say, yes, sir. And He starts out by telling you why. He says, all authority has been given to me. Y'all know my definitions, all mean all. So He's bringing you to the meeting this morning and He's saying, I want you to understand that I possess all the authority.
What is He saying? If you want any of it, you can't have any of it unless you're under my authority. We have Christians who are at the meeting that think they possess an authority they don't have and then wonder why evil, drama, and negative consequences possess their lives. The reason why that possesses your life is because you're trying to have an authority that belongs to Jesus.
You have no authority. The Bible says be careful in Jeremiah 4, 13 through 15, it says, watch out when you say we're going to go to such and such a city and buy land and do this and do that. You don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.
It says your life is but a vapor and vanishes away quickly. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will do this or do that. In other words, when He's talking about His authority, He's talking about Christians understanding we live our lives in humility under the authority of God saying, tell me what to do if the Lord wills. We're entitled like we have the authority and it's His responsibility to obey. He's sitting at the head of the table. He has all authority and you're sitting at the table and you're at the meeting.
You have responsibility to the one who has authority, but don't confuse responsibility for authority because Jesus can veto you anytime He decides and we're supposed to change direction and go based on His word. He says, I have all of it. Now, this authority that He's talking about is defined as ekusia.
Dudamis means dynamite. That means power. Ekusia is official bestowed authority. It's a whole other ballgame. He's saying, I got ekusia. I have official bestowed authority.
Okay. I'm going to give you the Tony Evans moment. On the football field, you have players that are fast, strong, can lift a lot of weights. They have Dudamis.
But then there's another group on the same field that's slower, fatter and has no power in the weight room. But the team of officials has an official bestowed authority that can make all the Dudamis stop. The reason why they can make it all stop is because sitting behind the desk at 345 Park Avenue is the commissioner of the league.
The commissioner of the league has commissioned them to control the game. So it doesn't matter how powerful the players are. Once the referees throw the yellow flag, all that power comes to a halt because the power Dudamis is under the authority ekusia. He's telling you it's not just Dudamis power. I've proven that, too. It's ekusia power, which means your kings, your president, your boss, it don't matter who they are. If I throw my yellow flag, I can shut this whole thing down.
I have an ekusia that cannot be messed with. I have an official authority. That's why in Philippians 2, it says that's why he gave him a name that is above every name and at that name, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord to the glory of the father, both in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
Ain't nobody getting left out of this. This is the level of authority that he has. In Ephesians 1 20, it talks about him being raised and seated at the right hand of the father far above all rule, all power, all authority. He's far above it all.
That is the position that he has and he's letting you know at this meeting, I got all of it. The first Adam lost it. God gave him rule in the garden to rule and have dominion and then the enemy came and took it once Adam and Eve stepped out of under authority.
Then they lost the authority they had been granted. That's why in Matthew 4, the devil's able to offer Jesus the kingdoms of this world. If you bow down and worship me, how he get that, it wasn't given to him. He stole it from Adam and Eve, but when Jesus disarmed the powers and authority through the cross, he took that mess back and not only did he take it back, he took it back at a whole another level. Because it says that I have all the authority in heaven and on earth, which means even the heavenly hosts are bowing down.
So if the heavenly hosts are bowing down to Jesus Christ, then why are we standing up and looking at him in his face like we're on his level? Jonathan will come back in a moment with a personal story that illustrates how we can share in the authority of Christ. But first, today's message is the final installment from his powerful teaching series called Discipleship for Every Day. This six-part collection goes beyond routine religion, equipping you to live out your faith with authenticity and impact every day. It's designed to help you grow as a disciple and inspire others to do the same, leading to stronger families, more vibrant churches, and communities transformed by the Gospel. We're excited to send you all six messages from this collection on CD or digital download with our thanks when you make a contribution to support this ministry. And as a special bonus, we're also including Jonathan's compelling book, Your Time is Now.
In it, he challenges you to step boldly into God's purpose for your life, moving beyond hesitation and fully embracing your calling. Together, these resources will encourage and equip you to pursue God's kingdom with confidence and courage. Take advantage of this special double offer today by visiting tonyevans.org and looking for the details right on the homepage. Or call us at 1-800-800-3222, where a friendly team member is ready to help with your request. But don't wait, this is the final day we'll be offering these two resources bundled together in thanks for your donation. Again, that's tonyevans.org or call 1-800-800-3222. I'll repeat that contact information for you after the second part of Jonathan's lesson. Right now, let's get back to it.
Most seasons, I'm proud to say it, this season's a little different. I am the Chaplain of the Cowboys. I've been doing the chapel services, but they haven't been listening. But as the Chaplain of the Cowboys, I get a badge that many people don't get.
When I go to the game, I park on the stadium and I go through the player entrance and go down the private elevator. And I just walks right into the locker room. Don't nobody say nothing other than, what's up, chap? What's up, Jay? You know, I get all that. Then I go to my locker.
I know. They got my outfit already in there, hung up. Everybody asking, you need anything else? You good? I'm like, yeah, I'm good. I'm actually, I'm missing a t-shirt.
Can you get my t-shirt? I get dressed in the first eight years as the chaplain, the last voice they would hear before they leave the locker room was me. I'd put them on the star that was in there.
We would pray and do all of those things. Then we'd go out the field. And then when they would call the Cowboys out, guess who was running out the tunnel? And I come out on the field and I'm not in the stands.
I'm not looking at that big screen for those who are far off. I'm on the sideline. If you go to the game by yourself, you're going to be in lines. You're going to be in traffic. You're going to go through the door with everybody else standing in line frustrated because they scanning tickets slow. But if you go with me, you get another layer of access you couldn't have by yourself. Now all of a sudden you at lot seven. Now all of a sudden you walking through signing autographs.
Now all of a sudden you going through the player door down the elevator. You can come in the locker room if you and me cause you, you're sharing in my access, you're sharing in my authority. So if you want to be able to have the authority that Jesus has, you can't try to do that by yourself.
You got to roll with him in order to piggyback on who he is and what he has. That's why Luke 10 19 says, I'd give you the authority to trample on scorpions and snakes and every evil scheme of the enemy. That's why Matthew 16 19 says, I'd give you the keys to the kingdom and whatever you bound on earth will be bound in heaven.
Whatever you loose on earth will be loose. He's trying to give the disciples authority, but if you at the meeting like you got the authority, you won't get what he's got, but be praying for a purpose. And he's like, I can get heaven to bow down and I can't get y'all to bow down. Go therefore and make disciples because it's not as hard as you think when you live your life under the authority of Jesus Christ, when he gets to call the shots and you just salute and take your marching orders and go do it. That means that you have to be in opposition to your feelings. You have to be in opposition to your past.
You have to be in opposition to your anxiety and what you think and what somebody else told you. You have to be in opposition to yourself to take up your cross and follow Jesus. See, we're trying to get Jesus to do things for us. He like, man, I'm trying to get y'all to do something for me. I'm trying to get you to be unleashed in your neighborhood, in the spheres where I have placed you and you're complaining about your job, but I put you there to go. I put you there to be the light as you go.
And then he says, go to do what? Make disciples. In order to make disciples, you have to be one. You have to be someone that it's obvious that they follow Jesus.
My dad would often say, if you were convicted of or charged of being a Christian, many of us will be found innocent of all charges, because we come to church and then leave and just do our own things like Jesus is dead and has no authority. As we go, we're called to make disciples and plant seeds. People should look at our lives and say, how do you do that? How do you handle conflict like that?
How have you been married so long like that? What's the secret? He says, go and make disciples, meaning be a disciple yourself. And he says, baptize them. In other words, he's saying that we come under the authority of God, we go as we go. We are disciples.
People are asking questions. We're inviting people to church. We're telling our testimony when the opportunity presents itself. We are living a life that's worthy of being followed because it mimics Jesus Christ. So people ought to be learning the gospel and having a new identity and then becoming accountable to the church.
This is the rubric. He says, baptize them. And then the third part of simple is after they have become a part of the family, then teach them what to do. Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. Observe.
We like to talk. Observe means teach them how to do it. They need to, when somebody says, ah, you just like your daddy, it wasn't just because he talked.
It's because you followed him so long that you picked up his mannerisms. This is why we don't like making disciples because it takes your life. It takes time to walk with somebody and show somebody how to handle conflict, show somebody how to forgive when it's hard, actually show somebody how to live in a marriage that has some difficulties and how you can humble yourself and take up a servanthood and sanctification. In order to do that, you have to teach, life teach. Jerry Flowers said the most dangerous thing we have in America now is everybody's got a mic.
Everybody's got a podcast and everybody's the preacher and everybody's talking. But what we're supposed to be doing is living because there's so much more caught than just taught. Teaching's important, but some of us don't want to talk because it holds us accountable. See, once you start talking, it's like, that's why I didn't want to be a minister for a long time.
I'm like, oh, then I'm going to have to do all that. You're held accountable, so you don't want to do your job. You want to stay quiet about it because you don't want to be held to the letter like that. And we do live in a very judgmental culture. But some of us talk, and we need to be quiet because you know you raggedy. But we know how to quote things and sound good.
And both are dangerous. Let your life match up with your lips. Let your walk match up with your talk so we can teach people to observe, not just come to church except Jesus Christ, but come to the meeting and take the marching orders. Everybody stand up. I have one more childhood game. And hopefully you've heard of this game. Have you ever heard of a game called Simon Says?
OK, good. We're about to play. If Simon doesn't say it, don't do it. Y'all ready?
It's about to go quick. OK, practice round. Simon says raise your right arm. Put your right arm down. OK, Simon says start over. That's why we have a practice round because immediately.
Let's try it again. Simon says put your right arm up. Simon says put your left arm up. Simon says put your right arm down. Simon says turn your head to the right. Simon says turn your head to the left. Simon says put your left arm down. Put your right arm up. I think y'all get the picture.
You can sit down. I think y'all get the picture. All of y'all lost. You all lost. You all fell off the wagon. I got a couple of generals over here.
They over here like this. Simon says you can sit down. I mean, everybody say hey.
I did that cool, didn't I? OK, game over. Take out Simon's name and put in Jesus' name. If Jesus says it in our faith, we do it. If Jesus doesn't say it, we don't do it because we have been reclassified in him.
We go because he told us to, and he has all the authority. Dr. Jonathan Evans, wrapping up his powerful series on discipleship for every day. In these six life-changing lessons, Jonathan challenged us to move beyond passive faith and to live with bold purpose, with a positive Christ-centered and empowered influence on the culture around us. If you missed any of these lessons or want to hear the complete full-length messages, including material we didn't have time to present on the broadcast, you can get the entire discipleship series on CD or digital download as a thank-you gift when you make a contribution to support this ministry.
But there's more. You'll also receive Jonathan's inspiring book, Your Time is Now, which empowers you to break free from inaction and boldly pursue God's calling for your life. Together, these resources provide practical guidance and spiritual motivation to help you live out your faith daily. Request your copy of this special resource package by visiting tonyevans.org or call us at 1-800-800-3222. Our resource center is open 24-7, so don't wait.
Reach out today. Again, that's tonyevans.org or 1-800-800-3222. One final reminder, this weekend marks the premiere of the latest episode in Stories from the Storyteller. This family-friendly animated series follows the Evans family as their everyday experiences become lessons in biblical truth.
Let your kids watch the newest episode now or catch up on any they missed from seasons one and two. Discover Stories from the Storyteller at tonyevanstv.com. That's tonyevanstv.com. Christianity can seem very complex, but Dr. Evans says it can all be boiled down to one vitally important concept. We'll learn all about that on Monday as we open up a powerful series from the archives called Returning to the Cross. Be sure to join us.
