The world needs you - Part 1
23rd January 2010
For the last two weeks, we've been looking at the fact that every Christian is important to the local church. But it's also true that every Christian is important to those outside the church. Consider these words:
John 20v19-22
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for
fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"
After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.
The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit".
Three days ago, Jesus had died on the cross. This morning, he'd risen from the dead. Some of his followers had seen his empty tomb. His grave clothes had been folded up and left on the slab. The disciples must have gone from heartbreak to bewilderment and wonder. That evening, they were probably meeting together to try to make sense of what they'd seen and heard. And - suddenly - Jesus appeared inside a locked room! How did he get in? His first words to them were "Peace be with you". He repeated this phrase soon after. I think they needed peace of mind!
Jesus showed them his wounds, inflicted on him at the cross. Then he said:
"As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
God the Father had sent Jesus into the world. Jesus had obeyed. He'd lived among ordinary people like you and me. He'd chosen some of these ordinary people, fishermen and tax collectors and rebels. He'd spent three and a half years teaching them, working with them, travelling with them, eating with them. And they'd changed. They'd begun to understand about the Kingdom of God. And now, he sent them back into the world, to continue his mission.
Just as the Father had sent him, so he sent them.
And just as Jesus sent the eleven, so he sends us.
If you are truly a Christian, then Jesus has shared his life, his teaching, his wisdom and his forgiveness with you. And he sends you into the world to share the same things with others.
But Jesus also said:
"Receive the Holy Spirit".
Jesus himself received the Holy Spirit, when he was baptised (Matthew 3v16). And if we are to make a difference in the world, then we need the same Holy Spirit that Jesus needed.
If we don't go back into the world to tell people the good news of the Kingdom of God, then who will? Do you think that God just sends the good, powerful, holy, intelligent, wise, attractive, wealthy, well-connected, healthy Christians back into the world? Well, there aren't many of them! No - God sends ALL Christians back into the world.
But some refuse to go. This is a tragedy.
The world needs you.