JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF THE SON (Series)
-through the eyes of John
Sent to Send
John Chapter 20
Joh 20:21 Again He said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you."
Before Jesus spoke these words we see that the disciples were locked in a room afraid of the Jewish leaders. They did not want what happened to Jesus to now happen to them. Without Jesus it seemed everything they had experienced and heard for the last three years meant nothing, they were without hope! Then all of the sudden in the midst of them Jesus appeared, declaring peace and releasing purpose.
See Jesus was not sent into the earth just to die and end the story. No His death was the beginning, what He began would now be carried out by those who had followed Him. Jesus had sent the disciples out before to carry out the Father’s will, but now they were no longer just followers of Christ but Apostles, His sent ones into the world.
Mar 3:14-5 Then He appointed twelve of them and called them His apostles. They were to accompany Him, and He would send them out to preach, giving them authority to cast out demons.
Mat 28:18-20 Jesus came and told His disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
We are not here to wait until Jesus returns to finish the story, no there are pages in between that have yet to be written. This story cannot skip to the end, what God has spoken must be fulfilled through us. It is our obedience that turns the page and gets us closer to that glorious end. Jesus is no longer here, but He is with us through the Holy Spirit that has been given us.
Joh 20:22 Then He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
We have received the Holy Spirit to empower us as His sent ones into the world to continue what He started. The Holy Spirit enables us to walk in His same power and authority. So that we who believe in Him will do the same works He did and even greater (Jn 14:12).
What God has for us to do (like Christ), cannot be finished without those He gives us. We are called not just to win souls, but to disciple nations. What that means is we are responsible for those God puts in our life to see them beyond childhood Christianity into adulthood, where they don’t just follow but are now sent. We should not just be satisfied with leading people to Christ but on seeing Christ formed in them and His purposed accomplished through them.
Application: Let’s evaluate the spiritual walk of those God has placed in our life and make up our minds to help them grow from one level to the next.