SO SEND I YOU

Sermon Notes, April 3, 2016

Rev. Garry McGlinchy

Pastor Garry’s sermon this week was titled “So Send I You.” His scripture reference was John 20:19-29, the story of Jesus’ appearance to His disciples when Thomas was not there, then again when Thomas was present.  In this passage we see that Christ brings us assurance in our doubt; the breath of God brings life; and He has a mission for us.

Jesus greets the disciples, who were together in a room with the doors locked, with “Peace be with you.”  He repeats this greeting three times in this passage; it was both comforting and reassuring, and renewed their devotion and hopes, putting to rest any doubts they had.  He showed them His scars, and then a week later, when Thomas was there, He offered to let him touch His wounds.  Thomas was allowed to put his fingers in Christ’s wounds so we don’t have to!  A physical appearance from Jesus doesn’t make Him any more real than He already is!

With these testimonies from the disciples we see that not only did Jesus bring comfort and assurance, renew their devotion and their hopes and put to rest any doubts they had.  He breathed on them the Holy Spirit!  There is life in the breath of God!  It wasn’t until God breathed life into man that he was truly alive. (Genesis 2:7)  The breath of God made man unique in all of His creation.  In this passage, Got imparted eternal spiritual life through the breath of Jesus.  That gives us the power to do God’s will here on earth!  This may have been a special filling of the Holy Spirit specifically for the disciples, like a precursor to what all the believers would experience from the Day of Pentecost and forever after.

It is through the Holy Spirit that we find comfort and assurance.  It is through the Holy Spirit that we are able to stay connected to God on a daily basis.  It is through the Holy Spirit that our devotion and hope is renewed.  It is through the Holy Spirit that all of our doubts can finally be put to rest.  It is through the Holy Spirit that we become truly alive.  It is through the Holy Spirit that we become new creations.  And it is through the Holy Spirit that we have the guidance and the power to accomplish all that God commands us to do!

Jesus was commissioning the disciples to do their Spirit-Powered, Spirit-Guided mission: to preach the Good News about Jesus so the sins of the people might be forgiven.  In other words, the disciples were to show the people the path to salvation.  Matthew painted a more detailed picture of this mission.  (Matthew 28:16-20) 

We need to understand that the power that was given to the disciples was not the power to forgive the sins of the people.  Only God can forgive sins.  This power was the privilege to tell the new believers that their sins had been forgiven because of their repentance of sin and their acceptance of Jesus Christ’s message of salvation.  This privilege is given to all believers.  We can proclaim forgiveness with confidence when we have found repentance through faith.  Jesus has showed us how to accomplish the mission that He has given us.  As the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus sends His followers.

Had there been no resurrection there would have been little to motivate the disciples to undertake the mission in His name.  As the Father sent Him to speak His words, do His works, and to lay down His life for the salvation of all mankind, Jesus sent His disciples to proclaim His message, to do even greater works than He had done, and to give their lives in His service.  With this they would have all the privileges, all the protection, and all the responsibilities that Jesus had during His ministry!

He gives us the Holy Spirit to bring comfort and reassurance in the valleys of life; to renew our devotion to Him and our hope in Him in the battles of life; to eradicate all of our doubts and fears in the darkness of life; to breathe life in the deadness of life; to make us new creatures in the mundaneness of life; to bring guidance in the wickedness of life; to give power in the weakness of life; to give strength in persecution of life; to provide all that is needed to carry out the mission of life!