Dear Partners & Friends :
John 20: 19-21
19 “ Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week,
when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for
fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith
unto them, Peace be unto you.
20 And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands, and his
side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you : as my Father
hath sent me, even so send I you.”
This incident in scripture occurs immediately following Christ’s resurrection. Mary Magdalene and the 11 closest disciples of Jesus are hiding out in fear of the Jews, when all of a sudden Jesus appears in the room where they are sitting. The last time they saw Jesus was when His lifeless body was taken down off the cross, and laid in a tomb.
Now Jesus is standing in front of them, breathing upon them and saying, “ receive ye the Holy Ghost.” This was their experience of receiving the new birth, the gift of eternal life. The life that was now in Jesus, resurrection life, is now conferred upon His disciples.
But I want you to pay particular attention to what He said to them in verse 21. “ As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” Jesus was sent to this world to destroy the works of the devil. To set the captives free. He was sent to preach the Gospel to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, to bring recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty them that are bruised.
Jesus was not sent by the Father to start a new religion. He wasn’t sent to develop a new denomination. He came that we might have life, and to have it more abundantly. Jesus offered himself as a perfect, spotless, unblemished sacrifice on the cross in order to pay the ransom note that was held against the human race. He willingly became sin for us so that we could receive His righteousness.
He died so we could live. And after He was raised from the dead, after He spoiled principalities and powers, after He stripped the devil of all his authority over mankind, after He took the keys of death and hell, Jesus appears before His disciples hiding in that room and says to them, “ as my Father has sent me, so send I you.”
These 12 were His closest followers. So, these words applied to them, but not only to them. You remember that Jesus speaking about what we call the Great Commission said in Matthew 24:14, “ This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” If the Gospel was to be proclaimed to all the world, it would take more than just these first followers of the master to accomplish the task.
If the Great Commission only applied to those 12, if the words, “ so send I you ” were directed only to those hiding in that room, then the mandate to carry the Good News to the ends of the earth would have ended when the last of the original apostles died. The fact is, today we are Christ’s sent ones ! Sent by God. “ As my Father has sent me, so send I you.”
We are living in an hour when in many churches a historical Jesus is being preached. The popular concept of Jesus that is being presented today goes something like this : He once lived on earth ; He preached, He healed, He performed miracles. He was crucified, He died and He arose from death on the third day. And some day He’s coming back. But, the question is, “ where is He now ? ”
Friend, we must realize that Jesus is the same yesterday, and today and forever. He is not a historical figure, He is very much alive and well ! He is the Head of the Church. Jesus is the one who started it, He’s the one who is overseeing it right now, and He is actively working in and through the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We must understand that Christianity without the supernatural aspect of the Holy Spirit’s power is no Christianity at all. If there are no supernatural signs, wonders and miracles accompanying the activities of the Church, then we reduce Christianity to a philosophy. A belief system without any supporting evidence to back it up. A form of godliness with no power ( II Timothy 3:5 ).
I Corinthians 2:4-5
4 “ And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of
man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in
the power of God.”
To reach the Muslims, it’s not enough to take your Bible and argue
doctrine with them. They will show you the Koran and say, “ we
already have the holy scriptures.” The only way to impact Muslims for Jesus Christ is for them to experience the Living Water of the Holy Spirit flowing into their lives. They don’t need a theological debate. They need a personal encounter with the Living God !
After Jesus’ triumph over death, hell and the grave, the Bible says He sat down at the right hand of God. He sat down because His work personally on earth was finished. It was His “ sitting down ” time, but as far as the Church is concerned, now it’s our “ getting up ” time !
Ezekiel chapter 47 records a vision given to the prophet of waters flowing forth from the House of God. As the waters issued forth from that place they started out ankle deep, then knee deep, and further on they came to the loins in depth. As Ezekiel watched, the waters became a river so deep it couldn’t be measured. Everything the river touched was healed. This was the River of God. Living water. Waters of regeneration, of healing. Rivers of living water.
John 7:37-39
37 “ …if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his
belly ( spirit ) shall flow rivers of living water.
39 But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him
should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because
that Jesus was not yet glorified.
The same Holy Spirit who empowered, led, and filled believers in the Book of Acts is still filling believers today with supernatural ability to proclaim the Gospel today. He wants to energizeevery Christian to take the good news of a Living Christ to the nations.
We are very near one of the greatest events in all of history. The glorious catching away of the Church. When the Lord Jesus shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. That’s when we will be raptured together with the saints of God who died in Christ, meeting the Lord together in the clouds of glory.
But if you want to know what kind of Church Jesus will be returning for, you must look at the one He left. He’s not coming back for anything less than what He left in the Book of Acts. A Church that turned the world upside down. A Church that did the same works, and even greater works than Jesus did ( John 14:12 ).
Jesus is not returning for a broken-down, worn out, defeated religious machine. He won’t be looking for a tired, fearful group of believers who are just going through the motions of dead religion.
It’s time that the Church wake up and stop living in such a weak version of Christianity that hides the power of God from people that need it the most. “ As the Father has sent me, so send I you.” When God sent Jesus into a world filled with sin, suffering, sickness and sorrow, He equipped Jesus with everything He would need to bring deliverance to hurting humanity.
And in the same way, God has not left His Church powerless in the face of the evil and the ravages of wickedness and darkness we see all around us today. Thank God He has clothed the Church with the same power that enabled Jesus to deliver the oppressed in His days on the earth. The power of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:38 , “ How God anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost and with
power: who went about doing good, and healing all that
were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
God knew these times were coming. And He has prepared us, the Church, to be the answer for these times. Make up your mind today to get involved in the rescue of suffering humanity. Get the Word of God into people. Get faith into people. Bring the Holy Spirit into people’s circumstances.
Be bold to obey the Bible. Lay hands on the sick. Believe God to heal them. Your hands are God’s hands on the earth. Your mouth is the voice God will use to bring words of faith, victory and encouragement to folks as you share the Word with them.
Take your God-given authority, use your authority and do something about the condition of this world. Stop complaining about how hard life is. Life comes out of you !
The closest thing to the heart of God is helping hurting humanity. Do you care enough to go to the lost, the sick and the hurting and let Jesus minister to them through you ? Friend, the Holy Ghost did not come into the world to sit on a committee. He came to empower believers to be bold witnesses of the risen Lord Jesus.
We must understand that Jesus wants to share His power with you and me so we can be His ambassadors today ( II Corinthians 5:20 ). An ambassador is a sent one. Sent by a government to represent the policies, the interests and the good will of that government in a foreign country.
We, the Church, have been called to represent the government, the rule, the good will of Heaven. If we will move out in faith, in purity, in consecration to the Lord and in the power of the Holy Spirit, Heaven will back us up. “ As the Father has sent me, so send I you.”
JM
ITINERARY
June 5 Word Fellowship Church, Choteau, OK, Pastor Mark Johnson
June 12 Victory Life Church, Rogersville, MO, Pastor Wilda Essary
June 19 Liberty Life Church, Sedalia, MO, Pastor Gary Smith
June 26 Okay Christian Fellowship, Okay, OK, Pastor Opal Large
June 27-30 Attending Faith Christian Fellowship Annual Family
Meeting, Tulsa, OK
July 3 Okay Christian Fellowship, Okay, OK, Pastor Opal Large
July 7-20 Masaya, Nicaragua , International Victory Bible Institute,
Family Life Christian Center
July 24 Fellowship Lighthouse Church, Bruner, MO, Pastor Reggie Micham
July 31 Faith Christian Fellowship of Delta, Delta, UT, Pastor Kathy
Mincer
August 1-3 Attending Fire For The Nations Missions Conference, World
Outreach Church, Tulsa, OK, Pastor Mark Brazee
August 7 Faith Alive Family Church, Springboro, OH, Pastor Mike
Rhodehamel
August 10 Open Door Fellowship, East Liverpool, OH, Pastor Jeff Smith
August 14 Victory Life Church, Salem, OH, Pastor Todd Wilhelm.
August 21 Faith Fellowship Church, Benton, AR, Pastor DeWayne Bowen
August 24-28 Redeeming Love Church, Gamaliel, KY, pastor John Ekhardt