|
|
|
|
The President Writes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Peace Found Only on the Second Level John 20:19-21 "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. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." J. Wilbur Chapman observed that of the 40+ people Jesus is reported to have healed in the Gospels 34 were brought by friends or family to Jesus - only 6 came directly to Him or Him to them. Why? Because most of the time problems paralyze us rather than mobilize us and we need help getting to Jesus. Verse 18 says that Mary Magdalene came to the upper room where the disciples were hiding on Easter Sunday morning. She came in obedience to a direct command from the resurrected Christ whom she had just spoken to outside the garden tomb. Jesus gave her a special message to the disciples in verse 17, "...but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." At first glance, it seems like such a short message after such an emotional three days. But in that brief message the disciples heard three vital things: 1. Jesus was alive! And their hopes were alive with Him, as Job said, "I know my Redeemer lives". 2. God was still on the throne in spite of all they had been through. 3. And there was still a partnership between Jesus and his disciples concerning an enterprise of which they were not certain. The events that took place between Sunday morning and Sunday evening are recorded in the various Gospels. The ascension and bringing the Old Testament saints to glory. His private meeting with Peter. And his visit with the brethren on the road to Emmaus These are just a few of the events that took place that first Easter Sunday. During that long day, between Mary’s arrival with the message and Jesus appearance, the disciples pondered their next move or if they even had one. Mary’s message of the morning offered a glimmer of hope. But the Scripture said that to some of them it seemed as idle tales. Verse 19 describes how that a bleak upper room is suddenly invaded by the hope of all hopes. "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." If the history of Christianity had ended there the world would be a dreadful chaotic place. But just at that moment, "came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you." Then as if the sight of scars would assist them in experiencing this peace verse 20 says, "And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side." The sound of his voice and the sight of those awful wounds, now only the scars of the past, brought joy to the upper room. Verse 20, "Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord." When we read verse 20 and see the gladness that fills those frightened disciples hearts, its almost as if you can hear the sigh of relief. Think of what this meant - seeing the risen Jesus alive, scars in tact, just returned from offering his own blood on the eternal altar of God! The disciples no doubt thought - "Its done"! And it was- Jesus had tasted death for every man, but for salvation to be experienced it had to be believed in. So the first "Peace be unto you" was in regard to their own hope of salvation. But when He said "Peace be unto you" again, it is peace that only comes from knowing that after you are saved you are now to do the will of God in sharing the Gospel with the world. Jesus is telling the disciples that yes the price of salvation has been paid, and yes He is alive forever to mediate a sinners salvation and intercede for a believer. But it’s a long way from - "Done". Paul describes the next phase a Christian enters after they make their own souls salvation sure. It’s the concern for the salvation of the lost. Romans 10:13-15, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they sent? As it is written , How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" That is the first level of peace. Whosoever truly calls on Jesus will be saved! Then Paul asks 5 Hows: How shall they call How shall they believe How shall they hear How shall they preach How beautiful are the feet of them that bring the Gospel to the lost. If you reverse the order - That’s missionary evangelism. The Christian must first go, then preach, the lost hear and believe, and they call! But the real question in those verses is "How shall they be sent?" "Oh well, Bro. Taylor, I’d be glad to go if somebody would pay my way and send me." That’s a long way from the attitude Paul had toward his calling. "Woe is me if I preach not" "These hands have ministered to my necessity." I am not saying that Paul didn’t take offerings, he did, and the lack of them may have hindered him, but they did not stop him. He had been Sent. Looking again at our text, "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you". Then in Acts 26:17-18 Jesus told Paul on the Damascus road, "Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me". Except they be sent. Taking all this stuff about being sent into consideration - can you even imagine the fullness of what Jesus means in verse 21 of our text, "as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you"? A) To what extent are the similarities between how the Father sent Jesus to save the lost and how Jesus send us to save the lost? "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." B) When we were "born again" were we born to serve His purpose in the world like Jesus was born to serve the Father’s purpose? "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." C) Are our experiences part of our preparation for this service like Jesus experiences were? "As my Father hath send me, even so send I you." D) Must we be willing to suffer if necessary to accomplish this work Jesus has for us, like He suffered to do His Father’s will? "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." E) Must our faithfulness be so consistent with his faithfulness that when we reach the end of our life we die still attempting to reach the lost? "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." But that’s not the dominant feeling one sees even in our so called Bible believing churches today. The work of carrying the Gospel to the ends of the earth is thought to be a matter of little importance. Spoon feeding those who have become part of the church is the most important thing today. The mission of the church as it was commissioned by its founder (Jesus) was that its chief end was to proclaim the Gospel to every lost person on earth, disciple believers, and establish churches. But that’s not the vision of many in today's church. "Bro. Taylor, What makes you think that?" 1. We see it in the attitude of many churches toward missions. |
In many Pastor’s minds there is a fear that missionary work will rob the local work of much needed funds. - I felt it myself, but God said "Prove me", and I have.
2. We see it in the way most Christians give to missions.
You need to look at our current economic down turn as a reason to give rather than a reason not to.
3. We see it in most prayer meetings where the requests are seldom for the harvest.
4. We see it in the inclination of some churches not to want to supply missionaries to the world.
5. We see it in our songs and worship.
In D.L. Moody’s day - songs like, "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning", "Throw Out the Lifeline", "Jesus Saves", "Send the Light" were
sung at revivals. Now its ditties like -" Just to know I’ve been Redeemed makes me feel good."
6. We see it in this school.
Where are the men and women who are on fire to take the Gospel to the world, and obey the great commission?
What would happen if the churches mission to reach the lost was given first place again? "Well, Bro. Taylor, these are the last days, we can’t do it like that anymore. We have to defend the faith, fight against compromise, and stand for the truth!" Read Paul’s letters - he did all that and was the greatest missionary the church ever produced at the same time!
Listen saints: If we spend all our time trying to keep Demas from going to Thessalonica and having a fling with the world - We are going to let others go to hell unreached and Demas will go anyway!
Let us look at David Livingston missionary to Central Africa. Along the Zambez River, he faced many things such as poisonous insects, snakes, hostile tribes, head hunters. There was even a whole party of secular explorers massacred. He reached a crucial point in his work - His guides were near revolt, his own fears were getting the best of him. He stopped, pulled his Bible from his pack and read Matthew 28:18-20. "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, Amen." And with his faith renewed by hearing himself read the Word of God - He went on.
There is a story of a teacher that said to the students that they could bring as much information when they took the test as would fit on an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper. He brought an advanced logic student who stood on the piece of paper and told him the answers. He got an A. When Livingston faced his test, he opened to the page and the one with all the answers stood and said: "Go ye...And I am with you".
We say that the only option for a Christian towards missions is to Go or Send. But I have seen a third option - "default". This word "default" means failure to do something required by duty or a failure to perform or make good on a responsibility. So if the missionary option is to either go or send how come the biggest percentage of professing Christians do neither? Have you ever thought of how many people go to hell everyday by default? Oh, they deserved to go no doubt, but so do you. I am not talking about backslidden church people who have rejected Jesus time and time again. I’m talking about that huge number of lost people that God knows would accept Jesus if they ever heard an anointed presentation of the Gospel. People who are harvestable, but never reached! In hell...by default of the laborers. What’s worse is to think of any in hell because of your disobedience to what the perfect will of God was for your life, which is the peace found only on the second level.
"Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my father hath sent me, even so send I you".
Commencement Speaker
Rev. Clifford Hurst
Ozark Bible Institute and College Commencement 2010
Exercises at Bible Holiness Assembly of God
614 North High Street
Neosho, Missouri
April 23, 2010
6:00 p.m.
|
Send mail to obiwebpage@juno.com
with questions or comments about this web site.
|
