The world needs you - Part 2
30th January 2010
Last week, we looked at 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".
I hope you share with me this inescapable conclusion:
Just as it is true that God sent Jesus into the world, it is also true that God sends every Christian into the world
This week, let's look a little deeper at what Jesus meant when he said:
"As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
It seems to me that Jesus is not only saying that we are sent into the world in addition to Jesus. He's also saying God sends us in the same way that God sends Jesus. Of course, we're not the same as Jesus, but we are called to emulate Jesus. He is our Example as well as our Saviour and, in some ways, every Christian's life echoes His life. That being so, consider these verses:
Luke 3v21-22
When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened
and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are
my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Jesus was baptised. And we should be baptised.
Jesus received the Holy Spirit. And we should seek the fulness of the Holy Spirit. And if we seek, we will find (Luke 11v9-13).
Luke 4v1-2
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert,
where for forty days he was tempted by the devil...
Jesus, the perfect man, was tempted. And we will be tempted. The fulness of the Holy Spirit does not protect us from temptation, but the word and the Spirit together protect us through temptation.
Luke 4v13-15
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
After a time of temptation, the devil will leave us alone, at least for a while. The best way to send the devil on his way is to refuse to sin when tempted.
And when we've come through a period of severe temptation, we can and should move into serving others and speaking about the Kingdom of God.
And, just like Jesus, we can do this in the power of the Spirit.
Here, we need to be careful not to take the parallels between Jesus's life and our own too far. The scripture goes on to say that news about him spread through the whole countryside... and everyone praised him. I hope it's clear to us all that the news that spreads as a result of our service and testimony is not news about us, but news about Jesus. And I hope that the result is not that everyone praises us, but that everyone praises Jesus.
Luke 4v16-21
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as
was his custom. And he stood up to read.
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent
me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the
synagogue were fastened on him,
and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Like Jesus, we are sent to preach good news to the poor... to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour. And, like Jesus, we need to experience and know that The Spirit of the Lord is on us.
If Jesus needed the power of the Spirit, then we need it too.
God desires to anoint all of His people with the Holy Spirit, so that we may serve Him through His power, and bring glory to Him.