The Disciples: Fearful Followers

John 20:19-23 | Jesus turns fearful followers into Spirit-empowered witnesses.

• Peace
• Purpose
• Power

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good morning. Our scripture reading for today is John twenty, nineteen through twenty-three. My name is Greg Douglas. I serve on the connection team. And it's my privilege this morning to read God's Word in our gathering. Again, scripture this morning is John chapter twenty, verses nineteen through twenty-three. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. This is the word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_02 1:23

Amen. Thanks, Greg. Good morning, church. My name is Ryan. I serve as one of our pastors here. It's my joy to be with you this morning. I love our scripture readings, uh, and I love that we read the word of God before. And in part, not just because of their eloquent or beautiful uh voices, but in part, one of the prayers I pray every single Sunday morning is that if you remember any words that it would actually be from the Spirit and from His Word, uh, not my words. So thankful to be in the room with you this morning. We are in our second week of a sermon series calling The Encountering the Risen Christ, where we're really just walking through the moments after Jesus' resurrection where he is meeting and conversing with all different types of people, people with different doubts, people with different personalities. Uh and this is really good news for us because it actually shows us the type of God we have. We have a God who's intentional, who's pursuing, and who's not distant. And this is really good news too, because it also just reveals what the gospel is to us. Because it's for all people. We are a room as a church full of all different types of people coming from all different backgrounds and with different stories and just different understandings of spirituality. So you can't pray too often, but again, I just feel prompted. Can you just pray with me again before we jump into God's word? Heavenly Father, we're thankful for the Lord's Day, a day set apart in our country just to come under your word and to take some rest, but also to be realigned and reoriented around you. So we just confess we need that. Uh my mind, our minds, they wander, they drift. And so just ask for focus, for clarity this morning for us. Would you help us to be honest about what's really going on in our hearts and our souls, the fears, the anxieties, the things we try to hide? And Spirit, would you meet us right here? Holy Spirit, I ask you that you would help me to fear you alone, and that I would preach you clearly and boldly and honestly. I pray, as I pray every Sunday, that you'd restrain my flesh and that your Holy Spirit would speak. So we want to hear from you. In the name of Jesus, amen. The number one podcast for this last six consecutive years has been the Joe Rogan Podcast. Uh some of you are amening, okay? Not don't amen then. I'm not saying you should go listen to that, but what's interesting about the Joe Rogan podcast is not Joe Rogan himself, but the people that are actually on his podcast. He interviews so many different types of interesting people, people with uh different vocations, comedians, thinkers. And why this podcast is so interesting is because he asks really good questions to get at the heart of what people truly believe. Uh but aside from his podcast, uh, if you're over 30, you actually know where Joe Rogan got his start. Anyone remember Fear Factor? Fear Factor was this show essentially uh back in, I think, in the early 2000s, where people tried to conquer their fears, like be surrounded by snakes or jump off crazy heights or dangerous stunts. And part of what made this show so compelling uh was not the fears. No matter who you were, what made it so compelling was that you could relate. Like whether you were afraid of snakes or heights, the reality is, is like you knew what it was like to be afraid. And that hasn't changed. Like, this is right where we are in John 20. The disciples are locked in a room in John 20, afraid. And the reality is, is we actually all are designed with the capacity to fear. And it's not always a bad thing. I think in my early 20s, fear actually kept me from doing some really foolish things. But fear doesn't just protect us, fear also can control us. And the fears we carry today might not just be like spiders or snakes or heights. They're deeper. Fear about the future, fear about your kids, fear about if you will get married or if you married the right person, or maybe even just like the fear you have when it comes to sharing your faith. Here's the reality fear doesn't just affect how you feel, it affects how you live. It keeps you from stepping forward or keeps you from speaking up or keeps you from living in to the purpose you were actually called to. But here's what I want you to see this morning. This isn't just another sermon for you on fear. This is a sermon about how the risen Jesus steps in and meets you in your deepest fears, but then also empowers you through them. This is exactly where we are in John 20. The disciples locked up in fear in the beginning of what many would call their commission or their mission. Jesus has just risen from the grave. Uh it's uh probably Sunday evening, so he rose from the grave that morning. Mary Magdalene has revealed, has been uh encountered by Jesus. The disciples have been to the tomb, and yet some of the disciples are huddled in the room, kind of shuddering in fear. Fearful of my what like happened to them next. They just saw their risen Lord be crucified. They're not sure why they are there or what might happen next. And into that moment, here's what happens: Jesus shows up, not to shame them, not to correct them, but to meet them, to calm them, and to empower them. So here's where we're going this morning. Here's our big idea. The risen Jesus turns fearful followers into sent witnesses. The risen Jesus turns fearful followers into sent witnesses. And we're just gonna walk through uh the passage together and we're gonna pull out three P's, all right? This is your Baptist message, all right? Three P's. We're gonna look at peace, purpose, and power. Peace, purpose, and power, all right? Because Jesus doesn't just calm fearful people. He's gonna meet them, he's gonna send them, and he's gonna actually empower them. So look with me at verse 19 if you've got your Bibles or your app, or you can follow along on the screen. We're gonna look at point one, peace. Verse 19. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Okay, so it's Sunday. It's Sunday evening. Jesus just rose. And where are the disciples? They're in the upper room, doors locked, huddled together, grown men afraid. And the text tells us they're afraid for fear of the Jews. And uh, not just that people group, but primarily probably the religious leaders. Well, why? Well, their leader just a few days ago was persecuted and was hung on a cross. And so you can imagine they're probably like, what are they gonna do to us? And so, even just for the last few years, put yourself in that circumstance, the tension, the oppression, the pushback against the disciples has been rising. And so now they're disillusioned, they're afraid. And I don't know about you, but like I actually find this like really disarming and encouraging. Here's what I mean. I don't know about you, but when you read the Bible, sometimes it kind of feels distant. Like they actually sometimes feel the characters in the Bible seem like holier or like they've got it more figured out than I do. But what this shows me is like, hey, there's like deep solidarity here, right? They're not enemies of Jesus, they're disciples of Jesus, and yet they're afraid. Which means this you can love Jesus and still time to time actually be locked up in fear. But look at what it says next. Jesus came and he stood among them. We're not exactly told how he actually uh gets in or how he's there. Uh but you kind of wonder like, did he just like burst of the dew like like the door through the like the Kool-Aid man? If you're a 90s kid, you got that joke. If not, don't look it up, all right? Or did he just appear? You don't you don't know, but we we do know this. He shows up and then he looks at him, and the first thing he says is, peace be with you. You know, I sometimes I wonder, like, did he whisper that in the ear of someone, you know, or do you just like look him in the eye and say, peace be with you? And he actually says it twice. But notice he doesn't start with correction or assignment. He he starts with peaceful presence. Why? It's because he actually wants to relate to them. He doesn't want to just use them, he wants to love them, he wants to be with them. And don't miss this because this isn't random language. This is why I love the book of John. Back in John 14, 27, earlier, Jesus had told the disciples this. He had said, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. And then just a few verses actually earlier in this passage, he actually tells them, like, hey, I'm gonna leave, and then peace is gonna come, but don't worry, I'm coming back, and then the Holy Spirit is gonna be sent. So now he's here, and he's actually standing in the middle of them. He's standing in the room, and he's telling them, like, see, I told you, I'd come back. And that alone, like, your leader has come back. He's made due on his word. Like that alone would actually bring you encouragement, would bring you peace. Like the gang is back together, y'all. But that's not all. Because the peace that Jesus gives here is deeper than just, hey, I made, I came back. Like he doesn't just return like he promised, he returns having accomplished what we actually needed. The peace of Jesus is not just that he came back, it's actually that he made a way back for us to God. Look with me at verse 20. It says when he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Why does he do that? Yes, to prove that it's probably him, it's really him, but there's something deeper here. He's doing something here. He's he's grounding his appearance in the atonement. This peace he's giving is not like a vague sentiment. It's grounded in the cross. He's saying, like, I made peace with God for you. These wounds are the reason that I can actually say, peace be with you. This is peace between God and man. I love Romans 5:1. It actually says, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so he's essentially saying, like, the reason we can actually have peace right now in this moment is because your sin has been dealt with on the cross. Now just think back to like the whole Bible's history. Like from the Garden of Eden on, sin enters the world, right? And sin causes separation and brokenness. And only God can actually mend that. And now Jesus is literally standing in the middle of them saying, I'm standing in the gap for you. Like your sin is no longer held against you. I died in your place, I paid for it, it's finished. Where there was conflict, now there is peace. Harbor, true peace is not found in religious platitudes. It was purchased for you on the cross. See, the disciples like try and cultivate peace. You can just imagine by like maybe putting a board over the door or locking it or being together, keeping danger out. But Jesus enters anyway. Because peace is not found in better locks. Peace is found in better presence. What we truly need is not to correct our circumstances for peace, but what we truly need is a reconciled relationship with God for peace. I think there's a lot of confusion about peace in our culture today. And so here's how I would just maybe, in my own words, maybe just define peace for you. Peace is a deep internal settleness. That what is what matters most is secure. It's caring about eternal things, not temporal things. It doesn't mean you don't feel fear from time to time. It just means that you're not anchored by your fear. You're actually anchored by something deeper than you fear, than your fear. Some of you need this this morning. Like you are looking and longing for peace through a churn change in your circumstances. But Jesus is saying to you, like, peace is not in your circumstances, peace is in a person. Like if you're struggling to find peace horizontally, might it be because you're not trusting Jesus for peace vertically with God? Like Jesus is standing among you and he's inviting you. Like, be made right with him. Be made right with God through Jesus. Or for some of you, maybe he's just reminding you of the peace you actually have with God. Full disclosure, like, I feel this all the time. Like I am fearful, even just sometimes in my weeks of preparation. Uh, I'm fearful of how my kids are gonna turn out. I'm fearful of what people think. I remember very vividly, even a year and a half ago, Trevor and I were actually like uh at a large church planning conference getting ready to go up on a panel that we found out like literally the night before we were gonna be on. And then like we got given the questions like five minutes beforehand. And I remember looking at Trevor like two minutes before, we're sitting at a table and I was like, How you feeling? And I asked him, I said, What's the primary emotion you feel right now? And he looked at me and he said, sheer anxiety. I said, Good, me too. Come, Lord Jesus. And honestly, that actually became a centering prayer for me. Because I was reminded that my peace is in Jesus. Because he actually made peace for me. That reminds me of what's actually true eternally, and so that I can actually have peace horizontally. What comes next is super encouraging as well. Look at the end of verse 20. It says, the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. See, peace produces gladness. It's like a deep, settled joy. And that's the kind of people that God longs for us to be, a non-anxious presence in an anxious world. Peacemakers versus peacekeepers. People who don't avoid awkwardness or conflict, who are or controlled by the fear, but rather people who actually step into that and allow the peace of Christ to actually transform them so much internally that actually transforms spaces externally. See, Christians are actually called to be thermostats, not thermometers of the environments we live in. So we, through the peace of Christ, actually set the temperature rather than just reflecting it. So let me ask you like, where are you afraid? Where are you tempted to like control things? Where are you living as a thermometer rather than a thermostat? What temporal thing are you just obsessing about? And you actually just are invited to actually just refocus on the eternal reality that you have peace with Christ. Because here's what you need to know you don't need a different situation, you need a deeper awareness of Jesus' presence. The risen Jesus meets fearful followers with his peace. If Jesus only wanted to give you uh peace and serenity and calmness, uh he would have stopped there, but he didn't. And he knew his disciples needed something more too. And so he gives them purpose. Look with me at verse 21 as we look at purpose. Jesus said to them, again, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. So think of it like this way uh the first piece stills their fear. Uh the second piece actually just prepares them for mission. And so you could say it this way: peace prepares you for your purpose. Jesus is saying, like, I didn't just save you or I didn't just die to save you. I died to send you. You're not just recipients, you're actually ambassadors. And so the resurrection of Jesus doesn't actually just comfort the church of Christ. It actually sends or commissions the church of Christ. I get asked this all the time, like, hey, Pastor Ryan, like, what is the will or God's will for my life? Like, oftentimes we just think of God's will like a magic eight ball, like the career, the spouse, or the location, or the house. But guys, like often like scripture's really clear, like God's will for your life is that you just would obey him, that you'd know him, that you'd love him, and then actually that you'd make him known. And so you can actually do that as a mechanic or as a lawyer or as a stay-at-home mom. Like everyone at their core is asking that question, right? Like, what's my purpose? But the key in this verse is one little word. It's the word sent. The word sent appears over and over in the Gospel of John. I think it's actually like almost 60 times. This is what you need to see. This is our identity. This is your purpose. We are sent ones. We are sent ones. Now imagine being one of those disciples, like sitting in that room, right? And you're hearing this, and Jesus is saying, like, I'm sending you, and you're like, yo, me? Like, this is a ragtag group. Like, this is a bunch of messy fishermen, tax collectors, messy, unlikely people. I actually picture it, it's like that movie, The Replacements, if you remember that movie with Keanu Reeves. It's a bunch of just like ragtag, overlooked, underqualified, underpaid football players, and they're all recruited to play for this sports team. And it's obvious that none of them belong there. Those are exactly the types of people that Jesus sends. Why? Because God loves to use the weak to display his power. Church, you are not just saved, you are sent. And here's where I think we also just misunderstand this. Like, we often think that being sent means that like I need to go somewhere. No, like being sent means you actually just need to be where you are. Like God already sent you where you are. And most of the time, God is actually not trying to remove you. He's actually just trying to deepen you. He's not trying to like cause you to go somewhere else or change your location. He's usually trying to change your lens or your awareness, your work, your family, your gym, your neighborhood. The supply store on Monday morning where you always pick up your supplies for the job site, the coffee shop that you most often frequent. That is your mission field. So you don't need to add more to your schedule. You actually just need to change how you show up in your schedule. So let's slow down. In a sermon like this, about this time, you can start to what they might feel you might say pressure. That that is literally your flesh, just let's just name it. That's your flesh and the devil confusing you. Okay? Confusing what God is actually saying. Because here's what you need to hear mission does never never begins with pressure. Mission always begins with presence. It begins with just an engaged, active presence. It actually just means like seeing the people that are already in your lives, your neighbors, your friends, your family, those coworkers, and looking at them. It means asking good questions. It means giving them full attention. It means actually being curious. And then often it means taking the boldness to maybe, maybe, even asked to pray for some people. Non-Christians, Christians. Like just think about how you are in the room this morning. Not what car you drove or motorcycle or walked. Who invited you? Like all of you are in the room in part because like someone invited you or took interest in you or you heard about it through someone. This is beautiful because most of what God does in the world is actually just through ordinary means of obedience or faithfulness. It's never flashy or platform-driven. It's everyday obedience in relationships. And when you see that, it changes the game. It refocuses your perspective on your God-given purpose. That's just how it works. Jesus saved you not just to bless you, He saved you to send you. Now hear me clearly. I'm not saying your kids don't matter, your work doesn't matter, the job you choose, or the house you choose, or all that, or even the college you choose, or the spouse, obviously. Those all things, those things matter, but they don't really matter in regards to actually your true purpose, the fact that you were actually a sent witness. So I'm just asking, like, what if your new lens actually, or your new telos actually for like evaluating those things, like when that sheer and anxiety starts to well up, just became being sent? Here's what I mean. Like the next time you're looking for a new job or that job, what if you started instead of asking, like, what pays the most? What's the most convenient? What lines up with my strengths? What if you started asking, like, where's their fruit to be had? Where has God actually opened up relational doors? Where can I build meaningful relationships that actually lead to conversations about Jesus? Being sent doesn't change your location, it changes your lens. So what if you showed up to work tomorrow and you realized you're not going to work? You were sent to work. When it comes to choosing your spouse, instead of just asking, like, do they have a good job? Are they attractive? Do we have relational chemistry? Those things are important. But what if you primarily asked, like, will this person actually help me live into the mission that God is calling me? Will they actually heighten or hinder that effect? Or are we being sent together or am I dragging this person along spiritually? Or let's get even a little bit more touchy, right? Like, let's talk about like our kids and how we raise them, or even the schools we choose for them. What if we primarily asked, like, what environment would help them actually be sent? Rather than just always thinking, like, what's gonna be best for them one day in college, or what's gonna be best for our lifestyle or my work schedule? What if we asked, like, what would form them into the people of God most likely? That's that's different for every family, by the way. But what if we raised our kids not just to succeed, but to be sent? God's purpose for you is to be a disciple maker. A disciple of Jesus makes disciples. And here's the joyful thing. Guys, this is one of the most uh opportune things we get to partake in. It might feel heavy, but at the same time, guys, I can just tell you, like when you get to be a part of this, when you get to actually see somebody that you've prayed for, that you've met, that you've hung out with, that you've invested and invited, experienced the love of Jesus and their life be transformed, it's like no other joy. And it is one of the most contagious and compounding things you'll ever experience. It changes the way you show up for every single day. Your mission field is not hypothetical, it's already scheduled into your week. And so I just want to invite you as a church, like, what would it look like right now to just like, you don't have to close your eyes, but to think of one person that you're gonna see this week. Who's one person that you frequent? A neighbor, a coworker, the mechanic, whoever it is. And I pray the spirit would stick that person in your mind. And so that when you see them this week, you would show up sent. And then we continue to pray for those people and just see what the Lord does with that. Now let's be honest, this feels a little bit intimidating, doesn't it? I don't know if I can do that. Uh you can't alone. And that's why God gives us his Holy Spirit. Let's look at uh point three power. Jesus equips us with power. Verse 22. And when he'd said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Okay, let's get real for a second. This is kind of a weird verse, isn't it? Like I don't do this with my friends very often. Like I haven't looked at Trevor recently and be like, yo, bro, breathe on me so I can feel the Holy Spirit. Maybe you do, I don't. I'm not in that group, but okay. So what's going on here? The more you sit with this, the more you actually realize Jesus is doing something very intentional. The word for breath here is the same word for spirit, pneuma. So this isn't random. This isn't a strange, weird, like Jewish moment. This is deeply theological. Jesus is connecting the dots all from the pages of Scripture through Scripture to himself. So just think with me. Where else do we actually like just kind of see this kind of language? Think back to like creation narrative. God forms Adam, and then what does he do? He breathes life into him. Genesis 2, 7. And now Jesus stands before his disciples and he breathes on them. Why? Because he's not just restoring them. In a sense, he's actually like recreating them. I love how scripture just builds on scripture. Like 2 Corinthians 5.17 says that if you are in Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, you are a new creation. So we want to let Scripture interpret Scripture here. Now, some of you are probably thinking, if you've read your Bible, you're probably like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Like I thought the Holy Spirit doesn't come till Pentecost. That's 50 days from now, and that's when the Holy Spirit comes. What is Jesus doing here? It's a good question. Let's just zoom out for a moment. Again, Scripture interprets Scripture. The Holy Spirit, if you open up your Bible, you'll see the Holy Spirit. He's been active throughout all of the pages of Scripture, guiding and empowering, convicting and at work in the lives of believers. But he had not come to dwell permanently within believers. So if you're new to your Bible, Pentecost is again about 50 days from now. It's a moment in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit is sent to descend permanently into Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit permanently into believers. And then it actually, he empowers them to carry out Jesus' mission. So what is Jesus doing here? He's anticipating the moment. He's preparing them, he's symbolizing what is about to come, he's reminding them. You can't do this on your own. Because again, think about the disciples in this room. Think about them. Think about their stories. Some of them are defeated. Some of them are worn down. Some of them know who they are. They're pretty self-aware. They're like, yo, I'm inconsistent. I'm weak. I forgot to read my Bible this morning. Others? They're probably like overzealous. Like, we got this. I mean, Peter just cut off a guy's ear in the garden for Pete's sake, right? Like, they're ready to run out and prove themselves on their own. And Jesus again says to both, he says, You will do nothing. You will not accomplish your purpose without my spirit. And so he says, Receive the Holy Spirit. So you don't earn the Holy Spirit. You don't perform your way into him. You receive him by trusting the finished work of Jesus. And again, you see this play out in Peter, right? Like he's the guy that's overconfident, impulsive, cuts off ears, and then what happens? He actually denies Jesus three times. And then he goes like inward. He actually becomes passive and ashamed and broken. And then we're going to preach through this in a few weeks. Like Jesus then what? Restores him, affirms him. And then Pentecost comes. And then the Holy Spirit fills him. And then Peter gets up and preaches like a lights out sermon, and thousands are actually saved. So what changed? The Holy Spirit. Guys, this is mind-blowing. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the grave is alive and reigning and given to you in your mortal bodies. 2 Corinthians says he's deposited into you. He ain't going anywhere. Like back in John 14, this is what's beautiful. John promised them peace. Jesus shows up, gives them peace, and then says, the Holy Spirit's coming. So Jesus not only is doing exactly what he said he would do, he's going even further. John 16, 7 says this. He says, we don't believe this, but this is what he says. He says, it's actually better that I go, or it's to your advantage that I go. I will send the helper to you. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is not an it. The Holy Spirit is not a force or a feeling. He is a person. God himself coming to dwell permanently within his people. So Jesus isn't leaving them. He's coming to them in an even deeper, in more personal way through the presence of his spirit. So like Jesus beside them was good. But Jesus within them changes everything. But the Holy Spirit is more like a familiar stranger today, if we're honest, in the church. A recent survey to Western Christians posed this question: true or false? The Holy Spirit is a force, not a person. 51% of people said true, 7% said I don't know, and 42% said false. Over a half think that the Holy Spirit is a force to be reckoned with rather than a person to be dwelt with and to enjoy and to partner with. And I don't just believe this is like a misconception of words here. Like I believe many of us are living powerless because we're actually failing to see that God's power is alive and reigning in us. See, the scriptures show us throughout the pages that the Spirit is not a vague force. He is a person. And primarily, here is what his work is. He reveals truth. He convicts you of sin. He comforts you. And I love Romans where it says, He pours the love of the Father into your heart. And then he gives you boldness and power to speak and to say things that you could never do on your own. In other words, the Spirit doesn't just give you warm feelings, He changes you. He empowers you. This is personal for me. Like I can remember being a baby Christian not too long ago. Like I had just surrendered my life to Jesus in college. I was living with a bunch of different college football player roommates. And I remember being pretty intimidated to share my faith. I didn't know enough. I didn't know if I could defend the faith. I barely knew my own story, barely knew the gospel. And I remember a mentor being like, that's faith in yourself. Look at what Matthew says. Look at what Jesus told the disciples. Look at what Jesus says. He says, Don't worry about what you will say. The Spirit will speak through you. The Spirit will speak through you. That was incredible. That changed my life. That changed the way I understood life with Jesus because I realized something. I'm not the source. I'm a very unworthy vessel. And we don't manufacture the results. We're actually just joining what the Holy Spirit is already doing. And so when Jesus says, receive the Holy Spirit, he's giving them all they ever need to live sent. From fearful disciples to bold witnesses. That's what the Spirit does. See, even on the playground, like when you have backup, you're quick to jump into the fight, right? When you realize you have somebody to like converse and talk with or listen to, you always have more comp like confidence. And when you realize like it's not all on you to do the work, like it actually frees you and enables you to actually step into who God is actually calling you to be and actually to push through that fear and into freedom. So let me just ask you if you're struggling to live sin, could it be that you're trying to live since without depending on the spirit? Jesus didn't send his disciples with better instruction. He sent them with his very spirit. And if the Holy Spirit is a person, not a force, then it's less about like accessing some power, and it's more about communing with a person. So what does that actually look like? It probably just means like praying before you prepare. Or maybe even like while you're speaking or in a relationship. It's just like in dialogue, just asking the Spirit, like, what should I say next? It probably means like stepping into conversations when you feel unready. It probably means too just like knowing and trusting that he's already at work preparing the soil for you, in spite of you. Not relying on yourself, but relying on the Holy Spirit. You don't need more courage, church. You actually just need more awareness that God's presence is already in you and at work through you. And this is where it all comes together. Because the Spirit doesn't just change you, he sends you. And then Jesus shows us at the end of verse 23 exactly what this actually spirit-empowered life looks like. Look with me at verse 23. He says, if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. Like, let's just be honest. That's kind of confusing, right? Honestly, this verse has been misinterpreted a lot. And so I want to be precise here. Uh, entire doctrines have been built on this verse. This does not mean that the disciples, pastors, priests have the authority to forgive your sins. No human being has the authority to forgive your sins. Only God does. Again, we do not interpret verses in scripture in isolation. We let scripture interpret scripture. Like, just think about the gospel of Mark, chapter 2. Uh, Jesus actually, he's walking and he heals a paralytic. He heals a man physically. And then he looks him in the eye and he tells him, Your sins are forgiven. And the religious leaders, they like freak out. Uh they say, This is blasphemy. Well, why? Well, they understood something important that only God can forgive sins. Look at me in Mark 2, 7. Who can forgive sins but God alone? So, what does this verse mean? They are not the authority of forgiveness, they are ambassadors of forgiveness. Jesus entrusts us with a message of forgiveness. You don't create it, you proclaim it. Now, I want to be very clear here because this verse has caused a lot of confusion and division among church history. Protestants, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and I say this very humbly. I have a lot of respect for things in the Catholic tradition. But on this point, I do not believe that the interpretation of the Catholic Church lines up with the full teaching of Scripture. Because some would say that this verse actually means that priests or church leaders have the authority to forgive sins, aka the confession box. There's a lot to say in Hebrews about that. But like, in fact, we actually see the opposite. If that was true, I think you would see Peter, who quote unquote, the whole church is supposed to be built upon the rock, or any of the apostles telling somebody, I forgive your sins. I believe that would just be recorded. Instead, they actually do the exact opposite. Like Peter is preaching lights out again. Acts 10, 43, he says this. He says, Everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Not through them, through Jesus. And just to geek out for you for a quick second, like the the Greek tense here actually matters. It's past perfect tense, which means it actually carries the sense in which that like their sins have already been forgiven. So meaning the apostles didn't create forgiveness, they just recognized it and proclaimed it. So you and I as believers are actually called to recognize, to validate, to assure people when they are forgiven and become believers through the preaching of the Word of God, the gospel. And that's quite literally why the Protestant Church for thousands of years, why part of its service, and we did it today, after the confession, does what's called the assurance of pardon in its liturgy. We are not authorizing your forgiveness. We're reminding you of the forgiveness that is yours and assuring you of the forgiveness that is yours in Christ Jesus. We are ambassadors of assurance, offering assurance, not authors authorizing absolution. So when you share the gospel, when your friend receives the gospel and receives Christ and is born again, you're in a sense kind of like what this passage says, like you're kind of like forgiving them. But not by granting their forgiveness, but by proclaiming it in Christ, assuring them of what Jesus has accomplished for them through the cross. Jesus forgives, and we proclaim and affirm it. Jesus alone can forgive you. And he doesn't just forgive you, he fills you with his Holy Spirit so that you can go tell others where that forgiveness is found. He fills you to put sinful patterns to death, and he fills you to actually meet you in your fears, but also to like squash those fears and then to live into freedom. We're almost done, but there's just so much here. Look at verse 23 one more time. Notice the word any repeated twice here. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withheld forgiveness from any, it is withheld. That means any. Like it doesn't matter your background, your future, your past sin, your potential, your family, it doesn't matter. Any are welcome, and any will be forgiven by the blood of Jesus, by trust in Jesus. Some of you haven't been forgiven. You haven't made peace with God. You haven't received this peace that Jesus gives. And I just want you to know, like, you can today. Not by earning it, but just by admitting your need and trusting Jesus. Can I just urge you? Like, don't leave here uncertain or anxious. Jesus is offering you peace. I'll be down here after the sermon. I would love to just pray with you. Some of you, like you have peace with God. You've been forgiven. You know your purpose is to live sent. But functionally, you're you're still relying on yourself. And it creates fear again and again, turmoil in your soul. May you receive the Spirit afresh this morning, knowing that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave is alive and reigning and available to you to empower you, to set you free. Where are you locked in fear? Where are you relying on yourself? Where are you living without his power? The gospel of Jesus Christ means you can actually just start to name that fear, that fear, that frailty of feeling, that weakness. We're all people in need of grace helping people in need of grace. Probably one of my life verses is 2 Corinthians 12, 9. It says, My power is made perfect in weakness. The world says, be strong, but Jesus says over and over again, come, be weak, depend on me. Jesus entered our fear so that we could actually receive his peace. Jesus bore our sin so we could be reconciled. To God. He became weak so you could actually receive power. He rose again so that you could be enlivened and empowered when set free from your fear with the Holy Spirit. In church, just as the Father sent Jesus, He's sending you. But be encouraged. He's not left you alone. He gives you Himself through His Spirit. So receive His peace.

SPEAKER_01 44:24

Walk in, step into your purpose and enjoy His power through His Holy Spirit. Pray with me.

SPEAKER_02 44:41

Father, we come now before you, humble, very thankful. Thank you that when we gather, your Holy Spirit is at work, communing with us, applying the work of Christ to our hearts. And so in the name of Jesus, I just ask that you would apply the work of redemption to people in this room. People that are far from you, people that haven't received your peace. Maybe people have been in church their whole lives, despite their background, would they receive afresh the peace of Christ? Father, no matter the fears or what's ahead of us on Monday or Thursday or next year, death, illness, trauma, relational complexity, provision financially, you will provide. But you've ultimately provided through Jesus, his life and death and resurrection. And say, Holy Spirit, I just ask, would you pour out yourself among us? Would we be a people set free with boldness and freedom, guiltless, a new confidence when we enter the throne room of prayer, a new confidence when we enter wherever we office, wherever we raise kids, wherever we teach, whatever we do, enable us and empower us and set us free through your spirit. Come, Lord Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 45:55

Amen.