Sent with peace for peace!
Scripture Reading: John 20: 19 - 23 (NIV)
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Message: Sent with peace for peace
Peace be with you x 2
I want you to challenge yourself with this question:
What would you say if someone came up to you with purest intentions as ask you: “Why should I become a Christian?”
Think about this for a moment: what would your answer be?
I asked Google, and Google had this answer: “Becoming a Christian is about accepting God's gift of love. Recognise we do things that separate us from God's love and seek forgiveness. Have faith that Jesus has overcome anything that can separate us from God's love. Trust the Holy Spirit to make us more like Jesus. Commit our lives to loving God and loving others.”
I would say that becoming a Christian is all about peace - real peace
Peace with God
Peace with yourself
Peace with the world you live in
Every human being yearns for peace, yet there is so many things in this world that takes away our peace
True peace is only to be found with God, through Christ
This is a profound encounter Jesus had with his disciples
Jesus greets his disciples with the words: “Peace be with you!”
Not once, twice!
Because God wants to give peace
God wants us to experience peace
God offers peace
We should accept the peace God offers
You are sent
Then Jesus continues: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
In being sent like Jesus, there is a connection to God - the God that wants to give peace
Being sent is being part of God giving peace
Being sent is what it means to be a Christian
Faith without answering the call to being sent does not mean much
We need to respond to God’s love for us and God’s grace for us
If we don’t, our faith does not have much meaning
Coming out of Easter, today I want you to hear Jesus saying to you: “I am sending you!”
And right at this moment when you hear Him saying “I am sending you!”, He sends his Spirit to convince you
Let’s do a breathing exercise - close your eyes
Imagine being present that day in that room, imagine Jesus blowing over you saying “receive the Holy Spirit”
Now breath in deeply and think about this for a moment - you are sent!
Take a moment to allow the Spirit to convince you what being sent looks like in your life
Where is He sending you to today?
Sent for peace through forgiveness
Let me help you - Jesus says: “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
You are sent to bring peace through forgiveness!
You are sent to brake the cycle of “an eye for an eye”!
You can just watch the news to see in this world how “an eye for an eye” is not working out…
Forgiveness is literally breaking the cycle of “an eye for an eye”
But here’s the thing: you cannot give peace if you have not received it!
You will never be able to forgive unless you have tasted the forgiveness of God, through Christ - also known as peace before God.
That’s why Jesus says “peace be to you!” before sending out
This God’s plan of love - to bring in peace into your life, and then to make you part of giving peace - and bless you with the great joy of bringing peace!
So let us take the sequence in here:
Jesus says to you today: “Peace be with you!” Because He knows how much we need peace in our lives
Then He says: Remember that you are sent!
Now receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
And go… bring peace into your world, because out there, there is someone who needs to receive what you have been given - the true peace that only comes from God
You are sent with peace for peace!
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