John 20:19-23

[0:00] The sermon text for today is John 20, 19 through 23. 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.

[0:10] 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.

[0:22] As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and he said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.

[0:33] If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. We come before you, Lord, again in dependence, again in need, just like we do every day of our lives.

[0:54] Whether we realize it or not, we are needy and dependent. And we come before you again like we do every week, Lord. Wanting to receive from your word, not for selfish gain, Lord, but so that we can be changed and made into your likeness for your own glory, for your own purposes in this world.

[1:13] So Spirit, would you manifest your presence among us right now through the conviction that comes from your word, through the sanctification that you bring in your power, through the life that you breathe into dead hearts.

[1:30] Would you manifest your presence among us this morning? In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, good morning, church. Peace be with you.

[1:41] As Andrew said earlier, as Jesus says here in this text, my name is Mike, one of the pastors here at Shoreline. I'm just so glad that you guys are here this morning. In case you didn't know, the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics have just begun, only three years after the 2020 Olympics.

[1:57] I don't understand that. COVID did weird things. If you caught any of the opening ceremonies on Friday night, you may have seen the performance of French singer Juliette Armanet.

[2:09] I don't speak French, but I think that's how you say her name. Singing John Lennon's song, Imagine, which has become a regular part of the Olympic Games since 1996 now. Now, in that song, that famous song, Lennon invites us to imagine a world absent of greed and hunger and violence, to imagine a world of peace.

[2:30] Now, as Juliette concluded the last line of the song, which is, I hope someday you will join us and the world will live as one, the words, we stand and call for peace, emerged on the screen.

[2:43] Now, it was truly, I thought, a powerful moment as almost all of the countries of the world unite together to take part in the Olympic Games. You know, a longing for peace has been one of humanity's greatest longings all throughout history, but it has seemed to evade us in almost every age.

[3:03] In every age, not almost. And it leaves us asking the question, is peace even possible? Sure, it doesn't seem like it. Well, in this text for today, we are offered a great hope, and that is that peace is more than possible.

[3:21] It is actually even available right now. But whereas John Lennon's, you know, unattainable, you know, wispy vision of peace involved the absence of heaven and hell and religion itself, that's his first verse of the song, we find from God's word that true peace is found in and only through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[3:42] And the title for today's sermon is Resurrection Peace, A Call and Commission. And the main point this morning is that Jesus calls his followers from fear into resurrection peace and commissions them to do likewise for the world.

[4:01] And so the first thing that we're going to see this morning is that Jesus calls his followers, he calls us, into resurrection peace. And verse 19 begins, on the evening of that day, the first day of the week.

[4:16] So I just want to pause here. John is letting the reader know that the events reported in these following verses happen on Easter evening. This means that earlier today, Jesus rose triumphantly from the grave, right?

[4:30] That means that earlier today, Peter and John witnessed the evidence of his resurrection and seeing the empty tomb, if you remember, and in seeing the linen cloths just lying there where the body would have been and seeing the face cloth neatly folded up by itself separately.

[4:47] That means that Mary Magdalene, soon after that, had the joyous privilege of being the first person to encounter the risen Lord Jesus Christ, which she then went and reported to the disciples.

[4:59] We learn in Luke's gospel that Jesus also earlier appeared to two followers on the road to Emmaus and expounded the scriptures in which, you know, what would have been the greatest Bible study of all time.

[5:12] They then go and report these things to the 11 disciples and are, in fact, probably having this conversation as the events happen here in John 20. So today has been a day of unparalleled, history-altering, cosmic-in-scale victory.

[5:31] And yet, we see that the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, and yet, the disciples don't seem to be living in the resurrection light that is dawn, do they?

[5:45] They remain crippled and overcome by fear, to use last week's analogy, in a pit of fear that they can't seem to get themselves out of. So I just want to pause and ask, what are we to make then of John's belief back in verse 8?

[6:00] If you remember, it said that he saw and believed. Now, I think that John's belief in the resurrection of Christ was real, but it was weak.

[6:11] That's what I believe. This is the kind of faith we've actually seen all throughout the Gospel of John, haven't we? We've seen the disciples manifest faith that is weak. Genuine faith to be sure, but yet faith in the bud.

[6:24] It needs more light in order to blossom. Now, we don't know from the context whether or not Peter and John reported their visit to the empty tomb to the rest of the disciples.

[6:35] I mean, perhaps John's faith was too weak for him to even have the courage to share what he had witnessed. Maybe he was still unsure. We don't know. We do know, from Luke's Gospel again, how the rest of the disciples received the report from Mary Magdalene and the other women.

[6:52] Luke reports this, these words seemed to them an idle tale and they did not believe them. Luke 24, 11. So here the disciples are either possessing faith in Jesus' resurrection that remains weak at best or disbelieving Jesus' resurrection entirely.

[7:10] And I just want to point out as an aside that once again, nobody was expecting Jesus to rise from the dead. Like, nobody was thinking that this was going to happen.

[7:21] That the radical transformation in the hearts and lives of the disciples that follows, as we see all throughout the book of Acts, is proof, is evidence that Jesus was indeed raised to life.

[7:33] But before their encounter with the risen Christ, they are cowering in fear. And can we blame them? Absent of a truly resurrected Christ, the disciples have every reason to fear.

[7:48] their Lord and Savior is said to be alive, but they haven't seen Him, right? Just three days ago, He was murdered by the Jews and the Romans.

[7:59] And who's to say they're not going to come in at any moment and drag the disciples away as well? Jesus' ministry was supposed to be the start of victory. It was supposed to be the inauguration of the Messiah's reign, ushering in this eternal kingdom that would free Israel from bondage and subdue foreign nations.

[8:18] That's what was prophesied. But after all these miraculous signs, the mighty works and words of Christ, His life was just snuffed out. What's going to happen to them?

[8:31] Who's going to lead them? If the Jewish leaders crucify Jesus, are they next? Now the disciples are filled with fear. Jesus' words in the upper room, let not your hearts be troubled.

[8:47] Believe in God, believe also in me. Are feeling a bit hollow at the moment. In last week's text, we found Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb side two weeks ago now, actually.

[9:00] But Mary's lament, no, it was last week. Getting confused. In last week's text, we found Mary weeping at the tomb, right? But Mary's lament wasn't just her own.

[9:12] Mary's lament, it symbolized something deeper, something more profound. Mary's lament symbolized the historic lament of the people of Israel. It symbolized the universal lament of a cursed creation devoid of lasting hope.

[9:27] And so too, right here, the disciples' fear behind locked doors, it represents far more than just the fear of ten men. It's twelve minus Judas and we find out next that Thomas isn't there.

[9:38] Ten men. This represents the fear of all humanity. The fear that accompanies helplessness. The fear of an uncertain future.

[9:50] The fear of injustice and oppression. Of evil and corruption affecting our peaceful lives. It represents the fear of sickness. The fear of life being a waste.

[10:01] Absent of purpose and meaning. It represents the fear of death. Friends, what fears did you walk through these doors with this morning?

[10:12] What fears did you wake up to? Or what fears kept you up at night last night? Fears that are plaguing your mind and your soul, causing you sorrow and distress?

[10:25] stress. We all struggle with fears of various kinds. And don't think that you alone struggle with fear this morning. This is a universal struggle.

[10:37] This is a human struggle. This is the inevitable struggle of living in a fallen world. Fear, it's like the moss that flourishes! It's like the moss that's in a dark, moist environment of sin and death.

[10:49] It's inevitable. But then, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you.

[11:03] The doors are locked, but the one who just flattened the prison gates of death and hell has no trouble getting past the locked wooden door, does he? Just as he had no trouble shedding the grave clothes when he rose from the dead.

[11:17] And just as Jesus had appeared to Mary in gentle love and spoken exactly what she needed, so now Jesus appears to his fearful, troubled disciples in gentle love and he speaks exactly what they need.

[11:30] Peace be with you. Now notice that Jesus doesn't come in and like hover in the air over them or like tell them to be seated and he's going to stand in authority over them, both of which he has the right and authority and power to do, but he stands among them.

[11:47] Among them, though he is the resurrected king of kings and the lord of lords, yet he is one of them, for he has made them one with him.

[11:58] Right? He had just said that his father is their father, my father and your father, my God and your God. And therefore, because they are united to him, he can say not just as a form of greeting, which this was and this is still a common greeting in the Middle East today, shalom.

[12:19] He can say this as a deep and abiding spiritual reality, shalom, peace be with you. We're going to come back to that. But it's likely that right there in that moment, the disciples aren't yet experiencing this peace that Jesus is offering.

[12:34] In fact, again, going to Luke's gospel, he records that in this moment they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. So, verse 20, when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

[12:49] So, Jesus offers them peace and then he offers them proof, like showing them the scars where the nails and the spear had pierced his flesh. He shows them the evidence that he is indeed the one they followed for the last three years.

[13:05] He is indeed the one that they had just watched be flogged and crucified and buried in the tomb. He is the same person. It is the same one.

[13:15] And this isn't just evidence of his identity. It is also evidence of his love. The scars on Jesus' hands inside are proof that God is truly the thing that he had revealed to Moses all the way back in Exodus 34.

[13:30] God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. That is what the cross of Christ proves. That is what the scars in Jesus' hands inside prove his love.

[13:46] Edward Shilido wrote this poem following World War II. The other, this is a part of it, it's called Jesus of the Scars. The other gods were strong but thou wast weak.

[13:57] They rode but thou didst stumble to a throne. But to our wounds only God's wounds can speak and not a God has wounds but thou alone. What a God that we have.

[14:09] A God unlike any other. who would go to the cross and suffer our punishment in our place for the sake of love. So having now seen the evidence that their loving Lord and Savior has indeed risen from the grave and he is now in their midst, John reports, then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

[14:33] Then the disciples were glad. They had seen Christ with their physical eyes when he showed up, right? But now he's enlightened the eyes of their hearts as well to know, to believe that he has truly risen from the grave and to believe all the more firmly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God which is why John is even writing these things for us.

[14:56] And faith having been awakened in their hearts leads them into an actual experience of peace that Christ came to offer them. An actual experience of gladness as well.

[15:06] Now this phrase the disciples were glad I feel like it's a little bit of a weak translation. Other translations say they were filled with joy. The disciples were overjoyed so the disciples rejoiced all of which seem to better capture the moment.

[15:22] You know as Mary Magdalene experienced herself this again is fulfillment of what Jesus had spoken in the upper room to the disciples. He said John 16, 22 so also you have sorrow now but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you.

[15:42] And it's happening right now. Right now. The peace and the joy now available to followers of Jesus it's not only fulfillment of what he said in the upper room but it's fulfillment of the prophetic promises all throughout the Old Testament.

[15:56] You know peace and joy they were to be the future signs of a new covenant with God's people a new era of blessing and prosperity signs of the coming salvation.

[16:08] Isaiah prophesies in chapter 55 for you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands instead of the thorn that's from the curse in Genesis 3 instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle it's flourishing it's growth it's life and it shall make a name for the Lord an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

[16:38] This was signs of the coming salvation now here in Christ. Right? This is the everlasting age of joy and peace that Jesus has inaugurated by his death and resurrection because he's disarmed the powers of darkness he's demolished sin and death and therefore every reason to fear.

[17:00] he's ushered us into an age of shalom. That word shalom captures so much it's a Hebrew word means wholeness completeness wellness peace that was translated in our Bibles generally is peace.

[17:20] But I see a lot of blank stares and you know you might be wondering Mike doesn't feel like we're in an age of shalom. Considering the violence and chaos around us I mean even on the opening week of the Olympics there's arson going on right?

[17:37] And we've had our own share of violence and chaos I mean every day maybe this morning trying to get your kids ready for church. So I ask then what is the nature of this peace?

[17:52] What kind of peace did Jesus come to bring? Did Jesus come to give us easy comfortable lives safe and secure from the chaos of this broken world?

[18:05] Did he? What Jesus came to give us friends is everlasting peace with God who cannot tolerate sin.

[18:16] Jesus has remedied the brokenness of our sinful state and he has reconciled us to God he has brought us peace with God so that he is now our God and Father for those who believe in Jesus name that's why Paul says therefore since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Romans 5.1 Now this results saints this results in an inner abiding shalom in the soul knowing that I am forever united to God in Christ this is a kind of peace that is strong enough to weather all the storms that we face in this life all the battles of fear that we face in this life this peace is strong enough to weather those things so Isaiah says again you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you Isaiah 26.3 God keeps us he is able to keep us we believe in him in perfect peace and Christ has come to die in our place and rise from the dead to bring us into that peace you know this inner shalom it's also one that works itself out in the life of the church fostering unity in spite of our disagreements in spite of our differences

[19:43] Paul again says in Romans 14.19 so then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding let us pursue it because Paul knows it's actually going to be hard Christ came to give us peace to unite us together in Christ in Ephesians 2 he talks about killing the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles he's made us both one in Christ that's a hostility we don't know much about but we face our own kinds of hostility our own kinds of relational disagreements and strife and Paul says let us pursue what makes for peace because that's what Christ came to give us it manifests itself in the life of the body of Christ peace and there is friends there is a kind of shalom to come in far greater degree beyond our imagination right when Christ returns brings us to glory and renews all things he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away this is the resurrection peace into which

[20:59] Christ has called us a peace that even in the midst of this broken and chaotic life surpasses all understanding right Philippians 4 6 it will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus it's a peace that unites us to God in Christ despite our sin because Christ paid for it it's a peace that unites us to one another in spite of our differences and disagreements it's a peace that when Christ returns will envelop and permeate all things because the presence of God will permeate all things I can't wait for that day I don't know about you and in the second half of this passage we see that Christ's intention for the church is that we not keep this resurrection peace to ourselves and so Jesus commissions us he commissions us with resurrection peace and in verse 21 Jesus said to them again peace be with you now why does he repeat himself a second time peace be with you first because

[22:09] I think he's simply emphasizing what he discussed above that this is not merely a cordial greeting that's common in that day or in that land but it's a declaration that the prophetic promises of a messiah that the age of Siloam is actually here he doesn't want his disciples to miss it because he knows how liable they are to miss it this is why in the upper room he had said peace I leave with you my peace I give to you not as the world gives do I give to you it's John 14 27 see this is this is not some wispy peace that's here for a moment and then gone like the world gives this is rigid and solid peace this is everlasting peace secured by the blood of Christ and then made available through the spirit this is new covenant peace so the repetition helps him to see the significance secondly I think he repeats himself because he's tying this promise of peace to the very next statement as the father has sent me even so

[23:13] I am sending you the father sent Jesus to bring salvation to sinners the father sent Jesus to bring his followers into the living abiding relationship with the triune God sharing his life and his love the father sent Jesus to call his disciples into resurrection peace so having called them into that peace Jesus is now commissioning them to go with the resurrection peace that he's given them to the world he's commissioning them here to carry on his mission his ministry to the world in his way because he's about to ascend back to glory back to the father's right side when Jesus had foreshadowed this moment when he prayed to the father in his high priestly prayer as you sent me into the world so I have sent them into the world what an incredible privilege and responsibility that

[24:15] Christ would dare entrust his own mission to this lowly group of disciples like doesn't this seem to you like a recipe for disaster they were just cowering in fear behind locked doors they had all abandoned him in his greatest moment of need and he's sending them out to go continue on his mission but this overlooks two foundation shaking truths that are going on here first Jesus rose from the dead Jesus rose from the dead amen his certain resurrection from the grave would forever fill these disciples with faith and with confidence they saw they saw with their own eyes the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ after watching him die on the cross now Jesus rose from the grave and they are filled with faith as a result and secondly the next verse and when he had said this he breathed on them and said to them receive the

[25:18] Holy Spirit secondly Jesus was not leaving his disciples alone he was sending them in the mighty power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish his mission he's commissioning them empowered with his spirit but we need to stop and ask ourselves because this is kind of weird this verse here is that really what's going on here when Jesus breathes on the disciples and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit is Jesus in this moment filling his disciples with the Holy Spirit and with power and if so then what do we make of Pentecost how are these two events related and these are excellent questions and there are a lot of perspectives about how to answer these questions that I'm not going to get into up here but let me share what I think and I want to start by asking you a question can you recall another time when God breathed into man anybody creation

[26:21] Genesis 2 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living creature we don't even have to go that far back in John chapter 3 when Nicodemus had come to Jesus under cover of night he left quite confused by Jesus words Jesus had said truly truly I say to you unless one is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit so one of the things that John I'm sorry that Jesus is doing here in John 20 he symbolizing the present reality of their new creation birth he has brought this new creation birth about through his death and resurrection and the power of the spirit you see Jesus we talked about this a few weeks ago Jesus in the garden he had become the firstborn of this new creation right that's we saw in

[27:23] Colossians 1 the firstborn of this new creation and now he is symbolizing the disciples place in this new community and I say symbolizing because this is actually important too because this is not their conversion this is not a conversion experience here right Jesus told these men in the upper room that you are clean that was in chapter 13 after washing their feet and two chapters later he said already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you the disciples they already belong to Christ before his death and resurrection but now Jesus is symbolizing their salvation their new creation status and he's helping them and us to understand the new birth that would take place that has taken place in all subsequent disciples in history in which the Holy Spirit by his washing of regeneration and renewal Titus 3 5 has raised our dead hearts to life in Christ and you and I are part of that new creation if you have believed in

[28:26] Jesus Christ and the Spirit has awakened your life to Christ Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 17 therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation the old has passed away behold the new has come then Mike what about all those promises in the upper room of the helper right the spirit of truth who would come and be with his disciples forever and guide them into truth and empower them for mission and I believe that right here in John 20 Jesus is also symbolizing the future reality of new covenant power through the Holy Spirit that would come at Pentecost and be unleashed in a whole new way you know at Pentecost the Holy Spirit descends from heaven with the sound of a mighty rushing wind and with what appears to be tongues of fire which is symbolizing the presence of God as we see all throughout the Old Testament and they come to rest on the disciples and Luke records in Acts 2 verse 4 they were all filled with the

[29:32] Holy Spirit and they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance and if you remember this scene there's Jews gathered in Jerusalem from all over the world they'd come to celebrate the Jewish feast of weeks and they hear this commotion and they gather to see what's going on and each of them hears in their own native tongue the disciples speaking and preaching tons of different languages that the disciples are saying now and Peter stands up the one who had denied Christ and he preaches with boldness the first truly Christian sermon apart from Jesus of course and the hearers were cut to the heart and so Luke closes that scene in verse 41 of Acts chapter 2 those who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about 3,000 souls in the rest of the book of Acts the rest of church history it attests to the mighty working of the

[30:33] Holy Spirit's power through the church of Christ to convict the world to draw sinners to repentance that they might receive for themselves forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit it says in Acts 2 this is what Jesus is symbolizing here in John 20 the future reality that's only 50 days from then when the new covenant is fully inaugurated in the powerful working of the Holy Spirit and church that's a present reality for us that is a present reality for us the Holy Spirit has been unleashed in power this is why Christ entrusting of his own mission to his disciples is not a recipe for disaster he's guaranteed the success of his own mission through the disciples by pouring his spirit out upon them so before we move to the last verse I just want to press this into our lives a little bit by asking this lingering question that arises from the text and that's this is there a second baptism of the spirit that we must undergo if the disciples receive the

[31:46] Holy Spirit here in John 20 and then they're filled again in Acts 2 and again I'd say there's all sorts of perspectives on this but let me share what I believe I believe that at the moment of conversion when one comes to faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins the Holy Spirit takes up residence in one's heart this is the new creation birth and in that moment we are sealed Ephesians 1 14 we're sealed with the promised Holy Spirit he's the guarantee of our future inheritance in Christ there at the moment of conversion you are filled you are given the Holy Spirit indwelt with the Spirit and I believe that a follower of Christ ought to then seek fresh fillings of the Holy Spirit over and over and over and over and over again for power to kill sin power to grow in holiness power for missions and evangelism this is the new covenant power that we have access to in Christ we need the Spirit's power in order to carry out the mission for which

[32:51] Christ has left us advancing this gospel of peace throughout the world to the ends of the earth and church may we not rest content where we are while there is gospel work to be done in our home and in our neighborhoods and in our workplaces and while there is power available to accomplish that work through the Holy Spirit of God like we ought to be praying daily Holy Spirit fill me afresh today that I might die to self and live to Christ Father help my brother in Christ and your spirit's power to sacrificially love his wife and his kids Holy Spirit empower my sisters in Christ to testify to the gospel in their workplaces with boldness and with words that you provide Jesus baptize this church body anew with your spirit that our witness might prove effective to compel the loss to faith in your mighty name like these are the kinds of things that we should be praying we need the spirit's power but I'm afraid so many of us myself included we go about our days absent of that power as if it's not there no no we have access to God's mighty power in the spirit let us seek it pray for fresh fillings of the spirit for the sake of mission for the sake of evangelism for the sake of

[34:13] God's glory in this world so Jesus he commissions us with resurrection peace and empowers us with his spirit and then finally enabled with his authority verse 23 Jesus says to his disciples if you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them if you withhold forgiveness from any it is withheld just letting that sit for a minute you know this is another sticky verse is Jesus giving his disciples the authority to forgive sins like can I say Tyler your sins are forgiven no that's what it seems like on the surface doesn't it you know what Jesus is talking about here and I can get into verb tenses and what not but what

[35:16] Jesus is talking about here is not the church's authority to actually forgive sins only God has that authority so everyone can like take a breath sigh only God has the authority to forgive sins friends we know that but the church is given authority to declare one's sins forgiven or not forgiven this is a declarative authority it's a proclamatory authority now there is a parallel passage to what Jesus says to his disciples here in John 20 in Matthew 16 also in Matthew 18 Jesus says after saying that the gates of hell will not prevail I shouldn't skip past that I will build my church Jesus says and the gates of hell will not prevail against it and Jesus says to his disciples I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven these verses are very similar

[36:18] Jesus is entrusting he's enabling his church to possess an authority a declarative authority and this is what this looks like in practice I'll just give you three ways this authority is exercised first of all through our witness to the world I like how D.A.

[36:32] Carson puts it he says that though this sounds stern and harsh it is simply the result of the preaching of the gospel which either brings men to repent as they hear of the ready and costly forgiveness of God or leaves them unresponsive to the offer of forgiveness which is the gospel and so they are left in their sins as we preach the world is confronted with the decision right they have to decide do they repent of their sins do they not do they accept Christ do they not and our preaching of the gospel is declaring this your sins are forgiven your sins are forgiven if you have repented they're not they're not if you don't repent so this happens through our witness this authority is exercised through baptism and membership right the church exercises this declarative authority in both of these corporate acts we're not forgiving somebody's sins but we are declaring that based on the evidence of their life their sins are forgiven by God in Christ right we believe that their profession of faith is confirmed by the fruit of their redeemed lives and so we are happy then to affirm their union with the body of Christ that happens in baptism and membership that's an authority and I gotta make a point here this is authority that the corporate church has it's not me it's not

[37:52] Mike Lusa exercising this authority this is the authority of the local church this is why we ought to join ourselves together it's an authority God is entrusted to the church and similarly through church discipline we're making a public declaration that we can no longer affirm corporately one's faith in Christ due to unrepentance right unrepentance a characteristic unrepentance is contrary to our calling in the gospel so in that action we're not withholding forgiveness we're declaring that forgiveness is being withheld if your life is not truly submitted to Christ so these are different ways the church exercises this declarative authority now why does this matter though why does this matter I think for the sake of mission for the sake of God's name how does that work well look if we properly exercise this authority as a corporate body we are helping one another conform to the image of

[38:59] Christ we are helping one another be preserved in God's name so Jesus prayed in the high priestly prayer we're helping one another be sanctified in the truth it's the other thing that Christ had prayed in the high priestly prayer we talked about back then in John 17 how we ought to look more and more like Christ we've been called out of the world right in the world but not of the world it compels the world to see Jesus right the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ living through the church and they are confronted with that decision and by God's grace many of them are compelled to faith in his name for the forgiveness of sins that's why this matters and this is all church about our mission calling the world into resurrection peace!

[39:52] into the shalom that Christ has called us so through the witness of our words through the witness of our works like Christ we must show the world that our greatest fears have been shattered right that death is defeated it's conquered it has no power over us sin has no power over us we're at peace with God we're at peace with one another we got to show the world this so they can be drawn into it themselves what a great calling this is the calling that we have as the church to carry on Christ's own mission empowered with his spirit enabled with his authority now in closing I want to ask you raise your hand this morning if you've ever left your house driven to work or the store gotten out of the car only to realize that you don't have any shoes or sandals on your feet has that ever happened to anybody this morning it has that ruins the rest of my sermon shocking well I didn't see any adults raise their hands we all have things to learn you know it's kind of crazy if you leave the house and you step into the workplace and you like oh like

[41:15] I've forgotten a belt before like forgotten to put on deodorant I think I did that this morning I've never forgotten my shoes before like that would be kind of crazy right now it so nobody leaves home without their shoes right and may we never go anywhere without being properly fitted with the gospel of peace like this is our calling it ought to be affecting everything about us and so we gotta spend time with the Lord in the morning being realigned letting the gospel of peace fill us and flood our hearts and transform our minds and then going on mission with that gospel of peace that resurrection peace every time we leave these doors every time you leave your house in the morning you are on mission if you don't ever leave your house in the morning because you're a stay at home mom or dad you're on mission with the gospel of peace don't go anywhere without it you know

[42:39] Adam and Eve they were brought into a garden of peace right perfect shalom and then they were commissioned to spread that peace to the world around them we see today that we have the very same creation calling and commissioning renewed in Jesus so may we abide in this resurrection peace that Christ has won for us eternally and may we work until our dying day or until Christ returns to spread that resurrection peace in the spirit's power to the ends of the earth please pray with me father this is a lofty calling it's a lofty commissioning it is a joyous privileged calling and commissioning god may we first be filled with gratitude and with hearts of worship that you have ushered us into the age of shalom of wholeness of rest and peace through your own sacrifice on the cross how unworthy are we and yet you did it for love you set your loving kindness upon us you're a god of steadfast love and faithfulness and you have proven it to us through

[43:59] Christ through the gospel thank you lord for calling us into resurrection peace and lord when you let would you let this morning your peace flood our hearts would it wash over us like a mighty river lord this world is filled with reasons for fear it's a broken place it's still under the curse we're we're in this already not yet state but your peace is stronger than the darkness your peace surpasses all understanding it guards us you keep us lord in your perfect peace and we trust in you god i pray that you would do that and then lord i pray lord that we would be filled with your spirit and with power and with boldness for the sake of mission god that the world would see this peace in us flowing out of us and long for it and be drawn to faith in jesus name for the forgiveness of their sins that they too might receive the gift of the spirit the gift of salvation god do these things and so much more through your spirit power we pray!