John 20:19-21 -"The Christian in the World" topical

Let us go ahead and begin today by offering a word of prayer and we're going to be in John chapter 20 verses

19 through 21 and many of us that have been here every Sunday these last couple of weeks

would be in the back of their mind.

We just went through this last Sunday and yes we did.

We did go through this last Sunday but we're going to be looking at some applications that we can be making from this text that I hope

blesses us.

I really do.

I hope that it's something that we can take home, that we can be encouraged by, and that we can apply to our workplace,

to our family, to our loved ones, and so on and so forth.

But let us go ahead and begin with a word of prayer.

Lord God, we just thank you so much again for this wonderful Lord's Day to be able to come together and to celebrate

your resurrection, Lord.

God, I pray that right now if there be any distractions in our mind, Lord, that we would be centered upon you and you alone and

those distractions would not be in the front of our minds, Lord.

God, let us keep our attention on you and what you have revealed in your word alone for our guidance, Lord, and let you receive all the

glory.

Lord, I pray that in this that we would be sanctified, that we would have love, that we would find

courage, and that we'd be built upon your foundation even more firmly today.

And Lord, I just pray once again that these things would be all for your glory and your glory alone.

We say these things in your name, Jesus Christ, amen.

Please follow me and turn to Jalon chapter 20 verses 19 through 21.

Today is going to be a little bit different than what our normal format is.

As I said, that this is more going to be a topical message.

And what I mean by that is that we're going to be focusing on some not necessarily expositional text here, like

as we have been doing these last year, going through verse by verse.

We're going to be looking at a topic here in this text.

And that's why it is topical today.

And the message that we're going to be focusing on, the idea of this topical message is going to be the Christian

in the world.

What does the Christian in the world look like?

And I have five applications that I see from this text, and there's no doubt many, many more applications that we

could make from this, but there's five that I've noticed from here.

And after each one of these applications that we're going to make known, we're going to say a

prayer for us as the church, us as Christians to be encouraged in these applications.

And so we'll have five prayers or five applications followed by five prayers after

every one.

So just to let you know what my expectation of going through today's text is, but let us begin by reading

John chapter 20 verses 19 through 21.

And I want to give a little bit of context here.

This is after Jesus has risen from the grave.

He's died upon a cross, risen from that grave.

The tomb is now empty, and this is himself revealing himself to a large group of disciples

and the 11 apostles.

So please follow me in this text.

It says in verse 19, when therefore it was evening on that day,

the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the

Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, peace

be with you.

And when he had said this, he showed them both his hands and his side.

The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus therefore said to them again, peace be with you.

As the father has sent me, I also send you.

And if we read in the account of this that takes place in Luke chapter 24, we would see that when Jesus shows

them their wounds or his wounds, that they literally are able to go up and touch the

resurrected body of Christ.

And so the second time when Christ says this thing, peace be with you,

I talked about this last week.

I need you to have in the back of your mind that as Christ says these words, you must think that the apostles, the

disciples are touching the literal wounds of Christ and that they were just fearful of death because they saw their

Lord and Savior die.

And they're now grabbing on to that victorious lamb.

The wounds that they're so scared of suffering themselves, they are holding on to those wounds.

And Christ says again to them, peace be with you.

Just as the father has sent me, so I send you.

This, as we just read from Matthew chapter 28, for our call to worship, as those

are the texts that we look to for evangelism, John chapter 20 verses 19 through 21 is an

evangelist text.

And in our minds, we often think of evangelism as somebody standing on a street corner and proclaiming the gospel, which is

absolutely no doubt evangelism.

But evangelism does not stop when that preacher or that street witness or walks away from that corner.

Evangelism is something that a Christian ought to be doing in every step that he takes.

And so that is how we're going to be focusing on this is that we as Christians have been sent into a world

just like our master that has bought us has been sent into the world.

And so we're going to be looking at these five applications.

I want to begin by first looking at this very first thing that Christ says to the

disciples here in this room after they have expressed that they've been fearful and they've had the door shut and locked and they

don't want anyone to come in.

Christ comes in this miraculous way and he says these very first words to them.

He says, peace be with you.

This is the first application I would say that a Christian is to have in the

world.

Peace.

What does that mean?

This is not peace that comes about by breathing slow.

This is not peace that comes about by doing a yoga pose.

This is not peace that comes about by being with friends even.

Whatever peace that the world tries to sell you this is not the peace that is being spoken of in here when he says peace be with

you.

Because you have to remember Christ is standing before them slain with the wounds of crucifixion upon

him to the world that does not look peaceful.

They're seeing death.

They're seeing life in after death.

They're seeing the wounds that death has caused Jesus Christ.

And he says peace be with you.

I want to turn we're going to be church do not shut your bibles today.

We're going to be looking left and right and everywhere throughout this text as we examine these five applications.

But focusing on peace I would encourage you to turn with me to Romans chapter 5 verse 1.

Romans chapter 5 verse 1.

Romans chapter 5 verse 1.

Therefore having been justified by faith we have

peace with God through our Lord

Jesus Christ.

What a beautiful text.

I want you to think that we were at war with God before there was peace with God.

It took Christ himself to break down the barrier that was between us and God.

The peace that we have is that Christ paid the penalty of your sin on the cross.

And the wrath that was due to you and owed to you for breaking his law has been paid by God

himself in Jesus Christ.

That is true peace.

That we can go before our God that we were once enemies against and now we've been made subjects to his

feet.

He has conquered us and there's peace now in our lives.

Now let's read in verses 8 and 10 here in Romans chapter 5 as well.

It says, but God demonstrated his own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners

Christ died for us.

Anybody that tells you that you have to make yourself clean in order to come to Christ does not know the word of

God.

There is no making yourself clean.

It is Christ that cleanses us.

It's Christ that purifies us.

It's Christ that covers us.

It is his peace that he gives to us.

Verse nine, much more than having now been justified by his blood.

Don't you remember in the hymn how we just sung that we shall be saved from the wrath of

God through him.

For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God

through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall live

by his life.

The peace that God has given to us, and we read it in an elder's verse today, and I'm so thankful Greg picked those

verses out.

The peace that Christ is for us is now that we should be living

in.

The flesh, the life that we should be living should be one of confidence in the peace that God has given to

us.

So what is the application of this, this peace?

Well, I think of all the martyrs and I think of Paul himself that while

even in prison, he says, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

And we're going to read a final verse here at the end of the message today that Marilyn gave to me.

And I want to make mention of it right here, that though trials and tribulations will still and absolutely

be a factor in each one of our lives, we have peace.

We don't need anything other than God.

That is our peace.

And guess what, church?

It's not something that you hold on to, but it's God that holds on to you.

What more glorious encouragement can we have that Christ is our peace?

There's nothing that we can do to turn away that peace that we have.

What is this peace that we, how do we receive this peace?

I want to make this very, very clear, and this is the foundation of each one of these applications that we're going to be making.

First Corinthians 15, one through four.

We don't need to turn there, but in verses three and four, and I would encourage you to write this down and go home and study it later as this is the most

first importance foundational thing that you can know, is that the gospel message is the death,

burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ according to scriptures.

If there's only one thing that you remember from today's message, I would encourage you to remember the death, burial, and resurrection

of Jesus Christ and place your faith and stand upon that alone.

Forget my face, forget me, remember that.

Remember that, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That is how we have peace.

So let us pray over this application of peace in each one of our lives.

Lord God, I pray for each one of us here, Lord, including myself, God,

that when we be weak in our faith and we have seasons of doubt and seasons of trial

and everything that comes in into this world, Lord, that God, you might

reassure us of the peace that has been bought through Jesus Christ.

The penalty that has been paid, Lord.

God, I pray that when we go into this world and we face different men and women

and we see horrendous things before us, Lord, that we just remember we have peace with

you and let that peace reign in our lives, God, as you reign as king.

And we say these things in your name, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

We won't turn back here if you're still in Romans.

I would encourage you now to turn with me to Philippians chapter 2.

I'm going to just quote from John chapter 20 verses 21 that we just read a

little while ago for our selected text.

After Christ has said, peace be with you, and he's speaking to the disciples as the disciples are holding on to

the nail prints.

As he says, peace be with you, and they've touched the side that has pierced him.

As he says, peace be with you, and they see the crown that was the

imprint of all the wounds that he received.

They see these things.

And he says, peace be with you.

And he says, just as I have been sent, so I send you.

This is the second application that I would see from this text is that how was Christ sent?

John 1 .1 says that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.

Verse 14, the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.

The previous verses in 10 through 13, it says that he came unto his own and his own did not receive him.

Be reminded of these things as we look here in Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 on.

It says in here, have this attitude in

yourself, which was also in Christ Jesus, who although

he existed in the form of God.

Is Jesus God in flesh?

Yes.

Is Jesus God?

Yes.

Even though he existed in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God, a thing to be

grasped.

What does that mean?

What does that mean?

God became incarnate.

He was on his throne in Isaiah chapter six, receiving worship from angels.

And he came unto his own and his own did not receive him.

And we see that in the garden of Gethsemane, he says, I am, and they all fall down before him.

Christ, this, this regarding equality with God, a thing not to be grasped

is speaking about the attribute or the, uh, the attitude that you and I are to

have in our lives.

It's about humility.

Humility is the second application that I can take from a text like John chapter 20 verse 21.

And I want to read now what the humility that Christ had in his life, verse seven and eight,

but emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant.

So here is God that becomes flesh.

He takes the form of flesh being this form of a bondservant

and being made in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself.

So it wasn't even enough for him to humble himself to become like us.

He continues to humble himself.

He humbled himself by becoming obedient

to the point of death.

And it doesn't stop there.

Even death on a cross.

The second application that we can make from how Christ was sent in this world is humility.

Church, because you have Christ does not make you better than the person that does not have Christ.

You are not to go into this world and say, I am better than you.

You are not to go into this world and elevate yourself above other men and other women.

But instead we should be taking the example of Christ that here he is the master at a table

and he leaves the table to wash the disciples feet.

He is the suffering servant.

We are to have humility in our lives.

And with that humility, we should not have pride in anything that we do with our hands.

I want to read one other verse here in Psalms chapter 20.

You can turn here if you would like with me.

You don't need to, but John or Psalm 20 verses seven through eight

in this humility and forsaking of the world that we have around us.

What are we to take pride in?

What are we to hold on to?

What are we to boast in?

Because there is something that we are to hold to and have pride in and boast in.

Psalm 20 verse seven through nine says this, some boast in

chariots and some in horses.

How many people do you hear throughout the week?

I have a Chevy or a Ford or whatever it is that they have.

They look to their belongings as what they're in pride in, what they hold to, what they

love, what they're glad with.

They boast in these things.

A Christian should not be boasting in the things of the world.

What does it say that we should boast in here?

It says, but we will boast in the name of the Lord,

our God.

They have bowed down and fallen.

We have risen and stood upright.

Save, O Lord, may the King answer us in the day we call.

Verse seven again, some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we boast in

the name of the Lord, our God.

We are to serve God and worship Him in a fruitful manner, but we need to be doing this in

humility.

If we should have that same attitude that if somebody walked in this church, we should serve

them by washing their feet.

That is the same attitude that we should have that Christ Jesus himself, God had.

God who received worship from cherubim and sephirim day and night.

Holy, holy, holy, did not see himself above washing the disciples' feet.

He did not see himself above dying upon a cross to purchase us in

our salvation.

Let us pray over this second attribute that we ought to have in our lives, this second

application, humility.

Lord God, I pray, Lord, that just as you have been sent into this world, you send us, God, and you,

when you came, became flesh, Lord, you demonstrated the most perfect, the

most glorious form of humility, Lord.

And God, I pray that each one of us, when we go into this world, we would mimic that which you have done for us,

God, that we would see others as being equally sinful.

And we might even say to ourselves, Lord, I am even far worse than they.

Lord, let us lift you up by doing this and look to you on your throne and praise you in these things, Lord,

that we'd be humble and prostrate before your throne.

I say this in your name, amen.

I hope you're still in the book of Philippians.

I'm going to turn now to Philippians chapter one, verse 20 through 21.

Philippians chapter one, verse 20

and 21.

Philippians chapter one, verse 20 says this, according to my earnest expectations and hope

that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness,

Christ shall even now be, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life

or by death.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Immediately, I'm reminded to what the disciples and apostles did when Christ stood before them and said, peace be

with you in that text of John chapter 20, 19 through 21.

It says that they rejoiced in the Lord.

They held on to those nail pierced hands and they saw, like I said, this lamb standing in triumph,

victorious, glorious, praiseworthy.

He's standing there and they're seeing these things.

Church, if you just saw your most loved, precious

person die before you and here you feel defeated and hiding

amongst yourselves and your homes, you're scattered like sheep away from your master.

And here you then see him having risen from the grave, accomplishing

that which he already told you he would accomplish.

Do you have any fear in anything that you do now?

No, you have no fear in anything.

I would say that this third application that we can make from a text

like this is courage.

There is no doubt that the powers of darkness, both Jews and

Romans, when they saw a body of Christ hanging there on the cross, they thought they were victorious.

They thought they had won.

But no, Christ crushed the head of the serpent there.

He won and therefore we

have won in him.

This should cause us to be courageous.

This should make it so that we can take a step and not worry if we fall.

This means that we should be able to go out into this world and just proclaim Christ crucified so clearly and abundantly in

everything that we do and not worry about the recompense of man.

You might lose your job, so be it, Christ won.

You might get beheaded, so be it, Christ won.

I might have troubles with my family, so be it, Christ won.

Take courage in what Christ has done for us.

With all boldness, preach Christ in your life whether you live or you die

because death is nothing but gain and only the believer can say death is gain.

An unbeliever, death is not gain for them.

Death is not a gain for the unbeliever.

It is only a believer's death that is called a gain to them.

Let us pray over this third application, church.

Lord God, I pray God that we would take courage, not in anything that we do, God.

Let me be clear, Lord, that I just pray we would only take courage in what you have done for us, God.

That you have purchased our peace, Lord, that you have become this humbled, meek,

triumphal servant, Lord, and that you have done these things.

Let us take courage in what you have done for us on behalf of us, Lord.

God, let this take place in the workplace.

Let this take place in our homes.

Let this take place in our very lives ourselves, Lord.

And I say these things in your name, amen.

What is the fourth application that I can see from a text here in John chapter 20?

Christ has already encouraged the apostles and his disciples

to already behave in certain ways in the world that rejects them and hates them.

I want to turn now to John chapter 13, verses 34 through

35.

John chapter 13, 34 through 35.

So the Father has sent us, or Jesus has sent us, just like he himself has been

sent.

We are to have peace.

We are to take to courage what Christ has done for us and not be swayed by the world, even though we might be rejected

by them.

What is it to look like for the Christian?

How is the world to recognize the Christian?

How is the world to recognize the Christian in the workplace, in the life that they live?

John 13, 34 through 35 says this,

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as

I loved you, that you also love one

another.

By this, all men will know that you are my disciples,

if you have love for one another.

He says to love others just as I have loved you, just as Christ has loved them.

Love the world this way.

Church, did the love of Christ stop when he was rejected

at the very beginning of his ministry?

No.

It says that he showed great love to us, even though while we were yet sinners, he did these things for

us.

We are sent into a fallen world that hates God, that's at war with God, that is enemies to God.

And since you were an ambassador of God, they're going to hate you because they first hated him.

Does that mean that we should have a hatred towards the world?

Show no kindness to the world?

Not share with them about Jesus Christ and what he's done for you and your salvation with the world?

Just as when somebody is married and they wear a wedding ring to show the world that they're

married to their wife or husband.

Just as in the days of Christ that the lady that was proposed to would wear a veil over her face to show the world,

I am engaged to my future husband.

Just as those things back in Christ's day, the veil that should be covering our face, the ring that should

be ever before the world is love.

If you don't love your man, you don't know God.

If you don't love your neighbor, you don't know God.

Because this is an this is an application, this is an attribute that will reign true in your life,

that you will love your neighbor.

You will love the world and that's how they are to recognize you.

This is going to be the way that the world looks at you and says, you are a Christian.

And guess what their response is going to be?

Most likely, it'll be disdain and hate.

Because did they stop hating Christ, stop rejecting him when he showed them love?

No, they crucified him.

And this then falls back that then we have all courage because Christ is already one.

And then it falls back to the fact that we can have peace in whatever the world does to us.

And we still love him for it because Christ has won.

Let us pray over this.

Lord God, we thank you so much for the love that you have shown to us.

God, let us mimic this in our lives in every way that we go.

Lord, let us mimic this to our neighbors, our wives, our husbands,

our brothers, our sisters, our mothers and our fathers.

Lord, let us love them like you have loved us.

And we say this in your name.

Amen.

The fifth and final application that I have from a text like this would be

fruit.

Fruit is what I see from this.

Just as Christ was sent, so he sends us.

I see something in here.

Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 10.

Ephesians chapter 2, 8 through 10.

Ephesians chapter 2, 8 through 10 says this,

for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it

is a gift of God.

Not as a result of works that no one should boast.

And the reason I read this first is I do not want any of us to take any confidence in any work or any fruit

that we might do.

Do not take any confidence in those things because it is the grace of God alone that saves us.

It is Christ alone, nothing that we do, not of works lest one should boast.

Verse 10 then says this.

Many people do not read verse 10 when they talk about Ephesians 2.

It says, for we are his workmanship.

And immediately I go to thinking of the potter on the wheel shaping the vessel.

We are his workmanship.

He has fitted us.

He has made us.

He is sovereign over us.

We are in the potter's hand created in Christ Jesus for

good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in

them.

When Christ sends us, it is according to the predestined, predetermined plan that God has set up

for us and he is fitting us for that work.

This is undeniable in the scripture.

The work that we bear is only good because Christ has predestined us

to do them and it is only good because we are in Christ.

And this therefore means that we will go about and do works with our hands.

We will seek to give God glory in everything that we do.

And church, there may not be any fruit that you see, but if you are in

Christ and you are doing work for God, you will bear fruit.

You will.

It's undeniable.

John 15, it says, I am the vine.

And he tells them that you will bear fruit if you are in me.

You will.

It will happen.

And it's because you are a part of the vine.

You are a branch of the vine.

If you are in Christ, fruit will happen.

So when I see a Christian, there is no such thing as a lazy Christian.

There is no such thing as a complacent Christian.

There is no such thing as a Christian that is unwilling to work.

These things contradict themselves.

Because Christ says that if you have been in me and you have my grace here in Ephesians 2,

you have been predestined unto good works.

You will do these things.

It will happen in your life.

Now, the question then arises, who is the fruit for?

What is the purpose of this fruit?

What happens when this fruit is born, whether we see it or not?

Well, I would then invite you to look at 1 Corinthians 10 31, which I'll just quote for us right

here.

But it's a lovely text.

It says, whether you eat or you drink or whatever you do, do it to the

glory of God.

The fruit we bear is not a fruit for us.

It's a fruit unto God and his glory.

It's to bring about him and his praise and his worship.

If you in the back of your mind have thought, maybe I'll go to work and tell people about Christ so that people might know me or

whatever the example is, that's not the fruit.

That is not a good work.

A good work is only that which is to glorify God alone and not to glorify

man.

I want to finally read here in 2

Corinthians 4, 8 -10.

2 Corinthians 4, 8 -10.

This week, it was amazing this week.

When I was at work at the fire department this week, we went and did this walkthrough at

this factory.

I won't say the name of it, but they manufacture luxury trailers for

camper trailers.

And we walked through this assembly line and it blew my mind.

They were pumping out about 40 trailers a day.

And the reason that they had it like this was because they'd understood that each individual employee had a

certain gift in their life.

And they placed them there accordingly and that's where they stayed.

And so they worked and worked and worked.

So there would be somebody that would be doing the framing, it would then go on, somebody would do the windows, then it would go on, somebody would do the wiring, and then it would go on.

And it was just a conveyor belt of luxury trailers being made.

And in the back of my mind, I was thinking, how much greater would the Christian be if we

recognized our gifts that we have in Christ and we applied it in the same

way.

Man, I can bake cookies really good.

I bet your neighbor would love cookies and a gospel message.

I can almost guarantee you that they would like cookies.

Who doesn't like cookies?

And they need Jesus just as much as we need Jesus.

Whatever the gifts that you have in Christ, demonstrate them, use them

for whose glory, for whose fruit, for Christ and His

glory.

Have that kind of mindset in the workplace, in your home, in your family.

Know how you are to serve God and do it.

If this needs to be a reminder for you today that I have felt lazy this week and not sharing my Christ,

I felt lazy in my workplace, don't do those things.

Don't do those things.

Second Corinthians chapter four, verses eight through 10.

And we'll end on this text.

Chapter four, verses eight through 10 says this, we are afflicted in every way,

but not crushed, perplexed, but

not despairing, persecuted, but not forsaken,

struck down, but not destroyed.

Always caring about in the body, the dying of Jesus, that the life of

Jesus also may be manifest in our

body.

Church, we have looked at these five different applications, peace, humility,

courage, love, and a hard work that is for God's glory in a fruitful manner.

Like I said, there's no doubt there are more applications that we could look at from a text like this, but I think these five are

sufficient for today.

When we go out these doors into a fallen world and we show them the love, and we fall back on the peace of

Christ, and we do this in a humility way, in a humbling way, and we take courage in what Christ has

done for us, and we show them unceasing love, even when

they reject us, even when they hang us, even when they seek to kill us, it doesn't matter what

happens, you show them love.

And it's all for the glory of God.

It is all for his glory.

Let us pray finally, and then afterwards we will partake in communion.

Lord God, we thank you so much for such a wonderful evangelist text such as

John chapter 20, Lord.

God, I pray that even from today, from the reading, and the hearing, and the preaching, and the singing, and everything,

Lord, that we do here for your glory, that there would be fruit that would stem for these things, Lord.

God, I pray that these things would be a reminder to us.

But Lord, let us fall back upon your gospel, your death, burial, and resurrection, and all that we do, Lord.

Let us leave these doors and bear fruit for your glory, Lord, and let us be ready for what we're

about to partake in, as we remember what you have done for us upon the cross of Calvary.

We say this in your name, Jesus Christ, amen.