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 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 or that we would be centered upon you and you alone and those distractions would not be in the 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 be receive all the glory Lord I pray that in this that we would be sanctified that we would have love that we'd 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 gel on 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 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 I 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 these 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 everyone so just to let you know what my expectation of going through today's text is 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 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 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 gonna 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 gonna be

I 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 why 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 9 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 elders 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 1st

Corinthians 15 1 through 4 we don't need to turn there but in verses 3 and 4 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 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 had 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 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 and 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 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 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 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 record 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 6 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 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 7 and 8 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 7 through 8 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 and boast in Psalm 20 verse 7 through 9 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 are 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 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 7 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 the 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 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 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 1 verse 20 through 21

Philippians chapter 1 verse 20 and 21

Philippians chapter 1 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 your all yourselves and your homes you 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 take a make it so that we can take a step and 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 one I you might get beheaded so be it Christ one I might have troubles with my family so be it

Christ one take courage and 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 believers death that is caught 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 and 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 well

Christ has already exalted as 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 the Jesus has sent us just like he himself has been sent we were to have peace we were take to courage to what

Christ has done for us and not be swayed by the world even though we might be rejected by them what is 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 of 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 as 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 why 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 no 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 won and then it falls back to the fact that we can have peace and whatever the world does to us and we still love them 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 or husbands or brothers or sisters or 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 don't 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 will 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 food 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 what is the purpose of this fruit what what happens when this fruit is born whether we see it or not well

I would then invite you to look at first 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 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 second

Corinthians 4 8 through 10 second Corinthians chapter 4 8 through 10 this week it was it was amazing this week when

I was at work at the fire department this week there we went and did this walk through at this 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 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 and it was just a conveyor belt of luxury trailers being made in the back of my mind

I was thinking how much greater would the Christian be if we recognized our 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 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 2nd

Corinthians chapter 4 verses 8 through 10 and we'll we'll end on this text chapter 4 verses 8 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 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 and what

Christ has taken 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 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