So Send I You
John 20:21
"As the Father hath
sent me...so send I you"
His mandate is my mandate.
[say it!]
Jesus said this to all
of His disciples. But He
also said this to EACH of His disciples.
[Collectively as a group / to Peter, John, etc.]
Are you a disciple?
Then these words are for you as well. He says it to all of us and
each of us. Picture Him
putting His hands on your shoulders, looking into your eyes, and saying
your name, repeating this charge!
Whatever the Father
sent Jesus to do, Jesus now sends us to do.
And if we are willing
to obey this command, then whatever the Father was to Jesus, Jesus will
be to us!
1. His
mandate is my mandate.
Luke 19:10
For the Son of man is come to
seek and to save that which was lost.
John 3:17
For God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved.
1 John 4:14
And we have seen and do
testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the
world.
It says He sent Jesus
to be the Savior.
He didn't send Him to
deliver the Jews from the Romans, but rather all people from sin.
He didn't send Him to be a
humanitarian, though He is the embodiment of compassion to those in
need.
He didn't send Him to be a
teacher, though He gave great teachings.
He certainly wasn't sent to
be a politician!
ill.--a certain
politician went on a roadtrip in a van.
I won't give the politician's name or their husband's name!
The politician said, I want to talk religion on this trip, so I'm
taking with me a Hindu priest and a Jewish rabbi.
The van broke down in the
country. They went to a farm
house for help, and had to stay the night.
The farmer said, I only have 2 extra beds.
One of you will have to sleep in the barn.
The Hindu priest said, I
volunteer. They all went to
bed. Later, there was a
knock at the door. The
farmer opened the door and it was the Hindu priest.
He said, I can't sleep out there, I didn't know there was a cow
out there. In my religion
that is sacred.
The Jewish rabbi took his
place. A few minutes later
there was a knock at the door.
The farmer opened the door.
It was the Jewish rabbi, who said, I didn't know there was a pig
out there. That's an unclean
animal in my religion.
The politician said, Good
grief. What difference does
it make? I'll sleep in the
barn. A few minutes later
there was a knock at the door.
The farmer opened the door.
... It was the cow
and the pig.
Certainly God didn't
send Jesus to the world as a politician.
He sent Him as the Savior!
If God thought our
biggest problem was the economy He would have sent an economist.
[Entertainment - comedian / health - doctor]
But God perceived that our
greatest need involved our sinfulness...our alienation from Him in
rebellion. So He sent us a
Savior!
Christ's mandate is
our mandate.
This means that our job,
duty, responsibility and privilege is to seek those who are lost and to
help them meet the Savior!
That's our real job/business.
It is my mandate, not
because I'm a preacher. It
actually has nothing to do with it.
It is my mandate because I'm one of His disciples.
As a 12 year old boy
Jesus said, I must be about my Father's business.
His business is my business.
And no matter your career,
your REAL job is
keeping people out of hell!
Your workplace is how you provide for your family while you do
your main business of seeking the lost!
ill.--DL Moody was
never ordained a preacher.
He was a shoe salesman who got a burden for souls!
He started a Sunday school in
Chicago, picking up boys and girls in horse-drawn
carriages like a bus ministry.
[I have heard about
churches that refused to run buses because of the oil spots the buses
would leave on the parking lot.
Can you imagine Moody's parking lot?!]
One day Moody witnessed to
a hoodlum on the street. The
man got irate, and threatened to punch Moody's lights out.
He shouted, Why don't you just mind your own business!
Moody said, This is my business, helping lost souls, and walked
away. 3 months later, in the
middle of the night, came a fierce knocking at his door.
It was that hoodlum.
He had been haunted by Moody's words, and wanted to be saved.
He soon became a leader in Moody's church, and saw many others
get saved, right up until the Civil War began.
He enlisted and was one of the first casualties in the war.
But not before He made God's business His business.
We have a lot of
people here who really get this, and as a result, the population of
heaven climbs higher!
ill.--right now I have
a list of YOUR family and friends that you have for me to witness to and
work with. What a privilege.
Thanks for your heart for souls!
His mandate is my mandate.
2. His
mission is my mission.
·
To reveal the Father.
14:8-11a
"You're looking at Him!"
Just as Christ's
mission was to reveal the Father, it is our mission to reveal Christ, so
He can also introduce them to the Father.
People are supposed to
see Christ in us, and then the Father.
Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven.
ill.--a little girl
asked her dad, How big is Jesus?
Bigger than me? He
said, Oh yes, and even bigger than daddy!
She looked puzzled.
What is it, her dad asked.
She said, My s.s. teacher said I can have Jesus in my heart, but if He's
that big, won't He stick out?
Think now of the many
people in your life, and YOU are the only Jesus they will ever see and
the only Bible they will ever hope to read!
·
To reveal the Father...
·
To redeem man.
Revelation 5:9
And they sung a new song,
saying, Thou art worthy ... for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to
God by thy blood...
Redeem = to buy back.
[picture a slave market where a good hearted master purchases a
man in order to set him free!]
I'm free!
Free from the penalty of sin-
hell.
Free from the power of sin-
habits.
Free from the presence of sin-
heaven.
People today say they
don't want to serve God...they want freedom.
And so they remain in their sinful ways, puppets of the
devil...who continues pulling their strings.
The only true freedom is
found in Christ!
John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free.
I cannot redeem a
soul, but I can point them to the One who can!
·
To reveal the Father...
·
To redeem man.
·
To raise up a church.
Jesus said, Upon this
rock I will build my church.
1 Corinthians 3:9
For we are labourers
together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
Think of a
construction site. Just as
this building was built one brick at a time, this church has been built
one soul at a time.
His mission is our mission!
We have a great
location, beautiful building, wonderful programs...and yet lost people
aren't flocking in!
I've read the Bible thru
many times, and there's not one verse which commands the lost to go to
church. But there sure are a
lot of verses which command us to go out and get them!
ill.--if we're honest,
it's hard enough to get ourselves to church, and we WANT to be here!
If you've got kids, it's a major ordeal to get to this
place...you have to start preparing on Saturday!
There's always somebody
who's not ready, or who's hair isn't cooperating...somebody who forgot
to brush their teeth, somebody who's shoes are on the opposite feet, and
as for that pretty pink dress on baby girl -- this seems like the
perfect occasion to unleash a record-breaking mudslide like this world
has never seen before!
At our house over the
years, it's a good thing we finally made it to church, because we lost
our religion trying to get there!
We've got a couple
hundred people on the books, but the FBI couldn't gather them all
together on the same Sunday!
What makes us think unsaved
people will beat the door down?
We are to go out and
bring them in...compel them to come!
Raise your hand if
someone brought you to Jesus.
His mandate / mission...
3. His
motive is my motive.
"My father sent
me...so send I you."
What motivated Jesus?
Though He was God, He was man!
He had human motives like we do.
What motivated you to be
here today? You could be
sleeping right now. Some of
you are! That's why I preach
so long...I know some of you need extra rest!
What motivated Jesus
to reveal the Father, redeem man, and raise up a church?
4 things:
-
Obedience.
Philippians 2:8
And being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross.
If you aren't going
after souls, you aren't just missing a blessing.
You are disobeying! I
know you may have a calling, like singing, teaching, working behind the
scenes...thank you for that.
But 'So send I you' isn't a calling, it's a command!
ill.--"Son, take out
the trash." "Sorry dad,
that's not my calling. My
calling is to watch TV and eat Cocoa Pebbles."
"No, you will take out the trash or you will be standing up
because you won't be able to sit on your calling!"
-
Love.
Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent
unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not!
I can see warm tears
streaming down Jesus' face as He said this.
And here's our tragedy today:
We're a dry-eyed church in a hell-bent world!
We don't love the lost like we should, or else we would do what
we could to reach them.
We're more concerned with our comfort than their conversion.
We do much more socializing than soul-winning.
We put more thought into intra-church politics than extra-church
promotion!
ill.--Imagine that a
very wealthy person offers you $1,000 for each person you witness to
this week. No limit!
You do it 100 times that's $100k!
How many of us would be motivated?
Be honest now!
Isn't a soul worth more than money?
Why won't we do for simple obedience and love what we would do
for money?
-
Necessity.
John 3:14-15
14
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
There was no plan B
contingency. There was no
alternate, back-up method.
If Jesus didn't die on the cross, there was no other way for mankind to
be saved!
The same is true with evangelism.
God's plan is for people to tell people, and there's no back-up
plan. He won't send angels
to do it. He won't write it
across the sky.
It's God's way...and
it's the only way. "What if
we don't do it?" We must do
it!
Picture Him putting
His hands on your shoulders, looking into your eyes, and saying your
name, repeating this charge, So send I you!
-
Joy.
Hebrews 12:2
2 Looking unto Jesus the
author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God.
What was the joy set
before Him? What could He
peer into the future and see, that helped Him to endure the cross?
What was that joy? It
was the joy of seeing people like you and me get saved.
"When He was on the cross, I was on His mind!"
People like you and me.
What do we see as we look at the lost world around us?
People like you and me!
If your Christian
existence has become a bit 'hum-drum', you need to get on the trail of
some lost souls! Sharing the
gospel is the joy of a lifetime!
ill.--my dad gave me a
motorcycle. It brings me a
lot of happiness. It's nicer
and newer than any vehicle we have ever had.
It's really a great time.
But that joy doesn't even show up on the radar compared to the
joy of leading some of you to the Lord!
This year I've been given Cardinals season tickets.
Do you know how valuable that is...especially to me?!
If you are bored, let me tell you all about it.
But listen: I'm a
wordsmith - and yet I can't adequately express to you how much it means
to me when I get to lead a soul to Christ!
There are no words for that!
What a joy would it be to see someone get saved today!
You are Christ's love
letter to the world. "So
send I you!"
