Receive the Spirit of Impact
Scripture Reading: John 20: 19 - 23 (NIV)
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Message: Receive the Spirit of Impact
Pentecost
Jesus said in John 14: 16 - “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. ”
This was the core promise Jesus gave his disciples
They did receive the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost - tounges of fire
They were able to go out into the world and change the world because God was faithful
Jesus gave them the great commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28)
Through the events of pentecost, they knew that Jesus kept his word - they would never be alone…
On our celebration of the Day of Pentecost today, let us remind ourselves that we are not alone, we are never alone, He is with us through the Spirit!
God meets us where we are
Before ascending into heaven himself, Jesus wanted to personally deliver this promise
Jesus came and met them where they were - in hiding, behind locked doors
Filled with fear, uncertainty, leaderless, low self-confidence - totally vulnerable
Jesus meets them right there, assuring them that they don’t see a ghost, by showing his wounds to them
Not only does Jesus come them in their place of hiding, He also knows that they struggle with believing, with making sense of all that has happened
Today, on the Day of Pentecost, we are reminded that God meets us where we are
And that God helps us with our doubts
God knows our struggles with believing…
We are sent
Jesus comes to them to remind them that they have purpose
All this time of following Jesus and listening to the teachings of their Rabbi, was not wasted
Jesus came to remind them: “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
They are included in God’s love for this world
Because God loved the world so much, God sent Jesus to the world
And now Jesus tells the disciples that they are part of God’s love for the world in the same way
Jesus comes to tell them in person that they are part of something mucy bigger than just a group of disciples following a Rabbi
They are sent to continue the work of Jesus - to bring the love of God into this world
Let us remind ourselves today that we are sent
The Day of Pentecost is a huge nudge for us to remind us that our faith is not just about ourselves
We are here to make a difference in the world
Receive
So Jesus breathes over them, inviting them to receive the Holy Spirit…
The symbolism of breathing comes from the creation story in Genesis 2, where God breaths life into his creation of mankind
Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit into them to give their mission life
The first word He says is “receive” - receive in the sense of accept
Accept that I am here with you - showing my wounds to you…
Accept that you are sent, just as the father has sent Me
Accept that your faith is not just about yourself
Accept that you are part of something much bigger than just your own salvation
On this Day of Pentecost Jesus says to me: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Impact
And then Jesus says these powerful words: “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven”
In our context today, these words might be hard to understand…
Are we called here to judge other’s sins?
This might make us uncomfortable because we don’t have a great track record of judging the sins of others…
I think we should focus on the power of forgiveness in the words of Jesus
Forgiveness impacts lives
Jesus’ death on the cross was all about forgiveness
Love God and love your neigbour is all about forgiveness
“As the Father has sent me, I have sent you” is all about forgiveness
The Message translation helps us to understand this: “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?”
In short, your love or lack of love will have an impact on the world around you
Your forgiveness or lack of forgiveness will have an impact, not only on the world around you, but also on your own life!
Know today that the Day of Pentecost is all about impact
Today Jesus meets you where you are…
Today Jesus greets you with the words:“Peace be with you!”
Today Jesus reminds you: “As the Father has sent Me, I send you!”
Today Jesus breathes over you, saying: “Receive the Holy Spirit”
Today Jesus calls you imact the world you live in with the power of forgiveness!
AMEN
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