The 6 Marks of the Church - Mission

John 20:19–22 (LSB) So while it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, [the day of His resurrection] and while 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.” 20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Go

So, both before and after His Crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples and us, that we have a mission.

That mission is not to hide in a locked room.

Rather, as the Father had sent Him, Jesus is sending us.

In the same way,

with the same results

with the same supernatural power — not human power — Holy Spirit power.

Instead of hiding within the 4 walls of a building, we are to go forth as:

Mark 16:14–19 (LSB) [says:] Afterward [Jesus] appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. 17 “And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 and they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then, the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

Did you catch the mission of the church revealed in Mark 16?

Go everywhere — even dangerous places, hostile places, hot places, desert places, jungle places, cold places

Preach. Not the things of the world, but preach the Gospel, the good news that Jesus is Lord, that He has defeated death, hell and the grave — that through Him and Him alone is salvation and eternal life.

The radical message the 1st century took was: Caesar is NOT God.

Oh, what GOOD news!

The state, the government, is NOT God.

Jesus is!

Pray, preach, witness, testify for a result — that result being belief that Jesus is who He says He is, Savior, Lord and soon-coming King

And when people believe in Jesus, then Baptize them in water as a sign of their salvation

If you have not been baptized in water since you asked Jesus to be Savior and Lord of your life, then August 20th is for you.

If you need to be re-baptized because you have recommitted your life to Him — August 20th

Walk in manifestations of signs and wonders.

Are you a believer?

Then the norm for you is to walk in supernatural manifestations of God’s Presence.

Signs and wonders are NOT just for the super-spiritual — they are for ALL believers.

Included among those signs will be:

Demons cast out

Speaking in tongues (languages you have not learned)

Going out…

Being sent, being willing to “Go out” is inherently dangerous.

But I believe our world is a harder place to win people to Jesus because we have NOT been going out.

Retention image

But still, Jesus is sending us forth — even if people are hostile.

Even if it is dangerous.

Jesus told the 70 in Luke 10 : “Stay in that house [where there is a person of peace], eating and drinking what they give you...”

What they give you to eat or drink may be poison to you — but God will protect you.

In that day and today in many countries, going out may mean encountering poisonous serpents and savage beasts that want to kill you — but as you walk in the will of God, He will keep you in supernatural safety.

That doesn’t mean you won’t have trials — it means God will bring you through them AS A WITNESS of His power — so that people will get saved.

And finally, but not least, believers can lay hands on the sick and they will supernaturally recover.

Jesus is at the Father’s right hand praying for us to go forth even as He had been sent forth by His Father.

He is also praying for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on us as individuals and as a local body of believers — a church.

So that we have the power we need for being sent.

Empowered By the Holy Spirit

Jesus said in:

John 16:7 (LSB) “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

Jesus promised to send the Holy who we so desperately need.

NOT just that which we receive when we are saved.

According to 1 Corinthians 12:3 It is only by the Holy Spirit we can TRULY say Jesus is Lord.

And according to Romans 8:15-16 it is the Holy Spirit who confirms in our heart of hearts that we are sons and daughters of God.

Even after the passage in John 20 where it says Jesus breathed on them to receive the Holy Spirit, Jesus told His disciples to wait for something more.

That something more is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

That Baptism births a river of living water inside of a barren, otherwise dry-as-dust container — inside of us.

As Jesus said in John 7:38–39 (LSB) “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were going to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

The Holy Spirit is NOT given to us so that we will cower in some out-of-the-way room with the doors locked and barred and speak in tongues.

No!

Jesus said in: Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to THE END OF THE EARTH.””

The Holy Spirit takes us beyond that locked room out into a chaotic, hurting, devil-infested world.

That’s why we had a special service last Sunday night.

NOT so we can receive tongues.

But so we can receive POWER to BE witnesses for Jesus.

Tongues is just the initial indicator that we have received that power.

It’s just the down-payment on ALL the wonderful things God will do through us.

And what a down-payment!

It would be easy to think: “This is IT!”

But it isn’t!

God has so much more!

But you have to receive the down-payment before you can access the rest of what God has in store.

So, if you haven’t yet received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of tongues …

Don’t give up!

Press in!

Ask the Lord to make you so hungry and thirsty for the Spirit that you can fully surrender to His Presence in your life.

Be satisfied with nothing less.

Because we need the “dunamis,” the dynamite, the God-exploding power of the Holy Spirit.

That’s what Jesus is promising in Acts 1:8

Not a marketing strategy.

Not a sure-fire ad-campaign.

Not psychological slogans.

Rather: Devil-defeating, earth shaking power, that turns the world upside down.

Because, make no mistake — we are commissioned to invade what the devil claims is his domain.

In ourselves, it is mission impossible.

But through Christ it is not just mission possible — but mission accomplished!

The thought of being sent forth WITHOUT the power of the Holy Spirit is TERRIFYING!

Confronting the spiritual weapons of this world in my strength?

In my own intellectual ability?

With only my pathetic human signs?

That is insanity!

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (TPT) For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide. 5 We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.

Ephesians 6:12 (LSB) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ready or not, Jesus is sending His followers into the world.

Salvation compels us to go forth.

The love of Jesus exploding in our lives sends us forth.

I want to be ready.

NOT just with the Holy Spirit I receive at salvation.

NOT just with a one-time experience of being Baptized in the Holy Spirit.

NO!

AS Ephesians 5:18 (LSB) And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled [Greek: continuously filled] with the Spirit,

I want to be filled and filled and filled again … over and over — until I am filled to a greater extent than the challenge I face — I don’t want just enough — I want to be what Romans 8:37 says - more than a conqueror, going forth to overwhelming victory.

May we walk in the power, in the anointing of the Holy Spirit ...

Don’t let that word “anointing” be just another religious word to you.

But instead let the word “anointing” paint a picture in your mind of a waterfall of the Spirit.

A waterfall of the oil of the Holy Spirit running down on us ...

Over our head, aligning our thoughts with God’s thoughts ...

Over our lips and tongues, aligning our words with God’s intended words ...

Over our hands, so that we can do what we sang a few minutes ago, God touching through us ....

Over our feet, so that where we go is in alignment with where God wants us to go.

So, can you see it?

Not a dab here or a dab there, but a river of Holy Ghost oil running over and through our lives.

A RIVER of Holy Ghost life running through our lives.

Oh, may we have that anointing, that Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Shalom

Because as we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, He gives us a “shalom” that surpasses all understanding.

Because Jesus has defeated death, and as Hebrews 2:15 reminds us, He has delivered US from the FEAR of death, and we walk in shalom as we go forth.

Remember what John 20:21 says: So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

Not just sent.

Not just sent in the power of the Holy Spirit.

But sent with shalom covering our lives.

Bible scholars tell us is that the Hebrew word “shalom” speaks of something more than peace:

David Gillett, writing in a theological journal gives an extensive analysis of the word. He says

"Shalom” is a multi-coloured word.... [that speaks of] ‘to be whole, uninjured, undivided’, … At its most basic it describes general well-being, a wholly satisfactory condition.

As Jesus sends us forth, as we are marked by a deep sense of mission, we do so:

Not with anxiety.

Not under stress or duress.

Not with a grim determination.

But with “shalom”:

Peace, wholeness, a sense of well-being

Are We Marked?

As the worship team comes...

So, this morning, are we marked with a sense of mission?

Is this church marked with a sense of mission.

Are we responding to God’s call on our life — and make no mistake, we are ALL called — are we responding:

With the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

With joy

With love

In unity

In holiness

Because we have had an encounter with the Truth — Jesus is THE truth?

If not, can we surrender to Jesus this morning?

Maybe you’ve never done that.

Or maybe you are not where you should be and need to recommit to Jesus.

As the worship team leads us in a song of prayer, maybe you need to come forward.

Maybe you need to publicly declare for the first time you are repenting of your sins and asking Jesus to be the Lord of your life.

Or, maybe, you want to publicly declare a re-commitment to serving Jesus.

I hope we can all say to Jesus:

I’ll say, yes, Lord, yes!

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