Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20060924.htm

JOHN: TRUSTING JESUS AS MESSIAH AND GOD
Part XLV: Biblical Christianity's Validity Seen In Christ's Resurrection
D. Relying On Christ's Resurrection Oversight In Discipling Others
(John 20:21-31)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ has commissioned every believer to be a witness in life and lip to the unsaved, Mtt. 28:19-20.

It also reveals that God has called parents to disciple their children (Ephesians 6:1-4) and Church leaders (1 Peter 5:1-4) and pastors to preach and teach the Word of God with all authority to the congregations over which the Lord has made them overseers (2 Timothy 4:1-2; Titus 2:15; Acts 20:28).

However, many who have been assigned by God to disciple others have asked, "Some of those to whom I have witnessed the Gospel have not listened, or even believers God has assigned me to disciple have resisted my communicating God's truth with them! How, then, does God want me to respond to such responses?!"

Many Christian parents in particular have asked, "My maturing son or daughter thinks my Christian faith is false, that there is no difference between it or any other religion, and they disrespect me and my stands of Christian conduct -- how does God expect me to respond to this?!"



Accordingly, we need an answer to the challenge of distrust or unbelief or resistance to the ministry of Church leaders, parents or every believer when it comes to discipling others assigned to us by God as to HOW to deal with resistance or unresponsiveness in the disciples!



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "I believe Christ died, was buried and rose from the dead to have eternal life (1 Cor. 15:1-11), but those to whom I share this Gospel, or even other believers with whom I am assigned of God to share other truths do not respond well! How can Christianity be shown to be valid in this, and what am I to do now?!"
  1. When Jesus Christ arose from the dead and appeared to the disciples, He commissioned them to disciple others, and equipped them with God's spiritual power and promise that God's AUTHORITY was BEHIND their ministry efforts, John 20:21-23:
    1. The day He rose from the dead (John 20:1-19), Jesus appeared to the disciples who secretly gathered behind closed doors, John 20:19.
    2. He used this meeting to show them He had risen, to commission them to disciple others as the Father had commissioned Him, to equip them with the Holy Spirit's power and to back up their discipling words with God's authority from heaven, John 20:21-23.
  2. Yet, when these disciples began to minister God's truth, the effort was soundly, repeatedly rejected by Thomas, one of the disciples who had been absent in Christ's first appearance, J ohn 20:24-25:
    1. The disciple, Thomas was absent from the initial meeting of Jesus with the other ten disciples (as Judas was then deceased), John 20:24.
    2. So, when the other men told Thomas they had seen Jesus, he refused to trust them without viewing Christ's crucifixion wounds, Jn. 20:25.
    3. Thomas' unbelief was relentless and strong: the word "said" (KJV) or "told" (NIV) describing the testimony of the men to Thomas translates the Greek verb, elegon of the imperfect tense; this tense denotes continuous past action, meaning that the repeat and thus strong efforts by the other men were unable to counter Thomas' unbelief, U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966 ed., p. 409; Bib. Kno. Com., N. T., p. 343.
  3. Thus, Christ fulfilled His John 20:23 promise, appearing bodily to affirm the words of the other disciples to Thomas, John 20:26-27:
    1. Thomas' unbelief challenged the promise by the Lord Himself that God backed up the words of His disciples regarding the truth, 20:23!
    2. Thomas did not respond well in a week of continual testimony by the others, so Christ Himself appeared to uphold His John 20:23 promise:
      1. Though Jesus could easily have appeared to Thomas directly as He had to Peter (Luke 24:33-34), He chose NOT to appear for a whole week until Thomas had met with the other ten men, John 20:26.
      2. Obviously, Jesus was giving time for Thomas to BELIEVE the WORDS of the OTHER DISCIPLES regarding His resurrection!
      3. So, at this second meeting, Jesus charged Thomas to examine His wounds in accord with Thomas' words spoken the previous week, showing Jesus had heard Thomas' rejection of their word, and had come to urge Thomas to accept their testimony, John 20:25, 27!
  4. While HIMSELF DIRECTLY dealing with Thomas, Jesus sent a message to ALL folk who would be exposed to the ministry of His messengers in Church History to HEED their WORDS, 20:28-29:
    1. Jesus implied it was sad for Thomas to need Jesus to appear bodily before him to get him to believe the other disciples' word, Jn. 20:29a.
    2. However, He promised a special blessing to all who believed their word though not having seen the Lord's risen body, John 20:29b.
    3. This sends out a challenge down through the ages of Church History for all men to believe the words of the apostles, and the messengers whom God would send to repeat those apostles' words unto them!
  5. Hence, John testified that EVEN his READERS should believe his Gospel for eternal life OR ANSWER TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE RISEN CHRIST FOR NOT DOING SO, cf. John 21:30-31!
Application: In view of the REALITY of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (1) may we BELIEVE in Him as Savior to escape hell and be given eternal life OR end up in HELL in ANSWER to HIM when we MEET Him at the last judgment, John 3:16; Revelation 20:11-15. (2) As a believer who is discipled by a messenger who has been duly appointed by Christ to be such a messenger, may we HEED their words of truth from God's Word, for JESUS HIMSELF holds us accountable to do JUST THAT! (3) As such a messenger, may we not be discouraged at what resistance the disciple(s) may exhibit toward our discipling effort: the RISEN LORD is HIMSELF DIRECTLY involved in our disciples' lives to do HIS will IN them, for our disciples belong to HIM and NOT to US, cf. Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:1-4!

Lesson: As Jesus TRULY arose from the dead, He IS the Messiah and God to be believed for eternal life, and He thus ALSO stands VIGILANT to SUPPORT the witness of His messengers sent to others so as to hold THEM ACCOUNTABLE to heed His messengers' words unto them!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

Last Sunday after our worship service, a Church member shared with me how she and her husband had recently, unknowingly faced Scientology. Gary L. Wall's article on "A catalogue of cults: where they stand on the deity of Christ" in the July-August 1979 issue of Moody Monthly revealed that this group's leader, L. Ron Hubbard, "claims to have found the spiritual technology to dispense the one 'true way' to man. It is a process of working through levels of self-knowledge and knowledge of past lives to awaken the primordial deity within until a person is able to regain total godhood. Christ [says Hubbard] is a man who achieved a 'state of clear' but not the higher state of 'Operating Thetan' ("Certainty" magazine, Vol. 5, No. 10), brackets ours). Scientology is thus a cult in that it claims man can attain full deity and that Jesus Christ is less than the Creator God!

Anyway, this couple had come into contact with this cult by attending a school in another state to increase their knowledge of their business. In time, they learned this school was one of the many business fronts for L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology cult!

I was away on my summer vacation and was thus unavailable to help the couple when they first began to discern things were amiss with the group. However, they found a web site that exposes this cult's errors and deceptive practices, and so discerned the truth about it!

As this member shared this story with me, I realized anew how involved is our RISEN Lord in HIMSELF DISCIPLING the people I am assigned to disciple! I again saw that MY job is to be faithful to GOD in my pastoral ministry and HE will deal directly with the flock if it requires any effort BEYOND my Biblical tasks or abilities!

So, (1) may we parents, Sunday School teachers or Church leaders who are called of God to disciple others under our care so RELY on GOD'S SOVEREIGN OVERSIGHT of the disciples that we AIM to PLEASE GOD and NOT heed the REACTION of the disciples to us! GOD oversees the discipling process, so HE is the One Who is ABLE and WILL correct the disciples if necessary!

Then, (2) may we who are BEING DISCIPLED recall that GOD stands behind the efforts of His messengers sent unto us, and that HE holds us accountable to HEED the TRUTH they give us! We will answer to HIM in the END, so we best respond WELL!