Now what?

He Reassured them

Most of us are familiar with he story of Thomas; Thomas the doubter. Thomas had said the only way that he would believe that Jesus rose from the dead was if he touched the nail holes in his hand.

Challenge accepted-

In John 20:24–28 “Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!””

Here’s what amazing- Jesus’ response to Thomas’ doubt is no condemnation- it’s reassurance. He does not belittle him; he lifts him up to see him.

Elie Wiesel, when asked to describe his faith, uses the adjective "wounded." "My tradition teaches that no heart is as whole as a broken heart, and I would say that no faith is as solid as a wounded faith."

Another honest believer writes: "It's not as a child that I believe and confess Jesus Christ. My hosanna is born of a furnace of doubt."

Friends, the story after Easter reminds us that not only can Jesus handle our doubts; he wants to reassure them. We are to be on mission for Jesus- and the first thing that some of us need to do is allow Jesus to minister to our doubts. We can have purpose in our mission when we are confident in the one who sends us and the work he has asked us to do.

He Had Fellowship with them

Of all the post-resurrection stories of Jesus; John 21:1-14 is probably my favorite. There is something so cool about this story to me; but my favorite part is when Jesus looks at the Disciples after they have just hauled in this giant net of fish- 153 fish- and says “come have some breakfast”

I think Jesus says something like this to me pretty often- Jon, just sit down and be with me- come have breakfast.

Sometimes we can get so obsessed with the doing, that we miss the being. Being with Jesus; connecting with him intimately; before Jesus wants your service, he wants your heart.

Jesus’ meal that morning shows us that Jesus’ primary concern for his followers was to connect with them, to be with them.

What if I told you that in this moment you are as intimate with God as you choose to be? God is always calling us deeper, there is never a moment when he retreats from us or says “that’s close enough for now” He is still just as he was on the beach that morning, calling us to come and fellowship with him.

James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

The great commission is the highlight of Jesus’ interaction with his friends, and we talk about it a lot in the church- in fact we are going to talk about it in just a moment- but before Jesus sends them off into the world he calls them to be with him.

The reason why so many Christians struggle with the relationship with God is not because they struggle to do- it is because they struggle to be…..

He commissioned them

Matthew 28:16–20 “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Finally, Jesus commissioned them for a work- he gave them their marching orders. And notice there is one goal for us friends.

 A story is told of a time when a little child in an African tribe wandered off into the tall jungle grass and could not be found, although the tribe searched all day.

The next day the tribal members all held hands and walked through the grass together.

This enabled them to find the child, but due to the cold night he had not survived.

In her anguish and through tears, the mother cried, "If only we would have held hands sooner."

It is not enough that we all share a common goal

Oftentimes in church we talk about the individuality of our gifts- some are teachers, some are preachers, some serve behind the scenes, others work in the background.

But there is one thing that all of us are called to be doing- making disciples. We all have a part to play in the mission; but we must do our part. The primary job of the church on Earth is to make disciples- I just read a quote the other day that said “The church does not exist for you; the church exists for God and to invade the world with his presence”

What if I told you that if you are not doing something to develop a disciple in your life; you are missing out of God’s complete plan for you? Yes, we need to be before we do- but we need to do. Or as James would say- Faith without works is dead.

Jesus did not tell his followers to stay in the room where he first found them, or to stay on the beach and eat fish and pray for one another until he returned- no he told them to go. He sent them with a mission.

And as the old saying goes- every heart that has Jesus is the heart of a missionary, and every heart without Jesus is a mission field.