John 20:19-22

¹⁹  “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

 Acts 2:1-6

¹ “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. ⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.”

As the Lord allows, this coming Lord’s Day I will continue my series of Bible Doctrines about the Church with a message from John 20 and Acts 2 dealing with the Mission of the Church. Our mission is the “raison d’etre” or the very reason for our existence. In the earlier sermons in this series, we have seen that the Church is a “mystery” not seen in the Old Testament. We are a unique manifestation of the people of God which is made up of both Jew and Gentile in One Body of Christ.

I spent an entire sermon trying to help us understand the great purpose of the Church is, “to make the invisible visible.” But, in addition to that unique calling, we have something that we are here to do! And the thing that we are here “to do” is what is called, “The Mission of the Church.”

In the New Testament, the Church is revealed in two “senses…”

First, the Church is revealed in the “Larger” sense; that is the Body of Christ that is made up of all believers from the birth of the Church in the Upper Room in John 19 to the rapture of the Church seen in 1^st Thessalonians 4:13-17.

Second, the Church is revealed in the “Local” sense of being local congregations of born-again, baptized believers associated together for the ongoing work of the Kingdom. The New Testament reveals many local churches, and, in fact several of the Books are addressed to local Churches such as Galatia, Ephesus, Thessalonica, etc.

While every believer – including every believer who is a member of our Church – is part of the Body of Christ in the larger sense, it is in the local sense that we minister and carry out the work of the Lord and His Kingdom. So, I will focus this sermon on the/our “Local Church.”

Those of us who make up the New Testament Church have been both “birthed” and “baptized” by the Holy Spirit or God for the unique purpose of doing God’s work in the world. We have summarized that work in a “Mission Statement” that says…

“The reason we exist is to Live Out the Great Commandments and Carry Out the Great Commission by Loving God, Loving People, and Sharing the Good News!”

As we begin in John 20, I will discuss the “Birth” of the Church. We are born into the Family of God by and through the work of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2, I will focus on how we are “Baptized” by the Holy Spirit to empower us to do the supernatural work that God has called us to do.

I hope to make clear to you four life-changing Bible truths:

1. While a believer will be filled with the Spirit many times during our life, we are initially “baptized” with the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation. Every Bible-believing Christ follower has this experience and is indwelt by the Holy Spirit for as long as we live.

2. While many teach that this “gift” is something that is only experienced by “some” believers, the Bible is clear that this is experienced by “all” believers. Paul goes so far as to say in Romans 8:9, that if one does not have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, “they are none of His.”

3. In spite of the neo-Pentecostal error about this, the gift of languages seen in the New Testament was the expressed in human language that was understood by someone present.

4. Finally, we will see that people are saved by hearing words in their own language that they can understand. God has chosen to communicate His truth to humans by the means of human language, and there is no other way for anyone to be saved apart from hearing and responding to the Word of God.

Beloved Ones, it is vitally important that you and I know why God created the Church and saved us to be part of it. His work and His will is to bring lost people to salvation and then be equipped to bring other lost people to salvation.

He has created and chosen His Church to do this work. That means – us! We are His chosen people and we are entrusted with His Spirit and His Word to bring the lost to faith.

That is our Mission!

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!