THE COMMISSION OF CHRISTMAS: AS MY FATHER HAS SENT ME SO SEND I YOU
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JOHN 20:21
Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
OUTLINE
1.SAVE
2.SERVE
3.SHINE
4.SUBMIT
5.SPOIL
6.SEPARATE
7.SENTENCE
THE MESSAGE
THE COMMISSION OF CHRISTMAS: AS MY FATHER HAS SENT ME SO SEND I YOU
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1.SAVE
Jesus came to this world to save people not to destroy them. He came to give His life as a ransom for many. He came to shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin for mankind.He came to give eternal life and abundant life. He sends us forth with the same mission to save others. We are not sent to destroy and hurt people but to bring hope and salvation and abundant life to suffering mankind.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
2.SERVE
Jesus came to this world to serve and to sacrifice. He did not come to be ministered unto but to minister. He did not come looking for personal benefit and profit.He came in order to bless others and meet their needs. He came with the heart of a servant. He sends us forth with the same purpose to serve the people and be a blessing to others. We are not sent with a selfish purpose to see what we can gain for ourselves and how we can make people serve us and our interests. We are sent with a noble and self sacrificing purpose to serve others.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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Matthew 20:25-28
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Luke 14:12-14
Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
3.SHINE
Jesus came to this world to shine as the Light of the world. He came to dispel the darkness of sin and ignorance and to help people find the way of salvation and eternal life. He sends us forth with the same purpose to shine as the light of the world to help people find the way to God . He wants our light to shine before the world that they may see our good works and glorify the Father in heaven. He wants us to blameless and without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation holding forth the word of Life and shining as lights . Light is needed where there is darkness and so our witness is needed especially in places filled with ungodliness such as our workplace and neighbourhood where we can be an example for others to follow.Let us shine brightly for Christ in this dark world and lead many to the light of the gospel.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
John 9:5
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Matthew 5:14-16
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Philippians 2:14-15
Do everything without complaining or arguing,
so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
4.SUBMIT
Jesus came to this world to submit to the will of the the Father who sent Him. He did not come to do His own will and follow His own desires and wishes. He came to fulfill the will of God for His life. Even in the garden of Gethsemane He chose to do the will of the Father and go to the cross.He said ’not my will but Thy will be done’. He sends us forth with the same purpose to fulfill the will of God for our life. We are not sent to fulfill our whims and fancies and follow the desires of our heart. We are sent to fufill and submit to the will of God in our life.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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John 4:34
"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
John 5:30
By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
Matthew 7:21
"Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Philippians 3:12
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
5.SPOIL
Jesus came to this world to spoil and destroy the works of the devil. He constantly brought deliverance to those oppressed of the devil . He saved sinners ,healed the sick , cast out demons and destroyed the yoke of the devil in the lives of people. He defeated Satan on the cross of Calvary and rose triumphantly from the grave. He sends us forth with the same purpose to destroy the works of the devil by saving sinners, healing the sick and casting out demons . We are sent to do spiritual warfare and destroy the strongholds of satan.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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Colossians 2:15
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
I John 3:8
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
Acts 10.38
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
6.SEPARATE
Jesus came to this world with a purpose that may even bring seperation and opposition within the family.Children and parents may be divided due to their loyalty to Christ. Daughters-in law and mothers-in law may be at variance because of divided loyalties. A man may find enemies in his own house because of his faith in Christ. There is a price to pay and a sacrifice to make in following Christ. He sends us forth with the same awareness to be prepared to face opposition even from friends and family as we follow Him. He promises us great reward for all that we suffer for His sake.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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Matthew 10:34-36
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
For I have come to turn " ’a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
Luke 6:22
Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
7.SENTENCE
Jesus came to this world with the revelation of truth and this brought a sentence of condemnation on those who rejected the truth. The condemnation was that ’Light came into the world but men loved darkness more than light because their deeds were evil ’. He came so that those were blind in ignorance may become enlightened to the truth and those who deliberately rejected the truth claiming that they did not need it would be settled in their delusion. His coming left no excuse for anyone to hide behind . He sends us forth with the same purpose to proclaim the gospel to every person so that all those who believe the gospel would be saved and those those who reject it will be damned and they would have no excuse to hide behind because they had a opportunity to hear the gospel.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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John 9:39
Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
John 3:19
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Mark 16:15-16
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
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