Jack Jurgens's Ministry Library

Ministry after the breaking of bread.

[0:01] Shall we turn to the scripture please in John chapter 20, just a few simple thoughts.
John chapter 20, you have disciples together with the risen Lord in the midst of them.
Verse 19, Joram chapter 20 verse 19 it says, Then the same day at the evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for the fear of Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto And when he had so said, he showed them his hands and his side.
Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.
Then said Jesus, to them again, Peace be unto you, as my Father hath sent me, even so sent I you.

[1:09] To understand this passage, we have to keep in consideration the background of the event.
What was happening? A week ago, before that, maybe, yes, a week ago, the expectations were high.
The Lord just entered Jerusalem, fulfilling the prophecy, and all the people were there around, exulted, excited and the disciples were they were thinking of the kingdom has come here is our Messiah and actually they were doing the the calculations you know who will be on the right and who will be on the left and the temple was cleansed and here is our King and that was just a few days before that and what happened. Something went wrong. Their master was betrayed by one of them, was arrested, was brought to the to the court, to the Sanhedrin and was crucified.

[2:24] The people mocked him. The Romans mocked him. The high priest and all the religious leaders mocked him even the crucified together with him, mocked him and that was what they were experiencing their master the messiah dying there on the cross alone and they lost every.

[2:57] Hope there are two actually on the way to Emmaus and they thought that he was the one and they are hopeless on the road to Emmaus.
They went back where they were a few years ago. Two of them went to their home, old place, Timaeus.
And you have Peter and the others, they went back to the old profession.
We are fishermen, we followed him for three years.
What do we do best? To fish. We’re going back to fish.

[3:34] And they were together because of the fear of the Jews and the reason the Lord appears to them.
And John puts it, and his times and his days stood in their midst.
And as they were together because of the fear of the Jews, the fear about their future, The fear about themselves, the fear about maybe their children, their health and their lives.
We many times feel like them.
Fears, fears many times takes away our peace. many times, takes away our, not only takes away our best, but a big burden comes on all, of us and we are stuck.
We do.

[4:35] And here Jesus come and He stood in the midst. The first thing that He did, He wished them peace. He gave them peace.
And He said unto them, peace be unto you.

[4:54] And as the Lord was saying that beautiful word of Shalom is not just peace.
It’s not just lack of war. Peace was more, shalom is more than that.
As a sort of harmony, of well-being, as a sort of tranquility, of being fulfilled. Peace be unto you.
The risen Lord, the risen Christ came to them and He gave them His peace.
Actually, He has told them, the peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you.
It’s not the same peace of the world, but I give My peace. Many times our hearts are troubled.
Many times we are not only in fear, but we don’t have that peace.
I’m not talking of peace with God, but I’m talking of peace of God in our hearts.

[5:55] You see, Paul will write to the Philippians and he’ll say, do not be anxious of anything, but in everything, prayer or supplication, have to be going up to God with thanksgiving.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard, will protect your hearts.
And we read that passage and we say, how is it possible?

[6:24] And when Paul is writing that, he is encouraging them to go into the God’s presence, to look for His presence, and to get there, to receive not the circumstances being changed, but our heart being changed.
He is speaking of a peace that passes all understanding, actually that passes every logic.
There is trouble around us, but there is peace within me because the Lord is in our midst and He is with me. Remember Jeremiah?
Jeremiah was, he was crying, he was weeping on the glory of Jerusalem, on the glory of temple.
And he said, it’s hard for me to understand.
And as he was praying, it dawned on him.
And he says it is of all Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.

[7:32] His compassions fail not, they are new, they are renewed every morning.
And as Jeremiah finishes his prayer and he’d open his eyes, do you think that he saw Jerusalem built up again and temple there?
No, absolutely.
There are still ashes, there are still ruins, but there is peace that passes all understanding, every logic in his heart.
As peace of God. And not only peace, joy. And when they saw the Lord, they were glad.
He showed unto them his hands and his side. And were a disciple glad when they saw the Lord. What did what did they see, that make them full of joy. What they saw was.

[8:30] Scars. What they saw was just something in his hands and something in his side. The risen Lord were in midst of them. He was in midst of them. And he saw his scars and in his hands, the fact of the death of the Lord is undeniable historical evidence, and he was dying there outside Jerusalem 2,000 years ago and whatever we can do today we cannot change that fact, we cannot change those scars, and the scars coming again this morning, as a sign of His love for us.

[9:22] There’s nothing else, more than that, that He can show us. Actually, somebody says, there is the only thing that has been made by man in heaven, are the scars in the hand of Jesus.
Isn’t that beautiful?
And when Thomas came after next week, and he died in the presence of the Lord, what the Lord does again?
Does He come with a new evidence?
No! The same one! The same one! Scars!
Actually, when the heavens and the earth will pass away, this universe that we are within, they are the scars that will stay forever.
And therefore, our disciples were glad. What they saw, they saw nothing else, a sign of the love that he had for them.

[10:24] And as they were glad, they saw him and they were filled with joy.
Actually, the Lord have told them that you’ll have sorrows for a wee while, but then I’ll come to see you again and you’ll be filled with the joy that and your hearts will be joy and no one will take your joy from you.
And that is the joy, staying in the Lord’s presence.
The presence of the Lord bring joy. You’re in your presence, there is fullness of joy, the Psalmist says.
But as we’re talking of this joy, we have to be aware that the joy again, like the peace doesn’t depend on our circumstances, what’s around us, But depends on who we are.

[11:17] Disciples came out of a month of outreach in a foreign country and they were full of joy.
And they say, Lord, we have done great things and we did this and we did this.
And remember, John, remember when that happened there? And oh yes, yes, and that miracle.
Lord says, no, no, no, no, no. Hold on.
The joy doesn’t depend on what you do. Depends on who you are.
Rejoice. because your names are written in heaven and they saw the scars and they were full of joy the joy belonging to the Lord and not only the joy belong to the Lord but the joy of praising him obviously they’re full of worship and and adoration and and praises for the one who was risen I for them and you’re, showing them the signs of of his suffering, the signs of his love, the joy of belonging to him, the joy of praising him and then the joy of serving him. The joy of serving him. He’ll say, the Lord says as the father have sent me I send to you the joy of serving him.

[12:36] Actually, there is a great joy that all who are parents know is the joy of bringing your, child home from hospital.
You bring a new life. That’s a great joy.

[12:56] And actually, as a young man, I never experienced it before, but it’s a great joy.
And that is the joy of bringing someone to the Lord.
The joy of seeing someone rescued and seeing someone saved and seeing the grace transforming.
A psalmist will speak of the reaper who goes full of tears and comes with the joy.
The Lord will talk of the same thing.
And he said as the father have sent me even so i sent you, they’re back to their families they’re back to their work without the risen christ, is the work our main purpose in life is our family our main purpose in life, as the Father has sent me, even so I send you.

[14:08] The Lord has given us, has given them, and he has given us a purpose to live.
As the Father has sent me.
Actually, the disciples need to hear that constantly. We had four, actually five times the Great Commission.
You have Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and you have in Acts, the Lord constantly was repeating them.
You have to go, your duty is to make disciples, to preach the gospel.
I have a great people in this city.
He commands it and became their duty.
The passion of the early church came from the passion of the Lord Jesus.
The same passion as Him, the same purpose as Him.
As the Father has sent Me. Who was Him? Who was the Lord Jesus?
He was the image of God among ourselves. He was the image of God on the earth.
And that image, that character changed the life of disciples because Once they got saved, if you can say that, they were, the Holy Spirit changed them to be according to that image.
As the Father hath sent me, even so I send you not.

[15:31] The Lord was saying to them that as the Father hath sent me, I start to build my image in you, so you might start to build, to call others that I can build the same image in them.

[15:48] It says Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. He missed the peace, he missed the joy, We miss the purpose, but let’s come together this morning as we remember the risen Christ, to get from him peace, to get from him joy that comes from those hands that are scarred, and still are, and that purpose that come from the Great Commission as the Father have sent me.
Even so, I sent you.

Filed under: Conf Ministry, Conferences, nase-enris