Gateway’s Core Values 2008

Mission

Mark 16:15 / Luke 8:39

[BluefishTV Video:  An Overview of God’s World - shows the need of the “10/40 Window,” and calls for prayer, giving and going.]

That’s what we think of when we think of “missions,” isn’t it?  Remote, tribal villages, distant lands, different languages and customs.  Those are, of course, a great part of mission work – but if that’s all we think of, then we are missing much of the picture.  “Mission” simply means “aim, assignment, business, calling, charge, commission, duty, end, errand, goal, job, lifework, objective, profession, purpose, pursuit, quest, responsibility, undertaking, vocation, or work.”  Mission simply means we have some purpose that we are working for.

In 1980, John Belushi and Dan Akroyd starred in “The Blues Brothers,” a movie about two guys who set out to save the orphanage they were raised in.  Perhaps the most famous line from the movie is Dan Akroyd’s statement of their purpose.  He says, “We’re on a Mission From God.”  Their mission:  To come up with $5,000 in just 11 days – but how?  In a moment of inspiration, they decide to re-unite their Blues Band and do a big concert to raise the money needed to pay taxes on the orphanage property.  The movie is the story of their quest to seek out and recruit their friends to join them.

Their conviction that God has called them propels them to work through whatever obstacles they encounter.  And while there is much in the movie that I don’t agree with, I do know that having a mission in life gives a person a sense of direction and perseverance. [Note:  referencing this movie does not mean that I endorse the movie for your home.  It has some language that you and I may find objectionable.]

Ladies and Gentlemen: you and I are on a mission from God.  It is not a mission to save an orphanage from bankruptcy, or the rain forest from development.  We have been given a mission from God to take the truth of God’s love to the whole world.

Today we turn to the fifth and final purpose for our lives:  Evangelism.  You have been made for mission.  Now, as we saw last week, we each have a ministry – we are all shaped uniquely to serve Him.  He may use some of us to work with kids in the church, others may greet us at the door.  That ministry is to other believers, to those in the family of God.  While each of us is uniquely shaped by God to serve a specific purpose in the church, and there can be great diversity in our ministry, our mission is laser focused. 

Jesus gave us our mission just before He left this earth.  It is mentioned in each of the first five books of the New Testament.  Each of the biographers of Jesus included His commissioning of His followers.  In John we read that He said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  In Luke we read, “…and repentance and forgiveness will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.  You are witnesses to these things…”  Luke continues that commissioning in the book of Acts where he records Jesus words, “You will receive power after the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”  Matthew’s is perhaps the most well known statement, “Therefore go 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 obey everything I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always even to the end of the age.” 

In Mark’s biography, our mission is stated in chapter 16, verse 15, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”  As I think back over my life, my recollection is that this was the first verse I memorized after I became a follower of Jesus at age 8.  It was in a Sunday School class at our church, which was meeting in a YMCA at the time, because we hadn’t put up a building yet, that I heard the teacher talk about my sins and my failures.  The teacher’s name was Mrs. McCabe.  She told me about how Jesus had died to pay the penalty for all my sins, like fighting with my brothers, disobeying my parents, and all the other things I had done.  All I had to do was ask Him to forgive me, and take control of my life.  And I did!  Eight years old, and I made the most important decision of my life.

I don’t remember what the Sunday school lesson was the next week, but I remember the memory verse.  It was this one – “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”  I knew from that moment on that God wanted me to be a missionary – to tell people about what He had done for me.  I never wondered again what I was going to do with my life.  I was going to be a missionary.  Through High School there was never a doubt what my career choice was – missions.  It was not as direct a path as I had thought it might be – but there was never any doubt, and now, today, I find myself working on the third largest mission field on the planet – the United States of America.

That’s right, I’m a missionary. 

And so are you!

If you are a follower of Jesus, He has summoned you to His mission!  He has given you an “aim, assignment, business, calling, charge, commission, duty, end, errand, goal, job, lifework, objective, profession, purpose, pursuit, quest, responsibility, undertaking, vocation, or work.”  This is something that each of us have been called to!

Now does that mean that each one of us should be hopping the next plane for Venezuela, or Liberia, or Sydney, Australia?  On our wall in our downtown ministry center we have a map of the world, and we have missionaries that we support in all those areas and more!  Should we quit our jobs, sell our homes, and follow those folks overseas?  Well, for some, that may be what God calls you to – he certainly called the Smets, and the Dunseiths, and the Prouty’s to those mission fields!  But for most of us, the call is not that easy…that’s right, easy – what you and I have been called to is actually in some ways more difficult than traveling around the globe.  I don’t minimize the sacrifice of those people who leave their families, friends and homelands to go around the world, but when they arrive they are recognized for what they are – they are expected to minister, to share, to care for the needy.  The people they work with are often hungry to hear about Jesus, and the gospel is new, and thrilling and they are excited to hear it.

Those who go around the world face incredible obstacles – hostile governments, new language and culture, a sense of “homelessness.”  Their live is demonstrated in Scripture by Paul, who suffered through all sorts of challenges in fulfilling his mission.

Most of us here have a different call.  Our call is illustrated in another part of Jesus’ biography.  Turn to Luke chapter 8, verse 39.  This verse is part of an episode in Jesus life where He has taken a boat across the Sea of Galilee to the far side, where the Gerasenes lived.  This was not a Jewish community, and it is one of just a few times when Jesus deliberately went to a non-Hebrew culture.  He went there for a specific purpose.  There was a man there who was possessed by a legion of demons, this was apparently an area of great warfare in the spiritual realm, and Jesus came to bust it up.  If you read verses 26-37, you will read that Jesus came, confronted the demon-possessed man, delivered him and removed the demons from the area.  When the people of the local villages came, they found the demon-possessed man dressed and in his right mind.

Verse 37 says that after this all happened, the people of the area were afraid and ordered Jesus to leave immediately. That seems like kind of a strange reaction, doesn’t it?  You would think that with this amazing demonstration of power, the people would have wanted Jesus to stay, but they did not, they rejected Him

Now, look at verse 38.  It reads, “The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with Him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”

Let me ask you something – what would have been easier – to go with Jesus, or stay where he was?  Would it have been easier to travel with Jesus, sit under His teaching, give testimony of his deliverance to audiences in Galilee and Jerusalem; or stay in his home region, and go back to his family and friends alone and tell them what had happened?

Of course, we have no way of knowing, but in my mind, staying and facing the family, friends, and neighbors sounds like the tougher assignment.  They knew him, they knew his past, and they knew his failures and his shameful behavior.  They would have been skeptical of his deliverance from his past behavior – fear that he could relapse at any moment.  There were probably even charges that he was still crazy, he just had a different demon in charge now!  After all, these people asked Jesus to leave – they didn’t want to hear about Him – even thought He had done such an amazing thing.

You know what?  You and I face a pretty similar crowd.  We face a culture that has been blessed by God in such amazing ways.  We’ve experienced His blessings, His deliverance, His guidance for 400 years, and yet in recent days, we’ve pretty much asked Jesus to leave.  Those who have been delivered are looked at with suspicion.  They are considered the crazy ones!  People who are set free from alcohol, drugs, disease, addictions and who give the glory to God are looked at with suspicion.

Our culture does not want to hear about Jesus any more.  You can go to Madison and take a course on Transcendental Meditation, study the Koran, learn how to worship the planet or yourself – but talk about Jesus, or attempt to have a Bible study and you will be shouted down.

In some ways it would be easier to say to Jesus, “Lord, take me with you!  I beg You!”  But His response to you and I, in most cases, is the same as to this man, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”

This is our mission!  This is how easy, and how hard it is!  We don’t have to be preachers, evangelists, missionaries or prophets.  In fact, you are a more valuable missionary than any of those by simply going to your home and telling the people there what God has done for you.  In your reading this week you’re going to come across a statement that says this,

Your testimony is more effective than a sermon, because unbelievers see pastors as professional salesmen, but see you as a “satisfied customer,” so they give you more credibility.[i]

You don’t have to have a sermon all prepared, or have the New Testament memorized, or carry around a pack of pamphlets…you simply need to let people know what a difference Jesus has made for you in your real life experience.  Let me give you an idea of what that might look like:

[BluefishTV Video Engage The World – woman inserts her Christian values into her daily conversations.]

Now those were simple, none-offensive examples of inserting Christian values and experiences into daily life conversations – they open the door for further discussion.  They introduce people to the reality that Jesus is real to you – they may even label you as a “Jesus Freak,” as they have done for Lorraine Zobach at her work place…but as I told her last night, when the wheels start to fall of her co-workers lives, their going to come to her to look for comfort and answers.  As people see the validity of your life along side the intentionality of your words, you will have opportunities to share more and more what Jesus has done for you.  But it must be done intentionally!

Look at the end of verse 39 in Luke chapter 8:

“So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.”

That guy was on a mission from God!  He went all over town!

You, too, are on a mission from God!  As we leave this place today, let’s return home, and tell others how much God has done for us.