"You were Made for a Mission"

Jn.12:12-19 Week 6, 40 Days of Purpose

Mission: Recapture the Crown Jewels

"Your mission, Mr Phelps, should you choose to accept it..." So began the spy adventure series from a few decades back called "Mission Impossible". Christians have a mission as well which Jesus challenges us to accept - He sends or "missions" us to tell a lost world what He has done to save them from sin, in order that they might enjoy knowing Him and eternal life1.

        Comedian Rowan Atkinson (or "Mr Bean") stars in a recent release called Johnny English. It's a spoof on spy movies, like the James Bond 007 type (funny and decent for the most part, except for some crudity in scenes involving the archbishop). Johnny English has a mission - to protect the British crown jewels, recover them when they're stolen, and foil the attempts of an evil foreigner to be enthroned as king so he can turn England into a country full of prisons. In a way, our mission as Christians can be compared to that of Johnny English. We too are out looking for the crown jewels...not actual diamonds or rubies, but souls for Jesus in eternity; like the hymn that says of those "who love their Redeemer":

"Like the stars of the morning, His bright crown adorning,

They shall shine in their beauty, Bright gems for His crown."

Our mission also involves thwarting the plans of an Evil One who seeks to gain power over people and imprison them, locking them into sinful patterns and hopelessness. With the Lord's help, our mission will be as successful - and better executed - than the top-secret hilarious mission of Johnny English. And our mission by contrast is not fictional or comical, but very serious and real.

Go Therefore...

The word "mission" comes from the Latin verb to send, as "apostle" comes from the Greek meaning "one who is sent". In five different places Jesus restates our mission repeatedly. There's the passage known as the "Great Commission", Mt.28:19f: "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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Here it is from Mk.16(15): "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Luke 24(47): "and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." In John 20:21 Christ emphasizes the sending aspect, the parallel between our mission and his mission: "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And even the first chapter of Acts (1:8) has these marching orders from our General: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Do you think He was trying to get something across?!

        The authorization for evangelism doesn't come from ourselves. Note the little word "therefore" in Mt.28:19. That links it with v18 in which the Risen Saviour appears to the disciples and says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." His resurrection proved His references. He really was who He claimed to be, the Son of God. So our mission is not of our own making, but an obedient response to the command of the Lord of heaven and earth who was raised from the dead, exalted to God's right hand, and says, "Therefore go..."

        Rick Warren in The Purpose-Driven Life (PDL) comments, "This is your commission from Jesus, and it is not optional. These words of Jesus are not the Great Suggestion. If you are a part of God's family, your mission is mandatory. To ignore it would be disobedience."

Gravity of the Situation

Sometimes believers may resist taking up this mission because they do not fully grasp the gravity of the situation, the peril that's at stake. Peril for both us and for unbelievers if we don't do our part. God holds us responsible for getting the message across to the unbelievers with whom we come in contact. In Ezekiel 3(18) God states, "You must warn them so they may live. If you don't speak out to warn the wicked to stop their evil ways, they will die in their sin. But I will hold you responsible for their death." Your life is the only Bible some people will ever read: what are you communicating about the Saviour? In one especially poignant passage PDL notes, "As long as you know one person who doesn't know Christ, you must keep praying for them, serving them in love, and sharing the Good News. And as long as there is one person in your community who isn't in the family of God, your church must keep reaching out. The church that doesn't want to grow is saying to the world, 'You can go to hell.'"

        If we are "Bible-believing", we adopt a Biblical worldview; and a key component of that worldview is hell. People accept the reality of evil at large, so it shouldn't be that difficult to conceive of a place where evil belongs, that is hell. The closing pages of Scripture predict a judgment before God's "great white throne...Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Rev.20:14f) Paul prophesies that when the Lord Jesus is revealed, "He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power..." (2Thess.1:8f) That's a grim prospect, folks! Do we really consider the impact of that on our unbelieving friends and co-workers?

        Palm Sunday is the traditional time to read about Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, amidst waving palm leaves and hosanna-ing crowds. But so many were welcoming a political king that He really wasn't. In less than a week they would be shouting for His crucifixion. Immediately after Jesus' entry, Luke records (19:41-44): "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, 'If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace— but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.'" The Master was reduced to tears because Jerusalem rejected His peace and chose strife against Rome, only to be destroyed by them. Likewise Jesus weeps over the destruction of sinners in eternity because they will not receive Him.

        Some officers in charge of a Salvation Army corps once reported to General Booth about its slow progress and seeking his advice to get more converts. He replied in a terse two-worded telegram: "Try tears." Effective evangelism is powered by real love for the lost, developing Jesus' heart for people.

Good News

The content of the commission is Good News, which derives from the Greek word for "evangelist". Jesus ordered, "Go...and preach the good news..." It's not primarily negative, about doom and gloom, but positive - that condemnation can be avoided, in Jesus' name are offered "repentance and forgiveness of sins". Kind of a moral mortgage-burning, your spiritual debt to God has been eradicated!

        The Bible says, "[God] does not want anyone to be lost, but He wants all people to change their hearts and lives." (2Pet.3:9) And if you don't like the way Peter puts it, here's how Paul expresses a similar thought: "God our Saviour...wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1Tim.2:4) The end of 2Cor.5(17-21) really sums up well the Good News and our part in broadcasting it: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Briefly put, Rom.1:17 says, "The Good News shows how God makes people right with Himself - that it begins and ends with faith."

        Rick Warren describes the nub of the gospel this way: "The Good News is that when we trust God's grace to save us through what Jesus did, our sins are forgiven, we get a purpose for living, and we are promised a future home in heaven."

Grounded in Experience

News is not theoretical; reporters don't keep their jobs by reporting what might have happened or what people would like to see happen. News has to do with what has in fact, historically, come to pass. So our mission as those charged to spread the "Good News" is not to spout theories or weave philosophy, but report facts, what Christ has actually done for us. Peter says we were chosen by God "to do His work and speak out for Him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference He made for you." (1Pet.2:9) In Acts 1(8) Jesus said, "You will be my witnesses," not "You will be my attorney." What a court of law wants from a witness is eyewitness testimony, not conjecture or argument. "Just the facts, ma'am - what did you actually observe?" So our message to others needs to be grounded in our actual experience. What difference did it make knowing Jesus was in control of the outcome when you were in that car accident? How did He calm your anxiety going into the surgery? How has He helped you stay sober for so many years? How did He show you a way to carry on together when your marriage was going so poorly? Real life stories about how the Lord intervened.

        PDL says, "It's hard to argue with personal experience.Actually, your personal testimony is more effective than a sermon...Personal stories are easier to relate to than principles, and people love to hear them. They capture our attention, and we remember them longer. Unbelievers would probably lose interest if you started quoting theologians, but they have a natural curiosity about experiences they've never had. Shared stories build a relational bridge that Jesus can walk across from your heart to theirs."

        A humble personal story will bypass intellectual defenses so that people will listen who won't accept the authority of the Bible. Paul used his testimony to share the gospel on six occasions instead of quoting scripture.

Godly Zeal

Passion comes through in our personal witness, a godly zeal for the things Christ's heart within us causes us to care about. David wrote in Ps.69:9, "My zeal for God and His work burns hot within me." Gal.4(18) adds, "It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good." Jesus cleared the Temple at the beginning of His ministry and the end, bringing Him into sharp conflict with the powers-that-be, because He was passionate for the purity of the House of God. The disciples remembered the verse David wrote and understood it as motivating Jesus' forceful action: "Zeal for Your house will consume me." (Jn.2:17)

        So our witness ought to have some zip to it, not passionless but motivated, a burning desire to see folks taste and see the Lord's goodness in some aspect. PDL notes, "God is a passionate God...As you grow closer to Him, He will give you a passion for something He cares about deeply so you can be a spokesman for Him in the world. It may be a passion about a problem, a purpose, a principle, or a group of people...God gives some people a godly passion to champion a cause...to speak up for a group of others who can't speak for themselves: the unborn, the persecuted, the poor, the imprisoned, the mistreated, the disadvantaged, and those who are denied justice...God uses passionate people to further His kingdom...If you ask God, He will burden your heart for a specific country or ethnic group that desperately needs a strong Christian witness."

        Locally, I have known people that were a witness for Jesus on account of their godly zeal for babies and unwed mothers (The Life Centre); for young people (Pitch'n'Praise, camping, the YFC Drop-in); for the terminally ill (Palliative Care Services); for people with Alzheimers; and retired gentlemen who found fulfillment driving people to London for their cancer treatments and check-ups. What zeal is the Lord stirring in you? What group does your heart throb for?

Global Scope

In Acts 1:8, Jesus describes a gradually expanding process of evangelism to spheres that eventually encompass the planet: "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The Gospel goes Global. Mt.28(19) sends us to make disciples of "all the nations". The best-loved verse in the New Testament, Jn.3:16, reminds us, "For God so loved THE WORLD..." His passion is planetary.

        These days, it's far easier than in the first century to go places; the farthest corner of earth is but a few hours away by plane. We import the latest worship music directly from Ireland or Australia with scarcely a thought. Much of what we eat or are wearing today comes from far-away countries. Warren notes, "The opportunities for normal, everyday Christians to become involved in short-term international missions are now literally limitless. Every corner of the world is available to you - just ask the travel industry. We have no excuse not to spread the Good News."

        Churches and Christian agencies are just beginning to capitalize on the possibilities of email and the Internet for web-based global ministry. My dream USED to be preaching in a big church with hundreds of listeners. Now anyone in the world with the internet can read my sermon in text or sit back with a favourite beverage and watch it in video. The main thing is getting the word out, the best way we can.

        Short-term missions opportunities are becoming plentiful. Many of us have spoken to individuals who've helped with medical or construction projects in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, or Europe. I know of one hockey team from our area going to Siberia this spring; the boys will have opportunity to witness in local schools. Hanover EMC is sending teams to Romania, and construction is needed on the new EMC church in Montreal. (see p.3 of bulletin for more opportunities) You don't even need to parlez-vous!

        Even for those who can't travel, you can still be involved in mission. Each week our denomination emails out a list of prayer requests for missionaries. Prayer is vital in spiritual work. JO Fraser was a missionary to China in the early 1900s. He credited the conversion of hundreds of Lisu families to the prayers of his very earnest little prayer group back in England. He said, "Christians at home can do as much for foreign missions as those actually on the field. It will only be known on the Last Day how much has been accomplished in missionary work by the prayers of earnest believers at home." Prayer is godly zeal on its knees, having powerful effect thousands of miles away.

Guaranteed Results

Last, the mission Jesus gives us has to do with a guarantee. When we buy something, we look for at least a 30-day guarantee, better yet a one- or multi-year warranty that this device will last at least that long or your money back. We're told some manufacturers even design their product with "planned obsolescence", it's meant to wear out after a certain length of time so you'll have to buy a replacement!

        Everything in this material world suffers from obsolescence - it's wearing out and will eventually pass away. In 1Cor.7(31) Paul advises, "Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out." Peter predicts that "the heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare...everything will be destroyed...the elements will melt in the heat..." (2Pet.3:10-12) Or as one contemporary Christian music group put it, "The world is like an ice-cream sundae: it's all gonna melt someday!"

        Jesus though deals in what's guaranteed, what's going to last forever; and teaches us to focus on what's eternal. He tells us to "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Mt.6:20). What's going to outlast the granite in the Canadian Shield? What's going to be a reality when the last drop in the oceans has vaporized? Human souls banqueting with the Master. Rick Warren notes, "You've probably heard the expression 'You can't take it with you' - but the Bible says you can send it on ahead by investing in people who are going there! The Bible says (1Tim.6:19), "By doing this they will be storing up real treasures for themselves in heaven - it is the only safe investment for eternity! And they will be living a fruitful Christian life down here as well."

        Go with what's guaranteed to last: saved people, the "bright gems for His crown". Be in mission today for what really matters. As Charles Spurgeon said, "If God has called you to be a missionary, don't stoop to be a king."

The Great Omission

Well, are we maxed out yet in deploying agents for fulfilling the Great Commission, or do we need to Get Smart? (another spy series that dates me!) Robert McQuilkin's book The Great Omission points out that in the days before William Carey, the father of the modern Protestant missionary movement, the Moravians from Herrnhut considered a support base of FOUR adequate to keep one missionary at the front. Using that formula, America's 40 million evangelicals could support 10 million overseas workers.

        Using a more modern standard, it was said that during World War II, 15 personnel were needed to keep one man at the front. Using that as a basis, the American evangelical church could support a missionary force of 2.6 million.

        But the fact is that US evangelical churches, perhaps the wealthiest group of Christians in history, now have about 37,000 career foreign missionaries, about 9,000 of whom are engaged in full-time evangelism. McQuilkin concludes: "The truth is, less than 1% of full-time Christian workers are engaged in evangelistic ministry among the unevangelized of the world. Is this the way the Commander-in-Chief would assign His troops? Or is someone not listening?" Let's pray.