Impacting Our City--On Mission With Jesus (Part Iii)

What an exciting concept, to be on mission with Jesus Christ. Jesus is the creator of the universe. It is exciting to think that I can join Him in His work. Jesus is on a mission. Jesus mission in life is to influence people to have a life changing encounter with God. He came to bring people into a personal relationship with God. What can we learn from Him about being on mission? We find these principles in John 4, as Jesus ministered to the woman at the well.

I.Jesus knew His mission. In verse 14 he states His goal with the woman of Samaria. He desires to give her the gift of eternal life.

"For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” Mt. 18:11

"for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’’ Lk. 19:10

Win Arn a church growth consultant conducted a survey in which he interviewed the members of nearly one thousand churches in regard to what they perceived to be the mission of the church. Eighty-nine percent said the church exists ‘To take care of my families’s needs. Only 11 percent said it existed to win the world to Christ. This points to a disturbing reality: Many churches fail to have any sense of mission at all.

(Contributed to Sermon Central by Michael McCartney)

A man named Dick Alexander wrote a piece entitled: Raw

It’s a word I never liked

Raw carrots are too hard

Raw oysters too slimy

Raw humor is too dirty

Raw skin is too painful

In fact raw applied to anything human sounds painful

But we live in a world of raw human need

It’s all around us

Do you ever wonder how many people struggle with homosexuality in your church

How many alcoholics

How many families with incest

How many addicts, how victims of violence and abuse

Will they find help

With the raw human need touching us every day

The church can scarcely afford business as usual

In practice many traditional churches view their mission

As holding Sunday services

Satisfying the members and doing a little good here & there

Such churches are on the way out

Within a few years they will be dinosaurs

Not because their doctrine is bad but because they lost their mission

Only churches serious about rescuing the hurting will survive and make a difference…

(Contributed to Sermon Central by Steve Malone)

II.Jesus mission was His life. In verse 6 we find Jesus at a well. What is His mission? It is the same as always. It was His life. Talking about faith and living His faith was not an add on. It was His life. Everywhere He went He lived His mission.

“Most people] act as if they were simply dropped down in creation and have to entertain themselves until they die. We were sent into the world by God, just as Jesus was. Each of us has a mission in life. Jesus prayed to His Father, for his followers, saying, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” We seldom fully realize that we are sent to fulfill God-given tasks.”

SOURCE: Henri J. N. Nouwen, Bread for the Journey, April 23 reading.

(Contributed to Sermon Central by Dr. Bruce Emmert)

God never intended that your faith be an add on to your life. He intended that your faith be your life. It is to take center stage at home, at work, at the ball field, and everywhere you go. Sometimes we can allow a hobby, our job, our family situation, or our status in life to take priority over our mission. Jesus had to deal with this among those who followed him.

Our faith should be a total commitment. We observed such commitment at the Alamo. The Alamo was a Spanish mission. After Mexico won her independence from Spain, Texans wanted to be liberated from Mexico and join the United States. When they declared their independence, the Alamo went from mission to fortress, and Texans took their stand within her walls. The Mexican dictator, Santa Anna, marched toward the Alamo to crush the rebellion. Only 188 men were inside, but they included such legendary figures as Davy Crockett and Sam Bowie. Those men held off nearly four thousand Mexican troops for almost two weeks.

…All 188 men were eventually killed, but their resistance gave Texas time to assemble an army that would eventually defeat Mexico and give Texas her independence. The battle cry during that war was “Remember the Alamo!”

But there is a side to the story that many don’t know. The men of the Alamo know they were fighting against the odds. Their leader, Colonel William Barret Travis, gathered them together and told them they had a choice. They could leave the fort while there was still time, or they could stay and meet certain death. Then Travis unsheathed his sword, drew a line on the ground, and said these words: “Those prepared to give their lives in freedom’s cause, come over to me.”