“Mission: Possible”
Luke 24:50-53
Let’s take our Bibles and turn to Luke 24…as you’re turning, what if I just started levitating? You’d be somewhat WOWED, eh? Imagine the disciples here in this text…Christ is giving his final words and mission, and then he starts rising. It’s the ascension! Let’s see this…
Luke 24:50-53
When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
This same story is repeated by Luke later in the book of Acts. Look with me at Acts 1...
Acts 1:6-11
So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 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." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
Oddly, the Ascension is not talked about much, but it is a critical aspect of his post-resurrection life. In fact, three of the first five books of the New Testament talk about his ascension. Why? Because it signals a new era – the era of the soon-coming indwelling Spirit of God upon believers! We call that the church, and the Ascension is the labor pains of the church’s birth.
Darrell Bock says in his commentary, Luke: “In a real sense, Luke ends at a beginning. No longer is the story about what Jesus did in his earthly ministry. Now it is the saga of what he continued to do through God’s people, whom he equipped to perform a task and carry a message.”
And Leon Morris echoes much the same thing in his book on Luke when he writes, “There is an air of finality about it [the ascension]. It is the decisive close of one chapter and the beginning of another. It is the consummation of Christ’s earthly work, the indication to his followers that his mission is accomplished.”
Yes, his mission of redemption was accomplished. But our mission of preaching that message continues. The ascension is the physical indicator that we are now on-mission in the power of the Spirit and in the name of the Lord!
In a sentence, the Ascension signifies a simple truth: “The Messiah is gone but the mission lives on.”
Just how does that mission continue? In us, the believers that have chosen to believe in the reality of Jesus and the reliability of Scripture. We are now partners with God… ambassadors of Heaven…spokespeople for the King of kings! And the Ascension is our cue to be on-mission!
If you recall, I showed you two passages at the beginning of this message that dealt with the Ascension. Guess what? Luke wrote both! So this one writer of two books shows us the mission of Christ (Luke) and the mission of the church (Acts). It’s a wonderful one-two punch! An initial volume and then volume two. The opening film and then the sequel! Yes, Luke shows both Christ in motion and the church in ministry. Let me show you some similarities:
Luke 2:11 shows the birth of Christ; Acts 2:1-4 shows the birth of church
Luke 4:18-19 shows Christ’s initial pronouncement of his mission in synagogue and resulting opposition; Acts 4:8-12 shows Peter’s response to the rulers regarding his mission and resulting opposition
Luke 6:12 explains the calling of the 12 disciples; Acts 6:1-7 explains the calling of the 7 deacons.
Luke 9:1 & 10:1 show Christ sending the 12 and the 72;
Acts 8:1 shows the church being scatteredin the Dispersion.
Luke 13:18-19 teaches the expansion of the kingdom; Acts 10:34-36 illustrates the expansion of the church.
What acts as the trigger for Acts? The Ascension! What is the bridge between Christ’s ministry and the church’s ministry? The Ascension! Yes, First Family, the ascension is our green light to continue to the mission of making disciples in all nations.
If you’re wondering, “Just what is our mission?”, then let’s go back to our two texts for today: Luke 24 and Acts 1. And in a nutshell, our mission is to worship and to witness! Do you see it there in these passages?
“Then they worshiped him…” (Luke 24:52) and “and you will be my witnesses (Acts 1:8)
In addition, Matthew asserts the same mission in his account of Christ’s final days when he wrote in Matthew 28:16-20:
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." There it is, church – worship and witness!
This reminds me of what Christ encouraged his disciples and others to do during his earthly ministry – Love God (worship) and love others (witness). Truly this is the heartbeat of our mission!
Is this mission possible? You bet! As we engage in those two things in that order, the mission is possible! In fact, as I thought about those two words this week, I wrote down some ways those two things are going on here at FFC. Could we do a better job at them? Sure! Could we do more if it? By all means! But make no mistake – this is one on-mission church! So this morning let me encourage you with some atta-boys from your pastor about how committed you have been now for 2+ years in carrying out the mission he left with us after his ascension.
• When I look at this year’s Easter Experience, my first thought is, “Thank God for a church not afraid of vision.” Someone recently said to me, “How did we get these two men, as well as Sweet Tart?” I answered, “God and you!” I love the fact that large-scale thinking doesn’t scare you. So let’s stay on-mission, especially this week as we invite our friends and family to our Easter Experience which starts Thursday! After all, this in one on-mission church!
• I was talking to a new attender this week who was connected to First Family through one of women’s Bible studies. You should hear their story – WOW! They love next door to some FFC-ers, and they were curious why these people were so happy, why they “glowed” as they did. So they asked! “We love our church and have found such great spiritual help and discipling relationships there.” Well, part of that was one of our women’s Bible studies, so she began attending the study; then her husband asked some questions, and next thing you know they were both checking out FFC! How did it all start? By the worshipping and witnessing! As they fell in love with God more and more, and as they weren’t afraid to talk about it, people became attracted to it. That’s the exciting combination of worshipping and witnessing!
Women, you probably got a flier about our women’s retreat coming up this month, right? GO! In fact, get involved in the mission and bring someone with you.
Truth is, all our adult ministries are on-mission in the same way! Not only are over 50 women involved in our women’s ministries, but we’ve got the city’s largest mom’s group (they have to meet four times a week), a men’s basketball night that draws over 20 men weekly, and a Wellness outreach that offers fitness classes from trained facilitators to our city absolutely free. Why? It’s how we serve God and give our best to him while witnessing to the world of the good news. It’s how we worship and witness! After all, this in one on-mission church!
• One of the key areas where we have worshipped and witnessed is in Kid Central! Over 20 people weekly give of their time to God in worship and hang out with children of all ages, teaching them and leading them. The common report I hear back from newcomers and guests is, “WOW! Your children’s ministry made my kids feel right at home, and they learned so much at the same time. The Scripture memory and life skills you focus on make it something my kids love!” Thanks to all our workers, teachers, and helpers! And we’re going to keep that up, cause this summer we’re initiating a summer-long and kid-wide musical that they will “put on” for our entire church one Sunday morning this fall. Why? As a way to worship and witness of our great God who loves children and sees them as a treasure.
And this fall we hope to expand our Sunday elementary classes to be even more specific, so that we have individual classes for every grade. In addition, writing our own 10-week curriculum for our Wednesday Colors of Faith is no easy chore. But we intend to continue this intense program as it really fits our vision of training children in the faith.
Undoubtedly, we need your help. So if you’re not plugged in to the mission – worshipping and witnessing – see Shelleena or Sarah and start contributing to the mission our Lord has left for us. After all, this in one on-mission church!
• Another key area is that of our finances; I don’t know of a more giving church! And you guys have partnered up so nicely when it comes to financing the mission of this church – worshipping and witnessing! Our office gets your “Patch of Grass” commitments weekly, and you can see for yourself from our Rear View Mirror that people are giving regularly and sacrificially. That’s what I takes, church, and I thank you for your love for God and how it affects your wallet! No doubt this in one on-mission church!
Next week we’ll participate in our Resurrection Offering, and I trust you are ready to sacrifice for the mission, both here at home and abroad. I can attest that all of our church leaders are committed to participating, and we are asking you to join us. In fact, if you have not been giving, can I ask you to consider giving 10% on Easter as a way to test the Lord. Put Malachi 3 into action, and watch the Lord take care of you.
Even a scant reading of the OT and NT reveals that worship always involved giving, and usually that giving resulted in others being astounded at the work of God. That’s worshipping and witnessing! And next week you have the opportunity to do both. Won’t you join in with others who are worshiping and witnessing?! After all, this in one on-mission church!
• I think about the way God has led us to Marty Kelly as we have remained committed to the vision he gave us of expanding our celebration vision! You guys continued to pray and give, and the result of your patience and God’s sovereignty is going to be tremendous. And let me make sure you know that when we say worship, we don’t just mean the singing time in the service. We’re thinking a lot larger than that—we’re thinking about your life as a 24/7 gift to God. And as Marty assumes leadership over our many teams and you find increased places to plug in and use your gifts, you can lift those up to God in worship throughout the week and throughout the service! After all, this in one on-mission church!
• I think about when our youth took their Spring Break and helped the city of Lakeshore, MS rebuild. What a way to worship and witness! And this summer they’re headed to Jamaica to help there, along with others from around the country. Why? Because it the way we worship and witness!
Not only them, but we’ve got folks headed to Afghanistan and Australia, as well as to several places here locally. Why? Because this in one on-mission church! Praise the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!
You see, First Family, we engage in those things precisely because the mission is possible. And I invite you to join in with hundreds of others who have committed some of their time each week and month to a cause greater than themselves; to a mission bigger than what they can do alone; to a person far more important than them – they are committed to worshiping Jesus and witnessing about him! They are intent upon obeying the key verse in the book of Luke that we have been investigating now for 16 months. What is that verse? Luke 19:10, which says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” In that simple statement we have the whole of the book summed up! There it is – the mission of Christ and, thus, the mission of the church!
Perhaps you’re saying, “Todd, I can’t be on-mission like that because I have baggage from my past, problems in my life, or sin that haunts me from before I was asked. I’ve got issues, Todd! How can I be used by God to carry on the mission he left for us!?”
Oh, I am so glad you asked about that, because you actually fit in better than you realize. You see, all those from the ascension forward who have been on-mission have also been flawed people, just like you and just like me. They weren’t perfect, either! They were actually ‘unqualified’ by most worldly standards. But they were willing, available, and teachable. And so became qualified according to God’s measurements. Let me show you what I mean…
VIDEO – “March of the Unqualified”
Won’t you join this army of unqualified soldiers who are on-mission until he returns? This is what we’re to do until he comes back – worship and witness! And he is coming back, amen? Don’t stand there gazing up at the stars or sky like the disciples – face it, he’s gone! He has ascended, and the Spirit has now empowered you and me – us! – to continue the mission in his stead. Now’s the time to move forward from the ascension towards a lifestyle of worship and witness till he does return!
Pray with me, would you? (“Days of Elijah” start in background) These are the days when we need people like Elijah, Daniel, David, Ezekiel…men and women on-mission! Stand with me as we sing and commit to being an on-mission church for glory of the Lord!
