The Ultimate Life Mission
Series: Naturally Supernatural
Brad Bailey - September 15, 2013
Intro
As people get older there is a tendency for them to think less about success...and more about significance. There is a natural tendency to connect our lives to something meaningful.
As one leader said: "There are two great moments in a person's life: the moment you were born and the moment you realize why you were born." [1]
Many try to find meaning in good causes and things which are valuable...but can't provide ultimate meaning when they are not connected to the larger source and storyline.
It's similar to what has been observed about some of the great business giants. A business expert once wrote about how railroads companies could have succeeded if they realized they were not ultimately in the railroad business...but in the transportation business... telegraph companies who didn't realize they were in the communications business. They didn't realize the bigger picture. [2]
> In a similar way.... most human lives sense that there is something wrong that needs to be set right...and they may feel some meaning in being a part of responding to that need...in casual ways or formal causes. But they cannot find their true meaning if they remain disconnected from the larger work of what is involved with "setting things right."
So today we are going to engage what Jesus declared to be his life mission...and ours....the ultimate life mission.
In the Gospel of Luke we hear Jesus place his whole life into the Divine Purpose and it is this he calls us into.
Luke...a doctor records this account...
In chapter 3 we are told of what was unfolding....John the Baptist.... a prophet who declared that God was on the move...bringing his salvation...and all should prepare... and then with the crowd gathered around him ...he points to Jesus...as the Messiah who had come to take away the sins of all. (Luke 3:1-6) [3]
Luke 3:21-22 (NIV) 21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
At this point the Jesus receives this blessing of his Father...God the Father...and the Spirit's anointing. He then is led out into the wilderness for a period of 40 days of fasting... in which he faces spiritual opposition. He returns with a profound sense of destiny.
Luke 4:14-21 (NIV)
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Well...the response is wild... but Jesus slips away...ad now begins to go out into the world in this mission. As Luke describes....
Luke 4:40-43 (NIV)
The people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ. 42 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."
Years of silent preparation....and prayer had led to this moment. The time had come...to move out into the breakthrough God was beginning. It was time to go public...to declare what was at hand.
I suppose there is nowhere more appropriate to begin....than his hometown. So here Jesus was providing, to the hometown crowd of the synagogue he grew up in, his “mission statement” as the Messiah!
He has been recognized as rabbi...and is now of age... and so he is naturally one who would read the days text and offer some commentary. Only Jesus did something not as common. That day he didn't choose the Scriptural text for that day... he chose his own text....that of the prophet Isaiah chapter 61.
And his commentary... even more outstanding... “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”--
He was stating, matter-of-factly: “THIS IS WHY I AM HERE. THIS IS MY MISSION.”
when he said that, it may well have caused them to catch their breaths, because they knew Isaiah’s prophecy, and they knew two things:
First... those words applied to the Messiah. The passage he quotes is about the Messiah. Throughout Isaiah there are pictures of an ‘anointed’ figure....sent uniquely representing God... and bringing forth His will. Secondly, they knew that these words referred to the year of Jubilee.
You see, the Jews had a custom, ordained by God, that not only would every 7th day of the week be a Sabbath, a day of rest, but that every 7th year would also be a Sabbath, when the land would not be farmed, and so on. . .
And after every 7th Sabbath year (that is, every 50th year) there would be what was called the “year of Jubilee.”
IN THAT YEAR,
all slaves would be set free,
all men whose poverty had forced them to sell
their lands would receive them back again,
those who had lost family members into slavery
or imprisonment would be reunited with their loved ones. . .
So you can see why it was called “The Jubilee!”
Through Isaiah God had prophesied of an ultimate Jubilee... when a Savior (Messiah) would come to bring ultimate freedom.
That is what Jesus said his mission was . . . He came to bring broken families together,
to bind up the brokenhearted, ...to heal the hurting!
He came to free the slaves,
to open the doors of darkness,
to untie men’s hands,
to unfold their wings!
BUT NOT JUST ONE YEAR EVERY FIFTY-- that was already the case--
Jesus came to bring a worldwide Jubilee
that every year, every DAY,
would speak good news to the poor,
liberty to the captives,
healing to the brokenhearted,
it would speak forgiveness for the guilty,
freedom for those who feel controlled,
release for those who feel trapped,
deliverance, laughter, relief, joy,
JUBILEE!
He is declaring that what God has planned...is now at hand...now beginning.
The Biblical language naturally uses the paradigm of kingdom. For it is the one rightful ruler coming to set things right...by reclaiming His rule and reign. Today we might speak of this as a regime change.
Using this very language he would also make clear that it was just the in-breaking...the inauguration... for it would begin a time in which spiritual opposition... eternally defeated...would continue to seek to control and destroy the true kings world.
It would not be over until the king returns in all his glory and judgment is finalized.
But this mission of restoration has begun.
We see that these words are focused on those whose need for freedom is most obvious... the poor, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed.
He must "Bring good news to the poor”. In other words, the good news must reach those who society has cast to the side. It's a mission to the marginalized...not because they are special in themselves...but because of the fact that the powers to control and condemn lives is most notably upon them. In Luke’s day, the poor did not have rights.
The poor...the sick...the widow...the orphan... were marginalized. They were the least... the last ...the lost.
But the ultimate Jubilee has come. the restoration of creation has begun.
So from the synagogue, Jesus hits the streets.
He meets a leper walking down the road, and does what no first century Jew would ever consider doing. Jesus reaches out and touches the leper. He is not living out he mission. (Luke 5:12-16)
A sinful woman whom he speaks forgiveness to (Luke 7:36)
To children often treated as property until they gain value by their age...Jesus blesses...and says in effect..."Come into my community...Experience my life...Experience my love."
It's a mission to every outcast and orphan...literal and spiritual...to offer inclusion in a family.
He confronts the powers of isolation and loneliness – intent on reconciling lives and restoring community and relationship with his Creation.
Hear the Heart of God…declaring that he is not afraid of your uncleanness, my uncleanness or
the uncleanness of the human race.
It is...
The Mission of Restoration: "Setting things right" inwardly and outwardly
These words from Isaiah are prophetically poetic in meaning - they have meaning which transcends the literal. They speak to the ultimate spiritual nature of freedom...but can be reflected in the literal forms of freedom. i.e. setting captives free...blind to see... has always understood such to be signs of the spiritual.
We must understand the breadth and depth of what was under control. The tension that arises in the people has to do with thinking that God would simply overthrow an oppressive government and bring freedom to their nation of Israel. Israel's independence was not the highest cause...or purpose. National freedom in itself would only reveal that something greater is needed.
Israel as God's chosen people were chosen to be the first people God would reveal Himself to...and the people by which God would bring salvation through. It was not simply about their national success. Salvation involved more.
Humankind willfully had given themselves to that which defies the good of God.
We are separated from God...our wills do not naturally submit and align with His will and ways. As good as we may be...we are 'not THAT good.'
God does not destroy the created order...but enters it.
And what he sets right is the restoration of relationship with God...by his perfect alignment of will.
> That would lead to his very death... and in that death defeat of the power of the control of evil.
He also bore that separation and imputes to all who receive his death to be restored as those who bear God's image. [4]
2 Timothy 1:9-10 (GW)
Before the world began, God planned that Christ Jesus would show us God's kindness. 10 Now with the coming of our Savior Christ Jesus, he has revealed it. Christ has destroyed death, and through the Good News he has brought eternal life into full view.
It’s clear from Jesus’ speech that he does not perceive his mission as one that he is accomplishing alone…. ”spirit of the Lord is upon me”
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are about an eternal plan.
The community God is coming to rescue an orphaned humanity.
2 Corinthians 5:18 (GW)
God has... restored our relationship with him through Christ, and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships.
So the setting of things right... involves the root of being set right with God.
That is the ultimate freedom being brought. And it is fully met in Christ's total submission to God the Father's will...and by that he defeats the power of death and separation...he bears the consequences of separation because of our sin. This restoration is reflected in confrontation with every form of evil's control and oppression.
Jesus did more than preach the Kingdom....more than announce it with words.
He demonstrated its reality with ‘signs of the Kingdom’, public evidence that the Kingdom he was talking about had come.
Since ‘the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work’ (1 John 3:8), he inevitably came into collision with the prince of darkness. The signs of the Kingdom were evidences that the devil was retreating before the advance of the King.
Jesus described these as "signs"...and later the work of healing, releasing people from spiritual powers that oppress, and other miracles.... we described as the "signs and wonders" of the kingdom. [5]
When John the Baptist asked if Jesus was the Messiah... Christ replied by telling of the miracles that were worked, and which were His divine credentials.
Matthew 11:4-5 (NIV)
Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Soon they realized that the ministry of Jesus...and the ministry he had now called them into... was the announcing of restoration that was marked by:
"Signs and Wonders"
"Signs" point to something beyond themselves.
"Wonders" are that which draw our wonder at something because it is so unusual or beautiful.
What helps us to consider the meaning and merits of what we share? It is the experience with His love and power. The love of God demonstrated in a tangible, supernatural way breaks through the barriers people tend to put up.
The in-breaking of the Kingdom of God - God's reign and rule - comes forth in declaration and demonstration... word and works...sharing and showing.
> We cannot separate these two. The setting right of things must include our own reconciliation as persons through Christ...as well as the confrontation of oppressive works in life. The Gospel is news of restoration - of relationship... and broader consequences.
God's Call is to Join the Mission
John 17:18, 20 (NLT)
Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.... 20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.
We become the intersection.
There is an intersection within us that connects with the intersections around us.
Our lives with Christ must flow from the sanctuary into the streets. Sanctuary is a metaphor for intimacy with God. The streets are a metaphor for the mission of the gospel in the world.
We are called to love people into life-changing encounters with God.
We are most truly followers of Christ when we think not in terms of “How does this social club meet my needs and reflect my preferences,” but “How can we bring God's love and power to my neighbor's needs?" Now, that doesn’t mean that we don't gather and grow together... but it means that our ultimate mission is to love people into life-changing encounters with God.
1 Corinthians 1:9 (GW)
God faithfully keeps his promises. He called you to be partners with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
You were created for a mission
We are looking for a mission to take hold of us
The Gospel addresses this quest for purpose with a radical idea: We are not called to find our mission. We are not called to search and stress to find a particular vision or dream for which we will die. We are called to join our Creator God.. in the mission of restoration of Creation.
Finally...
Some Keys to Joining God's Mission of Restoration
1. Our Ultimate Life Mission is rooted in our personal identity with God
Jesus had the Spirit come upon him and bless him as the obedient son already loves. That was the calling out of which he then lives. He was not fulfilling a job description....but an identity...and destiny. In the same way he calls us into a life-defining identity...to be those who now know the Father.
Jesus began ministry out of his calling as 'beloved son', explaining he must be about 'his Father's business'; Paul gave up all titles to call himself a servant / slave. He didn't add a new set of tasks to life as much as he realized that his life was filled with meaning in this identity.
If we operate out of trying to be important and valuable... we will be enslaved to the cause. We can even become enslaved by what we believe is a good religious or "Christian" sense of cause.
We might prove more fruitful if we stop trying to do good Christian things and start trying to BE good Christ centered lives.
You are not what you do, you do what you are.
In the potent words of Dorothy Sayers,
"Our vocation is not, primarily, a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do."
(Note: we will explore more next week about what it means to stay continually rooted in the Father's love.)
2. Our Ultimate Life Mission flows from compassion.
The good news is that "God so LOVED the world that he gave his son..." (John 3:16)
The good news is not that God felt so guilty that he sent his son...or so obligated that he sent his son. The Good News flows from God's LOVE. And that is the only way it will flow from us.
It is a matter not of empty obligation or some prideful endeavor.
It s a matter of seeing what God sees...and responding. [6]
Matthew 9:36 (NIV)
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
(Note: we will explore that process more in this series.)
3. Our Ultimate Life Mission lies in the "naturally supernatural" intersection of life.
This series is about hearing and forming the call afresh to join Jesus in the work that is "Naturally Supernatural."
It is not about becoming simply other-worldly or estranged from this world. It is an intersection of the eternal realm with this created realm... this natural realm.
“The kingdom of God is here and now, which means it’s not somewhere else and later.
This can be reflected in the simplicity of "Can I pray for you right now."
CLOSING...
Do you know what business you are in?
Do you realize that your life is part of a bigger story.... a mission of restoration of all creation?
> Don't stop short.
350 years ago – a ship landed on the northeast coast of America
First Year – established a town site
2nd – Elected a town government
3rd – Town planned to build a road 5 miles westward into wilderness.
4th – People tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road 5 miles west into wilderness.
What is so ironic is….
They had a vision to see three thousand miles across the ocean
In just a couple of years they were unable to see even 5 miles outside of town.
> Lets not be like that town...who discovers a new world... and then ventures no further... choosing to just enjoy what is now familiar.
If you are just exploring....will you dare to ask him to help you see the bigger picture?
If you have entered that intersection will join him in what he is doing? Agree to be his disciple...apprentice... in restoration?
CLOSING PRAYER
Resources:
John Wimber “Power Evangelism”; Bob Hostetler; Jon Maurer of the Baton Rouge Vineyard - "A Beautiful Mission" (drawn from Part 6 from The Bigger Story Of God by Travis Twyman); The Miracles of Jesus - Wikopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracles_of_Jesus
Notes:
1. Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell at a Willow Creek Leadership Conference, 2002
2. George Morrow of Morrow Computer Systems once gave an interview to InfoWorld magazine. He said: "An article in the Harvard Business Review called 'Market Myopia' talked about how some people didn't understand what business they were in.
"For example, the railroad people didn't realize they were in the transportation business; they thought they were in the railroad business. Had they realized they were in the transportation business they would have invested in the airplane.
"The telegraph people thought they were in the telegraph business instead of the communications business. In 1886 or so, they could have bought all the telephone patents for $40,000. So obviously these people didn't know what business they were in.
"I used to think these guys were really dumb because they didn't know what business they were in. Then I asked myself, 'What business am I in?' I have yet to hear an intelligent answer to that question. I don't know what business I'm in."
Christian, have you ever stopped to ask yourself what business you're in?
3. Luke 3:1-6 (NIV)
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.... the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation.'"
4. Regarding Jesus himself as the center of restorations...and a "sign" of God's favor at hand...
Jesus used the historicity of Jonah's account to confirm his own death and resurrection. Jesus told the religious leaders of His day that the sign of Jonah was going to be the last sign, of his resurrection: "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:39-40).
John 10:37-38 quotes Jesus as follows:
"Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."
Ephesians 1:7 (MSG)
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!
Romans 5:10 (NIV) - For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
5. Regarding signs... we also see an instance of verification in John 3...: "Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came unto him by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that thou doest, except God be with him" (John 3:1,2). The signs that Jesus did were overwhelming proof to Nicodemus that God was with Jesus, for no man, unaided by divine power, could work the miracles that Jesus did. Such is the Biblical purpose of miracles.
6. Regarding Jesus and compassion we also read:
Matthew 14:14 (NIV)
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Matthew 20:34 (NIV)
Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
