In our consideration of God’s different purposes for your life, we have mentioned the fact that life is preparation for eternity. You’re going to do four things in heaven forever and ever and ever. And God wants you to practice those here on earth. The first is worship, knowing and loving God. The second is fellowship, loving one another. The third is discipleship, becoming like Christ. And the fourth is service, using my God-given SHAPE to serve Him.
Today, we come to the fifth purpose God has for us, which is the only purpose you can only do on earth. You and I were made for a mission.
“I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me.” - John 17:18 (CEV)
As we think together about how we are made for a mission, it is helpful to know that you have both a common mission, one that you share with all believers, and a custom mission, customized for you.
Let’s think first about our common mission. What is it? Jesus was very specific about what that mission is:
“Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone.” - Mark 16:15 (NCV)
That’s our common mission. We as believers are called to share the Good News with everyone everywhere. The Bible says that once I know the Good News, that God loves me, has a purpose and plan for my life, and invites me to know Him personally, God wants me to pass that message on to others who have yet to hear it.
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Notice that Jesus doesn’t say that we have to be His defense attorney. He doesn’t say we have to be his prosecutor. He doesn’t say we have to be His salesman. He says we just have to be His witness.
There is where we come to recognize our custom mission. We are to be Christ’s witness. What is a witness? A witness is somebody who just tells what they have seen. A witness tells what’s happened to them.
You see, nobody can be a better witness concerning your life than you. So God says, “I just want you to tell other people what’s happened in your life as a result of coming to know me.”
Since no one else can tell your story of how you came to Christ, sharing your story is your custom mission. Each of us has the responsibility to share with others how Christ has changed our lives and given us a reason for living.
“The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me - to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.” - Acts 20:24 (NCV)
Are you seeking to live your life “on mission” for God? Here’s what is interesting - together we can fulfill our common mission as each of us commits to fulfilling our custom mission.
What’s exciting to consider is that as each of us if faithful to share our story, we pass along to others His story; and as more people embrace Christ as their Savior, we are a part of fulfilling history.
Why is this? Because, as we said previously in this series, God is building a family. God is building a family that is going to spend eternity with Him. And that is the whole point of history - God is building a family that’s going to live with Him forever and love Him.
And God wants family members from every nation. He wants them from all over. One day all believers are going to be gathered together in heaven. This is not Mission Impossible. This is mission inevitable. It is going to happen. And it has been God’s plan all along.
“This was God’s plan for all of history which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Ephesians 3:11 (GW)
Here’s an amazing thing: God has chosen us to complete the mission that Jesus Christ started when He came to earth.
I heard a story about how when Jesus ascended into heaven, an angel asked Him “What's next?” Jesus responded, “My plan is to give the Good News to My children on earth and ask them to share it with the whole world.” Then the angel said, “What if they don’t? Do you have a plan B?” Jesus replied, “No. There is no plan B.”
We’re it. Being on mission is the greatest privilege we’re ever given, to be in on making history. So how do you become a history maker? Understand that we help fulfill our common mission as we seek to complete our custom mission. Each of us has a unique mission field, and as think together about what Jesus told His disciples here in Acts 1:8, we can be helped to discern where our custom mission field is.
Where should we go to share the Good News? Let me encourage you to complete the Acts 1:8 card as we talk about this. We are to share the Good News with those with whom we have a . . .
1. Personal Connection - “Jerusalem”
Jesus said we need to start at home, our Jerusalem. These are folks who are part of our family or who are our friends. People that we are already connected with and share our lives with. The fact is that this should be the most natural place to start in sharing what Christ has done for me.
2. Proximate Connection - “Judea”
Jesus also emphasized the need to reach out beyond those I already have a relationship with to those close to me that I have the possibility of developing a relationship with. People who are in my “Proximity.” Co-workers, neighbors, fellow club members, other parents whose kids are in little league with my kids, etc.
3. Potential Connection - “Samaria”
The Samaritans had a culture that was different from the disciples. In fact, the Jews typically look down their noses at the Samaritans. Jesus said, though, that if we are going to be faithful to share the Good News, we must not overlook those that are different than us, whose lifestyle, culture, or economic standing is different that ours. We cannot content ourselves with reaching out only to those whose are like us - we must also seek to reach those who are not like us.
4. Possible Connection - “the ends of the earth”
We might be intimidated when we consider the challenge of going to the “ends of the earth” to share the Good News, but by the power and providence of God, it is possible for you and me to be involved in touching the ends of the earth for Christ.
For years, of course, we have understood that we can participate in taking the Good News to the ends of the earth by supporting those who would devote their lives to that challenge. Through our giving to support missionary work, we can touch the ends of the earth for Christ.
But in this day in which we now live, it is literally possible for us to travel to foreign lands to participate first hand in taking the Gospel to the world, and I would highly recommend that you do so at least once in your life time.
(Have folks look over their card)
Let me encourage you to make this card part of your daily prayer time, asking God to prepare their hearts, to prepare the way, and to prepare you. Having thought about our personal mission field, let’s talk about how we might move forward in living on mission for God.
Four “Be” Attitudes of an Effective Witness
1. Be Praying -
“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” - Matthew 9:37-38 (NIV)
We need to ask the Lord of the harvest to send us forth into His harvest field, keeping divine appoints where, as willing workers, we might be led across the path of a seeking soul, so we might tell them about our gracious God.
2. Be Available -
“Here am I. Send me!” - Isaiah 6:8 (NIV)
3. Be Ready -
“You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.” - 1 Peter 3:15 (NLT)
4. Be Expectant -
“Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.”] - Colossians 4:5 (NLT)
(When’s It Going To happen? Video)
