Is the Mission Really Complete?
Pastor Glenn Newton
April 1, 2005
Acts 1:1-11
Very few of us ever enjoy the luxury of coming to the end of even our most productive day & saying, "It is finished. I’m through. I’ve accomplished everything I set out to do today."
But Jesus could do that. Jesus could say, "It is finished. I have done everything that God wanted me to do."
In the wilderness He conquered sin. On the cross He conquered death. In the grave He conquered hell. And now in space, as He ascends to the Father, He has conquered Satan himself.
Behind Him is the persecution of men. Before Him is the applause of angels. Behind Him is a cross. Before Him there is a crown. Behind Him is Calvary. Before Him is all of heaven’s glory.
The question that I ask in the title of this message is this….. Is the Mission Complete?
In one sense, Yes, Jesus completed all that He came to do… He won our freedom, He defeated death and Satan and now He reigns with the Father in Heaven…. But what are we to do now as we wait for His return?
I want to share 2 things we can take from Scripture that can help us answer that question.
1st - Be Convinced of Who Jesus Is and what place He will have in your life
3 “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”
Jesus spent his earthly ministry revealing Himself, who He was, who the Father is through His life, through His actions, through His love for all men. Jesus came with a purpose and a plan, and He fulfilled that purpose, just as the Father had sent Him to do…
The truth is God has done everything He would ever need to do to try and reach you and me. God has more than paved the way for our faith, God has blazed a trail so that with simple faith and trust in Jesus Christ… We can be saved and our lives changed forever.
In verse 3 of our passage, it says that “Jesus… appeared to them (disciples) over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” It says right before that that Jesus showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive…. The truth is that God wants you to be convinced.
I want to tell you this morning that your Heavenly Father wants you to live your life in such a way that requires you to be 100% convinced about your Faith in Jesus and what He has done for you.
Because if you try to live this Christian life with doubt about who Jesus is, or what He has done for you… You will never know the Peace and Joy, and blessed Assurance that God wants all of His Children to have…. And friend without that Peace… your Christian experience will become hallow and before long… it will not be personal… it will be just hallow religion…. And empty religion will not get you to heaven.
Have you been convinced about who Jesus is and what He has done for you? What is it that you need God to do for you before you believe? How much more could God do than what He has already done? I’m going to say this plain this morning…. He has done everything that is needed…. The evidence is in… the proof is in the book….. The proof of who Christ is evident in the lives of Christians all around you… only one thing can take a life that has been broken and trapped by sin and turn it into something beautiful… only one thing… His name is Jesus… you need to be convinced… You need to Know the Truth… That Truth will set you free.
Christians, don’t live your life in a cloud of doubt and worry. Look at what Jesus spent the last few moments talking to the disciples about…. He “spoke about the Kingdom of God.” The truth is that it’s through your life that the Kingdom of God is being revealed to those that are dying…. You don’t have the luxury of not knowing what to do…. We are on a mission to lost and dying people… they need a people who are convinced, who are confident, and who come with a positive message of Hope and Salvation.
This past week, there were some things that happened that just shouldn’t happen…. Have you had those kind of experiences? I mean it was an injustice, it wasn’t fair…. I could go on and on… but as I was going over all these wrongs and as I began to share these things with someone else… the Holy Spirit checked me and said….. That’s not the right message….. That’s not what people need to hear….. That’s not sharing hope…. It’s just negative and in the end destructive…. So I stopped.
Are you convinced of who Jesus is? If you are, then share His message, share His hope, Share your story with others…. Put down the poison… the negative, Who is Me type of talk…. It only serves to destroy and discourage… insert instead a message of hope and faith.
Some of you today are facing some trials… some rough spots in the road… You may be scared, you may be unsure of the outcome. Are you convinced of who Jesus is in your life? Is He the Living God who reigns in your heart? Is there anything too big for Him? Has He ever left you alone? Has He ever let you down? Has He ever forsaken you when you needed Him?
Then Trust Him Disregard the Doubt… Don’t listen to the Liar who speaks the negative to you…. Trust in Jesus and know that He is with you and empowering you for every area of your life.
The Second Idea that will help you carry out your mission ….
2. Receive the promised Gift of the Holy Spirit, be filled through and through.
What does Jesus say about this great gift? In verse 8 he says plainly, 8 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."
One thing I want you to know and understand is this…. God will never leave you unprepared to do what He has asked you to do.
A good coach doesn’t ask his team to do something they haven’t prepared to do in practice.
A good general doesn’t ask his troops to do something they are not equipped and trained to do.
A good pastor doesn’t ask people to fill positions that they haven’t been trained to do. ( I said a good pastor)
Do you catch what I’m trying to say? The mission is not complete in this world… We are running the next leg of this race… the baton is in our hands… but God has not left us empty handed!
Have you received the Holy Spirit? Do you know that you have received this great gift?
I want you to understand that becoming a Christian is just the first step of this Christian experience… God has so much more for you as you grow and learn and obey what you learn. Salvation is the beginning but it’s not the end.
We believe that when you are saved, you sins are forgiven and the Holy Spirit.. The very spirit of Jesus Christ comes into our hearts… moves in if you will. We call this initial sanctification. You might think of it like this, your cup is half full when it comes to being filled with the Spirit. Let me explain.
Does anyone know what that piece in the middle of the washer is called? The part in the middle that moves back and forth and shakes the clothes back and forth? What is that called? I’m going to call it an Agitator…. What is the purpose of the Agitator?
As far as I can tell, it sole purpose is to cause havoc for the dirty clothes… it’s there to shake and separate the clothes from all the dirt and grime and money that may be in or on the clothes, right?
As soon as we are saved, the Holy Spirit moves into our hearts, but He doesn’t have our heart to himself… there’s still a lot of things in there… the main one being our own selfish desires…even though we have been saved from our past sins, there still remains some things of the world that we are still fond of… these things of the world have a way of attaching themselves to us like dirt on clothes… they can stain us, they seemingly won’t come out.
The Holy Spirit, being Holy….His nature doesn’t allow Him to live in a dirty environment, so He begins to gently and lovingly, He begins to agitate, to shake… to convict us of the things that need to leave our heart…. You see God wants us to be filled with His Spirit… and only when we come to a place in our lives where we are willing to remove all the dirt…can we truly be Filled with His Spirit. Until then, many times our spiritual life fills like we are in a washing machine…. The Holy Spirit constantly, because He loves us so much, constantly agitation within us, convicting us of the things that need to be removed from our lives…. The truth is it is God’s will for all to be filled with the Spirit…. But it’s your choice… it’s up to you… If you willing to surrender every area of your life… every area.. Past, present, future… habits, control, finances, family… everything that means something to you…. Total surrender… When you agree to total surrender… you then can know what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit… and then understand what it means to live with power that’s indescribable other than to say… It’s God working in me.
Are you tired of living the Washing Machine kind of Christian life… constant agitation? Be filled with the Holy Spirit…. Surrender to your King
You see this Surrender isn’t a one time event. Now there needs to be a one time event where you do finally surrender to your King and ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit, but then it becomes a natural part of your walk.
This week, the Holy Spirit has made it clear to me what it is I need to surrender… and I’ve said Yes to Him, we don’t ever get to old, too Christian, too Holy ….. The truth is Being Filled with the Spirit will enable you to stay surrendered, stay obedient and sensitive to what God wants in your life….
If you want to carry out the Great Commission, if you want to be all that God has created you to be…. You must be Filled with His Spirit… Surrendered to His Will… Clean in your heart…. Have you made that Choice? You can today.
