Sacrifice Required Series

On a Mission from God - Sacrifice Required

Mark 12:41-44; 2 Samuel 24:18-24

Series intro

Slide

“We’re on a mission from God”

Blues Brothers

If you grew up when I did, you remember those words from the movie, “The Blues Brothers.”

John Belushi’s character, Jake Blues, was in a church service with James Brown as the pastor and he saw the light and he sensed a mission from God to raise some money to pay the property taxes on the orphanage they grew up in.

The movie is about their escapades to raise the money and save the orphanage.

As they were seeking to do this, they would tell everyone, “We’re on a mission from God.”

We really are on a Mission from God

Now while Jake and Elwood may not have really been on a mission from God, God has given each of us who are Christians, who are part of the church of Jesus Christ, a mission, so the reality is if you are a Christian, you are on a mission from God.

This is not a solo mission however. God did not call us to be a one man band. He has called us to be a team, to be His body, to work together so we can accomplish this mission.

As we approach Easter, the time when we celebrate the victory that Christ has won for us, I think it is important to be reminded of what it is that we are here to do.

So, we are going to spend half of our time looking at what the mission is that Christ has given us, and then for the rest of our time and the next couple weeks, we are going to look at how we as individuals can be a part of accomplishing this mission.

So, to begin, I want to ask

What is the Mission?

Slide

Well the mission we are on as individuals united together by Christ as part of His body is found in the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18-20

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

That is the mission of God for the church and for each of us who are a part of the church.

So in easy to understand terms, we as the people of the church are to

Make Disciples

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Help people know about Jesus and receive Him as Savior to become His disciple

Baptize Disciples

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Help people take their first steps of following Jesus to grow as His Disciples by encouraging them toward baptism as a believer.

Teach Disciples

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Help people to learn what God’s word has to say and encouraging them toward obedience to His word.

That is the commission we have. In fact that is the commission that every church has. Every church that claims the name of Jesus Christ has this as their mission. We can’t just be doing one of these, we must be doing all of these to accomplish the mission.

Well if this is the commission of every church, how come all churches aren’t exactly the same?

Philosophy of Ministry

Well, while our commission is all the same, how we accomplish the mission varies.

Each church, whether this is stated or not, has a certain philosophy of ministry.

By that I mean, how does the church accomplish its mission. It is kind of like the personality of the church.

You will find churches that are more formal, and less formal and everything in between. You will find some churches that keep to more traditional styles and other churches that are more contemporary.

Now just because a church is not your style, does not make it wrong. The question to ask is “Are they fulfilling the Mission from God?” Now, I would say that being in a church that is more reflective of your style is probably a good thing because you will most likely best be able to use your gifts and be part of accomplishing the mission from God.

Transition

Ok, so God has given us the mission which is found in the Great Commission. Individual churches have varying philosophies of ministry in regards to how they will best fulfill that commission, and individuals have been gifted in particular ways so as to be united with others as a body to fulfill God’s commission in local churches.

So, we know what we are supposed to do. Are we doing it? And are we doing it well?