What is Our Mission, from God’s perspective?

Our Mission, from God’s perspective

Ephesians 6:18-24

Introduction:

Communication is a critically important factor in any relationship as well as any endeavor or business. But we often set aside communication, saying “They don’t need to know that!” We could avoid many conflicts by clear communication: Both sent and received. Perhaps this is one reason God calls Jesus the “logos”—the Word—the “ultimate communication” of God. And we do need to know that!

Hebrews 1:1 says, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son…” and then it goes on to demonstrate that Jesus was and is God’s greatest communication of Himself to Mankind. We could say that is “a given communication”…but there has to be a reception, of course.

The Word Became flesh. God communicated in human form. He had sent signs in the creation, judgments, prophets, visions and dreams…all as communication. Finally, he showed up in person, God in the flesh: Jesus himself—God’s best communication.

When we receive Christ, we have believed God—received His communication. When we obey his Word, we are demonstrating faith: (received communication again.) John 1:11, 12 says that the Word “Came unto his own (Israel) and his own received him not, but to as many as received him to them gave he power to become the children of God.”

As a nation the Jews refused to believe. But God gave the ones who did believe the new birth, and they received the Holy Spirit to indwell them forever. Communication is critically important…let’s look at some of the different kinds:

Four Kinds of Communication

Here in Ephesians 6:18-24, We find four kinds of communication listed:

Prayer—communication from us to God
Witnessing—communication from us to unbelievers—to “make known the mystery…”
Sharing with believers—feedback—prayer requests, sharing answered prayers—both joys and sorrows, “that ye may know…” (By the way,we must distinguish this from Gossip. This is “…so that ye may know our affairs.” Gossip is crossing over into talking about other people behind their back…one must learn the difference.)
God communicating His peace, his love and His living Grace to the believers, every day.

All four of these forms of communication are to be part of the daily Christian life. All are part of the job Jesus gave us to do. So: What is the job?

**What is the Overall Mission of the Church—Our Reason for Existing?**

The Great Commission is literally our “marching orders,” and World Evangelism is the only job Jesus has assigned to the Church. Everything else is how we are to carry out that One Assignment.

Consider: Everything else He told us to do, we could do better out of the world than in it. (Do you think you “love one another” better now than you will after you are finally rid of your old sin nature?) But the job of being an ambassador can only be done here in this life. And that is why He keeps us here: He wants us to do that job! So, how does each of the types of communication fit into the overall job?

Prayer: Communication with God

Many passages tell us how to pray, how often to pray, how not to pray, etc. But, Paul gives some specific commands and requests, here: He commands us to pray continually in the Spirit, for the brethren, with all supplication and perseverance. He asks prayer for himself, too, and I think it is important to see exactly for what it was he asked for prayer.

It had nothing to do with his finances, his work, his home, his health, etc. It only involved his doing the job God sent him to do. He asked that “utterance may be given”—that he would be able to communicate the Gospel. He specifically asked twice that God would allow him boldness, so that he could speak as he ought to speak, and that he could “make known the mystery of the Gospel.”

Make Known the Mystery of the Gospel

If you don’t give someone enough information that they could make a decision for Christ,then you have not “made known the mystery of the gospel!” Sharing the Gospel with unbelievers has to be from the desire to feed them the bread of life. If you are afraid to give them the whole truth (Bad news and Good news,) then ultimately, you are not giving the Good News. We need to pray this same thing for ourselves, for boldness to make known the mystery of the Gospel.

Is it OK to pray for our physical circumstances? Yes! But how you pray reveals your priorities. If the main things we pray for are good health and good income, how do we differ from the folks who are actively preaching a “prosperity doctrine?” (Teachingthat “if you are right with God, then He will make you healthy and wealthy!”) We know that is false teaching, but our prayer life reveals that we really think that way somewhat, ourselves. Paul’s prayer life, on the other hand, is very instructive. He prayed for the physical well-being of others only a few times, and, at least once, when he prayed for his own physical health, God said, “My Grace is sufficient for thee!”

But God commands us to pray—for the world leaders, for all believers, and for the lost. He invites us to pray for ourselves, as well: Just realize that not all “hard times” are outside the will of God. Some suffering is a gift from God. We need to be in submission to God. But He tells us to “cast our cares on him,” to “pray without ceasing,” and to “pray, believing that He hears us.”

Evangelism: Communication With a Lost World

What about evangelism? We already talked about it a little, but the truth is, Evangelism is supposed to be part of every believer’s life. We are Ambassadors for Christ. How will an ambassador of a country function if he is not making contacts “for his nation,” as his job dictates? (Or “for God,” in our case?)

We are sent as the messengers of eternal life. We are to share the bread of life, the water of life, the free gift of God’s Grace. Every bit of that requires communication. Can some of it be non-verbal? Certainly it can! But it cannot all be non-verbal. The Grace your unbelieving friend, co-worker or family-member may see in your life still has to be explained!

Peter said in 1^st Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you…” That requires verbal communication. And the Lord simply says “be ready”…it’s going to happen. That is part of the job…it’s part of the Christian life.

Remember that though the overall goal is to reach the World with the Gospel, it still requires meeting the unbelievers one by one, as a rule. You meet them where they are, and you feed them where they are hungry. You go beyond the “normal” world standards for generosity and kindness, and you share the reason for your faith at every opportunity.

Fellowship: Communion—Sharing With Other Believers

Who do you like to “hang out with,” and why? Who are your real friends? And when you are visiting with other believers, do you ever include the Lord in your conversations? Or is He “shut out until Sunday?” Can you really be “carrying out the mission of the Church” if you are not also fellowshipping with other believers around the person of Christ?

I remember reading in an account of Paul Fleming (one of the founders of New Tribes Mission), how, prior to the founding of New Tribes, he had gone to Malaysia with a different organization. He was fervent in his desire to reach the lost, and excited about the opportunities that seemed to surround him.

Not Everyone wants to “Share” in the Ministry.

At a “missionary gathering,” he unrolled a map and began sharing with a group of men about a tribe that he’d heard of in the back-country hills of Malaysia. He didn’t get far before one of the other men shut him down, saying, “Fleming, let’s not talk shop!” He was shocked and hurt to discover that to the rest of the group, yes, this was “the job,” but to them it was “just” a job; they did not want to talk about it “on their own time.” What does this suggest about the reality of their “servant-to-master” relationship with Christ? It was not a reality: This was their “day off.”

I once telephoned a pastor on a Monday, enthusiastic about something in the church. He answered the phone and angrily reproached me for calling him “on his day off.” I was shocked, but I quietly apologized, and finally said, “I don’t have a day off.” He called back later and apologized for his response, but still later, I came to realize that the first response had accurately reflected reality. The second response was only covering his social error. It was “just a job” to him.

Bad Communication

We do need to be aware that not all “Christian communication” is of God. I have frequently heard communication that obviously is just gossip, but it is prefaced with “Let me tell you this so you can pray about it…” (Do you want to know something? God says he hates gossip!) Be careful that your communication is of a sort that would honor God and edify the rest of the believers. Do make a point of sharing your own prayer requests and those that are public information…just be wise about what is discussed. It is easy to cross over into gossip.

Sharing your OWN joys and needs is Not Gossip

Notice that what Paul shared with them through Tychicus was information about himself: “…so that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.” Was Tychicus talking about Paul? Surely he was…at Paul’s direction, and with the express intent of sharing the results of their earnest prayers on his behalf, and the work that he was doing.

The result was not “fun stuff to know and tell,” but rather joy and comfort for the believers. It was exactly the information that Paul would have told them if he had been personally present. Tychicus was doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. (By the way, he was the scribe who wrote the letter, as Paul dictated, and the one who hand-delivered it as well.)

We share with others freely when we know that they are faithful brothers and sisters. Paul said Tychicus was a beloved brother and a faithful minister. That is why he was entirely comfortable with Tychicus speaking on his behalf. I have had people who I barely knew, and with whom I had virtually no relationship, let alone a secure one, enticing me to share very personal information about my private life. Warily, I firmly but respectfully said that I did not think that would be profitable.

I later found out that my hesitation was well-founded—that individual ultimately proved to be a gossip, deliberately using against other people things that were supposedly shared with him in confidence, as a pastor. That is a sad story, but it is all too common among believers. Don’t allow yourself to fall into that trap, either on the “telling end” or the “listening end.”

Received Blessing:

God Completing the Cycle and Communicating with His People

So, how does God communicate with the believers? We know He communicates through the Written Word, and via the Holy Spirit, but the things Paul prays for here are gifts from God, communicating His love and blessing to the saints:

Paul prayed for peace, and love, with faith, for the brethren. All three in this context are not associated with salvation, but rather the blessings associated with walking in obedience and fellowship with God. The fact that they were “brethren” precludes any thought that he was praying for them to achieve peace with God. Peace with God was achieved at the Cross, and was eternally theirs the moment they trusted Jesus as their Savior. (Ephesians 2:14-16; Romans 5:1)

The Grace Paul prayed for, in this passage, for the believers, as well as the peace, and love with faith, are the necessary commodities we need, to live the Christian life. We walk by faith. We walk in Love. And, we experience the peace of God, as we daily experience the living Grace of God.

Conclusion:

Paul gave a benediction, directed at believers, but narrowing the field just a little. He said “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.” If I interpret this to simply mean that “because my new nature can do no wrong, and that it truly loves Jesus completely,” then I might conclude that it only says “…because you have a new nature, as a believer, the Grace of God is always with you.” And, in a way, that is certainly true.

But Paul is saying something more direct and with deeper implication: It is a promise of God’s living Grace upon and with every believer who actually walks with God. Jesus said, “If you love me you will obey my commandments.” I really doubt that any of the disciples said, “Heh, heh! Well, you know, because we have a new nature that can’t sin, we are always obedient at heart…”

God Takes Sin Seriously

No, God takes sin seriously, even in a believer’s life…in fact, more so, in a way: Though the punishment for my crimes against God was carried out at the Cross, there are still consequences for sin, and rewards for obedience. God specifically says that he disciplines his children.

So, the promise here is actually “narrowed” a bit—all the promises in chapter one were positional in nature—they are true of us simply because we are born again. But this one, like others, is conditional. It is conditional upon consistent obedience and a sincere Agapé Love.

It is interesting: the English word, “Sincere,” comes from the Latin word “sincerus,” which literally means “without wax”—untainted, unadulterated. But there are about six different Greek words from which the translators got the English word “sincere”—and none of them mean “without wax.” None carry precisely the same idea as the English word. In this particular case, the Greek word is “aphtharsia,” meaning “without corruption.”

A Conditional Promise

So, Paul held out a conditional promise: Agapé love is not “mushy feelings” or even “fondness:” It is an act of the will whereby the person doing the loving, acts entirely in the best interest of the person (or principle) receiving the love. Look at 1^st Corinthians 13…every single example given in defining Agapé love is an action: It is not about feeling at all, but rather, doing.

So, what does it mean to “Love the Lord Jesus Christ without corruption?” If you saw a marriage within which one party was surreptitiously cheating on the other, or at least constantly getting dangerously close to adultery, wouldn’t you see that as corruption in that marriage?

Think about how frequently you teeter on the edge of sin, or even plunge into outright rebellion and sin, because of anger, or greed, self-gratification, laziness, or whatever. When we choose to go our own way, we are putting our own selves above God; our own desires above His. That is precisely what Paul is quietly warning against. He is holding out a special promise for those who put Jesus first in their lives, across the board, without hedging.

It is worth pursuing, and it is possible to attain, or he wouldn’t have offered it. I suspect it is a “you get out of it what you put into it” arrangement: “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7-9 read it)

Give this some serious thought, and consider how you can claim this conditional promise in your own life.

Lord Jesus, help us to purify our hearts and to love You without corruption. Teach us to become the Ambassadors You have called us to be, serving as Your hands and feet and voice in this dying world. Amen!

February 24, 2018

The Priesthood of the Believers

Hebrews 13:10-16; 1^st Peter 2:5; Revelation 1:6, 5:10

Introduction:

We have been studying through the Epistle to the Hebrews, for several months, and we are finally in the last chapter, where the writer addresses a number of issues, and gives instructions to believers. You may recall that the book had seven comparisons to Old Testament figures, or “pictures,” each showing that “Jesus is Better.” In fact, that seems to be the central theme of the entire epistle.

There were also seven stern warnings, evidently to those dabblers in the faith, who were not fully committed to the truth of the Gospel, nor to Christ as their only hope for salvation. These warnings were dispersed throughout the first twelve chapters. However, most of chapter twelve and all of chapter thirteen has moved on from that theme, and is addressing only instructions and encouragement to genuine believers.

Verse nine of chapter 13 was an admonition to not be “carried about by strange doctrines,” and it briefly addressed the problem of the Jewish (or other) dietary laws, as an example, where legalism is the broader concept. But, moving on from that idea, the writer ties together the specific dietary laws and privileges of the Levitical priesthood, with its limits and the total privilege of the Christian believer.

The Old Testament priesthood offered sacrifices for Israel, some of which also, subsequently, became the food of the priests and their families. But the sin-offerings brought by the high priest were not to be eaten: not by anyone; they were taken away and burned outside the camp, or outside the city walls, in the times of the temple. But many of the sacrifices were definitely eaten by the priests.

Jesus made one sacrifice, forever: He was executed outside the city, and buried outside the city. He fulfilled the prophetic pre-figure of the sin-offering for the people by the high Priest. And he is now our high Priest.

He has stepped beyond the picture, so to speak, into a reality that transcends what all the animal sacrifices could do. They could only cover sins, as the believers looked to God in Faith. The blood of Jesus takes away the sins of those who look to him in faith. We look, and live!

But something that many people miss is the fact that in bringing us to the Father through his own blood, and opening the way to the Father, (through the veil, which, it turned out, was a picture of his flesh, torn at the Cross); in doing so, He has ordained us as Priests, as well. We bring sacrifices to God, and we make intercessions for one another, and for the lost.

We now serve that altar, as well. But the Old Testament priests, who served the tabernacle or the temple, could not transition from the old, physical altar, to the real altar, unless they also received their Messiah by faith. So they have no privileges at all, in this, the true temple.

A New Altar

¹⁰We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

Remember that the priests were fed from the sacrifices (not all of them, but many.) And no one else could eat that food. They alone had that privilege. But this situation is reversed: those priests cannot feed at our altar. He goes on to explain why:

¹¹For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.

The priests did not eat the carcasses of the animals brought by the High Priest, as sin offerings—those were burned outside the camp. The priests had no right to eat those sacrifices.

¹²Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
¹³Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

Jesus died as our sin offering. The altar we serve does not include animal sacrifice. It included one Solitary offering for sin, forever. Our worship and service is continually brought to him, but He remains “outside the camp” so far as the unbelieving world is concerned. So that is where we serve Him. We recognize that the genuine service of Christ will never be popular with the enemies of God. Bear in mind, when I use this phrase, the fact that all humans start off as “enemies of God”. Romans 5:10 states that “…while we were enemies, Christ died for us…”

So, to the unsaved, unbelieving World, the service of Christ, at any level, is a repugnant thing. They want it to be “outside the gate”…rejected from “polite society.” We need to embrace that as being simply appropriate. They see us as worthy of rejection: we need to see ourselves in Christ, and recognize that if we are living like him, and not offending by our human follies and sin, but are definitely being rejected because of the Cross, then we must joyfully accept our position in Christ, and understand that our proper place is “outside of polite society,” though those who consider themselves the “polite” ones are actually those who despise Christ.

A New City—our true home.

¹⁴For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

We know that our citizenship is elsewhere…that our home is elsewhere. We sing “This World is not my home…” and it is literally true. We are just passing through. We are “…pilgrims, in search of a city.” It isn’t comfortable, but it is reality. Embrace reality! This is where we live! We are in Christ, by God’s Grace, and if we want to walk with Him, then we must go where He goes. For the time being, it means we are to be excluded by our co-workers, our neighbors, etc., as “Bible-thumpers, Religious fanatics,” etc. But, for all time, it means we are in Christ. We go where He goes. If he is rejected (and He is), then we should expect to be rejected, too.

In the future, we will no longer be “outside the city.” We will be those inside…with Jesus, in the New City…our new home.

A New Priesthood.

¹⁵By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
¹⁶But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Who is it that offers sacrifices, as a part of his job? A Priest does! We are called to be a “holy priesthood” to God. (1^st Peter 2:5) Notice that our sacrifices are not only those of praise and thanksgiving: He calls us to do Good, and to share. He counts those things as sacrifices, too, and specifically warns us not to forget the practical side of Christianity. James says similar things, questioning how a genuine spirituality can even exist without a practical outworking of it in one’s life. The answer is…it can’t. The genuine activity of God in a believer’s life always changes the life of the believer, and it always positively affects others!

1^st Peter 2:5 says “Ye also, as lively stones are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”

What kind of spiritual sacrifices? “…the sacrifice of praise to God, continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.”

Over in Romans 12:1, 2, Paul exhorts us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice…and he says that it is a reasonable service. We are priests, and all we have to offer is our selves. Jesus already made the only offering for sin. We bring ourselves as a worship offering.

Kings, or “a kingdom?”

In Revelation 1:6, the apostle John states that Jesus “has made us kings and priests unto God and his Father….” (KJV) I am not sure why they do it, but many newer translations render this “a kingdom of priests”. The Greek word “basileis”, used here, is also used over in Revelation 17:12, where it talks about “…ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet…” The word there for “kings” (Greek, basileis”) is identical to that in Revelation 1:6, while the word for kingdom is different: it is the Greek word, “basileian”.

The wording in the first chapter (also in Revelation 5:10) makes it clear that our placement as kings and priests (not a “kingdom of priests) is past-tense. It is a done deal. Jesus has already made us kings and priests in Him, and we shall reign (future tense) on the earth. The “reigning” part is evidently future, or at least partly future, but the priesthood portion is current. It is now! We have already been given the dual-duty of serving as an ambassador, reaching out to the World, in the name of the King of Kings, while also serving as priests, offering sacrifices and prayers to the Holy God to whom we belong.

In case you haven’t thought this through, we are the only body of believers in history who have been so described. The Jews in the Millennial Kingdom, living in Israel, are to be called “holy unto the LORD”, and are said to be “a kingdom of priests”. That fits! Israel has always been a nation; and a kingdom is what they have been waiting for. But the Church has never been a nation, and is not looking for a kingdom, but the Bridegroom. The Church is the Bride of Christ. And Jesus, though He is certainly “King of Kings”, is not said to be the “King” of the Church, but the “Head” of the Church. The Church is also the “Body of Christ.” We are not a kingdom of priests, but kings and priests. Romans 5:17 says that we shall “reign in life”. We need to think about that one! Will you choose to “reign” in life, or still be a slave to your old nature?

A New Assignment

We have been given the spelled-out task of being ambassadors of Christ, reconciling the World to God through the person of Christ. Paul says that the job is to be accomplished by the preaching of the Cross…evangelism and discipleship. This is not a slick “sales-job,”, but an honest task of clearly, simply presenting the King, both by our words, and our living example.

Paul pointed out the folly of trying the “Madison Avenue” approach: “…not with wisdom of words, lest the preaching of the Cross be made of none effect” (1^st Corinthians 1:17)

This is not about “clever” approaches, and persuasive presentations. It is about living the truth of Christ in your life, constantly, and speaking the truth of Christ when an opportunity is given. It is about looking for those opportunities, and praying in advance for the opportunities to come. It is about anxiously watching for the chance to share, and yet offering no offense by sharing in a wrong context, or a wrong time.

It is also about being courageous enough to go ahead and take the risk of rejection: we know that the majority will reject the Lord, and likely reject us with Him, but that does not mean we are not to share with them. Jesus died for the sins of the whole World. He said that was what he came to do, and that is what He did. If we have any doubt about that, we need to turn to 1^st John 2:2 where it says, “…and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole World.”

This is why the Apostle Paul stated that he was “…debtor, both to the Greeks and to the barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise…” He knew that his job was to present Jesus to a world of lost sinners for whom Jesus had already died! Jesus, whose blood had already paid for their sins. Jesus, who, being believed in, is God’s only offer of redemption.

Don’t we have that same debt? Since you know that the price of redemption has already been paid, but that, for lack of faith in that blood-sacrifice, people are doomed to a Christless Eternity; don’t you have an obligation to be looking for opportunities to turn people away from destruction?

In the news lately, we heard of a mass-shooting, at a school in Florida. An unarmed security guard confronted the shooter, and put himself between the shooter and the children at whom he was shooting. He died in his task. Meanwhile, it turns out that there were one or more deputies, outside the school, armed, and sworn to protect, who refused to enter the school, but stood outside, listening to people being killed inside.

Which of those fellows would you rather emulate? When they stand before their judge, in whose shoes would you rather be?

We know people are dying for lack of a voice from God. We have to choose whether to be that voice. That is our only job. Will we do it?

A New Future

Our future has already changed. We are secure in Christ. We will be with Him for eternity, regardless of our current failures. But: our eternal reward (not our salvation: not eternal life)– our eternal reward depends on how we respond to Him as our Master.

We will be where He is. We will live through the Millennial Kingdom in our new bodies, and will be given tasks with which to honor the King. However, the kind of tasks we are given (as nearly as I can understand it) will depend on how we respond to our assignments in this life.

We have many tasks, in this life: some big, some small, some seemingly insignificant. But the assigned job, of every believer, great or small, is “Ambassador for Christ”. You may feel that you have been assigned the ambassadorship to the worst hole-in-the-wall, insignificant dump on the planet. But if you are faithful to serve there, then you are honoring God with your life. He doesn’t miss anything. He knows our hearts.

Remember the poor widow, regarding whom Jesus said “She has given more than all the others, for out of her deep poverty, she has given all she had to live on.” (Luke 21:1-4) Jesus knew exactly what was going on in the hearts of each of the worshippers. He knows our hearts today, as well.

Proverbs 11:30 says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise.” Daniel 12:3 states that “…they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever.”

We knew an elderly woman at Cornell Estates, some time ago, who was confined to a wheelchair, due to a stroke and extreme age (100+ years), but she was still actively seeking to lead people to Christ. As we got to know her, we discovered that, when she was younger, she had hosted “good news clubs” in her home…and that today, all the deacons in her home church had been led to Christ in her home as young children, and today are the leaders of her church. Do you suppose she qualifies for these passages? How about someone who has never aggressively preached the Gospel, but who has faithfully lived it, and demonstrated the practical righteousness, that ultimately turned many to righteousness? I think the same passages apply.

I really do not want to be like those deputies in Florida who stood outside and listened to children being murdered, without attempting to confront the gunman. I want to go ahead and take the risk, and do the job I was called to do.

Lord Jesus, give us clear minds to think through our life circumstances, and the courage to face our environments with the mind of Christ. We are not our own masters, and you have given us a job. Give us the Grace, day by day, to be faithful to that job.