Church on Purpose- SEND: "Go!"

Sermon: FCC Afton February 26, 2023 Church on Purpose Series Send: "GO!" Scripture: Matthew 10:7-20 Our Church on Purpose series has been an examination of the purpose of the Church- and not just the general Church, but you as the Church, your purpose. We've looked at what it means to listen and know Christ's teaching and then to teach others what Jesus taught us. And we've examined what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and to make disciples of others. And we have asked the question: what does it mean to go unto the world for Jesus as readied, disciple-making disciples and to grow the Kingdom of God? Last week, we begin the two parts of our Send pillar. We are looking at what it means to not only be called by God and to actually go do what He's called you to do, but also what it means to live every day in the readiness, in the expectation, in the willingness, to accept God's call- living in surrender to God. As we wrap up this Church on Purpose today, we are going to examine these questions: * What does Jesus mean when He says go? * What is the commission that He gives each of us? How do we begin to live in that surrender to do good works that glorify God and that grow the Kingdom of God? * If I know that God expects me to show others the fruit of my faith by actively working for the Kingdom, and I know that God will honor my desire to be used most effectively by Him, then what do I do next? Where do I go? Read Matthew 10:7-20 [Pray here!] Salvation is the most important imperative of Christianity: you personally finding salvation and being restored back into right relationship with God. But right below salvation, and maybe just as equally important in the long run, is discipleship, the second imperative of Christianity. Discipleship is the principle of you becoming more and more like Jesus and then helping others know who Jesus is and also find salvation. That is the overriding truth of discipleship: you have received an active commission, a call to go and be effective for the Kingdom of God, living your life in such a way that others desire to know Jesus and surrender their lives to Him. The definition of commission is "the authority to act for another" or "to authorize, to put into service." We see this idea often in our culture: the commissioned officer- you have the authority to undertake and accomplish the mission, to carry out the orders given to you by your commanding officer; the commissioned artist- you have been hired to perform an artistic act for an individual, to produce a painting based on the idea that I have envisioned. And we see this repeatedly throughout Scripture: God commissions individuals for His purposes. He gives us a task and say, 'Go, be faithful, and I will be faithful to equip and prepare you. Be faithful to see your part through, even if it doesn't line up with the world's measure of success.' We see this with the Apostle Paul: 'I'm going to send you to minister to the Gentiles. Maybe you'll change the world; maybe they will kill you. Maybe both.' And with Peter: 'I'm going to send you to the Israelites, My chosen people; show them their need for the Messiah who has already come.' And with Jonah: 'Go, preach to Ninevah. I have prepared their hearts for repentance.' But often we also see a commission where the instructions are unclear, where we don't understand the calling, but we have to just be faithful to follow and let God do what He's going to do: 'Abraham, go out from your home, go cross the desert, be faithful, and through you, I will establish My people.' Main Idea: Like Abraham, You and I, Christians, we have received a commission from Christ to act on His behalf for the Kingdom of Heaven. We have been put into service for the King! -Matthew 10: Go, preach the Gospel; Matthew 28: Go, make disciples, and teach them; Acts 1: Go, be My witnesses; -2 Corinthians 5: "We are Christ's ambassadors, certain that God is appealing to the world through us." Wherever God calls you to go, whatever He calls you to do, you've got work to accomplish! -Maybe God's plan for you is to call you across the globe to preach the Gospel, or to work with orphans, or to do something else entirely. Maybe God's plan for you is to stay here local, to open up one of these old buildings as a shelter for abused women and abandoned children. Maybe it is to become a leader in this church and in this community. Maybe God's commission for you is to become a painter, an author, or a musician; maybe you feel that desire in your heart but it's been so long since you did anything about it. You will probably never become famous or rich doing what God wants to do through you, but this life is not about being famous or rich. You may never even accomplish anything that you would call "done" or where you can say that you at least made progress; what God has for you to accomplish may be something that feels like you are beating your head against the wall for years and years. This call, this commission- it's not about success; it's about your obedience! It's about your surrender! It's about being faithful to listen to God's direction and to do it, as Colossians 3:23 says, "enthusiastically, as if you're working for the Lord, not for men." The Great Commission that Jesus has given us is purposeful! It's not an optional thing that some Christians might do, if they're really good at that sort of things- or that some Christians do when they go overseas on missions trips- or that the preacher is supposed to do to grow the Church. Read Matthew 28:19-20 again: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them... and teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you." and Acts 1:8 again: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be My witnesses..." It means YOU! [Insert name here], you go and make disciples; you baptize; you teach; you will be My witness to the end of the earth! Wherever God has called you, wherever God has made you passionate, go there and be effective for the Kingdom of God. Point 1. Beyond anything else, no matter where God calls you, no matter where He puts you to work, the imperative of the commission is to preach the Gospel! Spreading the message of the King and demonstrating His power and authority is your number one task! Matthew 10:7-8 "As you go, preach the message: the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons." It matters little whether your role in this commission is as a schoolteacher, nurse, police officer, garbage man or the president of the United States; your task could be painting a masterpiece, writing poetry that will move people's hearts, coaching little league, or holding authority in the largest company in the world, your number one job is still the same: to preach the Gospel whenever and wherever as you go! Like Abraham, will you step out in faith and go when He calls? Will you work at fulfilling the Commission, simply because the God of the Universe calls you to it? Matthew 10 is the Master's charge to the men He was about to send out to do His work. This is the commissioning of the disciples as Apostles: as delegates of the King who have received direct revelation about the King's business and plans and who are then able to speak and act as the King's delegated ambassadors. We have been commissioned to continue the work, the call, given to the Apostles: preaching the Gospel and performing miracles. It is not an easy task, which is foreshadowed by Jesus here in chapter 10: the mission will bring persecution, and yet the servant of the Gospel will be sustained by the power of God, and in giving himself for Christ's sake, the servant of the Gospel will find the only kind of life that is really worth living. -The Greek word for this type of command or commission has four distinct meanings, each of which point back to Jesus and the commission that He puts forth for us. -The first use is a military context, a military command. Like a general sending out His commanders on a mission, Jesus briefs us for what is coming and then sends us out into a dangerous world; we have a mission to accomplish for the King! The second use is that of a man calling his friends to help him accomplish some task or project. Jesus calls us, those He calls friends, to entrust this important task with, to help Him see it through. The third use is that of a professor giving rules and precepts to his students. Jesus is indeed like a trrrher sending students out into the world, equipped with His teachings and His message. The final use is that of a message from the King to an ambassador about some official project or task. Jesus is the King, sending us, His ambassadors into the world to carry out His orders and to speak on His behalf! Our active work in the role and task that God has placed us in reflects His power and authority to the world! Ideally, our faith will be strong enough that we would be healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons, but even if we are not at that level, we are still to shine our light in the world by serving others in whatever way we can- * If that means buying groceries for the family next door, then do it! * If it is babysitting every night so that a single mom can work to provide for her family, then do it! And then love on those kids and show them Jesus with every second that you have with them! * If it sharing a kind word with someone at the gas pump, then follow the Spirit's leading and do it! God has given you specific gifts to use in accomplishing the tasks that He has for you to accomplish. 1 Peter 4:7-11 "Be serious and disciplined for prayer. Above all, maintain an intense love for each other, since love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God's words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything." -Your work in this call you have received will be authenticated by what you do with the gifts, time and opportunities that you've been given! -That means that if you've got the gift of speaking, and you're wasting it on being a gossip rather than in telling people about Jesus, then you are not doing what God has called you to do! If God has blessed you with monetary funds and you're using the majority of that money on yourself rather than on opportunities to further the Kingdom of God, then you are wasting that money and your reward in heaven gets less and less! If God has placed a story in your heart to write, a song to sing, or a picture to paint, and you're not working toward that, then you are wasting the gifts that God has given you! The world is watching, waiting to see what you will do with what you've been given, waiting to see if this Lord that you say you serve is worth them committing themselves, as well! Point 2. This isn't going to be a walk in the park; there is danger in this task you've been given! Matthew 10:16-17 "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard against men." It will cost you to surrender yourself to God and begin living for His purposes. Not only do you have to give up command and control of your life, but there is a tangible cost from the world and added spiritual warfare. It is going to place a big bullseye on your back, because the last thing that the enemy wants is for Christians who are really surrendered to God and who are living their lives with an attitude of surrender, actually living out the commission that God has given them and responding when God says to move. Like Abraham, you may be called to undertake a dangerous path to get where He wants you, but it will be worth it when you are obedient. He is faithful to equip you for the journey. While we may not yet be at a place of outright persecution against Christians in America, we have now readily begun to see the culture turning against Christianity and claiming that the Christian faith is hateful and phobic. We begin to see rise in an attitude of "I can do whatever I want. No one can tell me what to do. Because I do not believe there is a God, let alone a personal God who cares what I do, there is no ultimate standard of what is right and what is wrong." The very foundation of traditional, Biblical norms is now being labeled as hateful, but the world's perspective doesn't change anything about what we are supposed to do for the Kingdom. Even if everything that we stand for is eventually labeled as hateful or as criminal and they begin to throw Christians in jail for their faith, then we will be able to stand with our Brothers around the world who are already experiencing such behavior- and we will then be able to stand in honor with our Savior for having experienced just a little of what He experienced on our behalf! No matter the earthly consequences, we must proclaim the Good News from the rooftops! Matthew 10:27-28 "What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the rooftops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." This is straightforward. When you surrender to God, you put aside any worries about potential consequences. If God has called you to preach the Gospel, preach it no matter what may come! If you are called, like Saint Valentine, to help marry Roman centurions even when the Emperor outlaws it, you do it, even if it means that you will lose your life because of it. No matter what the world or the enemy can throw at you, you do what God has called you to do! You do it even when the world says you're crazy, when the world tells you to stop or puts you in jail. Ultimately, what can the world do to you!? -Read Acts 4:19-20 "But Peter and John answered them, 'Whether it's right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard!'" Be unable to stop speaking, stop teaching, stop writing, stop painting, stop coaching, and stop praising! If Jesus is the Lord of your life, then live like it! Give up your control and hand the reins off to Him! Go where He leads you. Go to that place where your passion meets the deep hunger of the world, where the X marks the spot, where your gifts and passion meet the needs of the world around you- go there and serve! Be faithful in the work that God has called you to! Invitation and challenge: God is waiting on you to surrender your life to Him- either to the gift of salvation or to the plan of activity that He wants to involve you in! If you have not accepted the gift of salvation and believed and trust in Jesus for salvation, but you are ready to have that conversation, let's talk. If you are ready to commit yourself to the process of discipleship- of being devoted to Christ's good works and becoming an example of Godliness to those around you, let's talk. If you think that you know that God is calling you to do something specific, let's talk. Let's pray and begin to work that out and get an idea of what God is directing you to do. Or if you just want to tell God that you are ready and willing to go and do whatever He asks, then let's talk. The altar is always open for you to come and have a conversation with God.