CRW: Commission
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But what is the point of all this?
The very end of our service this week is so brief, it is the briefest part of our liturgy.
One little sentence.
May the grace of the lord Jesus Christ and the love of god and the fellowship of the holy spirit be with you all.
Why is that included?
Is it just to make us feel nice?
A Feast
A Feast
Why does a King feed his knights?
To celebrate the glory of the kingdom
To strengthen them for their missional task.
What is the missional task of a knight?
What is their mission?
To serve the king,
protect the kingdom.
To push evil back from evils foreign and domestic,
To win him new lands
To do exploits in the name of the king.
A knight brings honor to the king.
Commissioned by the king
It is God who does the sending.
Sent with a blessing
WHAT IS OUR MISSIONAL TASK?
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. 18 Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
What is the commissioning?
The benediction.
bene - well, good
dicere - say
benedicere bene dee cere
benediction - to bless
And of course words of blessing are filling our pages of scripture.
Most notably in the Word of Blessing, Jesus Christ himself.
Which we truly receive by faith in the eucharist meal.
Remember we speak of the sacraments as “visible words”.
We have received the visible word of God in the meal,
and now God blesses us on our departure.
Proverbs has much to say about the tongue and the power of blessing
6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
4 The tongue that heals is a tree of life, but a devious tongue breaks the spirit.
24 Pleasant sayings are a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and healing to the bones.
20 The tongue of the righteous is pure silver; the heart of the wicked is of little value. 21 The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense. 22 The Lord’s blessing enriches, and struggle adds nothing to it. 23 As shameful conduct is pleasure for a fool, so wisdom is for a man of understanding.
It also tells us when NOT to bless someone:
14 If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse to him.
22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: 24 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’ 27 “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”
“Put my name on the children of Israel”
13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
58 So then, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (you having been firmly rooted and established in love), 18 in order that you may be strong enough to grasp together with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
20 Now to the one who is able to do beyond all measure more than all that we ask or think, according to the power that is at work in us, 21 to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, who also will do this.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.
This is how Christians talk.
We speak life.
We are ambassadors for Christ.
Embassy.
Does the ambassador stay inside the embassy all the time?
No.
He’s out amongst the kingdoms of the world, acting on behalf of the King.
How does the eucharist and the benediction equip us for this missional task?
Funnel turns into a rocket launcher
We carry the blessing of the feast with us.
We really enjoy something special here.
This meal that we share is not just a fun thing that we do together, it is a picture of our love.
The thought and care that goes into preparing the food,
the attentiveness to the dietary needs of others while still producing a large meal,
this is actually our first example of the feast being extended beyond the scope of our church service.
We are reminded of our identity once again.
The same God that baptized you is the same God that now sends you out.
This is why we extend our hands out.
We are acknowledging that we are receiving God’s blessing,
and what we see is the minister, but it is truly Christ who is blessing us.
We are reminded of our mission.
18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Forgiven scenario
This week someone will sin against you.
Unmerciful servant
How do we power through and forgive?
Well you don’t power through anything.
You remember the words spoken to you on Sunday.
That your sins are forgiven through Christ.
Alone scenario
You are lonely.
“The fellowship of the Holy Spirit”
Discouraged
All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me!
You are a new creation!
You are an ambassador for Christ!
31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything? 33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies. 34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. 35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, 39 height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Scared/anxious
25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a good word cheers it up.
Think back to the many words that were spoken to you by Jesus through His minister on the Sunday prior.
The Lord be with you.
Your sins are forgiven.
Christ’s body given for you.
The blood of Christ shed for taking away your sins.
Tired scenario
In the same way that your body was nourished by this meal so our spirits are nourished by the Holy Spirit in church. But this nourishment doesn’t end on Sundays. The Holy Spirit is always with you.
When you’re feeling depleted, spiritually and physically,
maybe you just need a snack :)
But even more so you need Christ.
Christ has given you His Spirit and His body.
If your spirit is tired, go to Jesus in prayer and ask for strength.
If your body is tired, go to His body and ask for strength.
And where do we find Christ’s body?
In the church.
We bear one another’s burdens and when we do, the watching world is literally seeing the kingdom of God with their very eyes.
42 And they were devoting themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers. 43 And fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were being performed by the apostles. 44 And all who believed were in the same place, and had everything in common. 45 And they began selling their possessions and property, and distributing these things to all, to the degree that anyone had need. 46 And every day, devoting themselves to meeting with one purpose in the temple courts and breaking bread from house to house, they were eating their food with joy and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding every day to the total of those who were being saved.
As conclude our worship series,
I hope that your view of God’s work has been expanded.
It is the greatest mystery in the world that God condescends to us in the simplest items of Word, Water, Bread, and Wine every week.
By these elements He washes us clean, feeds us, and issues us with holy orders to claim all that is rightfully His.
The church is the beating heartbeat of the world.
As it contracts and expands each week, life giving blood is carried throughout world.
As the church is faithful to Her given task, this river of life irrigates more and more places.
It irrigates your home first.
Then your neighbors.
Then your whole town,
and then the world
We are co-operators with God on a project to save the world.
The government is truly on God’s shoulders,
He is the Prince of Peace,
He is the mighty God,
He is the everlasting Father.
And of the increase of His government there will be no end.
When God placed His triune name on your life He put you on the winning team.
He placed you in the kingdom of light.
And now YOU extend this light to wherever it will shine.
