Our Place in the Mission of God

Intro

Good morning and welcome, everyone. Very glad to be here with you today. Hey, maybe you’re new to Tabernacle, maybe you came as a guest through KidVenture. If you’re here this morning, and you’re visiting because your child is singing with us, we’re glad to have you. If you’re new here this morning and you are not a Christian, and what I mean by that is that you have not consciously surrendered your life to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you do not have assurance of forgiveness for your sins, I have a question that I want you to ponder, which is likely going to be more impactful than anything I say in the sermon today:

What, in your life, do you consider worthy of your worship? Everyone worships something. As Christians, we seek to worship the One True God, the Creator of all things, and the Redeemer of Man. Some worship false gods. Others may worship celebrities. Some worship money. Others worship self.

Friend, if you are here as someone who does not believe the truths of Christianity, you should know that the Bible tells us we’ve all rejected God and worshipped other gods. You might not think of yourself as religious, but we’re all religious. It’s just a question of which god you worship. But the Bible tells us there is only one true God, and that the worship of these false gods earns his wrath. Therefore, the Bible calls us all to repent and believe.

Now, to our message for today:

A lot of times in the Christian world, we focus a lot on the superheroes of our faith: The preachers; The missionaries; The person with a dramatic testimony… But sometimes we can miss the stories of simple faithfulness that sit in the background of the Christian life. Today, I want us to discover or re-discover the stories of simple, faithful obedience to the Lord, and how that means something for everyone.

Epaphroditus

I want to start with the story of a faithful guy, probably just a normal, everyday Christian, trying to do right by the Lord. Someone who is a dear friend to Paul. Here’s a guy who takes the task of delivering a monetary gift from the church at Philippi to Paul himself, and while he’s going along the way, he gets deathly sick. Instead of stopping, and sending someone else in a foreign land, he chooses to push himself all the way to Rome so that he will make absolutely sure to deliver the care package Paul needs to make it in his imprisonment. His name is Epaphroditus.

Epaphroditus is a guy that takes extreme ownership of the task that’s been given him. He had a deep sense of ownership for the mission.

Everyone Owns the Mission

Philippians 2:25–30 ESV

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Paul lists five descriptions that this guy, Epaphroditus embodies. Again, this is likely an ordinary Christian, just seeking to do the next right thing.

The first three are how Epaphroditus relates to Paul. He is Paul’s brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier. This is Paul commending Epaphroditus for being so faithful and a good friend and help to him.

The last two relate to the Philippians. Their messenger and minister to Paul’s need.

“Complete what was lacking…” A statement of fulfillment of their promise & ministry.

Epaphroditus was sent on this mission on behalf of the Philippian Church. Meaning, the Philippians could not go themselves to Paul’s prison home.

But in light of all this, what we need to notice about Epaphroditus’ service in this time is that care for the mission. Again, Epaphroditus was not a church leader or a missionary. He was a faithful guy willing to make the long trek from Philippi to Rome, even braving a deathly illness for the sake of getting Paul what he needed so that he could continue his mission.

The big thing I want to point out about Epaphroditus’ trip to see Paul:

He cared for Paul’s mission to spread the Kingdom of God. Even more than he treasured his own life, he treasured the Kingdom. In today’s lingo, we might say, he displayed great ownership for the mission.

I have a background with the Cathy family of Chick-Fil-A, serving at WinShape for a couple of years. WinShape is their ministry arm, and they give a lot of money to seeing the fine folks at WinShape go about doing Christ-honoring ministry. During my time there, I saw the kind of ownership that the Cathy family is so well-known for. It’s been said of the Cathys that any time they are entering a Chick Fil A, they are looking for a piece of trash in the parking lot that they can pick up and throw away on their way in. It’s not a critique of the cleanliness of the store, but a display of care and ownership for all things CFA. When you own something, you take a different level of care and display a deeper sense of responsibility for it. Members of Tabernacle, shouldn’t this be all of our attitude toward one another and the ministries we engage in?

Epaphroditus did this when saw a need in his church and he filled it. We don’t exactly know what the making of that decision looked like. Maybe they had a business meeting or something and Epaphroditus said he’d go, or maybe he was elected. Who knows. But he owned the responsibility and he pressed forward. Even in the face of death, he valued the mission. It wasn’t about him or his glory. It was about the mission.

And for those who do display ownership for God’s mission, we do as Paul says, and we honor those who honor Christ”

This is the main point of what Paul is putting forth here, the command to honor one such as Epaphroditus. And I think this has a lot to say to us in our church culture. This normal guy gave his all for the mission of Christ. He’s your average guy, seeking to make a difference. He’s not a pastor. He’s not a missionary. He has no notoriety. He’s just faithful.

There’s a lot more to be said about just being faithful than we give credit for. Indeed, the faithfulness of everyday Christians is a miracle. Think about who you were without Christ, and now think of who you are in Christ! That’s a miracle. Why is it miraculous? Because it is of God. It is not achievable through natural means. We are new creations.

And part of that is how we go about serving the mission of the Kingdom. Different churches have different ways of going about bringing glory to Jesus and making Him known to the nations. We have our ways of doing that at Tabernacle. It looks like age-graded ministries. It looks like choir & orchestra. It looks like our Groups Ministry. It looks like Summer of Evangelism. It looks like our First Impressions folks with the yellow nametags. It looks like teams going out on mission. It looks like men and women who take the Bible beyond our walls.

These are just SOME of the ways we engage in pursuing the mission of connecting people to Christ. I couldn’t sit here and list all of the ways Tabernacle blesses the neighborhoods and nations through our mission of connecting people to Christ!

Look back with me at Epaphroditus. What Paul is saying is, “look. Guys like Epaphroditus? Emulate him. Honor him. And honor those like him.”

Why? Because this is what it looks like when the everyday, normal Christian decides to take extreme ownership of the mission. It’s simple obedience, putting one foot in front of the other.

It Takes All Types of People

Now we take a look at Joseph of Arimathea, one man who leveraged what he had to give great honor to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joseph of Arimathea

Luke 23:50–53 ESV

Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid.

So this Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea and a member of the council, and a follower of Jesus, wanted to honor his Lord.

Now, in Judea, it would be wrong and unlawful to leave a dead body to decompose out in the open. So while Romans would often leave bodies hanging on crosses until they rotted, as a sign, they had to make special concessions in this territory. But most bodies would be taken down and taken to a common grave for those who could not afford their own gravesites.

Joseph would not have this for Christ. He cared for Christ, and went to Pilate, and arranged to take care of the body himself. Further, he wanted to put Jesus in his own grave that he likely had hewn for his own family.

The scriptures tell us that it was a new grave, unused by anyone before Christ.

Now what you have to understand is that this is a very extravagant event. Nobody does this for just anybody. And it was a big risk for Joseph. By doing this, he was stating that he was for Jesus after the rest of his council mates had just had him turned over to the Romans. He was setting himself up for enmity with the rest of the council.

It was likely Joseph had servants who helped him take the body of Jesus down. We see this a lot in ancient writing. The servants who are helping Joseph are included in “him.” In John, we even see that Nicodemus was there helping him. Nicodemus, of course, the Pharisee who asked Jesus about receiving eternal life, to whom Jesus responded, “You must be born again.”

Joseph used his means of wealth to give Jesus a proper burial, and set the stage for an undeniable resurrection.

Joseph risked his status and his life by making it known he was a disciple of Christ.

At the end of the day, Joseph took what he had and used it for good.

And God took what Joseph had, and made it immeasurably great. Because it was a new grave, it would be no mistake that Jesus Himself had risen from the dead. There would be no other bodies to confuse him with. There would be no other visitors to the grave. It set the stage for a true resurrection.

And this was done because a rich man looked at what he had, saw the need that needed to be met, and offered what he had for the glorification of Christ.

T: What would the movement of Christ look like if all of us chose to use what we have to honor Christ?

The Poor Widow

When I think of this question, I am often reminded of The Widow’s Offering.

Luke 21:1–4 ESV

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

A poor widow, with two pennies, which by the way, did you know they’re gonna stop making the penny? A widow with two pennies goes and gives them to the offering box at the temple. Another example of someone who took what she had, and gave it to the Lord, to let Him do what only He can do.

Here’s the big point sitting behind these three examples in particular: Fulfilling the Kingdom Mission of God takes ALL KINDS of people! It’s not just something for rich folks; skilled folks; able folks… This is for all of us. Regardless of your means, Christ regards what we give according to our hearts and what we have available to us. Epaphroditus did what he could. Joseph gave what he had. The poor widow gave what she have. That is what Christ would have of us.

Shoot Your Shot and Use What You’ve Got

So there are our examples. But there’s also a principle:

I think the principle lies squarely in Romans 12. Following Christ and honoring Him is a matter of taking what we have and using it for good.

Let’s look in:

Romans 12:3–8 ESV

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

All of our gifts are to be used for the Lord, and to be encouraged and spurred on among us as believers. In these ways, we follow in the footsteps of Joseph of Arimathea who took what he had and leveraged it for Christ. He took what he had and did what would be honoring to the Lord.

Listen, a lot of us love to try to find our callings, and that’s great and all, but I think too often we put the cart before the horse when we sit back and just wait for some divine calling to hit us like a ton of bricks before we ever do anything good for the Lord. I think calling language can get in the way of simple obedience. Yes, there are ministry-callings and times the Lord reveals things to us in a special way, but these things are never promised to us in Scripture. And yet many people get lost in looking for signs and symbols for direction on what they are to do.

I had a conversation just this week to this effect.

And you know another thing that using special revelation as a crutch does to us is it paralyzes Christians from simple obedience. I wonder: how many Christians here today shy away from serving a ministry at the church because they fear “missing” out on some idea of God’s perfect will? Can I just speak to that for a moment? If God wills for something to be done… Don’t you think it’s going to get done?

Like, why not just start with simple obedience using what God has given you? More often than not, we find our callings in the midst of simple obedience and giftedness over divine revelation. God tends to like to use humble means of revealing these things to us.

But to do this, you’ve got to be willing to step out and do something for the Kingdom. You’ve got to be willing to serve in places that, hey, you know what, it may not be your perfect match. But you don’t discover your gifts by sitting around and doing nothing.

I found my gifting by getting out there and just trying things for the Lord. I took risks. What were the risks? “Maybe I won’t like what I’m doing.” Ok, so then look for an exit ramp. Like don’t just quit if you’re serving a ministry, that’s not honoring to the Lord, but maybe look for a way to say, “hey, this isn’t the best spot for me, I think I need to find a new spot to serve.”

It’s simply taking what the Lord has given you and making the most of it. In the leadership realm, this is often called “leverage.”

One of the great mysteries of history sits on the northern edge of Africa in a land called Egypt. In Egypt, there are these massive gravestones called, “the great pyramids.”

Many have wondered how in the world the Egyptians could have built those massive pyramids off in the middle of the desert. I mean, haven’t you seen those stones they built them with? They weigh an average of 2 and a half tons each. That’s about 5000 pounds!!!! So how in the world do people move things that big? Surely they can’t carry them.

Theories have ranged from using some high-tech sound vibrations to alien intervention.

But the most realistic of theories? Lever and fulcrum… Using the lever and fulcrum, one can put in very little work and accomplish a whole lot.

If you’ve ever been on a seesaw, and there is what you would call a… weight difference, the heavier of you could sit closer to the middle of the seesaw, and the lighter of you would have an easier time utilizing the seesaw.

So with the pyramid blocks, the Egyptians could use simple machines to accomplish great feats.

Leverage: Using means available to accomplish feats otherwise impossible.

The Egyptians took what means they had and leveraged them to accomplish something great.

So what do you have that you can employ for the purposes of the Lord? Do you have time? Do you have resources? Do you have a particular gift? Some gifts are extroverted, others introverted, doesn’t matter, they all play a part, and when we go about using those gifts, we have an outsized impact upon the Kingdom and people of God.

That’s what you see here in these stories of these three faithful, normal people, right? They were just seeking to do something good with what they had. And who of them had the most sizable impact? Well. One of them received commendation from the Master himself. And by all accounts and measures, the poor widow would be the one that you and I would probably most discount, wouldn’t she? And yet, in her small act of faithfulness, she brought more glory to God than even the sizable donors that were giving around her.

Brother. Sister. Take what you have and use it to bring glory to the Lord. Do you have a spot you’re doing this in your day-to-day life? Do you have a role of service here at our church?

Gospel Presentation & Close

Find a spot for this? If you’re in our service today, and maybe you don’t believe in God, don’t believe in Heaven, I challenge you to ask yourself this question, and to do so honestly: what in my life is worth giving my life for?I think many would be tempted to say something along the lines of friends and family, and that’s noble. But, think, is there anything eternal for which I can trade my life? Something that will not only outlast me, but stretch into the unending future?