Mission Possible

“Our Mission, Should We Choose To Accept It..."

Intro (talk about moving to James next week, general stuff…taking a second this week to talk about what God’s doing here at MCBC, and what he is calling us to move towards)

Acts 1:1–8 ESV

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Pray

[picture here]

You all remember that old show “Mission Impossible?” For those of you unfortunate enough to miss out on the era of great shows, I encourage you to youtube it and watch it. It isn’t quite as action packed as the modern movie versions of it, but it is a great old show.

It is based around this agent, Jim Phelps, who leads a team each week on a seemingly impossible mission. They are all a part of a covert group that is tasked with bringing peace to the world by subverting all the evil that pops up in it. And each and every week, as they are told their mission, on a cassette tape by the way, the same message - “should you or any of your IM force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. Good luck, Jim. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds.”

[maybe a story to setup the rest? something transition]

And they were off. One of the most striking parts of that show was Peter Graves. You see, he always looks so calm! He doesn’t look like the mission is impossible at all. He looks like he knows that everything will be great as long as he sticks to his training and does his job.

Well the same can be said of us too! We sometimes look at this life, especially the Christian life, as Mission Impossible! But it isn’t! In fact, it is pretty easy, we just tend to forget our training, and then we complicate it with a bunch of other stuff that need not be there. So this first week after Easter, I thought it appropriate to remind us all of our mission, should we choose to accept it.

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While this text doesn’t explicitly say it, it does imply that there is a mission to be carried out by all believers. We are to be Christ’s “witnesses” in this world. But what does that look like? What does it mean to be a witness? How do we even do it?

While this text [Mission impossible story opening....then textual tie in - then love God love neighbor tie in…what does that mean? What does that look like?]

Well, I think the answer is pretty straight forward! It is also fundamental to all that we are as Christians! So much so, that I made sure it was in all our logos, and bulletins. It is tied to our doorposts, and written on our foreheads, and our hearts! I talk about it constantly, because frankly, so did Jesus!

Love God, and love your Neighbor.

I want to, today, talk about that in light of this text and in doing so, hopefully I can help us all to move closer to succeeding is this “mission possible.”

Love God

Getting in the word - This seems pretty straight forward, really. But it isn’t as easy as it sounds for us. Our text today reminds us that there is more to knowing God than just reading! The audience, the person the author of Acts, which is likely Luke, addresses this volume to is this guy Theophilus. Well that person is us, right! Theophilus literally means “God lover!” So to love God means that we get in His word and read it like it is the one thing that can connect us to someone we love more than anything! This is our loved ones story! This is what they are all about, and we have to get into it and know it for ourselves. We can’t just take the stories for face value, we must digest them and apply them to our lives. That is what we are about here.

That’s hard, I know. And we fail at it - I know I do from time to time. But even when we fail, we get right back to work trying again! That is what Mount Calvary is about.

Getting in Prayer - After God presents Himself to us, and after we get to know Him in His word, we must talk to Him. Our text today reminds us that God will baptize us in the Holy Spirit. That Spirit, it is the mode through which we communicate with God. It fills us, it binds us, it flows through all we do and say and think.

Like a marriage, it is the thing that keeps us on the same page. Kate and I, just like every married couple, have moments that we are perfectly in sync, moments when either one of us will make the right decision for both of us. And then there are other times, the times when I make a decision…just kidding. But seriously, there are other times when we need to talk. We can’t just go willy-nilly. We have to discuss things and work them out. That is just marriage.

Likewise there are things that we would only know about each other if we were to actually sit down and talk - seriously talk. Not just cursory, “good mornings” and passing conversation. But that intentional talk that you have with someone you value more than anything.

That is prayer. That is why it is important. To love God, like our companions here on earth, we must pray to Him and have a conversation with Him.

Getting involved in Faith - The way you pull all of this together is pretty simple. Just get involved in faith. Get to work doing what God is doing in your communities of faith. That starts in your personal life, which flows out into your home life, and your work life, and your church life!

Listen, we are blessed here at Mount Calvary to be able to do so many great things to help show our community we love them, and that God loves them! We have to get involved! That doesn’t mean more work, necessarily, but it does mean increased investment in things that matter!

I can’t tell you how many times I sat and wished that my daughters would go play outside, or stop being hard to get along with over the past several years. I would pray for it. I would think of ways to react to it to better remedy it. But it wasn’t until I made the difficult choice to remove from our lives the things that stood in the way of God’s peace transcending our lives that there was actual change! It wasn’t until I fixed the environment, made the situation ready for change, that change occured.

It is like gardening. If you go out into your front yards and throw out some tomato seeds and some lettuce seed and maybe some corn seed, or a whole potato even, something might grow. There might be a little movement, a little growth, and a little success. But not much. It isn’t until you plow it up, and amend the soil that you get a great garden! There has to be a change of the conditions of the soil to make it work.

Likewise, we must change the conditions of our lives, our situations, our families situations, in order to see the growth we want to see. We can’t just wake up some Sunday’s and go to church and expect our families, or our own, spiritual garden’s to thrive! It doesn’t work that way! We have to change the conditions, the environment of our faith. We have to invest in that soil! We have to nourish it! We have to feed it! We have to put some time into it!

If we would just take that plunge, church. Life gets so much better. It doesn’t take much, either. If you come every week, maybe find a small group. If you can’t find one, we will make one. Maybe decide to join us on Wednesdays, or come Sunday evening. Maybe you just come to the events, or maybe you just make it a point to visit with other members when you can. If you come on some Sundays, maybe you make a commitment to be more regular, whether that is here or somewhere else in the world. If you come every Sunday and are in a small group, maybe you volunteer at events or visit with our home-bound. We will find you something, I promise you that.

I was speaking with a member at our Easter Egg hunt. It was a long time member of this church. Anyway, they told me as we were watching all those children, and those families, playing together, that they would have never guessed it would be like that. They were amazed. They went on to say, if our people would just come out to see it, they would be blown away.

I want to add to that idea, because that person is hitting the nail on the head. If we just get involved in faith, in the day to day life of God’s church, and this expression of that church, you will be amazed at the things you see in your lives, and especially the lives of others.

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 1:

That is what our last verse is all about. You see, when you invest in your own relationship with God, and love Him that way, you will receive power. You will be amazed! You will be prepared for this life, and more importantly, you will be ready to become God’s witnesses in this world!

And notice, church, that begins locally! Jesus’ order is important! First it happens where you are; the life, the marriage, the town, the job, the church - then it moves to the region (Judea and Samaria), and THEN it moves on to the ends of the earth!

But it all starts right here. In your lives. In your homes. In this room. It starts here, and moves outward.

And as it moves outward, then we will naturally invest in others the same way we invest in God!

That is what makes this mission so possible! You see, when we invest that way in God, it will evidence itself in the way we treat others! You can’t invest in God, really invest, if your actions don’t bear it out! In fact, the Bible tells us that when you do that, when you claim to invest in God but then hate your brother - and make no mistake, hate isn’t explicitly hating, it is more often used to imply ignoring, or being apathetic towards - so if you hate your neighbors, if you ignore them if you are apathetic to them, if you just don’t ever think to reach out and help them, your religion is a lie, the Bible tells us!

You see, you can’t love God and not love what He created. You can’t. When my kids make something, whether it is good or not, I love it. I love it, I cherish it, because it was made by them and is a part of them.

So it is with all people. God made them. They are a part of God. And we must invest in them, the same way we invest in God.

Get involved in their lives. Get in prayer for them. And get them involved in faith through your faithful life and deeds that bear out Gods love for them. Don’t be apathetic. Don’t ignore and wait for judgement.

Do something.

[Be a witness pic}

ending?

Be a witness in their lives.

This week, I was preparing for our BBQ when I noticed a girl at Calvary Kids - which by the way, I am and we should all be grateful beyond words for. I have seen this girl a lot, and I go talk to her and try to spend as much time with her as I can. Her name is Summer. Such a sweet name. Summer has a disability. She can walk, but only with two canes.

When I saw her this week she was playing alone by the fence, so I stopped unloading my truck and went to go hang out with her a second. So I got there and asked how she was doing, and how school has been going, and she answered sweetly, like most children would. And as soon as I paused for just a second I saw her eyes light up, and heard the tone of her voice change, and she asked me, “you want to see me go down the slide?”

I said, “of course!” and we want walking over there to the slides. As we did, I saw the light go on in her head. And she looked up at me the same way Olivia and Daisy look at me, and asked, this time with a little hesitation and fear, “do you think I can do the monkey bars?”

I realized, in that moment as much as any other I have ever had, that God isn’t seen in us if all we ever do is pray or read. No we can do that locked up in a room. That only really serves ourselves and not others. And Jesus came to serve and we are made to do the same!

You see we all just want to go on those monkey bars! We all just want to be able to experience the best thrills this life has to offer! Just like Summer, we don’t and shouldn’t accept that some are made to experience some parts of life and other’s are not, nor are we made to only have some of us experience God!

In our hearts - every heart of every person to ever live - we don’t care if we are rich or poor, ugly, handsome, strong, weak, short, tall, skinny, or fat - we don’t care if we look the part, or know what the rules are, or what to say - we just want to go on the monkey bars!

AND LISTEN CHURCH, WE HAVE WITHIN US THE CAPACITY TO NOT ONLY GO ON THE MONKEY BARS OF THIS LIFE - TO KNOW AND LOVE CHRIST AND BE LOVED BY HIM IN RETURN - WE HAVE A UNIQUE CAPABILITY; A DEEP AND ABIDING RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP OTHERS ENJOY ALL THAT WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED TO EXPERIENCE!

CHURCH, I WATCHED THAT YOUNG WOMAN CRAWL ONTO THAT LARGE PLAYGROUND STRUCTURE OVER THERE. I SAW HER DROP THOSE CANES AS SHE SAID, “I DON’T NEED THEM WITH YOU HERE.” AND I WAS BLESSED TO SEE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SMILE I HAVE PROBABLY EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE! I SAW IN THAT MOMENT A BEAUTIFUL REMINDER THAT EVERY WORD THAT I SAY AND EVERY THOUGHT THAT I HAVE IS ABSOLUTELY MEANINGLESS IF I CAN’T TAKE A SECOND OUT OF MY DAY TO LIFT SOMEONE UP, AND HELP THEM TO KNOW GOD THROUGH MY ACTIONS!

And the best part? After we had gone down a back a couple times, I was getting tired, she’s 10 or so, so she’s a bit heavier than Olivia or Daisy. But as I was resting, I looked at her, and I smiled and asked if she was ready to do it again. And her answer?

I think I can do it myself.

What seemed like mission impossible just moments ago, had become possible. And church, for a couple rungs, it was. And I have never seen a happier person in my life, and I probably never will.

When we love people as they are where they are we become blessed and they see God. That is our call here. We aren’t churchgoers as much as we are Christdoers! WE AREN’T CALLED TO WATCH THAT LITTLE GIRL SIT BY HERSELF, OR THOSE KIDS THAT NO ONE LIKES EAT LUNCH BY THEMSELVES, OR THOSE NEIGHBORS WHOSE RELIGION WE DON’T APPROVE OF, OR WHOSE LIFESTYLE CHOICES WE DON’T APPROVE OF, OR EVEN THOSE WHOSE HABITS WE DON’T LIKE - WE AREN’T CALLED TO BE CHRISTIANS BY LOOKING AT THEM WITH SHAME AND DERISION! WE WEREN’T CREATED TO MAKE FUN OF THEM OR IGNORE THEM OR LIMIT THEM. NO WE, LIKE CHRIST MUST GO OUT INTO ALL THE WORLD AND FIND THOSE PEOPLE AND LIFT THEM UP! WE MUST HOLD THEM AS THEY EXPERIENCE GOD’S LOVE, AND KEEP HOLDING THEM UNTIL THEY GO WALK DOWN THAT PATH ALONE, AND THEN CHURCH, WE HAVE TO KEEP WATCH AND STAND READY TO CATCH THEM AS THEY FALL AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO GET BACK ON THOSE MONKEY BARS! WE CAN’T GIVE UP! WE CAN’T STOP! WE CAN’T GIVE IN JUST BECAUSE THE TASK SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE! WE HAVE TO BE LIKE SUMMER! WE CAN’T LET OUR PERCEIVED LACK OF ABILITY LIMIT GOD! LOVING GOD AND LOVING NEIGHBOR IS TOO IMPORTANT TO JUST GLOSS OVER AS IF THAT WERE JUST SOME COMPULSORY PART OF BEING A CHRISTIAN! NO WE MUST GIVE EVERY PART OF OURSELVES TO IT! AND DON’T WORRY IF YOU MESS IT UP, CHURCH, BECAUSE AS LONG AS YOU FAIL ON THE SIDE OF LOVE AND SERVICE, YOU WILL NEVER MESS UP!

WE MUST LOVE LIKE EVERY PERSON WE MEET IS SUMMER, AND LIKE WE OURSELVES ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE ABLE TO HELP! WE CAN’T PUT IT OFF! WE CAN’T JUST HOPE FOR A SOLUTION, THIS TEXT REMINDS US THAT WE ARE THE SOLUTION!

CHURCH THIS TEXT REMINDS US OF THREE IMPORTANT TRUTHS - CHRIST WAS REAL, HE BAPTIZED US WITH HIS SPIRIT SO THAT WE WOULD BE MORE LIKE HIM, AND HE INTENDS FOR US TO TAKE THAT SPIRIT INTO THE WORLD AND BE WITNESSES FOR AND TO HIM FOR EVERYONE WE MEET!

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

acts 1:

The first 3 verses remind us He was real, the next 2 tell us we will be baptized by His spirit, and then the last verse tells us that we are to take that Spirit, that likeness, that reflection, that essence of all that Jesus is, into the world around us.

Love God. Love neighbor.

It doesn’t matter if you never step foot in a church again as long as you live, if the who Christian world would stand together and just do those two things, everyone on this planet would be able to go on those monkey bars.

Matthew 19:26 ESV

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

That isn’t Mission Impossible. If we just love God and get to know Him, and truly want to live our lives for Him; then showing His love to everyone else will feel as natural as waking up in the morning.

Or swinging on monkey bars.

Invitation - That is our mission, should we choose to accept it. And whatever God is laying on your hearts today, I do hope you answer that call…whether...