THE JOY OF THE MISSION

THE JOY OF THE MISSION   Philippians 1:15-18 Jul 12, 2009 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction I have shared, and so has the rest of the Brazil Mission Team that our experience in Maruda was one of unparalleled satisfaction. But, I need to confess to you, once in awhile, when I was tired, mosquito-riddled and trying unsuccessfully to get to sleep, I remember thinking to myself, “What am I doing here?” The air conditioning at home and at the church building are working just fine, the water in the pool is a perfect 82 degrees, and I could just be there among people I love. To be honest, I felt that sometimes when visiting in Niger, too. Why is it our church always feels called to places within a few degrees of the equator? I remember thinking, I am tired, out of my element and just want to be home. As I tried to pray, I realized these thoughts stood in stark contrast to verses I’d memorized from scripture, like “the joy of the Lord will be your strength.” Sometimes in the St. Louis Metro-east, I can feel the same way. But each time I struggle with such feelings, the Lord gently reminds me that the life I am called to is one I am living for Him, and not for me. I am refreshed with renewed calling of Christ, to lay down my life and pursue His will. Then, and only then, the joy of the kingdom returns and it is my strength. I am reminded in the quiet place of communion with Him that, like Him, I am called to serve and not to be served. I have already surrendered the rights of comfort in this world to Him, knowing that fellowship with Him in the kingdom is far better than my own arrangements. And heaven it will be worth it all! This morning, we mop up a few remaining thoughts from Philippians 1:15-18m before we move on in the series. Pray that we will understand a fresh the joy of serving Jesus. I. Joy in the Mission’s Purpose The Kingdom Vision Paul had just a couple years earlier come to the great crisis point in his life. He had been devoted to the destruction of the Christian faith, believing it was the will of God. But then, within a matter of hours he came to understand how wrong he was. His life was turned inside out on that day when he dared to say to the living Christ, “What would you have me do, Lord?” From that moment on, the life of this great missionary was marked by complete dedication to the cause of Jesus Christ. He had a vision and a purpose that took up his whole windshield—he just didn’t see anything else, because he knew nothing else was important to him. All that was important to Paul now was what was important to King Jesus. In Philippians 1:21 he wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ…” I can’t help but think there are more than a couple of individuals here this morning who are longing for such a crisis in their lives—an opportunity to finally say, Okay, that’s it—I’m not going to toy around with the Christian life any more. I am going to get serious and start living for Jesus. All other bets are off and I am going to commit totally to serving Him in everything I do. The Kingdom Lens When a person reaches such a point of surrender he starts to witness some big changes—changes in the way he thinks, behaves and reacts to what the world and others bring to him. Once you agree to get serious with God, you begin to see differently. You look at things through a kingdom lens, and you begin to understand things from a godly perspective. It is here that we learn to appreciate what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:12 – “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us—we speak by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths. “What Does it Matter?” May I suggest that spiritual perspective is what marked Paul’s perspective when he said, “I know others are now preaching the gospel with dishonorable motives; they’re just trying to get at me, but “What does it matter?” – the really important things is the gospel is being preached, and in this I rejoice. He wasn’t worried about perfect doctrinal clarity or pure motives. He was so kingdom minded that all he could do was rejoice that people were hearing the gospel and responding in faith, regardless of the imperfections of those preaching it. I suggest we all need that approach when the little things come along and try to rob us of kingdom joy. I think we would do well to emulate the apostle and just cheer the gospel on. I fear that in our well-intentioned efforts to be doctrinally righteous that we sometimes denigrate other church’s good work by picking on what we perceive as inferior motives. Could we just rejoice that some people we might never reach are hearing the gospel? It may surprise you to know that if it weren’t for the late-night radio broadcast of a renowned cult, I might never have come to Christ. I was working the late shift at a foundry, and always took my lunch hour sitting in my car listening to Garner Ted Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God, broadcast out of Louisiana. He and his father led a huge following of a couple million people and taught enough blatant spiritual error to be classified as a cult. But he had me listening, and there was just enough gospel in what was said that I was brought to God through Christ. I suppose Paul was in heaven talking about the very troublesome cultic teachings Armstrongism was involved in, but saying some-thing life, “But, what does it matter?” People are hearing the gospel and being saved! Maybe Peter was there saying, ”Yes, but some of their teaching is so heretical!” Just then, Jesus interrupts and says, “We’re working on that bunch—just wait!” Sixteen years ago Armstrong’s WWCG became the first major cult in history to publicly repent and return to historic Christianity. II. Joy in the Personal Struggles Spiritual Insight Knowing Christ, being saved from eternal judgment and having the Holy Spirit in your life makes you think differently. And your change of perspective is magnified even more as you realize you are now a part of the kingdom expansion ministry. You have an awesome privilege to partner with Christ, sharing His message with everyone you can. You begin to look through the kingdom lens at everything—even things that once drove you crazy or make you angry, depressed. Now you are enabled by the Spirit of God to put them into kingdom perspective. Matthew Henry, one of history’s greatest Bible commentators, was once mugged and had his wallet stolen. Conscious of his Christian mindset, he sat down to write this prayer of gratitude: Let me be thankful, first, because he never robbed me before; second, because although he took my purse, he did not take my life; third, because although he took all I possessed, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed. Those who are in Christ, Galatians 2:20 teaches, have been crucified with Christ, and they (in, of and for themselves) no longer live, but Christ lives in them. “The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” I urge you to seek God’s face, learn to live solely for Him. Ask Him to give you the new heart he promised, one that perceives and plans like He does—with spiritual insight. Godly Optimism Paul could say, “I know God’s purposes will prevail; I have sold out to him; I’m going all the way; I have no interest in my own carnal ambitions; I’m on my way to heaven. To live is Christ, to die is gain. I can’t lose, as long as I live for Him.” So you know the secret of the great winners in the stock market? They don’t sweat and fret and give up when their stock prices take a dive; they stay with it through the rough weather, confident of a sunny day ahead. You see, they did their home- work; they are confident their stock will bounce back. They might even have known a dip in the price was coming. And do you know what they did? While all the others were crying and selling when the prices dropped, they didn’t sell. They not only didn’t sell, they bought. They bought in at the very time others were jumping ship. That’s how the Warren Buffetts do it. Jesus seemed to indicate that not everyone will have that kind of confidence in the kingdom. When the going gets tough, they drop out. Jesus said, If you put your hand to the plow, don’t look back (Luke 9:62). If your faith isn’t strong when the trials come, maybe it wasn’t really faith! When the work of the kingdom looks dark and foreboding, when it’s threatening and hard and not so much fun anymore, that’s when the truly faithful rise and grab hold of the plow handles vacated by the weak. And let me add this word—times of stress and trouble are also when the kingdom advances the most profoundly! It is precisely when the heat is turned up that God’s kingdom shows itself strong. For millennia the church in China languished, missions were struggling, churches all but died. Then came the persecution in the 60’s and 70’s when the Communists demanded that all churches register and come under government control. That’s when the genuine believers slipped out of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, and China Christian Council and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CCPA), and went underground. There, in the secret, hidden places the house church movement exploded, and millions upon millions of Chinese came to know Jesus. Those faithful followers were the kingdom believers, the godly optimists, and God rewarded their work. Everybody likes to be Christians when it’s popular, the church is loved and the memberships swell with lots of new people, and everything’s rosy and JOY fm is on the radio, and there are lots of concerts and conferences and kingdom perks. But where will they be when the tide turns, the government and the populace turn against the church, there is no more tax deduction for giving to the church, and the only Christian radio is the BOTT network where solid prophets of God’s Word are driving home the message of stick-to-it-iveness & stewardship & stamina in the face of persecution. How many plows will be left standing in the fields when the testing begins? How many of the fair-weather followers will walk away under the pressure? Jesus’ description of this group are haunting—“not fit for service in the kingdom.” Agape love The other thing that happens when God’s people make commitments to work in the kingdom even under threat and testing is that they learn to love people at a deeper level. This is how Paul was able to persevere through thick and thin and continue to love the churched and the unchurched, those who supported him and those who tried to kill him. He let God’s love fill him to the point that he loved others. III. Joy in the Big Picture God is in Charge Ultimately Paul didn’t lose faith in the progress of the gospel, the worldwide expansion of the church, nor his trust in the goodness of God. Here’s why—he was smart enough to leave the big stuff to God and not worry about it. It seems to me often that when we Christians start to get off base it’s when we start to worry that God is not going to get the kingdom work done. We sort of convince ourselves that we’re irreplaceable to God, and without us it can’t get done. I catch in these short verses a glimpse of an important truth. If we would stop trying to run the kingdom it would survive just fine. I am not trying to minimize the truth that God uses people in His kingdom work, nor that each of us is responsible to serve Him. These things are patently true. But your or my anxiety over things beyond our pay grade will help neither God nor us. I Have a Small Role, Thankfully God is at work within me to will and to act according to His good purpose. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that before we were even born God had prepared certain good works for us to walk in. That means He has a plan of participation for each of us to be involved in the kingdom work. And there is reason to be thankful. It is an outrageous privilege that you and I, sinners made saints by the grace of Jesus, lost but found, wretched but redeemed, rebellious but reconciled, should ever be considered candidates for kingdom work. Be thankful you have a part. And be thankful it is a small part—that God has not called you to serve beyond what He has equipped you. I’ll Do My Part Faithfully Every prayer we utter ought to include the words “Lord you’ve given me of all people a job in your kingdom.” The Bible makes it clear that every person who is added to the church when he is saved is given a gift, a ministry, a service, he is to carry out for the sake of the kingdom. Each is a part of the body of Christ, outfitted to serve the rest of the body in some unique way, and it all fits together under the wisdom of God. All He asks of each of us is that we serve faithfully in the small ways He calls us to serve, and He will build His kingdom. I am so grateful it’s not up to me to figure out the grand scheme. I’m called to be faithful in the small ways God makes clear to me, keeping my heart clean in Him and my obedience faithful. Closing Exhortations Don’t let the mission become peripheral When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, the second thing He said, right after He told them to worship the Father in their prayers, was this: Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Ephesians 3:10 says that through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known. I suppose most of us have had a field vision test. It’s where you have one eye patched, you’re seated on a stool and your forehead is against a pad, and you watch a field of blue background for white dots to appear. When one does you are to press the button. Do you know why you’re positioned like that? So that nothing else will distract you—so that you have only one field of vision and you can concentrate on it. You are a Christian and you have been given a new field of vision: the kingdom of God. That’s all God wants on your windshield. It is your focus, not your periphery. Live for the Lord and His righteousness. Every time He lights up something for you, respond in obedience. The Holy Spirit is faithful to keep you within God’s perfect will. Cling tenaciously to the Lord (the Vine) Jesus pictured us as small branches in a vineyard, called to produce fruit that lasts (John 15). And the only way we will be productive is to remain attached to the vine. Brothers and sisters, our primary work is to cling tenaciously to Jesus. Love Him, serve Him. Read John 15:5, 16. Celebrate the gospel’s advance, and your hope Be like Paul, and celebrate anything that advances the kingdom cause, even the imperfect, poorly motivated preaching of the gospel, while you develop your own skills at making the gospel clear and compelling. Remember, for you to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Your great reward is coming and eternal heaven will be your final home.     [Back to Top]