Introduction: Do you know someone “on fire” for Jesus? Was that you
at some point in your life? Next question: do you know someone who
is on fire for Jesus their entire life? I’ve seen plenty of people
who are “fired up” at first, but I do not recall anyone who maintains
their initial level of fervor. Why is that? Is that a normal part of
our Christian mission? Is that consistent with God’s will? When we
are called by Jesus to mission, what does He expect of us? Let’s
plunge again into the Bible and see what we can learn!
- Partners in Mission
- Read Acts 1:1-3. What did Jesus do after His resurrection?
(He spent 40 days with His disciples convincing them He
was, indeed, alive and He taught them about the Kingdom of
God.) - Read Acts 1:4-6. Who would work with the disciples in the
future? (The Holy Spirit.) - What do you think about the disciples’ question in
Acts 1:6? - When do you think it was asked? (Notice that we
just read in Acts 1:3 that over a forty-day
period Jesus spoke to them about His kingdom. I
hope this question was at the beginning of the
forty days and not at the end.) - Read Acts 1:7-8. Given this background, about what are the
disciples to witness? (That Jesus has been resurrected and
that He has a coming kingdom.) - Is that our mission today? These words were spoken
to the disciples then, if you think they are still
applicable, explain why? - Were they able to do the job on their own? (No. They
were given explicit directions to wait until they
were baptized with the Holy Spirit.) - Is that also a requirement today? Must we wait
until the Holy Spirit comes to work with us on
our mission? - What about the people who say that the day
of the Holy Spirit being present in power
is past? What kind of mission do they
have? - Read Acts 1:12-14. What did they do to prepare for their
mission? (Prayed together. I think the task remains the
same. I think the means to do the task remains the same.
We cannot properly engage in mission without the Holy
Spirit. If we are not sure the Holy Spirit is part of our
mission, we need to fervently pray to be equipped by the
Holy Spirit for mission.) - Mission and Bread-winning
- Does the “fire” cool when we realize that we have to go
out and earn a living? - Or, is earning a living part of the way in which we
perform our mission? - Read Acts 18:1-4. Was Paul engaged in full-time preaching?
(Not in these verses. They paint a picture of tent-making
during the week and preaching on Sabbath.) - Read Acts 18:5. How is Paul occupied now? (He is now
engaged in full-time preaching.) - Was Paul less on fire when he was preaching on weekends
then when he was preaching all the time? (I doubt it.
Meeting his practical needs was a part of his total work.) - Read 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10. Is secular work a religious
obligation? (Paul says that because he was engaged in
ministry he had the right to “help” from fellow
Christians. At the same time he says the Christian
community has a religious obligation to work. Therefore,
they could not all be engaging in ministry.) - Let’s look at the practical side of this. Do you know
people at work who would never show up at any church? - Do you have neighbors or acquaintances who would
never show up at church? (If the answer is “yes,”
then ministry for you is reaching these people with a
model life and a Spirit-led word. See John 14:26.) - Read Titus 2:7-8. What aspect of our life is ministry?
(Everything we do provides an influence for good or for
evil. Our mission is to consider the nature of our
influence, and through the power of the Holy Spirit seek
to make our influence positive in every aspect.) - Message in Mission
- Read 1 Corinthians 1:18. What does the Bible say is our
message? (The cross.) - What is the problem with our message? (The world
considers it foolishness.) - We decided earlier that the disciples (and us) were
to witness to Jesus’ resurrection and His coming
kingdom. Is that consistent with our message being
the cross? (Yes. The cross and Jesus’ resurrection
shows our opportunity for forgiveness of sin and
eternal life!) - Read 1 Corinthians 1:19-21. Is there good news in
preaching “foolishness?” (You don’t have to be a genius to
share this news.) - Read 1 Corinthians 1:22-25. Do we need miracles or logic
to promote the message? (As you know, I like to use logic
– because I think it promotes the gospel. But neither
logic nor miracles are necessary to our message: Christ
crucified.) - Why is our message Christ crucified? Why not good
works? Why not the Sabbath? Why not good eating
habits? Why not exercise, not smoking, or seat-belt
wearing? (Jesus crucified is the fulfillment of the
sanctuary service. He is the Lamb of God who takes
away our sins. John 1:29. Nothing else takes away our
sins. Jesus’ sacrifice is the centerpiece of our
message. There are other good, logical and important
ideas, but the core of our message is the cross.) - Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-27. Why does God choose “weak”
players? He wants the world to look bad? Why is that a
goal? (Our message is Christ, not us. Can you see the
consistent theme? The cross, not our works, is our focus.
Why? Because the cross points to what God did, not what we
did. Those who have power, intelligence, influence, good-looks have no advantage in the mission. Indeed, they may
have a disadvantage because the focus is to be on God, not
ourselves.) - Read 1 Corinthians 1:28-31. Does that mean that
smart, influential people are disqualified from
mission? (Look who wrote these words – Paul, a highly
trained, highly intelligent person. I think Paul’s
point is everyone is qualified for mission as long as
they give glory to God and make Him the focus of
mission. God does not need human glory to get His job
done. He just needs willing partners who realize the
power and glory go to God.) - In the days when I had more influence over who preached in
the pulpit of my church, I would say the worship service
“was not amateur hour,” meaning that the unprepared, the
ill-equipped and the obviously inexperienced should not be
allowed to preach. The members’ time in church on Sabbath
was limited and valuable and I did not want it wasted with
terrible sermons. Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. Was I wrong?
(I’m disqualified from answering, but consider what kind
of sermon would come from a “demonstration of the Spirit’s
power.” The Holy Spirit is no amateur, and if the Spirit
is in you, then you will be no amateur either.) - Friend, will you take up the mission: in partnership with
the Holy Spirit share the good news about the Lamb of God
and His coming kingdom? - Next week: We begin a new series on the epistles of John. I
cannot wait!
