Christmas Missionary

This week’s devotional in the Advent Guide did something very interesting; it gave us one of the best missionary calls there is in scripture. Now I am sure many of you are thinking… Advent has nothing to do with being a missionary; it has to do with Jesus being born, doesn’t it? And I would say your right! But the beauty of the story of the incarnation or first advent of Christ is that without it we would not know what a true missionary looks like. Let’s look at the text again –

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

           

(John 1:1-5; 9; 14 ESV)

You see, the beauty of Christmas lies not in the fact that a baby was born but that God (Jesus, The Word, The True Light) became a man.

            Jesus unlike other gods was not a god who was going to sit on His throne in heaven and choose not to understand or even try and relate to us. Instead Jesus, who was in the beginning with God and was himself God (v.1), chose to leave the glories and worship of heaven to come down here to earth (For a great picture of what heaven was like for Jesus, look in Isaiah 6:1-5). He came to be a God that wasn’t cold and distant but was humble, sympathetic, loving, and could relate to us in every way. He came to bring the good news of the gospel. Jesus came as the Word to bring the words of good news; just as His Father had sent Him to do.

            More than 40 times in John’s gospel alone Jesus tells us that He was sent from God. Jesus was a sent man who came to bring the words of God to earth. Jesus came and spoke and lived in such a way that He was able to communicate more clearly than any man ever had regarding the Words of God, and this was because Jesus was a true missionary. Sent from the culture of heaven to the culture of earth, He came bringing the Word of God, and as the Word “spoke” the greatest words from God in His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead! The beauty of this story is that it isn’t over, we have been sent too.

            In John 20:21 Jesus tells us that just as God the Father sent Him to earth as a missionary, He is sending us as missionaries. Now this doesn’t mean we have all been called to travel overseas or to another country but that we are all missionaries wherever we are. You see, once we are saved by faith in Christ we are no longer citizens of any place on this earth (Phil. 3:20). No matter where we are we are missionaries to a foreign place. The great news is though, that you don’t have to learn a new language or new customs because you have lived here all your life. The difference is that your existence here is no longer just an existence but a chance to bring the good news of Jesus to the citizens of this world.

            Though we may not recognize it we have all been given the skills and abilities to bring the gospel in an amazing way to the people around us. You know your friends, family, neighborhood, work, etc. better than most other people. You know the culture, the language, the rituals, and the celebrations of the people you live life with, and with the power of the Spirit, are one of the best equipped missionaries for your context. Maybe you have never thought of yourself as a missionary but I challenge you to begin thinking that way. Begin learning your culture so well that speaking the gospel into it becomes easy. Learn the people, their struggles, their habits, their loves and bring the gospel to them in a way they will understand. Become a student of your culture and live like a missionary.

My challenge to you this Christmas is not remember a baby but a missionary. Remember Jesus who came as the God man to relate to us and bring the gospel into our culture. Remember that He came out of love and grace to bring the gospel. Remember that just as He was sent and lived a life as a missionary by the power of the Holy Spirit, you have been given the same calling and the same Spirit as Christian. Remember because this world is not our home but heaven is and there we will see Him as He is, our great God, Savior and Missionary.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

           

(Philippians 2:5-11 ESV)

His Glory Our Good

I recently preached from the passage in 2 Samuel in which, God reveals to King David that He would establish David’s throne forever. Of course, this promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and that was ultimately the point that I preached toward. But I noticed something I had not seen before resting in the midst of David’s answer to God’s promise that has been an encouragement to me every day since.

2 Samuel 7:18-21 (ESV) ¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? ¹⁹ And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD! ²⁰ And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord GOD! ²¹ Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it.

Of course David was amazed and praising God because of His promise. Of course David was in awe. Is there really any other acceptable response to God’s goodness than thanksgiving? No, of course not, anything other than genuine thanksgiving is like wrestling with a bear. You can do it but it doesn’t make it right.

But the verse that caught my attention is verse 21. David was ecstatic about what God had told him. But, he recognized that there was a reason God had promised and would do such an amazing thing, and that reason wasn’t centered on David. David recognized that there was more at work than him just experiencing a good day. God was doing something not just for his day to day good experiences, but for his forever every day good. He did act for David’s good, but not some temporary sense of well being. He was truly working in David’s best interest, and David saw it.

David’s best interest wasn’t just having a son on the throne. His best interest was to know the greatness of God. David’s best interest certainly depended upon a King that would rule forever, but that King wouldn’t be a King if God wasn’t so great. If God wasn’t the almighty, if He weren’t the eternal, all powerful, ever-present, all knowing Creator there would be no reason to expect Him to fulfill such a promise as He made to David. But, in the midst of this amazing work He made David know His greatness.

I am always amazed when I see God at work. I am always grateful that He is still at His work today. I am certain that He has His people’s best interest in mind. Now, I am reminded that everything that I see Him do, isn’t just about my good, but also about us seeing His glory. Our greatest good is to know His great glory. We can be grateful He is making it known.

Totally Worth It

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

To be completely honest there are some days when I can’t help but wonder if it is all worth it. Really, honestly some days are tough, and when the fruits of our labors seem scarce it is easy to get caught up in a self-centered pity party. Recently, I received a nudge from the Lord that reminded me; He knows what He is doing, and He doesn’t need my advice. He will do things in His time and in His way, but we can be sure of one thing. He won’t leave undone anything that He wants done, and if we are fortunate enough to be any small part of the process of His work we are blessed and should be grateful.

Okay, so it was more like being hit by a lineman in a football game than just simply being nudged. But I don’t mean that in a bad way. Sometimes this is exactly what we need. We need to be confronted so directly by God’s sovereign power that we are knocked out of our complacency, doubt, or self centered thought, and able get our eyes back on the prize. That is exactly what happened as I watched my friend “Spanky” Hale be baptized this weekend.

I have known Spanky for several years. I was working in an aircraft repair facility, and Spanky took a job as a Sheetmetal Mechanic. As soon as I met him, I liked him. He was real, wasn’t about putting on a show for anyone, had a great work ethic, and the way he said things just made me laugh. He is one of those “country boys” that say normal things in round about ways. To ask if someone understands him, he would say, “Are you picking up what I’m laying down.” You know the kind. But just like everyone of Spanky needed Jesus. So, I prayed for this for him, shared about it with him, and tried to set a good example for him.

It wasn’t just Spanky, but everyone that I ever worked with, for, or that worked for me. I wanted them all to know Jesus as I had come to know Jesus, to trust Him. That was the pattern of my life when I first met Spanky, and it was no different when Spanky left that job and I assumed I would never see him again. He left having no more relationship with Jesus than when he showed up. So, it was a complete shock, when I received a message from him about a year and a half later letting me know that he had been attending church and even memorizing Bible verses. I knew then that God was up to something, but it really all settled in, when I got the call months later. “I have been saved!”

It was exciting to know, that Spanky had been saved and he wanted me to be there when he was baptized. When he said it, tears filled my eyes, and the excitement that was in my heart was just about to blow a hole in my chest. To think about being at the baptism of this guy that I had been praying for was an honor I just couldn’t pass up. So, a date was set. I went, I watched, I praised God for the new man He had made. It was great, but it was after lunch that God woke me up and reminded me, getting tired is not an option, giving up is not an option, we have to run this race as if lives depend on it, because they do.

Spanky told me that day that if it hadn’t been for me, he probably never would have stepped foot in that church. But he had listened to the things I said, saw the way I acted and treated others and he wanted to be like me. He thought the difference was church, so he started going, and what he found out was that the difference was Jesus.

I thank God for saving Spanky. I thank God for bringing him to a church and Pastor that would point him to Jesus. I thank God for allowing me to be a part of that process in his life. I thank God for reminding me that He can handle it, that He will accomplish all that He has set out to accomplish, and that there is great reason to keep up the good fight, because efforts spent for God’s glory will not be spent in vain.

The Way Faith Community Vision and Mission

It has been a while since I have posted on this blog. So I thought a great way to start it off would be to post our vision and mission that was just published in our first newsletter. 

Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. We get so caught up in the details of our own lives, families, jobs, and every other thing we involve ourselves in that it is no wonder we need help keeping things in focus. Most of us don’t come up with personal vision/mission statements, but businesses and churches have used these to keep themselves on track in the midst of rapidly changing circumstances. But these vision statements, even the most relevant of them, are only as good as our own understanding of them and the focus they draw us toward. And, it doesn’t matter if the most creative writer puts together the most clever vision statement if no one knows it or considers it.

Vision/Mission statements give us a common goal, something to strive for. They should consistently remind us of who we desire to be and what we want to do. They can be simple summaries. For example, Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Or, they can be complex documents. Ben and Jerry’s vision and mission is complex enough that it couldn’t be summarized in one simple statement, but is 3 parts dealing with corporate strategy and their own impact on the world around them. The common thread is that these statements are tools to help unite everyone that is part of the organization to move in one common direction.

So, what direction, what goal, what mission is the heartbeat of The Way? What kind of people are we striving to be? Worshippers, we want to be worshippers. But, even that isn’t clear enough, because we are already worshippers of something. We want to be worshippers of the right thing, and we want to worship in the right way, and we want our worship not just to be about us, but we want it to affect others for their good. To put it as concisely and clearly as possible, The Way is striving to be a people who worship and lead others to worship the one true and living God.

The problem with being concise is that sometimes it leaves too much unsaid. If we all understood what is behind that concise statement that would be fine, but even as I write, I recognize that there are too many questions to leave it at that. Why do we worship God? How will we worship God? What will our lives look like as we do this together? What motivates us to do this? So, in an effort to help every member of The Way join together for a common purpose let me try to answer these questions.

It starts with the Gospel. Apart from the message of Jesus Christ coming, dying in our place for our sin, and raising from the grave on the third day, none of this would matter. Honestly, we wouldn’t have any desire for it anyway. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the central theme and motivation of everything that we do. We are not striving to be a people that worship in order that we might impress God with our good works. It would never work; our works would never be good enough. We would always be lacking and trying to make up for our failures and inability to truly be good. But, because of Gospel, God accepts us by His grace through faith.

So, we live with our vision in mind, because of the Gospel. It is the answer to why we strive to worship. It is the motivation that leads us to worship God. It is the result of God’s message of grace that we don’t live by these rules to gain God’s approval, but...

• Because of the Gospel, we love God and want to honor Him with our lives.
• Because of the Gospel, we are able to recognize not only how desperately we need God but also one another.
• Because of the Gospel we are able to “consider others more significant than ourselves and look not only to our own interests but also the interest of others.”
• Because of the Gospel we are able to see that the world’s greatest need is not physical but spiritual.
• Because of the Gospel we want the world to know the Father that sent the Son, Jesus who came and died, and the Holy Spirit that brings life.

 So our vision is driven not from our own wisdom and insight but is a result of God’s work in us through the Gospel.

So, Because of the Gospel...

We desire to worship and lead others to worship the one true and living God

We desire to be a family that lives unified and authentic lives together for God’s glory

We desire to be a community that selflessly serves one another as God enables us.

We desire to be a people used by God to share His message and grow His kingdom

Worship God, Live Authentically, Serve Selflessly, Share Eagerly

Worship God

We all worship something, but there is only One that is truly worthy of worship and that is the triune God, who created all things. We begin with worship, because it is from misplaced worship that all things truly begin going wrong. We are striving not simply to set aside a time of worship, but to make worship a lifestyle. We feel a strong conviction, to give our lives to God repentantly, faithfully, and without holding anything back for His honor and Glory. Ultimately, as we develop the other points of our mission statement, they are all done with this purpose of worship in mind and truly become expressions of our worship.

Live Authentically

Our relationship with God may have been the most important relationship damaged when mankind fell into sin. However, it was not the only one that was damaged. Interpersonal relationships felt the results of the curse as well. However, as believers we are not only restored to a right relationship to God, but we are brought into His family by way of adoption. As we live lives that honor God we recognize that it will require us to love one another by building relationships that move beyond the superficial, but allow us to develop accountability, encouragement, and opportunities to speak truth into each other’s lives.

Serve Selflessly

God’s intention was never for us to live life alone. We were designed to need one another. We were created to be dependent on Him and other people. As He has built His church, He has given gifts and abilities to each believer, so that His grace is demonstrated in its various forms. As we serve, we honor God and see the needs of this family met.

Share Eagerly

The first responsibility of all people is to worship God. The unfortunate reality in our fallen world is that God is not worshipped. As we build a family that devotes itself to worship, we recognize that to truly worship is to find ourselves obedient to His commands, including those that call us to go and make disciples. Therefore, beyond building deep relationships and meeting one another’s needs, we approach the world to teach them of the power of the Gospel and to demonstrate it actively.