Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept it….

[You can download the podcast for this and other messages from www.lifechurchchelmsford.com under the resources tab].

Our mission is for life, not just for Christmas! It seems strange to mention Christmas in the title of a message in April. The truth is we are highly motivated around the season of good will to ring our friends to church, to panto, to the Carol Services.

We need to stay on mission, locally and internationally for the rest of the the year.  We are never off duty. We are never redundant. We are never retired.

Things will not change unless get out there with Good News.

Mal Fletcher: “You can’t be a voice for civic change if you won’t engage beyond your own bubble.”

Basecamp Scripture:

Romans 10: 5-17: Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”(that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” 16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

The Closeness of Who You Know

8: But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim.

Every one can share who we know. Have you ever had a good gossip? No, I know you’re all going to say to me that gossip is wrong, and you;d be right. Still it doesn't’ stop some of us, right?  The thing about gossip is that it normally involves two people talking about a third, absent person, that they both know. That’s so appealing! (Proverbs 18:8).

I can recall my old pastor saying to the church: “if you must gossip, gossip the gospel!”

The gospel of Jesus should be on our lips. Not in a weird way. Not in a judgemental way. In a loving way. We are all recipients of this amazing grace, we are no cleverer than our unsaved friends. We know Jesus though.

He is close to us through His Word. The Greek for “word” here is rhema - it means the spoken word. It is bubbling from the heart into the mouth. It is the word of your testimony. Your hope!

When we have the boldness to share, Jesus is closer to us too. 

Matthew 10:32: “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.

I know there is a lot of fear about this. Most will say we cannot do this in the work place. There is a prohibition in our minds because of the publicity around court cases recently. Couple of things to note: 

• There have been a hand full of cases compared to the millions who class themselves as Christians. 
• If it bothers you that much, join a club or something outside of work and build friendships there. 

Do not mentally ask permission to be on mission for this is your commission (Matthew 28:19-20). 

The Confidence in What You Know

9-10: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

There is an issue here of heart knowledge above intellectual knowledge. 

The intellect is a powerful thing and we should not dismisses people with an intellect, saying they can never come to faith, that having a brain is a disadvantage in some way. This is nonsense. Some of the greatest intellects in history and in our time are believers.

We need to remember that God has created the intellect, the power to think, and we are all blessed with that.

God loves intellectuals. He is a God of thought and reason too:

Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” (NKJV).

Isaiah 55:8: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 

Heart knowledge is something that you know to be true even if intellectual arguments say otherwise. Heart knowledge is that you know that you know that you know.

The gospel is ultimately a heart issue. It is the belief in the heart that bubbles out of the mouth. 

The Assurance in Who You Know

11-12: As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him.”

The idea of shame here is one of being ashamed. People may try and heap shame upon you, to try and annoy you. Being a Christian does not necessarily  make you popular. But you will never be ashamed! The word used here (kataischunō) means to feel disgraced or to blush. 

Why is this? Because of Whom we know! He is the One who is the Lord, over all people. He is the One who blesses those who call upon Him!  The word blessed here is (plouteō) rich. It does not mean, in this context, financially rich but in your heart, that is the context.

You can never be ashamed of the hoe you have for it has made your rich in the heart. Those who criticise you, malign you, hurt you are poor in their heart - they are hollow, your heart is full!

Jesus is brilliant. You know Him! Nothing to be embarrassed about!

The Importance of Your Tootsies 

14-15:  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Have look at your feet, just for a minute. They may be callused, they may have corns, that may be large or thing. They’re beautiful! 

They got you here! They take you everywhere.

Feet go where the eyes are looking! The eyes look at what the heart prioritises. They are the furthest from your heart. It is illustrative that the whole of our being is committed to the gospel.

Beautiful feet are feet that are harnessed by the heart for the gospel. They are feet on a mission, they are happy feet!

Now if you’re having a hard time as seeing those smelly, lint encrusted feet as lovely, the Greek is specific about the beautiful nature. The text uses the word (hōraios) that describes something in it’s prime, when something is at it’s loveliest and best, the best season of the year. 

We might say, in the right place at the right time! 

This means we are sent on mission every time we leave this building. 

We are an active church in missions, here and oversees. There are ways we can be involved.

There are some new opportunities and older ones too:

• Luncheon club. We need a coordinator for this and we need to be on mission with our senior citizens in our community. People from outside the church come to this.

• TLG Education Centre is beginning in September. We have appointed a manager and are advertising for the second teaching position now. We will volunteers to come and assist in various areas.

• Early Intervention in Primary Schools: we are launching g a coaching scheme to primary school children who are struggling. This means an hour a week, each week, going through material and letting them talk through their issues. You don;t need to be a teacher! Heidi Merriam is heading this new ministry up.

       We are the first church in the country to run both an    

       Education Centre and early intervention programme. 

• Panto is having a read through on 16th May at church. Bigger cast this year!

• Oneplusone. Your friends need to hear that God loves them. Pick up the oneplusone car. Pray for them once a day; talk to them once a week; meet them once a month; bring them to a church event once a year.

There are many other areas we could talk about; these are some of our primary mission areas though.

Wrapping this up:

Let’s pray for John and Silvia, who have been with us today, as they will be going back to their church plant in Girona. 

Let’s pray for each other, that the Good News of the Gospel will flow out of us.