Thank you for inviting me to be your mission speaker and to represent Lutheran Heritage Foundation. This morning I want to encourage you in your mission efforts and yet, I do not only mean foreign mission efforts, but your mission efforts right here in this place. Some would suggest that means evangelism and yes, mission is evangelism and evangelism is mission. My own journey and interest in evangelism began in college and continues with my work with Lutheran Heritage Foundation and my own Lutheran Vocational Evangelism Witness Workshops. The work of Lutheran Heritage Foundation in translating Lutheran Christian materials into other languages makes it possible to evangelize and do mission work around the world and here at home.
We all like to quote Ephesians two eight through nine touting our salvation by faith apart from good works, but too often we fail in going on to verse ten, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Indeed, God has created us to love us and He has redeemed so that we may do the good works which He has created for us to do, even though we continually do them imperfectly and those good works include living our lives as priests in the priesthood of all believers, serving God by our service to others and especially always being ready to give an answer for the hope we have in our salvation in Jesus.
Most mission sermons begin with dragging out the old Great Commission as we have been told to call it. I am here to help you understand that Jesus’ Words are not really a great co-mission. Let me remind you what Jesus actually said. What He said is translated as, “19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)). Now before we look at these words, let us back up three verses and begin at verse sixteen, “16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’” (Matthew 28:16-19). I find it interesting that we are told that these faithful disciples of Jesus, these eleven who have been with Him for three years watching and witnessing healings, miracles, demons cast out, crowds fed, and water changed into wine, these faithful eleven still have doubts. That fact alone makes me feel pretty good when I struggle as well. Anyway, Jesus tells them that He has all authority and I would suggest He is implying that He is giving this authority to His disciples and even to us today. So, when someone asks, “Who gives you the right to talk about God?” we can answer, “Jesus does.” So, first of all this passage is a passage of the giving of authority.
Second, Jesus’ words are not an imperative. His words are an aorist, passive. It is not a command. In other words He is not saying “Go!” He is saying, “As you are going.” His words indicate a natural event. As you are going, as you are living your life; as you are living in your various vocations; He says make disciples or better said, make people excited about hearing the Gospel, the good news. And how do we make disciples? He gives the answer as by baptizing and teaching. And at the end, not only are we given Jesus authority, we are given His great promise, “I am with you always.”
So, back to this authority and our mission. Before His ascension Jesus tells His disciples, “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 1:8 (ESV)). Here again Jesus gives His authority and He tells us of our mission field. For the disciples it began in Jerusalem because that is where they were. For us today it is here in Manheim, Lee county, in Texas, in the United States of America and to the ends of the earth.
So, how does this natural approach to evangelism work? I call it vocational because our mission, our good works, our evangelism begins in our daily lives with people with whom we have contact on a daily basis. Peter instructs us in our vocations as he tells us, “but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)). Peter encourages us to always be ready to give a defense. The word he uses is an apology. Not only are we to be ready to speak of what we believe, but why we believe. I believe this ability to speak of why we believe what we believe may be some of our downfall today. I believe we do need more education in this apologetics. Anyway, we are encouraged to make a defense of our faith which is usually our natural reaction. It is natural or should be natural to defend Christ who puts Himself in our hearts. And we should be ready any time and anywhere.
Now, to answer the question of what to say? How are we to prepare to always be ready to give an answer for our faith and hope. Let me begin by easing your mind a bit. Jesus tells us, “17Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour” (Matthew 10:17-19 (ESV)). Did you notice another promise from God. When the time comes what you are to say will be given to you.
Okay, so the words will be given to us, but where do we get what is given? We get what is given in the same way God gives us all the good gifts and blessings He has to give, through means and through the Means of Grace in particular.
At our Baptism we are given faith. As we remember our baptism we are strengthened in faith. Every Sunday morning the first thing that happens in the Divine Service is a reminder of our faith in the Trinitarian Invocation. Every morning when we wake up and splash water on our face we should be reminded of our baptism. Personally I read my Portals of Prayer in the morning and I am reminded of my baptism. And as I continually remind myself, it is not that I was baptized, but I am, present tense, baptized.
The second thing we do in Divine Service is we confess our sins and we hear the most beautiful words we can ever hear, that our sins are forgiven. It is this forgiveness which brings us peace, true peace not simply a few hours of calm and relaxation. It is this forgiveness that removes all doubt and fear. Indeed, through God’s Holy Absolution we are given forgiveness and strengthening of faith.
Next in the Divine Service we hear God’s Word, and actually that is the joy of the Divine Service as it is permeated with God’s Word. And as one of my professors always said, “We worship best when we say back to God the very words He has given us to say.” Indeed, my words are often inefficient, but God’s Word is powerful. As I always like to say, God’s Word is efficacious, that is it does what He says. When God speaks His Word it happens. Just look at creation. As we hear God’s Word read and proclaimed we are given and strengthened in faith.
Then we move into the part of the Divine Service wherein we participate in Lord’s Supper. In the Lord’s Supper we are physically connected with Jesus as we eat His true body and drink His true blood so that He actually becomes a physical part of us, so that His life becomes our life, His suffering and death become our suffering and death and His resurrection becomes our resurrection. Indeed, through this very means we are given forgiveness and strengthening in faith.
The Divine Service then concludes with the called and ordained pastor placing the Trinitarian Aaronic Benediction on us so that we are prepared to go in peace as we are strengthened to live lives as priests in the priesthood of all believers, serving God by our service to others and always being ready to give an answer for our faith and hope in Jesus alone.
So we see the importance of regular and diligent use of the Means of Grace, of being not only in Divine Service, but also in Bible Class, in other Bible Studies, in reading our Bibles at home, in having person and family devotions, because these opportunities to be filled with God’s Word are what the Holy Spirit draws on to help us give an answer. Indeed, how can we share if we are not filled with something to share. I like to think of it as God has a pitcher full of gifts and blessings He pours out on us. We have a cup which we bring for Him to fill. Every time we come to Him, read our Bible, come to Divine Service, attend a Bible Class, have a devotion, our Lord pours His gifts and blessings into our cup. Now, if we stayed away, the contents of our cup would eventually evaporate and disappear reminding us of the need to make regular and diligent use of these means. On the other hand it is not until our cup is full and beings to over flow that we will be able and excited about giving an answer for our faith.
Lutheran Heritage Foundation comes in with materials for us to use and give away to help us give an answer for our hope and faith. Certainly we all have neighbors, or know people who do not have English as their native language. Would it not be great to be able to offer them a book in their native language so they can read of God’s great gifts? I know here in Texas we have a lot of Spanish speaking people so perhaps the church might want to keep some Spanish Luther’s Small Catechisms available to give out. My neighbor across the street is Vietnamese so I brought him a copy of the Children’s Book of Garden Stories in Vietnamese.
Today we celebrate our Mission Festival, Mission Sunday, but what does that mean, or does it actually mean anything or change anything? Years ago there seemed to be the unspoken idea that we give to missions so we do not have to do any work, because, after all, the mission field is out there somewhere, not here. But today we must admit, the mission field is right here in our own back yard, as the saying goes. So we see the importance of being ready and hopefully that is what we have been hearing about this morning, being ready.
To review, first and foremost we rejoice and acknowledge that God gives and we are given to. God created us to love us. God gives life at conception; new life, even eternal life at Baptism; gifts, talents, and abilities to work a job or career; and He even gives us good works to do which He has prepared in advance for us to do, so that we serve Him by serving others in our vocation. God gives us His authority to speak His Word. He gives us His promise that He will give us the words to speak as well as the opportunities to speak His Word. And He promises that He is with us always even to the end of the world. He reminds us that our opportunities begin right in our own homes, towns, cities, communities, counties, state, country and world.
God gives and we are given too, and as I always like to point out, when it comes to sanctification and our response of faith, He gives that to us as well. Indeed, a thankful response is not something that comes natural to sinful people, but is motivated in us, and worked in and through us by the Holy Spirit meaning we give Him thanks for our giving thanks. And especially knowing that any response from us is always an imperfect response.
What a great God we have. What a gift giving God we have. What a loving God we have. Thanks be to God and to Him be all the glory. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.