Aliens in a Strange Land

Aliens in a Strange Land

As followers of christ, the Bible tells us our true home is in heaven. We are strangers passing through this land, because we are citizens of heaven. Abraham was a stranger in the land, his journey forms the basis of this weeks thoughts.

Hebrews 11:8-12New International Version (NIV)
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[a] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

Abraham left Haran and headed out into an unknown land. He understood that he was a stranger in a foreign land and that his true home is in heaven. If we are also strangers in a foreign land, because our true home is heaven, then we need to learn how to live as strangers in a foreign land.

Abraham, Joshua, Ruth, Esther, and Jesus all lived as strangers in a foreign land. Jesus perhaps had the most to lose and he is our ultimate example of how to live in a foreign land and how to navigate life in an alien environment.

Phil 2 says that he left his home in heaven and made himself nothing, emptying himself of everything to live like us and to offer his life for us.

Philippians 2:5-12
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature[a] God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

This is the best example we have. Our attitude is to be that of Jesus – who humbled himself, giving up everything for us. But what about those that went before him? What can we learn from them? They are the heroes of the Old Testament.They are the ones who had to trust God when life did not always go to plan.

Today we will look more at Abraham and over the next few weeks we will look at how others navigated being aliens in a strange land. We have the Spirit of God within that marks us as belonging to God. We are his children and that means that we are foreigners in a strange land, because heaven is actually our home.

Lets look at Abraham.

1. Abraham listened to the call of God, and then he obeyed.

The Call of Abram
Gen 12:14
12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”[b]
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.

He didn’t really know where he was going. He headed towards Canaan because that is where his father had been headed before stopping in Haran. God’s desire in calling him was to bless him and to bless future generations through him.

As we listen to and heed the call of God we can be sure that God wants to bless us and future generations. This does not mean that everything will happen easily, but it does mean that we can trust God to lead us. But we have to listen and move in accordance with God's plan.

What is God calling us to do?
What comfort zone is he asking us to step out of?

Hebrews 11 tells us that because Abraham understood that his home was in heaven and that he was an alien in a strange place – he left his place of familiarity and comfort and headed out into the unknown.

Whatever the calling is and whatever place God is calling you to, we can be sure that God is there every step of the way. As an Alien in a strange place – a strange environment – God’s desire is to bless us and to build a nation – a community of people that will honour him.

2. Faith, even when there seems no reason to hope

Abraham exercised faith even when it seemed there was no reason for hope.

Romans 4:16-21
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”[a] He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[b] 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

Abraham believed God. He exercised his faith even when it seemed like there was no hope. In fact, Abraham believed that God was able to make a way where there seemed to be no way.

What situation are you facing that there seems to be no way out of?
What situation seems like you are between a rock and a hard place?

Abraham was able to believe God in the impossible. The good thing is that Abraham is just like us. We are no different. We too can have a faith that believes that God can make a way even when there seems no way.

This has become one of my favourite verses because I have actually seen it happen – God making a way when it seemed impossible. I believe that Moses also had this kind of faith. He too was an alien in a foreign land.

His people had been in slavery in Egypt. He had grown up in the royal family and among a people that were not his own. He had tried to do things his own way. In fact both Abraham and Moses had tried to do things their own way, thinking that it was for the best. They made mistakes. The good news is that God still blessed them and they held on to their faith. We make mistakes, and God still wants to bless us, to use us and to fulfil his promises to us.

Moses then spent many years in the desert, as a sheep farmer in a land and among people that were not his own, and then when the time was right, he went back to Egypt to take his people to the Promised Land. But it was still a strange and foreign land. And the people he had to deal with whinged a lot; sound familiar?

Moses had to deal with it. At the Red Sea he was stuck between the Egyptian army and the Red sea, and there seemed no way out. The people responded the way we often do and complained, but Moses turned to God. He believed that even though he couldn’t change the situation God could.

Exodus 14:13-16; 21-22
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

He sought God, followed God’s direction and the impossible happened. God made a way where there was no way.

What is your Red Sea situation?
What is God asking you to do?

Abraham and Moses believed God and he made a way.

3. Willing to give up what seems important.

Abraham had a relationship with God. It was a relationship of faith, but it was this relationship that set him apart and made him right with God. Romans tells us that the relationship was more important than obedience. And the prophet Samuel says that obedience is better than sacrifice. (Because it’s only a sacrifice if it’s a sacrifice – it actually has to mean something)

This is true, because it is relationship with God that above all things marks us as aliens in a strange land. This is what separates us from other people. Abraham’s relationship and trust in God was so high that even when he was asked to give up the very thing that God had promised, the child Isaac, he was willing to trust God in that circumstance. (Genesis 22.)

Sometimes God does want us to give up things because they are not good for us. But God also wants us to trust him implicitly and be willing to give up the very things that are most important to us. The great thing about this is that God always gives us back more than we could ever imagine. God tested Abraham because he wanted Abraham to be able to trust in him at all times. He gave him his son back.

God always gives us back more than we give up. Abraham not only got his son back, but he received descendants and more. In fact, Hebrews tells us that he was able to see in faith the descendants that God was giving him.

The disciples gave up their comfortable lives for something so much better. Jesus says that if we give up things in this life for him, then we will receive back so much more in this life and in the life to come.

Mark 10:28-30
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.

This is giving up something good for something that is the best.

Are we willing to give up what we have now for something better in the future?
What is God asking you to give up, so that he can give you something better, something more?

Jesus gave up his life, and received it back, with all who will believe. He gave up heaven for us, was obedient to death and then was raised to the right hand of God with everything restored, and more, he has us as his inheritance.

Concluding Thoughts
Living as an alien in a strange land means we need to understand first and foremost that this life and this world is not our real home. Our real home is in Heaven.

Living as an alien requires us to:
Heed the call of God and to act on it;
Exercise faith and believe when it seems impossible;
Be willing to give up what we have for the cause of Christ – because God has something much better for us.

Citylife Women

WOW

Introduction

There are great opportunities for us to grow in community and in faith.

God gives us the mandate to go and make disciples and his desire is that all of us will be involved as we build something significant for the kingdom. We are in it together.

God wants to bless us, he wants to bless Citylife Women and he will build his church. Citylife Women is based on the following:

1 Timothy 2:4

God wants all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth

1 Peter 3:18

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

God's desire is twofold - that people would be saved and that they be discipled and disciple others.

WOW is totally about these two things. We do lots of fun things together, but basically it is about:

·         Women saved and brought into relationship with God through faith in Christ and his atoning work on the cross

·         Ensuring each woman is loved and discipled to fulfil God's plan for her life.

This is who we are.

Citylife Women

A community of women who are:

Confident in God

Passionate about his Kingdom

Committed to his cause

We value:

• ·         Our cultural and generational diversity
• ·         We value our community
• ·         We value friendship with one another.

We endeavour to live out our values as part of a wider community by caring for each other by:

• ·         Intentionally building our relationships and friendships
• ·         Respecting and honouring others.

We place value on others by treating them with love and respect, helping them to come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

WOW - Women on Wednesday is:

Creating a place where women can:

Connect with God through worship

Learn to live the Christian life through lifestyle application of the word

Connect in a meaningful way with other women

Bring along their friends

Develop leadership potential

We do this through creating Community

1. Belonging

Creating a place where women feel they can belong regardless of where they are on their journey towards faith.

It is not about a doctrine, or practices etc. These have a place, but most importantly it’s about belonging. What we believe is important and we will not dilute what we believe, but we will share it with love and grace.

How we present the truth will vary over time and place, but it will still be truth.

We rely on the word of God as our source of truth and in the belief that:

·         God loves everyone

·         He sent Jesus as saviour

·         Jesus is the way to salvation

·         Heaven and hell both exist and the only way to salvation is through the atoning work of Christ.

But as women are on their personal journey towards understanding and towards faith we want them to know that there is a place that they belong.

We are a community of women, doing life together, growing, and becoming who God calls us to be.

What is a community?

Community is:

Common ownership and participation

·         In other words a sense of belonging, inclusion and involvement.

We want to create a place of love and acceptance of women regardless of where they are up to.

This does not mean we won't be challenged to change and to grow, but it does mean we are creating a community of women who are willing to accept others wherever they are at and to walk the journey of life towards faith and Discipleship with them.

Jesus accepted people; he loved them and gave the call to follow him. He is our example.

John 8:1-11. The woman caught in adultery. Jesus did not condemn her, he accepted her as she was, and extended grace and cared about her enough to say - Go and sin no more. No condemnation, just acceptance, love and a challenge.

How can we create a place where people feel they belong?

Most importantly, creating a place means being present. We create community by meeting together regularly and choosing to be part of community.

• ·         Loving them, not judging them
• ·         Welcoming them, by including them in our circle of friends, by caring.
• ·         By keeping a positive attitude when we are here and not criticising
• ·         Making sure that whatever we do, we do it with excellence because we want them to experience something that tells them that no matter their background, no matter what has gone before, they are important and they are valued.

What is community?

It is ownership.

 As we take a healthy ownership of what God is doing amongst us we will see amazing things.

A healthy community:

• ·         Cares about each other
• ·         Challenges ideas and challenges “the norms”.

A healthy community remains healthy by

• ·         Accepting everyone, judging no-one and by an over-riding love.
• ·         By embracing the new,
• ·         Embracing people and by putting others first.

A community remains healthy by being intentional about what it does

For us this means by being intentional in our relationships, by honouring one another and by loving one another.

We want to develop a culture of honouring people. We do this by:

• ·         Developing and maintaining a positive attitude towards others
• ·         Honouring others by contributing – by engaging in the worship, not talking across other people, honouring the times of prayer.

·         Be thinking about how we can honour one another.

Q. What can I do to personally honour those around me?

Q. How can I contribute in a positive way to our community?

2. Focus on them

We want to reach women who do not yet know Jesus. Therefor our mindset is an “other person” mindset.

The focus of what we do is to help women grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. We exist to reach unsaved people and share God's love with them.

Of course the question that arises is "what about me and my needs?"

Two things here

·         In Jesus, every real need we have has been met. We need to learn to live it out.

Col 3

In Him, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.

·         This also highlights the importance of friends and life group (though this should also have an outreach/other person focus,)

The key thing is that in Christ we have everything and those without Christ have nothing.

Go Make Disciples

·         GO - this is going into the world and sharing the love of Jesus with the people in your circle of influence.

·         MAKE DISCIPLES - looking after people, helping them in their walk with God, getting involved in life group and reaching out to others.

What are we personally doing to go - to embrace the opportunity we have all around us?.

God wants all to be saved. God wants those who are saved to be discipled and to disciple others.

This is not about personality, this is about loving others.

Be a friend

We all have people that we know through life, people in our sphere of influence, at work and amongst family and friends.   

We can care about people and be a friend, doing the journey of life with them and encouraging them. In relationship we can become the one who helps our friend discover the love and grace of God.

Tell a friend

As we develop relationships with other women, we will find opportunities to share the hope that we have.

We do not need to force it, we just get to know them and listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is his job to convict people, and draw them towards salvation.

We lift up the name of Jesus in our actions and in our words, by living in relationship with him, and in sharing God's love for others.

Bring a friend

We all have the opportunity to bring people with us.

We can invite others to come with us on the journey. (I'm talking the unsaved, unchurched here and not about pinching other Christians from elsewhere).

Praying

One of the most effective things we can do is to simply take time to pray for other people to come to know Jesus. Pray for the women in your sphere of influence. Ask God to bless them and to show them his love.

God wants all to be saved. Our main focus is them, and not us.

Q. Who will I pray for?

Q. How can I be a friend to someone?

3. Faith

Our faith is integral to our lives. Let’s not be fatalistic about what happens but believe that God wants to bless us and to build his church.

Let’s be women who transform our thinking, with our lives are grounded in faith in a mighty God who is:

 "able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think, according to his power at work in us". Eph 3:20

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Heb 11:1

We can be certain that God wants people to come to faith in Jesus. We can be certain that God wants people in relationship with him, and in relationship with others.

Q. How can I begin to exercise my faith?

Conclusion

God wants us to be a community of believers who are part of a broader community of women seeking to grow in the journey of life and encouraging others to come on the journey with us.

Will you be a part of it?

Rick Warren again.

God, Why Is This Happening to Me?

In his pain and despair, Job asked a lot of legitimate questions: “Why let people go on living in misery? Why give light to those in grief?” (Job 3:20 TEV)

This “why” question is human nature, and we all ask it. We have this misconception that if we understand the reason behind our pain, then it will make the pain easier.

You don’t need an explanation; you need strength. You don’t need an explanation; you need a Savior. You don’t need an explanation; you need comfort and support.

But we always go looking for an explanation! We ask questions like, “Why did that person walk out of my life? Why did he make a promise to me and then break it? Why did he hurt me? Why did I lose my job? Why did she die? Why did I get sick?”

Friends, I’ve been studying the “why” question for 37 years, and I’m going to give you my educated answer: I don’t know. And I’m never going to know, because I’m not God. And neither are you! Some things we’re just never going to understand until we get to the other side of death. Then it’s all going to become very, very clear. Only God knows. And if you don’t get his answer right off the bat, you might as well stop asking “Why?” because you’re simply prolonging the pain.

Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is God’s privilege to conceal things” (LB). God is a God of revelation. He reveals himself through nature, circumstances, and Scripture. The only reason you know anything about God is because he has chosen to reveal himself.

But the Bible says God doesn’t just reveal; God also conceals. And sometimes God intentionally hides his face from us. Why? So we’ll learn to trust him instead of our feelings and to live by faith rather than our feelings.

God doesn’t owe you an explanation for anything. God doesn’t have to check in with you first before he does something. God doesn’t have to get your permission before he allows things to happen in life. God is God, and we’re not always going to understand why some things happen.

The Bible says, “We don’t know everything, and our prophecies are not complete.... Now all we can see of God is like a cloudy picture in a mirror. Later we will see him face to face. We don’t know everything, but then we will, just as God completely understand us” (1 Corinthians 13:9, 12 CEV).

One day it’s all going to be clear. It’s all going to make sense. You’re going to be able to say, “So that’s why God allowed that in my life!” Until then, God wants you to trust him.

This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

And another One

How to Live with Uncommon Courage

To live with uncommon courage and stand up for Christ, you have to learn how to clarify your worldview — what you base your beliefs on. You also have to understand the non-Christian worldviews that compete for your devotion every day. Here are the four most popular anti-Christian worldviews:

Materialism: What matters most is money. Materialists measure their success by wealth, but you didn’t bring anything into the world, and you won’t take anything out of it. You were made for more than things. Luke 12:15 says, “Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (NIV). The greatest things in life aren’t things.

Hedonism: Whatever feels good is good. For hedonists, pleasure is their god. Their goal in life is to be comfortable and have fun. But happiness is not the goal in life; happiness is a by-product of living out your purpose. Holiness creates happiness.

Individualism: What I want comes first. America was built on rugged individualism, and today that has evolved into a culture of narcissism. But God didn’t create you to live for you. If you want to follow Jesus, you have to put aside your selfish ambition. Romans 2:8 says, “For those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger” (NIV). God opposes self-centeredness because God is love, and love is never selfish.

Socialism: Government should control everything. God is not an anarchist; everything should be done in order. I’ve spoken at most of the major, secular elite conferences, and I’ve discovered this: Politics is the religion of people who don’t know God. There is nothing wrong with politics, but it shouldn’t be your savior. “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). I’m to be a responsible citizen, but I do not owe government my life. My greater loyalty is to God and not to government.

What is the result of these worldviews? The crumbling of our culture, crisis in our schools, corruption in our businesses, chaos in our government, carnality in our churches, confusion in our families, and conflicts in our personal lives. Any time we don’t go by the owner’s manual, we’re the ones who get hurt. You see, we don’t really break God’s laws — they break us.

To counter these prevalent worldviews, God is calling Christians to stand up for his truth “against world opinion.” You can only do that when you have a solid foundation in God’s Word and the uncommon courage that comes from a relationship with him.

This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Another Rick Warren thought.

Why is Courage So Uncommon?

If ever there was a message you need in today’s culture, it’s this: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent” (Acts 18:9b NIV). In a world full of ideas and beliefs that go against God’s Word, God wants you to have an uncommon courage and stand up for what you know is true and right. Everyone else is speaking up and telling you their worldview every day. Why shouldn’t you stand up for what you believe?

To stand courageously, you have to know what God says is the truth and what the world believes. This is called a worldview — what you base your beliefs on. Every person uses a different filter through which they see and understand the world. We may all be looking at the same event, but we will see it differently because of our conflicting worldviews.

Your worldview includes how you see God, yourself, others, the past, present, and future, money, time, good and evil. It influences everything in your life. Every time you make a decision, you access the worldview database in your mind and decide that, because you believe this, this is what you’re going to do. Your worldview influences every choice you make.

Here’s the problem: You are profoundly influenced by the worldviews of others. Every time you have a conversation, a worldview is being communicated. You are influenced by the worldviews of your parents, friends, an advertisement, or a newspaper article. Nothing is fair and balanced, because everyone has a worldview.

It is absolutely crucial, then, that you base your worldview on God’s Word, which is the only truth.

In a national survey, 62 percent of Americans claimed they are “deeply spiritual.” When asked how that spirituality affects their decision making, 31 percent said they make moral choices based on “what feels right and comfortable,” 18 percent on “whatever is best for me,” 14 percent on “whatever causes the least conflict with others,” and only 16 percent on “what God’s Word says.”

What does that mean? It means most Christians have a non-Christian worldview. You may be a Christian and headed for Heaven, but you can also have a non-Christian worldview because you’ve based it on what you’ve learned from the world and not from the Word.

Why is it important to stand up and speak the truth? Matthew 10:32 says, “Stand up for me against world opinion and I’ll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. If you turn tail and run, do you think I’ll cover for you?” (MSG)

God is telling you to make a stand for his truth. Taking that kind of stand requires an uncommon courage that is only available through the knowledge and understanding of God’s Word.

This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Some thoughts from Rick Warren

Some thoughts from Rick Warren

Why Does the Church Need Me?

One reason why you need to be connected to a church family is to fulfill your calling to serve other believers in practical ways. The Bible says, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT).

Your service is desperately needed in the Body of Christ — just ask any local church! Each of us has a role to play, and every role is important. There is no small service to God; it all matters.

Likewise, there are no insignificant ministries in the church. Some are visible and some are behind the scenes, but all are valuable. Small or hidden ministries often make the biggest difference.

In my home, the most important light is not the large chandelier in our dining room but the little night-light that keeps me from stubbing my toe when I get up at night. There is no correlation between size and significance. Every ministry matters because we are all dependent on each other to function.

What happens when one part of your body fails to function? You get sick. The rest of your body suffers. Imagine if your liver decided to start living for itself: “I’m tired! I don’t want to serve the body anymore! I want a year off just to be fed. I’ve got to do what’s best for me! Let some other part take over.”

What would happen? Your body would die. Today thousands of local churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve. They sit on the sidelines as spectators, and the Body suffers.

God calls you to a service far beyond anything you could ever imagine. He created you for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for you to do (Ephesians 2:10). Whenever you serve others in any way, you are actually serving God.

This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Life Foundations Part 4 Mission

The last in our series of life foundations is mission. God has tasked us with his mission. What is mission. Here is a dictionary definition.

Mission
mis·sion  [mish-uhn] 
noun
1. a group or committee of persons sent to a foreign country to conduct negotiations, establish relations, provide scientific and technical assistance, or the like.
2.the business with which such a group is charged.
3.any important task or duty that is assigned, allotted, or self-imposed: Our mission is to find the child a safe home.
4.an important goal or purpose that is accompanied by strong conviction; a calling or vocation: She has finally found her mission in life.
5.a sending or being sent for some duty or purpose.

Also called foreign mission. a permanent diplomatic establishment abroad; embassy; legation.
Military . an operational task, usually assigned by a higher headquarters: a mission to bomb the bridge.

Synonyms for mission
noun person's task, responsibility
aim, assignment, business, calling, charge, commission, duty, end, errand, goal, job, lifework, object, objective, office, operation, profession, purpose, pursuit, quest, sortie, trade, trust, undertaking, vocation, work

All of these are useful thoughts for us as they relate to God's mission. God calls us to his mission. Lets explore this further, and see how our mission is to be carried out. Mission statements can help ud. Mission Statements describe a mission. Mission is an operational task we have been given by God.

Citylife Church
Love God/Love People/Live His purpose
Helping our friends to discover the grace of God.

Love God - Heart soul mind and strength
Love People - love others as God loves us
Live his purpose – obedience – reaching people – finding his purpose for your life

Helping our friends to discover the grace of God. This is the outworking of our mission. That our friends will discover Gods grace as we share his love. Starbucks also has a mission statement:

Starbucks Mission Statement
Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. (This is followed by their principles).

For us, our mission is what God has called us to do, personally and collectively as a community to share the good news and make disciples.

Jesus gave us a mission:

Matt 28:18-20
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[b] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

He knew his mission on earth had come to an end. His mission had been to come, live among us, teach, and then give his life for us. Now, he had risen and was going to the Father and he gives us a mission.

We often call it the Great commission. A commission, delegated authority to carry out business. We have been given delegated authority to carry out God's mission, to make disciples. A mission to bring God’s love to people and the good news of new life that is found in Christ.

We express this mission in our mission statement.

Paul says we are Ambassadors
2 Cor 5:15-21
15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Paul understood what the mission was. He had been sent on a mission to destroy Christians and ended up embarking on a mission to reach people with the good news of the love and grace of Christ. He says that we are ambassadors. An ambassador is a representative of one nation in another and they are responsible for various “Foreign missions”. They have auhority to act on behalf of another, their country.

We are representatives of Christ in a foreign land. This is not our true home. Just like Abraham, we are passing through. We are foreigners representing the Kingdom of God in our nation. We are foreigners and ambassadors representing God and carrying out his commision.

Hebrews 11:13-16
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

We are given a mission; a task to fulfil. Lets look at two key areas of mission.

1. Spread the Good News
We have been tasked to go make disciples and there is both an individual aspect and a collective aspect. We are commissioned to go make disciples. It is a task that we have been given; a task that we have been authorised to perform. If you are a follower of Christ, you have been tasked with this mission.

A disciple is someone who is a follower of Christ. A disciple is a learner, a student, apprentice or a pupil. The term is "mathetes" and according to literature is most often associated with people who were devoted followers of a religioys leader or teacher of philosophy.

Disciples in the Jewish context were people who followed the teachings and practices of a particular person, usually a Rabbi or teacher of some sort. A disciple was a devoted, life influencing process.

One source describes the role of disciples in the Jewish context as follows:

"Just as there were “disciples” in the Greco-Roman world of the first century, so there were people called disciples in Judaism as well. Such people were committed to a recognized leader or movement. This involved Jewish adherents to Philosophical schools or to religious and political sects. The Pharisees apparently had their own disciples and they too claimed to be disciples of Moses (John 9:28-296). John the Baptist also had disciples who lived with him and followed him, practiced his ascetic lifestyle, and promulgated (to some extent) his teachings (Mark 2:18; Luke 11:1; John 3:25; Acts 19:1-7).

"In general, the education of boys in first century Judaism centered in the home around Torah learning. The Torah was taught primarily by the Father. But during the time of Jesus there is good evidence to suggest that primary schools (beth Sepher) had been developed to mitigate against the inroads of Hellenism.7 But after a boy was thirteen years of age there was no more formal education as such. If he wanted further training in preparation for being a judge, teacher, scribe, or head of a synagogue, he might continue his study of the Torah in a small group or seek to study as a disciple under a certain scholar.8 The apostle Paul was an example of a Jewish boy who had left home (i.e., Tarsus) to study the Law under Gamaliel, a famous Rabbi in Jerusalem (Acts 5:34; 22:3)."

In other words, a disciple in this sense is someone who devotedly follows the teaching of Jesus. Our Mission is to go and make disciples – to go and share the good news, helping others to become devoted followers of Jesus.

As individuals we have a mission to reach out to our friends: to take the good news of Jesus to them, but we don’t do it alone. We do it with the help and the support of those who are doing the journey of faith with us. Our Citylife Church Mission is a corporate mission that each individual takes responsibility for.

This is one of the reasons the Bible says don’t stop meeting together. We need the love help and support of others. When we try to go it alone we become prey to the enemy. However there is an individual perspective. There are people that only you can reach

This is task is about sharing the good news. It is not up to us to save people; that is the work of the Holy Spirit. We share God’s love and the grace of Jesus with people, the Spirit works in their heart. This is why prayer is so important. Prayer breaks through in the Spiritual realm.

Not sure what to pray for your friends; John 16:5-15 helps us.

John 16:5-15
The Work of the Holy Spirit
5 “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. 6 Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. 7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate[a] won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

God promises us that his Spirit will lead us and guide us into all truth. His Spirit is the one who convicts the heart of people. It is his Spirit who reveals the truth to people. Pray for your friends that God’s spirit will reveal the truth to them and convict them of their need for Jesus.

As we take hold of God’s good news and share it with people, the Holy Spirit is taking on the task of saving people. As individuals and collectively we have a responsibility to share the good news and speak og God's saving grace and love available to all through Christ.

Romans 10:8-15
And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

This may be community development that shows God’s love practically such our Love in Action and our work in Vietnam. It may be sharing your testimony with someone. It doesn’t have to be long and involved simply– this is what I was like – this is what God did – this is what my life is like now.

God calls some of us to cross cultural missions but for most of us we will be on mission here in Australia. When our friends are seeking God and are saved, when they choose to follow Christ, we stay on mission to make disciples, helping our friends grow and understand more of God'sgrace and purpose in their lives. They too then become people devoted to following Christ who in turn take on God's mission.

What am I doing to engage the mission?
Who am I engaging in mission with?

2. Live a life of purpose
The second aspect to this is our personal mission. This is more about what God has called us to do, our individual purpose that is part of the whole. In the synonyms it includes words like: commission, lifework, objective, task, vocation and work

What is my part? What is my mission and purpose.

We have looked at this before when we have talked about purpose, and gifting and what God calls us to do. Having a life’s mission written down as a mission statement is a great way to stay on track with whatever God is calling you to do.

Here is mine
Encourage others to fulfil their potential and be all that God created them to be.

Ephesians 4:12
New Living Translation (NLT)
12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

This is my overarching mission statement. There are others that I have written for various areas of my life in regards to my relationship with God, my marriage and family, my work and my education. My life plan has a vision, mission and purpose for each key area. You don't have to write it down, but God has a mission and purpose for your life.

What is your mission?
What would you write?
You may already have one and know exactly what it is. I encourage you to pray about it, seek God and ask him to reveal his purpose for you. Over time he will reveal it to you. Meanwhile, keep on with the mission we talked about in part 1, helping your friends to discover the grace of God.

When you know your mission, you will also be able to think about the principles by which you live your life that come from the mission. It’s a good idea to ensure our mission matches up with who God has created us to be. That’s why prayer is important. As a result of the mission, as you live out your purpose, you may have many areas that you serve in.

Your mission will involve some kind of service for the kingdom of God whether it be as part of service to the church family or service to the community. If you are working, then this is also part of your mission. You may not be where you want to be yet but we are all a work in progress. We are all on a journey. God will use you wherever you are.

Romans 12:11
New Living Translation (NLT)
11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Note the term "enthusiastically". It’s not always easy to be enthusiastic, but it is a choice that we make. Enthusiasm will not only help us but will encourage others.

Colossians 3:23
New Living Translation (NLT)
23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

These Scriptures remind us that God sees our work as something we do for him, whatever that is and wherever we are. That is to be our focus. When you are at work you are working for God. This is part of your mission and your mission field. Wherever you are God has you there for a reason and a purpose.

Permission Granted – Shared by Grahame Cooke:
"I feel it strongly in my heart on days that God is taking our hearts to a totally different place of intention, purpose and design. It’s time to stop being casual about the Kingdom and develop a lifestyle of utmost intentionality because there is acceleration with intention."

Be intentional with your life as you live his purpose. You might not yet be where you want to be, but you are on the way, you are on the journey and as you are faithful where God has you now, you will grow in him, and your life purpose will begin to take shape and be fulfilled.

Conclusion
We have a mission, we are on a mission. Let’s get about the individual/corporate mission of sharing the good news with our friends and our community, and start living a life of intention and purpose.