“MISSION POSSIBLE…YOUR ASSIGNMENT”

Matthew 28:19-20

God’s Gifts In You

September 17, 2006

PASTOR NATHAN J. THOMPSON

“Your assignment, if you should choose to accept…”  Many of us may be familiar with these words from the Mission Impossible movies and TV series.  They are the words of instruction given to private agent, Ethan Hunt, at the beginning of each episode.  It lays out the nearly impossible mission he is to undertake.

The focus of our messages at Shepherd this fall is Mission Possible.  The focus is on the truth that God has also called you and me to his mission.  God is calling you to follow his plan and purpose for your life.

And the difference between God’s call and the popular movie is that ours is a “mission possible.”  It is a mission possible because the Holy Spirit calls not just a cagy secret agent.  Rather, the Holy Spirit has called his whole church, all his believers, to this mission.

And not only that, but the Holy Spirit has also given each believer in his church special and various gifts in order to carry out this mission.  Like a physical body with each arm, and leg, and eye, and ear having a different function, so each one of us in the Body of Christ have different gifts and functions.

And yet what makes these gifts unique is that they do not rely solely on your own power, or on your own expertise.  Rather, these gifts are ones that have been created in you by God himself.  These gifts are gifts of his Holy Spirit, and they are what shapes you into who you are.

The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:11, “All these (gifts) are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”  And Paul continues in 12:18-20, “But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, everyone of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body.”

Sometimes people say they have learned on their own a talent for music, or art, or for mechanical things.  Others may say that they have gone to school, or have developed over time the gift of leadership, or administration, or teaching.  The idea is often thought of that people are born as blank slates, and that they have somehow developed these gifts themselves.

The Bible clearly teaches, however, that no one is a blank slate when they are born.  Rather, God in his infinite wisdom created you with special gifts, special passions, special interests.  God, through his Holy Spirit, has endowed each one of you with certain gifts that make you an important part of Christ’s body.

The theme verse for this series of messages is Mark 10:27, “With human beings this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

The truth is that on your own, without God in your heart, that just plain living is lacking.  And the truth is that without the Holy Spirit empowering and uniting these gifts together, the mission of his church, and of his people, will be totally powerless and impossible.

It is only as you come to know that each of your gifts are from God himself.  It is only as you learn to understand that the Holy Spirit has given you certain gifts for a purpose.  And it is only as you learn to rely on the Holy Spirit’s help and power, that this mission for Christ is possible.  For with God, all things are possible.

So these next weeks we are going to lift up the ways God has gifted you, and how through you, he wants to empower Shepherd.  We are going to focus on the Biblical gifts and call that God gives, as well as how God has a special plan and purpose for you.

We are going to lift up the tremendous talents and gifts we are blessed with at Shepherd.  And along with that, we are going to lift up ways that using our gifts together as his body, that God’s mission is not only possible, but will be carried forward.

So today, in the remaining time, I will remind you of the assignment that God has given.  The assignment, if you should choose to accept, is centered in Jesus’ great commission to his church, to all who believe in him and who take his word seriously.

Jesus gave his assignment in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always to the end of time.”

Jesus’ assignment was also repeated at his ascension when he said in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The assignment, the mission Jesus has given to you, and to his church, is very clear.  Our purpose is to reach out to people everywhere, to people near and far, and to share the life-transforming and life-renewing message of Jesus with all.  The purpose is to make disciples of all nations.

Oh, I know that there are some through the years who have thought of the church in different ways.  Some have thought of it as a big country club where everything centers on them and on their needs.  Some have thought of the church as simply going through rituals, or as a performance or entertainment, or as simply an intellectual enterprise.

And yet Christ’s church was never meant to be anything like this.  The center of the church of Jesus Christ is in his mission, in his marching orders, in his purpose.  It is not something we can debate, or vote on, or choose not to follow.  For Jesus is as clear as clear can be—he tells us that we are to “go.”

And with that as the assignment, the good news is that you don’t need to do it alone.  For God has given us each other, his church, to make this happen.  And God has given each one special gifts and talents which if used together with other believers, can fulfill his mission.  With the power of the Holy Spirit uniting our gifts together, it is truly a mission possible.

It is interesting, however, as we look at our world today, that it is often in the wealthiest countries like the United States that Christianity is in the most decline.  Places like Germany, and England, and the Scandinavian countries where most of our churches and church denominations trace back to, are in many ways nearly dead as far as church involvement and mission.

And yet the places that are literally on fire for Christ and his mission are Tanzania, South America, other places in Africa, and other third world areas.  There are literally thousands of people who are coming to faith in Jesus every week and month.

Even in a place like Korea, with its Confucianism and Buddhist roots, that some 40% of the massive city of Seoul is now Christian.  In fact, the largest Christian church in the world is in Seoul.  And I read recently that some of the largest numbers of missionaries, and some of the strongest mission outreach in the world today, is coming from Korea and Korean churches.

And where the United States’ churches and denominations used to be the foundation of missions and missionaries throughout the world, that now it is being proposed that these countries need to send their missionaries to America.  For there are churches and believers in many places like Tanzania who have much to teach each of us about what it means to be a Christian, and what it means to be Christ’s church.   

Essentially the main issue in all this is that many people, and churches, have lost or have neglected God’s assignment.  We have easily traded the focus of it’s all about God, to the focus that it’s all about us.  We have easily traded a passion for the lost and searching, to rather a concern that we feel happy and secure.

The truth, my friends, is that God calls us each day to reclaim our assignment.  He calls you to learn and reflect on his plan and purpose for you, and to center your vision on him.  God calls us to unite together as his church, and to share our gifts together in fulfilling his mission.

So these next weeks at Shepherd we are going to focus on God’s assignment, and are going to lift up what the Bible tells us about the various gifts that he has given to help carry out this assignment.  We are going to explore how God has blessed each one of you with special gifts you may have never realized, and that with his power, you too can do great things.

So your assignment, if you choose to accept, is to come each week with an open heart and mind, ready to allow God to speak to you.  Your assignment is to remember that by yourself, as a human being, things are impossible.  And yet with God, through his Holy Spirit, his mission is truly possible.