Message 6: Commissioned to Serve

In recent weeks, I’ve been teaching a very basic and fundamental series about the core commitments we are to be living out as believers.

I’ve expressed it visually in the form of the triangle. The foundation of the triangle has to do with your COMMUNION with Christ. The left side has to do with the COMMUNITY of Christ. And the right side has to do with our COMMISSION to the world.

Another way of expressing this is through the arrows on your notes.

Communion is expressed by two up and down arrows.

Community is expressed by two horizontal left and right arrows.

Commission is expressed by a curved arrow pointing outwards.

Today, we are going to discover – again – the commission that was given us by Christ Himself.

Look at Matthew 28:19-20
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore 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 very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

DQ: What EXACTLY is our commission from Christ?

1. Go
This is a word of encouragement: “don’t be afraid! Go, I’ll be with you.” Notice that Christ says: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” And then He says: “I am with you always…” We are encouraged to go in the power and authority of Christ!

This is also a word of challenge: “Go – into the world. Don’t just stay in communion with me and in the community of my people. The world needs what you’ve got!”

2. Make disciples
This is the product of the commission. Disciples. Followers of Christ. The Vineyard churches have as their motto: “Disciples making disciples.” I like that.

An old Jewish rabbi posed this question: “If God intended man to live on bread, why didn’t He create a bread tree?” God could have created a bread tree, but He preferred to offer us a grain, invite us to buy a field, till the soil, plant the grain, while He sends the rain and provides the sunshine. Then we harvest the crop, grind the grain into flour. Then we knead it and bake it. Voila – bread.

God has commissioned us to join Him in helping people get restored to right relationship with God.

That said, turn to Acts 2:42-47…
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

I see two ways that the early church sought to fulfill the Great Commission:

ÿ Serving the needs of people
ÿ Sharing the news of Christ’s love

Today we focus in on SERVICE as a means to helping people discover Christ!

Now – look at vs 45: ”Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need…”

Generosity within the Body of Christ – and outside the church – were hallmarks of the Christian movement from the very beginning. This took the form of costly and radical SERVICE to meet the needs of those around them.

How did the early church KNOW that they should SERVE the needs of people? Because they saw Jesus do it.

We are all familiar with Luke 4:18-19 – Jesus’ mission and purpose statement: Here Jesus quotes an Old Testament prophecy – Isaiah 61:1-2…
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18, 19

Notice what Christ’s commission is: “preach good news”! But of greater importance is his strategy for doing so: “recovery of sight, release from oppression.” – In other words: Before Christ spoke, He took action! He served the needs of people!

“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” Matthew 9:35

When Christ met the needs of people – He was ‘incarnating’ God’s presence to a broken world. By taking action and serving people, He brought God’s Presence with Him.

“Incarnation” refers to the act of God entering into the created universe and the realm of man with the Presence of Christ. This is what Christ did. And this is our commission – to bring God’s Presence into the lives of people lost in the brokenness of sin.

In Matthew 10:1 we see Jesus sending His disciples out be the ‘incarnation’ of God’s Presence:

“He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” Matthew 10:1

The disciples – granted authority by Christ – did the exact things Jesus did. They made God’s Presence manifest through supernatural acts of healing and deliverance. In essence, the disciples became the ‘incarnation’ of God!

And it wasn’t just the Apostle’s who did this. We read in Luke 10:1, that Jesus gathered 72 followers and sent them out to do the same thing:
“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.” Luke 10:1

And in Luke 10:9 Jesus tells them what to do:
“Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’” Luke 10:9, NIV.

And in Luke 10:17 we see the results:
“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” Luke 10:17

SO – WHAT’S THE POINT?
In order to fulfill our commission as Christ’s people – we must take up the authority of Christ, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and ‘go’ to people who need Jesus, and demonstrate the reality of the Gospel – in the same way that Jesus did, the Apostle’s did and the 72 did – by SERVING them!

Like Jesus, we must become the INCARNATION of God to a world that is in desperate need of His presence. Jesus didn’t expect people to come to Him, we can’t expect people to ‘come to church’. We have to be willing to ‘go’ where the people are.

God is calling us to be an incarnational people.

HOW?
1. Don’t think church – think mission!
Your goal isn’t to invite people to church. It is to be a missionary.

What do missionaries do? They meet needs and share the gospel. If I was a missionary to the Philippines, I’d learn the language of the Philippines, I’d know the culture of Filipinos. I’d find out what their needs were and seek, through the authority of Christ, the meet that need. Then, I’d tell them about Jesus in order to usher the Presence of God into their lives.

Don’t think church – think mission!

2. Know your spheres of influence.
Look at the three circles. That’s YOU in the middle.

The inner circle is those closest to you – family and very close friends. Write in the word: Family

The middle circle includes those you count as friends that you interact with on a regular basis. They also could be co-workers or neighbors. Write in: “Friends”

The outer circle has the most people in it. I call this level ‘acquaintances’, but the reality is this also includes ‘strangers’. Write in “Everyone Else”

What are the needs of these people? If we don’t know, we cannot possible SERVE them.

Which leads us to the third thing:
3. Listen to people.
People will tell you almost anything if you’ll be quiet and actually listen. When you are talking with something – think like a missionary and listen for the clues. What does this person need? Ask the Holy Spirit to bring revelation. When people are complaining, we usually get irritated, but what we need to do is to realize that God is giving us a window into their soul! Listen!

4. Pray believing.
I don’t mean pray later. I mean pray now. You hear a need. Respond. That’s what Jesus would do. Ask the person: “May I pray for you?” 99% of people will respond positively to this! Then, do it! Open your mouth and pray. Simply. Briefly. Sincerely.

What does this tell that person? It says loud and clear: “I care!” And why do we care? Because Christ cares for us!

CONCLUSION:
Look at 1 Peter 4:11…
“If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11

When we serve, we are bringing God’s presence into a dark and broken world. When we speak, we are speaking on behalf of God. And as we serve others, we bring glory to God!