“Whatever It Takes”

Scripture: Luke 10:1-12; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

I’m sure that all of us have, at some time or another, asked the eternal and pressing question - what does God really expect of his church? In James 2:14-26 we read a discussion of what true faith must involve. The question is asked, that if someone has faith but does nothing with and through it, how can that kind of faith ever lead them to salvation? In essence, James is telling us that a sedate and inactive faith is nothing more than a superficial faith, a self-absorbed faith, that unless it is reaching out to others in some way, it’s not a faith that honors Christ. Of course, our faith expression changes over the years as our life situations change, and as the call of the Lord is renewed within us, but the Lord’s call to mission and outreach will always be upon us.

That may seem like a rather extreme position to take, but then, how extreme was Jesus during his ministry? He traveled throughout both Israel and Gentile territories, never letting societal norms deter him, never letting the opinions of religious authorities change his mission, and always using every encounter to teach and heal and reveal Godly ways to all who met him - not to mention the change that his ministry brought to the hearts and minds of his followers. And in every instance, his disciples were amazed - as well as confused - while the people he touched were blessed and strengthened and even emboldened to become a witness to others as to who this Jesus had become for them.

Today is the fourth in our series from Bishop Robert Schnase’s book “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations”. In the fourth chapter, titled The Practice of Risk-Taking Mission and Service, he writes “Mission initiatives change the lives of those who receive the help” AND “Hands-on mission projects change the lives of volunteers. Nobody returns from such service and looks at his or her own life in the same way.” Jesus is that kind of “change-agent” – changing the lives of both those who are touched by his grace, as well as the faithful who are called into his service.

Read Luke 10:1-7

There are several lessons for us in these verses.
First, he sent the people out “ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.” The point here is that when Jesus calls us to go someplace, or to go to someone, we go to prepare others to be blessed by God. The problem is that when the world comes crashing down on our human lives - whether it is due to family issues, job problems, loss of hope and loved ones, damage to our health, uncertainty of the future – whatever it may be, these things always seem to change the focus in our lives – that our loving and purposeful God can so easily become no more than an absentee manifestation.
The truth is that the Spirit of our Living Lord is always with us – it’s just that in times of adversity, people usually need a flesh-and-blood assurance of God’s presence in their lives, and that must be the people of Christ’s Church.

The second lesson is this - we are being sent out “like lambs among wolves”. If it wasn’t for this issue, mission would never include risk. But the truth is that the darkness of Satan hates the Light of Christ, and he will go to great extremes to prevent its illumination in the world. And since he has no authority over Jesus, his opposition will always be directed toward the Lord’s missionaries. He uses doubt and fear to make us hesitate and question. He uses problems in our transportation systems to make our mission so difficult that we want to back out. He uses failure in the lives of our leaders to make us refuse to follow them. He even uses ill health and injury when all else fails.
But when Jesus asks us to serve him, he will also ensure the mission! He grants assurance to overcome our doubt and fear; he provides all the resources that we will need to go wherever the mission may be; he offers confidence in forgiveness, that the penalty of every sin in every believer will be overturned by our confession and his forgiveness; he grants healing and renewal and correction for everything that may come against us. There is nothing that can come against the will of God, for his victory is assured, if we will simply respond to his call.

And the third lesson is that the Lord, through his power and through his Church, will provide every need that the mission will require, and even more! Sometimes the resources will be provided before the team leaves home, and other times, it will all be waiting for us when the day of mission begins. Supplies, meals, housing, guides, God’s way, God’s gifts, God’s preparation – we have to remember that the mission isn’t ours – it is simply a matter of our participation in the effort that was the Lord’s right from the beginning.

Read Luke 10:8-12

Lesson number four – go everywhere that that the Lord would go, offer all that the Lord would give, and receive all that the Lord would accept. Notice that we aren’t told to be selective of where, and to whom, we go, we aren’t to decide ahead of time who will be open to the gospel and who won’t, and we definitely aren’t to choose the people and places where the going will be easy. We are to go where the Lord leads us.

Lesson number five – don’t hold anything back. Whatever the need may be – whether it is healing, or vision, or sustenance, or clothing, or visitation, or anything else (Matthew 25:34-46), bless them in their need, and let them know that God is with them – it will encourage them, it will sustain them, and it will strengthen them in faith. After all, mission is far more than just caring for human needs – spiritual needs are even more important, and quite honestly, caring for the needs of this life should be, above all else, the doorway to offering the salvation that comes by faith in Jesus Christ! The needs of this life are temporary, but the needs of faith are eternal!

But if the people reject the gifts that you bring, if they are only open to receiving the human and worldly gifts that they want, keep trying as long as the Spirit allows. Just remember, we don’t get to decide how long that time may be. We don’t get to run as soon as we receive our first “No thanks” or our first “Go away!” We pray about it, we ask the Spirit for a different approach, we seek divine guidance for the right words so that hearts and minds will be opened to the hope of Christ.
When that time has come, though, and if the answer is still “No”, it’s time to leave. But Luke offers one caution – take nothing of that person, that house, or that town with you. Leave their ways, their ideals, their negativity right where it is, and offer them the same reminder that you left with the faithful – that God is still there, ready to hear their plea for help, and whether they come to the Lord or not, he is still God and one day, they will come to that realization (Philippians 2:5-11)!

Read 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Paul has taken a huge step in faith. Once, he was a Pharisee – focused and committed to one way and one thought, and that was on the Law of Moses. He was a disciple of the law; he was a devotee of the law; for him, nothing worthwhile existed outside of the Law. But here he is, saying that nothing matters to him anymore, except to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with anyone, in any way, at any time, in every place. Instead of demanding that everyone else should live like he does, now he empathizes with those who he seeks to save.
One note, though. When many folks read this, they miss the words “like”. Paul says that he will be “like” the Jews in order to reach the Jews, “like” those under the law to reach those who are legalistic, “like” those who acknowledge no law to reach them. He does not say that he becomes one with them, but is willing to be like them, that he will go to anyone, regardless of who they are or what they believe, just so no one will miss out on the opportunity to be saved.

That no one will be lost! Jesus told three parables that call us to minister to the lost, and each one tells us to use whatever means we have at our disposal to bring them to glory, and that we must be intentional for them.
The first is “The Lost Sheep” in Matthew 18:10-14 and Luke 15:1-7. In this story, one sheep, out of the entire flock, has wandered off, and the shepherd searches for it relentlessly. And if he finds it, and brings it safely back to the flock, the joy that he feels will be overwhelming, and the passage concludes with these words – “… your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”
The second story is “The Lost Coin” in Luke 15:8-10. A woman has lost a silver coin, the personal value of which far exceeds its monetary worth. She did everything possible to find it – she lit the lamps in the house, she swept every inch of the floor, and she searched every inch of the room until she found it. She never gave up until it had been found and returned to its rightful place in the home, and her joy was overwhelming.
The third parable is “The Lost Son”, which we know as the Prodigal (Luke 15:11-32). Without going into a lot of the story’s detail, the son of a landowner left home to make his own way in the world, a way that was astray from his father’s way. But things didn’t work out all that well for him, and he finally decided that life would be far preferable as a servant assigned to work in his father’s fields, than to continue with what he currently had, which was nothing. But little did he know that his father had been hoping and praying for his return since the day he left, and when that day came, the father ran to him, not to chastise him, but to welcome him back as a son in full measure.

Search until the “lost” is found, do everything you possibly can to find the “lost”, and pray without ceasing until the “lost” is found. Whatever it takes, whatever the perceived risk may be, wherever God’s call takes us, rejoice that the Lord has chosen us to be his servant messengers, because “Risk Taking Mission and Service” is the only way for the Church of Jesus Christ.