On A Mission, Adapted from a Larry Hiles sermon http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?SermonID=68395

1. Adapted from a Larry Hiles sermon
http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.
asp?SermonID=68395

2. Mission!
When I say that word, what is the first thought
that comes to mind.
For most of us it is probably the idea of going
to some foreign land to preach the Gospel.
Yet there are many different missions that we
can be a part of.

3. I looked up the word mission on the Webster
Online dictionary and listen to what the word
mission means according to Webster:
1. The act of the instance of sending.
2. A ministry commissioned by a religious
organization to propagate its faith or carry on
humanitarian work.
3. A body of persons sent to perform a service
or carry on an activity.
4. A specific task with which a person or a
group is charged.

4. We are on a mission.
Just before ascending into heaven Jesus told
His disciple’s to go an preach.
That message, and that charge, has been left
for us as well.
However, that was not the first time Jesus sent
His disciple’s out into the mission field.

5. We are going to be using the entire chapter of
for our text this morning.
ESV

16. Jesus sent His disciples out on a mission.
In this passage of Scripture there are some
valuable lessons we can learn as we
accomplish the mission Jesus has left for us.

17. The disciples had to know what it was they
were supposed to accomplish.

18. They were sent to preach the coming of the
Kingdom of Heaven.
Think of what the disciples could have spent
their time preaching out against.
The Roman Empire,
The Hypocrisy Of The Jewish Leaders, The
Need For Honest Tax Collectors,
The list could go on and on.

19. You know the same is true of us.
We are told to preach.
There are so many different things we could
preach out against in our world today.
- The Hypocrisy Of Our Political Leaders.
- The Evils Of Abortion.
- The Wrongs Of Homosexual Marriage.
- The Issues Of Poverty.

20. However, I think we would be best to
concentrate on the one message we should
preach.
That message is Jesus Christ.
You see, they preached the Kingdom of
Heaven was near.
For us, the Kingdom is here and it is our job to
preach that fact.

21. To learn some valuable lessons about this fact,
all we have to do is to look at the life of Paul.
Whenever Paul got a chance to preach, what
did He preach?
Jesus Christ crucified!
Jesus Christ Buried!
Jesus Christ Risen From The Dead.
That is the Gospel!
ESV

22. I wonder what would happen if God’s people
everywhere would take this task seriously.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that there
is never a time in which we should not speak
out against a certain issue. However, I do
believe that our main message should always
be the gospel message; because in the Gospel
Message there is power to save.

23. The mission to preach belongs to every single
one of us.
There is not one person in the room who has
given their lives to Jesus Christ that does not
have this responsibility to preach.

24. Behold, a team went forth to play a game of
baseball. Just as the umpire was saying,
“Batter up,” the catcher for the home team
arrived and took his place behind the plate.
The center fielder didn’t show up at all but sent
his regrets. The third baseman likewise failed
to come to the game, having been up late the
night before. The shortstop was present, but
left his glove at home. Two of the substitute
fielders were away on a weekend trip but said
they were there in spirit.

25. The pitcher went to the mound and looked
around for his teammates. But his heart was
heavy, for their positions were empty. The
game was announced, the visitors were in the
stands, and there was nothing to do but pitch
the ball and hope for the best. But in addition
to pitching, he had to cover first and third base,
as well as short and center field.

26. When the absent players heard that their team
had lost, they were very upset. They held a
meeting and decided to get a new pitcher.
Like a baseball team, the church can’t survive
without everyone pulling their weight.
The pitcher—the preacher—is important, but
unless everyone else shows up and fields their
position or gets a hit, the game will be lost.

27. The Bible never makes a distinction between
professional ministers (clergy) and “ordinary
Christians” (laity).
Instead, everyone is a minister, each having
different gifts and abilities.
A baseball team can’t win with players who
don’t play.
Nor can a church with ministers who don’t
minister. People expect the preacher to
preach, but when we all begin to preach Christ
we will indeed change the world for the Gospel
Message.

28. They were sent to heal. As they went about
preaching the Gospel Message they were to
heal those who needed. Now, we must
understand something here. These men were
empowered by Jesus to heal. The Apostles
and the people on which the Apostles laid their
hands on had a power from the Holy Spirit to
do some amazing things. The purpose for
them using these powers were to prove that
the message they were preaching was true.

29. Now, there are people who have been given
special gifts by God.
There are doctors, nurses and scientists alike
who have made it their life long work to heal
people.
They are unable to heal in the same sense the
Apostles were able to, but they are gifted by
God none-the-less.

30. We too are to be a people of healing.
We may not be able to heal in the same sense
that the Apostles were, but we can bring
healing to a people that are hurting.
- Hurting From The Effects Of Sin.
- Hurting From Loneliness
- Hurting From Hopelessness

31. Everyone the disciples physically healed,
eventually died.
However, when we show people that the
ultimate source of healing is found in the hope
of eternity, we are doing more than healing
them for a while, we are showing them that
Christ can heal them forever.

32. Our salvation should be enough of a motivation
for us to go out and make a difference.
Freely you have received, freely give.
The purpose of the mission was to preach and
heal.

33. The Mission’s Problems.
The disciples were given the mission, but they
were told about the problems they were going
to encounter.
People would not listen.
The disciples were told there were going to be
people who would not listen to the message
they had to preach.

34. The same is true for us today.
There are people who won’t want to hear what
we have to preach.
That doesn’t mean that we are supposed to
give up preaching.
All that means is we have to preach
somewhere else.
Listen again to what verse says.

35. I know it can be frustrating to do your best to
reach someone for Jesus Christ, and for them
to show no interest.
There is something we should all remember
though.
If people rejected:
- God in the Old Testament
- Jesus in the New Testament
- The Apostles who were men full of the
Holy Spirit and power
Then people will reject us.

36. Not only will there be people who don’t want to
listen to our message:
People will be combative.
From our text we see the disciples were in
danger because of the message they were
going out to preach.

38. Jesus told them they were going to encounter
danger.
He promised them they were going to be
helped by the Spirit.
We may not face the same type of persecution
the disciples had to face, but we do face
people who are combative to the message of
Jesus Christ.

39. Do you want to know what would happen if all
of us in this room took the mission of preaching
Christ seriously?
First of all, people would be won to Christ.
Secondly, we will encounter opposition.
Why is that?
Because Satan knows there is power in the
Gospel message.
And when we preach lives are changed.
When lives are changed there should be more
people preaching.

40. Even though we may not face the daily
dangers the early Christians faced, the chance
does exist.
We never know when someone is going to
place a gun in our face and ask the question
that was asked at Columbine High School.
No, we should not fear persecution.
Jesus told us what we should fear.

42. You see, God will protect us.
No, that doesn’t mean He will not let anything
bad happen to us here on earth.
What it means is we are protected for eternity
as we trust in Him.
We should not fear the persecutor. Persecution
may leave its mark on us while we are here on
earth.
However, if we fail to accomplish our mission
because we were afraid the consequences will
last for eternity.

43. A few centuries before Christ, Alexander the
Great conquered almost all of the known world
with his military strength, cleverness, and
diplomacy.
One day Alexander and a small company of
soldiers approached a strongly defended,
walled city.
Alexander, standing outside the walls, raised
his voice, demanding to see the king.
The king, approaching the battlements above
the invading army, agreed to hear Alexander’s
demands.

44. “Surrender to me immediately,” commanded
Alexander.
The king laughed. “Why should I surrender to
you?” he called down. “We have you far
outnumbered. You are no threat to us!”
Alexander was ready to answer the challenge.
“Allow me to demonstrate why you should
surrender,” he replied.
Alexander ordered his men to line up single file
and start marching.

45. He marched them straight toward a sheer cliff
that dropped hundreds of feet to rocks below.
The king and his soldiers watched in shocked
disbelief as, one by one, Alexander’s soldiers
marched without hesitation right off the cliff to
their deaths. After ten soldiers had died,
Alexander ordered the rest of his men to stop
and to return to his side.

46. The king and his soldiers surrendered on the
spot to Alexander the Great.
That is the type of obedience and resolve that
we must have.
We will face problems in the mission field.
But what is the worst thing that can happen to
us?
We can lose this earthly life.
What is the most likely thing that can happen
to us?
People may not listen or may try to stop us
from preaching.
Preach and, well that leads us to our final point
for the morning.

47. Jesus gave them a mission, told them that they
were going to face problems, and then He
went on to give them some promises.

49. If we preach Christ, Christ will acknowledge us
before God.
The opposite of that is true.
The Message Will Cause Division.
The Dedication Will Not Go Unrewarded.