Setting Our Sights

Jesus modeled an amazing redemptive passion in his earthly ministry.  In Luke 9:51-55, we witness a pivotal moment.  Luke the physician records that Jesus “set his face to go toward Jerusalem.”  This idiom, repeated twice, conveys the unwavering focus of a man on a mission, in this case to reach the cross.  Nothing could stop him.

– Church Unique, by Will Mancini

After Christ conquered death, He repeatedly reminded his followers that He was sending them — us — on mission.  The Book of Acts is a record of their single-minded pursuit of Christ’s objectives.

The mission of Sojourn is the mission of Christ.  We talk of “contextualization, ” which amounts to “we help the people of our culture understand the message,” but this doesn’t change the message or the mission.  And by God’s grace, our mission will probably not lead many — or any — of us to death by execution.

For most of us, the mission is nothing like Jeremiah’s either.  Jeremiah’s family were priests.  He knew at the start of his mission that his relatives might turn on him over any condemnation of his culture’s religious practices.  And as you heard at Sojourn Gathered yesterday, Jeremiah 1:18 mentions four enemies who will try to stop his mission:

• Kings
• Officials
• Priests
• The People

So in other words, lots of people with lots of power.  And Jeremiah could have even seen God’s promise to “rescue” him in a dangerous light.  “What?  Rescue?  So … I’m going to need rescuing?  You are going to rescue me right away, then, right?”

The Word of God warns us that we will face trouble, but it also assures us that we’ve been made more than conquerors through Christ.  And lest we forget that our enemy isn’t really the guy next to you in line at the store, no matter what his political beliefs or even religious persuasion, Ephesians 6:12 says:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

We face big opponents, but our power comes from a big God: the Lord of all creation.  The mission itself is huge:

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

Matthew 28:19

But like all missions, it consists of a series of steps.  While some steps may be large (answering the Spirit’s call to become an international missionary, for instance) most are small:

• Invite your neighbor to church.
• Participate in Mercy Monday or join the Connect Team
• Shepherd a struggling friend into a community group or tell the UofL student down the block about Sojourn College.
• Give a kid a Bible
• Journey through the process with someone who asks questions about baptism.

These are things that any of us — living, breathing temples of the Holy Spirit — can do.  This is a mission that doesn’t take years of training in the FBI, the Marines or NASA.  This is something that only takes a willing heart.