The Church of Joy, Williamson Ga

Good morning everybody. We are in week 2 of our “Made for Mission” series. We said last week that every person has been called by God for a mission.

You are not an accident or fluke but instead God’s masterpiece created for a purpose.

INTRO/REVIEW
With this mission you’ve got some options:
1. Some people completely ignore their mission in life or never seek to answer what it might be.
2. Other’s kind of flirt with their mission. Every once in a while they accidentally live out part of their purpose but only for a short time. Their heart beats fast and they think to themselves, “I really love _______.” Then life gets busy and they fall back into the daily grind of everyday life.
3. Some people actively pursue the mission God made them for. They find it because God’s not hiding it from them. They reach out to people, intentionally focused on encouraging, ministering and showing God’s love.

We want to be in lifestyle #3. That’s the goal of these few weeks, that we would literally live our lives ON the mission we were made for.

Our big point from last week was that “We are all called.” Ministry is not for a select few but for all Jesus followers. Since that’s the case, then the obvious next thing is to ask, “So, what am I called to?” or “What is my mission?”

What does RESOLUTELY mean?

RESOLUTELY: determined, and unwavering manner. Another way of saying it would be: steadfastly, set His face, determined, made up His mind, with intention - he set His face to go

Jesus was a man on a mission. (John 17:4)
He resolutely set out to lay down his life for the sake of other’s salvation. With great intentionality and courage He knew where He was going and that his life was bigger than himself. It’s interesting earlier in the chapter He shared point blank what that meant for anyone that would follow Him.

Jesus made it clear that the mission of those who would follow Him was the same as His. Followers must lay down their lives on a daily basis for the sake of others being saved. This isn’t just a one time event, this is the mission of our lives on a daily basis from now till Jesus returns. Our mission is way bigger than ourselves or even the people we serve, it’s part of a worldwide movement that Jesus started.

This worldwide movement faces obstacles. I think one of Satan’s most powerful tools to get Jesus follower’s off mission is the weapon of DISTRACTION.

Can we all agree, we live in a distracted culture? The truth is, most of us aren’t out there committing sin after sin and aren’t bad people. We are just busy people. We aren’t on mission like we should be or would like to be… because we are so busy, so distracted.

In a recent survey put out by Lifeway, 80% of church-goers said they believe they have a personal responsibility in sharing their faith BUT 61% say that they haven’t in the past six months. So the majority of us know what the mission is and the importance of it but somehow it doesn’t impact the way we live.

From this passage, Jesus identifies and calls out 3 Distraction Missions that will pull us away from the mission Jesus has made us for.

1. The Mission of Comfort
2. The Mission of Commitments
3. The Mission of Competition

The mission that God has called us to must be seen as a reward and not a regret. He wants us to step forward into, press in, and embrace His calling, His confidence and joy, and not be looking back with uncertainty and anxiety.

There are lots of things in our lives that are competing with God’s mission. Making money, appearing successful in the world’s eyes, having everything you want, staying healthy, having your kids turn out perfectly. Many of these things are great, but do they ever compete with what God’s mission of resolutely walking with him no matter the cost.

Simply saying that you will follow him is not enough. The primary characteristic he is looking for in His followers is Humility. Will I lay down my own comforts, other commitments and things that compete for my time, treasure and talents to resolutely follow Jesus?

We need to seriously ask and respond to what God reveals:
God, do I have any distracting missions in my life that I need to die to today?
1. Are there any comforts that you have made more important than Christ?
2. Are there any other commitments that you’ve been saying, “but first,” before you can fully follow Christ’s call on your life?
3. Are there any competing missions that might be good but have become more important than your calling to know Christ and make him known?

I am praying for you and asking God to help you connect to His purpose for your life. May God richly bless His mission through your life.