Mission is a Mindset!

Introduction

It’s wonderful to be with you. If you’re one of our youth, there is a wonderful little slip for you to go and grab up the back, and that will help you follow along with me and give you plenty of space for you to be able to draw pretty pictures of what I look like if I get boring. But I won’t be, I promise. So that is up the back for you to go and grab during this sermon. It’s wonderful to be with you as I said before.

It was perhaps 2016 or 2017. The memory fades a little because it was a little traumatic. I’m sitting in Ride Eastwood Leagues Club, and I’m watching some of my children in a dance performance that had 37 different segments, from tiny tots all the way through to awkward teenagers. And this is leading me to question all of my life decisions, most particularly the decision to have children. Because if somebody had offered me a choice between spending the next three hours lying on a bed of nails or watching a dance performance with 37 different segments, I may have said to them, “Can we flip a coin?” because it’s genuinely hard to decide because the kids got an award at the end of the event, and I felt like I deserved one because I had to watch it, and at least they got snacks.

Why was I there? The answer is I was there for joy. To which people might sit there and go, you were just making jokes about your kids. How could you have been there for joy? But it’s actually the truth. I was there for joy. I wasn’t just there for the joy that they were having because they were having fun. I was actually there for the joy of what might happen in the future. Because here’s the reality of what it’s like being a kid and being a parent of kids, which is you try lots of things, and nearly always when you start out at them, you’re awful. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a sport or a musical instrument or anything else. You try lots of things. Most of those things fail, but some of them catch fire. And the joy of what might happen is the joy of 10 years down the track, that I have now watching my son play guitar, and he’s amazing, or watching my kids like I did last night in a musical, and they’re amazing, or watching my kids coach and play sport, and they’re amazing. But that joy would never happen if we never took the cost, made the sacrifice, took the risk of actually being there in that difficult moment for the future joy of what might happen. All those days and months and years ago is what led to that future joy.

And so here’s the question. Why do we share the gospel? There’s lots of answers to that question. And so the first answer we might give is need. We need to share the gospel. People need to hear the gospel. People are under God’s judgment. They need to know that they can be rescued from God’s wrath because of what Christ has done on the cross. They need to hear the gospel. And that is a crucial and important answer that we might give. But it’s not the only answer we want to give for why we are motivated to share the gospel. We’re also motivated to share the gospel because of joy. You see when the angel spoke to the shepherds on that Christmas morning he said I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. The word gospel itself literally means good news. So Jesus himself said the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again and in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. In his joy, he went and sold all he had and bought that field. Have you ever noticed that when someone is in the middle of joy, they tend to tell everyone?

So, young couple gets engaged, newborn, everybody finds their outside voice at that point, isn’t it? Joy has this way of getting spoken about. The gospel is finding treasure that everyone can enjoy. And joy gets you to find your voice. Let me show you an example of this. Not a not the gospel, but another example. There’s a suburb in Sydney called Habfield. My dad grew up not far from there. He grew up in Five Dock. Habfield’s not far from there. I discovered Habfield late because he’d moved by then. But in Haberfield, God has blessedly given us Italian people. And they are wonderful because they make bakeries that have pastries in them that make this grown man cry. So I’ll show you a photo right now of this bakery. This is part of Shelia Papa on Ramsay Street, Habfield. And it is a place of surpassing joy. And so Cudden, where my Bible college is, is not far from Habfield. And so I was sitting talking to some students one day. I said, “Have you ever had a pastry from Paradelia Papa?” They said, “No.” I said, “Get in the car now. I don’t care about your exams. We are going.” And I went to Parisheria Papa and I bought them all a ricotta panerati. This is a ricotta panerati. It’s like an Italian doughut filled with heaven. Okay? Otherwise known as ricotta filling. But yeah, it’s impossible to describe. All I can say to you here is the offer. If if you drive, I’ll pay. Okay? be because what happened is I bought them all Oracotta Panzerati and as they ate it my joy had increased because my joy was shared. The joy increases as more experience it. That’s what the gospel is like. The gospel is finding treasure that everyone can enjoy and the joy increases the more people experience it. I say that because 1 Corinthians 9:1 19-23, that passage that was read for us, you hear all of these accommodations and adjustments that Paul made in order to lead people to Christ. And it might be that when you hear of those accommodations and adjustments, you might see the cost. But you know what Paul sees? He sees the joy because what drove him was the joy of leading people to Christ. So much so that when he’s speaking to the Thessalonians in a book called one Thessalonians, he actually describes them having led them to Christ. He says, “You are our glory and our joy.” You are our joy. Seeing you come to Christ is joy for us. And so when it comes to the gospel, the joy increases as more people experience it. You may see the cost. Paul always saw the joy.

Mission is a Mindset!

And so one of the fascinating things at my church is that mid to late January we have this kind of storm surge roll through which is otherwise known as the end of youth camp. And the end of youth camp is this amazing buzzing crackling piece of surging humanity because people have come to Christ on that youth camp and the joy is infectious and it’s amazing and people are so hyped up and we’re a bit worried if the chairs are going to survive and all this kind of stuff but it’s so so good. And the one thing I want to say to my church so often is, “Hey guys, joy is not just for January. And joy is not just for young people. Joy is for every season and every person. But there is a cost to spread that joy of the gospel. There is a risk that one must take to spread that joy of the gospel. Future joy for kids requires sacrifice from parents. Now, future joy for the lost requires sacrifices on the part of the found now. And so Paul says, “I have made myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible.” Or a little later in the passage, he says this. I’m using a slightly different translation, but you can follow along. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. All possible means. All possible means. Paul is consumed by the passion that something amazing could happen, something joyous could happen. And just like it drives a parent to be at a ridiculous number of dance performances, it also drives Paul to be at a ridiculous number of evangelistic moments. It drives him to lay it all on the line. Because for Paul and for us, mission’s not an event. You know, we often talk like mission’s an event, but mission’s not an event. It’s a mindset. It’s a mindset. And you can see that mission reshaped Christian thinking from the very beginning to transform all of their lives to retool every single part of their life for the sake of mission. And we’re just going to focus on four this morning. Not because they’re the whole of it, but because they show that it affects every part of our life. They’re eating, partying, marrying, and working. And and the reason that these are so important for us as a representative sample, not that we can find ourselves in every single example, is that if they can affect all of these aspect of their lives, there’s not a part of our life that can’t be retooled for mission.

Eating Transforms for Mission

So, let’s start with eating. And Christians knew from the very beginning that eating could either be a bridge for the gospel or a barrier for the gospel. Now, it was harder for them than it is for us. And the reason is because God with his Old Testament people had instituted food laws to separate God’s people, Israel, from the nations as a witness to them. And so those who were Jewish Christians had grown up with these food restrictions on them as a sign of what it meant to belong to the people of God. But now in the new covenant with Jesus, those food restrictions don’t need to be practiced by Gentiles who are coming to know the Lord Jesus. And so what you had is tables where Jews and Gentiles were meeting together and they had thrown them wide open to indicate how wide open God’s arms were to all peoples of the earth. And so they were struggling with how do we actually eat together really, really well. And the biggest food fight that ever happens in the scriptures is not one where they’re chucking macaroni at one another or anything like that. It’s a food fight between the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul where Peter decides to stop eating with gentile Christians and go hang out just with his Jewish mates at a Jewishonly table. And Paul says in the book of Galatians chapter 2, he says, “When Peter did that, he no longer acted in line with the truth of the gospel.” Because here is the thing that remains to today. When you exclude people from your table, you’re saying something about how wide open God’s arms are to the world.

We aren’t Jews struggling with the change from the old covenant to the new covenant. Our job is way easier. But we want to always think of the spaces we make, the events we create, the meals we craft, the welcome we give. Now, this is probably something that you’re doing way better than my church because my church is presently in the middle of a revolution. The revolution is that the government has built a train line through Castle Hill. And on that train line, that is meaning that Castle Hill, which was previously a builtout suburb, is now going to be one of the fastest growth areas of Sydney because of all the apartments going up. But the people who are moving into those apartments are not the demographic who previously lived in Gastel Hill. And so the challenge for us and the challenge for you in every single season is to ask, does our menu serve the people that God is bringing because we want to declare with the events we create and the tables we create that God’s arms are wide open to the whole world. And so in some parts of Sydney, that’s going to mean I will never do an event with pork. And in some parts of Sydney, that’s going to mean I’m going to never do an event with beef. And in some parts of Sydney, it’s going to mean I’m never going to do an event with meat at all. And in some parts of Sydney, it’s going to mean I’m going to only do events with meat. I love my food. I want to love lost people more than my meal privileges. You know what I’m saying? That’s the first thing. Eating transforms for mission.

Partying Transforms for Mission

Second example is partying. Somewhat related to food, I know, but here I’m talking about mostly not the parties we throw, but the parties we’re invited to. And here’s something you may not have realized. The New Testament talks lots about partying in a really subtle and nuanced way. Because parties are huge opportunities for mission, but in more than one way. So the first thing to say is that when Jesus was around, he was known as a celebratory person. This is what it says in the Gospel of Luke. The son of man came eating and drinking. And they say, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” That says that Jesus took the risk and partied with sinners. He was falsely accused of being a drunk. It was a false accusation. But you can only get accused of that if you take the risk to go to marginal spaces. See, Jesus partied with sinners without becoming a sinner. And so the Pharisees said to him, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” That’s the amazing thing about the parties that Jesus is at. He’s there to bring light and life and love into the middle of a dark situation. It’s so awesome because he’s there with people who need it most, the lost. And so Jesus wants his people to go to parties where they can bring the light and life and love of Jesus because by all means I might save some.

And yet the New Testament is also where you don’t go to every party. You don’t go to every party because sometimes you do have to say no to some parties because you know that instead of the light shining in the darkness, it’s just going to be lights out. And so in 1 Peter chapter 4 it says this. You have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do. Living in debortery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless wild living and they heap abuse on you. See the genius of Jesus is he could party with sinners without becoming a sinner. But sometimes partying can be a bridge to the gospel and sometimes partying can be a barrier to the gospel. And so the truth of the matter is I’m not going to get drunk or do drugs for the sake of the lost. I’m not going to play the pokés for the sake of the lost. I’m not going to go to the strip club for the sake of the lost because I want them to find the life and light and love of Jesus. But if the condition of entry is I’ve got to blow my candle out, then that’s actually not helping them find Jesus. And I’m no longer on mission. I’m just getting drunk. I’m just wasting my money. See, mission is not an event. It’s a mindset. And it changes the way you eat. It changes the way you party. There’s a cost involved. There’s adaptations involved. There’s adjustments involved. But that’s okay. It’s for the joy of the lost that might happen. so that by all possible means I might save some. That’s what Paul says. By all possible means.

Marriage Transforms for Mission

It even changed how Christians thought about marriage. Now marriage is quite common in the Bible. You would notice if you read through it. And and it’s blessed by the Bible. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s a wonderful thing. But I need you to also know that the Bible says it’s entirely optional. It’s not a necessary thing. And so, as best we can tell, the Apostle Peter was married. It It never actually says that, but it says he has a mother-in-law, and it’s difficult to believe he volunteered for that without the mar. That’s the only mother-in-law joke. I promise. I promise. Paul was absolutely convinced he should not be married. Peter was married. Paul was not. And Paul was not because he was convinced that he couldn’t fulfill his job in Christ by being married. This is what he says in 1 Corinthians 7. He says, “I would like you to be free from concern.” An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs, how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife. And his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs. Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. Now, there are a lot of reasons that Paul prefers singleness. And we’re not doing that whole passage today, but there’s a lot more to it than what I’m about to say. But one of the strands of Paul’s thinking is simply this, that he has a mission, a vocation, a task from God in order to bring people to Christ. That he is he can’t see how he can do that and be married at the same time. And I’m glad that Paul made that choice and had that ability.

The reason for that is I’m going to give you a name. The name is John Wesley. Now, some of you might know of the person named John Wesley. He was an amazing 18th century traveling evangelist. He was used by God to bring thousands of people in England to Christ in the 18th century. He founded the Methodist denomination which is still going strong today in many countries including the UK and the US. An amazing amazing evangelist to many people a hero of the faith. I also need to tell you he was an awful husband. like a total dropkick. In 1751, he married a woman named Molly Viselle. And he decided to marry her and change nothing about how he had lived his life before marriage and how he was going to live his life after marriage. And what do you know? Traveling around on horseback for thousands of miles across the countryside of England isn’t great for date night. And so the marriage actually fell apart into such bitterness and rage that in 1781 when she passed away, Wesley did not go to the funeral. Anybody who knows the story of Wesley and knows his history with women was telling him, “Don’t get married.” He didn’t listen. He didn’t understand that the assignment God had give given him to win England for Christ just wasn’t compatible to being able to grow a beautiful marriage. And so he was a great evangelist, but sadly he was a terrible husband. See, marriage is optional. That’s what we need to say to people. Marriage is not necessary. It’s beautiful and wonderful, but it’s optional. It’s a cost to give it up. But if there is an assignment on your life, you can do that. But even if you are married, it’s still about mission because marriage is optional but mission is not. And so Paul says marriage is a living embodiment of the gospel. In Ephesians chapter 5, he describes the relationships between relationship between husbands and wives as a as a living embodiment of Christ’s love for the church. But you see that embodiment, that example is for others to be able to see, to see through your marriage to the God who loves that person even more than a husband loves his wife and a wife loves her husband. You can only do that if your marriage actually has enough of a focus on others that people are invited to be able to joy enjoy the family that you create.

So, it’s my joy to prepare some couples for marriage in my church, young couples coming through talking about what it’s like to be married. And I end up saying the same thing to them over and over again. I said, “God has not brought you together so now you can shut everybody else out of your life.” No, no, no. Marriage is not about enabling couple selfishness. It’s about creating family hospitality. And so, I love looking into my wife’s eyes. She’s a beautiful woman, but she won’t let me do it for very long. And that’s because they’re always facing outwards. And so, she’ll hold my hand all the time, but her eyes are facing outwards and going, “How can we together be a blessing to others?” And so, God hasn’t made our marriages, for those of us who are married, into a little pleasure party where you create like a walled garden just for the two of you. That’s boring. No, no. God has brought you together to create a home in which strangers can find welcome. In which the lost can be found by Jesus, in which the lonely can find inclusion. Because when they see your love and when they see your welcome, they get pointed beyond your love and your welcome to the one whose love for them is even greater. And all I can do is testify really that my marriage is stronger and better and more delightful as we have not only focused on ourselves but actually been called by God to focus on others outside of us. Who is the stranger we might welcome? Who is the lost person who might come home to Jesus through us being together? I want my life to be ready for that joy of what could happen. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.

Working Transforms for Mission

We could keep going, but I’m only going to give you one last example. Eating, partying, marrying, working. Immediately preceding our passage 1 Corinthians 9:es 1-14, Paul gives this really long argument about why people who have given their lives to spreading the gospel full-time should be paid for that privilege. that people there are some people in our lives who we pay so they can do a dedicated full-time work. And he goes into this huge long argument saying, “I have every right to be paid for the job that I do, but I’m not taking up that offer. I’m deliberately not taking up that offer. In fact, I’m going to go make tents because if I got you guys to pay me, it would muddy your understanding of the gospel too much. And so I’m going to willingly relinquish that right because for Paul, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Now, they’re scary words to think about when you’re married to the staff member of a church like I am. To sit there and go, do you know what? The joy of people experiencing the good news of Jesus is better than any joy I get from making money from the good news of Jesus. And so, would I willingly surrender that? Would Linda willingly surrender that if it meant more people would come to Christ? That’s a serious challenge for those of us who are paid by the church. But it’s even more than that in terms of thinking through working because like 99.7% of us don’t work for the church. And yet, you are just as important for mission as anybody else. I need to tell you, I work at a a college that prepares lots of people to go overseas with the gospel. An enormous amount of overseas mission happens through people whose primary job is not being a missionary. You may not know this, but I would struggle to get into many many countries in the world because on my uh kind of work certificate, so to speak, is the words New Testament lecturer. Lots of countries sit there and go, “We don’t want Christians here.” Do you know who gets into those countries? engineers, baristas, social workers, accountants, nurses. It’s what’s called creative access. These people who take their skills and their abilities and deploy them in some majority world context, but they also take the light of Christ with them. Some of the most strategic people in global mission right now are people who work in software. You may not realize that, but we just prayed before for Wickliff Bible translators. There’s probably somewhere between three to four thousand languages still to go with regards to global translation. As I understand it, I think we’re launching one or two new Bible translation projects a week at the moment. And the only way we can do that is people who have software skills being able to coordinate the enormous crosscoordination that is required on that. Like there is a chance in our lifetime we get the Bible in some portion to most of the languages of the world. But it’ll be the software guys who enable it to happen amongst all the other translators and linguists and everything else. Because your job is not getting in the way of the gospel. Your job can be an avenue to making the gospel known in this world. That’s what it means to rethink work in the light of mission.

We could go on and on and on. The New Testament is just giving you some examples. It’s not trying to give you an exhaustive list of everything that you can reshape in your life for the sake of mission. But if the way we eat, the way we party, the way we marry, and the way we work is changed by knowing Jesus, then pretty much anything can be. Mission is not an event, it’s a mindset. And here’s the reality. Christ’s bridges to the lost are built through each one of our lives. That’s the normal way that the gospel gets spread through God bringing his word through everyday normal lives as people testify to his goodness and grace. And so here’s my prayer for you. My prayer for you is that some point in the future, you’re sitting there like a dad at a weird dance performance going, “Why am I here?” But instead of being at a dance performance, you’re at some moment, some event, some celebration, some festival, some happening, some whatever, you’re at some moment where you’re sitting there going, “I’m here for the joy that this lost person might find Jesus. And even though it seems weird and costly and risky and maybe someday at the moment, I’m here for the possibility of future joy that they might be found by Jesus. And that would be spectacular.