We are currently in a series on our 3 priorities of Northgate Baptist all framed around our mission statement which is: The community of Northgate Baptist exists to bring all people into a reconciled relationship with God, themselves, and others. The first priority we talked about was Authentic Community. Pastor John shared how we are all important and vital members of the body of Christ and what we need to do in order to have authentic community. Last week Pastor Bob shared about Spiritual Maturity, and how as followers of Jesus we need to be continually growing in our faith and he gave us some practical ways to do that. This week I am excited to be able to share with you on something that I am passionate about, and that is missional living.
An authentic community of believers who are spiritually mature, are people who are living on mission. They are people who are living beyond themselves, who are living a missional lifestyle following Jesus into their jobs, families, neighborhoods and friendships. Missional living will permeate every area and every relationship in your life. Your perspective will be an eternal perspective rather than an earthly perspective.
I want us to all think about it in a different way. Let’s think of it like the act of breathing in and breathing out. The Christian life should be like how our lungs suck oxygen in, and release the air. We breathe in. We breathe out. Let’s do it together. Breathe in, breathe out. That is the natural flow of our lungs...we don’t even have to think about it. When we are healthy it is painless and it just happens. If we stop breathing in or if we stop breathing out we will die. Now I want you all to breathe in but don’t breathe out until I tell you to…unless you are going to pass out…we don’t want to do CPR this morning. So let’s breathe in. Keep breathing in. Keep breathing in. Feel the burn. Okay breathe out. When we keep breathing in we have too much oxygen in our lungs. It is painful to have that much oxygen in our lungs. It doesn’t feel right or natural. It starts to burn. If we never breathe out we will ultimately die. We have to breathe out in order to continue living.
So let’s put this back into the perspective of the Christian life. Spiritual Maturity-reading your Bible, coming to church, learning about God, everything that pastor Bob talked about last week is the act of breathing in. We need to breathe in. We need to have oxygen in our lungs. It is crucial for our walk with Jesus to breathe in the oxygen. The same goes for Authentic community. We need to be surrounded with a community of believers, where we can break bread together, share meals, carry each other’s burdens. Authentic community is vital for our walk with Jesus. Authentic community is another way that we receive oxygen into our lungs.
But we can’t only breathe in oxygen. Otherwise we will get so puffed up, we can only take in so much, and then the rest of it will become useless. It begins to hurt. So we need to breathe it out. We need to live a missional lifestyle. Missional Living is the breathing out of this oxygen. We breathe in – which is spiritual maturity, digging into the word, we are in authentic community – and then we breathe out. We look beyond ourselves, and do life with people that don’t know Jesus, and we point them to Jesus and the life that is found in him. A missional lifestyle goes beyond a one time evangelistic conversation. It goes beyond getting someone to say a one time prayer to accept Jesus. It is journeying with people, it is meeting people’s spiritual and physical needs; it is going beyond our comfort zone to show the love of Christ to those around us. It is about pointing people to Jesus and the ultimate act of love He demonstrated by giving His life up for us on the cross. It is being a people of blessing, and following Jesus into the world. When we are living the missional life that is vital to our health as a follower of Jesus we are stepping into our call to be a people of blessing to the world. The people of God have been called to be a blessing to the nations. Where does this idea come from? Where does it originate? Was it merely a calling that came from Jesus to the disciples? This concept is something that is actually weaved throughout the entire biblical narrative. The call to be a blessing was a call that was placed on the nation of Israel. Let’s read about this call together.
If you have your Bible please turn with me to Exodus 19:5-6. In this passage God is talking to Moses on Mount Sinai and for the next few chapters God gives the law directly to Moses, and is speaking directly to him so that Moses can take the law to the Israelites so they can begin to live it out. But before He gives Moses the law, He reminds him of what He did for the nation of Israel, and tells Moses that they are His treasured nation. In verses 5 and 6 God says “now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
Here we can see that God is clearly placing a call on the nation of Israel to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” But what exactly does it require of Israel in order to be this? How are they to live out this priestly call?
Isaiah 61 gives us a clearer picture of what it means to be a priest to the nations.
So let’s turn to Isaiah 61 together and we will read the first six verses:
In this passage Isaiah proclaims, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the broken hearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. 3 To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations. 5 Foreigners will be your servants. They will feed your flocks and plow your fields and tend your vineyards. 6 You will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God.
The chapter continues on but we will stop there for today. There is a lot that we could talk about in that chapter but we are going to focus on what it looks like to be a priest of the Lord and a minister of God. The first six verses give us a great picture of what it looks like to live missionally. When we are followers of Jesus, we are anointed to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and the freedom for the captives. We have been blessed with so much. We have been blessed with something that we do not deserve. We are able to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us, so that we could have true life. That is the greatest blessing of all, and now we have the opportunity to share that gift with others. We shouldn’t look at it like this big daunting scary task. It is a privilege that we have to share the life that can be found in Jesus Christ. When people step into the forgiveness and the love that Jesus is offering they are able to find true life found in our Savior. Missional living isn’t a task. It is a lifestyle. It is a lifestyle that is all about Jesus, and what He has done for us. It is about stepping out in faith because of what Jesus has done for us, and following Jesus into our neighborhoods, families, friendships, and coffee shops and our places of work. We love because Christ first loved us. We breathe in, and then we breathe out.
As I was studying and preparing for this message I was able to gain some insight on what the role of a priest was in the nation of Israel. So I want to share some of those insights with you this morning:
- The first thing that was required of the priests was that they were to have an intimate relationship with God. This means that in order to be able to breathe out we must first have oxygen in our lungs. The High Priest was the only one that was able to enter into the presence of God in the Old Testament. But after the veil was torn in the temple, after Jesus gave His life for us on the cross, we are able to have full access to God through Him. We spend time regularly with God, allowing Him to fill us up so that when we GO out into the world, we aren’t deprived of oxygen. It is an amazing thing that we are able to have a relationship with the God of the universe…with the Creator of all things. We talk to Him and He talks to us. And this is the first step of missional living. We are able to have this intimate relationship with God, and go into our neighborhoods, and workplaces walking and living in the presence of God. It is an amazing thing and everything needs to flow out of this relationship. Let’s not deprive ourselves of the oxygen that is so readily available to us. The oxygen that God wants and desires to give to us.
- Another aspect of the life of the priests is that they were called to pray and intercede on behalf of the people for their forgiveness by bringing their requests before God. In 1 Samuel 12:23 the priest Samuel says, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” As a priest it would have been viewed as a sin if he did not faithfully pray on behalf of the people in his life.
- Israel was called to pray for people because they were a kingdom of priests. When they were exiled in Babylon, they were called to pray for the prosperity of Babylon—the very people that were persecuting them, the very people that had taken them from their homes. They were called to pray for and intercede for the nation they were in.
- This is not only a call for the nation of Israel, but it was also a call that was placed on the lives of the people in the New Testament. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 commands believers to intercede for everyone—for kings, and authorities so that we may live peaceful lives. Let’s be people of prayer, interceding for the people we work with, for our leaders, for our friends and for our families.
- Israel was called to pray for people because they were a kingdom of priests. When they were exiled in Babylon, they were called to pray for the prosperity of Babylon—the very people that were persecuting them, the very people that had taken them from their homes. They were called to pray for and intercede for the nation they were in.
- Lastly, the priests were called to teach the people in the ways of the Lord. This is just like the Great Commission that we are called to in Matthew 28. The Great Commission is a calling to make disciples of all nations, teaching them in the ways of the Lord. While we are journeying with people, we are teaching them in the ways of Jesus, and we are spurring each other on to follow Him.
These are just a few of the requirements of priests. Being a kingdom of priests meant that Israel was to be a nation of blessing to all other nations.
So what does this look like in our world today? How can we be a kingdom of priests in our world today? How do we breathe it out?
The first thing is, we need to go through everyday life with our eyes and our hearts wide open to what God has for us. We need to live in a way where we are not just focused on ourselves and on our needs but in a way where we are sensitive to the world around us. We need to be asking God what His heart is in the various circumstances we find ourselves in and be aware of the opportunities that He places in our path. It is easy to walk around focused on what we need to get done. We live in a world that is constantly moving, and that is constantly busy. But we need to take a step back rather than getting consumed with the fast paced world, so that we can see the work that God is doing, and so we can partner with Him. He wants to use us, but so often we close ourselves off because we are distracted by so many other things. It is helpful to be reminding ourselves of a few questions in order to be people who are living with our eyes and hearts wide open. What opportunities are right in front of you? How can we be a blessing to others? How can we live this missional lifestyle in our context? We are surrounded with opportunities. Most of us have neighbors who don’t know Jesus, most of us have family and friends who don’t know Jesus, lots of us work in places, and go to school where we can be on mission. Let’s start with some of these things. What is God wanting to do through us in these contexts? What is God wanting to do through you in these areas? Lets do life with these people and allow Jesus to work through us. Let’s navigate this life with our eyes and our hearts open to what Jesus wants to do through us so that we are aware of the many opportunities that come across our path.
A few years ago my wife—Alisha—and I became good friends with another couple who was seeking something more for their lives. They were amazing, kind, loving, and generous people but looking for something different than what they had been experiencing in their lives. They had been surrounded by friends who loved to party, and who didn’t really want anything to do with Jesus or the church. This isn’t a story about loving people who are hard to love—we loved hanging out with them—but it is one about learning to do life with other people who were seeking something more. Our desire was for them to come to Jesus, because we have experienced life in Jesus, but this didn’t mean that we treated them like a project that we had to change or fix. Our desire was to journey with them, and on that journey point them to Jesus, and allow Jesus to change their hearts and their lives. On this journey we learnt from them and they learnt from us. We didn’t go in thinking we had all of this stuff to offer them, but we tried to have a spirit of humility, with a heart where we can learn from them, but also where we could share the life that we had in Jesus with them. Instead of trying to bombard them with all things religion, we formed an authentic relationship with them, and tried to get to know them for who they were. We prayed for them often, and asked the Lord for opportunities to share His love and life with them. We shared many meals together, we went bowling, we went golfing, and we went Frisbee golfing (which caused Alisha to go into labor with Ainsley). As we started doing life together, they started asking questions about God and about the church. Our lives became more and more integrated. We received more opportunities to speak into their lives. God began transforming their lives. They went from not really being interested in the Bible at all to reading their Bible together at night. We were able to invite them along to church and they started to come to church every now and again. They expressed interest in being in a Bible study together with us. So we were able to do a Bible study for a short time with them. And it became evident that God was clearly working in their lives. They are still on this journey, growing closer to God and seeking Him, but the cool thing is that there are other people who are now in their lives as well that love Jesus deeply who they have become good friends with. So even with us not being in Red Deer anymore, and not being able to see them as often Jesus is still clearly working in their lives and their lives are being transformed by Him. If we hadn’t been living with our eyes wide open to the relational possibilities God was placing in our lives, we would have missed the opportunity to see God at work and to partner with Him, and we would have missed out on making friends that ultimately have been a huge blessing to us as well.
All of this stuff didn’t happen overnight. It was a matter of years, not days. Sometimes we will see life transformation almost instantly, but in my experience it is a rare occurrence. Other times it will takes many years. Sometimes we may never see the transformation. Our call isn’t to convert people…it isn’t our job to change the hearts of people…that is God’s job. We are called to make disciples…we are called to journey with people. We are called to live missional lives that extend beyond ourselves into the lives of others. Let’s live with our eyes wide open so that we are open and available for the opportunities that God places in our lives. It is not up to us to change hearts, but we are called to be faithful to what God’s has asked of us. We don’t do this stuff to glorify ourselves, or to secure our place in heaven, but we do it as an overflow of what Jesus has done in our lives. We need to be faithful in blessing other people, by sharing the life that is found in Him.
The second thing is that we need to be intentional. Nothing will happen if we just sit around and talk about being missional and don’t get up and do something about it. We breathe in, and then we breathe out. The breathing out, the missional living is intentional living. It is the practicing of what we are preaching. Just like we read in Isaiah 61, it is about taking action. All of the descriptive words in the passage – to proclaim, to bind up, to release, to build - are action words, and in order to live it out, we need to intentionally do something, it just won’t randomly happen.
Now, I am not talking about going out and getting involved in a bunch of different programs to fill your time and make you busier than you already are. It could look like be a part of something else in order to help you be intentional, but that isn’t necessarily the answer for everyone.
Being intentional is getting involved in the things of God and the things that God is already doing. It’s about being intentional in your context. We are blessed to be a part of a church that has a heart for Mission. Northgate is involved in different ministries, like the Cellar, the Mustard Seed, in sending Missions teams to places like Marare, and this summer I am really excited that our youth group is going to be doing a local missions trip right here in Edmonton. Part of our heartbeat at Northgate is to live on mission. So taking a step forward on your missional journey could look like getting more involved in one of those ministries.
But at a different level, I am talking about our daily interactions and our daily relationships with people. As we are doing life in our own contexts how are we being missional? How are we blessing people? How are we meeting people’s spiritual and physical needs? We have many opportunities in the places that we are at. At work, in our neighborhoods, and with our families. What does it look like for you to be intentional in those areas? How can you be intentional in all areas of your life? I know people who intentionally go to the same coffee shop every morning for their coffee, or the same restaurant every Sunday after church. They purposely go to these places, and ask their barista’s or server’s their names. They ask them about their day and how they are doing. Instead of just focusing on themselves and what they want, they see an opportunity that God has placed in their path, and add value to a relationship that very easily could be ignored. Or it could look like going to your kid’s play or sporting event and getting to know the other parents and people there and doing life with them. To invite them into your home, and to pray for them and to build a relationship with them.
When I was in college I had a mentor who had a big heart for the lost. He had a heart for people who did not yet know Jesus, and he lived his life with intention. This guy was amazing at reaching out to people outside of the church and loving them. He introduced me to a concept that he called the Holy Hit List…it sounds pretty intense. The Holy Hit List is where you pick three people from your life that do not yet know Jesus or who walked away from Him and you pray regularly for them to find Jesus. When you see them, you love them. You share life with them. You share Jesus with them. You show them that they are valued. You go out of your way to do these things. To show them that they are loved and that they have value.
Now this is something that I wasn’t great at, and I still have a long way to go, but my mentor was incredible at it and I learned so much from him. One of the people on his hit list owned a restaurant and pretty much every chance he would get he would go to this guy’s restaurant and eat there. He would ask if the guy was there so he could build a relationship with him. Something really cool started happening. As he continued to pray for him and seek opportunities, he started to cross paths more often with this guy. He was actually able to develop a deeper relationship with this guy that went beyond the surface level. Now I would like to tell you that this guy became a Christian and is totally on fire for God but I can’t do that. My mentor is still praying for this guy but he is being obedient to God and is seeing God work in the guy’s life. He is living his life in a way that is pointing this guy to Jesus, and he is living out the priestly life that God has called all of us to.
Jesus’ heart is for those who don’t yet know Him. He wants to be in relationship with them. That theme is incredibly prevalent throughout the Scriptures. In Luke 15 Jesus shares 3 parables that are on the “lost.” He shares about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. In each of these parables the main character seeks out the thing that is lost. The shepherd leaves the 99 just to find the 1 sheep that lost its way. The lady searches for her lost coin until she finds it, and in the prodigal son the father waits expectantly until the son who was gone came back and welcomes him with open arms, and forgives all that he had done. Jesus cares about the lost, and if we are followers of Jesus we need to as well. As followers of Jesus we need to be willing to leave the 99 to find the one. We need to form relationships with people who do not know Jesus and point them to Jesus by showing them that they are loved unconditionally and that they have infinite value…just like the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son.
Missional living can look like a whole lot of different things. But it always has to have two things in common: living an outward focused, intentional life, and Jesus needs to be the one guiding us on this journey we call life. We can’t do it without Him.
So to close I am going to leave you with a challenge for missional living. I talked about the concept of the holy hit list. We don’t have to call it that, but in your bulletin there is a piece of paper, and I want you to write down three people’s names on that paper who don’t know Jesus or who are far from Him, and lets commit to living intentionally with them. To pray for them on a daily basis. To invite them to our homes, to love them, to share Jesus with them, and to be the people of blessing that God has called us to be. God’s heart is for these people to come to know Him, to be in relationship with Him and we have the great privilege to play a part in their faith journey. I encourage you to take that paper and put it in a spot where you will see it often. Maybe it’s in your Bible, beside your bed, or on your bathroom mirror. Put it in a place where you will be reminded to live this out.
So instead of only breathing in, let us choose to follow Jesus into the world, into our neighborhoods, into our families, and into our workplaces, and breathe it out. We breathe in, and we breathe out. Let us choose the lifestyle that is missional living and allow God to work through us so that we can be the people of blessing that we are called to be. Before I pray I am going to ask the band to come join me up here, and we are going to take a few moments and ask God who those people are in our lives that He wants us to put on this sheet. And I want you to write the names of the people God brings to your mind so that we can be people who are choosing to live the missional lifestyle that we are called to.
Let’s Pray.