Evangelism: You Were Made for a Mission

PASTOR BURCHAM'S SERMON

Sunday, October 31, 2004

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

It was on this date in the year 1517 that the people of Wittenberg , Germany , went to church that morning and found something a little bit different. So they headed off for their house of worship just as you did this morning; but, when they got to the outside doors of their church, they found there a notice that was posted by their pastor. Not all that unusual to have notices on the door, but this document was rather large. He had 95 statements that were written on there, 95 theses we call them, but 95 statements that were up for debate. And the topic of debate, it was a hot topic, it was the topic of indulgences.

Indulgences, you see, were something the church was doing at that time by way of selling forgiveness. Now that's probably hard for us to imagine right now that you could purchase forgiveness but not all that unusual in the year 1517. You see, they had lost the concept of who God really was. For the church in 1517, God was an angry God. God sat on a throne up above and He judged mankind. And He judged mankind for every sin they had committed. And for every sin that was committed, then you had to do something to make up for that sin. Somehow you had to undo what you did. You had to do something good to make up for something which was bad. So you either had to do penance, do some nice things, or if you had a little extra money in your pocket, you could buy an indulgence. On the street corners, that's what was happening. You could buy an indulgence. Let's say you had a rather wild weekend. You're feeling kind of guilty about that. That's okay, purchase an indulgence. All of a sudden, your conscience can be clean because you've now paid God off. You have bought yourself forgiveness. Or, better yet, because, more than likely, you can't remember every infraction you have ever done against God. Some of them have just slipped away, which means you weren't able to do penance for them. You weren't able to make up for them, so you never quite made it up to heaven itself. You sort of had a holding ground. And in that holding ground, you had to work the rest of those sins off before you got to heaven. Not so with an indulgence. Let's say you're thinking about your poor mom who's sitting up there in the holding ground, and you'd like to see her in heaven. Why, purchase an indulgence. As soon as the coin clinks into the can, boom, another soul is in heaven. That's a quote from Johan Tetzel who was selling indulgences at that time.

Well, the pastor of the Church at Wittenberg grew up listening to that. He grew up believing that, believing that he had to make up for all of his infractions and sins. And then he started studying God's Word. And particularly when he studied the book of Romans, all of a sudden, the light came on. God was not an angry god. God was not looking for ways to punish us. God was a loving god. God was a god full of grace and forgiveness that was freely given. This especially happened when Luther got to the third chapter of Romans, which is really unfortunate the whole lesson didn't get printed for you in your bulletin, but that's okay. We'll pull it up on the screen, because it's worth looking at again because it's pivotal for Luther. It says, “Now we know that whatever the law says it says to those who are under the law so that every mouth would be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore, no one would declare righteous in His site by observing the law.” Now that's rather strange, because that's what he was being taught. “Rather, through the law, we become conscious of sin.” Luther knew all about that. He knew every sin he'd ever committed. “But now a righteousness from God apart from the law.” That got his attention. What do you mean by that? “Has been made known to which the law and the prophets testify, this righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” He says, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Yup. “And they're justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.” Justified freely by His grace? All of a sudden, the gospel message hit home with Martin Luther. All of a sudden, he realized that it was not up to him to sort of earn his way into heaven because he couldn't do it. He had tried. But heaven itself was a gift, forgiveness was a gift. God justifies us, that is, God makes us right because of Jesus Christ and all He has done for us. Through His death and resurrection, our sins have been forgiven and God guarantees us an eternal place in heaven.

Once Luther, through the power of the Holy Spirit, came to that realization, it forever changed his life. I dare say it forever changed his eternity, and it has forever changed history. Because historians look back to October 31, 1517, as the beginning of what is known as the Reformation, a time in which leaders like Luther sought to reform the church to bring back into the church the gospel message of Jesus Christ and all He has done. For Luther, once that gospel message took a hold of him, all of a sudden his entire life changed. And the one mission Luther had for his life was to take that message and give it to the people. Luther's mission in life was to take the good news, the gospel of Jesus, and spread that to all the people.

How fitting it is that we look at our fifth and final purpose this morning on Reformation Sunday, the purpose that says you were made for a mission. Because the mission Luther saw for his life is the same mission for your life. It is the mission of sharing with the world the gospel message of Jesus. It is a mission God has given to us. In fact, you were made for this mission. And if God gives you a mission, then you know God equips you so you can fulfill that mission. This is not a mission impossible. This is a mission inevitable. God says this is the mission for which you were created, and God says I'm going to equip you so you can fulfill this mission. He equips us so we can be His witnesses, His witnesses of all He has done for us, and we can tell others of the love God has for us and that same love is for them.

But God's equipped us for the mission. The first thing is God gives us the message. God gives us the very message that we're to pass on to all of the world. It is the message that Luther rediscovered, and it is the message that has touched each and every one of our lives. It can be found there in Romans 3 when it says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That is the first truth of Scripture, and it is a truth that it says unabashedly. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every human being knows they have sinned and they fall short of a holy and righteous God, whether they have read the scriptures or not, whether they have seen the Ten Commandments or never heard of them. From each side of this world in the globe to the next, every human being has inside their heart the law of God. Now it may be faded. It may not read exactly as we read it in the Old Testament, but every human being knows the difference between right and wrong. Sometimes it's a little bit skewed, but it's still there. Every human being has a conscience, and that conscience tells every human being when they have done something wrong. We inherently, we instinctively know when we do something which is wrong. And then our conscience bothers us and we feel guilty and we feel shame. So, throughout the whole world, all of mankind tries to relieve themselves of that guilt and that shame. You and I do it. We do it by trying to rationalize and justify. We want to rationalize our actions or the word that we spoke because of the circumstances we found ourselves in. We want to excuse ourselves from responsibility, but it doesn't work. We try to deny it. In our culture today, we want to say there is no absolute right and wrong. But in the middle of night when you wake up in a cold sweat and you're feeling guilty about something you've said, all that philosophy doesn't work. Deep down inside, every human being knows they have sinned and they fall short of the glory of God and they could not stand in the presence of a holy and righteous God.

And that's why the second truth of Scripture is so important. The second truth that was lost for a time in our history, the second truth says that we are freely justified through Christ Jesus. God's gift to us is the gift of faith and forgiveness and salvation. Through the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus, my sins have been paid for and my eternity is assured. It is the message that says that God's one and only Son took on flesh and blood. He became a human being. Jesus came and stood among us. Though He was innocent, He was declared guilty. Though He was innocent, all of the punishment was put upon Him. Though He never sinned, all the sin of mankind was placed upon Him so He could pay the price that you and I could never pay. When Jesus died upon that cross, the unthinkable happened. The Father turned His back on His Son so the Father would not have to turn His back on you. And through that, through that sacrifice, God forgives all of our sins and He guarantees us a place in eternity.

That's the message God has given to us. It's the message you believe. It's the message that has

turned your heart around and changed your life and changed your eternity. It's the message that each one of us have had the privilege of knowing the power of that message in our life, to know God loves us to that extent, to know Jesus is our Lord and our Savior. It's the message that has been given to you, and that's the message God says you need to give witness to, to simply tell about what you know and have experienced to be true in your life. God gives you the message, and then God empowers you. Not only do you know the message, but God empowers you so you can be a witness to that, that through your life and through your words, you can give witness to what God has done for you. Acts 1, before Jesus sends His disciples out to make disciples, before he sends them out to be His witnesses, what does He say first? He says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” Jesus said, “I'm going to give you the power of my Holy Spirit before you ever have to walk out and give witness to what you know to be true,” and we know the fulfillment of that. It was called Pentecost. And on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples. The disciples walked on to Jerusalem , and they started preaching in all these different languages so everybody could understand them. And then finally Peter stood up. Peter stood up, as it's recorded in Acts 2, and he recorded there the best sermon that has ever been preached. And he preached to the people and he told them about the Messiah and how they'd waited for that Messiah and how they had sinned and they'd fallen short and how the Messiah was there, and they watched as the Messiah was killed and crucified. And then he said to them, “But repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Scripture tells us, on that day, 3,000 people came to faith. On that day, Peter was filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. On that day, God's spirit used Peter's words. On that day, the Holy Spirit worked in the hearts of the men and women and children that were gathered around him. And 3,000 people confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 3,000 people were snatched out of the gates of hell and given the eternity in heaven, and we're going to see them there. We're going to see the 3,000 that were there on Pentecost Sunday in heaven because Peter gave witness, because he was empowered by the Holy Spirit. He gave witness to Jesus Christ and all that He has done.

You have been given that same spirit. You have that same power. Did you notice what Peter said to them? He said, “Repent, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” When you were brought before God's altar and the water and the Word were spoken over you and, as that water washed over your face, God's Holy Spirit entered into your heart and that spirit lives there even today. God has empowered you with that spirit, the same spirit that gave the boldness to Peter, it lives in you and it lives in me. God doesn't give us a mission without equipping us to complete that mission. He has given us the Word, the message, and He has given us His Holy Spirit so you and I, through our life, can give witness to what Jesus has done. You and I, through our words, can give witness to the saving grace God has for us through His one and only Son.

God has equipped us, and now has given us the responsibility. God gives you the responsibility. It's not an option. You are a witness. The question is, “What kind of witness?” People know you're Christian, but what do they know about your Christianity? You see, God gave us the responsibility of spreading His message. Now I don't know why He would do that. I would think He'd pull out legions of angels to announce to the world, but He didn't. He said He was going to use us.

We take a look at Matthew 28. There's no option there. In fact, Jesus uses words there that He uses nowhere else in all of scripture. He says, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” Never has Jesus prefaced His words that way. When the lame man was laying beside Him, He didn't say, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Stand up and walk.” When the blind came to Him, He didn't say, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. You can see.” Even when He called Lazarus out of the grave, He didn't say, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Lazarus, come out.” No, only here. Only here does He preface His words with this powerful statement. He is saying, “I am God, and all authority is mine.” Therefore, let's listen to what He has to say. “Go and make disciples of all nations.” That's what He has to say.

Jesus is saying the responsibility is ours to spread the good news, the message of Jesus and what He has done for all of mankind. He says, “Go, make disciples, baptize them, teach them.” He says in the book of Acts, He says to His disciples there and He says to us, He doesn't say, “You might be, you possibly could be, you might receive the gift,” He says, “You are my witnesses.” A witness is simply somebody who has seen something or experienced it. You don't give witness to something you don't know. You simply tell about something that you do know personally. That's what a witness is. And Jesus says, “You're going to be my witnesses starting here at home, Jerusalem, then out into the nation, Judea, Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”

That same responsibility is given to us. The same responsibility and the same direction from Jesus is given to us. We are to be His witnesses first and all here at home. In fact, here at Gloria Dei, we are to be the witnesses for Jesus and all He has done for us. Now I have to tell you that I know for this 40 Days campaign we're in, a number of you have invited your neighbors, your friends, and your coworkers to be part of your small groups. And every time I hear a story about that, I just smile. My heart just rejoices, and I jump for joy that you would step out of your comfort zone, you take the courage, and you would invite them and, surprise of all surprises, they came, didn't they? And you're gathered around God's Word. That's being a witness. That's being a powerful witness for Jesus.

You can be a witness every Sunday morning because maybe you haven't noticed, but I know I have noticed. All of our services have been really full, and we can praise God for that. All three services have been very full for the past six weeks, which means we have a lot of guests with us. And just to pat you on the back again because I need to, some of those guests have talked to me. You know what they say? They say this congregation is so warm, is so friendly and loving, I felt at home. You have no idea what that does for a pastor when he hears that, no idea.

But there's still more to do. We still have the privilege. It can start right here in the sanctuary. Because we have all those guests coming, chances are one of them sat in your pew. I know some of you, you've got your own pew that you sit in each and every week. A couple of you want to play games with me, you move around a lot. But some of you, you're in the same spot every week. Well, maybe one week you walk in and all of a sudden, somebody's in your pew. Now you have a choice there. You can either walk up and say, “Humph.” Or you can walk up and say, “Hi. I'm Ron. How are you? Are you visiting with us today? That's great. What brought you to Gloria Dei? That's great. Do you know you're in my pew?” No, everything but the last part, okay?

We want to make them feel welcome and comfortable. You know, pretty soon it's going to be Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we're going to literally see hundreds of people in our sanctuary that have never been here before or maybe some that haven't been here for a long time, and their only impression of maybe God or Gloria Dei will be you and the experience they have.

What I'm really saying is that those of you who are more mature in the faith sometimes need to make concessions or deal with changes so those who are new to the faith can experience that faith and grow. But maybe the message is delivered a little bit differently. Maybe things aren't quite done the way they used to be done but, if we're reaching out to communicate that gospel message, those of us who are mature in the faith will deal with those changes and make the concessions so those who are new to the faith can grow.

That's being a witness here at Gloria Dei. And being a witness in our community and reaching out in the name and in the love of Jesus. There's a host of opportunities in the center wing where, right here in our own community, we can either lend a hand or resources, reaching out in the name of Jesus. But we don't stop there, do we? It says in Judea and Samaria, which means in our nation, in our own country, we're still to spread the message. Now maybe you didn't realize this and it's a shocker to me but, as you walk outside of our sanctuary doors, over half of our country has no church home. In fact, in Polk County alone 66% of our population have no church to call their own. Now they may have faith in Jesus, but they have no place which they come on a regular basis to be fed through the water, through the Word, and through the sacraments.

We go out into our nation. Over 50%. Here's one that just knocked me back on my heels. Six or seven foreign countries are sending missionaries into the United States. They're sending missionaries from other countries into the United States. They're Christian missionaries. Other countries are sending missionaries to our country to start Christian churches. That blows my socks off. How can that be? I thought we were a Christian nation. We are well on the road of not being a Christian nation. If they're sending missionaries over here to us, we are like the third or fourth largest mission field in the entire world. It's not across the ocean someplace. It's outside your door. It's across the street.

The gospel message cannot be hidden from them. We need to reach out to them and share with them the love of God, even if we go beyond our borders, to the ends of the earth, God says it is our responsibility. Just to send maybe a missionary from our congregation. You know, that's a dream or a vision of mine, that Gloria Dei, above and beyond everything we're doing right now, would fully finance a missionary to go where you and I can't go, to speak a language we don't know, to understand a culture we don't understand, to go and to spread the news of Jesus. There's no reason why we can't do that. We come together. We can have them go where we can't go.

The message was hidden for a time in our history. We cannot allow it to be hidden again. We cannot fall under the oppression of the law again. The gospel that has come to light needs to stay in the light, and the gospel message that has captured our hearts needs to be spread to the ends of the earth. Maybe it means when you go to the center wing, you say, “You know what, I'm going to go to Honduras and I'm going to share the love of God.” “I'm going to go with the teenagers down to Mexico, and I'm going to share the love of God.” “I'm going to go to Kentucky.” “I'm going to go to L.A.” “I'm going to do something. I'm going to reach out with the message that's changed my life and change someone else's life, change someone else's eternity.” We cannot allow the message to be hidden again.

Thanks be to God that, through the power of His Spirit and men like Luther, the gospel was brought back to light again. It's that same gospel you and I have the privilege of sharing. It's our mission. In fact, God made you for that mission. Amen.

Copyright 2004 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church