Practice #3: Be On Mission 24/7

You may not know it, but my background, my dream was to be a major college basketball coach, so my undergraduate and graduate work was in education and psychology. And that's provided an interesting background as I began to study the life of Jesus - what He taught and what He practiced.

And here's the thing that just amazes me about Jesus’ teaching and His practices. He goes to the very core, the heart of mankind. In other words, those big questions like, "Why am I here?" And, "Who am I?" And, what's my purpose?" All of those things get answered very clearly by Jesus.

So, the big one is, "Who am I?" The answer as we come before God, our Maker, we learn we have a Father. I'm a beloved child of God. Or then I ask myself, "So, where do I belong?" And Jesus says: You belong in a new family, in a community where - are you ready for this? - they love you. They're commanded to love you and you to love them just for who they are.

The last question is that big one about purpose. I mean, "Why am I here? What's my purpose?" That's a big one for all of us. I mean, there is a reason that The Purpose Driven Life sold over 30 million copies, globally. People want to know their purpose.

And it's also the reason why secular researchers right now have come up with some very interesting observations about what they call the Nones, people with no religious affiliation.

They're seeing anxiety, they're seeing struggle, they're seeing mental health issues like never before. Now, this is a secular article, and they said it's the loss of religion. Once the next generation loses a sense of religion, of ultimate meaning, of purpose, of a God who made you and He put you on this planet for a purpose - well then, where do you go? I mean, what do you do with your life?

And what I love about this last practice, Jesus answers the question definitively about our purpose. He says to you and says to me: If you're going to follow Me, you come before God; you do it on a daily basis. If you're going to follow Me, the way we're going to do life, not alone, we're going to do life in community.

Then now He says: Be on mission, 24/7.

Here's what I mean by that.

It's to develop the habitual outward focus on the needs of others to demonstrate Christ's love and compassion, building bridges to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, being on mission, it’s not just some job, or it's not just serving in the church here or there. All those things are important, but you and me individually being on mission, it's developing a mindset where we're constantly looking for the needs of other people so we can share the compassion and the love of Christ that builds a bridge that allows them to respect us, and to have curiosity and interest so we can share the good news.

Christ died for your sin. He rose from the dead. Here's the good news. You're forgiven. It's an amazing, amazing story that we get to tell. For those in leadership and pastors, let me tell you that being on mission means the focus of your small group or the focus of your church needs to develop a culture of serving in love with the containers of small groups that multiply where you're empowering the people in the church to meet the greatest needs in your community, the least of these, the helpless, the hopeless, the marginalized, the people caught in the sex trade, the poor.

The first 300 years of the Church, if you read the church fathers, they took a commitment to the poor super seriously. They did radical, radical things to meet the needs of the people that were very marginalized and that's our mission, to share the gospel and to meet the needs of people so our Heavenly Father's love and compassion and salvation and a new life can be experienced.

Well, before we talk about the action, and how to get there, and what we're going to do, I want to pause and I want to do just a little bit of theology because I think it's easy to get, oh, do this and do that.

Let me remind you and me of three facts that are true of every single person who's placed their faith in Jesus Christ.

Fact number one is we have a new standing before God.

Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been,” notice past tense, “justified by faith,” present tense, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Fact number two, we receive the Holy Spirit and we are in a new community.

Romans 8:15 says, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you've received a spirit of adoption as sons [and daughters] by which we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

And then fact number three, we are given a new assignment to be on mission.

Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you a fisher of men.”

And when it comes to purpose, when it comes to mission, Jesus is absolutely clear what His mission is. And then He is absolutely clear about what He's calling us to. Listen carefully, here's Jesus' mission clearly stated: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Could it get any clearer? That's why I came. He came to seek and to save hurting, isolated people that are stuck, to save them, to secure them, to bring them to the Father.

In Mark 10:45, He says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and,” get this, “give His life a ransom for many.” What's a ransom? A ransom is what you pay to purchase someone out of a difficult situation, the purchase price of Jesus' blood.

He died in your place, in my place, for the people of all the world, for all time to - literally the word is - to “atone” or to cover or to make salvation possible for whosoever believes.

But He didn't just come with a purpose, He modeled it.

Let me give you a few ways that Jesus modeled this purpose of seeking and saving the lost.

First, He had compassion on the multitudes.

In Matthew chapter 9, verse 36, “Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them” - why? “… because they were distressed and downcast like a sheep without a shepherd.”
This word compassion is very, very interesting. It's not just empathy. The Greek word is splankna. It comes from the internal organs.

It's a picture of seeing someone's need, seeing someone hurting, seeing someone suffering, seeing someone trapped in an addiction. And it's not like, Oh, that's too bad. It's this visceral something down inside that I mean, you just feel like, I can't not do something to help this person. And when Jesus saw the multitudes of His time, He had compassion because He saw that they were distressed, their life was not working.

And then another keyword, and they were “downcast.” See, it's a community of farmers and people that are raising sheep and oxen. And when a sheep was downcast, what would happen? A sheep would lay down, and if a sheep lays down in the thick grass, if it leaned over too far, then it would be called downcast. And what that meant was if the shepherd didn't find the sheep, that sheep would die. Unless it got help that sheep rolled over too far, a sheep cannot roll back over. A shepherd would have to come and provide some help.

And when Jesus saw the multitudes of His time, and when the resurrected Jesus, at the right hand of the Father, sees all the needs of the world, when He sees the hurts and the pain, the corruption, the injustice, when He sees the poverty, when He sees hurting people, people caught in sin, people that are struggling, the conflict in marriages, the loneliness, the isolation, He sees mankind distressed and downcast. And His heart is not judgment, it's compassion.

And so, He modeled that for the disciples. He deeply, deeply cared and does care about people. And then what did He do? He spoke the truth in love.

I'm reminded of the conversation with Nicodemus. Now, think of this. This is an expert. This is a guy that's super morally pure. This is a guy who knows the Old Testament backward and forward. This is a guy that has position and they had this conversation and he wanted to find out more about Jesus. And in the conversation, Jesus looks right at him. I mean, this is the expert.

He says, "Nicodemus, you must be born again. You can know all about God, you need to know Him; you need to have a spiritual birth. Jesus modeled - “I came to seek and to save the lost.”

But there are moments, even with people that have very high standing, you speak the truth even though it may sting, but you do it in love. Not only that, He met people right where they were and He showed grace and acceptance without compromising the truth.

One of my favorite stories in all of the New Testament is the story of the woman at the well. And yes, yes, He violated the culture of even meeting with a woman. Yes, she's a Samaritan. I mean this is like the difference between Blacks and whites in the fifties. I mean, this is, the cultural barriers and the hatred between these two - Samaritans and Jews - was very high. She couldn't believe… but He met her right where she was. And He didn't start off with, "Hey, I realize you had five husbands and the guy you're living with isn't..."

He looks at her with compassion and He says, "If you knew the gift of God and what He has for you, the living water, you would ask Me for a drink." And, you know, she takes it pretty literally and goes, "Well, you don't even have a bucket." And then He reveals gently, meets her right where she's at and He tells her about her past and she surmises that He's a prophet. And instead of condemning her, never compromising the truth, He said: I came for people like you. I came for people whose lives are a train wreck. I came for people whose lives aren't working.

A woman like her felt used and abused and was passed from man to man and no one cared. And the reason that she was out there at that time of day because she was ostracized from the other women. And Jesus said, "You matter to me." And He actually then uses her to reach a whole group of people.

Or remember, Zacchaeus is up in the tree and he's a tax collector, and He didn't just say,
you know, you're despised and if I hang out with you, people are going to think less of me." Jesus looks at him and goes: Zacchaeus, I need to go to your house. Why don't we grab a meal? In fact, why don't you invite your friends? And all the religious leaders and "What's He doing over there?"

You see, He was on mission and He met people right where they were. He never the truth, but He went to where they were; He built bridges. And the disciples, all their preset mindsets of what it meant to be righteous, He's blowing their mind like you're talking to a woman, you're talking to a Samaritan, you're eating. In that culture, when you ate with someone, you were saying, we have genuine, real relationship. A Pharisee wouldn't even walk into the house of a Gentile, let alone eat with him. Jesus broke barriers because He cared deeply about people. He was on mission 24/7.

Now what He does is He says to His disciples: It's going to be really rough and so I want to model something for you. We're going to boldly share the message even when there's persecution, even when there's pushback, even when they try to kill you for it.

And so, in John chapter 10, He begins to talk about His message of the Good Shepherd. He talks about His sheep hear His voice. And by the time He gets to the end of that message in verse 31, it says, “So they took up stones again to kill Him.”

He's modeling that there's no compromise.

We're going to build bridges, we're going to love people. I'm going to do whatever it takes to reach distressed, downcast people that are lost and hurting.

I love that passage. You know, we all know John 3:16, but most people don't know John 3:17 and 3:18, where it has this perspective where the Son of Man did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it. God's heart as He sees lost people, when He sees people in immorality and lifestyles of all kind and confusion and wickedness and things that sin has shaped and warped their lives, His heart is: I love you. I want to forgive you. I want to heal you and I want to restore you.

And He modeled that for His disciples. And then more than modeling it, near the end He says: Okay, you saw what I did - remember? Follow Me; I'll make you a fisher of men.

Then He gave them a global mandate.

I mean, this would be ridiculous. Imagine being with 11 other guys at this point and probably maybe 100, 120 real close followers, and there's multitudes and He gets you all together and He's in His resurrected body and your eyes are like, Wow, everything's happened so fast.

You were in deep sorrow and now He's alive and: What He said is true, and what are we going to do now, and what's our purpose?

And notice in Matthew 28, Jesus came to them and said, "All authority,” literally all power, “in heaven and in earth has been given to Me." So, resource is not going to be a problem. You've seen Me raise people from the dead. You've seen Me speak and things happen.

I've cast demons out. I speak to the oceans, to the winds. All authority has been given unto Me. “Therefore,” literally as you go about your life, “make disciples of all nations.” Well, how? “Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

In that culture, if you are a Jew and you were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, you are saying, "I'm coming out of this community and I'm joining now this community because that old person is now dead and I'm new, alive, with a new family and a new identity." That's what baptism really meant.

And then after the new identity of becoming a part of this new supernatural community called the Church, He says then, “Teaching them” - what? to go to a service, teaching them to sing songs, teaching them to be a little bit nicer than other people. What's it say? No, no. “Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

In other words, everything you heard Me teach and everything you saw Me do, I want you to teach them what I taught you and then I want them to do what I did because you are doing what I did. That's a disciple, that's an apprentice, that's a follower. That's a student who says, I want to be like my rabbi. I want to be with my rabbi. I want to imitate my rabbi and I want my life to so grow that I would have disciples or followers that would reflect my relationship that I'm becoming like Jesus and they're becoming like Jesus.

Do you see the difference? He didn't say make decisions. He didn't say, see how many people we can get into a building and "grow a church." Those are important parts, but that's not the commandment. Make disciples of every nation and don't think nation as like China or Russia or different countries. The word is “ethnos.” So, inside even the United States, there's all kind of ethnos or different people groups, groups of people that need to know: God died for you, He loves you, He has a plan for you, He's for you.

And then, He gave him a supernatural message. He goes: That's the commandment and you'll never be alone and I've got all this authority, but I'm going to give you a supernatural message of reconciliation that as you speak this message, the Spirit of God is going to take the clarity of that message. And as people's hearts are open, by the Holy Spirit, as you begin to teach exactly what I taught you, you're going to see people come to be followers of Me, just the way that you were."

The apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, it's one of my favorite passages in all the New Testament. He talks about his motivation. Now think about, those of you that maybe have been around the scriptures a little bit more, and, you know, he's been beaten a couple of times. He's been left in the deep, you know, he’s persecuted and he just keeps getting up. He just won't give up. What was it that motivated the Apostle Paul and the same motivation that God wants to be in our heart and our mind as we come before Him daily, as we do life in community and as we are on mission 24/7?

Listen to what he says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, beginning at verse 14. This is his motivation: “For the love of Christ compels us because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died.” [The] Apostle Paul says: I'm compelled. I can't not share. I can't not care. God has so loved me. He's hemmed me in before and behind and up and down, and He's hemmed me in with His love because I've become absolutely certain and convinced that one died - Jesus - and He died for all. This message, this life, this forgiveness, this restoration, this healing, it's available to everybody. And he says: That's what motivates me.

And so, his mission then, verse 15, “He died for all, that those of us who live,” notice this. Listen to this servanthood, listen to the focus, “…that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him,” Jesus, “who died for them and was raised again.” Do you see the flip? Do you see the mindset? That's why we have to go into training.

You're not going to become some kind of evangelist overnight. It just starts out with looking at other people's needs, having a servant's mindset, exercising compassion, saying, "Lord, I'm glad the apostle Paul felt so overwhelmed by Your love that he felt compelled and hemmed in to love others.”

But I don't know about you. A lot of times I look at myself and I think, Lord, if I really cared, I'd be sharing and caring at a level that I'm certainly not now. So, would You please help me to grasp how much You love me?

This isn't about feeling guilty. This is about: God, if I could ever grasp how much You love me and grasp how much You love other people, I would be convinced that one died for all. And, therefore, the mission - Chip, don't live for yourself, live for those Jesus has died for and cares about.

And then Paul talks about because of that, his new perspective. “So, from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here.” And he says, now that I have this love and I have this new mission, I don't see people the same way. Literally, the word is “according to the flesh.”

I don't see who's famous. I don't see who's rich. I don't see who's powerful. I don't see what they drive. I don't see external stuff. I see people that are in need and they're new creations and the old things have passed away. And I love the tense of the verb, “… all things,” listen carefully, “…are becoming,” it's a process, “…are becoming new.”

And then the Apostle Paul talks about a role that God has given to him and to you and to me, “All this is from God who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” Well, what is that? “… that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ,” I love this, “… not counting people's sins against them, and He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are, therefore, Christ’s ambassadors.”

If you happen to have downloaded the notes circle that: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us,” listen to this, “… we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.”

And then here's the theology behind it. “God made Him,” Jesus, “who had no sin to be sin,” literally to be the sin bearer for us, “… so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

It's just an amazing thing. God poured out His just wrath, in a moment of time, on the Son of God. And that's why He said, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
For in that moment, He took your sin and my sin and the sins of the whole world. And so, salvation is available to whosoever would trust and believe what Christ has done and receive Him and then follow Him.

And then here's the interesting thing. You're an ambassador and I'm an ambassador. Well what's an ambassador? That's someone who represents someone else or another country. I mean, the ambassador from Spain, he's from Spain. They have a little consulate here in America, and he represents the interests of Spain, the message of Spain, here in the US. Your citizenship is in heaven. My citizenship is in heaven. We represent Jesus and His heart and His concern, we represent Him, but it gets more exciting.

He actually has given you and me a very unique calling. Yes, we do it as a servant. Yes, we do it in daily life, but there's actually a unique set of good works, a way, a plan, a window, if you will, that God wants to uniquely use you and use me.

It's found in Ephesians 2:10. After learning that our salvation is a free gift of God, the apostle writes in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship,” literally His
masterpiece, “… created in Christ Jesus,” for what? “… for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we would walk in them.” Here's the truth, we have the unspeakable privilege and the unique calling as God's representatives to implore everyone to be reconciled to God.

You don't have to have great communication skills. You don't have to have some big heavy theological training. You just need to live your life, in your world, in the footsteps of Jesus. You need to come before God daily and let Him shape who you are. You need to do life in community, invite other people into that community, and then at your job and where you work, and if you happen to work out, where you get coffee, where you go to the grocery store, you're an ambassador, you represent Him.

And then, you have this unique calling. God prepared a special good work for each of us to fulfill through our talents and our spiritual gifts.

Let me take just a minute to unpack how that happened in my life because I didn't grow up in the church. I'd never opened the Bible until I was 18. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with my life other than I knew I was in the Bible, and I was in community, and my purpose was my passion.

My passion was I played basketball in college, then I played overseas in Australia and countries throughout South America, and I just thought, I'm going to be a major college basketball coach. I mean, when I got done with college, I did not want any more school, but I went back to get my master's degree so I could teach at college so I could coach at college. And I've always had big ambitions. Some of them not so good. But one was I wanted Bobby Knight's job. I mean, I wanted to be a major college coach at the D-1 level, winning a lot of games, and doing Bible studies with my players like I did when I coached high school.

And so, during the summer I got invited to play on a basketball team and we toured every country in South America, we played all the Olympic teams, all the selection teams, at halftime we got to share Christ, share our testimonies, and then afterwards we would invite people down and hundreds would come down and we'd share Christ for about an hour or so, and then go to dinner with the other team and build a relationship.
And then we went from city to city to city to city.

Well, we were in Recife. And we had a missionary with us and he had some sense of what maybe God's plans are for people, really sensitive to the Holy Spirit. And he would watch me read my Bible in the morning and we had Bible studies as a team, and so we're playing in this big outdoor arena, about 10,000 people. And I happened to be the guy, I shared my testimony that night and then after the game we said, if you want to come and talk and -

Well, he grabbed my arm, took the microphone, put it in my hand and said, "Preach." I said, "What?" He said, “Just preach on what you were reading this morning." And I happened to, coincidence of course, I read Psalm 19 where it talks about the heavens declare the glory of God. And so, I looked up and it was a really starry night.

And these people were filing out and a few people were filing down to talk. And I don't know where this came from. I said, "Stop, look up. Do you see those stars? Do you know the One who created those? Come down right now. I'll introduce you to the Creator, the One that made you." And I'm thinking, what in the world am I doing?

And people started coming down. I mean a bunch of people. He goes, "Give them the gospel." I said, "How?" He goes, "Just like Billy Graham." So anyway, to make a very long story short, I shared the gospel, I gave an invitation, I'm not sure, 50, 60 people, maybe more, came to know Jesus that night. I'm thinking to myself, I'm a basketball coach.

And then I went home and I don't know my pastor or something heard about this or that and said, "Hey, I'm going to be out of town. Would you fill in?" And I said, "Oh, no, I could never preach." And so, then he heard that I could share because he said, "You know, you're sharing with those college students.” The ministry had really grown.

Here's all I want you to get. You may have no idea what God has planned for you. And not at all that you need to become a pastor or an evangelist. All I'm saying is this,
getting up every day and having a purpose, getting up every day with a sense that I am called to do this.

In fact, some of the biggest struggles in my life, some of the biggest wounds, some of the things that were most difficult to go through and what I experienced with an alcoholic family are the very things that have equipped me to do what I'm doing right now. I understand people. I read people. I understand what it's like to feel lonely and depressed and anxious. I know what it's like to walk on your tiptoes because someone might explode with anger. And God gave me a heart for people that are hurting. Well, that came out of how God allowed me to live in a family and by God's grace, my dad became a Christian later in life.

You have a calling, you're an ambassador. We're on mission. But here's the deal, this mission, this role, it doesn't happen like in the lilies of the field where we just tiptoe around - Isn't life wonderful?

You are in the middle of a war and if the enemy can get you distracted or get you focused just on yourself or on your success or your stuff, like we all do, here's what the scripture says about this battle. It's in Ephesians 6, verses 10 through about 20.
He's equipped you, in the midst of the challenges of being on mission, to win the battle.

Just listen to what you have available to you. “Finally,” he says, “… be strong in the Lord,” not in yourself, but in the Lord “… in the strength of His might.” Well, what should you do? “Put on the full armor of God,” well, why? “…so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.” The word we get is strategies. Well, why? “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,” it's not a political party, it's not a boss, it's not a supervisor, it's not those other people. Our struggle’s “… not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

There are good angels and there are bad angels, and he's saying, these are the bad angels and you're in a battle. And so, he goes on, verse 18, “With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”

So, he's asking them for prayer. You're in a battle. But notice why. Look at verse 19,
“… and pray on my behalf that the utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.” Here's the apostle Paul talking to a church that he loves and saying: You guys, you know what? You may think I've got it all together. I'm in a battle and you're in a battle. I need you to pray for me so that what comes out of my mouth, I'll be bold to do what God wants me to do and say what He wants me to say.

I mean, I'm like you. I've been on so many planes at times and felt a little prompting to say something and I've chickened out, okay? I mean, you think people like us that maybe teach publicly or maybe write a book or two here or there, or your pastor or some missionary, you think we do it all right all the time? Are you kidding? We all chicken out at times. So, we pray, and realize we're in a battle.

Verse 20 says, “… for I am,” are you ready? “… for I am an ambassador in chains that is proclaiming, that I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.” He says, I'm an ambassador of Christ, but I'm in chains. I need you to pray for me because I'm going to come before some really important people and I don't want to chicken out. I want to be faithful. I want to boldly declare what God wants me to declare. Are you starting to get it?

We're on mission, 24/7. It starts with a servant's mindset. We realized that Jesus modeled it. Jesus taught it. He gave us a mandate, He gave us a message and He said, "It's going to happen. I'm going to honor My Word, My Word's powerful." It's the power of God to salvation. That's the gospel. Romans chapter 1, verse 16.

And then he says, you're going to be in a battle and it's going to be very challenging. And here's the truth. We are battling, listen so very carefully, for the souls of men and women and children in this life and the next.

This isn't about just being a good Christian. This isn't just like obeying. There are people that God loves, that He's prepared. The harvest is white. They may act like they're
completely disinterested, but they're in your network and you are the greatest Christian some people will ever meet.

Now, for some of you you're thinking, boy, they're in real trouble. Well then get them out of trouble. Become a genuine follower who comes before God daily, right? Who starts doing life and community and you be on mission 24/7. And it's a journey!

Remember? It's a walk and you'll stumble and you'll fall, but you practice. You are the greatest Christian that some people know and God wants to use you. He's equipped you. He's given you a life-changing message. And here's the perspective that we get from this battle, where prayer prevails, power falls. Sharing the gospel has to be covered with even the apostle Paul is praying, pray for me with all prayer, for all the saints and persevere.

And for some of you, your role in this mission may be a lot more behind the scenes than some other people. I mean, I admire those people. I've got a friend that, it doesn't matter where he is, he strikes up a conversation, he shares the gospel. And it seems like everyone he talks to is super open. I don't have that, but I can build a relationship and I can care about people and I can tell them my story and you have a story.

And I can have a meal with them and I can invite them over and I can find out they have a sick kid. I can find out that they don't have enough money for their rent, and I can put it in an envelope without a name and jot a little note, “God cares about you,” and stick it under there and take care of them. And they figure stuff out.

We can do this. And I just have to tell you, one of the greatest joys in all the world is when the Spirit of God fills you in such a way that your actions or your words actually become a part of changing a person's life forever and ever.

And it may start with just a meal or a healed marriage or caring about one of their kids or helping them out as they're struggling, maybe working out in the yard. But when you become other-centered and servant minded and on mission, 24/7, I'm telling you,
there's not enough success or money or anything that compares with the spiritual adrenaline of being used by the Creator of the universe.

Let me give you some ways to increase your impact.

These are just super practical tips to go on mission and I think they'll be helpful.

The first is, take your assignment seriously.

Being on mission isn't just for the professionals, evangelists, pastors, missionaries. It's for all of us.

Next, build relational bridges intentionally.

Just start reaching out. I mean, even if you haven't said hi to your neighbors and you've lived next door to each other for 5, 10, 15 years. We live in this little cul-de-sac and literally no one comes outside for anyone. I was embarrassed. It was like eight or nine years.

And finally, I just knocked on the door of one of my neighbors and I actually knew something he really liked and I brought him a present and he looked at me like, "What are you doing?" I said, "You know, I'm kind of embarrassed that we've lived here eight years and you go into your garage and I go into my garage and we don't really know each other. And I just wanted to say thanks for being a neighbor."

And now that started a relationship. And he comes from another country and he sees what's happening in America. And he wants to talk about it. And so, we actually schedule coffee and we just go out and talk. And pretty soon he talks about religion. And now pretty soon he's asking me, "Now what exactly do you do?" And pretty soon I tell him, and then pretty soon I'm sharing the gospel and God's working. Now, I’d love to have the great story that last night he prayed to receive Christ and - We're still on the journey, but I'm on mission. I'm trying to be on mission, 24/7.

Third is demonstrate your concerns specifically - meet actual specific needs.

Meet some needs at work. Meet a need in your neighborhood. Be very, very specific. And as you meet a need, if they ask why, just tell them your story. “God's changed my life and He's just given me a heart to help other people.” That's all you need to say. Believe me, there's a little something that starts to catch in their mind and they'll ask more later.

Share the message boldly.

The power's in the message. You don't have to have great skills, but know the gospel and be able to share in four or five or six minutes your testimony. We think of sharing the gospel as these out-front, extrovert people.

For some it's hospitality, that's the way you do it. For others, your gift of helps is you're helping someone fix their car. For others, you're at work and you're the one who says, "Hey, I'll take your shift. I know you've got something special happening this weekend. I'll take your shift.” It’s being a servant. There are lots of ways and lots of styles. You don't have to be upfront. But as you meet those needs and people ask you about the hope that's in you, then we share the gospel.

And then pray for God to work powerfully.

You can't not do that. You have to realize God opens people's hearts and minds. I can't do that. And you can't do that. "Lord, what's on Your heart for me today? Who do You want me to pray for? Yes, I have some people that are the real regulars, but who?"

And just a few days ago, it's probably because of a great sermon I heard a couple of days ago or so, but God really moved me to go right around my cul-de-sac and pray for each family and ask God, Lord, would You open their heart? Would You speak to them? And whatever You would allow me to do to be a connection, would You show me what that is? And then would You give me the boldness and courage to actually follow the prompting that You give me?

And then the final suggestion is give your time and money generously.

Be that person at work that is like, Wow, man, she is so kind, she's so generous. Why does she bring coffee and bagels? Why is she willing to trade shifts or take some of the bad jobs? Wow, I love working with him. We work together. They don't try and take the credit. If anything, they seem to give me a little bit more credit.

Be generous with your time. Be generous with your money. I mean, sometimes it's going to be people you only meet now and then. I got the habit of I keep cash. I just realized there's people that are cleaning out a bathroom or there's someone that are probably from another country and are trying to figure out, and they washing a car at a car wash. And you look at their life and you realize, How much time does it take to say, you know, something - “I don't know if you know much about Jesus, but He prompted me to tell you that you matter to Him.” And you give him $20.

Sometimes I speak somewhere and people will give me a gift, you know, like ten one hundred dollars bills and I'll take those and I'll just put them in my briefcase and I'll carry them with me. And just certain times, I'll just have a prompting, you know? "Here, I want to give you this." And you give a person a hundred dollars? Now, most of my life, I couldn't do that. I can now. I've seen people in airports that are cleaning stalls with tears run down their eyes say, “You have no idea what I'm going through right now and that I was longing for hope.”

God wants to use you. You can be on mission. You are His ambassador. Yes, there's a battle. You have a supernatural message. It's the message of reconciliation and you are gifted and you are equipped and you can make a difference in your world right where you are.

If we're going to follow in the steps of Jesus, we need to learn what He taught, then we need the three essential practices: I want to come before God - daily; I want to do life in community - weekly; and then I want to be on mission - 24/7.

And as you follow the actual steps and practices of Jesus, you'll become more and more like Him. And as you do that, your light will be shining and men and women will see your good works and they will glorify your Father who's in heaven. And isn't that what you want, what God wants, and what people are in desperate need of?

 
You may not know it, but my background, my dream was to be a major college basketball coach, so my undergraduate and graduate work was in education and psychology. And that's provided an interesting background as I began to study the life of Jesus - what He taught and what He practiced.

And here's the thing that just amazes me about Jesus’ teaching and His practices. He goes to the very core, the heart of mankind. In other words, those big questions like, "Why am I here?" And, "Who am I?" And, what's my purpose?" All of those things get answered very clearly by Jesus.

So, the big one is, "Who am I?" The answer as we come before God, our Maker, we learn we have a Father. I'm a beloved child of God. Or then I ask myself, "So, where do I belong?" And Jesus says: You belong in a new family, in a community where - are you ready for this? - they love you. They're commanded to love you and you to love them just for who they are.

The last question is that big one about purpose. I mean, "Why am I here? What's my purpose?" That's a big one for all of us. I mean, there is a reason that The Purpose Driven Life sold over 30 million copies, globally. People want to know their purpose.

And it's also the reason why secular researchers right now have come up with some very interesting observations about what they call the Nones, people with no religious affiliation.

They're seeing anxiety, they're seeing struggle, they're seeing mental health issues like never before. Now, this is a secular article, and they said it's the loss of religion. Once the next generation loses a sense of religion, of ultimate meaning, of purpose, of a God who made you and He put you on this planet for a purpose - well then, where do you go? I mean, what do you do with your life?

And what I love about this last practice, Jesus answers the question definitively about our purpose. He says to you and says to me: If you're going to follow Me, you come before God; you do it on a daily basis. If you're going to follow Me, the way we're going to do life, not alone, we're going to do life in community.

Then now He says: Be on mission, 24/7.

Here's what I mean by that.

It's to develop the habitual outward focus on the needs of others to demonstrate Christ's love and compassion, building bridges to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, being on mission, it’s not just some job, or it's not just serving in the church here or there. All those things are important, but you and me individually being on mission, it's developing a mindset where we're constantly looking for the needs of other people so we can share the compassion and the love of Christ that builds a bridge that allows them to respect us, and to have curiosity and interest so we can share the good news.

Christ died for your sin. He rose from the dead. Here's the good news. You're forgiven. It's an amazing, amazing story that we get to tell. For those in leadership and pastors, let me tell you that being on mission means the focus of your small group or the focus of your church needs to develop a culture of serving in love with the containers of small groups that multiply where you're empowering the people in the church to meet the greatest needs in your community, the least of these, the helpless, the hopeless, the marginalized, the people caught in the sex trade, the poor.

The first 300 years of the Church, if you read the church fathers, they took a commitment to the poor super seriously. They did radical, radical things to meet the needs of the people that were very marginalized and that's our mission, to share the gospel and to meet the needs of people so our Heavenly Father's love and compassion and salvation and a new life can be experienced.

Well, before we talk about the action, and how to get there, and what we're going to do, I want to pause and I want to do just a little bit of theology because I think it's easy to get, oh, do this and do that.

Let me remind you and me of three facts that are true of every single person who's placed their faith in Jesus Christ.

Fact number one is we have a new standing before God.

Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been,” notice past tense, “justified by faith,” present tense, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Fact number two, we receive the Holy Spirit and we are in a new community.

Romans 8:15 says, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you've received a spirit of adoption as sons [and daughters] by which we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

And then fact number three, we are given a new assignment to be on mission.

Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you a fisher of men.”

And when it comes to purpose, when it comes to mission, Jesus is absolutely clear what His mission is. And then He is absolutely clear about what He's calling us to. Listen carefully, here's Jesus' mission clearly stated: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Could it get any clearer? That's why I came. He came to seek and to save hurting, isolated people that are stuck, to save them, to secure them, to bring them to the Father.

In Mark 10:45, He says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and,” get this, “give His life a ransom for many.” What's a ransom? A ransom is what you pay to purchase someone out of a difficult situation, the purchase price of Jesus' blood.

He died in your place, in my place, for the people of all the world, for all time to - literally the word is - to “atone” or to cover or to make salvation possible for whosoever believes.

But He didn't just come with a purpose, He modeled it.

Let me give you a few ways that Jesus modeled this purpose of seeking and saving the lost.

First, He had compassion on the multitudes.

In Matthew chapter 9, verse 36, “Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them” - why? “… because they were distressed and downcast like a sheep without a shepherd.”
This word compassion is very, very interesting. It's not just empathy. The Greek word is splankna. It comes from the internal organs.

It's a picture of seeing someone's need, seeing someone hurting, seeing someone suffering, seeing someone trapped in an addiction. And it's not like, Oh, that's too bad. It's this visceral something down inside that I mean, you just feel like, I can't not do something to help this person. And when Jesus saw the multitudes of His time, He had compassion because He saw that they were distressed, their life was not working.

And then another keyword, and they were “downcast.” See, it's a community of farmers and people that are raising sheep and oxen. And when a sheep was downcast, what would happen? A sheep would lay down, and if a sheep lays down in the thick grass, if it leaned over too far, then it would be called downcast. And what that meant was if the shepherd didn't find the sheep, that sheep would die. Unless it got help that sheep rolled over too far, a sheep cannot roll back over. A shepherd would have to come and provide some help.

And when Jesus saw the multitudes of His time, and when the resurrected Jesus, at the right hand of the Father, sees all the needs of the world, when He sees the hurts and the pain, the corruption, the injustice, when He sees the poverty, when He sees hurting people, people caught in sin, people that are struggling, the conflict in marriages, the loneliness, the isolation, He sees mankind distressed and downcast. And His heart is not judgment, it's compassion.

And so, He modeled that for the disciples. He deeply, deeply cared and does care about people. And then what did He do? He spoke the truth in love.

I'm reminded of the conversation with Nicodemus. Now, think of this. This is an expert. This is a guy that's super morally pure. This is a guy who knows the Old Testament backward and forward. This is a guy that has position and they had this conversation and he wanted to find out more about Jesus. And in the conversation, Jesus looks right at him. I mean, this is the expert.

He says, "Nicodemus, you must be born again. You can know all about God, you need to know Him; you need to have a spiritual birth. Jesus modeled - “I came to seek and to save the lost.”

But there are moments, even with people that have very high standing, you speak the truth even though it may sting, but you do it in love. Not only that, He met people right where they were and He showed grace and acceptance without compromising the truth.

One of my favorite stories in all of the New Testament is the story of the woman at the well. And yes, yes, He violated the culture of even meeting with a woman. Yes, she's a Samaritan. I mean this is like the difference between Blacks and whites in the fifties. I mean, this is, the cultural barriers and the hatred between these two - Samaritans and Jews - was very high. She couldn't believe… but He met her right where she was. And He didn't start off with, "Hey, I realize you had five husbands and the guy you're living with isn't..."

He looks at her with compassion and He says, "If you knew the gift of God and what He has for you, the living water, you would ask Me for a drink." And, you know, she takes it pretty literally and goes, "Well, you don't even have a bucket." And then He reveals gently, meets her right where she's at and He tells her about her past and she surmises that He's a prophet. And instead of condemning her, never compromising the truth, He said: I came for people like you. I came for people whose lives are a train wreck. I came for people whose lives aren't working.

A woman like her felt used and abused and was passed from man to man and no one cared. And the reason that she was out there at that time of day because she was ostracized from the other women. And Jesus said, "You matter to me." And He actually then uses her to reach a whole group of people.

Or remember, Zacchaeus is up in the tree and he's a tax collector, and He didn't just say,
you know, you're despised and if I hang out with you, people are going to think less of me." Jesus looks at him and goes: Zacchaeus, I need to go to your house. Why don't we grab a meal? In fact, why don't you invite your friends? And all the religious leaders and "What's He doing over there?"

You see, He was on mission and He met people right where they were. He never the truth, but He went to where they were; He built bridges. And the disciples, all their preset mindsets of what it meant to be righteous, He's blowing their mind like you're talking to a woman, you're talking to a Samaritan, you're eating. In that culture, when you ate with someone, you were saying, we have genuine, real relationship. A Pharisee wouldn't even walk into the house of a Gentile, let alone eat with him. Jesus broke barriers because He cared deeply about people. He was on mission 24/7.

Now what He does is He says to His disciples: It's going to be really rough and so I want to model something for you. We're going to boldly share the message even when there's persecution, even when there's pushback, even when they try to kill you for it.

And so, in John chapter 10, He begins to talk about His message of the Good Shepherd. He talks about His sheep hear His voice. And by the time He gets to the end of that message in verse 31, it says, “So they took up stones again to kill Him.”

He's modeling that there's no compromise.

We're going to build bridges, we're going to love people. I'm going to do whatever it takes to reach distressed, downcast people that are lost and hurting.

I love that passage. You know, we all know John 3:16, but most people don't know John 3:17 and 3:18, where it has this perspective where the Son of Man did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it. God's heart as He sees lost people, when He sees people in immorality and lifestyles of all kind and confusion and wickedness and things that sin has shaped and warped their lives, His heart is: I love you. I want to forgive you. I want to heal you and I want to restore you.

And He modeled that for His disciples. And then more than modeling it, near the end He says: Okay, you saw what I did - remember? Follow Me; I'll make you a fisher of men.

Then He gave them a global mandate.

I mean, this would be ridiculous. Imagine being with 11 other guys at this point and probably maybe 100, 120 real close followers, and there's multitudes and He gets you all together and He's in His resurrected body and your eyes are like, Wow, everything's happened so fast.

You were in deep sorrow and now He's alive and: What He said is true, and what are we going to do now, and what's our purpose?

And notice in Matthew 28, Jesus came to them and said, "All authority,” literally all power, “in heaven and in earth has been given to Me." So, resource is not going to be a problem. You've seen Me raise people from the dead. You've seen Me speak and things happen.

I've cast demons out. I speak to the oceans, to the winds. All authority has been given unto Me. “Therefore,” literally as you go about your life, “make disciples of all nations.” Well, how? “Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

In that culture, if you are a Jew and you were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, you are saying, "I'm coming out of this community and I'm joining now this community because that old person is now dead and I'm new, alive, with a new family and a new identity." That's what baptism really meant.

And then after the new identity of becoming a part of this new supernatural community called the Church, He says then, “Teaching them” - what? to go to a service, teaching them to sing songs, teaching them to be a little bit nicer than other people. What's it say? No, no. “Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

In other words, everything you heard Me teach and everything you saw Me do, I want you to teach them what I taught you and then I want them to do what I did because you are doing what I did. That's a disciple, that's an apprentice, that's a follower. That's a student who says, I want to be like my rabbi. I want to be with my rabbi. I want to imitate my rabbi and I want my life to so grow that I would have disciples or followers that would reflect my relationship that I'm becoming like Jesus and they're becoming like Jesus.

Do you see the difference? He didn't say make decisions. He didn't say, see how many people we can get into a building and "grow a church." Those are important parts, but that's not the commandment. Make disciples of every nation and don't think nation as like China or Russia or different countries. The word is “ethnos.” So, inside even the United States, there's all kind of ethnos or different people groups, groups of people that need to know: God died for you, He loves you, He has a plan for you, He's for you.

And then, He gave him a supernatural message. He goes: That's the commandment and you'll never be alone and I've got all this authority, but I'm going to give you a supernatural message of reconciliation that as you speak this message, the Spirit of God is going to take the clarity of that message. And as people's hearts are open, by the Holy Spirit, as you begin to teach exactly what I taught you, you're going to see people come to be followers of Me, just the way that you were."

The apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, it's one of my favorite passages in all the New Testament. He talks about his motivation. Now think about, those of you that maybe have been around the scriptures a little bit more, and, you know, he's been beaten a couple of times. He's been left in the deep, you know, he’s persecuted and he just keeps getting up. He just won't give up. What was it that motivated the Apostle Paul and the same motivation that God wants to be in our heart and our mind as we come before Him daily, as we do life in community and as we are on mission 24/7?

Listen to what he says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, beginning at verse 14. This is his motivation: “For the love of Christ compels us because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died.” [The] Apostle Paul says: I'm compelled. I can't not share. I can't not care. God has so loved me. He's hemmed me in before and behind and up and down, and He's hemmed me in with His love because I've become absolutely certain and convinced that one died - Jesus - and He died for all. This message, this life, this forgiveness, this restoration, this healing, it's available to everybody. And he says: That's what motivates me.

And so, his mission then, verse 15, “He died for all, that those of us who live,” notice this. Listen to this servanthood, listen to the focus, “…that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him,” Jesus, “who died for them and was raised again.” Do you see the flip? Do you see the mindset? That's why we have to go into training.

You're not going to become some kind of evangelist overnight. It just starts out with looking at other people's needs, having a servant's mindset, exercising compassion, saying, "Lord, I'm glad the apostle Paul felt so overwhelmed by Your love that he felt compelled and hemmed in to love others.”

But I don't know about you. A lot of times I look at myself and I think, Lord, if I really cared, I'd be sharing and caring at a level that I'm certainly not now. So, would You please help me to grasp how much You love me?

This isn't about feeling guilty. This is about: God, if I could ever grasp how much You love me and grasp how much You love other people, I would be convinced that one died for all. And, therefore, the mission - Chip, don't live for yourself, live for those Jesus has died for and cares about.

And then Paul talks about because of that, his new perspective. “So, from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here.” And he says, now that I have this love and I have this new mission, I don't see people the same way. Literally, the word is “according to the flesh.”

I don't see who's famous. I don't see who's rich. I don't see who's powerful. I don't see what they drive. I don't see external stuff. I see people that are in need and they're new creations and the old things have passed away. And I love the tense of the verb, “… all things,” listen carefully, “…are becoming,” it's a process, “…are becoming new.”

And then the Apostle Paul talks about a role that God has given to him and to you and to me, “All this is from God who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” Well, what is that? “… that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ,” I love this, “… not counting people's sins against them, and He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are, therefore, Christ’s ambassadors.”

If you happen to have downloaded the notes circle that: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us,” listen to this, “… we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.”

And then here's the theology behind it. “God made Him,” Jesus, “who had no sin to be sin,” literally to be the sin bearer for us, “… so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

It's just an amazing thing. God poured out His just wrath, in a moment of time, on the Son of God. And that's why He said, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
For in that moment, He took your sin and my sin and the sins of the whole world. And so, salvation is available to whosoever would trust and believe what Christ has done and receive Him and then follow Him.

And then here's the interesting thing. You're an ambassador and I'm an ambassador. Well what's an ambassador? That's someone who represents someone else or another country. I mean, the ambassador from Spain, he's from Spain. They have a little consulate here in America, and he represents the interests of Spain, the message of Spain, here in the US. Your citizenship is in heaven. My citizenship is in heaven. We represent Jesus and His heart and His concern, we represent Him, but it gets more exciting.

He actually has given you and me a very unique calling. Yes, we do it as a servant. Yes, we do it in daily life, but there's actually a unique set of good works, a way, a plan, a window, if you will, that God wants to uniquely use you and use me.

It's found in Ephesians 2:10. After learning that our salvation is a free gift of God, the apostle writes in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship,” literally His
masterpiece, “… created in Christ Jesus,” for what? “… for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we would walk in them.” Here's the truth, we have the unspeakable privilege and the unique calling as God's representatives to implore everyone to be reconciled to God.

You don't have to have great communication skills. You don't have to have some big heavy theological training. You just need to live your life, in your world, in the footsteps of Jesus. You need to come before God daily and let Him shape who you are. You need to do life in community, invite other people into that community, and then at your job and where you work, and if you happen to work out, where you get coffee, where you go to the grocery store, you're an ambassador, you represent Him.

And then, you have this unique calling. God prepared a special good work for each of us to fulfill through our talents and our spiritual gifts.

Let me take just a minute to unpack how that happened in my life because I didn't grow up in the church. I'd never opened the Bible until I was 18. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with my life other than I knew I was in the Bible, and I was in community, and my purpose was my passion.

My passion was I played basketball in college, then I played overseas in Australia and countries throughout South America, and I just thought, I'm going to be a major college basketball coach. I mean, when I got done with college, I did not want any more school, but I went back to get my master's degree so I could teach at college so I could coach at college. And I've always had big ambitions. Some of them not so good. But one was I wanted Bobby Knight's job. I mean, I wanted to be a major college coach at the D-1 level, winning a lot of games, and doing Bible studies with my players like I did when I coached high school.

And so, during the summer I got invited to play on a basketball team and we toured every country in South America, we played all the Olympic teams, all the selection teams, at halftime we got to share Christ, share our testimonies, and then afterwards we would invite people down and hundreds would come down and we'd share Christ for about an hour or so, and then go to dinner with the other team and build a relationship.
And then we went from city to city to city to city.

Well, we were in Recife. And we had a missionary with us and he had some sense of what maybe God's plans are for people, really sensitive to the Holy Spirit. And he would watch me read my Bible in the morning and we had Bible studies as a team, and so we're playing in this big outdoor arena, about 10,000 people. And I happened to be the guy, I shared my testimony that night and then after the game we said, if you want to come and talk and -

Well, he grabbed my arm, took the microphone, put it in my hand and said, "Preach." I said, "What?" He said, “Just preach on what you were reading this morning." And I happened to, coincidence of course, I read Psalm 19 where it talks about the heavens declare the glory of God. And so, I looked up and it was a really starry night.

And these people were filing out and a few people were filing down to talk. And I don't know where this came from. I said, "Stop, look up. Do you see those stars? Do you know the One who created those? Come down right now. I'll introduce you to the Creator, the One that made you." And I'm thinking, what in the world am I doing?

And people started coming down. I mean a bunch of people. He goes, "Give them the gospel." I said, "How?" He goes, "Just like Billy Graham." So anyway, to make a very long story short, I shared the gospel, I gave an invitation, I'm not sure, 50, 60 people, maybe more, came to know Jesus that night. I'm thinking to myself, I'm a basketball coach.

And then I went home and I don't know my pastor or something heard about this or that and said, "Hey, I'm going to be out of town. Would you fill in?" And I said, "Oh, no, I could never preach." And so, then he heard that I could share because he said, "You know, you're sharing with those college students.” The ministry had really grown.

Here's all I want you to get. You may have no idea what God has planned for you. And not at all that you need to become a pastor or an evangelist. All I'm saying is this,
getting up every day and having a purpose, getting up every day with a sense that I am called to do this.

In fact, some of the biggest struggles in my life, some of the biggest wounds, some of the things that were most difficult to go through and what I experienced with an alcoholic family are the very things that have equipped me to do what I'm doing right now. I understand people. I read people. I understand what it's like to feel lonely and depressed and anxious. I know what it's like to walk on your tiptoes because someone might explode with anger. And God gave me a heart for people that are hurting. Well, that came out of how God allowed me to live in a family and by God's grace, my dad became a Christian later in life.

You have a calling, you're an ambassador. We're on mission. But here's the deal, this mission, this role, it doesn't happen like in the lilies of the field where we just tiptoe around - Isn't life wonderful?

You are in the middle of a war and if the enemy can get you distracted or get you focused just on yourself or on your success or your stuff, like we all do, here's what the scripture says about this battle. It's in Ephesians 6, verses 10 through about 20.
He's equipped you, in the midst of the challenges of being on mission, to win the battle.

Just listen to what you have available to you. “Finally,” he says, “… be strong in the Lord,” not in yourself, but in the Lord “… in the strength of His might.” Well, what should you do? “Put on the full armor of God,” well, why? “…so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.” The word we get is strategies. Well, why? “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,” it's not a political party, it's not a boss, it's not a supervisor, it's not those other people. Our struggle’s “… not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

There are good angels and there are bad angels, and he's saying, these are the bad angels and you're in a battle. And so, he goes on, verse 18, “With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”

So, he's asking them for prayer. You're in a battle. But notice why. Look at verse 19,
“… and pray on my behalf that the utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.” Here's the apostle Paul talking to a church that he loves and saying: You guys, you know what? You may think I've got it all together. I'm in a battle and you're in a battle. I need you to pray for me so that what comes out of my mouth, I'll be bold to do what God wants me to do and say what He wants me to say.

I mean, I'm like you. I've been on so many planes at times and felt a little prompting to say something and I've chickened out, okay? I mean, you think people like us that maybe teach publicly or maybe write a book or two here or there, or your pastor or some missionary, you think we do it all right all the time? Are you kidding? We all chicken out at times. So, we pray, and realize we're in a battle.

Verse 20 says, “… for I am,” are you ready? “… for I am an ambassador in chains that is proclaiming, that I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.” He says, I'm an ambassador of Christ, but I'm in chains. I need you to pray for me because I'm going to come before some really important people and I don't want to chicken out. I want to be faithful. I want to boldly declare what God wants me to declare. Are you starting to get it?

We're on mission, 24/7. It starts with a servant's mindset. We realized that Jesus modeled it. Jesus taught it. He gave us a mandate, He gave us a message and He said, "It's going to happen. I'm going to honor My Word, My Word's powerful." It's the power of God to salvation. That's the gospel. Romans chapter 1, verse 16.

And then he says, you're going to be in a battle and it's going to be very challenging. And here's the truth. We are battling, listen so very carefully, for the souls of men and women and children in this life and the next.

This isn't about just being a good Christian. This isn't just like obeying. There are people that God loves, that He's prepared. The harvest is white. They may act like they're
completely disinterested, but they're in your network and you are the greatest Christian some people will ever meet.

Now, for some of you you're thinking, boy, they're in real trouble. Well then get them out of trouble. Become a genuine follower who comes before God daily, right? Who starts doing life and community and you be on mission 24/7. And it's a journey!

Remember? It's a walk and you'll stumble and you'll fall, but you practice. You are the greatest Christian that some people know and God wants to use you. He's equipped you. He's given you a life-changing message. And here's the perspective that we get from this battle, where prayer prevails, power falls. Sharing the gospel has to be covered with even the apostle Paul is praying, pray for me with all prayer, for all the saints and persevere.

And for some of you, your role in this mission may be a lot more behind the scenes than some other people. I mean, I admire those people. I've got a friend that, it doesn't matter where he is, he strikes up a conversation, he shares the gospel. And it seems like everyone he talks to is super open. I don't have that, but I can build a relationship and I can care about people and I can tell them my story and you have a story.

And I can have a meal with them and I can invite them over and I can find out they have a sick kid. I can find out that they don't have enough money for their rent, and I can put it in an envelope without a name and jot a little note, “God cares about you,” and stick it under there and take care of them. And they figure stuff out.

We can do this. And I just have to tell you, one of the greatest joys in all the world is when the Spirit of God fills you in such a way that your actions or your words actually become a part of changing a person's life forever and ever.

And it may start with just a meal or a healed marriage or caring about one of their kids or helping them out as they're struggling, maybe working out in the yard. But when you become other-centered and servant minded and on mission, 24/7, I'm telling you,
there's not enough success or money or anything that compares with the spiritual adrenaline of being used by the Creator of the universe.

Let me give you some ways to increase your impact.

These are just super practical tips to go on mission and I think they'll be helpful.

The first is, take your assignment seriously.

Being on mission isn't just for the professionals, evangelists, pastors, missionaries. It's for all of us.

Next, build relational bridges intentionally.

Just start reaching out. I mean, even if you haven't said hi to your neighbors and you've lived next door to each other for 5, 10, 15 years. We live in this little cul-de-sac and literally no one comes outside for anyone. I was embarrassed. It was like eight or nine years.

And finally, I just knocked on the door of one of my neighbors and I actually knew something he really liked and I brought him a present and he looked at me like, "What are you doing?" I said, "You know, I'm kind of embarrassed that we've lived here eight years and you go into your garage and I go into my garage and we don't really know each other. And I just wanted to say thanks for being a neighbor."

And now that started a relationship. And he comes from another country and he sees what's happening in America. And he wants to talk about it. And so, we actually schedule coffee and we just go out and talk. And pretty soon he talks about religion. And now pretty soon he's asking me, "Now what exactly do you do?" And pretty soon I tell him, and then pretty soon I'm sharing the gospel and God's working. Now, I’d love to have the great story that last night he prayed to receive Christ and - We're still on the journey, but I'm on mission. I'm trying to be on mission, 24/7.

Third is demonstrate your concerns specifically - meet actual specific needs.

Meet some needs at work. Meet a need in your neighborhood. Be very, very specific. And as you meet a need, if they ask why, just tell them your story. “God's changed my life and He's just given me a heart to help other people.” That's all you need to say. Believe me, there's a little something that starts to catch in their mind and they'll ask more later.

Share the message boldly.

The power's in the message. You don't have to have great skills, but know the gospel and be able to share in four or five or six minutes your testimony. We think of sharing the gospel as these out-front, extrovert people.

For some it's hospitality, that's the way you do it. For others, your gift of helps is you're helping someone fix their car. For others, you're at work and you're the one who says, "Hey, I'll take your shift. I know you've got something special happening this weekend. I'll take your shift.” It’s being a servant. There are lots of ways and lots of styles. You don't have to be upfront. But as you meet those needs and people ask you about the hope that's in you, then we share the gospel.

And then pray for God to work powerfully.

You can't not do that. You have to realize God opens people's hearts and minds. I can't do that. And you can't do that. "Lord, what's on Your heart for me today? Who do You want me to pray for? Yes, I have some people that are the real regulars, but who?"

And just a few days ago, it's probably because of a great sermon I heard a couple of days ago or so, but God really moved me to go right around my cul-de-sac and pray for each family and ask God, Lord, would You open their heart? Would You speak to them? And whatever You would allow me to do to be a connection, would You show me what that is? And then would You give me the boldness and courage to actually follow the prompting that You give me?

And then the final suggestion is give your time and money generously.

Be that person at work that is like, Wow, man, she is so kind, she's so generous. Why does she bring coffee and bagels? Why is she willing to trade shifts or take some of the bad jobs? Wow, I love working with him. We work together. They don't try and take the credit. If anything, they seem to give me a little bit more credit.

Be generous with your time. Be generous with your money. I mean, sometimes it's going to be people you only meet now and then. I got the habit of I keep cash. I just realized there's people that are cleaning out a bathroom or there's someone that are probably from another country and are trying to figure out, and they washing a car at a car wash. And you look at their life and you realize, How much time does it take to say, you know, something - “I don't know if you know much about Jesus, but He prompted me to tell you that you matter to Him.” And you give him $20.

Sometimes I speak somewhere and people will give me a gift, you know, like ten one hundred dollars bills and I'll take those and I'll just put them in my briefcase and I'll carry them with me. And just certain times, I'll just have a prompting, you know? "Here, I want to give you this." And you give a person a hundred dollars? Now, most of my life, I couldn't do that. I can now. I've seen people in airports that are cleaning stalls with tears run down their eyes say, “You have no idea what I'm going through right now and that I was longing for hope.”

God wants to use you. You can be on mission. You are His ambassador. Yes, there's a battle. You have a supernatural message. It's the message of reconciliation and you are gifted and you are equipped and you can make a difference in your world right where you are.

If we're going to follow in the steps of Jesus, we need to learn what He taught, then we need the three essential practices: I want to come before God - daily; I want to do life in community - weekly; and then I want to be on mission - 24/7.

And as you follow the actual steps and practices of Jesus, you'll become more and more like Him. And as you do that, your light will be shining and men and women will see your good works and they will glorify your Father who's in heaven. And isn't that what you want, what God wants, and what people are in desperate need of?