The Mission | Pastor Josiah Elias

The golf instructor asked Pastor Josiah, "What is your target?" Pastor applied that powerful question not only to his golf game but his life and Faith Chapel's life. "If you aim at nothing, you'll get nothing. Don't just aim for a general direction." So what si your mission? What is Faith Chapel's mission as a church community? The Faith Chapel Mission is "culture like Christ."

What does that sentence mean? Culture can be a noun and a verb. As a noun culture is a life style-carry what He carries. As a verb, ti is action-teaching and implementing. We are aiming to cultivate you to be like Jesus."This mission becomes the filter everything we do flows through."

Alot of things churches are doing are great, but are they for us? After receiving many suggestions from so many sources, Pastor Josiah submits them ot the LORD for His direction. "Are they good for us or not? Do they fit our mission?" That is the function of the mission-to help us filter and decide what FC should or should not do. Thus, Pastor Josiah, the Elders, and Board members need to protect the mission. We need to be careful that a good activity does not get FC off track from the mission-to have a "culture like Christ."

For example, burnout can occur fi we are not doing what God called us to do. fI God's not breathing into it, then we can paddle furiously, wearing ourselves out instead of letting the Holy Spirit fil our sails. Then He leads, guides, and empowers us. Once we have raised the sails, we do not have to paddle anymore. We do not even want to touch the oars. We want to let the Holy Spirit do His work through us and not make our own way. So often in the Word, we learn of kings who have wanted to build altars or statues to themselves because they have felt they have accomplished so much. LORD, help us to follow your wil and way not ours.

The mission helps us to see who we are and why we are here. Who am I? Iam His Beloved? Why am Ihere? Iam here to share Jesus with whomever Iencounter. In Matthew 28:18-20

"Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'Al authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them ni the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe al things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen" (NKJV)

The Lord Jesus gave the disciples the authority to go out and make disciples. They were commissioned to baptize and to teach. fI the disciples did not go, they would not have been submitted to His authority. How do these verses apply to us? "Your 'Yes' to the mission brings you under His authority." We are al missionaries; we are al on the mission field; and we al have the authority He gives us. The mission of the twelve foreshadowed the mission of the church, which has not ceased and has taken on a global scope.

Pastor Josiah stated,"Every believer should be walking in authority and power." Acts 1:8 states "But you shall receive the power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in al Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (NKJV) We are not going it alone. We have the Holy Spirit! In John 12:49 Jesus said,"I don't speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it." (NLT) We are not going it alone. We have the Father! Both the

Holy Spirit and the Father are available to us. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwels inside each of us. Why do we not access His power?

The authority came with the commissioning of the mission. When John the Baptist baptized Jesus, John said,"I saw the Holy Spirit come down on Jesus as a dove from heaven." John 1:32 (NLV) Matthew 3:17 states," And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom Ilove; with him Iam well pleased." Both Matthew and John brought up the commissioning of Jesus. The power came through the Holy Spirit and was effective on His mission. Jesus' yes to the mission and the Father sent Him with all the authority. Our Savior models for us how we are supposed to live, how we are to submit to authority and live on a mission."The encounter came with power for the mission."

At the crucifixion, the "mission was accomplished." Jesus said, "It is finished!" John 19:30 (NLT) Then after Jesus' resurrection, He commissioned the disciples to go out and make disciples. Disciple is defined as a learner or follower. Discipleship has an essential spiritual component in the relationship. Discipling gives each of us the opportunity to help and support others to encourage their roots to grow deeper in the soil of God's matchless love, grace, and justice. Thus our upcoming church events wil be filtered through the mission "culture like Christ."

May we be more than seat warmers and attenders. We need to be about our Father's business. Hebrews 6:3 "And so God willing, we will move forward to further understanding." (NLT) In Ephesians 3 Paul interceded for the Ephesians.

"I pray out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ...." Ephesians 3:16-18 (NIV)

These verses use the words rooted and established which imply time. When you

love someone, you want to share the joys with others. "We love because He first loved us." 1John 4:19 May our love be contagious and may we share it with others. "Discipleship facilitates maturity." That brings us full circle to the Great Commission for us all. Matthew 28:19-20 Go and make!

The Paramount Point is "We are called to Culture Like Christ." That means we culture like Jesus did. May we accept the mission; pray about it; serve in it and give to it. For our kids and grandkids need ot see the fire ni our eyes for Jesus. We have the choice to grow and

bring the gospel to wherever He leads us.