Why Are We Here?

Luke 4:14-21                                                                       January 25, 2004

CCI:

Intro: At this time in the church year, Believers all around the world stop to look at some of the first things Jesus did as he began his public ministry. Two weeks ago we went down to the river for his baptism. Last week we attended a wedding were he performed his first miracle, today we will enter a synagogue where Jesus presents his first recorded formal teaching, then next week we will look at the impact of that teaching on his home town.

         Please rise and stand for the reading of the gospel of Lord Jesus Christ.

         Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

         He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

    "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

        because he has anointed me

        to preach good news to the poor.

    He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

        and recovery of sight for the blind,

    to release the oppressed,

        to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

         Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, [21] and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Intro: This passage, along with Philippians 2, is one of my favorite passages in the New Testament. It is a quote from Isaiah 61. Here Jesus set before the people of his home town the mission that God had impressed upon his heart.

         A commitment to a mission is critical to any endeavor. Less than 2 years ago, John Fox, the newly hired head coach of the Carolina Panthers called together his 1-15 team. He said, "Talent-wise, there's not a team in the NFL that's any better than you" and told them he questioned their toughness. This year, we will demonstrate that there is no one in this league who is tougher than you! In 2002 they improved to 7-9, and today they are one victory away from being Super Bowl Champs. Throughout this two season ride, Fox has not deviated from that mission. He was determined that his team would be tougher than their opponents. Not just physically tougher, but mentally tougher as well. And that is what has happened.

         Fox had a mission and sticking to that mission has lead to success.

         The mission Jesus presented his home town friends on that Sabbath evening was a mission of good news. Jesus began his ministry by saying, I have come to preach good news to the poor; to proclaim freedom for the prisoners; recovery of sight for the blind; to release the oppressed; and the year of the Lord's favor. From that day on, throughout his ministry, we see this mission shining through.

         He preached good news to the poor. The Sermon on the Mount is a message of hope to the common and poor person. When the 5,000 were fed, Jesus was giving hope to people who were physically hungry. The promises Jesus offered for those who would follow him spoke of God’s provision and of the blessing of God’s care.

         He proclaimed freedom for prisoners. One of Jesus’ best known parables is of the man who was in debt. He owed a king’s ransom to the king and he could not pay it back. The king ordered his house to be sold, and his family to be sold and he was to be sold himself. But when the man plead for mercy, the king released him from the debt. Jesus’ mission was a mission to free the prisoners.

         He brought sight to the blind. To the physically he gave new sight. He did not have a formula for giving sight, one time he would touch their eyes, another he make mud to put on their eyes, and yet another time he would tell them to go wash in the pool, and still others were healed by his word. But sight was not only given to the physically blind, but the spiritually blind were also given new sight. In John 9 Jesus said, “I came into this world that those who do not see, may see.” Jesus’ mission was a mission to give sight to the blind.

         He brought release to those who were oppressed. One of the kinds of miracles Jesus performed was casting out demons. The idea of demonic oppression was strong. Spiritual forces that oppressed people held them in a vice-like grip. Jesus set people free from that oppression. The man who was known as Legion because of all the demons in him was freed and sent back to his own village to tell others what God had done. Children who were oppressed were set free. Women who were oppressed with guilt and their past were set free. Jesus’ mission was a mission to free the oppressed.

         And Jesus said his mission was to declare the year of God’s favor. Good News, freedom, Sight and Release are reflections of God’s favor. Jesus’ mission was clear, and he did not deviate from that mission.

         A powerful mission can motivate men and women to do things that might seem impossible. In the movie Gettysburg, The first scenes take place a couple days before the epic battle at Gettysburg. Colonel Chamberlainof the 20th Maine Regiment learns that his regiment is going to receive 120 Union soldiers who mutinied. Chamberlain is given permission to shoot any of these mutineers who don't cooperate.

         Chamberlain tells the men that he's been told about their problem. He admits, "There's nothing I can do today. We're moving out in a few minutes. We'll be moving all day. I've been ordered to take you men with me. I'm told that if you don't come, I can shoot you. Well, you know I won't do that. Maybe somebody else will, but I won't. So, that's that.

         "Here's the situation," he continues. "The whole Reb army is up that road a ways, waiting for us. This is no time for an argument. I tell you, we could surely use you fellows. We're now well below half strength. Whether you fight or not, that's up to you. Whether you come along is…" He pauses and then continues, "Well, you're coming. You know who we are. But if you fight alongside of us, there's a few things you must know."

         "This regiment was formed last summer in Maine. There were 1,000 of us then. There are less than 300 of us now. All of us volunteered to fight for the Union, just as you did. Some came mainly because we were bored at home…thought this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were ashamed not to. Many of us came because it was the right thing to do. And all of us have seen men die.

         "This is a different kind of army. If you look back through history, you'll see men fighting for pay, for women, for some other kind of loot. They fight for land, power, because a king leads them, or just because they like killing. But we are here for something new. This has not happened much in the history of the world. We are an army out to set other men free."

         The mission of setting other men free. That mission motivated soldiers to fight as they had never fought before. And the mission of setting people free is the mission of the Church of Jesus Christ.

         There is a new question that is being asked by many. The question is, “What is your master story?” It is another way of talking about the mission of a person or an organization. The master story of the Civil War was the story of setting men free. This statement that Jesus read as he began his ministry, became his master story. Whatever he did was part of that story.

         The mission organization Every Child Ministries has a master story. Their story is based in a mission of showing the love of Jesus to the neediest of African children in practical ways. This mission has led them to Ghana where the practice of offering young virgin girls to fetish priests as reparation for the sins of family members continues to this day. These girls are then held as sex slaves in the shrines. Every Child Ministries is working with the Ghanian government to put an end to this practice. They are negotiating and facilitating with the Trokosi shrines to liberate the women. They have secured freedom for 95 women and girls so far. Once they're released they're allowed to go home. However, Every Child's John Rouster says this isn't the end. He says, "Lord willing Every Child Ministries will be following up with counselors for the women and helping get the children in the school system. There has been an excellent reception of the women to Christ. The women have been liberated and when they hear the Good News about Jesus Christ, they find complete liberation." Freeing children from oppression is the master story of Every Child Ministries. That mission is changing lives.

         The master story of Mosaic Church in Manhattan begins with the belief that all of us are broken pieces who need God and one another. When we allow God as the master artist to heal us and work with us, he connects us in relationships with others who challenge us, encourage us, and complete us. We invite God to direct our lives and trust that his creative, healing touch will do wonders with our lives, regardless of our past or the hopes and fears we may have for the future. Their story includes people whose broken lives have been reformed by Jesus and his love. This congregation has made an impact on the city, because their mission has remained at the center of their story.

         The master story of our congregation has often been a story of survival. As a congregation, we have a mission that we believe God has given us. That mission is to equip God’s people to be His presence in our community. However, our story reveals that we do not always keep this mission central in our life together. Just as Jesus Christ always kept the mission of Good News, freedom, Sight and Release in the center of his life, we must also learn to focus on God by keeping a clear view of the mission he has given us. It is my prayer that New Hope’s story in 2004 will be a story of a church on a mission.

         Organizations and armies and even corporations need a single over riding focus and a consistent story. Individuals need the same. The power of the master story of our lives is can be seen all around us. The master story of Adoniram Judson, the first Baptist foreign missionary, is a story of passion for people who had never heard of Jesus. Though his story is filled with sorrow and tragedy, it his passion for those who do not know Christ that drove him throughout life. The story of Rick and Anita Guetierez is a story of two doctors who want to use their skills to help those who can not afford medical care. In the Kalamazoo area, they established rural clinics to reach out to people who were impoverished, today they continue to write their story, but now the scene is South Africa where they care for HIV/AIDS patients in a community where the infection rate is 35%.

         But there are other stories as well. The story of one friend focuses on alcohol. She was abused when her father drank too much and her husband has carried on where her father left off. Her story has been tragic. Perhaps your story is a story of loneliness. For many years my story was a story of guilt that I would foster.

         But your story, whatever it is, can be changed. At one time, Paul’s story was a story of pride in his Jewish accomplishments, he had great ancestry, he had the best education, he worked diligently to keep the laws, yet he was empty. When he met Jesus he began to write a new story. And his new story found value only in Jesus, everything else he considered loss. Anyone who is in Christ, becomes a new creation, old things end, new things come.

          At the center of these new things is a new sense of mission. The story is told of a corporate head hunter whose job it was to hire the best and brightest for multi-million dollar corporations. (Tell the story.)

         What is your purpose and mission?