Remember the line— “Your mission, if you chose to accept it”. We may not be Ethan Hunt or part of the IMF, but our mission can seem like it’s a mission impossible. The Mission of the church is glorification to God…but how? We haven’t been left with a task without instructions. God has explained how we are to bring Him glory as individuals and as a group (churches). The way in which either party brings God glory is by obedience. The churches described in the New Testament worked off a set of plans designed by Jesus the Head of the church. He explained in many passages how we carry out this glorification process. Churches are to give the Gospel to the World. The individuals who make up those churches are to be busy in that missions set by the Lord. We are to see it as our personal and collective mission. In other words, we glorify God by obeying His command to reach the world with the glorious Gospel, thereby bringing Him the ultimate glory we can in this life.
Did you know that there is an 85% drop out rate in 1st time foreign missionaries. The battle is real, isn’t it?! If there was nothing to this mission, why is Satan attacking so strategically against it? This alone shows us the fight we are really in.
Every group has a purpose. The Elks have a purpose. The Boy Scouts have a purpose. Congress has a purpose. They are all identified by their group and associate with it. They all understand why they are there, and what they are apart of. Why is it that believers are confused about their role in their church and the mission of said church? Every group has a ‘First Imperative’. What is a ‘First Imperative’? It can also be called a first person imperative. This ‘first person inclusive let-imperative’, has an implied “we” as its subject. According to grammarphobia.com: the command, request, or whatever is addressed to the speaker plus is implied to one or more others as well, so it’s in the first-person plural. Every group has a First Imperative. They understand that the leader is not the only one who is to do the task they are all called to do. The Masons, for instance, do not think the leader does it all, but they are all masons. Why is it then that some churches believe someone else is suppose to do the task we are all called to do?
What is this group called “church”? Jesus said “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”(Matthew 16.18). This group is Jesus’ group. They are churches (the greek word: “ekklesia”). So, our purpose would be His purpose then. Our church has a First Imperative. According to this passage, Jesus set in motion a war machine. Not to war with humanity, but with the forces of darkness who have humanity trapped in sin. Jesus’ churches have a task. That task is to be carried out by all subsequent churches and all of their members. Jesus’ task is— “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19.10). We then, by the law of ‘first imperative’, are to work this same task. Can we save souls? No. But we give them the Gospel which is able to save them.
What is the purpose of this group? In Matthew 28.19-20 we read what is often called “the great commission”. This is where we get our marching orders. This is where we begin to apply Luke 19.10 and Jesus’ task. The commission is not an imperative for missions, but the mission of Jesus’ churches. The commission is not a piece of the church philosophy, but the actual road map and purpose of a church of Jesus. It is our imperative. We, as members of one of the Lord’s churches, are to carry out His mission to the world.
A Commissioning. When someone commissions a vessel for a purpose, and though it at times fulfills short duties, it’s purpose is always understood. When the Navy commissions an aircraft carrier, it has its defined purpose. It may be sent on several different kind of missions, but always maintains readiness to fulfill it’s commission. It’s commission is clear, it is an aircraft carrier, and not a destroyer. There are times when an aircraft carrier may be deployed to an island or sea-based nation where a tsunami has struck. In which case, the carrier is there to render aid and temporarily be a life-saving, rescuing machine. At no time does that carrier group forget what their actual purpose is. We are living in a time when the Lord’s churches are rapidly forgetting what their purpose is.
Who commissions the vessel? One with authority. Jesus said in Matthew 28.18 that all power and authority is His. He is the First Imperative, we are the implied plural that comes after. He has explained to us our task and commissioned us for the war. It is our purpose to obey and do so as He designed, from His word. We need to put the mission first, and do it His way. We have no authority to change the purpose of His church. In fact, it is imperative that we go back to His design without all of the humanity that has cost us battle after battle. We need to return to the purpose of our commissioning.
I feel it is time to disturb the status quo in church, to clear the way for revival. To come back to a singular source and a singular purpose. To remember where we got off track and begin again, as in Ephesus (Revelation 2.5). We must face hard, realistic, facts and stop playing church. We must come to a realization that there is not much time left to obey in this flesh. Make it personal. It is your mission, it is my mission. I am a part of one of Jesus’ churches, so therefore, His mission is my mission, and His purpose has to be my purpose.