Called to Community: Embracing Our Divine Commission
Summary
In today's reflection, we explored the profound concept of being called and commissioned by God, drawing from the experiences of the prophets, Jesus' first disciples, and the early church. This dual movement of calling and commissioning is central to our faith journey. Being called by God is not merely an individual experience but one that involves a collective mission, a co-mission, where we are invited to work alongside others in fulfilling God's purpose. This is evident in the Great Commission, where Jesus sends his disciples into the world, not as solitary figures, but as a community empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach, heal, and transform lives.
The notion of co-missioning emphasizes that our faith is not a solo endeavor. It requires us to engage with others, to be part of a larger body—the church—where we can support and uplift one another. This is beautifully illustrated in the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus sends out his disciples two by two, highlighting the importance of companionship and shared purpose in ministry.
Moreover, the call to ministry is not without its challenges. Jesus warns his disciples of the hardships they will face, urging them to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves." This wisdom calls for a balance between realism and maintaining a compassionate heart, a lesson that is crucial in our technologically advanced and often impersonal world. As Christians, we are tasked with holding onto our humanity and compassion amidst the rapid changes around us.
The early church, as seen in the epistles, exemplifies this calling and commissioning. Paul speaks to the church in Thessalonica about being chosen by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit to spread the message of Christ. This early community serves as a model for us, demonstrating the courage and conviction needed to proclaim the good news, even in the face of rejection.
Ultimately, our calling and commissioning are not static; they are dynamic movements of grace that require us to step out in faith, courage, and hope. We are called to be witnesses of Christ's love and truth, to live out our faith actively, and to share the transformative message of Jesus with a world in need.
Key Takeaways:
1. Calling and Commissioning: Our spiritual journey involves both being called by God and being commissioned to serve. This dual movement is not just personal but communal, inviting us to work alongside others in fulfilling God's purpose. It anchors us in our identity and propels us into mission. [00:45]
2. The Importance of Community: The concept of co-missioning highlights the necessity of community in our faith journey. Just as Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs, we are called to engage with others, supporting and uplifting one another in our shared mission. [02:15]
3. Balancing Wisdom and Innocence: Jesus' advice to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves" teaches us to balance realism with compassion. In a rapidly changing world, we must hold onto our humanity and compassion, maintaining a heart open to God's love and guidance. [04:30]
4. Facing Challenges with Courage: The call to ministry is not without its challenges. We are reminded to persevere in the face of rejection, drawing strength from our faith and the Holy Spirit's empowerment. This courage is essential in proclaiming the good news. [06:50]
5. A Dynamic Movement of Grace: Our calling and commissioning are dynamic, requiring us to step out in faith and hope. We are invited to be witnesses of Christ's love, actively living out our faith and sharing the transformative message of Jesus with the world. [09:10]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:45] - Calling and Commissioning
- [02:15] - The Importance of Community
- [03:30] - The Great Commission
- [04:30] - Balancing Wisdom and Innocence
- [05:45] - Challenges in Ministry
- [06:50] - Facing Rejection with Courage
- [07:30] - Empowerment by the Holy Spirit
- [08:15] - Early Church as a Model
- [09:10] - A Dynamic Movement of Grace
- [10:00] - Living Out Our Faith
- [11:00] - Sharing the Message of Christ
- [12:00] - Conclusion and Call to Action
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. Matthew 28:18-20 - The Great Commission
2. Mark 6:7-13 - Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
3. John 20:21-23 - Jesus Sends His Disciples
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#### Observation Questions
1. What does the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 entail, and how does it emphasize the communal aspect of the mission? [00:45]
2. In Mark 6:7-13, why do you think Jesus sent the disciples out two by two, and what tasks were they given? [03:30]
3. How does John 20:21-23 illustrate the role of the Holy Spirit in the disciples' mission? [06:50]
4. According to the sermon, what are the challenges Jesus warns his disciples about, and how are they advised to face them? [04:30]
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#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the concept of "co-missioning" in the sermon reflect the idea of community in the passages from Matthew and Mark? [02:15]
2. What does it mean to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves," and how can this balance be applied in today's world? [04:30]
3. How does the sermon describe the dynamic nature of calling and commissioning, and what implications does this have for a believer's life? [09:10]
4. In what ways does the early church, as described in the sermon, serve as a model for modern Christian communities? [08:15]
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#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your own sense of calling. How can you discern whether you are being called to a specific mission or ministry? [00:45]
2. In what ways can you engage more deeply with your church community to support and uplift others in their faith journey? [02:15]
3. How can you maintain a balance between being realistic about the challenges of life and keeping a compassionate heart? [04:30]
4. Think of a recent situation where you faced rejection or difficulty in sharing your faith. How did you respond, and what might you do differently next time? [06:50]
5. Identify a specific area in your life where you feel called to step out in faith. What practical steps can you take to act on this calling? [09:10]
6. How can you actively participate in the mission of your church to spread the message of Christ in your local community? [11:00]
7. Consider the role of the Holy Spirit in your life. How can you be more open to the Spirit's guidance in your daily decisions and interactions? [07:30]
Devotional
Day 1: The Dual Movement of Calling and Commissioning
Our spiritual journey is marked by both a calling from God and a commissioning to serve. This dual movement is not just a personal experience but a communal one, inviting us to work alongside others in fulfilling God's purpose. It anchors us in our identity and propels us into mission. The Great Commission exemplifies this, as Jesus sends his disciples into the world, not as solitary figures, but as a community empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach, heal, and transform lives. This calling and commissioning are dynamic movements of grace that require us to step out in faith, courage, and hope. [00:45]
Isaiah 6:8-9 (ESV): "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here I am! Send me.' And he said, 'Go, and say to this people: Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'"
Reflection: In what ways do you feel God is calling and commissioning you to serve in your community today? How can you take a step of faith to respond to this call?
Day 2: The Necessity of Community in Our Faith Journey
The concept of co-missioning highlights the necessity of community in our faith journey. Just as Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs, we are called to engage with others, supporting and uplifting one another in our shared mission. This communal aspect of our faith is essential, as it provides us with companionship, accountability, and encouragement. The early church serves as a model for us, demonstrating the courage and conviction needed to proclaim the good news, even in the face of rejection. [02:15]
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (ESV): "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!"
Reflection: Who in your life can you partner with in your spiritual journey? How can you intentionally support and uplift them this week?
Day 3: Balancing Realism with Compassion
Jesus' advice to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves" teaches us to balance realism with compassion. In a rapidly changing world, we must hold onto our humanity and compassion, maintaining a heart open to God's love and guidance. This wisdom calls for a balance between being aware of the challenges and maintaining a compassionate heart, a lesson that is crucial in our technologically advanced and often impersonal world. [04:30]
James 3:17 (ESV): "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere."
Reflection: In what areas of your life do you need to balance wisdom and compassion? How can you practice this balance in your interactions today?
Day 4: Persevering Through Challenges with Courage
The call to ministry is not without its challenges. We are reminded to persevere in the face of rejection, drawing strength from our faith and the Holy Spirit's empowerment. This courage is essential in proclaiming the good news. The early church exemplifies this calling and commissioning, as Paul speaks to the church in Thessalonica about being chosen by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit to spread the message of Christ. [06:50]
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (ESV): "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."
Reflection: What challenges are you currently facing in your spiritual journey? How can you draw strength from your faith and the Holy Spirit to persevere?
Day 5: Living Out a Dynamic Movement of Grace
Our calling and commissioning are dynamic, requiring us to step out in faith and hope. We are invited to be witnesses of Christ's love, actively living out our faith and sharing the transformative message of Jesus with the world. This dynamic movement of grace is not static; it requires us to be open to God's leading and to actively participate in His mission. [09:10]
Colossians 1:10 (ESV): "So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."
Reflection: How can you actively live out your faith today? What steps can you take to share the transformative message of Jesus with those around you?
Quotes
"God and Jesus didn't just call on individuals and on their broad of broader communities the context of the broader communities they did something else which is important and that's another c word in in all these c words that we're talking about the essential seas so in addition to calling the prophets and israel and jesus calling the first disciples they are all co -missioned commissioned into doing some actual work doing actual ministry ministry it's not just about being called it's being called and then clearly sort of obligated to do important ministry and it's it's something that that sense of calling which has both an individual component and a shared component you can't get away from the fact that with a calling comes a commissioning that um we we talk a lot about in churches and for not quite sure exactly then there's the great commission which of course we've we've just talked about with matthew 28 which i'll flesh out a little bit more in a second but this great commissioning notice the the seems to me there's the i break it down the word down a bit there is a co and a mission here so if you if you have a coal in front of a word that usually implies this isn't just a solo effort that there is a there is a requirement here to do this in in response with others in in concert with others there is a coal mission and the mission that jesus leaves his disciples is spelled out for us throughout the gospels and that co -mission extends to the life of the first churches as reflected in the epistles so the the notion of a commission to be commissioned into a ministry um is is extremely important and there are i could have drawn from other passages i mean arguably the first passage in the gospels that really touches on this is mark 6 verses 7 to 13 and notice in that there's again a lot of similarity between mark and matthew one of the interesting things about mark is that the disciples are sent out two by two to do the work of ministry again not this is not intended to be a solo exercise you know in a world that only seems to envision a self -centered world view that's how we are all structured nowadays apparently the notion of a co -mission suggests that we are called as individuals and how we give witness to that call how we live that out in ministry in our lives again of course we start with our own ministry in our own lives but there's an unclear understanding that that is something that needs to be done with others preferably in the body of christ church an expression of christians coming together to do so that's the two by two because as as we have explored in scripture read already in scripture and we kind of intuitively know this is not a small mission this is a pretty significant purpose that jesus has empowered his first disciples to do and that's important because in john 20 for example verses 21 to 31 there is very much an emphasis as is as in the gospel of john with this being a spirit empowered moment that this is the holy spirit breathing into the disciples this capacity and that great phrase as the father has sent me jesus says so i send you and that you is a plural noun or plural pronoun and there's again that sent that that collective effort the first body of christ into the world and into into the communities and then into the world in terms of of a very powerful mission and in luke towards the end of luke luke 24 verses 44 to 49 we have that incredible story of jesus and the first disciples on the road to emmaus that is a commissioning story so there's a lot for us that we could draw on for our purposes today i selected those two passages from matthew because i think they capture the essence and then the passage from this this early church in thessalonia um thessalonica i always get that one wrong it's thessalonica um speak to the the main themes so if we start with matthew 10 i find it interesting that that that initial commission to that jesus sends the the disciples out into the community was first to the lost sheep of israel so it is first to his own people to the jewish community to to to offer to them this vision that jesus has has presented now of course we know by the end of matthew so there's this evolution of this commission as we've just talked about and we'll and i'll mention briefly in a minute the the matthew 28 great commission is a global one it's that same but it's notice it's the same underlying components and it is a ministry of healing of exorcism of preaching those are the elements that that jesus through the power of the holy spirit breathes into the first disciples this incredible ability to do that and along the way matthew says something really interesting he says you should travel lightly don't expect all the creature comforts of the world to come with you and as you do that in your lives expect to receive rejection a lot of it jesus is pretty up front with the disciples this is going to be very hard very demanding don't lose hope don't lose faith have faith in god that and and jesus doesn't just leave them with empty rhetoric gives them the capacity to do this work and the steadfastness of faith to see through the rejection it is to to lift up that same sentiment paul does to the first of the church in ephesus in ephesus for example he he says that i'm going to your commission to equip the saints in ephesians 4 to equip the saints into a life of ministry it's the same theme reflected both in jesus and in paul and i love the the sentence towards the end of our reading from from matthew 10 i'm going to read it again see i'm sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves that's an extraordinary piece of scripture i've always drawn myself into that that passage there's such wisdom in in what is said there i mean really what jesus is saying that this is going to be a hard purpose but remember whatever you do do don't lose the essence of what makes first of all what makes you human and don't but don't don't underestimate the the the capacity that you have to acknowledge is that you're you're going to be sent out into the into the world of the wolves but you don't go into that ministry blindly and naively and and then and then have your heart shattered by all the rejection that you're going to encounter is that not a fundamental wisdom for our lives in general I've yet to experience anything in my life that didn't have a little element of of that in it especially this notion of fine always trying to find a balance between the wisdom of the serpent which has this kind of realism to it this this willingness to accept the difficulties and the reality of the human condition and the challenges you're going to face and the problems you're going to have with other people and all of that but never lose the innocence of Dove never lose that capacity in your heart to be compassionate to don't let yourself become so cynical and overwhelmed by everything else going on your life that you you lose that that and I love that notion of innocence of the Doves there is this just this purity to it there is an underlying beauty to that don't but then again don't let your naivete set you up so that that you you just can't you can't accept the the the sort of realistic world that we live in it's a beautiful phrase for us and a wonderful way to approach your life and your ministry as a Christian to hold those two things in balance I was thinking this week as I was reading that we are we are at a really pivotal point in history human history right now on that question of this relationship between the wisdom of serpents and the innocence of Doves I think you know I as you know I've been I'm increasingly interested and fascinated in the world of technology and and and what what's going on and and what's the theology that by which we can approach the dramatic changes that are happening in our world in terms of the very human questions what does it mean to be human in a world that I would argue essentially has already been the word I'm looking for not replaced by technology but certainly are the notion of a relationship there has been fundamentally changed how do we hold on to that innocence as humans and the capacity that comes with being a people of soul a people of compassion and caring in a world that's increasingly technocratic and technological and I think it's a fascinating experience for which we we have a lot to offer the world as as Christians and as as a theological perspective on it unfortunately we're in my view not not speaking up enough but that takes me on a different angle and we're not gonna go there today what does it mean as a this first experience of the disciples well I think it's it it's what Jesus is setting up the first disciples is this is a long journey he's telling them it's it's not this isn't just an overnight kind of thing that you're gonna do and then you're gonna go back to the to what you were that's not how you should approach your mission as Christians and if that's not enough then Jesus turns around in the end of the gospel and Matthew says okay I'm gonna take take all those things I've just told you all that is sort of spirit empowered ability and we are going to take that message that message and we're gonna send it to the ends of the earth we're gonna send it to the four corners of the earth it was the inspiration for the great Jerusalem cross so that has the oh I should have worn my stole today that has the Jerusalem cross on it because it has the four crosses right beside the one big cross that that's that that message of sending the message of Jesus into the four ends of the earth and it's a universal call it's an enduring call this isn't again something and it's a it's a it's a call and a commission that requires both obedience mission and an identity for who you are as a Christian so that's how Jesus sort of approached the issue with the first disciples how was that lived out in the first churches well we have we have witness to that in the epistles and that's where first Thessalonians kind of gives us a glimpse because it says that Paul reiterates these main points about being commissioned into ministry and says adds this notion of being chosen by God chosen by God with purpose to do this work he uses the expression Holy Spirit with full conviction again drawing on the same energies the same particularly how the gospel of John lifts up many of these elements and Paul says to this first church and the the church the thing is interesting about Thessalonica as a city community that was one of the first to be established chronologically probably should be one of the first epistles put in the Bible but it's one of the so it's one of the earliest expressions of how this was was being made manifest in the first churches be a witness for others is you know in being commissioned Paul says to to the first followers in this in this very early church that they would have had no nothing to build itself upon other than the power and conviction of first of all the power of the spirit moving through them but then also the power of the leaders of the time the word of the Lord sounded forth from you that's how Paul expresses it spreading the message so we have a pretty clear picture here of the fundamental themes we started with the prophets we looked at the disciples we're looking we now looked at how all of them are called into a mission and across the spectrum now the full breadth I would suggest there were sort of four kind of common themes that resonate through all of these and that is this idea of being called into a mission is is not one where we are called into a comfortable situation but one that requires courage and that's probably even more so today than at any time because we're we are isolated in so far as the rest of of our society we still have important work to do so we're called into a place requiring courage and need to get past the desire to be comfortable about it all we are called and commissioned to proclaim the good news even in the face of rejection so even in the face of all those who are saying to us now what we do is waste of time we still have to persevere we are called and constitutional Ben from worries on Friday or March 1st you know what the Sh рукans and history makes this något and we don't have any other questions but it's over the here in the journey I want to talk to you I'll read the moderators prior to the story of Jesus you look at the news about this van great Edmont heart and disguised of all the subjects of the Diddy to the bacc exceed the questions about Jesus I was fundamental purpose in your life and finally that I guess the fourth kind of theme I would say is that this calling isn't a one -size -fits -all it's contextual whether it's the prophets or the first disciples or the first followers in the first churches what we have to say is divinely commissioned if you like and and the world may not want to hear it but needs to hear it nonetheless no matter what the context is and every life is unique every family situation is unique every neighborhood every community of neighbors into nation -states and into the global community the context is different but that fundamental stays the same fundamental principles of having good news to share with the world in the midst of everything else going on in their lives if we can stand up and say to them yeah but there is an answer to all of those problems you're experiencing his name is Jesus Christ and in and through him in your life you will be strengthened with the capacity to live a more meaningful and authentic life so let me offer this building block of faith and as I've been doing each Sunday for us as we're constructing our our Christianity program calling and commissioning are two parts of the same movement of grace to be called is to be claimed by God no one loved and set apart for a purpose but the call is never static it leads to co -missioning where we are sent into the world as witnesses of Christ's love and truth just as the prophets were called and sent to speak hard truth just as Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and make more disciples so too are we invited to live out our faith actively our calling anchors us in identity our commissioning propels us into mission together they shape a life of faithful obedience courage and hope in a world that desperately needs to hear the message of Christ amen [00:11:30]
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