Missions Surrender

Matt. 24:14c (Holman) And then the end will come.

Second’s theme for this year's (2015) World Missions Conference is "Surrender", from Galatians 2:20, "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me".

Missions lives by surrender. At any moment, we must surrender to what God may be leading us to do that day, even if it is something we never had any notion of doing. 

We often live the Christian life like the boy who kept shooting his arrows at a target, but missed every time. Finally, due to frustration, he shot at a blank wall and drew a target around the arrow.

The call to be on mission is a call to surrender our will to His will every day. Our duty is to be open to His possibly new, different plans for us.

Mary Magdalene illustrates what we must do. She was faithful in her salvation-transformation, in supporting Jesus financially, and at the cross.

She showed amazing surrender at these three points, and once Jesus died, could have drawn a target around her arrow, but surrendered again. On Sunday, she visited Jesus’ tomb (John 20:1). It was dark, there had been an earthquake that morning, and unfriendly Roman soldiers were guarding the tomb (MT 27:66; 28:2). Despite the danger, Mary could not be deterred. By bringing spices and tears she showed that this rejected man was still loved.

Her life had become a pure spiritual romance of devoted love to Jesus. Loving Jesus is the only thing that makes surrender to Him repeatedly occur.

 Often we measure success by what we are doing well at a given time. Deeds can become more important than love. When this happens, surrender becomes less important. If what we are doing is successful, why worry about considering doing anything else? Why give up a successful self-made target for another target? Beware letting successful deeds replace loving surrender.

A legend is told of when the favorite wife of Shah Johan died. He was devastated. Her title had been “Pride of the Palace.” To honor her he built a temple that would serve as her tomb. About 20,000 workers built it between 1632 and 1653. One day during construction, his leg bumped a wooden box. He ordered the workers to throw it out, having forgotten it was his wife’s coffin. He forgot his love for her and became obsessed with the building.

However successful we feel we are for God right now, do not draw a target around our arrow. 

Keep the door open for Him, if He wants to, to move us toward another errand where He has drawn a different target for us.

At the tomb, Mary’s mission of mercy became a nightmare of horror. The cross had been agony enough, but now she thought foul violators had stolen the most sacred thing she could conceive. Jesus’ body was gone.

This was a dangerous time for anyone connected to Jesus. Showing concern for the corpse of a crucified criminal could be punished. Had Mary chosen to, she could have turned and run back to Galilee as fast as she could.

None would have faulted her had she decided to draw a target around her arrow here. She had already done above and beyond the call of duty, but because she had a surrendered heart, rather than run away, she ran for help.

Peter and John investigated the crime scene, decided nothing more could be done at the tomb area, and left. Mary could have left with them.

She had done enough. No one would have thought less of her had she left. She could have drawn a target around her arrow, but felt another step of surrender was needed. Mary stayed there alone. Love did not let her leave.

Mary was traumatized, sobbing. Her whole world had crashed into a cold dark empty grave. She had lost not only Jesus, but also His dead body.

The corpse at least gave focus to her love. Losing the body meant losing all that was left to love. If a loved one is gone, love re-directs toward reminders of the beloved – a picture, ring, letter – anything can fast become precious to love. For Mary, this “something precious” was Jesus’ body.

Her grief forced her to do something. She never forgot that God’s will for her was a moving target. We know she had to have missed it often--no one is perfect--but she refused to stop pursuing it. Salvation wasn’t enough, supporting Jesus financially wasn’t enough, staying at His cross wasn’t enough, visiting the tomb wasn’t enough, staying there alone wasn’t enough.

I think Mary had done enough, but she felt she had to do more. She could have drawn a target around her arrow with no twinge of conscience, but surrender was in her soul. She never drew a target around her arrow.

Her eyes blurred with tears, Mary thought she saw the gardener, and offered to give Jesus’ body a decent burial. She could not do this. She was too weak to carry a body and had no place to bury it. Love sees no difficulty, deems itself omnipotent, and always thinks it can do more than it really can.

Mary persisted. Surrender refuses to sit down and wring its hands. His body had to be somewhere. She was determined to find it. Mary’s love refused to give up. At this moment, Jesus said “Mary” in a way that broke the shackle binding her heart. In one word filled with a world of love, Mary recognized the old familiar accent. It was a precious moment, the pinnacle of her life with Jesus. She could have for sure drawn an arrow and target here.

But no. One more assignment remained. Jesus gave Mary detailed instructions regarding how she was to convey the news of His Resurrection.

Mary had grabbed hold of Jesus. Determined to never let go, She was holding on to Jesus for dear life, but He told her she needed to release Him.

Someone had to go tell the good news. Jesus deserves loving worship, but is to be shared as well as adored. Let’s not clutch Jesus selfishly. Share the good news. Imitate Mary. Knowing Jesus was her Master, she obeyed totally and immediately. In other words, she surrendered to God’s target again. She left Jesus in order to go tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”

We revere Mary because she never quit surrendering. Transformation wasn’t enough, supporting Jesus financially wasn’t enough, staying at His cross wasn’t enough, visiting the tomb wasn’t enough, staying there alone wasn’t enough, nor were seeking the body, or clinging to it. Surrender! Surrender! Surrender! Surrender! Surrender! Surrender! Surrender!

Then came the reward. Appropriately, this climactic moment is the last time the Bible mentioned Mary. This was her highest glory: she was the first to see the resurrected Lord, to hear the resurrected Lord, to talk with the resurrected Lord, to hold the resurrected Lord, and to carry the news of the resurrected Lord. She was the Apostle to the Apostles, the first missionary to tell them of Jesus’ Resurrection. Nothing better was left to say about her life.

Her refusal to quit surrendering was her key to success. What about you and me? Did we draw an arrow and target somewhere along the way?

Arrows and Targets

Matt. 24:14c  (Holman) And then the end will come.

This phrase foreshadows Jerusalem’s destruction, our present day, and the end of time. Before the Old Testament ritual ended with the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., the New Testament word had been spread far enough for all to know it was well grounded and successfully on its way.

Before the Second Coming, not everywhere will receive the Gospel, but it will be offered everywhere. This is a part of the good that will grow better till the end of time itself. However, when opportunity runs its course, opportunity will end. When grace goes as far as it can, it will be near its end.

Between these two bookends of history, we find ourselves caught up in the drama and tidal flow of this missions tsunami that began after Jesus ascended. Second’s theme for this year's (2015) World Missions Conference is "Surrender", based on Galatians 2:20, "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me". I find it providential that at the time our missions conference is about to begin I am, in my regular weekly preaching, at a missions text, Matthew 24:14. Our calling is to be on mission, which requires of us a never-ending commitment to surrender, to live life as God desires rather than as we desire.

Missions lives by surrender. William Booth, Salvation Army founder, said a person’s greatness can be measured by the level of their surrender.

Let me modify this, and say a person’s missions greatness is measured by the level of their ongoing surrender to Jesus. Repeated lifelong surrender means more missions effectiveness; less often surrender means the opposite.

A time never comes when our missions responsibility is about our will and wants. It is always about God and others. This means at any given moment of our lives, however old or young we are, we must be surrendering to whatever God may be leading us to do that day, even if it is something we had no plans to do in the past, and no inclinations to ever do in the future.

We forget this to our peril. We often live the Christian life like the boy who kept shooting his arrows at a target, but missed every time. Finally, due to frustration, he shot at a blank wall and drew a target around the arrow.

This pictures many believers' lives. We find it easy to keep doing what we are currently doing, and to be satisfied with it, especially if we are good at it. But the call to serve God, particularly in being on mission, is a call to surrender our will to His will every day, to continue being open to His possibly new, different plan, even if the task is untested by us, daunting, and we feel we might miss the target frequently. It’s better to miss the right God-made target often than to always hit the wrong self-made target dead center.

The missions/surrender paradigm we need to show was well displayed in the life of Mary Magdalene. She lived a life of repeated surrender to Jesus. This led to her becoming the first missionary to carry news of Jesus’ Resurrection (John 20:17-18). Mary had plenty of opportunities in her life where she could have rested on her laurels. At several points, she could have made her own targets, and not felt any need to worry about new targets God may have had for her life. Her missions/surrender story bears repeating.

Magdala, a small town by the Sea of Galilee, was famous for fishing, boat building, wealth, and depravity. This latter trait had a devastating effect on its most famous citizen. Mary Magdalene sided with the wrong crowd, began a downward slide, and eventually became possessed by seven demons. Her life became a continuous tragedy, but one day a Man looked deep into her soul, and cast seven demons out of her (Luke 8:2).

This new freedom was a huge win. This dramatic life change by itself would have been enough of a spiritual victory to bask in for a lifetime.

Had Mary stayed at this new, respectable life, and done nothing more, none would have faulted her. She could have left her arrow and target where they were, but surrendered to find another target. She chose to follow Jesus.

She financially supported His ministry. This was another place where she could have drawn a target around her arrow. She could have stopped at supporting Jesus during His popular public ministry days, and called herself successful. But this was not enough for her. She surrendered to the point of staying with Jesus till He died. She bravely endured the agony and danger of staying close to her Friend and Healer when He was crucified as a criminal.

Mary courageously showed continual love to a crucified man. She had to be near Jesus, whatever the cost. All the disciples except John fled in terror. Mary could have run too, but stood by the cross (John 19:25), and followed Joseph and Nicodemus to see where Jesus was buried (MT 27:61).

Mary refused to quit surrendering. She successfully received a new life—she could have drawn a target around an arrow there. She supported Jesus financially—she could have been happy with this as the arrow and target of her life. She bravely stood at His cross, and could have drawn there an arrow and target, but she did not. She instead followed Jesus to His grave.

Mary did not have to do all these things, but had surrendered to Jesus to the point of being willing to continue pursuing God-made targets different from what could have been an impressive list of self-made targets. Have you and I prayed lately about whether or not God may have a new target for us?

Matthew 24:14b

Matt. 24:14b  . . . as a testimony to all nations.

The Gospel we share--the good news of redemption made possible through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus--is "a testimony", a reliable declaration of God's mind and will. The Gospel reveals what God expects us to do in response to His works among us. It tells where we came from, God created us; where we are headed for eternity; and why we are here, to know our Creator and to enter an everlasting relationship with Him.

This “testimony” will go "to all nations", but beware over-confidence. This text’s optimism did not negate the fact it would be a tough assignment.

Nations have often proven to be harsh, hostile territories to enter. Why risk it? Because Jesus died for every person in every nation on the planet.

The Holy Spirit illustrated this truth at the first of Church history.

At Pentecost (AC 2:9-11), the Gospel was clearly spoken to people in every direction from Jerusalem. Parthians, Medes, and Elamites lived far east, in modern Iran between the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf. Mesopotamians came from what is now Iraq. Judea was the province Jerusalem was in.

Cappadocia is now eastern Turkey. Pontus was north of Cappadocia, on the Black Sea. We call “Asia” Asia Minor; it covered the southwest and west part of the Turkish peninsula. Phrygia was southwest of Pontus, and east and north of Asia Minor. Pamphylia was on Asia Minor’s south coast.

Pentecost included visitors from Egypt, Libya near Cyrene (home of Simon who bore Jesus' cross), and Rome. This may explain the church at Rome’s early existence. Tacitus, Roman historian, said there were enough Christians in Rome by 64 A.D. to catch Caesar’s eye and stir his suspicion.

Crete is an island southeast of Greece. Arabs lived southeast and east of Israel in the desert (now Saudi Arabia and Syria); Petra was their capital.

Several languages being miraculously spoken at Pentecost forecast the worldwide proliferation of the Gospel. The miracle of tongues was a stark lesson; the Gospel was intended for all the people groups separated at Babel.

The Pentecost miracle said loud and clear, “No exclusiveness here!” Languages still play a huge role in the spread of the Gospel. The Bible in part or whole had seventy years ago been translated into 300 languages; that number now exceeds 2000. The resolve to reach “all nations” continues.

This was an assignment that would take at least 21 centuries to finish. After Pentecost, Philip won the Ethiopian Eunuch (AC 8), probably from what is now north Sudan. Paul added the region of Cilicia (CL 1:21), east of Pamphylia on Asia Minor’s south coast, and Galatia (GL 4:13), southwest of Pontus. Someone took the word to Bithynia (1 P 1:1), west of Pontus, and to Scythia (CL 3:11), now south Russia, between the Black and Caspian Seas.

Paul carried the word into Europe, to Greece, and on to Illyricum (RM 15:19), northwest of Greece and east of Italy. Paul intended to take the word all the way to Spain (RM 15:24-28), then known as the ends of the earth.

Paul said the faith of the church at Rome was "being reported in all the world" (Romans 1:8b). He said the Gospel was "growing all over the world", and being proclaimed "in all creation under heaven" (CL 1:6,23). These were references to the Roman Empire, the known world of his day.

Through 313 A.D. (Constantine) Christianity penetrated the Roman world despite (because of?) persecution. The catacombs of Rome bear eloquent eerily silent testimony to the suffering early believers endured.

From 313 to 800 A.D. (Constantine to Charlemagne) missionaries like Patrick, Columba, and Boniface carried the Gospel into Western Europe.

From 800 to 1492 A.D. the faith reached Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and the Eastern Slavs (Russia). The Gospel found fertile soil in the Western World. It became a springboard for the greatest mission expansion in Church history. Many think the Church will continue its westward march, increasing its influence in the East—in China, India, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia.

This fixes the focus squarely on us. The mission pendulum has swung our way. We must not be content with lackluster Kingdom expansion work.

Why should God bless mediocrity? If a worldwide vision is not in us, why claim to be serving a worldwide Savior. Jesus’ blood bought this world. Every inch of our planet must be sought for the Kingdom of God’s Son.

Obviously Jesus meant for His Gospel to always be spreading where it has never been before. The question is; who did He expect to do this? I think the answer looks suspiciously like the people assembled here in this room.

The Great Commission was not given to denominations, mission agencies, national or state conventions, local associations, or even to local churches. These all exist to be channels through which the ones called to fulfill the Great Commission can work—you, me, and every other believer.

I learned this for myself in October 1997 on a mountain in China, where God broke the heart of this preacher for the world. For years after that moment a fire burned in me for missions like a boiling cauldron. I could hardly speak of our unreached people group without my voice trembling.

God, in His infinite grace and for His own Sovereign purposes, spread this revival to our whole church. The Glory blazed among us for several years, but as students of revival tell us, no revival lasts forever. It is not possible to live in the Glory for long. Like all revivals, our missions revival ultimately achieved its God-ordained purposes. Then the task of organizing and systemizing its results fell to us. This we’ve been doing for many years.

God let the blaze of our missions revival cool, but He never rescinded our obligation to be on mission. It is incumbent on all of us to pray, to give, and to go. Few are called to go fulltime, but all are to go at least part-time.

Romans 8:26b

Romans 8:26b …we do not know what to pray for as we should,…

 

         Christian living often presents us with perplexing paradoxes. We know we have the right of access to our Father because we are His children.

We can “approach the throne of grace with boldness” (Hebrews 4:16). However, once we arrive there, we often do not know what to say.

         In the everyday problems of life, we often find ourselves trapped in the dilemma of not knowing what to pray for in a given situation. There are many times when we do not know what our specific request should be.

         Always be extremely cautious when you have a purely personal request, especially when it comes to minute details. We often ask for things that would not be good for us. We cannot always discern what is best for our own selves. Hence, be careful what you ask of God.

We often ask for things that would become new sources of temptation to us. Some ask for healing, and then stray from God in newfound health. Others ask for money, and then love it too much to give God His ten percent.

         We are shortsighted, biased to our flesh. Our prayers are often stamped with selfishness. We sometimes are more concerned about being indulged than we are about fulfilling our duty. We are all guilty at times of letting our wish be more important than God’s will.

         The prayers of God’s people are smoke sending fragrant incenses up toward Heaven, but our prayers leave plenty of ashes behind on earth. Much of our praying is inappropriate. Even God’s best saints make mistakes when it comes to the indictment; “We do not know what to pray for as we should.”

The mighty Apostle himself had blundered in prayer. Paul had a thorn in the flesh he thrice asked God to remove. Finally, he realized he was praying contrary to the will of God (2 Cor. 12:7-10), and stopped asking.

         Even Moses missed God’s will on occasions. He pleaded for Israel and asked to be blotted out of God’s book if the people could not be spared.

YHWH said, “I will erase whoever has sinned against Me from My book” (EX 32:32-33). Moses’ sentiment was noble, but not in agreement with God’s will.  After this, Moses asked to see God (EX 33:18). The Lord refused this request because no person can see His face and live (EX 33:20).

Near death the venerable leader pleaded with God, “Please let me cross over and see the beautiful land on the other side of the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon” (Deut. 3:25). This request was against God’s will, and made the Lord angry. YHWH told Moses, “That’s enough! Do not speak to Me again about this matter” (Deut. 3:26).

Job prayed for a chance to find God and argue with Him (JB 23:3-4). Job was wrong. When God appeared, Job only said, “I am so insignificant. How can I answer You? I place my hand over my mouth” (JB 40:4).

         Elijah pouted under a Juniper tree and prayed, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life” (I Kings 19:4b). This was obviously not the will of God because Elijah became one of only two men, along with Enoch, who never died. YHWH never did grant this request of Elijah.

Jeremiah loved his nation and pleaded with God, “Why are You like a helpless man, like a warrior unable to save? Yet You are among us, Yahweh, and we are called by Your name. Don’t leave us!” (Jer. 14:9). The great prophet was wrong. His prayer was not in God’s will. The nation had sinned too grievously to be spared, and YHWH eventually told the weeping prophet, “Do not pray for the well-being of these people” (Jer. 14:11).

         The Israelites had manna, but angered God by asking for variety in their diet. They were ungrateful. God answered their prayer, but a plague broke out among them. Their prayer was not in God’s will. “He gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease among them” (PS 106:15).

         The mother of James and John asked that they be seated at the right hand and left hand of Jesus in His kingdom (Matthew 20:21). I wonder if she still felt that way when she looked at Jesus at Calvary. Do you think she wished her two sons were there instead of the two thieves?

         One of God’s best gifts to us is; He often says “No!” to our requests. May Jesus deliver us not only from our enemies, but also from our own presumptuous prayers. Praise God! Jesus helps us through His Holy Spirit.

 

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Matthew 24:13

 

"The one who endures to the end will be delivered."

 

Endurance does not produce salvation. The overwhelming verdict of Scripture is; we are saved by grace, not works. Endurance does not produce salvation, but does prove it. All who make it through trials give evidence they are God's children. A faith that drowns in a sea of adversity is not valid.

Enduring to the end is tough. One skeptical sneer, a mocking friend, or a laughing co-worker can devastate us. A cynical fellow student can take a terrible toll with a simple, "You believe that?" accompanied with a smirk.

Stand firm. Christianity is the real deal, and will be going strong long after her angriest critics lay a-smoldering in the grave. Many of them will be buried within 100 feet of a tombstone bearing a Bible verse. Voltaire said he would see Christianity end, but his house was later used to store Bibles.

We don't have to be perfect in times of trouble to prove we are saved. The untrue are those who fall, don't care they fell, and never try to get up.

The people who falter irretrievably never were believers. Apostasy, the blatant denial of our faith by word or deed, indicates the salvation a person claimed was never theirs. Scripture is clear on this topic (1 J 2:19).

Not all who falter are apostates. Peter denied, but we know he was saved. Some prodigals fall as low as a pigpen, but finally get up and come home. Then there are others, like Judas, who went to Hell. We cannot judge any individual for sure. We have to wait and see, and show much grace.

After Naaman was healed he had to return to his pagan country. He asked for dirt to take to his home, giving evidence he believed the gods were territorial. He also asked Elisha's permission to bow down before his king's idols when the king did. Elisha did not try to stop him. He instead consented (2 K 5:19). God knows we are frail, made of dust. Only He knows the heart.

Samson failed grievously, but did not stay down. He had to grovel due to his sin, but never gave up on God's mercy. His hair began to grow again, and he came back to do the greatest work he ever did, accomplishing more in his death than he ever had in his lifetime. Many consider his name in the roll call of heroes (HB 11:32) a shocker. I think it's there because he never gave up on God's grace. Don't ever quit. Get up. Dust yourself off. Proceed.

Little grace for the fallen had serious ramifications for Christianity. In the early days of persecution, many who failed later sought forgiveness and wanted to return to the fold. Many others had loved ones who had remained faithful in persecution, even to death. Often the penitents were required to do acts of homage to the martyred. This helped lead to venerating the saints.

Don't miss the two notes of optimism in our text. One, some will for sure make it. We can do this. Endurance to the very end is possible. Jesus' Name will never be forgotten. If only two people are left, one will be a believer. If a Baptist, she will build a building and invite the other to come.

Not everyone falters. There will be always those who don't betray, who do stay true, and continue to love God and others. In the church there lives bulldog perseverance, a faith that refuses to die out completely.

Two, our suffering for Jesus is always temporary. All persecution ends—by flight, respite, or death—and all who remain faithful to the end receive a huge reward, the assurance of knowing they "shall be saved".

Perseverance brings assurance. Endurance to the end--of life, of a season of persecution, of the world--has ever been the test of genuineness.

It is never enough that we made it through yesterday. The battle is not over till it is won, and it is won only in the end. Diogenes lived a life of austerity. At age 90, a friend recommended he should indulge himself a little. He said, "What! Would you have me quit the race close to the goal?"

We admire the beauty of a new ship, and celebrate its launch, but we reverence the battle scars, thunder-blows, and shattered rigging of a beaten man-of-war. We in the USA love the USS Constitution. We visit and tour it, speaking in hushed tones. We venerate longterm tenacity.

Martyrdom is required of few. For most, the long tedious test of years is our lot. Don't falter in old age. "There should be fire within the mountain, though there may be snow on its crest" (Maclaren). When a ship comes into harbor, the captain stays at the bridge, and the engineer in the engine-room, till the anchor is safely down. They stay focused till the very end.

To the end!! Fellow grey heads, making it a long time isn't enough. What matters is enduring to the end; no hypocrite like an old hypocrite.

Consider some of the Bible's most infamous sins: Noah's drunkenness, Lot's incest, Moses' striking the rock twice, David's adultery, and Peter's denial. What do they all share in common? The sinners were not spring chickens, but people of age who knew better.

Old age makes sin worse. At least youth can claim inexperience. Time enlarges one's circle of influence, making a fall much more devastating.

After 48 years of ministry, what if I fumbled now? How would I face my wife? What would I say to my children? What would be told my grandchildren? All their lives, they would meet people who knew me, and hear them say, "I knew your grandpa when. . ." and then there would be an uncomfortable pause. How would people finish the sentence, I knew him when he was true, a preacher, before he fell and became a humiliation?

Brothers and sisters, let's not go there. We have locked arms with one another. Let's choose to make it faithful to the end of our shared pilgrimage.

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