What we can learn from Jesus' mission statement as we come up with our own mission statements--personally and as a congregation.
Text:Luke 4:14-21
An mp3 of the entire sermon is available for download or streaming at
http://www.mediafire.com/?ckw5znngnty
Guess whose mission statements the following are:
"To rule the world, get lots of cookies, eat the cookies, and then get more cookies."--Cookie Monster
"Our guiding mission is to deliver superior quality products and services for our customers and communities through leadership, innovation and partnerships"—WENDY’S...unh?
"To boldly go where no man has gone before."--Star Trek
JESUS' MISSION STATEMENT
Would you believe that Jesus himself had a mission statement?
"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 favour."
The word “mission” comes from the Latin “missio”, meaning to send. Therefore a mission statement is the message carried by the one being sent. If you read the passages in Luke immediately before today’s reading, you will first get to his baptism, where Jesus’ identity was confirmed by the voice from heaven: “You are my own beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.” Then comes a time of testing in the desert, where his identity is questioned. But Jesus emerges from this time of wrestling with the Tempter with a clear sense of his mission.
This morning, I am not going into a lot of detail about the content of his mission statement. I would like to point out three facts about this mission statement that I believe we too are called to incorporate into our personal and corporate mission statements.
The first fact is that he used words that were very familiar to the congregation, his hometown folks in Nazareth. They were all Jews who knew their Scriptures and had no problem recognizing the words. Chances are some of them would have recited them word for word as he spoke. He was quoting from the book of the prophet Isaiah chapter 61, words that referred to the long-awaited Messiah.
What it says to us is that our mission statements need to be phrased in words that strike a chord with those who hear them. They need to be easily understood, repeated and recited by others as well as ourselves. When we come up with a statement that has too much jargon or religious lingo that is only understood by the “in-crowd”, then we could be missing the boat!
In borrowing from the prophet Isaiah, Jesus gives us permission to “steal”, borrow, adapt the mission statements of others as well!
Secondly, I want to point out the fact that Jesus’ mission statement uses words such as “preach” and “proclaim” TO OTHERS. It shifts the focus away from ourselves and on to others within and outside our community. As you’ve heard it said before, the church is the only organization in the world that exists for the sake of its non-members. Jesus does not want his followers to be a country club where the primary purpose is to please the members and have satisfied customers…hello?
Thirdly, his statement includes the words “to release the oppressed.” All the others were about proclaiming, telling, using words. This is about adding feet to those words, about action. In other words, a mission statement should call us to concrete action. It is active, not passive. “Releasing the oppressed” means doing something that forces us to leave the “in-crowd” behind and rub elbows with those who may not be all to our liking. It pushes us outside our comfort zones, into areas where we’d rather not be.
Did Jesus live by his Mission Statement?
Matthew 4:23-24:
“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.”
Fast forward to Luke chapter 7: verses 19-22, where John the Baptist sends two disciples to ask Jesus: "Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?" Listen to Jesus’ answer: "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
See what Jesus did? He referred to his mission statement! Jesus was saying, in effect, “Am I fulfilling my mission or not, John?”
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
There is a reason why mission statements are so valuable. A few months from now, a year from now, five years from now, we can look at what we are doing and ask: “Are we fulfilling the mission we set out to do?” Because, you see that is the real question by which we need to evaluate what we are doing… That is how Jesus evaluated his ministry. Should we not also follow suit?
In John 20:21-23, Jesus says to his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” In the same way the Father has sent Me, with the same authority given me, with the same power, so I send you to proclaim and demonstrate the Kingdom of God.
But, they couldn’t do it in their own strength. So, in the next verse, Jesus turns to them and, according to John, breathes on them so they are filled with the Holy Spirit. And then, empowered by the Holy Spirit, they went out not only teaching what Jesus taught but doing what Jesus did… healing the sick, setting the captives free. If you want further proof, check out the Book of Acts!
In the passage from Luke, we read that "Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee..." to preach in his home town synagogue. Jesus rises to read scripture in the synagogue at Nazareth and he quotes the prophet Isaiah by saying, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ..."
Our Mission Statement comes out of the certainty that THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME...no mission without this! With the Holy Spirit, the impossible looks logical!
WE CANNOT DO IT ON OUR OWN...WE NEED THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT...
Receive an anointing today on your way out as we smear oil on your foreheads and ask the Holy Spirit to come upon you again and help you fulfil your mission in life and our mission together as a church.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUPS
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Nice Work!
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