Isaiah 43:1-7 (NIV)  

¹ But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  ² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  ³ For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.  ⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.  ⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.  ⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’  Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—⁷ everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

John 17:6-19 (NIV)

⁶ “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world.  They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.  ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.  ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they have accepted them.  They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.  ⁹ I pray for them.  I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.  ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.  And glory has come to me through them.  ¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name–the name you gave me–so that they may be one as we are one.  ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name that you gave me.  None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹³ “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.  ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.  ¹⁶ They are not of the world even as I am not of it.  ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.  ¹⁹ For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

A review from last week:  A mission is generally something that we know can make life better for people; it in some way addresses the attempts to alleviate the misery, suffering and brokenness of the world.  Someone on a mission has these two things:

1)      A cause more powerful than ourselves

2)      Partnering with a force more powerful than oneself that can have a positive difference in the world.

The older we get, the more we realize that we all need to be on a mission.  That is because the older we get, we see the personal needs we have, career and family are just not fulfilling.

There is a hole in our lives, and we attempt to fill it with all sorts of stuff.

We have had successful careers, become wealthy, we accomplish our life goals.  But we remain restless and empty.

The big question is?  What are we living for?

And we are on a mission in life or are we just collecting trophies and stuff?

How will the world be different because you were in it for a short time?

“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”  Today we are looking at Jesus’ mission, and things that relate to your mission.

First off, the most obvious, that Jesus was all about glorifying the Father, and we are to be glorifying Jesus.  John 17:4 says “Father, I have glorified you through the work you give us to do.”  John 17:10 says to the Father, “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.  And joy has come to me through them.”

John 17:6  “I have revealed your name.”  What the world needs to understand is to get God’s glory.

Our world is going sideways because the world has gotten it wrong.  The world doesn’t see or know the glory of God.  It is with weight (Kavid) in the Old Testament.

So, what is weight in history?  What has staying power?  What you are doing, which is your way, not realizing, is making a decision about glory.

After a while, our decisions come home to roost.  If I decide that it is more important, that I have money in my pocket than telling the truth, what I’m really saying is that God doesn’t matter.

If God is not there, then nothing moral matters; everything will eventually burn up when the sun goes supernova, so nothing matters.  So, what has glory, what has weight if there is no God?  Nothing!

A deterioration in morality is directly related to whether or not people believe in God.  Nothing matters; there is no glory.  It is the underdog of society.

Jesus knows that unless people see the glory of God, then He alone has glory, and nothing else really matters.  If we only live for ourselves, the most weighting thing in our lives is our own personal happiness.  If hate is true, we will eventually realize we’re irrelevant and subsequently inconsequential.

What really matters, what is valuable, and what really lasts?  Glory is the thing.

If God exists, then the only thing that lasts are things done through Him, or for Him, or with Him.

If there is no God, nothing matters.  With God there is a basis for society.  Jesus is on a mission to show and reveal the name of His Father.

What is our mission?  We are sent into the world to talk about Jesus.  Jesus is the way to the Father; there is no other way.

In John 17:10 Jesus says, “I get my glory through them.”  Jesus has created us and sent us into the world to be able to show folks that He is glorious.

The Holy Spirit has the same mission.  John 16:13, 14 says, The Holy Spirit will glorify me.  He will take the things I’ve said and revealed these things to you.  He will glorify me.

What is the difference between someone fulfilling the Old Testament rules and someone who has allowed the Holy Spirit to come into their lives and begin to change them?

A morally religious person likes Jesus, enjoys Him, believes Him, and He is one of the many things in their life.

A person who has allowed the Holy Spirit into and work in their lives is going to be showing Jesus to the world.  This is because the Holy Spirit’s job is to show the glory and splendor of Jesus.

If we are using our lives to glorify Jesus, we will see Jesus more clearly, love Him deeper, this will be the solution to our human flaws (sin, selfishness, worldly desires, anxiety, guilt and relationships.) 

In every way and all aspects of our lives Jesus must become primary, that is a Christian.

Everything should revolve around Jesus because He is that wonderful.

Our mission is to tell people about the glory of Christ, and we must show His glory in our actions.  We’re the best sort of missionary when we are totally unexplainable to other people with having Jesus as they explanation.

We are a paradox to people who know us.  We need to put our beliefs into action to serve people in need.

This week think about what Jesus has done for you.  Think about bringing the glory of Christ to others in need.  If you have questions about Christ, call me, let’s talk, and let’s clarify your mission.  God bless.