UNDERSTANDING YOUR MISSION BY PR. DENIS KALUNGI

KIREKA CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

What is a Christian mission, Christian mission is an organized effort to spread Christianity to new converts it involves individuals, groups organized groups to carry on evangelism across boundaries, at workplaces, in hospitals door to door street Mathew 28:18-19, etc.

What do you want to be in the journey of salvation? Remember the great mission is your commission, you have a choice to make. You can be either a world-class Christian or a worldly Christian. I have become his servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness Colossian’s 1:25 Worldly Christians look to God primarily for personal gain or fulfillment, they are saved but self-centered. They love to attend:

1 .Concerts

2. Enrichment seminars

3. Orgies- there are for the part after part

4. Weddings

Philippians 3:19, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things? And it’s rare to find them contributing towards missions or finding them at a mission conference because there are not interested. Their prayers only focus on their own needs:

1, God is only a source to escape from the penalty of sin, but they still love living in their sin

2, There are after Blessings, Happiness, Children

3, Comfortable churches where they can be recognized

4, They attend church and worship God as a religious activity, but their actions do not show the fruits of a transformed life

5, They don’t enjoy praying or spending time in the presence of God and glorifying Him in everything they do

6, They don’t share their faith, their eyes are set on the things of this world

7, They don’t have much time for God, no one knows that they are Christ-followers

It’s a “me first faith, how can God make my life more comfortable? They want to use God for their purposes instead of being used for his purposes. “Let this stick in your hears, it was not until Jesus said father let your will be done that he got the energy or become fit for the cross Matthew 26:42

But in contrast, world-class Christians know they were saved to serve and made for a mission, they are eager to receive a personal assignment and excited about the privilege of being used by God.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.1 Peter 4:10

Our ability to organize and to accomplish more together than we can alone is one of the crowning achievements of humanity, and our ability to work together makes the Christian effort far more effective.  It’s also part of God’s design for how we should interact while we’re on this planet. Come to think of it, heaven is a community too.

The only one who wants us to believe that we are better off alone is our enemy. If you really think about it, it’s actually a very clever tactic. And it’s the reason why you find ministers fighting each other. But whenever battling has this in mind:

1, A pastor cannot be a prophet although God’s ways are not our ways

2. A prophet cannot be a pastor although God’s ways are not our ways

3. A teacher cannot be a prophet and so on but we all form a body of Christ. Ephesians 4:11 can guide us to stop looking for our pleasure but to serve God.

World-class Christians are the only fully alive people on the planet. Their joy, confidence is to serve others. Because they know there are called to make a difference, they wake up each morning expecting God to use them in another dimension or fresh ways. 

World-class Christians, count their greatness in terms of serving others like our lord Jesus stated, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant Mathew 20:26,

World-class Christians are characterized by serving first since they were given freely as stated read Mathew 10:8:

1, Heal the sick

2. Raise the dead

3. Cleanse those who have leprosy

4. Drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Furthermore,” Jesus, stated the greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt they will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted 1 peter 5:5-6. 

“Which kind of a Christian would want to be? World-class Christian of course!

To be a world-class Christian involves knowing your mission and also representing your boss the same way he represented himself read 2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. I have never seen an American ambassador eating sugar cane while walking neither do we expect you in your mission to behave like this world.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed Isaiah 53:3-5.

We are already commissioned for our services by our Lord Jesus Christ, Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you to read John 20:21, Yes being a Christian means being sent into the world as representative of Jesus Christ that is why in the above statement. “Jesus, said as the father has sent me, I am sending you. 

Jesus clearly understood his life mission, on the earth at the age of twelve what is about 21 yrs. before his death? And that is why he said to them, “Why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business? Luke 2:49 and twenty-one years later, dying on the cross, when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. “John 19:30 the statement frames a well-lived purpose-driven life.

Jesus completed the mission the Father gave him, the mission Jesus Christ had while on earth is now our mission because we are the body of Christ. What he did in his physical body we are to continue as his spiritual body, the church, what is the mission of the church you go to? Is your church introducing more people to Christ?

Very few people come to know Jesus because he appears to them supernaturally when they are alone and calls them by name. Does that ever happen? Sure. But not to 99.9% of us. Almost all of us who follow Jesus have had our lives changed by a flawed/impacted body called the church that Jesus so passionately loves and calls his own. Do we need more churches?

1.Do we need more churches? Yes.

2. Do we need more humble churches? We do.

3. Do we need authentic, transparent leadership? Absolutely.

4. Does the church need to change? Without a doubt

God invites us to participate in the greatest, largest, most diverse, and most significant cause in history, his kingdom history is his story. He is building his family for eternity. Nothing matters more.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19, all this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also. Our message is that God was making the whole human race his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends. So God wants to redeem human beings from Satan and reconcile them to himself such that we can fulfill the five purposes he created us to:

1, To love him

2. To be part of his family

3. To become like him

4. To serve him

5. To tell others about him

Ounce we are his God uses us to reach others but you must avail yourself for God’s work, he saves us and then sends us out. The bible says so we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God 2 Corinthians 5:20 we are God’s messengers for his love and purposes to the world.

Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:13, NIV we have to carry on our commission/assignment, our Lord Jesus Christ carried his mission up to the cross.

What is the importance of your mission?

Fulfilling your life mission on earth is an essential part of living for God’s glory. And the bible gives several reasons why the mission is important.

Our mission is a continuation of Jesus’s mission on earth as his followers, we are to continue what Jesus started. Jesus calls us not only to come to him but also to go for him. Our mission is so significant that Jesus repeated it five times, in five different ways, in five different books of the bible. “It is as if he was saying I really want you to get this.” Study the five commissions of Jesus and you will learn the details of your mission on earth:

1, The when?

2. The where?

3. The how?

In the great commission, Jesus said,” go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything that I have told you Mathew 28:19.

This commission or command was given to every follower of Jesus, not to pastors and missionaries alone. This is your commission from Jesus and it's not optional read Mathew 28:19 these words of Jesus are not a great suggestion. If you are a part of God's family, your mission is mandatory.

To ignore God’s commission will be disobedience, you can be aware that God holds you responsible for the unbeliever’s read Ezekiel 3:18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will count at your hand.

Ezekiel 33:11, Say to them: ‘The Lord God says: As surely as I live, I do not want any who are wicked to die. I want them to stop doing evil and live. Stop! Stop your wicked ways! You don’t want to die, do you, people of this world, but have you done your work? And funny enough those people know your mission that is why whenever anyone is sought or attacked, they call born-again to pray for them.

Your mission is a wonderful privilege. Although it’s a big responsibility, it is also an incredible honor to be used by God that’s why Paul said,” And God has given us the privilege of urging/advising everyone to come into his favor and be reconciled to him 2 Corinthians 5:18 your mission involves two great privileges:

1, Working with God

2. Representing him

We partner with God in building his kingdom Paul calls us co-laborer and says,” We are workers together with God, 2 Corinthian’s 6:1 so let us be aware of our mission.

Jesus has secured us through salvation, put us in his family, gave us his spirit, and then made us his agents in the world. What a privilege? The bible says,” we are Christ’s representatives, God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them Colossian 3:17 

Telling others how they can have eternal life, is the greatest thing you can do for them. If your neighbor had cancer or AIDS and you knew the cure, it would be criminal to withhold that lifesaving information

Christians, it’s the worst thing to keep the secret of the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. The good news of:

1, Forgiveness

2. Purpose

3. Peace

4. Eternal life, we have the greatest news, and sharing it is the greatest kindness you can ever show to anyone

The problem with long-time Christian they tend to become familiar with Christ forgetting how hopeless there without Christ. We must remember that no matter how contented or successful we appear to be, without Christ we totally lost and heading to eternal separation from God. The bible says,” Jesus is the only one who can save people Acts 4:12, everybody needs Jesus.

Your mission has eternal significant, it will impact the eternal destiny of other people, and it’s more important and more blessed than:

1, Jobs

2. Achievements

3. Any goal that you will reach during your lifetime is significant on earth. I have seen Christ branding me.

 The consequences of your mission will last forever, the consequences for your job will not last forever neither will your adulterous life on earth win you eternal life nothing else you do will ever matter as much as helping people establish an eternal relationship with God.

This is why we must be urgent about our missions, Jesus said,” all of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end read John 9:4 the clock is ticking down to your mission. Therefore you must know that life is a temporary assignment, so do not delay for another day.

Get started now on your mission, this does not mean that you quit your job for the full-time evangelist, God wants you to share the good news where you areas:

1, A student

2. A mother

3. A preschool teach

4. A salesman

5. A manager or whatever you do.

Let people know the good news through you in whatever office, you should look for people God places in your path with whom you can share the gospel 

Your mission gives your life meaning, “Pr. Denis kalungi, mentions that the best use for your life is to spend it for something that outlasts it,” and it’s only the kingdom of God that will last forever. Everything else will vanish read 1 John 2:17 and Luke 1:33 that is why we must live a life driven purpose, lives committed to:

1, Worship

2. Fellowship

3. Spiritual growth

4. Ministry and fulfill our God-given missions on earth

Unless you use your time for your mission, if you fail to fulfill your mission on earth you will have wasted the life God gave you. Paul said,” But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God read Acts 20:24 on this earth their people whom you can only be able to reach because of your workplace, where you live and what has God made you be. If just one person will be in heaven because of you, your life will have made a difference for eternity. 

I, therefore, confirm to you that God’s timetable for the conclusion of history is connected to our completion of our mission.

Today there is a growing interest in the second coming of Christ and the end of the world. When will it happen? Just before Jesus ascended to heaven the disciples asked him this same question and his response was quite revealing he said,” He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know read Acts 1:7

What are the things our churches should do to fulfill their mission?

Some people might view the church merely as a social institution—a place to hang out, meet friends or network for business. And while the church does serve as a place of community and belonging, where people can feel safe and needed, it is so much more. 

The church is the only organization Jesus ever started. He established it more than two thousand years ago—and it is still going strong. The church is not perfect, and we in the church certainly have our flaws or faults, but there is nothing like it in the world. 

Why did Jesus create the church, and what is its function? More specifically, what should your local church be doing if it is going to fulfill its purpose and mission? How can it thrive, grow, and change the world?

The answer is threefold. Your church should be glorifying God, edifying the saints, and evangelizing the world. In other words, it should focus upward, inward, and outward. 

Your Church Should Glorify God

The first purpose of the church is to exalt God. We were put on this earth to know and to glorify the Lord. According to Ephesians 1:12, we are here to praise our glorious God! This is why we worship the Lord in song. Worship through music is a foundational part of a church service. A worship team is not there to perform for you. They “perform” for an audience of one, God! And they are not warm-up actors either. They are there to lead the people in worship, in prayer set to song. That is why we should never be late to church. When we are late, we miss out on glorifying God together. He inhabits the praises of His people read Psalm 22:3.

One of the most powerful things I had ever seen when I first came to church was worship. Back in those days, the choruses and chords were very simple, but the worship was positively supernatural. Did you know that your worship is a witness? Read Acts 2:47 says that the early church was “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (NKJV). There was a direct connection between worship and witness. We are being watched, both inside and outside the walls of our church. 

Sitting next to you on any given Sunday may be a visitor or a nonbeliever. They are essentially sizing everything up by what they see. Not just what happens on the platform, but among the people around them? During times of worship, do you sing out to the Lord, or do you sit, disengaged? Worse yet, do you talk with the person next to you or spend the time texting? What message are you sending to those visitors?

When we glorify God in church with other believers, it gives us perspective. When we come to God in prayer and in worship, we see things correctly. This is why Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father who art in heaven.”  It causes us to remember, whatever we are facing, that the all-powerful, all-knowing God of the universe who loves us is listening. But when we isolate ourselves from other believers, we lose perspective. We can become fearful, confused, angry, and even bitter.

The purpose of the church is to glorify God—to reach upward. When we come to church with the intention of blessing the Lord, regardless of circumstances or emotions, we are fulfilling our purpose for existence, and we usually come away blessed as well. 

Your Church Should Edify the Saints

The apostle Paul said that his goal was to both warn believers and teach them “with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, mature in their relationship to Christ” read Colossians 1:28 NLT. This is why biblical teaching should take such a prominent place in the church.

As a pastor and teacher, I do not want to waste my congregation’s time. My opinion is not any more valuable than any other person’s. I am not there to be a cheerleader or a “life coach” or a motivational speaker. I am not there to be a psychologist or a political pundit/expert. I am there for one reason: to teach the Word of God. 

All that matters is what the Bible says. “For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are” read Hebrews 4:12 NLT. Martin Luther said, “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.” I was amazed when I first heard the Bible taught. It made sense; it applied to my life! And it’s not only strong preaching of the Word that counts but also strong listening. The early church, the church that changed the world, understood this. Read Acts 2:42 we read, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” NKJV.

To “continue steadfastly” speaks of a real passion. This was not a casual attitude, as one might have when joining a social club. There was a spiritual excitement in what they did. They applied themselves to what was being taught from the Word. I believe there is a need for anointed preaching today, but I also believe there is a need for anointed listening—having an openness to receive God’s Word. 

We are not all called to go to the same church, but we are all called to be a part of a church. Why? Because you need consistent theology. Doctrine what we believe affects everything we do.  Paul said, read 1 Timothy 4:16, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” NIV. What you believe matters. That is why I have never understood how people will rate facilities, convenience, proximity, etc. as the criteria for choosing where they go to church. The top priority in looking for a church is what God's Word is taught there.

But why should you have a home church? Because you need a place to be accountable. You need a pastor who can help and influence you. If there is something wrong, your pastor can tell you. If you are doing great, your pastor can commend and encourage you. You need a place to give faithfully and consistently of your finances. And you need a place to serve God with the gifts He has given you! Many people will treat the church like a movie theater. Getting there late, leaving while the credits are rolling, checking texts, emails and films during service, etc.—sometimes we bring that same consumer mentality to church. If we foster consumers instead of communes, we’ll end up with customers instead of disciples. It might fill up an auditorium/hall, but it will never turn the world upside down for Christ.

Your Church Should Evangelize the World

This purpose of the church is a natural outgrowth of the first two. If we are glorifying God and edifying one another, we will naturally want to share the hope of salvation with others through our loving actions and words. Healthy sheep will reproduce themselves. This was Christ’s commandment before He ascended into Heaven: “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone” Mark 16:15 NLT. The church should do just that.

We are the light to the world and salt to the culture. Read Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”. We do good works in our community: 

1, Feeding

2. Clothing

3. Helping people get off drugs.

4. We spend countless hours counseling people with marital problems

We reach out to unwed mothers, even helping them to find homes for their unwanted babies. The list goes on and on. Our purpose is to shine God’s light in this dark world. Yes, we are also salt. Jesus said, read Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot”. Salt, in biblical times, was used to preserve meat. The church is a preservative in the culture. As that preservative, we stand up for what is right and true. We oppose sin and yet we love sinners and want them to be saved.

We are here to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. The church makes a huge mistake when it tries too hard to relate and ends up compromising. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “When the church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it. It is then that the world is made to listen to her message, though it may hate it at first. “The church fulfills its calling and commission when it draws people to the Lord.”

What does it mean for a Christian to fulfill his mission?

Input: How would you answer that issue – i.e. the cost for you to fulfill the mission God gave you? There are various answers: Submission to God’s authority, to fulfill our mission we will have to abandon our agenda and accept God’s agenda for our life. That’s exactly what Jesus did – and so we should do as Jesus did! Read Luke 22:42 "Father, if Your willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." That is to say, you have to yield your:

1, Rights

2. Expectations

3. Dreams

4. Plans and ambitions to him, you stop praying selfish prayers.

Prayers like God bless what I want to do, instead, you pray, “God help me to do what you have blessed me to do,” you have to hand over a blank sheet with your name signed at the bottom and tell him to fulfill in details.

The bible says,” read Romans 6:13 - and do not go on presenting any part of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Paul says, “Read Romans 12:1-2, therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Input: What has God promised to do for those who honor Him? If you’re willing to fulfill your mission in life no matter what it costs, you will experience the blessing of God in ways that few people have ever experienced. There is almost nothing God won’t do for the man and woman who is committed to serving the kingdom of God. Jesus promised,” God, He will always give you all you need from day to day if you will make the Kingdom of God your primary concern,” So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom Luke 12:32.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

Galatians 6:7-8, do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

This is called the Law of the Harvest – and it is always at work in our lives! And it influences so much the results of your mission. The result of you fulfilling your mission shows up on a lot of different fronts:

1, God is glorified

2. You get rewarded for your faithful service

3. Lost people are saved from eternal torment in hell!

Because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free Ephesian 6:8

In conclusion, it’s easy to get distracted and sidetracked from your mission because Satan would rather have you do anything besides sharing your faith. He will let you do all kinds of good things as long as you do not take anyone to heaven with you. But the moment you become serious about your mission, expect the devil to through all kinds of diversions at you. When this happens, remember the words of Jesus,” anyone who lets himself distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the kingdom of God Luke 9:62.

Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed Jeremiah 48:10 And the servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating Luke 12:47

each one's work will  manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has 1Corinthians 3:13

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil 2 Corinthians 5:10

Prayer for God’s mission

Dear Lord, grant me, Lord God, the vision of your kingdom. Grant us forgiveness and new life. Grant us the stirring of your Spirit so that we may proclaim your love and change this world. AMEN.