Sermon Central
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Is The Mission Really Complete?
Contributed by Glenn Newton on May 3, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: When Jesus ascended into heaven, what did he want his disciples to be concerned about? Do we pick up where He left off?
Is the Mission Really Complete?
Pastor Glenn Newton
April 1, 2005
Very few of us ever enjoy the luxury of coming to the end of even our most productive day & saying, "It is finished. I’m through. I’ve accomplished everything I set out to do today."
But Jesus could do that. Jesus could say, "It is finished. I have done everything that God wanted me to do."
In the wilderness He conquered sin. On the cross He conquered death. In the grave He conquered hell. And now in space, as He ascends to the Father, He has conquered Satan himself.
Behind Him is the persecution of men. Before Him is the applause of angels. Behind Him is a cross. Before Him there is a crown. Behind Him is Calvary. Before Him is all of heaven’s glory.
The question that I ask in the title of this message is this….. Is the Mission Complete?
In one sense, Yes, Jesus completed all that He came to do… He won our freedom, He defeated death and Satan and now He reigns with the Father in Heaven…. But what are we to do now as we wait for His return?
I want to share 2 things we can take from Scripture that can help us answer that question.
1st - Be Convinced of Who Jesus Is and what place He will have in your life
3 “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”
Jesus spent his earthly ministry revealing Himself, who He was, who the Father is through His life, through His actions, through His love for all men. Jesus came with a purpose and a plan, and He fulfilled that purpose, just as the Father had sent Him to do…
The truth is God has done everything He would ever need to do to try and reach you and me. God has more than paved the way for our faith, God has blazed a trail so that with simple faith and trust in Jesus Christ… We can be saved and our lives changed forever.
In verse 3 of our passage, it says that “Jesus… appeared to them (disciples) over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” It says right before that that Jesus showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive…. The truth is that God wants you to be convinced.
I want to tell you this morning that your Heavenly Father wants you to live your life in such a way that requires you to be 100% convinced about your Faith in Jesus and what He has done for you.
Because if you try to live this Christian life with doubt about who Jesus is, or what He has done for you… You will never know the Peace and Joy, and blessed Assurance that God wants all of His Children to have…. And friend without that Peace… your Christian experience will become hallow and before long… it will not be personal… it will be just hallow religion…. And empty religion will not get you to heaven.
Have you been convinced about who Jesus is and what He has done for you? What is it that you need God to do for you before you believe? How much more could God do than what He has already done? I’m going to say this plain this morning…. He has done everything that is needed…. The evidence is in… the proof is in the book….. The proof of who Christ is evident in the lives of Christians all around you… only one thing can take a life that has been broken and trapped by sin and turn it into something beautiful… only one thing… His name is Jesus… you need to be convinced… You need to Know the Truth… That Truth will set you free.
Christians, don’t live your life in a cloud of doubt and worry. Look at what Jesus spent the last few moments talking to the disciples about…. He “spoke about the Kingdom of God.” The truth is that it’s through your life that the Kingdom of God is being revealed to those that are dying…. You don’t have the luxury of not knowing what to do…. We are on a mission to lost and dying people… they need a people who are convinced, who are confident, and who come with a positive message of Hope and Salvation.
This past week, there were some things that happened that just shouldn’t happen…. Have you had those kind of experiences? I mean it was an injustice, it wasn’t fair…. I could go on and on… but as I was going over all these wrongs and as I began to share these things with someone else… the Holy Spirit checked me and said….. That’s not the right message….. That’s not what people need to hear….. That’s not sharing hope…. It’s just negative and in the end destructive…. So I stopped.
