“On mission with God.” The phrase is often heard among evangelical Christians! Or if it isn’t heard, it should be heard. But, what does it mean for a Christian to be on mission with God? Were I to state that every Christian is expected to be on mission with God, each listener would no doubt concur. Still, the concept of being on mission with God is confusing.
Somehow the concept of being on mission with God seems at once strangely foreign and oddly familiar to us as believers in the Risen Christ. We know intuitively that it speaks of something which ought to be a common experience for each follower of the Son of God. Immediately, we are seized with longing to see this concept fulfilled in our lives, even as we tremble at the thought that we could actually be fellow workers together with God.
And yet…, every Christian is on mission with God! However, not every Christian understands that he or she is on mission with God. Statements that incorporate this phrase serve as more than sermon fillers spoken to stimulate sleepy saints. Such a concept as being on mission with God is more than a saccharine sentiment, mere words casually uttered pedantically by pretentious preachers. The Phrase is essential doctrine that must be taught, for if neglected, the consequence must assuredly lead to spiritual ruin. If such a phrase grates on our sensibilities and seems alien to our understanding of Christianity, it may be because we are unclear concerning our mission; perhaps we are unclear about what is meant when we speak of being on mission with God.
In order to explore more fully this essential aspect of our Faith, and to ensure our congregation has a more accurate understanding of the concept of mission, I invite careful consideration of an incident which occurred during the latter stages of the Judean Kingdom. Hezekiah then occupied the throne—his reign sandwiched between the disastrous reign of the debased Ahaz and the idolatrous rule of Manasseh.
At the start of his administration Hezekiah revealed his heart for God through reinstitution of observance of the Mosaic Law, and especially through enforcing observance of the holy days mandated by that Law. It was during that Passover observance celebrated for the first time in years that the nation rediscovered what it means to be on mission with God, and through review of that exciting event we also may discover what it means to be on mission with God. Explore the incident with me, applying it to your own walk with God.
MISSION BEGINS WITH A VISION [29:1-31] — As seen in this pericope, vision finds its genius with but one individual. Take careful note of that fact, mark it well—mission begins with an individual [29:1]. It is not without significance that the chapter begins with a proper noun—Hezekiah. Attention is focused on one man from the opening word. As Mordecai suggested to Esther that she had come to her royal position at an exact time and an express purpose, so Hezekiah seems inherently to have seen that he came to his throne for a specific time.
No committee was appointed to decide that it was time to again obey God. No commission issued a statement of concern over widespread ignorance of the Law. No delegation met to determine reasons for the lack of enthusiasm to worship. One man was concerned and took determined steps to remedy the sorry state of religious fervour. Reviewing Hezekiah’s actions as outlined in chapter twenty-nine provides concrete steps for initiating change when the Faith has degenerated into mere form and formality. Though that the one man was king, it doesn’t negate the fact that one somebody—even you—can transform your church, and if not your church, then at least your home!
The first step is to remember that one determined individual is sufficient to initiate mission with God. Mission begins when one has a heart for God [29:2]. Emphasise in your heart that it is one individual who will change the course of the world; but that one individual, if he will affect the world for good, must have a heart for God. Though ascending to the throne while relatively young in years, Hezekiah was clearly imbued with a love for the things of God. Greatness, godliness, is not always measured in age. Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. His actions, rooted in his love for God and prompted by a sense of commitment to the Lord God and His righteous demands, profoundly and indelibly effected the life of the nation, delivering the people from immediate—and deserved—judgement. This was Hezekiah's greatness.
There is a truth which is easily neglected if we would be on mission with God: Mission is impelled by confession of sin and confrontation of error [29:4-11]. No individual ever entered into mission with God without confession of personal sin; and that confession arises from a sense of contrition for the individual’s sin against holy God. More than that, if our mission is to be effective, others will be gripped by that same sense of need for getting right with God. In the first month of the first year of his reign, reads the inspired text, Hezekiah opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them. Then, he confronted the appointed leaders with the sins of their forebears and the consequences of treating such sin in a cavalier manner.
He concluded this confrontation of religious leadership with a pointed challenge: “It is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not now be negligent, for the LORD has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him” [2 CHRONICLES 29:10-11]. If one individual gets serious with God, that one solitary individual will exert unimaginable influence over others whom God has prepared—and God always has some prepared. Just as a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire, so one individual with a heart for God can ignite revival among giants.
Take careful notice that that one individual with a heart for God, confessing and confronting sin, inevitably initiates a second step in mission. Note well the sequence: Mission leads to consecration of leaders [29:12-19]. Make note of that sequence and apply it in your own life if you will change things within your ken.
It is conceivable that religious leadership may be so inured to the Spirit of God that they cannot hear His pleas for submission to the will of God. It is possible for leadership to so deafen the ears of their heart that they no longer concern themselves with spiritual health. The Roman priests whom Luther encountered when he journeyed to Rome were besotted and uncaring for the souls of their charges. It was their ridicule of the longing of the populace for God which ignited Luther in his determination to reform the religious system in which he had laboured to that time.
For the most part, pastors and teachers, evangelists and missionaries, are heartbroken at the lack of consecration. If you want to excite the missionaries you support, write them, asking how you may specifically pray for them. As you write, mention that you are praying that they will enjoy the power of God on their service. Then do it! Pray for the missionaries and expect God to bless them. Don’t say prayers! Pray! If you want to give the ministers who labour before you week-by-week a fit of apoplexy, just tell them that you have prayed specifically each day of the week which just passed that God would bless their service. Then casually mention that you can hardly wait to see how He is going to answer in that particular service.
Few leaders wish to be led, and once they have seen that among their charges is one with a heart for God, or a few with the desire to see the rich blessings of heaven, they will dedicate themselves to be the minister you need and desire. Most churches need to fire their minister! The best way for them to fire those who labour among them is to pray for them, asking that God will bless them, empowering them as they serve. A surprising corollary may be anticipated for those who dare pray this way: they will find that God will likely touch their hearts, placing them in a position of service before Him.
Consecrated for service, those embarking on mission with God will discover a new sweetness: Mission leads to communion with God [29:20-36]. After Hezekiah entered into mission with God, sacrifices were again offered to God; songs of praise again rang throughout the temple courts; the people again entered into worship. Overarching all this was a pervading sense of joy. True worship always brings joy!
When did you last worship? When did you last experience joy—unbridled joy— in a service of worship? Can it be that we have little communion with God because we are not on mission with God?
I want to become quite personal as I ask each of you—Are you on mission with God? Do you know what it means to be on mission with God? When you allow yourself to examine your own desires—especially those desires which are concealed from all except yourself and God—do you find occupying a place of prominence among your desires a yearning to see God glorified and Christ exalted? If this describes you, perhaps it is that this review of one event in the life of an ancient king is designed to stimulate your pure mind to seek revival. Perhaps you are God's chosen catalyst to challenge a church and touch a town for the glory of Christ.
If this does not describe you, can it be that God is using this message to challenge you and to call you to a new and holy emphasis upon His presence and upon His glory? Perhaps the purpose of this message is to confront you with the call of God to seek Him and His glory once more in our midst. My dear people, there is a great difference between moving through a ritual and worshipping the Lord God of Heaven and earth. How I wish His glory consumed each of us with longing!
MISSION IMPELS OUTREACH [30:1-12] — In the verses following, Hezekiah demonstrated that he had a plan. Whether he had actually formulated a plan or whether he acted instinctively, two truths stand out in the account before us. First, I would have you notice that Hezekiah issued an invitation to those most prone to respond to his outreach. Again, take note that he anticipated a positive response. Remember these two thoughts since they will prove to be vital to success in our spiritual endeavours as a congregation and as servants of the Living God.
Hezekiah did not issue an invitation to the Philistines, to Edom, to Syria, nor to any of the other nations around Judah. Why not? Isn't God concerned for those opposed to Him? Doesn't God care for the pagans? God is concerned for the pagans; His invitation ever stands to them, even as it did in the days of Hezekiah. Isaiah, court prophet in the days of Hezekiah, wrote God's words:
“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.
“Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near”
[ISAIAH 55:1-6]
Undoubtedly, Hezekiah was aware of this gracious call issued by Isaiah; Isaiah was a court prophet during Hezekiah’s reign. Likewise, the king must have known of the promise that the LORD would provide light to the Gentiles [see ISAIAH 42:6]. It seems an uncontestable fact that Hezekiah was cognisant of God's promise that all the world would be afforded knowledge of His glorious grace and that the world would be instructed in righteousness. Yet, according to the inspired text, Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah. Why not dispatch couriers to the pagan nations around Jerusalem? Why not invite the pagan world to begin to honour the LORD right now?
Hezekiah restricted his initial invitation to those most likely to accept, to those who shared a common religious heritage. Within that shared heritage are those likely to be found with similar unspoken longings for intimacy with the Living God. It is an axiom of the Faith that when the watching world witnesses believers unified in purpose and united in worship, they are attracted to that Faith. This was the unspoken truth behind Jesus' words: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” [JOHN 13:35]. God’s people must be revived first.
Hezekiah practised, if you will, an economy of purpose. He invited those most likely to respond favourably to the invitation to worship the LORD God. There would be enough pushback as it was, but some would respond positively to the invitation. Ask yourself, when you invite another to share the service of the congregation, who are you most likely to ask? In the main, we invite those with whom we identify most closely. We invite family members, because we love them and we want them to share in our joy. We invite those with whom we work, those who share our cultural heritage, those who speak our language; we are especially likely to invite those who share our religious background. We are most comfortable in this context, and we believe they will be most comfortable accepting our invitation.
Within the text is a truth which is at once a source of discouragement and a means of encouragement. “The couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them” [2 CHRONICLES 30:10]. Were we to cease reading at that point we might well be discouraged at what we read. The response of most of the people outside of Judah was scorn and ridicule. No one of us becomes enthusiastic when they are objects of derision; we can stand almost any response except open mockery.
However, God did not conclude the divine narrative with that note of discouragement, He included a note of joy. However—and that singular adverb marks a major contrast which must not be ignored. “However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD” [2 CHRONICLES 30:11-12]. The invitation had been delivered in anticipation that some would respond to the call to return to the path of righteousness.
I wonder if we can capture some of the power contained in that one word, however. When you have laboured for the Lord, when you have invited friends and family to consider the Faith and you wonder why you bothered, remember that word—however. I remember speaking of the love of God to a family and urging the husband to trust Christ only to seemingly fail in my presentation. In discouragement, I was prepared to leave that home when a young woman spoke and said, “I’d like to believe.” However!
People sometimes ask why we should bother inviting others to the Faith if we hold to a sovereign God. Why indeed, if God calls man to faith, bother to preach? Why issue an invitation when the message has gone forth if God calls us to salvation? The answer is that whenever I stand to preach I am imbued with a sense of confidence that it is God who calls and that some will have been prepared to respond to His call. When I invite people to respond to the message of grace, some will respond. Instead of enervating the message, this knowledge energises the message. Some will respond. It was in just such confidence that Hezekiah dispatched the messengers with the invitation to come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord God and to obey His commands.
MISSION FOCUSES ON A DEFINED PURPOSE [30:13-31:1] — There are these final thoughts as we hasten to a conclusion—and they are vital to successful completion of our mission with God. Our purpose is not merely to walk with God alone, but our mission is to bring as many as possible into that same closeness with the Father. Having been born into the Family of God, the Spirit Who indwells each believer is well able to bring the twice-born child into vital relationship.
Those on mission are not deterred by minor doctrinal differences [30:17-20]. Let’s establish a truth right now—we will never agree one hundred percent with anyone. We seek unity, not uniformity. In making this statement, I refer to minor matters which do not impinge on the Faith. God, through His holy apostle, instructs believers who think themselves strong to accept those with weak faith, without quarreling about opinions [ROMANS 14:1]. Not every doctrine merits a fight. Not every belief is worthy of conflict. Not every tenet demands a vigorous defence. There are truths we must hold dear and which we must not yield at any cost; and there are beliefs which should never be a source of contention among the saints. We must seek to develop spiritual common sense which permits us to overlook some things.
When Hezekiah led in celebrating the Passover, not everyone gathered had consecrated themselves according to the Law before slaughtering the Passover lamb. Those who came from the Northern Kingdom had, for the most part, failed to purify themselves as required by the Law. These people had been isolated from the Faith for generations. Though they had a casual acquaintance, they were effectively ignorant of the details of what was required. They could have been put off, embarrassed by someone pointing out their lack of preparation. For years, people insisted that those coming to the services of the church had to dress in a particular fashion, or they were not truly welcomed. People were required to learn the language, and there was no excuse for failure to look and act just as expected. Consequently, many people were run off from the churches—they were driven away from Christ!
Hezekiah, had he been so inclined, could easily have registered horror at the gaffe of the northern worshippers, excoriating them for their lack of religious perception. Instead the king prayed: “May the good LORD pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the LORD, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness” [2 CHRONICLES 30:18-19]. Apparently, God was pleased with this prayer; we read that the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people [VERSE 22].
I recall a time when some religious leaders questioned the actions of Christ’s disciples. Incensed when the disciples were picking heads of grain and eating them as they passed through a field of the standing grain on the Sabbath [MATTHEW 12:1, 2], these religious leaders demanded: “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat” [MATTHEW 15:2]. In their zeal for matters of minutiae, the religious leaders became guilty of straining gnats while swallowing camels. They knew the fine points of the Law and failed to know Him who gave the Law. Thus, though zealous, they brought condemnation on themselves for failure to discern the essentials of the Faith which excluded them from knowing the Author of the Faith. Things are not so terribly different today.
The next observation lends balance to this matter, for we must each discover that those on mission seek unity centred on doctrinal essentials [30:21-22]. When on mission with God we are to wisely arrange in hierarchical priority those truths which constitute our Faith. While it is true that truth is truth, and though it is true that all truth is God's truth, we realise that not every issue is of equal importance. Some beliefs and activities are less important, and we can be tolerant of those matters which are less important. Conversely, we must realise that certain truths are essential; without them, there is no Faith.
In the text, we read that those Israelites who were present in Jerusalem at that time celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great rejoicing, while the Levites and priests sang to the LORD every day, accompanied by the LORD's instruments of praise [VERSE 21]. Imagine! It was a week-long Festival of Praise and worship. Hezekiah then spoke to the heart [literal meaning of the Hebrew] of all the Levites, who not so incidentally were demonstrating unusual insight into what they were doing. In other words, the Levites were caught up in the observance as they began to understand the significance of what was going on. God was blessing by filling the hearts of His people with joy and with understanding. Those whom He appointed to lead were enabled to lead with spiritual skill and with unusual insight.
The spiritual leaders began to see this as more than a joyous occasion, although it was that. They realised this fête was of deeper significance than they had first thought. They began to see that eternal truths lay behind their actions. That is the way our religious symbols ought to be. Think about that. Would you like to see your church leaders lead with power? Seek revival! When God attends, things happen.
When you witness baptism, what do you think? When you yourself were baptised—and every Christian ought to have been baptised after coming to faith—what did the rite mean to you? For too many, it is an act of initiation and that is the end of the matter. Is it not rather deeply significant in that the one being baptised pictures his or her faith? They look back in identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. They speak of their present situation in which they confess that though they were dead, they are buried with Christ and are risen to walk in a new life. They finally look forward in confidence to a day which is certain to come; and though they may, as their Lord, be called to experience death in the flesh, they speak of their confidence in the resurrection. That one act of baptism is a preaching of the whole of the Christian Faith.
Think again of the continuing ordinance of the Lord's Supper. When you partake of that meal, what are your thoughts? Sharing the meal, we should see it as a commemorative meal in which we recall the love of our Saviour who gave Himself in our place. We should see it as a meal of communion in which we testify that because we are sharing the life of Christ as are sharing in the life of the Body, the Church. We should see it as a meal of anticipation in which we testify that we live in the hope of the resurrection, for the meal shall continue until that glorious day in which Christ gathers His redeemed people to Himself. That simple act of observance speaks of great truths.
When we are on mission with God, we are led into ever-greater unity with those who share our common Faith? We begin to focus on truths that matter, building up fellow believers in those truths, and thus, building ourselves in this Holy Faith. It is not that we ignore other truths, but we realise there is a maturation process which must transpire for every believer; and we are able to relax, permitting God to bring His work to completion in our fellow believers instead of thinking we are mandated to accomplish the work of God in one fell swoop.
I am convinced of the importance of pointing out one final observation from this incident: those on mission will see the power of God displayed [30:23-31:1]. The assembly of worshippers that day was united in their desire to worship. The king was thrilled at the opportunity to so honour God and demonstrated spontaneous generosity; everyone rejoiced. Thus co-operating and filled with joy, the leaders led the people in prayer and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven [VERSE 27].
When did you last experience spontaneous prayer? When did you last experience spontaneous union with believers of like mind? When did you last know that God had heard your prayers? The people were revived in that day when Hezekiah was king. The evidence that they had experienced revival is that they eschewed every evil influence and openly identified with the Living God.
Even among those tribes which had demonstrated the greatest level of reluctance at first, there were people willing to openly identify through removal of those elements which dishonoured God and those items that ensured divine condemnation. Throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh the revived people smashed the sacred stones erected for the worship of the gods of the heathen, cut down the Asherah poles, destroyed the high places and altars erected in defiance of the command of God; in short, the revived people attempted to remove from their lives anything that would offend God, anything that identified them as having tolerated evil in their midst. These revived people wanted to be pure, to be known as followers of the Living God. They would no longer tolerate a mixed message in their lives.
It is a harbinger of an event recorded in a later day of the actions of newly redeemed men and women in Ephesus. Do you recall what is written about the impact of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus? “A number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver” [ACTS 19:19]. Those who are saved, those who are revived, are quick to divest themselves of those elements which threaten the intimacy of their relationship to God. It is only those whose ardour has cooled who are prone to tolerate elements which drag them back to intolerable levels of indifference toward God. This was true when you first came to faith, and it will be true when you are revived, when your walk with the Risen Saviour is renewed. Walking with the Master, we cannot tolerate anything that would hinder intimacy with Him. We will divest ourselves of everything that contaminates that relationship.
Here's a question for you: how would you know whether you are witnessing God's power or not? We have become so accustomed to viewing events through dark goggles that we fail to realise that we no longer see clearly. We think the power of God is defined in the dramatic, in some sensational miracle, in some spectacular healing, in some striking event. Surely, we think, such acts define the power of God. Is it not rather true that the power of God is revealed through what we imagine to be the ordinary? Is it not rather that the power of God is demonstrated in unity as the people of God worship together and work together in harmony? Is it not rather that the power of God is seen in confidence as we witness and win lost souls to the Faith?
I suggest that one intense moment is worth a thousand sleepy spectacles. My prayer is that you, that I, will know the power of God as we enter into mission with God. Is there not one someone who now says in his or in her heart, “I long to know God more fully. I yearn to see Him at work in my church. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I now commit myself to turn from my own disinterest in the Faith. I now commit myself to pray for those who labour here.” If that one someone is you, may God bless you as you make that commitment to seek Him today. Amen, indeed.
[*] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
