Battle Drill #39:

Communicate the Mission!

Proverbs 29:18 (NAS95)

This month, I am finishing our 2022 sermon series, “Train to Live on Mission Today: The Battle Drills of a Christian Soldier.” After laying a firm foundation from 2 Timothy 2:1-4 so we can properly understand how the Bible uses the soldier imagery as a metaphor for the Christian life, we have then taken a year-long journey through the book of Proverbs.

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Communicate the Mission!” It is standard military practice to ensure that all soldiers know the mission so that even if they are the last soldier remaining, they can seek to accomplish their unit’s objectives. In fact, leaders communicate the mission of the next two levels of command so that soldiers, when necessary, can take on an even great responsibility to ensure the mission is accomplished. A common military example of this is when a higher-level commander knows that the ultimate purpose of his unit is to gain control of a specific bridge to ensure the army can successfully get across a river. He communicates this mission so that a soldier doesn’t think guarding an intersection on the way to the bridge is the only thing that needs to be done to accomplish the mission. While guarding an intersection is important, and it needs to be done without distraction, it serves the larger purpose of helping the unit seize the bridge so that the general can move his forces into position for what comes next. Every task must work toward the accomplishment of the larger mission! That same is true for the church!

For us to CM, continue the mission, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, we must train ourselves to communicate the mission so that we know how what each of us is called to do fits into the larger purposes of God. So, whether you greet people, help collect the offering, hold babies, teach children, work with youth, teach a class, prepare and deliver foods, send cards, help others with practical assistance, provide counseling, make videos, do visitations, care for the facilities, cut grass, fill potholes, keep the books, manage a webpage, send emails, or run a sound board may all that you do be to the glory of God, as Paul said in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” Let’s turn to the Field Manual and take the first step of a soldier’s training regimen.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

But isn’t that every good father’s desire – to watch their children fulfill the purpose of their lives? John said in 3 John 4, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.” My brothers and sisters, John wasn’t talking about his spiritual children – the Church, and that is the whole purpose that I as your pastor must train all of us as a congregation to keep communicating the mission to one another and to our youth and our children. Because we will have no greater joy that to hear of one another, our youth, and our children walking in the truth. Yes, that includes you as parents teaching your children in the Way of Jesus because you are the primary disciple-makers of your children. You bear the responsibility, but we, your church family, are your partners in accomplishing this mission. The mission of God that we all must know, not just missionaries and pastors, was given to us by Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This is the mission we must keep communicating! We hear Jesus proclaim His great rescue mission in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Then again in Acts 1:7-8 when Jesus spoke of the coming Pentecost:

“He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Our battle drill for today comes from Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.” Allow me to show you something that is going to bring today’s teaching together for you – the word “vision” is actually best translated, “revelation.” It is not talking about our plans, but God’s Word! Listen to this short explanation of Proverbs 29:18:

The familiar KJV “where there is no vision” is misleading. The word “vision” is the revelation (ḥāzôn) a prophet receives. Also the KJV translation “the people perish” does not refer to unsaved people dying in sin. The verb pāra‘ means to cast off restraint. So the verse is stating that without God’s Word people abandon themselves to their own sinful ways. On the other hand keeping (obeying) God’s Law (cf. 28:4, 7) brings happiness.^[1]

Or said more plainly, Tony Evans taught it this way:

Without the wisdom God’s Word gives, people are prone to throw off all restraint. This, in fact, is a description of our culture today: people are running into walls and down blind alleys for lack of truth. The remedy to the problem is found in hearing and receiving biblical instruction.^[2]

Interestingly, the Greek word for “truth” in 3 John 4 is used right before today’s proverb in Proverbs 29:14, “If a king judges the poor with truth, his throne will be established forever.” Talk about a strong position for a king to be in to win the game, better than castling to protect your King in the game of chess is for a king to judge the poor with truth, to stay on mission according to God’s Word. Why is this important? Because if the people don’t know the truth, then they will go astray, throw of restraint, live outside of God’s purposes for their lives and miss out on the many blessings of knowing His Word and living according to it!

We have a lot to learn about ministry in the church from the game of chess. If we are going to communicate the mission through our lives, then we need to know not only the ultimate goal – the King, but we also need to know what we are to do as one the unique pieces on the table, whether a pawn or bishop, a knight or rook, and how we each fit into the strategy of God’s plan. That brings us to the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

“Where there is no vision” (v. 18) refers to the absence of an open revelation of the word and will of God. It does not necessarily mean that if there are no plans being made, the people will perish. Rather, it calls for prayer, preaching, and consecration, so that God’s plan for life may be known.^[3]

This is exactly how I see my calling. I am going to share with you two Scriptures that undergird my ministry philosophy – how I answer my pastoral calling. The first is from Acts 6:4, which captures the collective voice of “the Twelve” when they were calling forth the deacons of the Church (Greek for “servants”) to do the work of ministry, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” I am convinced that I am, through the Word and prayer, and the ongoing work of the Spirit to consecrate the congregation, that I am not to lead you in trusting our plans or initiatives, but in trusting God’s Word and Spirit to lead us in the mission of God. Therefore I pray, “Lord, please don’t bless our plans, but bless us to be a part of your plans, and to know the difference.” I put no hope in the integrity of my (our) ways, but in the infallibility of God and the inerrancy of His Word – His vision for His people will never perish!

Second, Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:11-16 shape my calling as your pastor because they show me how we, each of us, fit into God’s mission purposes for sending Jesus Christ from Heaven to Earth to show us the way to salvation:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

It is a revelation (“vision”) from the Lord which keeps a person and a people in the way. Outside of the way, we perish, we fall, we stumble. What is it we are to bring to one another, to encourage one another, to lift one another up, to equip one another? Is it our own strategic plans filled with mission and vision statements, goals and ambitions, marketing schemes and church growth strategies? No, there can be no worldly or humanistic approach to doing church. Rather, our scripture lesson is clear that it is the vision of God, given to us through the revelation of God, His Son Jesus Christ, as Paul taught us in Colossians 1:13-20:

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

You were blessed to be a blessing! That is what I’m trying to communicate to you and that is what I want your life to communicate to all who know you – you are to communicate the rescue mission! This leads us to the final action step of our soldier’s training regimen.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

We communicate the mission because that is how the mission is accomplished, as revealed to us at the end of all things in Revelation 12:10-11:

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. (emphasis added)

We CM when we keep the vision of God, His Word, in our hearts and on our tongues, when we meditate day and night on His Word, when we are like trees planted by streams of water, when we are like fruit-bearing branches abiding in the Vine – the One who is the source of the vision, when we find rest for our souls in the easy yoke of Jesus, the Fulfiller of the Law. We have been blessed to a blessing! We have been enlisted to communicate the mission of God!

You can listen to the message by clicking below:

You can watch this week’s message by clicking HERE.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 968.

[2] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible, 2019), 743.

Pursue Godliness in your Finances!

Proverbs 28:6-8 (NAS95)

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Pursue Godliness in your Finances!” We are going to learn the importance of putting God first in all that we do. Ultimately, godliness is the inside-out obedience to the Greatest Commandments, given to us by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40:

And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

I say “inside-out” because we serve that which we love! Then, ultimately, we love that which we serve. Personally, it always starts with what we love in our secret places, whether that is what we say we love or not in our public declarations. The evidence of what we love is in that which we serve, that which we give our most precious commodities. Which is why Paul warned his protégé in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Christian soldiers must not allow anything to distract them from the mission, for which we have been saved (2 Timothy 2:4). Can we all agree that financial issues can be quite distracting, and at times pierce us with grief? Whether it’s a repossessed car, growing medical bills, the monthly pressures of household costs, or the desire to save for education, housing, a vacation or your retirement, the realities of financial pressure can be daunting. It is not uncommon to find ourselves more than distracted by money issues, but dominated by the worries of tomorrow as our minds and hearts are hijacked by insecurity and fear. For us to CM, continue the mission, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ we must train ourselves to pursue godliness in our finances. Let’s turn to the Field Manual and take the first step of a soldier’s training regimen.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked though he be rich. He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates his father. He who increases his wealth by interest and usury gathers it for him who is gracious to the poor.

This is what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply it to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

The answer to this question is where the rubber meets the road in the importance of this battle drill in your daily life. As we learn from the book of Proverbs, pursuing godliness in your finances is all about living a life of integrity! Proverbs 28:6 teaches us that our integrity is more valuable than wealth – “Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked though he be rich.” Solomon continues in verse 8 to rebuke the ungodly gain of wealth, especially when taking advantage of the poor through “interest and usury” (Proverbs 14:31; Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36-37). Truly, we are to love our neighbor, not use them for financial prosperity. That will only diminish your soul! Quite the opposite as Proverbs 11:24-25 explains, “There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.”

There is a greater purpose of wealth management that I will highlight at the end of today’s sermon. But, before we get there, let’s look at the larger scope of the “love of money” passage that I referenced in the introduction so that we can see how pursuing godliness in your finances is an essential battle drill to the Christian life, as Paul taught his protégé in 1 Timothy 6:6-12:

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

The larger context of pursuing godliness in your finances is only 18” away – the distance between your head and your heart! You can’t take money with you, nor can it fulfill you in this life or in the life to come, so I exhort you to get your appetites under control and in submission to Christ – Learn contentment! Paul testified to this in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Here’s the bottom line, if you are not content with God, then you will never manage your finances well. Your passions are in control if God isn’t the one shepherding your heart. By the way, contentment is a promise of the Good Shepherd – “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). Because Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd of your soul (John 10:11-18), you are invited to practice this battle drill every day by bringing to Him your discontentment, caused by the lusts of the world and passions of the heart.

The beginning of your pursuit of godliness in your finances is learning to pursue God above all other needs or desires, to seek Him first! Until Christ is enough, nothing will satisfy! Let me teach you a simple equation for contentment: CHRIST + nothing = EVERYTHING you will ever need! That brings us to the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

This is a human problem, as described in Proverbs 27:20, “Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.” This is not a new phenomenon. For example, when asked how much money is enough, John D. Rockefeller summarized the answer for most of us, “just a little bit more.” An ancient Chinese proverb states, “As gold is tested by fire, so man is tested by gold.” We all struggle with this – contentment is not easy because of this!

Pursuing godliness in your finances is all about your daily participation in the healing of your sucking chest wound! Jesus gave us the answer in Matthew 6:31-34:

Do not worry then, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear for clothing?” For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Do you trust what Jesus said and prescribed to you is true and effective for you? You see, every person is born with a God-sized hole in his or her heart! Once again, I’m not talking about a physical wound, but a spiritual one, but one that affects every area of your life. The Bible is very clear that we have no life apart from God – in fact, it says we are “by nature children of wrath … dead in our transgressions” (Ephesians 2:3, 5). Jesus Christ came to fill that God-sized hole – to “[make] us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5). The question is are you going to invite Jesus Christ to fill the hole and seal the sucking chest wound [the vacuum] of your soul or are you going to continue to treat it with band-aides. Nothing else will satisfy, at least not for long, and definitely not for an eternity, until you put Christ first and trust Him for everything.

So often, we try to fill the God-sized hole with things other than God. We try to find security in money; meaning in jobs; status in people, but only God will satisfy. Only God, the Mighty Physician, can heal your sucking chest wound. Apart from Him, the best you can do is the temporary fixes we infantrymen learned, slap something on the surface of the real issue to temporarily seal the vacuum so you can breathe for a while, but that is only a temporary fix. Both the answer and the call to mission is found in Paul’s words in Acts 20:33-35:

I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

This leads us to the final action step of our soldier’s training regimen.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

Did you hear the motive clause of why a Christian work ethic? Not to do a temporary fix on providing for yourself; rather, it’s the motivation of Jesus Christ, as Paul taught us in 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” Again, in Philippians 2:6-7, Paul defined this as the way of Jesus, “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” This refers to Jesus’ generosity given to us freely through His incarnation and death. Jesus offered Himself willingly and sacrificially as an example for all believers to follow. John put it this way in 1 John 3:16-18:

We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

This is the higher purpose of wealth management for Christian soldiers – we work hard not to increase our portfolios, but to increase our capacities for even greater generosity than before! Pursuing godliness in your finances is an inside-out process of bringing all things into submission to Christ so that all that you think, say, and do points to Him, including how you utilize the resources God has provided for you. May we all see it as the highest lifestyle choice to give more as we make more, to increase our giving as our earning power increases. Here is the easy win, which happens automatically when you make the decision ahead of time to set apart the first fruits for the Lord – as the Lord brings increase you’ve already purposed in your heart to give more of it; that is the beauty of tithing, not as a legalistic approach to giving, but as a fulfillment of 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” When you do so, you are living on mission as a good soldier of Jesus Christ because you are no longer distracted by the tools of the trade, you are focused on continuing the mission – CM and live a generous lifestyle!

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You can watch this week’s message by clicking HERE.