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On Friday, while running our food bank, a man came up to me. He's 50 years old and in tremendous shape — not an ounce of fat on him, muscular, a big guy. Having recently been told my cholesterol is a little too high, I was looking for some help. So I asked him, "Hey mate, what is your secret?"
Suddenly the atmosphere changed. He looked around, leaned forward, and said, "Jamie, you have been good to me. So I am going to tell you my secret. In fact, I'm going to show you my secret. But I can't show you it here because they'll steal it."
That filled me with intrigue. So I suggested we go to the chapel, and he agreed. For the next five minutes he took me on a journey through different types of press-ups. After each one, he went and checked the door to make sure nobody was looking — he did not want this information leaked to the world.
Sadly, I am not going to give you that information this morning. But just as he transformed my view of press-ups, I hope this morning will help you form a bigger picture around mission and around your role in it.
Holy Spirit, we invite you. You're here already, but I pray we invite you into our hearts. As we open up your word, I pray that you speak to us, encourage us, and challenge us. Show us where you've positioned us. Show each of us our next steps. And Lord Jesus, give us courage to say yes to your call. In your name, Jesus. Amen.
Luke 4:16–21 says this of Jesus:
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
When Jesus stands up in the synagogue and reads Isaiah 61, he isn't simply telling people what he's about to do — he is revealing and declaring what the kingdom of God looks like. He's sharing his mission.
This is really important for us to know. If we are followers of Christ — and I presume most of you are, and if you aren't, I'd really encourage you to think about it today — then his mission is also our mission.
God doesn't just save people; he positions saved people to play a part in him saving people. Let me repeat that: God doesn't just save people, but he positions saved people — you — to play a part in him saving people.
So the question this morning should not be, Am I called? The question on our hearts should be, Lord, where have you positioned me?
I want to look at three things today: we are sent, we are called to remain, and we are called to return.
God calls us to come, and then God says go. When we come to Jesus, he fills our hearts with love, and before long that love always starts to move out towards others.
John 1:14 says:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
The Word — Jesus — came down from heaven to earth and dwelt with us. He became this God-man who lived among us. The Message version says he moved into the neighbourhood.
Jesus moved towards people, and each of us is called to be an imitator of Christ. Each of us has neighbourhoods, people, and places that God is calling us to. Church planting is really just following in the footsteps of Jesus in that respect.
Take a moment to turn to the person next to you and say, "You are amazing." Because you truly are. Each one of you has your own gifts, talents, skills, and networks. Just imagine the potential in this room when we say, "God, mobilise us. What do you want to do with us? Jesus, where are you sending me?"
It might be that God is sending you to your office — or across your office to share his love with someone. It might be across the classroom, across the street, across the city, maybe across the world. Mission begins when God's people start moving towards people. Mission involves movement.
Who loved the football last night? The second half was painful, but I loved it. I woke up this morning and thought, "We did it! We did it in the final, in extra time!"
And then I thought to myself, Actually, Jamie, you didn't do it. It had nothing to do with me. There were some amazing players who did it, and support staff who did it. I didn't do it. I spectated.
Spectating is great, but there's nothing like being on the pitch. Can you imagine how Bellingham must have felt? This is not a spectator sport. You can watch, and it's good — but if you pull on your boots and say, "Jesus, where are you sending me?" — if you get on the pitch — you will have the time of your life.
Jesus spent 30 years in Nazareth before he stood up and read this scripture. He was faithful in his presence; he waited for the call. But in those 30 years, he was called to remain.
Luke 4:22, the verse straight after what we just read, says:
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.
People knew Jesus. They were familiar with him. So when he spoke, they listened carefully, because they knew him. He had earned the right to be listened to in that moment. They knew where he was from, they related to him, and they could see something different at work in him.
Sometimes being called to remain can be one of the hardest callings. I'm from a town called Rugby — a lovely town, but pretty much everyone who grows up there wants to leave. At 18, my mates were going to the army, to university, to cool jobs, or to work at a holiday resort. I asked, "Lord, where are you calling me?" And I felt like God said, "Just stay. I haven't finished with you here yet."
It didn't feel very exciting. But over the next 10 years, we saw the most amazing ways in which God worked — and I got to be part of it. It was incredible.
My old boss used to say to me, "Jamie, the last orders are good orders." You might be here this morning and God gave you a heart for something a few years ago, and you're asking, "God, is there something else?" There might be — he might be sending you on to something new. But if you don't feel like he is, remember: the last orders are good orders. Chase that vision. Be encouraged. Being called to stay is still being called.
So I want to encourage you to be faithful to the last thing God called you to do.
In White City, I feel like I'm on a treasure hunt to find remainers — people who have lived in that community their whole lives, who love it and want to see God move there. For the last three years I've been spying out the community, asking: Where are my remainers? Where are the trusted people? The people others know, so that when they stand up and say, "Jesus loves you," people will listen. I've found some, and I'm really excited — we're just starting to do mission with them.
The most incredible transformation we ever get to read about is the one that happened when Jesus died on the cross. He was brutally beaten, battered, killed, and put in a tomb. Three days later, he rose again.
Scripture tells us that when he walked out of that tomb and met with people he knew well, they didn't recognise him because of the transformation. When they realised it was him, they were blown away.
My own journey isn't too dissimilar. I came to faith as an angry young man, and Jesus started a transformative work in my life. I actually had to step away from a lot of my friends at the time because it just wasn't healthy. But when I stepped back into relationship with them, they all said, "Jamie, something has changed." And that reflected Jesus Christ.
You see it all the way through scripture — Moses, the Apostle Paul. These are people who were taken out and then called back into the same situations, where their transformation changed lives.
I don't know your situations, but I believe some of you here have been called out of situations so that God can do a work in you. And I believe God is going to call some of you back into those situations — whether with family, with friends, or with a community.
A lot of my friends who came back from university had been really shy when they left. I remember seeing them in the big Tesco in Rugby — that was the place to hang out — and I'd hear them shouting my name: "Jamie, how are you?" And I'd say, "Derek, is that you?" Changed. Transformed. God does that even greater in our lives. I think he's going to call some of you back into your old places, where you can share his love.
To finish, I want to ask this question: Where has God positioned you?
You might be being sent to White City, Dalgarno Way, or St. Catherine's — and we'd gladly greet you there. You might be called to your workplace, to your family, or to a neighbourhood.
Mission doesn't begin when you change your address; it begins when you say yes to Jesus.
So with that in mind, let's pray and say yes to Jesus. If you're able to stand, please do.
Holy Spirit, we give you this moment. Lord, you're already speaking to some of our hearts.
