Crossroads at Mission Mountain - Six Crossroads for the Journey Ahead

Did you watch TV much growing up? We're talking, you know, maybe sixties, seventies. There's a show. With uh Peter Graves was the uh star of it. Does anyone know what show I'm talking about? Mission Impossible. There we go. All right, and yes, I did see the original. That did uh show us basically three seconds of the opening and then it got really intense. But um we uh you know that has changed over the years. Uh you guys know Peter Graves, uh his character uh has become Ethan Hunt. and uh Tom Cruise, who I've been mistaken for so many times. And uh but I have to tell you that Ethan Hunt, Mission Impossible, it's all about Getting these direct orders. It's very clear every time that something is said, every time there's a mission, it is abundantly clear this is the objective, this is what you're supposed to do. And there's a choice to be made. And we have we're in a very similar position because we have direct orders. We have a very clear mission that is laid out in the Word of God for us. Let's take a look at Matthew 28, 18 and 19. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go And make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And then 2 Corinthians 5. 20, which is our podcast theme verse, 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. The crossroads we're looking at today, you see it's the crossroads at mission Mission Mountain, but the crosswords we're looking at is a simple choice of go or no. It is that straightforward. God has given us clear marching orders and he says, What what are you gonna do with this? Are you gonna go or are you not? He doesn't say hey if you feel like it, if you'd like to. He says, therefore, go. So are we willing to reprioritize the rest of our life? to make the most of every opportunity and live around Jesus' orders. His orders are different than a Mission Impossible one because it's just this one mission. It is saying, hey, we're go do this thing. Then you're done. You wrap it up. This is not a one-time deal. In fact, this is about taking action and living it. Acts 1-8 Oh my goodness, I love this. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. This says, what's the word? You will what my witnesses? Be my witnesses. You will be my witnesses. This is not just you shall do witnessing You shall go on a missions trip and do some witnessing. You will stand on a street corner and do some witnessing for a few hours. This is, you will be my witnesses. Witness is our identity. Not an activity. It is supposed to be who we are. I'm gonna I might have to go with a New York accent on this because I feel like it. It's uh what I wrote down here is You always be what you be. I mean it's just that is what we're looking at. You always be what you be. Living on mission means being intentional about about every face to face encounter. It means that every time we're talking with someone we're thinking, how could this lead to Jesus? How can I season my conversation with a little bit of Jesus and see where that leads We are supposed to be the face, voice, hands, heart of Jesus every day. It's who you be, not something you sometimes do. Lisa, please don't edit me on that. Uh she if it were in a letter, I get it. But I it's who you be, not something you sometimes do When we realize and accept our divine identity and this divine responsibility that God has put before us, we realize that what this means is we are living our lives on divine assignment. How cool is that? How overwhelming is that? It is challenging. It is meaningful. It gives our life. purpose. We are surrounded in this world with people looking for what am I supposed to be doing in this life? What is what was I made for? God tells us, once we have that relationship with Jesus You will be my witnesses. And you have this divine assignment, which means that we live each day anticipating that your situation is your assignment. Dad has used this phrase over and over again as we were growing up, and it's your situation is your assignment, and I tell you, it is a nice phrase until you're in the middle of it. And then you're like, oh man. Um I will start simple. First of all, Doug actually mentioned last night, I had written down here, Doug, when you were in the elevator with that guy who needed hope. Even though you were going through a really hard time, you saw someone else that needed hope and you said, this situation is my assignment Dad has shown this to us. I, if you ever want an amazing experience, catch an Uber with my dad. I mean, it is Uber, Taxi, whatever. We would be in a vehicle with him. And it's like a five-minute trip. And he's gotten through the gospel, the first six steps of discipleship, the book of Habakkuk. I mean, I am like, how did he do that? And dad is realizes that even in a backseat of a cab, his situation is his assignment, but it gets more real than that in our lives. It gets more real. As Doug shared last night, in the storms, when we're going through grief, you see it different. In fact, when you see your situation as your assignment, you see everything different. Because you realize that the grief that you are walking through, that God has a purpose in it, and He wants to use that in your life. The wandering child that it's just breaking your heart, that there's something He wants to do there. Even if it's not clear and even if it's been years, there's something he wants to do there. The health diagnosis you just got. And that challenge. He wants to use that in your life in some way because that new situation is your assignment. School. Did I always like my assignments? I did not. I did not, especially when it came to math. But I I did not like my assignments. We don't get to choose our assignments But we do have the choice that we're going to do our assignment. And that's what God is saying to do here. He is saying, I'm giving you this so that you can make a difference for me. The financial struggle that you may have faced or be facing. Man, think about that. How many people, how many news stories are there about people who are struggling, who are desperate for some hope? And maybe you're struggling too, but you have eternal hope you can bring them in those situations. So it changes how we see everything because we're using it for his glory. The good news is we have got different models in the Bible of how some people responded. First of all, you had Abraham who his response was basically wherever. Wherever. And uh let's take a look. Genesis 12, 1. The Lord said to Abram, Go from your land, your relatives, and your father's house to the land that I will show you. There were even give him a GPS address there. It was just go. And uh the the next verse, so Abram went as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. And then you look at Hebrews 11, 8. By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out. Even though he did not know where he was going. Where are my planners in here? Who's a planner? Come on, raise your hand. Raise your hand. Now to our OEW cooks, while it sometimes seems like we don't know where we're going. We do. Uh it is we have a plan. Uh God changes that sometimes, but we uh we we don't know where we're going. Oh my goodness, when you are a planner, when you like things orderly, can you imagine wherever you're at in life, if God just said Whatever you've got, go. Okay, well let me just I just need to pack up some stuff. I need to sell some, I need to the get the house on the market, I need to family, I need to make sure that go. Well where I just tell me where I'm willing to go Lord, but just if you could just let me know where so I pack the right outfit. I just want to know is it hot, cold, go. Abraham just went. He just said, wherever, Lord. That is a great spirit. Then you have, well, kind of the opposite of that, little guy named Jonah. You may have heard of him. He said no. I'm just gonna be honest. If you haven't picked up on this now, bad answer to God. It just doesn't usually go well. So Jonah in uh Jonah 1 1 through 3, it says, The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amitai, get up, go again, another go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their evil has come up before me. Jonah got up to go, nope, to flee to Tarshus from the Lord's presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshus. Which is hard to say over and over, just so you know you feel like you've got a lisp all of a sudden. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord's presence. Oh my goodness. So you have the complete opposite where it is. Jonah, that's the choice right there. Jonah, go, God. No, God. But Jonah, go. God, no. Then you have the third person that we'll look at here, and that is Paul, who says, I'll go. We get to see a lot in Paul's life about him going over and over again. Acts 20, 22 And now compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. That is such an obedient heart, an obedient spirit, not knowing. What will happen to me there? Paul in all situations wanted to be about God's glory. Now what in this verse here, compelled. I love this. I you know you gotta uh to sound smart sometimes when you're speaking, you have to use Greek. So I'm gonna do that. Um we uh the the word here is and I'm not gonna start even though when I was studying this I started singing the Harry Belafonte song in my head. It's Deo. Uh so you can If you're old enough, you know. But I it's Deo-D-E-O. And what it means here, it is when you read compelled by, what that really means is tied to the Spirit. When you are compelled, you are tied to the Spirit, it becomes our new normal You uh if you saw in the leadership center yesterday the verse that I got to choose that if you saw those big verses hanging up, not Hobby Lobby. Hobby Sarah. My wife uh made those and uh did the work on those and dad picked one ver Yeah you could we'll we'll take five minutes here for uh uh so We have I I chose Isaiah 3021 because over and over again it has been a verse in my life where it is you're gonna hear this voice behind you saying, This is the way, walk in it. And so Does the spirit go left? We go left. Does the spirit go right? We go right. Does he stop? We stop. We are so tied to the spirit that we are in sync with what he is doing, and that is where we want to be. It means a new boldness and no more holding back. I love here that I this model of embracing divine positioning that Paul gives us because he didn't just say it, he meant it. When unexpected tragedy hit, Paul did not change who he was. Acts 28, 7 through 10. There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island, he welcomed us to his home, showed us generous hospitality for three days. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and after prayer placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured They honored us in many ways, and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed Paul was faced with unexpected tragedy right before him. Someone that was sick, someone that was dying, and then multiple people who needed healing. What did he do? He said, I am tied to the Spirit. I am tied to the Spirit, and so the Spirit has brought me here, and so I will do what God has asked me to do I sometimes, don't you wish sometimes that you had that heart where it is where Paul is saying, people need healing? I'm stepping up because I know God's got this. How many times in our prayers are we like, well, Lord, if it's your will, heal this person? I just, I, we don't want to put ourselves out there because what if God doesn't heal that person? It's like, well, then what does that say? But Paul's not praying a timid prayer. He's like, I'm going after this because God has put me in this position. And whatever happens, whatever the outcome. God's got this. God's got this. So whether it's tragedy or an arrest, look at Ephesians 3. 1 and then 4. 1. For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for the sake of you Gentiles. As a prisoner for the Lord, then I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. We're so quick to complain, and Paul was so quick to say, I'm a prisoner for the Lord. I am so tied to the Spirit that this is where God has put me. And I am a prisoner for the Lord. And then sickness. Galatians 4, 13. As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. An illness was the cause of him. That's why he preached the gospel to him. That's the situation he found himself in. So it wasn't, I'm sick. I'm hurting. I can't do what God's asking me to do. It's I'm facing something, an illness. Who does God want me to reach? Who does God want me to reach? It is hard. This is a hard mindset. This is one that takes, it's like an athlete where it is training day after day after day. I remember the widow that came up to dad after mom had passed away and just said, this is the final exam you can't cram for. You can't all of a sudden be in a hard situation be like, oh now I'll do this. It is every day walking in the Spirit and saying, I'm so tied to the Spirit that whether it is What people might call a smooth day an easy day or the hardest of days, we are there for our assignment So here are two facts that apply to every person in this room and every follower of Christ. Number one, we are all inadequate for our divine assignments. Isn't that great to hear? We are all inadequate. So if you've ever felt that way, if you feel that way right now, we are. We are not enough, but Christ in us, he is enough. So it is not about us. The old saying that I you know, you get cliche bumper stickers. I get that, and you're driving down the road and you're like I know that person's probably a Christian, but I wish they hadn't put that on their car. Um I understand the Christians this is going to be bad because I may offend half the people in the room. I understand that Christians aren't perfect just forgiven. We need more than that. We need more than that because people don't know. Okay, so so what does that mean? Well, the reality is that the old cliche saying God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called. It's not cliche, it's true. And it's been true from the very beginning in the Word of God. Check out Amos 7, 14 and 15, one of God's prophets. Amos answered to Amaziah, I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd. Oh, and I also took care of the sycamore fig trees. What so what's your what's your resume? I I'm gonna pick on Nick here real quick just because he's there and I see him, but I Nick I if you could just yell out real quick, you're the ministry that you're part of, the way you're leading, the things you're shepherding, the people you care about, what's your degree in? Biology. So um think of Nick in this verse. It is, I am a leader for Jesus among my people. But I used to care uh biology. Uh it was I I mean his degrees hang on his wall and I think of the conversations that must come up when people see that. But it is that is what Amos is saying here is that I took care I was a shepherd, I took care of sheep. I cared for fig trees, but God called me to deliver his message. And so that's what he did. He has done the same for each and every one of us. No matter where you're at, no matter your age, no matter your profession, we are called to deliver his message. There are things we can argue with in the Word of God. There are those I don't usually agree when people say it's a gray area. Is it? I don't know. But um the reality is that The clarity is there. We are called to deliver his message, and it's there time and time again. God gives us what we need to do it, but first we have to say, I realize that is a divine assignment from him. Uh you guys probably have heard the story before. Uh dad's shared it, I've shared it places, but the uh lady who was at a church um and the uh uh she was at some Christian meeting and the uh guy who was speaking went up and said, Well, uh, what's your name and what do you do? And she said her name and she said, as far as what she did I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ, cleverly disguised as a machine operator. I love that. Uh let me ask. I'm just gonna ask for a few people to call out. It's uh you may step on each other's toes while you're calling it out, but what are you cleverly disguised as? What's your clever disguise? Teacher. Chiropractor? We love chiropractors. Alright, uh what else? Farmer? What's your clever disguise? Where has God positioned you? Grandpa. Oh, I like that. There we go. So wherever God has you, whatever He has you doing that is your is simply your clever disguise. We uh talk at the Leadership Center, one of the first things we uh teach the students is that We try to reinforce that we're training and equipping for ministry, but ministry is our lives. We're equipping you for that day in, day out ministry that you have because so many times people think, ministry, well, full-time ministry. So I will go and do that. God calls people to that. Praise God, He does. He did that for me. But the reality is that every one of us should be in full-time ministry Because wherever God has positioned you, that's where he wants you serving him and delivering his message. 1 Peter 3, 15. But in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. So always be prepared. Always be prepared. And we're going to talk some about that today and ways that we can be prepared. Uh the one thing I would say here, um I I love that You saw the uh on Friday morning we showed the video about the addition and multiplication side of Hutchcraft Ministries. That's what This verse is. It's the addition and multiplication verse. It is be prepared to give a reason for this hope because then you're adding to the kingdom. And if you keep pouring into those people, then you're multiplying. What God is doing. The one thing I would tell you and encourage you to do is be open to the Lord changing your plans. It's one of the hardest things to do, and I've been able to share this with some of you, but there's it was great. Someone asked yesterday how People like, well, I guess did Ron just say, hey, we're doing native ministry and everyone all the family just lined up and were like, yes, sir, we're doing that. That is not how that happened. Uh we are God has broken each of our hearts. That is true of Doug. It is true of Brad. It is true of Lisa. He has broken our hearts for Native America. It is true for Sarah. It is true for Rick. It is true for Anna that God has put this in our hearts and for me. I graduated high school in uh 1992. I'd prefer you don't do the math. And I was like, well, I'm going into Christian radio. Who knows where I got that from? But I it was I knew that I wanted to go into Christian radio, and then I went on a missions trip to the Navajo Nation. And there was a little town there, and I w the you'll hear chuckling from my NAVO friends in the room when I say it, but Luka Chukai, I know I don't say it exactly right, but it it was this little town in this 10-year-old girl who I was able to lead to the Lord, she simply came up and said, If I come to one of your events later this week, will you tell me more about Jesus And I went back and I wrote a letter to the Lord and I said, essentially not my will, but yours. And he forever altered the course of my life, and I am so grateful he did. I love what I get to do. But God also has style. And so Doug shared last night. about the radio station and all of a sudden how only God can put together only he could put together my love for the Hopi people which is where we were living at that time And my desire to reach people through radio. And all of a sudden he said, your plan was good. My plan is better. And I love that he did that, but be willing to lay down whatever it is, wherever it is. Be willing to lay down a location, a profession, whatever it might be. It can be scary, but I can tell you, growing up in a household, Where I saw my mom and dad over and over and over again trust Jesus and he came through. Trust Jesus, he will come through. So be willing to let him change your plans and watch what he does with that. So that's number one. We are all inadequate for our design divine assignments. Our second one there is we all have the superpower of our story. You guys probably May have picked up on the fact that our ministry really is passionate about the story. We really see the power in a story, and I will tell you who else sees the power in a story. Our enemy. Because you go to social media and I get that it is a dark place. I get that there's a lot of stuff we don't want to see there. But when you look there, a lot of times it's being spread through stories. And if the darkness is spreading through stories, man, shouldn't the light spread through those stories? Shouldn't we be able to say Like the OEW team does, I found hope in his name is Jesus. It is amazing what God does through that. So God wants to use your story in the situations you find yourself in. But we're going to look at Paul again because Paul was before King Agrippa. He was in the custody of the state and King Agrippa was coming to visit the procurator of Judea. His name is Festus. Um, and Agrippa wanted to meet Paul. Boom! Paul had a new situation, but the same assignment. Paul has a new situation, but the same assignment. So let's look at that. I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus in Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priest, I put many of the Lord's people in prison. And when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. Now verses uh twelve through twenty one is basically Paul sharing his hope story, the his encounter with Jesus and and all that. He and then he gets Down to uh towards the end of the chapter in uh verse twenty two. But God has helped me to this very day. So I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen. That the Messiah would suffer and as the first to rise from the dead would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles. was sharing his hope story. And he was sharing the gospel through it. We're gonna hand something out right now, or uh some of our OEW team is gonna hand something to you. And this is something I had made for you guys at the president's retreat. And this is so this is uh something new, but it is simply a pin. That says, ask me my story. First of all, you have to decide before you leave in the morning, do I want people asking me my story? Because if you wear it Probably someone's gonna ask it. And this goes into kind of the three-open prayer. We're helping with a three-open prayer. It is uh we talk about that a lot, but it is Lord open a door, Lord open my heart, Lord open my mouth. So maybe start that with Lord open my heart. Am I willing? Am I willing to do this? But you'll see, ask me my story And the good news is that we're going to share in our next few minutes here some tips to make that less scary. Because You're probably like, well, I can share it but only with certain people. I'll I'll wear it on the underside of the collar and I'll just here you go for the people that when I'm willing. All right, there you go. This isn't like a police badge. This is you you're wearing this And saying, I want to tell what has happened. So here's what we learn from Paul in Acts 26 about sharing our story. First of all, your story should be real and transparent. I don't know how uh my kids will feel about this, but uh I am going to put a picture on the screen, and I want to know if any of you can tell me who these guys are. Not my kids, because they know. Alright, I does anyone know who these guys are? Alright. It is a band Called 21 Pilots. I know there's only two of them. They lost the other 19. But there are two remaining. So there are 21 pilots is the name of the band. I've had the privilege of our kids sharing this music with us. Now it's not a Christian band. I I'm warning you, alright? I they are clean. I'm very grateful for that. They grew up in Christian homes. My guess would be that if you ask them, I think they would say that they're followers of Jesus. But the reality is what I want to talk about just for a moment with them is I got to go to one of their concerts. And what I can tell you is that they Have changed lives. Now I wish, sure, that do I wish that the gospel was the also included? Yes, but I want to be clear here that there are lives that have been saved. Because of their real and transparent telling of their story. They have struggled with mental health. They have struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. And they share that in their music and they share that openly. There's uh if you've ever been to a concert, sometimes you'll see people on the front row that they have written kind of a message to the band on their hands. So that you know they're just kind of handing it up and hi, I love you, whatever it is. But One young lady recently, in a video that I saw, simply at one of their concerts, it said, stayed alive. That's the impact of a real and transparent story. The On Eagles Wings team The Hope Team is all about real and transparent stories They don't sugarcoat what they have been through. You heard that yesterday. They do not sugarcoat what they've been through. They passionately declare Jesus through real and transparent stories. So here's a question for you guys. What would the people in your lives What would be their message written on their hands to you? The people you've encountered, what's that message? For some, I can tell you through on Eagle's wings, it would be stayed alive. For some, it would be found hope. For some, it would be I felt seen. There's a whole lot of answers. But what's the impact you're having through your real and transparent story? Second one here is your story should be personal, not ideological. The rest of Acts 26, Paul makes clear this is just about wanting people who don't know Jesus to choose Jesus. That's what he wanted: people to choose him. Paul's message was not about a political party. It was about the Prince of Peace. That was his message. Now, did Jesus talk about things that were going on? Do we have a model in Jesus? I want I want to be clear. I am not saying stay quiet about the things that make a difference in this world. I'm not saying that you shouldn't let your views be heard in the right setting. And in the right way, but Jesus' goal in confronting things was to use the things happening around him to change lives, not viewpoints. Our social media feed is filled with people trying to change viewpoints of people who don't know Jesus. We've got to get them to the cross first. That is what is going to change hearts and minds and views and all of that. People have got to care first, and how do they do that? Well, the world needs more Jesus kinds of Christians. That's what the world needs. People need to feel safe. They need to feel seen. They need to feel heard. They need to feel respected. They need to feel remembered. The second part of 1 Peter 3. 15 that we had up there before, it says, be ready to give your hope story with gentleness and respect. Before you send that text message, before you make that post, before you hit that Thanksgiving table with family who's voted two different ways in an election. You'll hear in our podcast, Doug says, whose bright idea was it to put Thanksgiving right after an election? Uh because All of a sudden you've got that. So, real quick, do that check. Is what I'm about to say and the way I'm about to say it filled with gentleness and respect. Because guess what? That's what Jesus says. God tells us, do it with gentleness and respect. So the next one, this is pretty straightforward. Your story should be centered around Jesus. If all we talk about is the bad and then, hey, and then I met God and he changed my life and I'll see you later. No, it needs to be about Jesus. That's why the devil tries to get us to choke on the name of Jesus. Because there's power in it. So center it around Jesus. And then your story should be brief and bold. You wear that pin to Walmart and the checkout ladies like, oh, what's your story? If you've got a twenty-three minute testimony, good luck You're gonna have a lot of angry people behind you. You have got to be able to say, I once was lost, but now I'm found. And you look at 90 seconds in the reel that we show that dad shared. He told a story and he told about Jesus. You can get there. You can get there. What's the main thing you want them to know? Man, I used to really struggle with anger and I was Really feeling lost and I found Jesus and He's changed my life. Maybe they ask more questions, but even if they don't, they know that Jesus has changed your life. So it needs to be brief and bold. Jeremiah 20, verse 9 says, But if I say, I'll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It's like a fire in my bones. I love that he went back to it. It's like a fire in my bones. I am worn out trying to hold it in. I can't do it. Is that how we feel about telling Jesus to the world around us? It's a fire in our bones and I can't help but do this. Let the fire out and see what God does with it. But do it with gentleness and respect. Do it the right way, telling your story. As we get close to wrapping up here, uh there's a uh story I heard recently that uh was about a painting called Reading Emancipation Proclamation. Now we know the Emancipation Proclamation, that's it right there, was Saying the slaves are free. This is basically a a a painting that kind of depicts the what people celebrate, what we celebrate with Juneteenth. Where it is the last of the slaves being told of their freedom. Two years later. There were people who sat in captivity two years longer than they had to. Because no one told them the news. A union soldier knew I've got a message to deliver. And they went out all over the country. This was down in Texas. Some last to know. That there is freedom to be had. You've been set free. Have we held back and someone has sat in captivity longer than they need to? Because we haven't delivered the message. We have a responsibility a weighty responsibility, and we have a mission to accomplish Isaiah 61:1 says this, and what's true for Isaiah is still true for us. The Spirit of the Lord God is on me. Because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners. Praise God for our divine assignment because we get to make a difference and an eternal impact in people's lives. No more excuses, no more postponing, no more holding back or on telling about our Jesus To make the rest of our years about making the most of every opportunity to lit to deliver the most important message, starting with our own Make a Difference story.