Receive Your Mission

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It’s hard for me to explain to you how excited and expectant I feel about the series we’re starting today. God has given us a strong sense of unity and clarity about what we need to focus on next. So between now and Easter, we’re going to journey together through the New Testament book of Acts. Acts is the story of what God did through his church in the first century, and I believe God wants to give us a vision of how he can do similar things through our church in 2025. That’s what I’ve been dreaming about and praying about, and I hope you’ll join me in that dreaming and praying. 

Let me give you a little cultural background. Gallup recently conducted a survey of people from Generation Z (that’s people between 12 and 27 years old right now). And they found that nearly half of them don’t find their daily tasks interesting, important, or motivating. There was another survey conducted by Harvard last year, where they asked young adults: “How much meaning or purpose did you experience in your life over the past month?” More than half of them said they experienced little or no purpose or meaning, and most of them said their mental health was negatively influenced by not knowing what to do with their lives. That’s not good. 

But it’s not just Generation Z! Recently there was an article in the New York Times by Adam Grant—he’s an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School. The article starts out like this… 

At first, I didn’t recognize the symptoms that we all had in common. Friends mentioned that they were having trouble concentrating…A family member was staying up late to watch “National Treasure” again even though she knows the movie by heart. And instead of bouncing out of bed at 6 a.m., I was lying there until 7, playing Words with Friends. 

It wasn’t burnout — we still had energy. It wasn’t depression — we didn’t feel hopeless. We just felt somewhat joyless and aimless. It turns out there’s a name for that: languishing. 

Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. It feels as if you’re muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield.  

That article became one of the most read and most shared New York Times articles in in recent years. Can you relate to that? Languishing? Just sort of blah? As our culture has become more secular, more high-tech, and more self-centered, more and more people are just feeling lost.  

At the same time, God is stirring. I mentioned recently that Bible sales in our country are up 22% over this same period a year ago, driven mostly by first-time Bible-readers, because people are increasingly dissatisfied with the answers they’re finding in secular society. We’re seeing unmistakable vitality and growth in Chapel ministries, and I want to share an example of that in a few minutes. People are finding purpose. Churches are growing. The Holy Spirit is doing something, and I think he’s just getting started. 

So as a church, we want to be completely aligned with what God is doing. And that’s why we’re starting this series today. We’re going to go back to the start and see how a group of really unlikely people found a purpose that not only transformed their lives, it changed the world. I want to see what happened with them, and dream together about what could happen with us. I am very careful about using the word “revival,” because revival isn’t anything we can schedule or plan. But I do want to tell you that I’ve been praying that as we preach the Word, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and as we walk in faith and pray together, that we will see spiritual revival at The Chapel and all across North Jersey. That’s what I’m praying for, and I’d love for you to join me in that prayer. 

So here’s the offer that I want to extend to you throughout this series—you’re going to hear this every week:  

In a world that’s lost its way, find your purpose in Christ— 
COME TO HIM in faith and  
GO WITH HIM on mission. (Repeat) 

Let’s pray, and then we’ll dive in. 

PRAY 

The book of Acts was written by a man named Luke, who was a medical doctor. Luke wrote one other book of the Bible—anyone know? (This is a hard one). The Gospel of Luke! So you’re going to see, at the very beginning of Acts, he mentions his “former book,” which is referring to the Gospel of Luke. So here we go—Acts 1, verses 1 through 11. Let’s hear God’s Word together… 

1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 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.” 

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” This is the Word of the Lord. 

Luke dedicates this book to a guy named Theophilus, who was probably some kind of government official. And he says, “In my former book (which was the Gospel of Luke), I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up into heaven…” Have you ever read the Gospel of Luke? It talks about the birth of Jesus; it talks about his life and teachings; it covers his arrest and crucifixion; it talks about the resurrection. In other words, it covers his whole life. So why would Luke say, “I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach”? Well, because Luke knew that even after Jesus left this earth, he wasn’t finished. Somehow, Jesus was going to continue his work on earth without being physically present. How would he do that? Through his followers. In the New Testament, the church—the people of God—are called “the body of Christ.” So think about this: just like Jesus had a physical body when he walked this earth, he has a body now—and it’s us. Just like he began his mission back then, he’s continuing it now, through us. And that’s what the book of Acts is all about.  

So I want to make sure you hear this: our calling as individual humans, and our calling as a church, is to be the continuation of Jesus on this earth. Listen: if that becomes personal to you, you will never lack purpose in your life ever again. 

So this opening scene of Acts takes place at the end of a forty day period following Jesus’ resurrection. The disciples are standing there with the resurrected Christ, with nail holes in his hands and feet. And he tells them three things about what it means to continue what he had started. Three words—here’s the first one… 

Mission. Jesus was sending them on a mission that can be characterized in three ways: 

First, the mission is Christ-focused. I think the most important five words in this whole passage are found in verse 8. You ready? “You will be my witnesses.” The word “witness” actually appears 39 times in the book of Acts—so it must be important. In fact, I’m using those five words as the title for this whole series. You will be my witnesses. 

Okay…what does that mean?  

A few years ago, a friend of mine was involved in a court hearing, and he asked me if I would be a character witness for him. And I’ll be honest—it was a little intimidating. Because I was supposed to communicate with this judge whom I’d never met before; I had never even been on a jury before—every time I get called for jury duty, they don’t pick me. So I was really inexperienced in the whole legal world. But I realized all of that really didn’t matter. You know why? Because I knew my friend. And being a character witness simply means you tell people what you know about your friend. And I was qualified to do that. I had spent time with this friend. I had history with him. So when I spoke about him, my words carried weight.  

So Jesus tells his followers, “Since you know me personally, you get to serve as witnesses about who I am. Don’t try to sell people on how great your church is; don’t try to impress them with how great you are; just point them to me.” That’s what a witness does. It’s really simple. And when it’s done with integrity and honesty, man, those words carry weight.  

Now: can we be really honest? Despite how simple it is, for a lot of us, the idea of being a witness for Jesus is awkward. Right? Anyone? And there could be lots of reasons for that, but here’s a big one: it feels intolerant. It seems pushy. It seems like you’re trying to force your personal beliefs on someone else. And for lots of people, even though they love Jesus, that’s why they never open their mouths. 

So let me be really clear: being a witness for Christ is not intolerant—we should have tolerance and respect for people with different beliefs, just like we’d want them to respect us. And it shouldn’t be pushy or forced, because faith that’s coerced or forced isn’t real faith. So take all of those stereotypes and preconceived notions out of the way. Forget about that guy who stood outside the student center in college and screamed at people. I’m not talking about that! I’m talking about you, being yourself, having a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, and loving other people so much that you can’t help telling them about it. 

There’s a scene in Acts chapter four, where Peter and John get arrested for talking about Jesus in public. And the religious leaders say, “You have to stop doing this.” In other words, no more being witnesses. You know what Peter and John say? “We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” We can’t stop! This is just who we are. That’s what it means to be a witness.  

Secondly, our mission is Communal. One of the reasons people are struggling to find purpose is that our culture is more isolated and disconnected than we’ve ever been. And the good news is that the mission Jesus is calling you is not an individual thing. In Acts 1, Jesus does not look at an individual disciple and say, “You: go be my witness all by yourself.” He looks at this group of disciples, and he says, “Y’all will be my witnesses.” (That’s southern Jesus). It’s plural! And here’s the thing: when people who don’t know Christ are trying to figure out if they’re interested, one of the most convincing things is when they see strong friendships and community among believers.  

Here at The Chapel, one of the places we’re seeing that power of communal witness drawing people in is in our Young Adults group. These are 18-30-year olds who are fired up about their faith, and they’re inviting people and growing. This past Tuesday, a bunch of them were together at a New Year’s Eve party, and they shot a little video about what God is doing in their group. Check this out… 

YOUNG ADULTS VIDEO 

Isn’t that awesome? And honestly, we could have made similar videos of our Chapel Women, our Men’s Battleground group, and about fifty other groups. Because they are carrying out the mission of Christ together.  

So the mission is Christ-focused, it’s communal, and thirdly, it’s Uncontainable. Did you notice the scope of the mission? He says, “You’ll be my witnesses in Jerusalem…Judea and Samaria…and to the ends of the earth." Those geographical areas are concentric circles, pushing out further and further. So Jerusalem is where they were; Judea and Samaria were the regions out a little further, and then he says take it to the ends of the earth. Because the mission of Jesus, by its very nature, cannot be contained. It’s always pushing outward. 

For The Chapel, our Jerusalem is right here—Lincoln Park. This is why we throw open our doors every Sunday, and pretty much every day of the week, to invite the community in. This is why we have big events, like Christmas Eve services—where we saw about 3,100 people coming to celebrate the birth of Christ with us. I would say our “Judea and Samaria” are places like Paterson—this is why we partner with eight different Paterson ministries through 12-Mile Bridge. It’s also why we have a team doing hurricane relief in North Carolina right now. And then…to the ends of the earth. We support over 40 full-time missionaries around the world; this year we’ll be sending Chapel people on short-term mission teams to Colombia and Mexico and Kenya. And no matter where we go, it’s always the same mission: to be witnesses of Jesus Christ: “I know him, and I want to tell you about him.” 

If you are languishing or feeling directionless, the world will encourage you to look for purpose inside yourself. And I am directly challenging that mindset. I’m inviting you to find purpose outside of yourself by joining the mission of Jesus. But here’s the thing: in order to do that, you have to have this next thing.  

Let’s talk about Power. Did you notice that before Jesus commissioned them to be his witnesses, he gave them a prior command? What’s the first command he gives? Wait. Wait. Look at verses 4 and 5: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” See, over the previous three years, Jesus had promised that when he left, the Holy Spirit would come to them. For example, John 14, verses 16 and 17: 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. So now, Jesus is telling them: “It’s about to happen. The Holy Spirit is about to come, so don’t rush forward until you’ve been empowered by the Holy Spirit.” And he says the same thing to us. 

Maybe for you, the Holy Spirit is kind of a strange concept. You’ve seen churches doing weird stuff in the name of the Holy Spirit. So you’ve decided to keep your distance. But I need to challenge you with this: Your unfamiliarity with the Holy Spirit is probably the thing that’s keeping you from deeply experiencing God’s presence in your life.  

Jesus says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” Now, in next week’s message, we’re going to look at the moment when the Holy Spirit descended and filled every believer. But the Bible is really clear that ever since that day, the Holy Spirit enters the life of every believer, the moment you believe. So if you are a believer in Christ, you have the Holy Spirit. But here’s the thing: there’s a difference between having the Spirit, and being filled with the Spirit. And for a lot of us, because of our discomfort with the supernatural, the Holy Spirit lies dormant in our lives. And we miss out on the power that Jesus talks about. 

You know what I think is the number one way we demonstrate our dependence on the Holy Spirit? The way we pray. The way we pray. There’s a story in Acts chapter 12, where Peter gets arrested for talking about Jesus in public. So they put him in prison, and a bunch of his friends have a prayer meeting—crying out to God for Peter. During the prayer meeting, there’s a knock at the door. A servant girl goes and opens the door, and it’s Peter! And she’s so freaked out, she closes the door and runs back to the prayer meeting: “You guys aren’t going to believe this: Peter’s at the door!” You know what they say? “You’re insane. Everybody knows Peter’s in prison. Can’t you see we’re having a prayer meeting here?” The very thing they were praying for! But their expectations were so low. 

Can you relate? Have you lowered your expectations so much that you don’t pray much, and don’t expect God to do much? Throughout the book of Acts, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we’re going to see people who learned to pray and learned to look at life with great expectation. This week, would you ask God to fill you with his Spirit, and to give you an expectancy that he is alive and active and ready to surprise you?  

So the resurrected Jesus gives us the mission of being his witnesses, he reminds us we’re going to need his power to pull it off, and then finally, point 3, he adds a sense of… 

Urgency. Look at verse 9: 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” In other words, history as we know it will not go on forever. There was a beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth. And there will be an end, when Jesus returns and wraps this whole thing up. When you read the parables of Jesus, he emphasizes over and over again: be alert! Don’t get spiritually drowsy! Don’t put off what’s important, because at a time you least expect it, I’m going to come back, or you’re going to die; either way, the window of opportunity will be closed, and you can’t go back and get a do-over.  

Guys, this mission that Jesus gave his followers, and that’s been passed down from generation to generation to us, is an urgent mission. Later in the New Testament, Paul emphasizes the same thing—Ephesians 5:15 and 16: 15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. So as evil grows, and as the world becomes darker, and more confused and lost, this is the time to shine the light of Christ. As a church, we are re-committing ourselves to being witnesses for Christ in everything we do, and you’re going to have so many opportunities to join us. Don’t miss the opportunity. 

I love the story of Alfred Nobel. He was a Swedish chemist, and in 1867 he invented a new explosive that he called “dynamite.” He got rich off dynamite sales, but as time went by, he became horrified at how often it was used in war, and how much suffering it caused. But what could he do? He had chosen his path, and he was making a good living.  

But one day he woke up, and he was reading the obituary section of the newspaper (for younger people, that was the place you would read who died the day before). And to his shock, he saw his own obituary. It said, “Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more people to be killed in war than ever before. He died a very rich man.” Actually, it was Alfred’s brother who had died—the newspaper reporter had gotten confused. But reading that obituary had a profound effect on Alfred. He decided he wanted to be known for something other than getting rich off people’s death. So he used his influence as a scientist to develop an award for people who promote peace. It’s called the Nobel Peace Prize, and it’s one of the most respected awards in the entire world. He later said, “Everyone should have the chance to correct their obituary in midstream and write a new one.” 

Guys, it’s the first Sunday of a brand new year. And it is the perfect opportunity to step back and look at your life. Have you been giving all your energy to something you’ll regret, like Alfred Nobel? Or have you just been languishing and lost, like so many people are? Either way, Jesus is inviting you to change your story by finding your purpose in him.