I would walk 500 miles (with audio)
Only if we have tasted despair, only if we have known the deep sadness of unfulfilled dreams and promises, only if we can dare to look reality in the face and name it for what it is,
can we dare to begin to imagine a better way.
Hope is subversive precisely because it dares to admit that all is not as it should be.
– Sarah Bessey
There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.
Colossians 2:6-7
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
In the early days of our relationship, I did what many couples do, I made Paul a musical mix of love songs. We weren’t married yet, but I remember clearly writing on the CD that I had made “To the first of a life time.” Being that Paul is a pastor’s kid, I included, Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield. The movie The Wedding Singer was fairly recent and I included Adam Sandler’s I want to grow old with you. There many other sweet and funny songs that still bring a smile to my face this day.
I really wanted to include the song from The Proclaimers. I would walk 500 miles. They lyrics, I would walk 500 miles just to be the one to lie down at your door was a tribute to the beginning of what I hoped would be a long and wonderful relationship. I went online to a free download site and downloaded the song.
I lovingly presented the mix CD to Paul and he put it in the car CD player to listen. I would walk 500 miles was the second song on the mix and as the song began to play, we both quickly realized that this was NOT the version we knew. The free download version had been edited and was full of loud yelling, head banging rhythms, it was full of inappropriate expletives and a it was a somewhat offensive and aggressive remake.
My eyes grew wide and I was completely mortified that what I thought was a sweet and loving offering had gone so far astray.
Let us pray.
Our summer sermon series, On a Mission, is an opportunity to walk with the apostle Paul as he sets out to tell the good news of the gospel. This story is told in the book of Acts, which also has a longer name: The Acts of the Apostles. It is, in fact, the very first Christian missionary journey. The first time that someone goes out, away from home, in order to tell other people about Jesus.
Paul serves as a key link for us. He actually saw Jesus face to face, his life was transformed by his encounter as a sinner, and he then became so motivated because of his new life, the new chance that he received, that he wanted this message of love and hope to be available to every single person in the world. He believed with all of his soul and all of his being that living the way of Jesus would change the lives of everyone.
Paul was on a mission.
With that intimate personal knowledge of Jesus calling him by name, he had a new purpose; he had hope for the world.
With laser focus and determination, Paul went town to town, city to city, village to village telling everyone he saw, every Jew, every Gentile, every Greek about who Jesus was.
It seems understandable to me that becoming a missionary isn’t a common career choice. After all, we don’t interact with missionaries, we don’t regularly talk to missionaries. When I think of missionaries I think of people living in remote areas of Africa in substandard conditions.
And beyond our limited first hand access to missionaries, I think, rightly so, our understanding of what missionaries do and the harm that many missionary journeys have caused over the years give us a hesitancy to impose what we believe on other cultures, faiths and ways of life.
But way back in Matthew 28, Jesus shared with the believers to go and make disciples of all nations and even here at Grace, our mission statement is to Know Christ and Make Christ known.
So how do we reconcile our great breath holding hesitancy to share the good news of the gospel with Jesus’ instruction and Paul’s model?
Are we actually on a mission?
Or are we just making it the through the day?
Though he lived thousands of years ago, Paul’s journeys have practical and tangible insight for our modern day lives.
First, Paul lived with purpose.
He woke up in the morning with a great desire to spread the good news. He knew what he wanted to do and he believed that it mattered. He was willing to give 100% to furthering the kingdom of Jesus.
We too can wake each morning with purpose. At the beginning of each day, claim what direction you are headed. Don’t let the world decide, don’t let distractions, social media, or idleness derail you.
Decide first in thing in the morning or at the beginning of the week, This… This is what I am going to do today to glorify God. Otherwise, your circumstances will decide your purpose for you.
Perhaps it is to commit to opening your Bible every day this week, so that the scripture is right on the tip of your tongue, guiding you and leading you on your journey.
Perhaps it is to commit to a solid time in prayer, so that you are in tune with god’s voice in decision making.
Perhaps it is to say no to something so that you can say yes to leaving space to notice God’s presence in your life.
Perhaps, it is even in the face of difficulty or despair, to choose hope, to believe that God will make a way where it seems there is no way?
Perhaps it is to decide what your mission field is. Is it your home that is in need of the good news of Jesus? Is it your workplace? Is it your own heart that needs to be reminded that you are beloved and chosen?
Second, Paul was persecuted. In nearly every town he entered, he was ridiculed, beaten, bruised, rejected and reviled.
One of the greatest misconceptions of all time is that if you lead a good life, you will not have trials. Ask any Christian and they will tell you that Christians are certainly not exempt from trials. Amen?
Paul experienced such great persecution. Shortly after he was stoned, nearly to death, in Antioch, Paul woke the next day to continue on his mission. In verse 22 Paul says “it is through many persecutions that we will enter the kingdom of God. “
We will be ridiculed for choosing church over the golf course, we will be stared at for praying in restaurants, we will be questioned by our children and our neighbors and our peers for making Jesus a priority in our lives. We will feel the internal struggle of desiring the ways of the world but holding on to hope that there is a better way.
Persecution is part of this journey, because the path that Paul traveled, the long road, it is not the way of the world.
It is risky, it is scary, it is bold.
Third,
Paul persisted. Though he encountered different religions, different, lands, different languages, he had hope for the world, that they might come to know Jesus, that he just kept going. Town after town, sermon after sermon, rejection after rejection, he persisted.
Paul’s first missionary journey, as outlined in Acts 14 is far longer than the 500 miles I wanted to walk to be at my boyfriend’s door. Paul traveled 1,500 miles in just the first journey and over 10,000 miles on all of his journeys combined.
Because he knew that the joy and the hope and the love of Jesus could make a difference in other people’s lives. And he didn’t want to risk that they might not hear such good news.
Verse 23 tells us that he prayed. He gathered together other believers around him and he prayed and fasted.
And lastly, after so many miles, so many difficulties, he praised God.
Verse 24 says that they shared all that God had done and all of the ways God had opened doors for them.
At the end of one long leg of the journey, they sat down and remembered all the ways that God had journeyed with them, had changed lives because of them.
Paul journeyed a whole lot more than 500 miles. I’m sure there were clean versions and messy versions of the story.
But you too, my friends, are on a mission. It is a mission that God has put before you.
It might feel too ordinary, like just trying to get up in the morning.
It might feel too big, like you just don’t know how you are going to make it though.
It might feel confusing, like you don’t even know what the next step is.
But whether the journey you are on is one step, five hundred miles or is at a place where there is no foreseeable end…… Whether it is getting through this day, transforming your entire community, or learning how to communicate without criticism, you are a missionary.
You are a light bearer to a world that is dimly lit.
You are are messenger of hope and peace that dwell deeply in your soul because Jesus has called you his own.
You are a postage paid greeting card full of Good news to those who have been rejected, outcast, labeled, detained, discriminated against, knocked down, left out, and left behind.
You are on a mission.
For only if we have tasted despair, only if we have known the deep sadness of unfulfilled dreams and promises, only if we can dare to look reality in the face and name it for what it is,
can we dare to begin to imagine a better way.
Hope is subversive precisely because it dares to admit that all is not as it should be.
Paul teaches us that with purpose, through persecution, with persistence, prayer and praise, the message of the gospel, the message of hope can reach all people.
The love of Jesus, the saving news of his life, death and resurrection are life changing for you and for me and for every single person we meet.
Your mission to speak boldly for the Lord to all who are traveling long hard journeys so that the message of the gospel might change lives, even yours.
Only if we have tasted despair, only if we have known the deep sadness of unfulfilled dreams and promises, only if we can dare to look reality in the face and name it for what it is,
can we dare to begin to imagine a better way.
Hope is subversive precisely because it dares to admit that all is not as it should be.
– Sarah Bessey
Offered in worship on July 28th, 2019
Grace Presbyterian Church
Part of a sermon series, On a Mission, Paul's Missionary Journeys
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