Obstacles to the Mission of Jesus
God is seeking worshippers (Jn 4:23) because he alone is worthy of worship and desires life for his people (1 Tim 6:19). Mission exists because worship of God doesn’t. This is why Jesus came: to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God (Lk 4:43) and call everyone to repent and believe in the gospel (Mk 1:14). Jesus’ mission now continues, through us, until every knee bows before God (Rom 14:11; Phil 2:10) whether for salvation or condemnation. This is no small mission and Jesus himself calls us to join him as his ambassadors and gospel messengers (2 Cor 5:20; Mt 28:18-20).
Yet, there are three major obstacles to the mission of Jesus that we often stumble over
#1 Pride
Pride causes us to think too highly of, and too often of, ourselves. Pride fosters arrogance, self-righteousness and selfishness. Pride is a personal declaration that we are god and this life is ultimately about us. Pride is an obstacle to Jesus’ mission because it prevents us from being in community, serving, living outside our comfort zone, reaching out to others, and trusting God.
#2 Religion
Religion says if we’re good then God will love us. Religion is debilitating because we’re never quite sure whether we’re good enough, so we never know whether God loves us. Religion is an obstacle to Jesus’ mission because we won’t want to tell anyone about Jesus if we’re not sure he likes us, let alone loves us. Religion, at its core, is a false gospel.
#3 Passivity
Passivity is ultimately born out of unbelief: unbelief that God calls us to actively participate with him on his mission, unbelief that God has our best interests in mind, unbelief that God could use us, and unbelief that God’s story is better than our own. Passivity is an obstacle to Jesus’ mission because it excuses us from participating, waters down the urgency of the gospel message and relegates the mission to someone else.
Lets turn from selfish pride, religion and passivity that are obstacles to the mission of Jesus and cultivate faith-filled, gospel-centered, humble, bold lifestyles as messengers of the King so that many lives are changed for Jesus in this city we love, God is worshipped, and our joy made full.
For the King and the Kingdom,
Pastor Adam