We are continuing in our journey of exploration of what God’s vision is for His Church, His Church universal and for us, His Church specific that is known as Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Lakewood, Colorado. So far, we have seen that God’s vision for His Church includes the blessing of knowing Jesus Christ and the call to be a blessing to others in return; the call to the Church to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourself; and the call to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them what Jesus had commanded. Today, we look at God’s vision for His Church to be a witness for Christ wherever we find ourselves. Our Scripture lesson for today is from the first chapter of Acts, verses one through eleven. (Read Acts 1:1-11)

Several years ago, Kim and I were in a couples Bible study. The routine of the evenings when we met included dinner and conversation, then a study and discussion of a passage from a book of the Bible we were going through together, then dessert and more conversation. Often the conversation would continue on the topic of the Bible study. One of the conversations that remains in my memory concerned bumper stickers. Someone mentioned a recent humorous bumper sticker they had seen and that led to everyone sharing memorable ones they had seen. The topic grew specific toward bumper stickers with a Christian message. The reason I remember this conversation is because of what one of our friends then said about such bumper stickers. And what he said was this, "I would never have one of those on my truck." Now, he didn’t drive that nice of a truck. What I recall is he drove one of those mini-pickups, a red Toyota I think, with lots of miles and wear on it. Therefore, his avoidance of such bumper stickers wasn’t because of aesthetic concerns for his truck. And I didn’t think his avoidance of such bumper stickers was out of lack of conviction in his faith. So I asked him why. And I’ll never forget his response. "Because I’m afraid I won’t live up to its message." He was afraid that he would be a poor witness to the message of a Christian bumper sticker on his truck; afraid that one day he’d be driving and someone would cut him off and he would switch lanes, roar past the careless driver, honk, perhaps even gesturing inappropriately, and as he raced away there would be the message, "Jesus loves you…and so do I!"

Now, bumper stickers with Christian messages are not the most effective means of witnessing for Christ. We probably do do more damage than good in our witnessing through a bumper sticker on our car. But his fear regarding the incongruity between the message displayed and his behavior observed touches a fear we all face about being a witness for Jesus Christ in all areas of our lives. To be a witness, we must come forward and be identified. I’ve seen enough Law and Order episodes to know a witness to something cannot be a witness unless they come forward with what they know. And the fear of my friend touches some of the fear of all of us. If I go public about my faith will I be a good witness or a bad one? Will I do more harm than good? And it is true we must take the issue of poor witnessing seriously. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am distressed by the number of conversations with people who have barriers hindering their coming to faith in Christ because of the poor witness of believers they’ve known. "If Christians acted more like Christians, I might become a Christian." We have to take the issue of a poor witness seriously. But the solution is not to not be a witness. That’s certainly not God’s vision for His Church. The solution is to acknowledge our moments of poor witness, be willing to say, "yeah, I blew it there," to ask for forgiveness and acknowledge that is an important part of why I need Christ. To model humility and grace can rectify any moments of poor witness. The answer to the potential for poor witnessing is not to simply not step forward as a witness for Christ, to refuse to wear the label "Christian" on your car, or in your work, or in your home and neighborhood. The answer is to take seriously Christ’s call to be his witnesses wherever we are, to be prepared to admit to moments of poor witnessing, seek forgiveness and continue to step forward as a witness to the love and mercy of Jesus Christ.

That is Jesus’ plan for His Church, that is God’s vision for His Church. The final instruction Jesus gives to His disciples before His ascension into heaven is this: "Wait for the promised Holy Spirit to come. When He comes, you will receive power to be my witnesses, and you are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth." Those are Jesus’ last instructions to His disciples. And then He ascends into heaven before their eyes.

Imagine with me, for a moment, this scene of what happens next. Jesus is received in heaven with the joyful acclamation of the heavenly hosts. One says to Jesus, "Jesus, that was really great! Your resisting the temptations of the devil in the wilderness was awe-inspiring!" Another says to Jesus, "And your healing of the man who’d been crippled his whole life was incredible!" Another says, "And raising Lazarus from the dead, that was amazing!" And another says, "But topping it all, Jesus, was your own rising from the dead. That was the coup de grace! What’s next?" And Jesus points to the disciples, their faces still turned to the sky, wonder and confused looks on their faces, and Jesus says, "Them. They’re next." And the heavenly host, now with confused looks on their faces, recalling the perilous journey to this point with this group of disciples, looks at the unimpressive group standing there, and a voice among the heavenly host timidly asks, "What’s the backup plan?" And Jesus says, "There is no backup plan. They’re it. There is no plan B."

Folks, we’re it! Jesus’ plan for continuing the proclamation of the good news, God’s vision for His Church is…us! There is no plan B!

Now, to be sure, we are not left to our own resources. There is the promised power and discernment of the Holy Spirit with us. And we have God’s instruction manual—the Bible—to guide us. And the strategic plan is this—"my disciples will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth." Or, to put it in our particular context, the strategic plan is this (building a four-leveled stack)—"my disciples will be my witnesses in Applewood, Jefferson County, the United States and to the ends of the earth." That is Jesus’ plan for His Church.

Now, the question that often arises when looking at the wide range of ministry to be done in the church, for a specific church like Shepherd of the Hills, is a question that gets framed in an "either/or" context. Are we to minister in our neighborhoods, or minister to the world? Do we do mission work locally, or do we take a global mission trip? Do we help the children of Ecuador, or the children in our neighborhood? Do we do ministry for our members, or do we seek the lost and minister to them? The answer, of course, is both. It is not help for either our neighborhood, or Ecuador. It is both. Help for both our neighborhood and Ecuador. It is not ministry for either our members, or the lost. It is both, it is ministry for both our members and the lost. The question of where we are to witness to the good news of Jesus Christ is not an either/or question, it is a both/and question. Jesus does not say, "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, or Judea, or Samaria, or to the ends of the earth." Jesus says, You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." If we neglect the upper floors of the church Christ wants us to build, we have less a church than God envisions. If we neglect the foundation and lower floor of the church, the whole thing falls.

It is an amazing thing to me. God could do anything He wanted to proclaim the good news of His Kingdom. God could write it across the sky for all to see if He chose to do so. God could shout it in a thunderous voice for all to hear. God could take over all the radio and TV stations and broadcast the good news all over the world if He wanted to. But, God chooses to use you and me to build His Church, to proclaim the good news of His Kingdom. The purpose of the neighborhood meetings that are being scheduled is to envision what that might look like for us. Some of you have received your invitation to attend. Others of you will be receiving them soon as your area meeting gets scheduled. I hope you will come. And if you’re unable to come, we’ll hold a few make up sessions at the church after worship. But I hope you’ll come to your neighborhood meeting and explore with those in your neighborhood what God’s vision is for our church. For the plan is this—"you will be my witnesses in Applewood, Jefferson County, the United States, and to the ends of the earth." And there is no plan B.