Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Amen. (Hebrews 10:23)

Lord Jesus, you called us to be witnesses to preach in your name to all nations. Bless our every effort to proclaim the message of salvation to the multitudes of people who have never heard of your suffering and rising from the dead, who do no know about the repentance and forgiveness that you offer them. Bless those who labor in far-off lands, away from loved ones and familiar places. Keep our missionary families healthy and in love with you as well as with one another. May their courage and zeal for the gospel be an example to us whenever we feel tired or tempted to be apathetic, and may we be willing to serve you and your holy name. Amen.

Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn't able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner's home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Kreisler was deeply disappointed. He was about to leave when he had an idea. "Could I play the instrument once more before it is relegated to silence?" he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector's emotions were deeply stirred. "I have no right to keep that to myself," he exclaimed. "It's yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it."

We have something that is moving, that is stirring, that changes peoples’ lives. It is Jesus, our Savior. We have no right to keep him to ourselves. We must take him into the world and let people hear about him.

And yet, at your church and in your life, is mission work worth getting excited about? For many Christians the answer is "No," because they suffer from doubts about the global proclamation of the Gospel.

Gustav, a German businessman, says, "Evangelizing the world is hopeless, isn’t it? Six billion people. Thousands of languages and cultures. Hundreds of religions. It can’t be done!"

Sandra, a Canadian woman, wonders, "My neighbors here in Toronto are Jews, Arabs, Asians, and Amerindians. I’ve always found them to be nice people. I know what the Bible says, but do they really need to trust in Christ to be saved?"

Mina, an Egyptian student, says, "Why bother to reach out to the nine million Muslims in Cairo? We are Christians. They are Muslims. That’s the way it’s always been. That’s the way it always will be."

To quell mission doubts like these, we need to hear again the Bible’s mission promises: "ALL NATIONS will be blessed through him [the Messiah], and they will call him blessed" (Psalm 72:17). "He [the Messiah] will proclaim peace to the NATIONS. His rule will extend from SEA TO SEA, and from the [Euphrates] River to the ENDS of the EARTH" (Zech. 9:10). "People will come from EAST and WEST and NORTH and SOUTH, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of heaven" (Luke 13:29). The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to ALL NATIONS, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24:26-28)

Did you sense the Lord’s excitement? What we consider hopeless, He promises to accomplish: "It’s going to happen!"

We need to allow ourselves to be influenced by the Lord’s excitement. In surveys that we have taken at Epiphany after church and during Bible study, we have asked questions about our congregation’s evangelism efforts. Here are some of the comments people wrote: "We are located among possible prospects (families with kids) in our neighborhood. Yet, what are we doing to reach them with our church and school?" "We need more outreach in the neighborhood. Missions start at home!" When asked if outreach ministry is an important part of the life and budget of Epiphany, we rated a 4 out of a possible 10. That’s not good. If you look at our congregation’s budget, we do not have a generous portion set aside for outreach work here at home or support for the world-wide mission work of the Synod. However, an overwhelming majority of you surveyed wrote that you are active in looking for opportunities for sharing your faith with others. That is exactly what we need.

Jesus has put some very exciting opportunities in front of this congregation and our church body. Let’s get excited about reaching and winning lost souls for Christ!

Jesus doesn’t saying that every individual we reach will come to faith and be saved. But He is telling us that there will be men, women and children from every language, tribe and people group who will become citizens of heaven through faith in Christ. It’s going to happen! His promise is sure. Missions are worth getting excited about. Missions are worth shouting about. What God promises, he surely will do! "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth!" (Psalm 100:1).

So we need to shout. We need to get excited. We need to do the work! This is and will be a mission congregation!

And what is our work? "You are witnesses of these things," Jesus told us. Witnesses tell what they have seen and heard. And what remarkable miracles have we witnessed through Scripture! The blind saw. The deaf heard. The lame walked. But, most amazingly, the dead lived! A little girl. A young man. Lazarus. All of them. Brought back to life. And then, most amazing of all, Jesus himself died and then came back to life.

In order to bring repentance and forgiveness to a world in desperate need of being right with God, our Savior died and lived again. The Savior is alive in order to bring repentance and forgiveness to a world in desperate need of being right with God. With the eyes of faith, we have seen God’s answer to sin and death. Now is the time to share that good news wherever God leads us.

But why? Why should we go through all the effort of knocking on doors? Why should we go through all the trouble of praying for our missionaries and supporting them with our offerings? Why should we go through all the hassle of trying to talk to our friends and family members about Jesus? Why should we be witnesses to the unbelievers and the heathen?

Because at one time, we were just like them. We were once among those spiritually dying of thirst. We were imprisoned by our sins, condemned to eternal torment in hell. God sent witnesses to come and speak to us. Our parents, a teacher, a pastor, or a friend shared the life-giving water of the gospel with us. They declared to us with all certainty that Jesus has suffered in our place for all our sins. We are pardoned from the eternal punishment we deserve.

Now it is our turn to be the witnesses. We live in a community where a majority of souls are dying of spiritual thirst. Over half of Racine is unchurched. That is 90,000 souls within a few miles of our church who need to know Jesus as their Savior. Their sins have condemned them to everlasting punishment. Unless witnesses come to them with the gospel, they will die thirsting for forgiveness. They will die without ever having known Jesus like we know him. They will forever suffer for their sins.

We know that we have an urgent task before us. Yet, we must collectively confess that our love for these lost souls has fallen short of Jesus’ love for us. Our witness has been hampered by our prejudices, by our procrastination, and by our pride. We have been stingy with our mission offerings. We have been negligent in praying for our missionaries. We have chosen not to speak to some people. We have put off speaking to others. And we have feared the reactions of still others. We must beg for forgiveness for shrinking back from the awesome privilege of sharing Jesus’ love with the world.

How wonderful it is to know that we are able to witness to Jesus’ wonderful forgiveness, because he even forgives us for our lack of witnessing. That is how great God’s love for us really is.

The heavenly Father’s love for fallen mankind was so great that he offered up his only begotten Son. The love of our Lord Jesus Christ knew no limit, as we witness at the lowly manger, at the desert of temptation, at his lonely night in prayer, at his cross, and at his empty tomb. The love of the Holy Spirit is so great that he goes out into the world to revive dead hearts with his fire of love. Our Triune God has clearly demonstrated that he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of his truth.

We – you and I – are God’s ambassadors and Christ’s witnesses to the world. This is to be our chief purpose in life. There is nothing more important than saving another person’s soul from the flames of hell.

One day a seasoned hiker came upon a broad, slow moving, and muddy river. He stopped to puzzle over the stench coming from the river’s water. He suddenly heard a faint cry coming from upstream, and he saw a drowning man floundering in the river and drifting slowly toward him. The hiker was momentarily stunned, but sprang into action when he saw the man disappear beneath the foul water. Throwing off his cumbersome gear, he dove into the river and swam toward the spot where the man went under.

Upon reaching the spot he plunged below the surface and frantically grabbed the helpless man and hauled him to the surface. With great effort, he towed the victim to shore. Heaving the lifeless body up on the riverbank, the hiker attempted to revive the man, who eventually began to spit out the putrid water, coughed, and then began to take gasps of the forest air.

Relieved, the hiker paused to catch his breath. No sooner had he done so than he heard another voice and was astonished to see a second person bobbing in the river, coming downstream towards him. Diving in, he swam out and pulled the person to shore, a little more slowly this time because of his fatigue. As the hiker-turned- lifeguard revived the second victim, he heard yet another cry for help. All day long the hiker worked, rescuing one person after another as they came drifting down the river. There seemed to be no end of drowning victims, and the hiker began to realize he could not keep up the grueling pace.

When he was about to collapse from exhaustion, he spotted another man walking rapidly upstream. "Hey mister!" he cried out. "Please help me! These poor people are drowning!" Amazingly, the man kept walking upstream. The astonished hiker called out again. Without even acknowledging the cry, the man kept going. Indignant and angry, the hiker leapt to his feet, ran toward the uncompassionate man, stood directly in his path, and in a loud voice demanded, "Sir! How can you possibly walk past all these drowning people? Have you no conscience?"

The stranger stopped, looked at him for the first time and said with a calm, focused voice, "Sir, please get out of my way. I am headed upstream to stop the fiend who is pushing all these victims in."

Each of us has a role to play in rescuing those who are drowning in sin. Some pull people from the water and resuscitate them with counseling, food and shelter, a rehabilitation program, a support group, or financial aid. Many are needed to help in that effort keeping people from coming to a sad end in a desperate condition.

Others find their place of ministry upstream, opposing the one pushing people into the river of sin. They do this by introducing people to Jesus Christ. They know that knowing Christ sets a person free from sin and releases them from Satan’s power over them.

By itself, pulling people from the water isn’t enough. We need to help people deal with the problem of sin at its source. You are those people. You are the rescuers. Get excited, because you are Christ’s witnesses. Amen.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give [us] a spirit of unity among [ourselves] as [we] follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth [we] may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 15:5-6)