When I look
at our text, I find an assignment from our Lord to his followers. Jesus
commissioned the disciples to
a) preach Jesus in order to make
disciples for Jesus
b) preach the gospel of His death for
our sins and resurrection for our hope that we may be saved
c) immerse disciples in water
d) teach the word of Jesus to immersed
disciples.
1. What is mission?
It’s an
important assignment given to a person or group of people, typically involving
traveling. Do we have a mission?
Yes. Because
God has a mission to restore the world. God created man for a purpose. He
created the world for a purpose. FOR HIS GLORY. (Isaiah 43:7)
Sin has
caused man not to fulfil God’s purpose. Ro 3:23 “…come short of God’s glory”.
Through
Christ god has brought restoration to man. Restoration to His purpose ie
glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.
Those who’ve
experienced restoration have been given a command to take on God’s mission to
bring others to Christ through the gospel.
2. How do we do missions?
a) Firstly; Be in Christ. Don’t just do
but be in Christ.
i.
Spend
time with God. In meditation, prayer, bible reading and silence. Learn to hear
His voice (John 10:17)
ii.
Obey
to keep your relationship with God.(James 4:4-10)
iii.
Be
quick to repent when you fall (James 5:13-16). Do not pretend to be perfect, be
transparent before God. Allow Him to help you out.
b) Secondly; Find your role in missions.
Everybody
has a role as a Christian. You either obey and take your role or you’re
disobedient. All believers have to be involved in kingdom advancement; because
the end will come only when the gospel is preached throughout the whole world
as a testimony (Matt 24:14)
The
question you should ask “How do I get
involved?” You are either a goer or a sender. The goer and sender share in
God’s blessing together (1Sam 30:24)
i)
The missionary or goer
- He
leaves his culture and goes to other cultures to share the gospel
-
His
burden is to see people reach with the gospel (reaching the unreach for Christ)
-
He’s
gifted by God to adapt to new situations and cultures and learn new languages
-
Have
a passion to see God’s name glorified where it’s not.
ii)
Senders
Unless
there are senders, there’ll be no goers (Ro 10:15) Behind a missionary there
are people who pray and support him. The sender is intentional and lives a
simple lifestyle to release more resources for missions.
3. Question: Are you a
reluctant disciple?
Jesus’
disciples have a mission to evangelise. Israel was a strategic place to start world
evangelism to a monotheistic God. Many traders and travellers were passing
through Palestine for the sake of business. Instead of using this as open door
they were transformed to man-made gods. Solomon began his fall into material
prosperity and signed contracts (married foreign women) for the sake of money.
These are some 3 points which will help you evaluate yourself.
1. God is not willing that any should
perish (2 Pt 3:9)
But many Christians
today are like Jonah who do not obey the command to go (Jonah 1:2). It was hard
for Jonah to believe that “God so loved”
the Ninevites as He loved Israel (John 3:16). God is sending you and I to the
unreach. God is asking us to
-
Make
disciples of all nations (tribes and cultures) (mtt 28:19)
-
Preach
the gospel to every creature (mk 16:15)
-
Preach
the word (2Tim 4:2)
-
Go
your way. Behold I send you out as Lambs among wolves (Lk 10:3). And he
reassures us;
-
These
things I want you to affirm confidently so that those who have believed in God
might be careful to maintain good works (Ti 3:8)
2. Running from our responsibility
Jonah was
running to Tarshish (Jh1:3). Why will someone who knows the true God run away
from such an opportunity? He knew they’ll repent (Jh 4:2). Jonah had an ethnocentric racism. Are you
like Jonah?
3. Are you looking for opportunities?
Illustration: Shoe salesmen sent to a very poor
country and their reports were opposing. One sees an open door for business
since the people do not wear shoes, while the other sees a closed door for
business because the people do not wear shoes (surely thinking that they will
never wear shoes).
a) Be sensitive to open doors
See Paul in
2Cor 2:12 “Now when I came to Troas to
preach the gospel of Christ, and a door was opened to me by the Lord…” we
have open doors in buses, in offices, at work site, chantiers etc. Use them!
Note that it is Satans work to war against our discovery of open doors. It’s
God who open doors. 1 Cor 16:8,9 “But I will
tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to
me, and there are many adversaries” Adversaries are indications that there’s
an open door to preach the gospel.
b) Situations produce open doors
While in
prison Paul was still praying for open doors. Col 4:3 “Also continue praying for
us so that God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of
Christ, for which I am also in chains. Be open door minded! The love of the world has crowded the minds
of many to lost souls (Mtt 6:24). Just like it says in James 4:13 some travel to make profit for themselves but disciples
travel like Paul, a tentmaker to make profit for the kingdom of Jesus.
What
should motivate you?
1) To glorify God
2) By Christ’s example and command
3) By the need: we leave in a world
with over 7 billion people who are dead in their sins. Walking dead! We were
ones death but we found Jesus. Should we be indifferent?
4) By opportunity. Paul changed his
schedules in order to take advantage of the opportunities to preach the gospel.
Every disciple must be sensitive to open doors.
5) By the zeal of Satan. Eph 6:10,11 “Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the
whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the
devil.
6) Because of the results of failure. What
if we fail to evangelise the world?
a. Hell’s gates will be broken wide
open. Mtt 7:13 “wide is the gate that
leads to destruction.”
b. Bad heritage to leave our children. An
unevangelised world is an unbearable burden to our children we leave behind.
c. God’s people are not seen as God’s
people. Sitting tight without sending the light will never take Christ into all
the world.
7) Because of our joy. Christians are
excited about sharing Jesus. This leads us to be convicted, and our conviction
leads to more conversions
Prayer:
-
For
one another to take their responsibilities
-
to
preach the gospel
-
For
God to open doors for them
-
That
they’ll keep to God’s word and study his word
-
That
Satan will not thwart their open doors
-
That
they’ll be sensitive to open doors and ready to give for missions
-
For
obedience to the command of our Lord
-
That
they’ll receive the joy of soul winning
-
Pray
against ethnocentric racism amongst those who call themselves Christians
-
Pray
for the spirit of meditation and to here God’s voice
-
Pray
that our church will be mission minded not in words but in deeds
-
Pray
for the church project and good stewardship
-
Pray
for the leadership of the church.
Amen
NHN
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