This past Wednesday evening I finished up a three message series on caring for others. The first week was focused on the challenge from Jesus that His people will love one another. The second message was focused on the need to care for those in our community. The final message was about caring for those all over the face of the earth. In fact, this past Wednesday evening I taught from Matthew 9:35-38. Below are the main points that I made, followed by a question.
First Point - Jesus was concerned about the ministry of the Word AND ministry of mercy. I take this from verse 35, "And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction." In this one verse we see His care for the gospel message. He always proclaimed the good news! However, we also see how Jesus cared for the physical needs of those who were sick and afflicted. I warned our people about exalting mercy ministries to a place where they took precedence over the gospel (since no one is saved without hearing the gospel proclaimed!), but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't engage in mercy ministries.
Second Point - Taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, and meeting needs where we are able, must be rooted in our compassion for them and for the glory of God. This was the motivation for Jesus according to verse 36, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." I asked our church that night about whether or not we had compassion for those around the world who were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus is the only Shepherd they need, but the people of God must let the crowds know this!
Third Point - The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. This is pretty clear. Jesus says in verses 37-38, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." There is much to be said here, but I wanted to drive home the fact that we are providentially located in Fort Myers, FL, and this verse fits our present circumstances in unbelievable ways. However, we also know that we want to get the gospel to those who have no access to the gospel. In other words, we want to reach Fort Myers (and SWFL) with the gospel, but we also want to reach to the ends of the earth where the gospel is not yet proclaimed.
In our present condition as a church, we are able to see this truth plainly. Right now our church is in great transition. We are seeking ways to minister to those around us. We are seeking ways to get the gospel into our community. From the statistics that I've heard, over 93% of Lee County do not attend any sort of worship service. When I see this area I realize the harvest is plentiful. However, as a faith family, we also realize our laborers are few. Seeing how we are in a transition time we know many of our people are unable to do things they once could. Their bodies have aged, and they are now limited. Do not misunderstand me, my people are ready to do what they can in their limitations! I am a blessed pastor. But the reality is here. We not only see the harvest, but we see the lack of laborers.
I told our people last Wednesday that we do not have the right to look out at our opportunities, with a heart of compassion, realize our laborers are few, and decide to do nothing about it. No, we are to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers. That is what we're doing now. We're praying to God that He would do two things with our faith family. The first thing is that He would raise up laborers for us. We want to see new laborers coming into our faith family. The second thing we are asking is that God would enable us to be those laborers as well. In other words, I do not want to simply pray that God gives usother laborers, but that we too will labor for those who need to hear the gospel.
Now to my question. With the need so great in SWFL for the gospel, would you pray about coming and being a part of this? We are praying that God would send out laborers. Would you pray and ask God if you're one to be sent here? Or to be sent here in order to be sent from here?
Showing posts with label Missions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missions. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Christ will Build His Church...Go Make Disciples
I am preparing for some upcoming teaching and have really started reflecting on a couple of truths. The first one is found in the statement by Christ in Matthew 16:18, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Let it be known upfront that I do not affirm that Jesus meant He would build His church on Peter. Rather, I think He's referring to the truth that Peter had just professed in verse 16, "Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God'." Anyway, what I want to mention is the promise that Jesus says He will build His church. This is a great promise. In a time and age when we are constantly bombarded with all kinds of ideas and gimmicks to 'build the church' or 'grow the church', I find it refreshing that Jesus didn't ask us to build the church. Jesus promised that He would build His church. There is no way to stress enough that we must rest assured that Jesus is sovereign and able to do all that He has proclaimed.
The second truth, however, helps us to see the means by which He will build His church. When you look at Matthew 28:18-20 you will read what has become known as The Great Commission. In this passage the emphasis is on making disciples of all nations. That is the command from Christ. We are called to make disciples. But doesn't that put the emphasis on us doing the work? How is it that Jesus can say He will build the church AND tell us to be the ones who go and make disciples? This question misses a very important connection. First of all, making disciples (verse 19) is rooted in the fact that Jesus has all authority (verse 18). So, Jesus has the authority to send us out to make disciples. Now, if we think that it's our going out that will enable us to grow the church, we have once again mistaken. I say that because Jesus has already stated that He would build His church, and then at the end of the Great Commission He promises that as we go and make disciples that He will be with us! We are not the ones building the church with our creative ways of reaching the culture. We are the instruments used by Christ, but He is the One building His church! Beloved, may we not ever think we can build His church. May we trust that He will build His church trough us and that we are simply called to be faithful in the proclamation of the gospel (which is how we make disciples!).
Now, more could be (and needs to be) said for what it means to 'make disciples of all nations.' For this post, however, I will mention just a couple of things. First of all, it does not mean that we need to get someone to pray a prayer. That is nowhere to be found in Scripture. Secondly, we do not need to get people to 'do' something for their salvation (in terms of any kind of work for their salvation). Finally, we do need to proclaim the gospel and call people to repent of their sins and thrust themselves completely on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. We need people to know that Christ has all authority over them. We need them to see that they've offended the Holy God of the universe. We need them to see that apart from Christ they have nothing to offer God. And we need them to see that becoming a disciple is about becoming a follower, or pupil, of Christ. That is why we teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded. He is Lord! He builds His church by His power and authority. We are simply instruments or tools in the hands of the redeemer.
The second truth, however, helps us to see the means by which He will build His church. When you look at Matthew 28:18-20 you will read what has become known as The Great Commission. In this passage the emphasis is on making disciples of all nations. That is the command from Christ. We are called to make disciples. But doesn't that put the emphasis on us doing the work? How is it that Jesus can say He will build the church AND tell us to be the ones who go and make disciples? This question misses a very important connection. First of all, making disciples (verse 19) is rooted in the fact that Jesus has all authority (verse 18). So, Jesus has the authority to send us out to make disciples. Now, if we think that it's our going out that will enable us to grow the church, we have once again mistaken. I say that because Jesus has already stated that He would build His church, and then at the end of the Great Commission He promises that as we go and make disciples that He will be with us! We are not the ones building the church with our creative ways of reaching the culture. We are the instruments used by Christ, but He is the One building His church! Beloved, may we not ever think we can build His church. May we trust that He will build His church trough us and that we are simply called to be faithful in the proclamation of the gospel (which is how we make disciples!).
Now, more could be (and needs to be) said for what it means to 'make disciples of all nations.' For this post, however, I will mention just a couple of things. First of all, it does not mean that we need to get someone to pray a prayer. That is nowhere to be found in Scripture. Secondly, we do not need to get people to 'do' something for their salvation (in terms of any kind of work for their salvation). Finally, we do need to proclaim the gospel and call people to repent of their sins and thrust themselves completely on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. We need people to know that Christ has all authority over them. We need them to see that they've offended the Holy God of the universe. We need them to see that apart from Christ they have nothing to offer God. And we need them to see that becoming a disciple is about becoming a follower, or pupil, of Christ. That is why we teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded. He is Lord! He builds His church by His power and authority. We are simply instruments or tools in the hands of the redeemer.
Friday, January 29, 2010
The Harvest is Plentiful...
God-willing, this Sunday I will conclude our series entitled "Do We Care?" at First Baptist. My first sermon was about ministry to one another. My second sermon was about ministry to our community. This final sermon is about ministry to our world. It will have an international emphasis, but it's not limited to that. I want FBC to consider the numerous ways we can minister to those local and abroad. The several commissioning passages from Jesus make it abundantly clear that it is not an either/or mentality about who we minister to. We do not minister to those either where we are or across the nations. It is a both/and commission.
This coming Sunday (the following if we get as much snow as they're calling for) I plan to preach from Matthew 9:35-38. This is a very familiar passage for many people, especially verses 37-38, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." There are several things to pull out from this text. For instance, we see the need to pray earnestly. It is a reliance upon God to move and to raise up people to go into His harvest. You can also see that God intends to use people to accomplish this. Those are both fantastic truths from this text. And there are others.
As I am wrapping up my preparation for this sermon, however, I thought about a precious truth of encouragement for this. I asked myself the question, "Why is the harvest plentiful?" Here is the answer I believe the Scriptures give in Revelation 5:9, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." The reason the harvest is plentiful is because Jesus, through His death on the cross, through His shed blood, through His wrath bearing sacrifice, purchased a people for God. He has guaranteed through His death that people from every tribe and language and people and nation will respond in faith.
I hope to say far more than this on Sunday, but this is a precious truth. The mission is guaranteed to succeed because Christ has accomplished the success through His own blood.
This coming Sunday (the following if we get as much snow as they're calling for) I plan to preach from Matthew 9:35-38. This is a very familiar passage for many people, especially verses 37-38, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." There are several things to pull out from this text. For instance, we see the need to pray earnestly. It is a reliance upon God to move and to raise up people to go into His harvest. You can also see that God intends to use people to accomplish this. Those are both fantastic truths from this text. And there are others.
As I am wrapping up my preparation for this sermon, however, I thought about a precious truth of encouragement for this. I asked myself the question, "Why is the harvest plentiful?" Here is the answer I believe the Scriptures give in Revelation 5:9, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." The reason the harvest is plentiful is because Jesus, through His death on the cross, through His shed blood, through His wrath bearing sacrifice, purchased a people for God. He has guaranteed through His death that people from every tribe and language and people and nation will respond in faith.
I hope to say far more than this on Sunday, but this is a precious truth. The mission is guaranteed to succeed because Christ has accomplished the success through His own blood.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A Few Stats from Missions Class
These are adapted from the notes of Dr. George Robinson's Missions Class at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Status of Christianity: Unreached and Unengaged Peoples• Estimated 11,372 People groups
• Unreached estimated at 6,512
• Unreached, unengaged estimated at 3,498
• Unreached, unengaged people groups estimated at 638
Some Quick Facts about the Unreached, Unengaged People Group’s 100k+
• 310 are located in India
• 39% are predominately Muslim
• 25% are predominately Hindu
• 80 have no known evangelical resources available
• 278 reside in restrictive social settings
• 92 exist in extreme physical conditions
• 58 are located in places where the U.S. State Department advises citizens to not go
• 39% are predominately Muslim
• 25% are predominately Hindu
• 80 have no known evangelical resources available
• 278 reside in restrictive social settings
• 92 exist in extreme physical conditions
• 58 are located in places where the U.S. State Department advises citizens to not go
Access and Response
• 10% Evangelical, Bible-Believing Christians – 680 million – Saved
• 23% Cultural Christianity – 1.6 billion – Lost
• 43% Non-Christians with some access to the gospel – 2.9 billion – Lost
• 24% Non-Christian with little or no access to the gospel – 1.6 billion – Lost
• 10% Evangelical, Bible-Believing Christians – 680 million – Saved
• 23% Cultural Christianity – 1.6 billion – Lost
• 43% Non-Christians with some access to the gospel – 2.9 billion – Lost
• 24% Non-Christian with little or no access to the gospel – 1.6 billion – Lost
Global Population Growth
• Global Demography
− 6.8 billion people
− 9.1 billion people by 2050
− 213,000 net increase every day
• India and China account for 1/3 of this increase
− Less developed countries: 5.3 billion to 7.8 billion
• Global Demography
− 6.8 billion people
− 9.1 billion people by 2050
− 213,000 net increase every day
• India and China account for 1/3 of this increase
− Less developed countries: 5.3 billion to 7.8 billion
Human Suffering
• Increasing shortages of food and water as a result of population increases
• 30,000 children die each day as a result of malnutrition and disease-infested water
• Increasing shortages of food and water as a result of population increases
• 30,000 children die each day as a result of malnutrition and disease-infested water
I pray God will raise up many people who will see these stats and give their lives trying to reach the unreached peoples of our world.
Friday, December 12, 2008
The Wheat is Dying!
My good friend Wil Owens has posted a fantastic piece about those suffering around the world, particularly in India. I have put it in its entirety below, but you should go and check out his blog as well.
Jesus says in John 12:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Someone has said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.” History does reveal this to be a faithful saying, and so does the above saying of Christ. Since this is biblical revelation and fact, then surely the Church is on the brink of explosive growth in many places, but especially India.
India has always produced some martyrs each year, but the recent outbreak of persecution has escalated the number of killings. Our friends, Hopegivers International, experienced 4 martyrs among their ministers this year. Reports coming out of the state of Orissa are truly horrifying. *70,000 Christians have been left homeless, 4,000 homes have been destroyed, 3,000 people are missing, 450 churches have been burned, and 77 people have either been burned or hacked to death!
Here are two individual cases. On Sept. 30, Hindu radicals dragged Lalji Nayak from his home and stuck a knife to his neck. They demanded that he “reconvert” to Hinduism, but he refused. They cut his throat with the knife, beat him with an axe, and tortured him. All the while, he continued to “cling to Christ.” The next day he died in the hospital. One witness said, “Even though he was bleeding, he refused to abandon his faith.”
On Aug 24, Pastor Divya Digal was dragged from his home, beaten with stones and rods until dead, and then his body was tossed in the river. His wife, a former Hindu, escaped with their daughter, and is unwelcome by her family because of her new faith.
Now multiply those two cases several times over and you get a glimpse of what is taking place in India!
The persecuted church, however, is a proclaiming church! Those who suffer for the Kingdom and persevere in believing through unbelievable trials shout the Gospel to their tormentors, neighbors, country, and the world! Yes, the Church is under attack in India, and that means – the Church is growing!
Pray for our dear brothers and sisters who are standing firm for the faith and counting the cost with their homes and lives! Pray for the Church in India to explode as a result of these attacks! Surely an enormous Harvest is on the way! The wheat is dying; “much fruit” will come!
* These statistics and the testimonies are from Voice of the Martyrs. You can get familiar with their ministry at http://www.persecution.com/.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Missions is at the Heart of God
I am preaching this coming Sunday on missions. I have been preaching on the gospel for the past 5 weeks (4 weeks on personally understanding and applying the gospel and 1 week on taking the gospel to others). This week I will conclude that series with an emphasis on missions. When I use the word "missions" I mean mostly the idea of going where there is not gospel presence to preach to those who've never heard. This is one of my favorite subjects to preach on because I think missions is at the heart of God. Here's why I think this.
1. Jesus began His ministry with an emphasis on preaching the gospel. In Mark 1:15 Mark's first recorded words of Jesus are, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
2. The gospel according to Mark ends with Jesus saying, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15).
3. The apostle Paul didn't want his life to count for anything except to finish his calling from God. Acts 20:24 says, "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received form the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."
4. Jesus gave His life so that missions would be guaranteed success. Revelation 5:9-10 says, "And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Christ has purchased people from the ends of the earth who need to hear the gospel.
So missions is at the heart of the Bible and the heart of God. That is not to say that there is not an emphasis on the church and the need to present the church prefect for her Groom. It is to say that in order for there to be the church, there most first be missions.
If you are anywhere near the Pulaski, VA area we'd love to have you come and worship with us this Sunday.
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