8/10/14 YEAR OF EQUIPPING TO SERVE

The call of Missions

Why would churches spend hundreds of millions of dollars to send thousands of well-qualified people all over the world?  Many of these places are dangerous and thousands of these sent people have given their lives.  Why such an emphasis on what we call missions?
    What did Jesus have to say about this?  One day Jesus went to eat lunch with Zacchaeus, a well known reprobate.  When He was criticized for consorting with a “sinner”, Jesus replied:
Luke 19:10 NKJV
10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
    This thought of being spiritually lost is at the heart of missions.  It must stir us and challenge us.
❏    What does it mean?
❏    What are the implications of a person being lost spiritually?
❏    How long does lost last?
❏    Is there an end to being lost?
❏    What impact should lost people have on believers?
    Jesus is the way to life and peace.  Jesus gives us eternal life.    He commanded and commissioned:
Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.
    Luke recorded:
Luke 24:46-48 NKJV
46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things.”
    What has missions accomplished?  Is the world any better off because of missions?  Let me share a missions update.
Tanzania Assemblies of God Celebrates 75th Anniversary
    One of the fastest growing national churches in the world, the Tanzania Assemblies of God, has planted more than 4,000 new churches in the last five years.  The church celebrated its 75th anniversary from the time the first Assemblies of God missionaries brought the gospel to Tanzania.
    In 1939, AG missionaries Paul and Evelyn Derr went and a few small churches were birthed.  Fourteen years later, the vision and passion of three African believers would result in the formation of what is now the Tanzania Assemblies of God.
    Driven by a sense of urgency, three men walked 160 miles to a missionary outpost to request that a missionary come to them.
    The missionaries sent a telegram to the Missions Department of the Assemblies of God. Wesley and June Hurst had already raised their funds and packed to journey as new missionaries to South Africa. After receiving the telegram, H. B. Garlock, regional director for Africa, called the Hursts and asked them if they would be willing to go to Tanzania instead. After praying, they felt God confirmed to them that this was His will. They arrived in 1953 and founded what became the Tanzania Assemblies of God.
       To lay a strong foundation for the churches, the Hursts opened a Bible school.  Soon they were joined by other missionaries.  The national church now celebrates 6,200 churches, 32 church planting schools and seven Bible colleges.
Information taken from article written by Kristel Ortiz, AGWM website
    I wonder if those three men who walked 160 miles to ask for missionaries had any idea of how it would grow.  A thought to ponder: Never limit God.
    We have been looking at the book of Acts.  We are going to look at a few verses that show us the launch of missions by the church.
Acts 13:1-3 NKJV
1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
    Paul and Barnabas were called by God into missionary service.  The believers commissioned them to go.  In the gathering we read about, God confirmed what He had been working in their hearts.  Paul and Barnabas knew that God wanted them to travel and win people to Jesus.
    God called Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel.  Their message was God’s good news of forgiveness and new life through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  They would lead people to a personal relationship with Christ.  The missions purpose was to bring people to Jesus as Savior and Lord so they would be rescued and freed from Satan’s power.
    As people were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, churches were planted.  They taught people to grow in the Lord and local leaders were trained and commissioned.
    God is still calling missionaries today.  The task is far from being completed.  As we think of missions, we must start at home and think around the world.  Wisconsin is as big of a missions field as Africa and Asia.
    The primary purpose of missions, wherever it is, must always be to bring people to Jesus.  He is the only One who can rescue them from the consequences of sin and from Satan’s power.
    As people are won to the Lord, they must be taught the Bible and helped to mature as new believers.  This is why we spent two months of our Wednesday Bible study showing you how you can help new believers.
    Verse 3.  The church sent them off.  We see the beginning of the Christian missionary movement.  The Bible says missions starts -- in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8).
    Sending missionaries.  We are blessed to be part of a fellowship that gives a high priority to sending people to every conceivable place and need.  This is the heart of God.  We are blessed because of having a heart to help people reach lost people around the world.
    Let’s look back again at Luke 24, one phrase.
repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations
    Repentance:  repent - verb
1.  feel or express sincere regret or remorse.
2.  feel regret or remorse about.
    The thought that comes to me with repent is that I’m sorry I did it and I don’t plan to do it again.  Turn around and go the other way.
    Repentance must be proclaimed to the world, because the world is guilty of sin.
    Remission: the cancellation of a debt, forgiveness of sins.
    Sin must be forgiven, the debt of sin paid.  Jesus did it.
An old chorus: Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.
    Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.
Anyone who has not had their sin washed in the blood of Jesus, who has not received the gift of eternal life from Jesus, is lost in their sin.  This is a powerful motivation for missions.
    Ask yourself: am I really listening to God’s call regarding my involvement in missions?
DISCUSSION
What questions do YOU have about missions?
Is this statement true?  Through our involvement in missions, we are changing eternity.  It is?  Then what impact should that have on us?
Prayer: what missions involvement is God calling YOU to?