Mention Week of Prayer for Annie Armstrong
Change Your World
Sounds like an impossible task
So much evil in the world, so many lost, so much hate
Why doesn’t God just send a lightning bolt, why doesn’t Jesus just come back now
Is it possible for us to change the world, can I really make a difference
Can even God – working through us as believers really change the world?
Our Annie Armstrong offering supports 5300 missionaries in NA that believe He can
Annie Armstrong helped to start the WMU,
She furthered mission causes through prayer, her personal ministry, and through writing letters to other southern baptist organizations and leaders. In one year she wrote 18000
Here is what a few of our missionaries say about the Annie Armstrong offering
Without the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering we could not have planted 149 new churches in Florida last year. Our church planting strategists cover all 49 associations in our state making an impact by reaching people for Christ through starting healthy new churches.—Rick Lawrence, Church Planting Missionary, Jacksonville, Florida
If is was not for the giving of our many Southern Baptists, there would be thousands of individuals here in the inner city of Detroit who would not have a place to worship, a place to receive a hygiene kits, a quiet and safe place to sit and have a cup of coffee, a place to have a hot meal, a place to get a change of clothes, a place to have their mail sent to. Many of the children would not have a safe place to come and hear about Jesus, or to spend a summer day, or be part of a week at a camp that helps them to learn how to live for Jesus. I am eternally thankful to all the members of our churches who support the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering.—Nathaniel Bishop Sr., Church and Community Ministries Missionary, Detroit, Michigan
I know of at least 21.5 million reasons to give to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions! That’s the number of people we are praying will find a church home in our community. Without funding through the Annie Armstrong offering, we would never have started a church in the heart of New York City!—Gregg Farah, Church Planting Missionary, New York City
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
PRAY
I. The Holy Spirit wants the world to know Christ and His Glory
The greatest desire of the Holy Spirit is to exalt Christ – to Glorify Him
Jesus doesn’t say in v 8 you may be my witnesses to the ends of the earth
He doesn’t say you will probably be my witnesses
He says you WILL be my witnesses.
He says that with certainty because of what he said in the first half of the verse.
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you”
We have the power of the Holy Spirit. We have the Holy Spirit working in and through us
And when that happens, the result is that we do what the Holy Spirit desires
And the greatest desire, the greatest passion of the Holy Spirit is to Glorify Jesus Christ
Making God known to all people and Glorifying God are major themes all throughout the Bible.
Hab 2: 14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
It is the reason God did miracles
Joshua 4: 23 For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."
Salvation for the Gentiles and entire world in OT
Isa 49: 6 he says: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
David tells us in PS 96 to declare Gods glory
Ps 96 1 Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
Mk 13: 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.
It has always been and will always be, The eternal purpose of the Holy Spirit to Glorify Christ
And until Christ returns, to make His Glory known, to use us to witness for Christ, to all of the people around us, even to the ends of the earth.
II. God uses disciples to reach the world for Christ
You will receive power and YOU will be my witnesses.
God has chosen to use US as his children, as his disciples, to reach the lost people of the world.
He could do it any way he chooses.
He could perform sensational personal miracles for each person in the world to show them who he is.
He could use direct revelation – appear to them in the flesh like He did to Paul on the road to Damascus
He could write it in the sky with his finger – “I am God – Receive my gift of salvation through Faith in my son who sacrificed himself on the Cross as payment for your sins”
But he chose to write his law on our hearts
And he CHOSE to USE You and I as his witnesses to the lost world around us
Paul before King Agrippa – part of Jesus’ response to Paul when he asked who are you Lord?
Acts 26: 17-18 (NIV) 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
When John was in prison and began to have doubt and sent his disciples to ask Jesus – Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?
Jesus’ reply is in v4-6:
Mt 11: (NIV) 4 Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
Jesus could have appeared to John like he did to Paul, but instead he told John’s disciples to go and tell what they saw and what they heard. Their personal testimony about Jesus is what John needed to hear.
Great commission:
Mat 28: 18-19 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
He has CHOSEN US as his witnesses. He doesn’t suggest that we share our testimony, HE COMMANDS IT
If you are a disciple of Christ, then it is your Privilege and your responsibility to share your faith with the people God places in your life, and the people God SENDS YOU TO
He says GO, GO and make disciples of ALL Nations
Some of you may be called to be missionaries. – can’t ignore for long
Maybe short term – maybe lifelong
ALL are called to be witnesses – That’s how God does it, how he changes the world
But don’t worry, He’s not asking you to do something that’s too difficult for you.
He doesn’t even ask you to supply to power or the boldness or even the words to say
III. The Holy Spirit supplies the power for our witness to the ends of the earth
God has chosen to use people like you and I to reach the lost world
But if it were only the effort of people involved, it would be a lost cause, because in our own power, we are useless, we have no power to bring people to GOD
It is the power of the Holy Spirit working through us that brings people to Jesus
We see this in Luke 24, in the parallel passage to our Acts 1:8 passage. This is again, just before Christ ascends into heaven, and we see here that this is when the disciples finally get the real picture.
LK 24: 45-40(NIV) 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
He tells them to wait for the Holy Spirit
Like we said – if God’s not in it, then there is no use in doing it.
We need to be sure that we are going with GOD. We want to be directly in the center of God’s will, in everything we do and that includes sharing our faith, being his witness
Acts 16: 6-10(NIV) 6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Its not enough to be willing to speak up and speak out, you need to be willing to follow the instruction of the Holy Spirit in where and when He wants you to witness.
He may call you to another part of the country, he may call you to a different country
It may be inconvenient – could even be dangerous
But if it is the will of GOD, then it is the very best place to be
CONCLUSION: USHER OR HERO
MOVIE USHER:
Use their flashlight to show you the way in a dark place.
If something goes wrong, everyone looks to the guy who has been identified as knowing the way – by his jacket, his name tag, his silly hat, and his light
There was a young man working as an usher, and his manager asked him one night:
Are you ready for an emergency, do you know what to do if there is a fire?
The young man said – don’t worry about me, I sit in the back, I can be out of here in 2 seconds.
That young man has never understood or accepted his responsibility as an usher has he?
That is not the right attitude for a Movie Usher.
I want to tell you about a man by the name of Rick Rescorla
He was the Vice President of Security for Morgan Stanley
He predicted the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center
Worked 12 hours helping rescue workers looking for survivors
Then he predicted that the Terrorists would try again – using airplanes
He suggested the company move to a diff. location
The Port Authority and the management of Morgan Stanley ignored his pleas
Rick could have left the company, but instead he made detailed evac. Plans
Conducted evacuation drills every few months.
Morgan stanley was on floors 40 – 70
Rick was ridiculed, Rick was yelled at. People didn’t like what he had to say, didn’t believe him – Rick stuck to his guns, Rick was convinced, and he wanted to be ready to save peoples lives
When the first plane hit tower 1 on 9/11/2001,
The Port Authority told everyone to stay put – no danger
Rick ignored those instructions and began evacuating the people. Morgan Stanley had 1000 people in tower 1, and 2700 more in tower 2.
Rick got on his bullhorn and began singing songs like God Bless America to keep people calm during the evacuation.
When the 2nd plane struck tower 2, Rick and 3 of his deputies went back into the building to help people escape.
The last time he was seen was on the tenth floor, on his way UP into the burning building.
Rick Rescorla had the burden of knowing a truth that people around him didn’t believe and didn’t want to hear. They scoffed at him, they mocked him
But Rick never backed down, Rick never wavered because he KNEW
He KNEW that even though the people around him didn’t believe what he knew to be true, Rick knew that the reality of that truth would still bring death to those people around him.
Whether they believed it or not, whether they ridiculed him or not, the deadly truth was just as real.
What about us? What about you?
We know an even greater truth – don’t we
We know the truth – the reality of the gospel.
We know the truth – the reality of a saving relationship with Jesus Christ our LORD
The people around us – they may not believe, they may even ridicule
But the truth remains the truth, and the reality of that truth with bring DEATH to those people just as surely as those planes brought death to the people in the World Trade Center.
Rick withstood shame and ridicule for a truth he held through intuition – He suspected what might happen.
But when that intuition became reality, he was ready to DIE to save his fellow man.
We know the gospel of Jesus Christ to be true for certain – it is already a Reality.
Where do you stand?
Are you ready to take a little criticism for sharing your testimony?
Are you like Rick Rescorla,
Rick is called a HERO for saving peoples lives.
When Alex shares his testimony with one of his friends at school –
When one of you share your faith with a co-worker
that is just as HEROIC.
Don’t feel like a hero? You don’t have to be – It’s not about you (remember last week)
A Christian sharing their faith is a heroic act, but you are not the HERO
ITS the HOLY SPIRIT WORKING IN YOU and THROUGH YOU
2Ti 1: 7-8 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner.
Are you BOLD in YOUR FAITH?
Or are you like the movie usher, sitting in the back of the theater with your own escape route all planned out, but leaving it to “someone else” to save the people around you – the people GOD HAS PLACED IN YOUR THEATER – IN YOUR LIFE
Like the flashlight the usher uses to show you the way – God has given you the light of the Gospel. You should shine your light to show people the way to a saving relationship with Almighty God
We should be ready to DIE for our fellow man
Listen to what Jesus says in Jn 15:
Jn 15: 12-13 (NIV) 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Are you afraid of people rejecting you
18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
If you feel a little like that then take heart, you are probably doing something right.
How is God calling YOU to CHANGE THE WORLD
Annie Armstrong changed the world through prayer and letters and loving people and kids
Rick Rescorla Changed the world by saving the lives of about 2700 people
How is God calling YOU to Change the World?
If you don’t know Jesus as your lord and savior, your need to change YOUR WORLD
Jesus can change your world, HE can transform you, make you into a new person a person reborn, with purpose and meaning for your life
