EXTENDING IN MISSION
One Sunday morning a stranger wandered into a small country church in the middle of the sermon. The man was unkempt and dirty. The usher tried his best to seat him off in a far corner but instead the man walked to the very first pew and sat directly in front of the pastor. Then to the congregation’s horror in the middle of the message the man began to shout, "Amen. That’s right! Preach it brother." The minister frowned at the man, but that didn’t work. The stranger just continued, "Praise Jesus, Hallelujah!" Finally an usher went to the man and whispered in his ear, "Sir, we don’t act like this in church." "But you don’t understand, I’ve just got Jesus," said the stranger. "Yes sir," said the usher, "but you didn’t get him from here."
Today we are finishing our series going back to the basics and asking the question “what is the church”. We have looked at the Great Commandment (loving God and loving others) and the Great Commission (making disciples). Today we are looking at the beginning of this verse:
Mat 28:18-20 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."
Jesus told us to GO and make disciples OF ALL NATIONS. How do we do that?
John 4:31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something." 32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." 33 Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?" 34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Do you not say, ’Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ’One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor." 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, "He told me everything I ever did."
1. What is God’s Heartbeat - Missions! - Lost sense of Purpose (vs 31-34)
The priorities of the disciples were off because they had lost a sense of their purpose as followers of Christ. They thought that Jesus talking to this woman was a diversion from their true task of getting home from Jerusalem. They thought that this was just a rest break. Jesus reminds them that their true purpose in life, their mission, was to seek and to save the lost.
We are the hands and feet of Jesus. He has given the task of taking the Good News to the church. Jesus said in verse 34 that in talking to the Samaritan woman he was doing the will of His father and finishing the work. Why did Jesus come to the earth? He came for one primary purpose. Yes he came to teach, but that isn’t it. Yes he came to heal that that isn’t it either. Jesus came to DIE. He came to give His life as a sacrifice to bring men and women back into a saving relationship with God the Father. The will of God is that all should be saved.
In university I was fearless in sharing my faith for Christ. A friend and I would stand on bus benches in Toronto witnessing. When I got into seminary my focus changed. I became more informed and more respectable but I lost the passion. I lost sight of this primary purpose.
In the same way the church exists for different reasons. Part of it is worship and teaching and fellowship but the primary purpose of the church is to bring people to Christ. Our purpose is MISSION – extending the kingdom of God. Often evangelism and missions is seen as a good thing but not a priority in the church. However, it must be central to everything we do. Our primary task is to GO! You might ask, how are we to go.
2. When do we go? - Lost sense of Time (vs 35-36)
The disciples had lost their sense of urgency. They did not understand that now was the time to act and not later. The word used for ripe is LEUKOS or ‘white’. When wheat is white it is not just ripe, it is overripe! To let it sit would have meant it would have spoiled.
The time for reaching the world for Christ is NOW. Now is the time for the church to act. Today we are seeing in missions the greatest harvest of souls for the kingdom that has ever taken place, and yet there are still many billions who need to hear. Millions are dying without knowing about Jesus. Church history is filled with missed opportunities because the church failed to act when it could have.
One of the great disasters of history took place in 1271. In 1271 Niccolo and Matteo Polo (the father and uncle of Marco) were visiting the Kubla Khan. At that time he was a world ruler, for he ruled all China, all India, and all of the East. He was attracted to the story of Christianity as Niccolo and Matteo told it to him. And he said to them: "You shall go to your high priest and tell him on my behalf to send me a hundred men skilled in your religion and I shall be baptized, and when I am baptized all my barons and great men will be baptized and their subjects will receive baptism, too, and so there will be more Christians here than there are in your parts." Nothing was done. Nothing was done for about thirty years, and then two or three missionaries were sent. Too few and too late. It baffles the imagination to think what a difference to the world it would have made if in the thirteenth century China had become fully Christian, if in the thirteenth century India had become fully Christian, if in the thirteenth century the East had been given to Christ.
When should you tell people? NOW! Do not say "when I graduate from Bible College" or "next month if I happen to see them" or even "tomorrow". There is a saying that many who plan to seek the Lord at 11:00 die at 10:30.
Maybe you have heard the story of the 3 demons. Satan had asked his legions to devise a way to decieve more people into hell. A first demon said, “I will tell them that there is no hell. Then they will continue in their evil and not worry about the consequence for their sin. That will surely work!” “No” said the devil “the bible is very clear that heaven is real.” A second demon said, “Then I will tell them that there is no heaven. Then there will be no reason for them to lead a good life. That will work even better!” Again the devil said “that also will not work for the bible is also clear on the existance of hell.” A third demon listened to them and then said, “ We aren’t going to tell them that there is no hell or that there is no heaven. To get more people into hell, we will simply convince them that there is NO HURRY!” The devil smiled.
3. Where do we go? - Lost sense of Place (vs 4) - “Now he had to go through Samaria.”
Earlier in the chapter it says that they "had to go through Samaria”. Why did they have to go there? The disciples had lost their sense of location. They were on their way home and probably had their minds set on the destination.
Perhaps the words "had to" meant it was just a place between point A and point B. It was necessary to pass through Samaria in order to get home to Galilee. There is truth in that. We are called to witness wherever we are. On the bus, walking along the road or talking to your neighbor.
I remember a time we were in Africa. I had a team that was headed to the fish market to do some evangelism. On the way we were stopped by some young people on the street and started talking to them. I was sharing my faith with them when one of the team said “We have to get going. We need to go over THERE and do evangelism.” Sometimes we can have that same problem. We send people to different places to tell others about Jesus yet have never even spoken with the person across the street from us. The place for evangelism is HERE.
Or perhaps the words “had to” mean something different. Maybe there were people THERE that needed to hear. A divine appointment had been set. In this sense it was essential that they go. This is also very true. There are places today that are being overlooked by the Church. There are many areas in this world where there is NO witness for Christ. Did you know that more than 95% of all missionary giving goes to places that already have an established church. That means that only a little is going to the most unreached countries. I lived for 10 years in Kuwait – a country of over 2 million people with only 1 protestant church. Can you imagine a city like Toronto with only 1 church!
The place for missions is HERE but it is also THERE. It is not enough to just reach out to the people who are near us. We need people who are willing to go to the ends of the earth.
Why should anyone be able to hear the gospel twice until everyone has had the opportunity to hear it once -- Oswald Smith
4. Who do we go to? - Lost sense of Person (27) –
Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?" The disciples were surprised that Jesus was talking to a woman. Add to this that she was a Samaritan and the type of woman she was! The disciples had lost their sense of who the gospel is for. Jesus said that it is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. The disciples had not understood that the gospel is for EVERYONE.
The gospel is not reserved to a certain sex or age or people group or class. It is for all people. God so loved the WORLD that he gave his Son. That means the person across the street from you and it also means the person across the nation and across the world. God desires that all peoples be saved. Often this means we must go to someone very different from us.
We are a Mennonite church but this church exists not simply to reach out to the Mexican Mennonite community of Leamington. I hope that is not the extent of your vision. As part of the church of Jesus we are called to take the message of hope out to the whole world. Those are our marching orders:
Act 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.
Have you ever wondered why Jesus said it like that? If He was simply saying that we should go geographically from here (A) to there (D) then He would have said go through points A B C D. So why did He say Judea before Samaria. Why backtrack since Samaria is geographically closer. That is like saying go through points A C B D? He was breaking up the world for them into 4 catagories:
A. Jerusalem represents people who are culturally similar and geographically close.
B. Judea represents people who are culturally similar but geographically distant.
C. Samaria represents people who are culturally different but geographically close.
D. Ends of the earth represents people who are culturally different and geographically distant.
For us as a church what does this mean? For us, our Jerusalem means the Mennonites living in the Leamington area. We as a church are being somewhat effective in this level of outreach. I thank God for our German service. I know that many of you sitting here today have come to Christ through it. While this is a good place to start but we can’t stop here.
Our Judea means Mennonites that are living far away from us. I appreciate the missionary vision of those from this church that have been involved in Mexico, Bolivia and Belize. Many of you grew up in these places and have a heart for the Mennonite communities living there. These are great works and I am excited about our ministry in these places but again, we can’t stop there.
Our Samaria means people who are culturally different from us living right here in this community. All around us are people that need to come to Christ. What are we doing to try to reach out to the Lebanese and Italians and the plain old “Canadians” living all around us who we see everyday.
Lastly, God calls us to the ends of the earth. We are called as Christians to make disciples of every nation. What are we doing to reach out to the billions of people in Asia, Africa and the Middle East? All around the world there are people who have never heard the Gospel.
Maybe you are thinking to yourself at this point “But what can we do – we are just one small church and the world is such a big place. What difference can we really make?”
5. How do we go? - Lost sense of Power (vs 37-38)
We make a difference when we understand that it is God’s power that does the work. The disciples had lost their sense of the power that lay behind the work that was before them. Jesus refers here to the sower and the reaper working together:
John 4:37 Thus the saying ’One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."
Often evangelism is a process with many steps to it. Whenever we seek to share Christ we must remember that it is God who saves, not us. God uses us to take the message, but the power to save is God’s alone. Yes we can do all we can in evangelism training. We can improve our ability and equip ourselves in evangelistic methods, but when it comes right down to it if anything good happens it is Christ. Our job is to GO and SOW. God’s job is to MAKE IT GROW. The most important thing is a willing heart and an open mouth.
I remember when naomi and I lived on the Doulos we had an evangelistic meeting in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania. A local pastor asked me if I would help him to reach out to the people living in a poor area outside the city. As a person with two degrees in Theology, a gift of preaching and years of pastoral experience I knew I could help. When we got to the area, the pastor and I began to walk down a street. Children stared at us as we walked by and started to follow us. At first there was a dozen or so but then soon there were over 100. Adults came out of their homes and began to follow us as we walked up and down the streets. Finally we arrived at an open spot and the pastor began to preach. Many people came forward to receive Christ, but I did not have the chance to say anything.
After the meeting was over I asked the pastor why he had brought me since I had been of no help at all. The pastor said “Don’t you understand that all those people were there and heard the Gospel because of you.” I did not understand. The pastor continued, “No white person has ever gone into that area before. As we walked up and down the streets the people followed us because they were wondering why the crazy tall white man was there. You are why they came. That is why I brought you.” It was not my education or gifts or experience that had made the difference. It was my colour! God used me simply because I was white.
That was a humbling lesson for me and one I have never forgotten. God can use our training and gifts but they are not what untimately make the difference. Our job as Christians is to simply be faithful. To engage the people around us and around the world with the Gospel just like Jesus did with the woman at the well. If we do our part then God will do his. We will reap a mighty harvest that the Holy Spirit is even now preparing all around us.
It is not just about programs and methods though those things are important. It is about passion and faithfulness. When people have the desire to share Christ they will find no shortage of ways in which to do it!
I will never forget a story Tony Campolo once told. He was a councellor at a camp for Junior High boys. At that camp there was a boy named Billy who had Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Because of that he had slurred speech and walked with great difficulty in a jerking motion. The other kids (being Junior High boys) soon began to make fun of Billy. They teased him day and night. When Billy walked by they would follow behind him imitating and overexagerating his movements. They would imitate his voice “How you doin B-B-B-B-B-Billy”. But the worst part was that one morning they all volunteered him to speak at chapel. It took Billy several minutes to get down to the front. The sound of children laughing was heard all around. Finally Billy was able to get out the words, “Jesus l-l-l-l-l-loves me, and I love Jesus.” The room grew completely silent and then the sound of boys crying could be heard as one by one hearts were convicted. Revival broke out at that camp. Tony Campolo says that to this day whenever he travels he comes across pastors and church leaders who say “remember that Junior High camp. I was there the morning that Billy spoke.”
God can use anyone who is faithful.
