SUPERNATURAL #13: BEING A MISSIONARY CHRISTIAN
OPENING TEXT:
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, 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.” (Matthew 28:18-20).
• This is the great commission that Jesus gave to His disciples, and He gives to us today.
QUOTE: “From its beginning in the 1920’s, the Foursquare movement has been “dedicated unto the cause of inter-denominational and world wide evangelism.” The command of Jesus Christ to “make disciples of all nations” is the foundation of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel.” (John Amstutz, Disciples of All Nations).
KEY TEXT: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).
THE BIG IDEA: God has called us to be missionary Christians – a body of believers who focus on reaching people with the love of Christ.
TEXT: “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. 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." Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.” (Acts 13:1-3).
• Here again we see the strong emphasis on PRAYER that the early church had.
• Because they were praying and fasting, they heard from Heaven – a divine mission!
• Barnabas = son of encouragement; Saul = we read about his conversion in Acts 9.
TEXT: “So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.” (Acts 13:4-5).
• SEE MAP: They went from ANTIOCH to SELEUCIA, then sailed to CYPRUS
“Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time." And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.” (Acts 13:6-12).
• There are two kinds of people:
o Those who are reaching people with the love of Christ – like Paul and Barnabas,
o and those who are trying to hinder people from believing in Jesus, like Elymas.
• Which one are you?
• Paul had strong words to say to Bar-Jesus, who would try to hinder the preaching of the gospel: “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil!”
• Or are you like Sergius Paulus, yet to believe in Jesus?
“Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.” (Acts 13:13-14).
• v.15 - they invited Paul to speak in the synagogue
• v.16-37 - Paul preached JESUS, His death, resurrection:
• v.38 - “Through this Man Jesus is preached to you the forgiveness of sins.”
- in other words, he preached, “Jesus can transform your life today!”
• v.42-43 - the Gentiles asked them to come back and preach again next week
• v.44 - almost the whole city came to hear the word of God
• v.45 - but the Jews were jealous, and opposed and contradicted them.
- whenever the Gospel is preached in power, people will oppose it!
- usually it’s the people who aren’t doing anything for the kingdom of God
who will criticize those who are doing something for God.
“Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth." Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:46-52).
• See the important theme in Paul’s preaching:
• Jesus came to bring salvation TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.
• The Word of God grew, but the preachers were persecuted.
• They moved on but kept preaching. The disciples were filled with JOY!
BEING A MISSIONARY CHURCH: WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?
God has called us to be missionary Christians – a body of believers who focus on reaching people with the love of Christ.
“A missionary is not someone who crosses the sea, but someone who sees the cross.”
1. ALL CHRISTIANS HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE GREAT COMMISSION:
“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, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always…” (Matthew 28:19-20).
• If you are a believer, then Jesus has called you to share the Good News with other people.
• Lost people in the world are going to hell because they don’t know God’s love!
• Our job is to present JESUS to the world – the Saviour, Healer, Baptiser & King!
2. ALL CHRISTIANS NEED TO BE MOVED WITH COMPASSION FOR THE LOST:
“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:36-38).
• If you’re a believer, then Jesus wants you to reach people with His love.
• When Jesus saw the crowds of people, He DID something about it: “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” (Matt. 14:14).
• We need to lift up our eyes and see the plentiful harvest.
STORY: Driving home from church last Sunday – saw young boy walking home crying. “This is the worst day of my life!” Invited him to come over and play with our kids.
3. ALL CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO DO GOOD DEEDS TO BLESS PEOPLE:
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14-16).
• If you know Jesus, then you have the answer the world is looking for!
• God has blessed us to be a blessing – freely we have received, let’s freely give.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION POINTS:
• Invite your friends to church.
• Get involved in our Wild West Fun Fest this Saturday.
• Show love to people in real practical and tangible ways.
• Never pass up an opportunity to pray for someone.
• Look for opportunities to do good deeds for your family and friends.
CLOSING: Discuss Missions Trip 2010 to Costa Rica
Beausejour Community Church Website: www.beausejourchurch.ca
Pastor Chris Jordan’s Blog: http://thelandofpromise.blogspot.com/
printable version pdf file includes map:
http://player.sermoncentral.com/c/chrisjordan/pdf/2275604_3793.pdf
