9.00am and 10.30am Sunday 12 September 2004
Rev Des Botting and Kerryn-Ruth Botting
Reading: Genesis 12:1-3; Matthew 28:16-20
(Slide with words on Bulletin Cover)
On the front of your Bulletin this morning theres a WARNING that you enter these premises at your own risk, because what happens here has the potential to be life-changing. It has nothing to do with the building itself, and little to do with the people who meet here. It has to do with the fact that God is here. He is the subject and object of our worship today. When you come before God you come face to face with reality. You begin to see things as they really are because you see them in the light of his truth. ou need to know that this can be very disturbing and will challenge you to the very core of your being. You cannot encounter the living God and remain the same. The warning is to make you aware of the consequences that may accompany your being here today.
(Slide of Response form)
At the end of the message Im going to challenge you to make a commitment. Gods Word requires a response. Even if you do nothing at all, youve still made a response. On the response form, which youll see is different to the one included in the Missions Bulletin, there are two basic areas where youll be invited to make a response. The first is a response to follow Jesus, to become one of his disciples. Many of you have already done this and thats great. Personally, Ive never ever regretted the decision I made as a twelve year old to follow Jesus. That step has radically altered the whole direction and focus of my life, and has always been for good.
But some of you have never made that commitment. Youve never consciously made a decision to follow Jesus. Youve heard about the Christian faith through attending services and courses the church has run, maybe through books that youve read and people youve met. Youve maybe thought about becoming a follower. But youve never crossed the line, so to speak, and said Yes to Jesus Christ. I want to follow you and be your disciple for the rest of my life. Therell be an opportunity for you to do that this morning, to make that commitment. Youll see that theres a place where you can put your name beside that commitment on the Church copy of the response form, as wed like to encourage you in the decision youve made and help you get started and established in this new relationship.
The second commitment has to do with Gods mission. Youll be invited to make a response as to what youre going to do about The Unfinished Task. As you see there are four possible options: to pray, to give, to go and to help. Kerryn-Ruth and I will explain more about what each of these entail later. In the past weve only asked for your faith missions giving response. Today, were covering all the possible options, and that has the potential to radically alter your life from this point onwards. As you listen to this message this morning, ask God to speak to you. Say to him, Lord, what do you want me to do to help complete the task? Do you want me to pray? Do you want me to support the work of your mission financially? Do you want me to go? Do you want me to help, and, if so, how can I help? My prayer is that God will speak to each one of you personally through what Kerryn-Ruth and I share this morning. (Blank Screen)
Prayer
This morning we are going to look at three questions related to Gods mission:
1. Why should I be involved?
2. Who needs to hear?
3. What can I do?
1. Why should I be involved? When you read the Bible and begin to understand its over-arching message youll discover that God is a missionary-hearted God. From Genesis to Revelation youll find that Gods purpose for you and everyone else is that you live in right relationship with him. Thats how it was right at the very beginning before sin entered the world. Humankind enjoyed a beautiful and intimate friendship with their Creator. It was how God intended it to be. Humankinds disobedience shattered that relationship. Their decision to ignore Gods Word has brought untold suffering and sadness through the centuries. But God began to work first through a man, Abraham, and then a nation, Israel, to bring salvation to this world. Jesus came from the Jewish nation, lived for a short while on this earth before being crucified by his own people to take away the sin of the world,[1] thereby obtaining for all humankind forgiveness and reconciliation. God raised him from death, and commissioned and empowered his disciples to share this Good News with all the nations. In Revelation we see the fulfillment of this mission when God declares, Gods home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own.[2] Why should I be involved? Because it is his command.
2. Who needs to hear? Jesus said, When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come.[3] Christs Great Commission says we are to make disciples of all nations. As we saw last week the word nations is more correctly translated, every ethnic group. This was the same promise that he made to Abraham when he said, Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.[4] The word for everyone can be translated clan or family. Who needs to hear? Everyone in the world needs to hear this message.
3. What can I do? There are four possible ways in which you can respond:
(i) PRAY. This is something that we all can do. Jesus said, A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in.[5] This helps us to catch a glimpse of the size of the task that remains to be done. Harvest time is a time of great urgency and requires every one of Christs followers to be involved. Theres only a limited time in which the harvesting can be done otherwise the crops are spoiled or the winter comes. Theres an urgency about Jesus words here that we must bear in mind as we pray. He also said that we are to pray for his kingdom, that is his reign and rule, to come on earth as it is in heaven.[6] Its verses like these that help us capture something of the missionary heart of God. Would you be willing to pray on a daily basis for the Lord to send workers into his harvest?
(ii) GIVE. Here were thinking specifically of financial support as the giving of our time and talents is covered in helping. Jesus said, Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.[7] What Jesus is saying here is that youll never out-give God. God wants us to be generous just as he is generous. Were also to give as God has prospered us and to do it cheerfully, not out of a sense of duty.[8]
Here at St Davids in the Fields weve adopted faith missions giving as a way in which we can support Gods mission. It involves asking God what hed have you to give to missions over and above your normal tithes and offerings, believing that no matter how big or small the amount may be, that as you give, hell provide you with the resources to be able to do this. Its the same principle that the widow of Zarephath experienced when she provided hospitality for Elijah during the three and half years of drought in Israel. When Elijah met her she was about to use the last of her food to cook a final meal for her son and herself. Elijah said to her, Everything will be fine. Do what you said. Go home and cook something for you and your son. But first, please make a small piece of bread and bring it to me. The Lord God of Israel has promised that your jar of flour wont run out and your bottle of oil wont dry up before he sends rain for the crops. [9] God miraculously provided for them during that time, but it took a step of faith the widows part to do what Elijah said. Faith missions giving, as the name implies, involves taking a step of faith. Would you be willing to ask God, Lord, what do you want me to give financially for your work over this next twelve months? Therell be an opportunity for you to do this during the response time, and then put the amount in the space provided on the response form.
(iii) GO. Jesus said, Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples.[10] This command applies to us all. But it may mean for some of you that God is calling you to go to another country and share his good news. That is, to offer and equip yourself for cross-cultural missionary service. This is what people like Robin and Marva Farnsworth, Patricia Green, Jenny Jones, Rod and Lynley Talbot have done. For these people it has meant leaving New Zealand. Sometimes it may involve going on a short term missions trip. This can be a very enriching experience as it broadens your horizons as to what God is doing in the world today, and can help clarify whether God wants you to serve him overseas. For others it may involve mission here in New Zealand, such as Stephen Fox is doing with Open Air Campaigners. God is saying today, as he said to Isaiah, Is there anyone I can send? Will someone go for us? And would you be willing, like Isaiah, to respond, Ill go. Send me![11]
(iv) HELP. There are many ways in which you can help in Gods mission to the world. For example, in Acts Lydia opened her home for Paul and Silas to stay with her when they were in Philippi.[12] Titius Justus did the same when Paul was in Corinth.[13] He lived next door to the Jewish meeting place which made it a very convenient place for Paul to stay. Paul describes Euodia and Syntyche as two women who worked together with him and others is spreading the good news.[14] In the last chapter of Romans we read of people who opened their homes for the church to meet there.[15]
Today we can help is all sorts of ways. We can open our homes for missions meetings. We can have visiting missionaries stay with us, or provide a meal. We can host prayer meetings for missionaries. We can serve on a missions stall or be involved in the missions group. We can serve on missions boards. We can help in the offices of missions in helping send out newsletters. We can help with fund raising ventures; such as we did last year through the concert that raised funds for a computer for Ken Nayau in Papua New Guinea.
All these are ways in which we can help in Gods mission. God has richly blessed us and he wants us to be a blessing to others.
[1] John 1:29
[2] Revelation 21:3
[3] Matthew 24:14
[4] Genesis 12:3
[5] Matthew 9:38
[6] Matthew 6:10
[7] Luke 6:38 NIV
[8] 2 Corinthians 9:7
[9] 1 Kings 17:8-16
[10] Matthew 28:19
[11] Isaiah 6:8
[12] Acts 16:15
[13] Acts 18:7
[14] Philippians 4:2-3
[15] Cf. Romans 16:3-5,