Miss Patrick

Our world is full of compelling things. Things that force us to act or demand our attention. We are compelled to eat and drink. We are compelled to follow the rules of a board game. We are compelled to obey the laws of our land. You may feel compelled to check your smartphone every 5 min. Like it or not, our lives are full of things that compel us to action. Patrick had a compelling call from God to return back to the place where he was held as a slave for so many years. I can’t imagine going back to the place that caused him so much sadness and suffering, but the call of God upon his life to bring the gospel to those who needed to hear it in Ireland and his love for the people compelled him to do it. Patrick rightly claimed that Ireland did not belong to Satan, but it belonged to God and he dedicated his life to seeing that the truth of the gospel would be spread to that people. This world belongs to Christ. North America belongs to Him, Ireland belongs to Him, and Bangladesh belongs to Him. God has brought us all here for a purpose to bring more praise and glory to the name of Jesus. In the same way that Patrick yearned for the Irish people to be set free from druid religion and that they would know Jesus, does your heart burn that those who are chained to false religion here would be set free by the power of the gospel and that we would see more hands in Heaven raised in worship of the lamb of God from every skin color and every tribe, tounge, and nation? Despite every reason for him to stay in safety after his escape, God called Patrick back to Ireland to preach the gospel to the people in the missionary spirit. God has also brought us all here now for such a time as this that we can point our community to the only One who will give them freedom from their sin and eternal life.

I want to read a passage for you that helped to bring us here to Bangladesh and which encompasses this spirit.

1 Corinthians 9:13–18 (NASB95)

13 Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar?

14 So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.

15 But I have used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one.

16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.

17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.

18 What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

The verses I really want to draw attention to are verses 16 and 17. Paul (or at the time, Saul) was originally known as an enemy of Christians and of the new church. But then God dramatically changes his life’s purpose on the road to Damascus as he sees and hears the resurrected Christ from Heaven which causes Paul to temporarily loose his sight and challenging him to change his life.

We all have a commission to bring the gospel and the truth of God’s word to those within our circles of influence. On this campus we do that through medical ministries, translating God’s word, directing evangelistic programs, and relational ministries. We each hold great responsibilities as we seek to point this community to Jesus as its only hope. We have an adversary and enemy who does not want to see that happen… Satan wants to place obstacles in our way of us accomplishing this task and we must understand this if we are going to walk confidently without stumbling.

In 1 Cor. 9:16. Paul says, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. Paul could do nothing else, no other way to turn. God had miraculously called him into His service to preach the gospel. It was Paul’s commission, his duty, and his joy to give testimony of how Jesus changed his life and how only by grace, through faith, that sinners who are dead in their sin can be made alive in Christ. For Paul, to do anything else but being able to preach the gospel would bring “woe” or sorrow upon him.

I believe that God has a purpose for you which He has placed in your heart. He has given each of you a desire like Paul that you just have to do, you are compelled so much that if it were taken away from you, you would be woeful and incomplete. This is part of the sovereign purpose of God for your life. God explains his sovereign purpose for each of His children in Eph. 2:8-10.

Eph. 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We see God’s purpose for you in how He made the path of salvation by grace through faith. This is not our boast but all to the praise and glory of God. Salvation is part of God’s plan for your life. Next, God made us all truly amazing. We are a creation of God! We are "fearfully and wonderfully made"! This is something that only God can do. Verse 10 speaks of handiwork or workmanship as the salvation for all mankind which we have received by grace through faith. Not only did He create our bodies, but God in His goodness made a plan of salvation which we have the privilege to be a part of. Since being saved is part of the work of God Himself, as a result, we are able to do good works which God has set before us to do to His praise and to His glory. Our good works do not make us any more holy, but our good works are a result of God working out His plans through His beloved children. Our desire to serve God and to love others is a part of the plan and handiwork of God. It is our joy and pleasure to serve God as we build up His church and reach our community with the hope of the gospel. God made us to love our neighbor and to serve Him.

Before we close in prayer, let me ask you a few questions again. What compels you? Just like Patrick or like the apostle Paul, what is the calling upon your life that you cannot rest until see it completed? Are you devoting yourself to the right kind of mission or are you simply running the hamster wheel to get through the day? What is the mission which God has placed in your heart and prepared for you to do from the beginning of time that you are compelled to do or you will find yourself saying woe to me if I don’t finish it. The Christian life is one of victory, and I challenge you to fully devote yourself with the breath, strength, and abilities the Lord has given you to see true hope being given to our community and to bring more glory to the strong name of the Lord! -Let’s pray!