Heart for Missions

Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

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So last week we talked a lot about the need for missions. The goal for that week just as a reminder was to see the need going on around the world with the intent to want to do something to change that.

We Have Responsibility

The truth is we are accountable of the salvation of the people around the world even if they are far away. It doesn’t mean they always get saved, it just means that if they go to hell without former witness when possible, we are accountable. There is a scripture in Ezekiel that talks about this very specifically. It reads in Ezekiel 33:1-3

Ezekiel 33:1–3 NLT

Once again a message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman. When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people.

Ezekiel 33:4–6 NLT

Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’

A new testament example to further complement our responsibility

Acts 18:5–6 NLT

And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.”

Though this was Paul’s attitude he also explicitly stated that he would be willing to be cut off from Christ if it meant that the Jews would accept the promise in Romans 9:3.

Resources is a Broad Category

The word of God is an example, are we reading it?

According to “The Journey from Texts to Translations” by Paul D. Wegner on pg. 208 shows that Codex Sinaiticus, the entire bible in 350 AD was worth 30,000 denarii

A Roman legionary was paid 750 denarii a year.

Money is a resource that is a fantastic resource for the kingdom, where is it spent?

The reason why I want to talk about money and resources is because it is essential that the body of Christ is generous with their money. Money is an important part of ministry and seeing people saved. You can’t do mission trips if you don’t have a plane ticket. You can’t be a generous giver, if you’re always the one in need. God wanted the Israelites to be blessed, so that they can be a blessing. In Deuteronomy 28:9-14 it reads:

9 The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, 14 and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

What can we do to respond to this scripture?

Verse 12 is an amazing example of proper use of resources. What type of witness does lending to nations of paganism have in contrast to always being in need with the God who created all wealth? Having resources to give to nations is a fantastic witness to the influence of God in that nation. Being blessed is a witness in itself. This is what life is like with the Lord. The ideal lifestyle of the Christian is to be blessed. You don’t have sin. You don’t argue with other family members 24/7. You have healthy relationships. You have plenty of food. You have stability and not uncertainty. The children feel secure by the love of their parents. That is the blessed Christian home.

So it is clear through scripture that wealth serves as an opportunity to serve and to help people for the purposes of the Lord. We can also see that it is God’s will that we have sufficiency in what we have. The desires God had for the Israelites millennia ago are still normal expectations.

How is this still practical today?

God wants Christians to make use of the resources that they have. For instance, in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 it reads:

Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

What can we gleam from this?

We can see that the churches even through a time of distress found abundant joy in generosity when it comes to wealth. “They gave not only what they could afford, but more.”

We can see that their earnestness for giving was seen in their zeal to give. “They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.”

We can also see that their giving was in conjunction with their surrender to God. “They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.”

How can we be like these Christians and so generously give to the cause.

We can participate in giving to the cause of the ministry especially when we have a joy in giving. If you see the value in the donation, then there is joy. If giving means that you will see many more people come to Christ through the simplicity of your generosity, then there should be joy if your goals are kingdom minded. Seeing the fruit of your giving is going to fuel your pleasure in giving. That’s one of the primary reasons why I wanted to share with people when I came back about my visit to Thailand, because I wanted the people who gave to see what it was for. That’s one thing I took away from the others that are more permanent at YWAM. It’s necessary to have communication in ministry. We have to have relationship with those that are involved. If you’re going to give your resources to ministries it would be so much better if you were involved with the ministry too. And one fine example of this would be church. If you’re going to tithe, it would be even better if you had more relationships with the people, especially the staff, as well as volunteering and serving in whatever ways you can. I want to share two examples from my time at YWAM when God put me to the test when it came to giving financially. *Share the experience with the guy who you gave 450 dollars to as well as the guy who you gave 200 dollars to who wanted to go to Japan.

I don’t love telling these stories but I do for the sake of encouraging others or edifying other believers because I prefer to have secrets that only God and I have when it comes to times when the Holy Spirit provokes me to do something. The reasoning is, if I receive a blessing or a word from a person though they know nothing, I know that it is from God, and that it is God’s favor being exercised through his people, and not because I persuade people or put on a facade to receive certain reactions.

6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving.

Giving is a ministry, and the more you give, the more God trusts you to use your money for kingdom.

7 Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.

To excel is to give

10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. 11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. 12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.

It doesn’t matter if you’re wealthy or if you’re poor, remember verse 12, “whatever you give is acceptable, if you give it eagerly.”

13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. 14 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. 15 As the Scriptures say,

“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over,

and those who gathered only a little had enough.”

Using our abundance to help those that are in need is a biblical principal. The truth is to some degree, we all have something to give. We could have something to give if we got rid of the non-essentials. The scripture doesn’t teach against having abundance, the scripture teaches against wrong motivations with abundance. Referring back to the scripture in Deuteronomy 28,

12 The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.