The motive of missions
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14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
Introduction
Explain: The example of the Moravian missionaries
The story begins when Protestant refugees from the Catholic country of Moravia, following the legacy of reformer John Hus, came to Germany and settled on the land of Count Zinzendorf.
The community of about 300 people was soon attacked by division and disagreement, and the 27-year-old Zinzendorf cried out to God for reconciliation and revival.
1727 the small community of 300 started a round the clock prayer vigil…with one person praying for an hour at a time.
They based the prayer meeting on Lev 6:13
The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
This prayer vigil would go on unbroken for the next 100 years.
God gave this group a great revival that led to one of the most powerful examples of Christian missions that we have in history.
Count Zinzendorf their leader, was a man with a tremendous burden to see the lost saved around the world and his motto was, “I have one passion; it is for Jesus, and Jesus only.”
The community became greatly burdened for taking the gospel to the unreached people of the world.
After one message on missions and a call for laborers, 26 men came forward to go to out as missionaries to the unreached places of the world.
Keep in mind they were a congregation of only around 300. This is almost a full 10% of their church surrendering to go.
A seal was designed to express their new found missionary zeal.
The seal was composed of a lamb on a crimson ground, with the cross of resurrection and a banner of triumph with the motto; “Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow Him.”
The Moravians recognized themselves in debt to the world as the trustees of the gospel.
Over the next 65 years, this small group of believers would send 300 missionaries all over the world.
William Carey, who is known as the father of modern missions, was deeply inspired by the example of the Moravians and took their prolific missions activity as a personal challenge:
Carey said, “See what the Moravians have done! Cannot we follow their example and in obedience to our Heavenly Master go out into the world, and preach the Gospel to the heathen?”
The Moravians had a powerful influence on the birth of the Great Awakening, too.
John Wesley, one of the leaders of this revival that hit the UK and the American colonies in the 1730s and 40s, was shocked and marked by witnessing the faith of the Moravians amid a storm at sea, and went on to fully trust Christ for salvation under their preaching.
Wesley lived with the Moravians at Herrnhut for several months, and the impact they had on him was carried over into his leadership of the Methodist Revival and the Great Awakening alongside Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, in which tens of thousands were powerfully convicted of sin and surrendered to Jesus.
One of the most powerful testimonies amongst the many Moravian missionaries happened in 1732.
In 1732, five years after the initial prayer revival, two Moravian tradesmen, 36-year-old David Nitschmann and 26-year-old Johann Leonhard Dober, became the first missionaries to leave Herrnhut.
They heard of the plight of African slaves on the island of St. Thomas in the Caribbean, and how there was a spiritual hunger but they had no one to share the gospel with them.
They determined to go by any means necessary, even when they were told they would have to sell themselves into slavery in order to minister among the slaves.
As they stood on the ship departing from the wharf, looking for what they believed to be the last time of the faces of their loved ones, they raised their fists and cried, “MAY THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN RECEIVE THE REWARD OF HIS SUFFERING.”
The Moravian’s passion for souls was surpassed only by their passion for the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
These missionaries understood the true motivation that is needed to truly fulfill the great commission…the love of Christ.
That is our topic for the message tonight…The Motive of Missions
The Love of Christ constraineth us.
We must have a burning passion in our hearts not just for the lost souls, but even more so for our Savior Jesus Christ.
Example: Paris Reedhead and how God showed him that the primary reason that God sent him to Africa was for His glory.
This is what the end result of missions is…the glory of Jesus Christ.
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
The fruit of missions....souls from every people, tongue, and nation, will stand in heaven and praise Jesus Christ for all eternity.
That is the endgame folks.
Example: I am in Colombia not just for the Colombians, not even primarily for the Colombians. The main reason I am there is because my Savior told me to go.
I am there for my Lord Jesus Christ.
Example: The guy that told me I was a fool for going and my response.
Oh that God would give us again that passion for the Lamb of God that the Moravian missionaries demonstrated for us.
If we can get a hold of this truth, if we are motivated primarily by a passion and a love for our Lord Jesus Christ…three things will happen that will allow us to accomplish the great commission.
1. His will becomes our delight
1. His will becomes our delight
8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: Yea, thy law is within my heart.
You can be involved in the great commission through personally witnessing to others in your home town, through sending missionaries to the field through giving, or going to the field yourself.
When we have our eyes focused on Christ and desire to please Him and lift Him up, just the act of obeying Him is a joy.
Christ said go ye into all the world…and we are so desirous to obey His will that we delight to do it.
Notice, this is the result of just loving deeply our Lord Jesus Christ.
When we love Christ…we want to do what He wants to do.
Example: Adam and bowling
When we love Christ…when our eyes are focused on Him…we will want to do what He wants to do!
And what Jesus wants to do is go reach others with the gospel!
If you want God’s heart for souls…that will be a natural conscience of your strong love and passion for Him.
What Jesus wants to do is send others to the mission field!
Example: Bethesda…Jesus went to Bethesda
Jesus Christ loves the lost souls of this world way more than anyone of us here tonight or any person living.
If our eyes are on Him…we will want to obey Him.
If we have a passion for Jesus Christ…we will delight to obey Him.
His will becomes our delight.
And we even show our love for Christ with our obedience.
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
I love that part, his commandments are not grievous.
Love makes all the difference in serving the Lord.
Example: Once a man saw a small 7-year-old girl holding a 4-year-old little boy in her arms as she tried to comfort him. She struggled holding the weight as he was very heavy for someone of her size. The man walked up and asked her, “little girl, isn’t that boy just a bit too big for you to hold like that? The little girl looked up and with a loving face replied, “no sir, he is not too big for me, he’s my brother.”
Love makes all the difference in our perception of what is too difficult for us to do.
If you view serving the Lord as something too difficult, or as something grievous…you might have a love problem.
Explain: The great joy I had working in the bus ministry … it was much work, but it wasn’t grievous because it was done in love for Christ and for others.
Love makes all the difference.
Example: Being a missionary, living a in third world country, is not a grievous life when you are doing it out of love for Jesus Christ.
Giving generously to send missionaries is not grievous when you do it out of a love for Christ.
Our motivation has to be love…it has to be our love for Christ and as a result a love for others.
14 Let all your things be done with charity.
For the person who loves Christ…his commandments are not grievous…missions is not an unbearable burden.
Its a joy.
I delight to do thy will of God.
If you today would say that going soul winning or giving to missions or serving the Lord is unpleasant to you…you have a love problem.
Your eyes are not on Christ and your love for Him is not what it should be.
And if you fix this problem, everything will change.
What you need is to rekindle your passion for Jesus Christ.
When you do this...His will becomes your delight.
2. Sacrifice will become your delight
2. Sacrifice will become your delight
22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee.
24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
Here we see David refuse to offer unto God that which cost him nothing.
He desired to sacrifice to God.
When we have a passion for Jesus Christ…when our love is firmly fixed on him, we will desire to make sacrifices for him.
Example: The importance of sacrifice in the Christin life - our church learning faith promise from Lazaro.
When we are delighting to do the will of Christ…we will want to give.
We will want to give so much that others won’t be able to stop us from doing so.
We will want to give sacrificially.
Not just what doesn’t affect us but what does affect us.
And we won’t be sad about it…we won’t be crying as we put the offering envelope in the plate…we will be smiling.
Example: My choice of going to Africa or buying a motorcycle
I was excited to give and go to Africa…I was excited to write my missions check…I just wanted to be a part of something that lifted up Christ.
Brethren, we get ahold of that…the joy of giving sacrificially…God will bless it in tremendous ways.
Don’t give to God what doesn’t cost you anything.
Have that love for Christ that will cause you to desire to give sacrificially.
What a joy it is to give in that way.
What a joy it is to give sacrificially and generously.
Note: God blesses us more than we give…today I get to ride a motorcycle on the mission field.
We should never give so that God blesses us, we should give out of love…but you will see God bless you when you give sacrificially
He didn’t have to bless, He is just good.
3. His presence becomes our delight
3. His presence becomes our delight
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
The greatest and most wonderful thing about having a passion for Jesus Christ is experiencing His presence in our lives.
Think of it: God desires to have communion with us.
When you live with that communion, that daily presence of God in your life, you have the greatest gift you could ever have.
Songs I love: What a friend we have in Jesus…As the Deer “your my friend and you are my Brother even though, you are a King. I love you more than any other so much more, than anything.
The greatest fear I have is ever losing that presence in my life, by being out of the will of God.
I can’t lose my salvation....but I can lose His communion.
That terrifies me.
If you are living tonight outside of that presence and communion friend, I feel so sorry for you.
Because I know how wonderful it is to be in the will of God.
It is God’s will for my life to be a missionary: Becaue of that for me, being a missionary is the greatest job anyone could ever have.
I have the best job in the world.
Not because its easy, not because it is without sacrifice, danger, etc.
Its because when im in the will of God, Im living my life abiding under the shadow of the Almighty.
11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
I can tell you this verse is true…if God were to call you to go…don’t be afraid of that.
What you will find walking in His presence…being right where He wants you to be…is fulness of joy and pleasures forevermore.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Because His desires become our desires.
Example: The great joy I have found serving the Lord on the mission field.
Don’t be afraid of God’s will for your life…be afraid of missing God’s will as a result of unbelief and disobedience.
Christian, find God’s will for your life and do it!
If God’s will for you is to help send others to the harvest field, then fulfill that calling with all your heart.
If God’s will for you is to be one of those laborers that goes out into the harvest field…then fulfill that calling with all your heart.
The greatest gift you could ever find in this life, is simply in the communion of walking in His presence.
In having a passion for Jesus Christ.
Maybe there was a time in your life when you had that passion…and you lost it.
Tonight, you can get it back.
You can come down to this altar, and you can get that right with God.
And you can begin once again to experience the great joy of abiding in the shadow of the Almighty.
Conclusion
Conclusion
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
What is missions all about?
Is it about winning the lost so they don’t go to hell…yes it is.
But its about much more than that.
Its about Jesus Christ.
And its important that we remember this
Otherwise we might be weirded and faint
If we have our eyes focused on Christ…if our love for Him is right, if our heart for Him is there…His mission will be our mission.
And His mission is reaching this lost world with the gospel.
Invitation