The Missionary Church - W.O.W.

Welcome

Well, good morning everyone! It’s good to be here with you today. If we haven’t met yet, my name is Dan and I serve as the pastor here for Lifepoint, Worthington.

Introduction

It’s a big day for us at Lifepoint! We’re finishing up our Wide Open World series - which as been both a reminder of the work God has called us to AND an invitation for each one of us to join in what God is doing locally, nationally, and globally.

Over the last three weeks, we’ve looking at the history of the earliest followers of Jesus in the Book of Acts to see what they were like, what they valued, what they were all about! And the asking the question, how does this help us follow Jesus today?

And the book of Acts is interesting because read it as a Follower of Jesus is not just to open up and read an historical account of just any group of people…it is to read your story! It describes your roots…and while life may look profoundly different today—2,000 years and 6,000 miles removed from when and where all these events originally took place, this is still your history.

And I think there’s something quite profound about. Because history is powerful.

I was listening to a podcast recently with historian and author Ian W. Toll and he was asked why he given his life to studying this time history…and his answer was so interesting. He said this:

“History is like a conversation between the past and the present…about the future.”

And what he was getting at is that when people understand where they came…and and have clear picture of that…it not only sheds light on who they are today and perhaps why they do some of the things the do…it also helps plot the trajectory of what the future may hold…and can at least point in the direction of where it may be leading.

There is a great movie that encapsulates this idea.

How many of you seen the movie Moana? Here’s the basic plot…and I promise this doesn’t give too much away if you haven’t seen it.

The move takes place in the Polynesian islands and focuses in on the daughter of an Island Chief named Moana…and she’s getting ready to take over as the next chief.

When the movie starts, everything is all good on the island…it’s like paradise.

The people have everything they need and are not looking for anything else…and they have no desire to go beyond the reef into the open ocean. It’s not safe…they don’t know whats out there…so it’s better to say where they’re at.

The problem is that Moana has more of the adventurous spirit and is constantly wanting to go out into the water.

Things come to a head when a disease starts to spread through the Island killing off the food supply…the plant life is dying…the fish have all died off or gone away and things begin turn to this black rock material.

And while Moana sees this as the perfect opportunity to leave the island and find something new for her people, no one, especially dad, the chief, is willing to go or even let her go find something new. And it’s a bit of a catch 22 because if they leave they believe they’ll drown…but if they stay, they just slowly die off. And they choose to stay.

But there is this fascinating scene that finally pushes Moana over the edge to risk going out into the open ocean. She finds a hidden cove that has kept all of the boats her ancestors used generations ago to get to the island she’s currently on…she’s never seen these before…she’s never even heard of them.

And comes to this realization: we were voyagers.

She sees for the first time that her past is the story of her people taking to the open ocean getting out into the unknown and most importantly…her past is a part of who she is.

They were voyagers…she is a voyager…and therefore must take the step to voyage out into the future for the good of her people.

But it all hinges on that moment when she walks out of the cove…and for the first time…see’s her history for what it was and realizes “We were voyagers.”

And I bring all of this up, friends, because in a very real way…the moment for Moana…in recognizing her past and seeing how it propels her into her future…is the same effect the book of Acts is supposed to produce in us today.

That when we look at this book…we see the story of our people…our spiritual ancestors…and see that they were a part of a vibrant, thriving, compelling, risky movement of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. And friends, my hope is, as we close out this series, we too come to see that this same movement of the Gospel that got us here…from 1 century Jerusalem to 21st century Columbus…is the same movement we are apart of today. We are caught up in the same unfinished story of the book of Acts and must set are eyes on what is still ahead for us. Lifepoint, we are a part of something much bigger than a community of faith on the North side of Columbus…And the book of Acts put’s this front and center for us.

In the passage we’re looking at today, we’ll see three aspects of a church living out the mission of Jesus is doing…three aspects of a missional church. That takes the message of locally, nationally, and globally.

So if you’re not there yet, open up to Acts chapter 11. I’ll pray and then we’ll get started.

PRAY

Sharing

Alright, let’s get started.

We’re looking at three attributes of a missional church.

The first one is that a missional church is sharing the good news of Jesus.

Take a look with me at verses 19-26 (Acts 11:19-26).

Acts 11:19–26 ESV

19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

Exegesis

So what’s going on here?

Luke, the author of Acts, is talking about people who were scattered because of the Persecution of Stephen - which is what we looked at last week - He’s just giving us a closer look at what else happened in that scattering.

Stephen, you’ll remember, was out debating with the religious leaders in Jerusalem and sharing the message of Jesus with them…but in response, the religious leaders but Stephen on trial, accused and publically executed him, sparking a movement of other religious zealots to follow suit and hunt down the Christians in Jerusalem…so they scatter all over the place.

He says in v. 19 (Acts 11:19) they traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. Let me show you a map so you can see just how far out they’ve spread. Most of the story is going to take place in the city of Antioch.

But at the end of v. 19. Luke says the ones who were scattered spoke, “…the word to no one except Jews.”

What’s up with that?

Well, remember, these people originally were scattered from Jerusalem—that’s probably where they were from...surrounded by other ethnically Jewish people—and they ended up in these cities that had Jewish communities. And, at this time, the prevailing belief for many of the earliest Christians was the because Jesus himself was Jewish…then the message about Jesus would then be for the Jewish people. So that’s who they’re sharing with.

But then, in v. 20, Luke tells us another group of people came from Cyrene and Cyprus—take a look at the map again—and they come to Antioch as well..but they are sharing the message of Jesus with the Hellenists—which means Greeks…non-Jewish people.

And something interesting is happening here…something that Luke’s audience would have picked up on right away but we probably jump right over. These are followers of Jesus who have grown up in Jewish communities outside of Jerusalem in what’s called the diaspora…they are hellenistic Jewish people.

Here’s the thing…these are believers who, though their belief system was Jewish, culturally, they were Greek. They probably spoke Greek…they would have been brought up swimming in greek culture…and it’s Followers of Jesus from these regions that are the first ones in Acts 11 to start to share the message of Jesus with the non-Jewish Greeks.

You think about that for a moment…because there is something of a bridge between them because of the shared cultural experience. These Christians from Cyrene and Cyprus have been around greek culture their entire lives…they understand the worldview…they know the insider language they know how to engage in this culture…and it’s no surprise that these are the people they start sharing with because they already have a foot in the door? You follow me?

I’m mean this is a really cool picture of the church getting out and sharing the message of Jesus with those around them, but we get this neat glimpse into how they were going about it, right? I

It begs the question…who do you have your foot in the door with?

Let me give you an example…a few years ago, Courtney and I joined what was called A Disciple Making Intensive…a DMI. It was a group of about 10 of us (most of us with kids) who would meet together for an hour of prayer each week and two hours of going out to the streets to have spiritual conversations with people.

Because we had kids, it was super easy for us to head over to the park and start talking with parents.

But one of the things we learned is that Courtney had a lot more “luck” (if you want to call it that) than I did at the parks…and some of you who know us are not surprised by that at all…my wife is way more fun to talk to than I am.

But really, we started to recognize that when we were going out, there were generally a lot more moms—than dads. And I’m not trying to say that men can’t have spiritual conversations with women or the other way around…but honestly, it’s one thing for me to strike up a conversation with a women I don’t know at the park that’s relatively deep. Courtney to walk up and start a conversation…she’s got the foot in the door. She’s living the same thing. She’s got a connection that I don’t have there.

Every single one of us has a foot in the door somewhere…with some one. We all have our groups…

Maybe it’s the life stage that you’re in…maybe it’s the profession you’re in…or a shared cultural background.

This does not mean we only share with those people we have a foot in the door with. In fact we are going to see later on in this story that there are times when Christians are sent out to places where they don’t currently have their foot in the door…sent out to move to a new neighborhood, city, region, or country.

But the example in Acts 11 is that we are strategic with sharing the message of Jesus with others.

Application

And what does it look like for us to be out and sharing the good news of Jesus? Let me give you two practical opportunities to join in sharing the good news with others.

Let people know you went to church and that it’s a meaningful part of your life.

Invite someone with you - we live in one of the fastest growing cities in the country, there are always new people.

Summary

The first attribute of a missional church is the church is out sharing the good news of Jesus.

Supporting

Here’s the second one…and we’re going to fly through this pretty quickly…but here we go. The second attribute of a missional church…A missional church is a supporting church.

Look with me at v. 27 (Acts 11:27-30)

Acts 11:27–30 ESV

27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

So these christians hear about a tangible need that’s coming up among some of the other churches in the region of Judea…and the determine to use what they believe God has given them to help meet those needs.

And there is so much we could spend our time talking about here, right? I mean you have this wonderful open-handedness that these Followers of Jesus have…there is no territorial-ness going on here…they are simple seeking to live generously with what they have.

It’s nothing glamorous, but I think it’s important to pause and look at the generosity of these believers and what this means for a missional church.

A missional church is a supporting church. It’s filled with people who are looking to what they have and asking how we might use it to continue supporting the work that God is doing.

Right now, this plays out in a few different ways at Lifepoint.

Each year, we set aside at least 20% budget to give away outside the walls of Lifepoint. This goes to financially supporting new church plants in our city and across this nation…this goes to cover about 50% of the cost for people going on short term trips from Lifepoint…

Application: Give

One way that you can practically apply this is by faithfully giving to your local church.

Our Goal is for 19,000

We budget for 51 weeks out of the year

Some of you will be stirred to give more during this week.

Summary

The second attribute of a missional church is that it is a supporting church.

Spreading Out

Finally, the third attribute we see from this passage…a missional church is not just sharing, it’s not just supporting…but a missional church is also spreading out.

Look with me at Acts 13:1-3

Acts 13:1–3 ESV

1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

The Holy Spirit says to this church in Antioch, I want you to set aside Paul and Barnabas for the work that I’ve called them to.

And from this moment on, the book of Acts starts to follow the life of Paul and his journey’s throughout the Mediterranean world and how he was sharing, supporting, and sending others to spread out around the world with the message of Jesus.

They take two members of their church…and they are spread out. They go to where Jesus is not yet proclaimed.

Paul will write these words later in his life recorded in Romans 15 (Rom. 15:18-20 ).

Romans 15:18–20 ESV

18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,

Paul says we are going to spread out around the world until there is no place left where Jesus is not named or known.

That’s where he’s going.

Church, That’s where we’re going.

Spreading out until there is no place left where Jesus is not named or known…both in our city and globally.

At Lifepoint, our desire is to spread out, by sending of our members to live cross culturally in those areas of the world and among people groups where Jesus is not named our known.

SHORT TERM TRIPS

LONG TERM

Friends, let me jump back to what I said in the beginning for a moment. A missional church is actively sending people out to be ambassadors and representatives of Jesus to the world around them. A missional church is sending them out to share…support…and spread out far and wide with the good news of Jesus.

And I’ll say this…this kind of message is any easy one to try and hype us up a bit…like ‘yeah, we’re going to be a missional church!’

But this is hard work. This is hard hard work.

Because for a church to be missional or for you to live on mission, it requires much from us.

I believe one of the greatest threats facing the church in our context today is the pervasive individualism that has embedded itself into our practice of the Christian faith. And it’s not hard to see how that has happened.

The pursuit of individualism has become one of the greatest values in our culture…spoken of as a basic human right. It’s the idea that all of us should have the ability to manifest our true selves…to live our OWN truths…be be our most authentic selves without any need to conforming to some outside standard. This is the prevailing cultural narrative we are all swimming in on a daily basis.

But the Christian worldview is quite different…one that is based on universal claims of truth…where Jesus DOES to conform His standard…not for oppression or power but for true freedom…to experience life the way it was meant to be lived!

And the challenge with individualism within Christianity is that we begin to live as if our faith in Jesus is merely a personal decision…something between us and God, and really no one else.

It becomes our individual belief.

Our personal faith.

The gospel becomes good news of great joy…for me.

But you see, the a New Testament in general and Acts chapter 11 in particular offer A very different picture for us!

That we are sent to them as Jesus was first sent to us.

Gospel…he was sent to a people to who did Not deserve him or earn his favor.

Let me say this…as Christian, you are sent…the only question is where. And in doing this, we earn the name Christian.

Think back to the movie Moana…are we like the rest of the villagers…or even the chief? Have we forgotten our history? Have we forgotten where we came from? Have we forgotten that we were missionaries?

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