Global Mission, Local Vision pt4

I am most likely going to make some of us very uncomfortable today. And I am not going to apologize. As I have listened to LaTosha and Phill preach over these last few weeks, and pondered all that God is doing in our midst, I really was unsure of how to wrap up this series. And then this weekend God began to show me some things that need to happen as a result of what we have heard.

The real wrestling match for so many of us is not an acknowledgement of the truth of what we have been presented. It is the obedience that follows it. We have become far to conditioned and satisfied with agreeing remaining seated.

And it’s not just in the area we have been focusing on, it is most of the life we say we live as followers of Jesus. As if following Jesus is a matter of having right beliefs rather than having those beliefs change our lives.

(Larry Koonce story)

Being on mission has to start with getting uncomfortable- and I will be straight with you church, God can make your uncomfortable in your place of contentment if you are not willing to be obedient to Him because you are comfortable.

Peter is a perfect example.

Look with me at Acts 8:14-17- Peter leaves Jerusalem (first time)

Exiting comfort zone

This whole things kicks off after Stephen is killed. God is moving in other places, and the church in Jerusalem undergoing severe persecution, hears about it and dispatches Peter and John to go and see what is happening. This is the first time we see Peter leaving the comfort of Jerusalem and going to people who are not Jewish.

Acts Peter and Simon (8:18–24)

Through Peter and John’s participation, the Samaritan mission was given the stamp of approval of the mother church in Jerusalem. It was not just the undertaking of a maverick Hellenist missionary. It was endorsed, received, and enthusiastically participated in by the whole church

Church in order to be on mission we cannot be around people like us all the time. Period.

Jewish people did not like Samaritans. Yet these are the people who God is at work in who are in need of someone like Peter to help them be discipled.

Peter had to go for the Samaritans to know!

Same thing today. There are people we are called to who we are supposed to go to- to meet them on their turf.

There are a lot of places where we convince ourselves we should not go as followers of Jesus, especially in our day and age, that are not reflective of a missionary mindset. And as we have discussed ad nauseum the past year, that has to change, because we are no longer going to be expecting people to come to us.

And that means we are going to have to go where we are uncomfortable.

But it is more than just that one aspect. When you go once, it becomes more natural to go again. Look with me at Acts 9:32-35- second exit

Acts 2. Peter’s Witness in the Coastal Towns (9:32–43)

With Paul home in Tarsus, the narrative focuses once more on Peter. He last appeared in connection with the Samaritan mission (8:14–25). Now he participated in the greater Judean mission, evangelizing the coastal cities. Finally, he would witness to a Gentile, a key incident in establishing the mission “to the ends of the earth” (10:1–11:18). This small section on Peter’s witness to the coastal towns consists of two miracle stories: the healing of Aeneas (vv. 32–35) and the raising of Dorcas

Peter this time isn’t just meeting people who he has never met before, he is bringing encouragement.

I don’t think we consider this very often. In many of the places we go to, where Christians do not often go, the ones who are laboring in that field are tired. They need to be lifted up, healed, restored.

Sometimes God brings you to a place, a group, a world where the good that will be done is for others, not for you.

Peter comes to this region, and there is someone just like that- in a physical sense. And it is Peter, who God has appointed to restore him.

Acts (1) The Healing of Aeneas (9:32–35)

At Lydda, presumably in the Christian community, Peter found a paralytic by the name of Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years.55 Peter took the initiative to heal Aeneas without any request, much as Jesus did on occasion

(Pastor Nana story)

Finally, when we go, God speaks to us. He uses our exit from our comfort zone to make us more dependent, but also to change our perspective.

Acts 3. Peter’s Witness to a Gentile God-Fearer (10:1–11:18)

God led Peter to witness to the Gentile Cornelius. Through that experience Peter became fully convinced of God’s purposes to reach all peoples and hence became one of the greatest advocates of the mission to the Gentiles

Acts 10:1-48- the transformation of a willing heart

Seeing through different eyes

(Ryan in Ghana in 2016)

God gets Peter out of his comfort zone and then works on his heart. Do you see the way God is working here.

First, He has plans for Cornelius that involve Peter.

Acts (1) The Vision of Cornelius (10:1–8)

At this point the angel revealed nothing to Cornelius about his ultimate purpose for him, simply that he was to send to Joppa for a certain Simon named Peter. The additional note that Peter was staying with the tanner Simon serves to link the narrative with the previous (9:43) and was essential in providing the needed directions for locating him. Still very much in the dark about what God had in store for him

Then, He prepares Peter to receive the invitation by revealing to him something he would never have believed before- that God was working outside the Jewish nation or influence.

Acts (1) The Vision of Cornelius (10:1–8)

There was a substantial Jewish minority there and considerable friction between the Jews and the larger Gentile community. It was fitting that it should be the place where Peter came to terms with his own prejudices and realized that human barriers have no place with the God who “does not show favoritism.

Acts (2) The Vision of Peter (10:9–16)

A voice from heaven commanded Peter to rise, kill from among the animals, and satisfy his hunger. Peter was perplexed by the vision and protested vigorously. What the voice requested was strictly against the law. Never had he eaten anything defiled and unclean.84 The voice ignored his protest, reissuing the command and adding, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

Acts (2) The Vision of Peter (10:9–16)

It is simply not possible to fully accept someone with whom you are unwilling to share in the intimacy of table fellowship. The early church had to solve the problem of kosher food laws in order to launch a mission to the Gentiles. Purity distinctions and human discrimination are of a single piece

Next, God gives Peter confidence to trust those who are asking him to come with them.

Acts (3) Peter’s Visit to Cornelius (10:17–23)

In accordance with the Spirit’s direction, Peter descended the outside staircase that led from the roof to the courtyard below, identified himself, and eagerly inquired why they were seeking him. By now he had a good notion that they were a key piece in the puzzle of his vision. The men replied with the information Peter needed, which is all material the reader has already encountered. Luke could have summarized by simply noting that they told him of Cornelius’s vision. Instead, by employing dialogue, he repeated and thus underlined the important points of the vision.

Finally, Peter shares the Gospel with these Gentiles and they believe.

Acts (3) Peter’s Visit to Cornelius (10:17–23)

The messengers informed Peter that Cornelius was to “hear what you have to say” (v. 22). Peter began to see the ramifications of his vision. He was to witness to this centurion whom God had directed to him. That Peter was beginning to understand is exemplified by his inviting them to spend the evening as guests. Already he was beginning to have fellowship with Gentiles he formerly considered unclean

Acts (4) Shared Visions (10:24–33)

Peter’s vision had only related to unclean foods, but he had understood fully the symbolism of the creatures in the sheet. All were God’s creatures; all were declared clean. God had led him to Cornelius, and God had declared Cornelius clean. The old purity laws could no longer separate Jew from Gentile. Since God had shown himself no respecter of persons, neither could Peter be one anymore. Still, Peter had not realized the full implication of God’s sending him to Cornelius

Could this have happened to Peter if he had stayed in Jerusalem? Sure. God can do anything, but it is significant that God moved Peter away from his place of comfort to bring him to this point.

He wanted Peter’s full attention.

God wants your attention too.

And some of us, we are resistant to leaving our comfort zones, because are not confident God can provide for us away from where we are comfortable.

I hate to tell you this, but you are not providing for yourself here either. And God can make you uncomfortable here to get you to go.

Why would I not have been willing to listen in America? Simple. I would not have taken the time to listen.

Why do I keep bugging this church to get on a plane and fly to Africa? Because we need to see the church through their eyes, so our eyes can be better aligned here in Yukon.

Where is God calling you out of your comfort zone (Gospel presentation here)

Christian why are you ignoring the specific promptings of God to go?