Supporting
Back to the Basics • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Inro:
So far we have covered the importance of
praying
Reading (your Bible)
getting rid of idols and sin that separates you from God
Sharing the Love and Message of Christ with Nonbelievers
Depending on God
Expecting the Miraculous
Discipling others and Growing
Supporting missions to help fulfill the great commission
GOD HAS ENTRUSTED HIS CHURCH WITH THE cause of world missions and the propagation of the gospel.
What a privilege we have to respond to that calling.
I can’t think of anything more fulfilling than being used of God
to invite lost and spiritually dying people
to come to Christ
and to partake of the spiritual life
and eternal inheritance I enjoy.
Scripture speaks of the great rejoicing in heaven
whenever a lost member of humanity is restored to fellow- ship with our Heavenly Father (Luke 15:7).
“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
God’s calling to reach the lost is expressed in the believer’s life in several ways.
I have spoken of our responsibility to love the lost
and to be a living example of Jesus before them.
But the Great Commission is much more far-reaching than just our sphere of influence.
Look again at Mark 16:15:
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
and at Acts 1:8:
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
How can any one of us hope to go “into all the world”
or have a spiritual impact on “all creation”?
I believe God has called each of us in His church
to do several things as participants in this Great Commission.
Each one of us is a powerful mechanism for sharing the gospel.
And together, these elements will not only equip and strengthen our missionaries around the world,
but also will breathe new life into our local churches
and into the homes of participating believers.
So lets talk about the ways that we can support missions and fulfill the great commission
Prayer: Supporting Missionaries in the Spiritual Realm
Prayer: Supporting Missionaries in the Spiritual Realm
First and foremost, we are privileged to pray.
Jesus said,
“Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
Since its inception, the Assemblies of God has been known as a praying church.
There is no way to overstate the value of prayer
especially on behalf of our missionaries.
And prayer plays a dramatic role in missions ministry
from the very beginning of a missionary’s experience, prayer is vital.
Take a look in some well-known Christian magazines
and you will find ministry organizations advertising for new recruits,
new ministry partners to serve in regions of need.
That is commendable.
Those men and women who respond to such pleas
are honoring God with their life service.
But here is an interesting fact about the Assemblies of God.
We do not advertise or recruit our missionary candidates.
As a result of the prayers for missions across our Fellowship,
our World Missions and U.S. Missions divisions have never been short of candidates.
Why?
As the church prays,
the Holy Spirit does the recruiting.
Every year men and women approach our missions boards
with testimony after testimony of the call of God upon their lives
and their response to the voice of the Spirit sending them forth.
Prayer identifies and activates our missionary candidates.
Prayer then provides incredible spiritual support for those missionaries
as they serve faithfully.
Let me just take a moment
and tell you how essential
and how critical
that kind of consistent prayer is.
This world is darkened spiritually.
Unregenerate people sink ever deeper into depravity.
From the beginning of human history
we see this mindset described.
In the days of Noah,
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Paul spoke of the great darkness of the human heart:
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
What happens in a region where people are far from the gospel?
The powers of darkness have greater liberty
to increase spiritual oppression
and bind people in sin and sorrow.
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Prayer, then, becomes a wonderful undergirding for our missionaries
and a powerful weapon against a demonic enemy in the regions where missionaries serve.
Paul coveted the prayers of early Christians
as he carried the gospel across the Mediterranean world.
Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you;
and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.
When our missionaries come face-to-face
with the forces of evil in the world today,
they must live in the daily assurance of their divine calling.
Your prayers and my prayers
serve to enliven within them
that sense of God’s presence and assurance.
Why do you think we put the list of our missionaries that we support in the bulletin each week?
Missionaries must know they have been called-
they must know they have not simply chosen some occupation
or profession.
And every demon of hell must know
that our missionaries have come
as Holy Spirit empowered emissaries
to expand the borders of a victorious church.
These stats are over 15 years old, so I know they are outdated, and these numbers are much higher today, but
The U.S. Assemblies of God numbers more than two thousand missionaries around the world
as well as several thousand in the United States.
Assemblies of God fellowships around the globe
are sending out thousands of missionaries as well
As these fellowships prayerfully identify and support these missionaries
we are seeing some forty thousand people a week
added to the church
through this Great Commission inspired enterprise.
that is reason to rejoice.
Finances: Supporting Missionaries in the Temporal Realm
Finances: Supporting Missionaries in the Temporal Realm
The second piece of this global plan of God
and the work of His Spirit
is the privilege we have to support missionaries
and to send them-
with our prayers
AND with material support.
I feel a great personal responsibility in this area
and Jeslyn and I personally give to missions monthly
through the vanco app
We do that because we want to have a part in what those missionaries are doing in the field.
When they are bringing hope into hopelessness,
when they are bringing health to those who are physically hurting,
when they are bringing Jesus to those who have never heard of Jesus,
when men and women and children are becoming members of the family of God-
in places Jeslyn and I will never visit
all of this is taking place in part
as a result of our privilege of investing in those missionaries.
In reality, first and foremost, we get to have a part in what God is doing.
Who here remembers the old shake and bake commercials?
I had a bootleg copy of Star Wars Holiday Special
The only way to get that, btw
but this commercial was included
“And I helped”
When you support missions you are linking up with God himself.
and when you pray and financially support missions
you get to chime in with “and I helped”
It isn’t a matter of the Assemblies of God.
The Assemblies of God is merely a tool in our Heavenly Father’s hand.
When you support missions you are linking up with God and you are saying to Him,
“God, I believe in this matter of missions
that You originated when You told us to go into the world and preach the gospel.”
Never forget, the Lord of the harvest issued the Great Commission.
You and I are demonstrating our support to the Lord for His missions program.
Yes, it may be through a fellowship called the Assemblies of God,
but we are really demonstrating that we believe what the Lord called us to do.
Many of you give faithfully to missions every month
but there are some here who made a faith promise pledge to give who have been less than faithful
and there are some here who have yet to have the opportunity to give to missions
well it’s never too late to start giving
I encourage you to set it up in the vanco app to come out automatically
whether it’s a small amount or a large amount
every little bit helps
I also want to remind you that missions is separate from your tithe. Missions should be a commitment above and beyond the 10% given.
Paul was sent to give relief to the believers in Judea by the Church in Antioch when a famine struct the land
Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.
And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.
And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.
He himself was sent as a missionary and was supported by other churches
I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you;
and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so.
Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.
You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone;
for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.
Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.
But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Let me share one final thought about how the Assemblies of God uses missions funds.
There are many wonderful ministry organizations soliciting funds from believers today.
But many of them have relatively high operational costs.
Sometimes only half or even less of a donation will find itself making it to the point of need.
Fifty percent of a donation may be directed to that organization’s overhead to pay salaries etc.
Red cross has a 9% overhead
4-H has a 27% overhead
Girl scouts have about 15% overhead
Ronald McDonald has a 21% overhead
World Vision has a 13% overhead
Feed the Children only 41% given goes to programs
Disabled Police and Sheriffs Foundation (DPSF) only 1% actually given to disabled officers
In the Assemblies of God, only 5 percent of every dollar donated
is used for the operations of World Missions or U.S. Missions,
which means 95 percent of donated funds are used to support our missionaries
in place and the effective outreaches they oversee.
That is remarkable stewardship,
and God gets all the glory.
Practical Ministry: Supporting Missionaries with Our Strength
Practical Ministry: Supporting Missionaries with Our Strength
Our missionaries are taking the gospel into regions where the good news has never been heard,
or where the avenues for communicating the truth of Christ are greatly limited.
Along with that message of spiritual life,
our missionaries and our affiliated Assemblies of God fellowships are working to meet pressing physical needs.
Latin America ChildCare, for example,
is educating and feeding impoverished children across Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Africa’s Children is ministering to boys and girls from one coast of that continent to the other.
HealthCare Ministries sends teams of doctors and nurses to areas around the world where medical treatment is almost nonexistent.
As they diagnose illness and distribute medication,
these wonderful medical professionals are also sharing one-on-one the truth of the gospel.
Project Rescue is rescuing women and children from Asia’s brothels.
I could go on, for the list is long and a powerful testimony to God’s faithfulness.
When a disaster strikes a community or region-
such as tsunami
wild fires
hurricanes
our missionaries are already feet on the ground to help and churches step in.
You may not know that many other religious bodies
and many independent churches
send their disaster relief through the Assemblies of God Convoy of Hope
because we have missionaries on the field in place
and congregations able to respond right then and there.
These ministries all point beyond our financial support of missions to our direct support.
I believe it is healthy for the local church to allow laypeople to have a part in a missions project or missions trip
and go to the foreign field to help build a church,
help build a Bible school,
to see missions first- hand through a relief project.
Assemblies of God churches send teams around the world
for a week or two at a time to work with our missionaries
during key moments of ministry.
This principle holds true in the United States.
Think again of Acts 1:8:
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Our “Jerusalem” is our hometown U.S.A.
Our “Judea” and “Samaria” are right here in this country.
And of course, “the ends of the earth” encompasses the whole world and a well-rounded missions program.
When we do a missions prayer night, and you have an opportunity to read all of the updates for our missionaries and pray for them
show up
In May when we do our mission’s month, be prepared to prayerfully consider how much you can afford to give to missions
on average we give $70 per missionary each month
consider giving enough to cover one or two with your support alone
if you can’t afford that, give half of that
take ownership of this great mission
While there are no plans now, consider investing your time and money into attending a missions trip
missions trips aren’t just for teens
in fact, they are often more successful when the majority of the group is adult
I think every Christian should go on at least one missions trip
Family: Raising Up Tomorrow’s Missionaries
Family: Raising Up Tomorrow’s Missionaries
There is another aspect in missions that becomes so vital.
Jesus said,
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
He was not calling for hatred in our modern understanding of the word.
Jesus was using an expression from the culture of that day that indicated supreme choice.
In other words, whoever is not willing to prioritize a relationship with Christ
over that of a father,
mother,
wife,
sibling,
or child,
and put aside personal ambition as well,
cannot truly be Christ’s follower.
This truth is expressed from two sides in the life of the missionary.
One of the great testimonies of missionaries today is that they are willing to leave the comforts of home,
to leave family,
to leave loved ones,
to leave children,
to leave occupations,
and abandon themselves to the call of God.
The one to whom God speaks must be willing to lay aside plans and ambitions,
and honor that calling.
On the other side of this dynamic principle,
parents and loved ones
must be willing to release children and family members.
They must be ready to say,
“Lord, as much as we would like to have our loved ones near us and by us,
we are willing to commit them to You.
Your will be done.”
That calls for personal sacrifice,
but there is a joy that comes with that commitment
that no one can ever know
until they find themselves in that moment of obedient surrender.
There is a joy that comes both to the person who is obeying
and to the family that is sending.
There is no greater joy than to say,
“Lord, they are Yours.
They were gifts to us,
and now we give them back to You, Lord.
Fulfill Your will and Your pleasure in their lives.”
And when that happens great joy comes to all.
