The mission goes on

Good evening guys! It is super awesome to be with you tonight! I am really just thrilled to be with you all. I missed you guys over the last couple of weeks. So I want you to know this as I was preparring for tonights talk a lot of joy filled my heart knowing I would get to be with you guys.

If you have your Bibles go ahead and open up to and we are going to look at vere 1-3 for some context and then we are going to dive right into chapter 14

Just a quick refreshare.

Jesus ascends into HEaven- Gives them a promise

- The spirit falls. The expierence the power of God and the gospel spreads. Beatiful picture let’s look at it 42-47

- Peter and John heal a dude and preach the gospel in the temple

acts 4 arrested told to be quite- Place where they prayed was shaken

- We see tradegy- Annais and sapharie. Teaching us a few things. First God takes sin seriosuly and second there are no perfect churches

acts 6- Men chosen to wait tabels- Introduced to Stephen

- Stephen is Killed(Paul)(Up to this pon’t the gospel hadn’t gone out of Jereusalm but as stephen is killed the gospel begins to spread.

- More Paul

- Paul gets saved

acts 10- Peter vision

-

- James is killed

and by the church begins to send out missionsaries.

Read acts 13-1-3

Diversity in the church and something else really cool.

look at verse 2. While they where worhsip the Lord there call came.

Let’s go back to -16-20

We call it the great commission. In fact a lot of what we do as far as going on mission in the church is based on this text. But there is actaully a first step we see in verse 16

English Standard Version Chapter 28

18 And Jesus came and said to them, h“All authority iin heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 jGo therefore and kmake disciples of lall nations, jbaptizing them min2 nthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them oto observe all that pI have commanded you. And behold, qI am with you always, to rthe end of the age.”

I love it.

I’ve been reading a book called the unhurried life lately and in the book the Author qoutes Paul Jensen when talking about this passage. saying our view of the great comission needs to be widened.

Jenese states there are 2 comissions here.

First- Jesus told his disicpels to go to the mountain. Meet him there, see him worship him, and expierencing his unconditinoal love, especially in the midst of their doubt.

the dsecond commission is to go and make disiples of all nations.

This is how missions is birthed. IT’s birthed out of a growing reality of who Jesus is and what he wants to do through us. And eys we are going to have dobuts in the midst of those moments but what I love about Jesus is he meets us in the midst of our doubts.

and to be honest if we always knew how what he has called us to do would play out we might not do it.

a lot of times

That’s why missions has to start with a heart of worhsip. And it’s out of our intamciy with Christ that our power to accomplish what he has called us to do flows.

so here is the thing. What do we notice in acts 13

The same thing. Here si the early church and what are they doing. Worshiping the Lord and fasting. In otherwords they are setting aside time to be with Jesus and it’s out of thier time with Jesus they are called and sent off to be on mission for him.

and it leads to a great question. At what point does our tendecy to hurry interfere with Gods call on our life

Most people have just thought the main command is go. But really it’s 2 commands. Be with me so As you go you can make disiciples that’s it

and what we learn is this making disciples will be some of the most rewarding and difficlut parts of our lives

I often wonder if Paul knew everything that was going to happen ove the next years would he have gone?

Read

So it’s interesting right?

The ministry starts off amazing. It’s almost similar to how Peter and Johns ministry started in Acts chapter 3

Paul sees this means reponse to what God is doing. Paul would ocntinue to share good news.

but something intersting happend. Becasue of some ancient legend that Zeus and Hermes had come seeking to be human the people who lived there believed that they had finally come in the form of Paul and Barnabas

So they began to worship them.

they dindn’t quite understand what was going on but they had to stop it. Show they tore their clothes and ran into the crowd shouting.

This was a way of saying. We are just men.

so Paul begins to try and preach a sermon using a simple argument trying to help people see the nature of the gospel.

but look at verse 18 the people still had trouble. They still wanted to sacrifice to them.

This was terrible.

Reminds me of the time I was in Africa

I have shared this before but I get it. If you’ve ever been on misison you know that there are moments People tend to flock to you.

Furry like a lion. There was a moment I wanted to roar like a lion but also a moment where I thoguht they might lift me up like symbia

but they didn’t

I’m sure it was more uncomftable for Paul and Baranbas.

They saw the idolatry that was happening in this area.

when they used back teh crowd got angry

v19

I mean it’s this moment that always suprises me a little Like I said I wonder if Paul knew how bad they would beat him if he would have gone.

vesre 20

He got up- Still breathing. Still leaning in and what does he do. He goes Right back into the city.

that’s amazing boldness. If I am honest i’m not sure if I could do it. But I think this is exactly what people who been impacted by the gospel do.

It’s why Paul could write for me to live is Christ and die is gain

He lived as someone who knew how short his life was

Read

Mention Lectio

Our life is a breath

teach us to number our days

OUr hope is in the Lord

that’s the only way we would respond like this.

Friends recently really inspired me

Harmenings

Tradgey

God absolutely beyond any shadow of a doubt called Sarah Lauren Harmening to be willing to go to Botswana to proclaim the gospel.  She prayerfully considered, counted the cost, specifically considering the possibility of death, and enthusiastically responded “yes” in obedience to Him.  Our God, unbound by time, knowing the end from the beginning, knew before He whispered His call to her heart that her obedience would result in her death.  Not that He providentially caused her physical death, but that He sovereignly allowed it.

Sarah completed her mission.  Sarah was obedient even unto death.  I am confident she was greeted with that precious greeting we as believers all long to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”  We as a family have never felt a need to complete her mission because we absolutely believe she completed the assignment God had for her.  Our understanding of God’s call for her may have been incomplete, but her obedience and faith were not.  We rejoice that His plan for the fruitfulness of her life did not end with her departure.  Though her life and mission on earth are complete, her witness and testimony live on through His power as He continues to use it to glorify Himself.

A couple of months after Sarah’s departure we began to sense the Holy Spirit prompting us to pray about being willing to go to Botswana as a family.  We began fervently praying specifically asking God to confirm in our spirits that it was indeed Him calling us to go and not just an emotional longing on our part.  In the following months He continued to knit our hearts to Botswana and confirm it was indeed His call.  He repeatedly showed us in profound ways that it was His leading as everything from schedules to funding to church approval fell precisely into place through prayer alone.

Our mission trip to Botswana was June 26th-July 2nd.  We hope and pray that God used our time and shared testimonies in Botswana to encourage, challenge and bless others, but I can’t testify to any specifics in that regard because God has not given us that information.  I can, however, testify to how God blessed and encouraged our family immensely through our time there.  While there He graciously allowed us to trace the movements of His hand, reminding us He is sovereign and He has a plan that far exceeds our understanding, vision, or expectations.

Only the gospel gives us this kind of courage

Dentist friend

Shakala

I think I have to go back

It’s waht the gospel does

Illustration

MSSIONS is like a sales call

Ever get one.....I just committed to picking them up

Today- Back pain

Guy says I heard you have back pain.....I was like okay I might

He hung up

but man they are relentless. And what they are selling is lies.

As the church we aren’t selling anything we are proclaming good news!

let’s do that with teh confidence of a sales person who has enough convcition to tell someone like me they have back pain when they don’t\\

Pray

Few take a ways

To busy to hear where Gods calling? Slow down

Called but scared- Let jeuss calm the doubts

Tried but been persucuted- For me to live is Christ