Resetting My Mission

This is why I like evangelism.

I was in southeast Asia at a skate shop in a mall. We stayed too late and got locked in the mall, but we headed towards the door only to find it locked. We were looking around wondering what to do when a guy came out of one of the stores and said to us, follow me. We all looked at each other like, wait a minute, where have we heard that before. So he took us to the security room, where they got the keys to let us out. Once we got outside, we got to talking and asked him his name. He said, Jackie. The guys I was with took him out to dinner and got to talk more with him; I had some other plans and had to take off. the following day, the guys that had gone out with him told me he converted to Christ.

Why is the church have a more challenging time with missions in 2021? Is this just because of covid, is it because we aren't sure what we are allowed to do anymore, fear, lack of experience, apathy, life's distractions?

in light of what we just talked about and the current situation, I want to take a look at a character from the new testament named Saul and how God reset his heart on missions

Philippians 3:5–6 ESV

5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Saul was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a pharisee, a very high-status Jew in all ways. He was persecuting Christians to the point of killing them. You could probably say he hated Christians. His zeal against the way was second to none; the way is what Christians were called at the time, a little more about Saul, this is in Acts 9.

Acts 9:1–4 ESV

1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

I want everyone to think about this, you are heading to a city to persecute Christians, and you fall to the ground from a bright light.

Who do you think it is?

is it an angel? Is it something else, or did I accidentally eat some fermented fruit or something and not know

What would you do in this situation?

I would probably be trying to hide from it, to be honest, but when we go on, we find out.

Saul encounters Christ

Acts 22:7–11 ESV

7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

At this point, how would you feel? You are on your way to take and imprison people who believe in Jesus, and now you just had an encounter with him, and he made you blind. It's like while that's what I get for messing with these people and their leader. Not only that, their leader now tells you that you are assigned to do something for him. Nothing like being told halfway through the game to join the other team, right? back to the text.

Acts 22:12–16 ESV

12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

Saul, who was also called Paul, begins being called Paul in Acts 13:9. He received a name change to connect with the Gentiles better.

Paul’s Missions

this is a summary of Paul’s life after he converted. I found this part online.

First Years

Immediately following his conversion, Paul departed to Arabia, eventually returning to Damascus. Fleeing an assassination plot in that city, he headed to Jerusalem, where two events of great importance for his future life occurred. First, he met a Fellow-Christian and future companion, Barnabas. He also saw a vision in the temple that commanded him to take the gospel to the gentiles. Another assassination plot sent him fleeing to Caesarea, then back to Tarsus. Eventually, ending up in Syrian Antioch, he partnered with Barnabas and took a short journey down to Jerusalem to bring relief to that church, after which time he returned to Antioch.

First Missionary Journey

While in Antioch, both Paul and Barnabas were clearly called to the Lord's service. They soon set sail for Cyprus, where they met two men. Paul preached to Sergius Paulus, a Roman deputy who believed the gospel, despite the efforts of Bar-jesus, who was blinded for trying to hinder Paul. Setting sail, the evangelists continued on to Perga, Pisidian Antioch (where Paul delivered his first evangelistic sermon to the Jews), Iconium, and Lystra – all cities of Asia Minor. While in Lystra, Paul healed a cripple, which almost caused the city to worship him; when Jews arrived, the citizens changed their mind and stoned him, leaving him for dead. After recovering, Paul and Barnabas returned to Syrian Antioch.

Second Missionary Journey

The 'Jerusalem Council,' the great council of the early church, convened in Jerusalem to discuss the question of the law. After determining that Christians were not bound by the law of Moses, it sent Paul as a messenger to deliver the verdict. Paul traveled northwest through Anatolia before crossing into Macedonia. While in Philippi, he cast out a spirit of divination but ended up in prison as a result. After the jailor was converted, he was free to travel to Thessalonica, where a great persecution against Christians soon broke out. Journeying south into the heartland of Greece, he delivered his famous Mar's Hill Sermon at Athens. The journey concluded with time at Corinth before heading back to Jerusalem.

Third Missionary Journey

Paul's intention after leaving Jerusalem was to strengthen the churches of Galatia and Phrygia in Anatolia. Weaving his way over the roads of Asia Minor, he eventually came to the bustling coast city of Ephesus, where he lived for some time. As the church grew, the new Christians burned their occult books, but trouble was in the air. Demetrius, a silversmith who made idols, stirred up the whole city into an uproar, forcing Paul to leave Ephesus.

The apostle headed to Greece, where he stayed three months, then returned through Macedonia. Sailing along the coast of Anatolia toward Jerusalem, he revived a young man named Eutychus at a stop in Troas. At Miletus, he met with the Ephesian elders and exhorted them in their noble work. He remained firm in his decision to visit Jerusalem even as he received a prophecy from Agabus about his imminent arrest.

Journey to Rome

After visiting with James in Jerusalem, Paul headed to the heart of the city, the temple. He was quickly surrounded by a murderous mob who believed he had defiled the sacred space, yet the commander of the Roman garrison rescued him, only to threaten him with scourging. With Roman security, Paul was given permission to address the mob twice, only to require further Roman rescue.

Soon, the Jews began plotting even more elaborately, and the Romans were forced to evacuate their prisoner to the safety of Caesarea, the Roman provincial capital. Here the apostle defended himself before Felix and Festus, finally appealing to Caesar as a Roman citizen. After another eloquent defense before King Agrippa, Paul was put on a ship for Rome.

During a routine stop at Crete, Paul advised the sailors to winter in the secure harbor; when they ignored his warning, the shipwrecked off the coast of Malta. Paul eventually made it to Rome, where he lived for two years, preaching the kingdom of God. The Biblical account ends here, though there is speculation that Paul was freed for further years of ministry, until he again ended up in a Roman jail and was beheaded by the Roman tyrant Nero.

That was a summary of Paul’s missions if you want to read about it more its scattered throughout most of the new testament. after hearing Paul’s story I want you to think about your story.

Who am I?

Who are you in the eyes of God? whats your identity, to whom do you belong to, the world or to God.

John 1:12 ESV

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Am I a Saul or Paul Spiritually

Are you for God's will to be done, or are you going out of your way to slow it down and stop it? Which side do you want to be on?

Are you for or against church growth?

are you doing all you can to help the church or have other obligations and things such as jobs and life distracted you from Gods Calling on your life

Fighting God or accepting God's will for my life. just a heads up if your fighting God you won't win, and in one case, Jacob wrestled with God and had to walk with a limp the rest of his life.

Has God reset my heart for missions?

Where does he want me?

Is it here and now, is it time to start reading and preparing for something soon? or is it in a workplace to simply smile at the grumpy guy even though you're having a bad day.

What are Christ's next steps for me?

Do I pray more, do I read until I can't keep my eyes open anymore, or do I give it to God in prayer and be obedient to his word while waiting for direction.

What spiritual gifts do I have?

Administration, Being an apostle, Discernment, Evangelism, Exhortation, Faith, Giving, Healing, Hospitality, Knowledge, Leadership, Mercy, Prophecy, Serving, Speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, Teaching (sometimes known as shepherding) Wisdom

Where do I feel called to participate in evangelism?

Where are your spirituals gifts best used?

How do I step out?

Take baby steps, go on a road trip with only a backpack and a will to help people, help a local organization, or would you just be a sower planting and nourishing spiritual seeds.

Pray over these questions and think about where God can use you.

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Where next, Ubly? The thumb?

What's next/ Pray and Go

We will have a campaign of going around Ubly praying over houses and leaving door hangers from Ubly Christian church next month, stopping and praying for individual homes one by one throughout the whole town.

Supporting a local camp ministry such as Wolverine Christian Service Camp and donating time or money to them, food distribution here stuff like that.

Why do we want to do this? We have a year-end goal to grow to 100 people connected to Ubly Christian church. We believe that we should biblically do this, to show Christs love to the community, and to put the fingerprint of Jesus on the thumb of Michigan

With that said, let's pray.