Sent Ones
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Are you on Mission?
Are you on Mission?
Missionaries are sent ones. If you have been sent by God to Acts 2 Community Church you are a missionary.
If you were looking for credentials or permission, you have it now. Its God who has given permission by the authority of His Word.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
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.”
Matthew 28:18-20
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
2 Corinthians 5:18
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Mark 16:17-18
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
John 20:21
God trust us with His Gospel
What is it that is holding us back?
Maybe fear? (fear of harm or rejection)
some Muslims who convert either die for their faith or are excommunicated by their friends and family
Acts 4:23-31
29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,
30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
They were praying for more of what got them into trouble.
Unbelief? (what if nothing happens)
Condemnation? (I’m not worthy)
Laziness? (I don’t feel like it)
Other Priorities
Shame? (what will others think of me)
Maybe you don’t feel prepared enough? (I haven’t been trained)
Charles Finney : “It is the great business of every Christian to save souls. People complain that they do not know how to take hold of this matter. Why, the reason is plain enough; they have never studied it.
Finney says the most amazing display of God's power in his life came one day as he went to visit a cotton factory at New York Mills, a small town near Utica, New York.
As Finney walked into the Cotton Mill, one of the opponents of the meeting, a young lady employee, saw him. Looking at her co employee, she began to laugh. some writers say she made a cynical remark about Finney and his meeting. In a spirit of prayer, Charles Finney simply looked at this young lady without saying a word. As he kept looking at her, being grieved by her criticism, the lady stopped working as she had broken her thread. She became so upset that she couldn't repair the thread and start again. The Spirit of God mightily convicted her of her sin to the point that she began to weep. Soon her companions were convicted and began to weep. A chain reaction occurred as hundreds began to be overcome by their lost condition.
The factory owner, seeing this, was deeply moved himself and said. "Stop the mill, and let the people attend to religion, for it is far more important that our souls be saved than the factory run. " All the workers were assembled in a very large room and Finney said,"...a more powerful meeting I scarcely ever attended. "Within a few days nearly every employee was saved (some accounts say all were saved . several authors say there were 3,000 employees in this factory.
"A revival can be expected when Christians have a spirit of prayer for revival." Charles Finney
Daniel Nash prayed for revival in another room while Charles was preaching.
"Revival is renewed conviction of sin and repentance, followed by an intense desire in obedience to God. It is giving up one's will to God in deep humility." Charles Finney
On October 10, 1821, at the age of 21, he decided he would settle these questions of his salvation and make his peace with God. Great joy filled his heart when he got saved. He said,
"No words can express the wonderful love that was shed abroad in my heart. I wept aloud with joy and love;and...I bellowed out the unutterable gushing of my heart. These waves came over me and over me and over me one after another until I recollect I cried out, "I shall die if these waves continue to pass over me..Lord, I cannot bear any more."
That same evening a choir member of a church he had attended came to his office and saw him weeping. He asked Finney, "Mr, Finney, what ails you? Are you in Pain?"
"No, but so happy I cannot live" he replied
The Fruit of that experience
"I found that I was unwilling to do anything else. I had no longer any desire to practice law...I had no disposition to make money. I had no hungering and thirsting after worldly pleasures and amusements in any direction...Nothing, it seemed, could be put in competition with the worth of souls;and no labor...could be so sweet..as that of holding up Christ to a dying world."