The Corners of Purpose
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Main Idea: The purpose of missions is not just for outreach, but also kingdom-reach and in-reach.
Opening Line:
The Purpose of Missions
The Purpose of Missions
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Share the Gospel
Change for others
Make disciples
Change the culture
Personal Growth
Change you
What should we do?
What should we do?
Follow in the footsteps of John Mark
12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
Acts 12 is the account of when an angel delivered Peter from prison but when he showed up they didn’t being Rhoda. At times when God begins moving we are too busy in praying/ I Mean Wishing! that God would do something when it has already started but we can’t see it because deep down we don’t trust God will move in that way or in that person. Or we have become so selfish that when the Rhoda’s of the world proclaim your prayers are answered or God is moving we can’t recognize it.
Rhoda is the one no one expected.
Maybe your Rhoda - Don’t give up yelling what God is doing
Maybe you are the others praying - stop and listen for a moment and be willing to change
Not sure who this is for, but as I was beginning writing about John Mark this just came from God’s thoughts that I needed to share with you.
Back to JohnMark
John Mark lived in one of the birth places of the church of Acts!
Later Barnabas and Saul were sent out as missionaries to the nations
They are the ones we think of when it comes to powerful missionaries, but we are talking about John Mark
They took John Mark
25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.
This Missionary Journey is a great example of the first 2 purposes of missions
Sharing the Gospel
Making Disciples
But something happened with John Mark…He left. We don’t know why he left but it is clear that the purpose of personal change or growth was not present.
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
It is amazing that Paul came to a place where he didn’t want anything to do with this young man.
Maybe you have been in a situation where it didn’t turn out as planned and Maybe it was your Fault…There will always be Paul’s in life to remind you that you are not good enough for the mission or the purpose God has is to much for you.
Remember there will always be a Barnabas or (encourager) who will be there to help you.
Maybe you have become a Paul and those people who have hurt you cant be trusted and you want nothing to do with them.
If this is the case take some time to allow the purpose of missions to change you.
Don’t stop the mission, but press forward with an open heart to personal change not just for those other people.
Maybe you are a Barnabas…Ask God where the John Mark’s are and how you can lovingly bring them back to the mission.
Whichever type of person you are today the purpose of you living on mission for Jesus Christ is as much for the people around you as it is for you and your growth.
In this disagreement we find Paul and John Mark not allowing the mission to change them.
As time passes this is the last time we hear about John Mark in the book of Acts. The rest of the book follows Paul’s journeys mainly with Silas, Timothy, and Luke.
This seems to be the end of the story for John Mark, but he is mentioned 2 other times and he is the Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark.
Paul Write years later
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24 And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
John Mark or Mark here is considered by Paul to be a fellow worker. Something has changed in the personal growth of these two men and they have become joined in the mission.
Then the last letter Paul wrote before he died he wrote. At the end of 2 Timothy
11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
John Mark became a trusted friend, helper, and missionary to Paul, but it took a Barnabas to not give up on him
Later Mark would write the Gospel and become one of 4 to tell the most important story of all time.
The purpose of missions is to
change the people around us
change the culture around us
change the heart inside us
John Mark is a powerful story of a person who isn’t the best, isn’t the brightest, and wasn’t even trusted by other Godly people.
Because he was willing to submit to the mission of Jesus Christ he came to a place of change and was able to accomplish the mission and because the he and Paul were willing to grow through the mission the culture of the church benefited from it.
AND How?
AND How?
That is a great story of the gospel writer, but maybe you are thinking you aren’t a missionary...
As before all of us fit into one of the three areas of the mission...
Are you Barnabas - Encourage and teach those around you to do the mission?
Are you Paul - Go…Go…Go no matter what for the mission?
Are you John Mark - have struggled with the mission, maybe you feel like you have failed or when things got hard on mission you ran?
There is forgiveness and freedom from those hurts you or others have put on you.
For the Barnabas’
Prayer and spend time with God asking Him to reveal the John Mark or Rhoda who needs seen, heard and encouraged
Then Do what Barnabas did go to bat for them John Mark needed the good word not just to him but about him to rebuild the trust
Take them on your mission so they can heal and grow personally as they heal and grow those around them.
For the Paul’s
Keep Going after the Mission on your life, but make sure your not running over others on your way
Ask God to give your a heart of wisdom not just zeal
Find the Barnabas’ to help you on your journey instead of pulling away from them and the ones they are helping
For the John Mark’s
Don’t give up…Remember your worth and mission is in Christ.
Ask God to reveal a Barnabas to help you walk through healing and back to the mission with a clear heart and mind.
Allow God to grow you through the mission so that you can be a strengthener of the church.
In each area, we must first ask God to help us take a self evaluation and be open to the change He wants to do in our hearts
Because the purpose of going into all the world must start with going into our own world and seeing where we need to be open to personal revival and change so we can start a community revival and change in other people and the culture around us.
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