MISSION READY - MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR THE MISSION

Malachi 3:8-10

The Theme of our Upcoming Missions Month is Found Faithful in the Great Commission.

This Sunday is really prep for next Sunday and on.

We want to make sure that we have things lined up to fulfill God’s calling in our lives.

Winter time at Maineville Baptist Church is usually spent trying to get people to develop a deeper life with Christ, of digging our roots deep and knowing and drawing closer to God. In April we will be looking to get back to soulwinning - to reaching people with the Gospel, we will continue to encourage folds to reach out to others.

We have VBS in the summer and continue to reach out with the Gospel.

In the fall is usually when we look to grow the influence of God in our community through a revival.

But the early Spring for the last 3 or so years we have not been about growing our church, but fulfilling our call to reach the world with Gospel of Christ.

This week it is my desire to see that we are ready to do our part. You can’t just volunteer and go - no - you need to be prepared, trained, and ready.

THAT IS WHY THIS MESSAGE IS ENTITLED MISSION READY! Let’s pray.

Being mission ready for God involved a lot of things. This morning’s and this afternoons’ messages are both important because we are going to cover the things that involved in being MISSION READY for God.

I. Mission Ready - Personally

I just want to emphasize the need to love God.

Mark 12:30–31 AV

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Love God with all your HEART - love him with every emotion

With all the Soul - Love Him with every thought

With all the Mind - Love Him with every decision

With all your Strength - Love Him with every deed and effort you make

III. Mission Ready - The Home

Being mission ready in the home includes the things that we have just talked about the importance of loving God.

We need to teach this Missions readiness in the family.

The family along with us as individuals - all have the tendency to love something other than God.

We need to protect our lives and our families

John sums it up in

1 John 2:15–16 AV

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1 John 2:17 AV

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

IV. Mission Ready - The Church

The Pastor and his wife must get their minds of temporal things and put them on the eternal.

The Sunday school teachers and the workers must get their minds on the things of God.

The members and attenders have to be able to look beyond their own problems and focus on the big picture.

We all must fight together not to get distracted by the evens going on in our nation or in the world that draw us away from our mission.

We all must fight as one not to be enamored by the world and it is bright lights, its allurements and its showmanship.

We’ve Got to be mission ready.

V. Mission Ready means making sure I’m prepared

To be prepared there are some places that are important in the Believer’s life. The Christian life is not one thing, but a multitude of things that must be addressed - to be Mission Ready:

I’m saying no to sin

I’m sharing the burden

I’m Counting the cost

I’m trainable

I’m Giving what my Commander expects of me

VI. Mission Ready means making my giving is right

Look up Malachi 3:8-10

God expects us to give a lot of things - but they can be summed up in three general categories:

Our Time, our energy, and our finances.

All of these ought to be given to and for the honor and glory of God. But they are not the same, and they do cancel each other out.

I might have a lot of money, but it doesn’t mean I should not give of my time and energy to the Lord’s service. You can’t buy service points!

I cannot give a lot of my time and energy and not give my finances either, they are separate things.

So I need to give the way God prescribed.

2 Timothy 2:5 AV

And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

There are four areas I believe every believer ought to be mission ready to give.

Three are free-will offerings - purely voluntary - blessed of God, but given in an above and beyond way. Giving to a building project at the local church, to faith promise missions and alms giving, or special needs in or out of the church to help people

But before we can well do those things - and to give the right way, there is a biblical prerequisite to those types of giving.

Giving God back to God of what He has given to me - the tithe

God only states a minimum in His Word on how much to give - He never gives a limit on how much, just what we should give in the least.

A tithe means one tenth and it has been a biblical practice likely since the Garden of Eden but definitely since Abraham gave his tithe in Genesis 15.

When we do not give God says that we rob Him.

Malachi 3:8 AV

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

A. Tithes should be given at the local church

Malachi 3:10 AV

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Before the church the storehouse was the Tabernacle or the Temple, and later the synagogues. Today is only one place - it is in the local church. Your tithe biblically belongs to your local church.

Though it contradicts popular belief systems, the tithe has always been part of God’s plan since creation. We see Abraham giving his tithe in Genesis 14:19-20 , as well as Isaac, Jacob and on through the Old Testament - In the New Testament this expanded to include some other things, but it never negates the importance of the tithe.

”Tithing is God’s way for God’s people to take care of God’s business.” - Jim Vineyard

B. Tithes should given each week at church

Each week as we have income, we should give our tithe then. Nothing wrong with tithing ahead,

1 Corinthians 16:2 AV

Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

The church is the storehouse.

C. The purpose of the tithe is the provision for the minister of God and his family and the House of God

Throughout the Old Testament and this is true and it continued to be a New Testament practice.

1 Timothy 5:18 AV

For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

VII. Being Mission Ready Comes with the Promise of Provision

God has never and will never call you to do something that he has not already enabled you and provided for you to fulfill.

When I'm Mission ready personally, as a family and as a church, we have all the promises of God as we walk with Him.

When I give my tithes the promises are clear:

A. Promise to know God

Malachi 3:10 (AV)

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith....

B. He will open the windows of heaven

C. He will pour out an abundant blessing to you

A blessing that is more than you need

v.10 “that there shall not be room enough to receive it

D. Rebuke the devourer v.11

Malachi 3:11 AV

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

Satan wants to destroy you. He wants to hurt you and your testimony and those you love.

If God does not rebuke Him, stop Him, and hinder Satan’s efforts - then it goes on to say what he can do.

He’ll destroy your productivity

He’ll do things to ruin your efforts

F. He will increase your influence v.12

Malachi 3:12 AV

And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.