Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

In the early 1800s, a young man named Adoniram Judson graduated from seminary and was called by God to preach the Gospel.

Judson was called to serve as the assistant pastor of a large, wellknown church in Boston and this was near the town that he was born and raised in.

To anyone looking from the outside in, this seemed like a perfect match that only God could do.

Judson would have the opportunity to be close to home and learn from a sound senior pastor and eventually become a senior pastor himself.

Yet, Judson said that he couldn’t accept the call from the church.

He explained that the Lord had been working on his heart and he felt called to preach the Gospel overseas.

He once said this, “My work is not here.

God is calling me beyond the seas.

To stay here, even to serve God in His ministry, I feel would only be partial obedience and I could not be happy in that.”

What is another word for partial obedience?

Disobedience!

Adoniram Judson had the opportunity to stay in his comfort zone.

He was given the opportunity to stay near his family and to preach the Gospel in one of the largest cities in the United States - a first world country.

After all, he would still be preaching the Gospel which he felt called to do… Yet, that would only be partial obedience for this individual.

As a result, Judson and his wife of 2 weeks Ann, set sail for Burma, a 3rd world country in Southeast Asia, half the world away, in 1812.

Judson left behind the comforts and conveniences of America for the confusion and chaos of a country that had never heard the Gospel.

What did Judson do?

He simply obeyed God’s call on his life.

What would be the end result for he and his family?

Judson would travel from Burma back to Boston and then back to Burma several times throughout his remaining 38 years.

He and his wife Ann would lose 3 children.

Ann suffered from several diseases and illnesses and eventually passed away 14 years after arriving in Burma due to smallpox.

Judson would remarry 8 years later to a widow who had lost her husband on the mission field in Burma as well.

Judson would be thrown into prison on multiple occasions.

He had difficulty communicating with the people upon his arrival.

He was beaten and tortured for months on end.

Within his first 12 years in the country, only 18 Burmese had accepted Christ as Lord.

Meanwhile, that church in Boston kept on growing and 200 years later, it still is standing.

Was following God’s plan worth it for Judson?

Judson set out with the goal of translating the Bible from English to Burmese and having 100 people convert to Christianity and become members in the church.

Those were his goals.

God, as only God can do, shattered those goals and by the time Judson passed away not only had he translated the Bible, he had worked on a Burmese-English dictionary to help the people understand one another better, and there were over 8,000 Christians in the country.

Fast forward 150 years later and the Myanmar Baptist Convention has over 1.6 million members from nearly 5,000 churches.

Millions of people have come to know Christ as Lord simply because a 24 year old husband and wife said, “Here am I… Lord, send me.”

We could go on and on with other missionary stories this evening and maybe sometime we’ll do exactly that and study from those who have gone before us in the mission field.

Tonight, as we continue to study through the BFM 2000, our article of faith, we get to talk about one of the most incredible honors we have as Christians: Missions.

You and I, just like Adoniram Judson, are given a command from God to share the Gospel with others.

We have a mission and that mission is to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples of all nations.

If we get nothing else out of our time studying God’s Word this evening, let it be that we remember that our lives are not about ourselves and our comfort level… Instead, our life’s purpose is to make Christ known to others.

Let’s read BFM article 11

“It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations.

The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others.

Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations.

It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.”

Why Do Missions Matter?

What is Our Church Doing about Missions?

Acts 1:8 tells us that we have 3 areas specifically to think about with missions: Home, region, and the world.

Let’s think about what FBC Salem is doing in those places and why we do what we do.

Home:

Region:

International:

What Can I Do about Missions?

You can 1) Go. 2) Give to help others go.

3) Get on your knees and pray