Biblical Missions

So continuing with the Morris Corner Church doctrinal statement, it says we believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures and to seek and proclaim the gospel to all mankind.

And the verses listed that we're going to look up are Mark 16 verse 15 Acts chapter 1 verse 8 2nd Corinthians 5 19 and 20. So let's begin by turning to the gospel of Mark. Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter 16 is the condensed version of what we call the Great Commission.

Now we here at Morris Corner Church we typically identify ourselves as what type of Christian? Marcus. Good. Evangelical. You could have said born-again but if you look at the subject maybe you know what I was looking for.

Yeah we we refer to ourselves as evangelical Christians. Why is that? Well because evangelical that word the word evangel means gospel right so we not only believe the gospel we want to spread and share the gospel.

Someone might respond to that but don't all Christians want to share the gospel? It's not just evangelicals. Well no that's not true not not everyone who calls themselves a Christian believes the gospel number one and certainly not every Christian wants to share the gospel.

First of all there are those institutional churches that believe in another gospel. Going through the book of Galatians I think we've we've made that point very clear and you know that. The true gospel is what?

It's all of grace right the good news that God is send a son to deliver sinners and save us from sin and its penalty. So we want to we want to share that message with others that's part of what it means to be an evangelical.

To me an evangelical the idea that I've always had is yet you believe the gospel you want to share it. The gospel usually we figure out a way to include it in every sermon even if it's just you know there a little bit.

We believe in Christ as the only way to God. These are kind of the hallmarks of evangelical Christianity but how many professing Christians are there in the world? How many people know? I think I think there's something like 2 billion or 2 .3 billion last time I I checked.

The majority of the 2 .3 billion do not believe the true gospel. They hold to either a salvation by faith plus works or what's very popular today especially in and around New England is the social gospel that Jesus is not actually God in human flesh.

He's just a good man a wise and moral teacher and he really came not to die for sin but to make society more fair and equitable towards the marginalized and the oppressed. That's the gospel that's being preached in many churches today and that's why going to the subject of missions that's why the majority of what is called so-called Christian missions today is really a group of people going somewhere in the world to do good right to dig a well to build a school.

That's what people have in mind when they think of Christian missions. They're going somewhere not to preach the gospel that you need to repent and be saved. No missions today has become let's let's just do charitable deeds.

Well that is not biblical missions. Okay it isn't. That is what missionary work has become. Biblical missions is going out preaching the gospel saving souls and establishing churches. Now all of those charitable deeds that I mentioned are great.

I mean don't get me wrong. Those things are wonderful and they should be done I think as long as the gospel is there. As long as the gospel is at the center. Has anyone come across this? Maybe you've supported or been involved in missions work and maybe you notice that preaching the gospel really wasn't even a part of it.

It was more a building a building project or something like that. Yes well.

In Haiti we had work teams. Then their philosophy was to minister to the body and the soul and the spirit. So it was. You worked alongside you know Haitian people, churches, clinics, those kind of things during the day.

But you on the weekends you didn't worship with them and they were being taught by you.

Pastors. Yeah and listen I because I don't want there to be any confusion. If you go somewhere and you're building a school and that school is preaching the gospel they're great. But the gospel has to be part of it Jim.

A number of years.

Ago I went to Peru with Wycliffe on a missions trip. Two weeks missions trip. We went to this area called Abancay which is a big city about 50 -60 thousand people. And it was where the Wycliffe had a facility there that did translations.

Well one day of the week of that week we broke up into groups. The project was to go and do work in the building itself. They were adding additions. But we went out and we went to different locations.

We went to orphanages and we spoke mainly to the people that ran them. Gave them a gospel message. And then I think we went to five places and three of those places.

Received the gospel. Okay so you were evangelizing. You were preaching the gospel. Okay so we recognize when you hear the word missionary and you connect it to the Bible. What do you think of? Missions work in the Bible.

You think of Paul's missionary journeys. And what was the Apostle Paul? He was a preacher. He was an evangelist. He would go from place to place to place preaching the gospel. If enough people got saved he would establish a church.

And then he would go back after the fact maybe months or years later and kind of strengthened those churches. So that is biblical missions. Now here's a here's a key word when we think of Paul especially.

Paul would proselytize. What does the word proselytize mean? It's to convert people right? Is that what you're gonna say? Yeah you're trying to get them to leave their religion and come to Christianity.

That turn away from what you're trusting in now or what you're doing now and turn to the true faith. To a lot of professing believers today proselytism is a bad word. I mean that is very very unpopular.

The current Pope Pope Francis is on record as saying he said never never bring the gospel by proselytizing. Which is a contradictory statement if you think about it. He said never never bring the gospel by proselytizing.

He said if someone says they are just a disciple of Jesus and comes to you with proselytism they are not a disciple of Jesus. How many of you know what the term gaslighting means? That's what I think of when I hear this statement.

Apparently the Apostle Paul did not get the memo because Paul that Paul tried to convert people. You think Paul went into Jewish synagogues and tried to get them to become followers of Christ and when Paul preached about getting the Gentiles saved it caused riots.

So all of that to say this that's what missions is biblically and being an evangelical again number one it means we believe the one true gospel. Jesus is the only way of salvation, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone and then number two we want to share that message.

We want to spread that message. Okay look at Mark 16 verse 15 and he that is Jesus he said to them go into all the world and preach the gospel to fellow Christians on Sunday morning. Now what does he say?

Preach the gospel to every creature. This is why our church sends money all over the world to support missionary work, to support men and women who are sharing the gospel, preaching the gospel to every creature in Africa, in Europe, South America, everywhere.

But at the same time and that's what you think of when you think of missions that okay we're sending money overseas, we're sending missionaries out overseas. Yeah that's true but you know what we need a mission right here in our area and I think more and more evangelicals are thinking along these lines.

There was a time where here in America Christianity was everywhere. Well you kind of knew not everyone was a Christian but most people said they were. There's this this knowledge of God and general acceptance of what the Bible said in a sense.

But now that that's all changed and we need it as much or probably more than most places on the earth. So we need to do a work in our own communities. So again the statement of faith says we believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures and to seek to proclaim the gospel to all mankind.

So when we talk about missions the word may cause you to think of a mission somewhere else but just going by the statement here it is our duty for for us to witness by not only our words but also our life.

Also our life. So let's spend a minute or two on that. Turn to Acts chapter 1. Acts chapter 1 is the next verse that's listed. So we are to bear witness to the truth of the gospel and that can come through not only our words but our our works.

Our manner of life. Through our confession and our conduct. By what we say and what we do. Look at Acts chapter 1 verse 8. Jesus said but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be what?

Witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. Yes. Yes and.

Note that this starts with a city Jerusalem. Our city is Lebron. Hmm right.

And it kind of goes out. It starts where you're at and then moves out in the next circle and then moves out in the next circle and then to all the earth. So that's I like going to Israel. Yeah. I like going to Jerusalem.

Right I bet. I bet. So we've talked about the preaching of the gospel. Paul preached the gospel. As evangelicals we are to preach the gospel. That's why I'm just getting the message out in Leverett, Franklin County, Massachusetts, New England.

This is why. Somebody asked me a month or two ago. I went to another church on a Sunday evening and the guest preacher he came up to me and he says so what church do you pastor? I told him he says what kind of outreach do you have?

I wasn't exactly sure what he was asking at first but later kind of clicked. He was asking about you know outreach as far as what we're doing with the radio is an outreach. You know getting the gospel out.

So this is why we record everything. Put it on the radio. Put it on the internet. I know some churches don't do that. That's up to them. But my attitude is if this message is true and the gospel saves and it's worth preaching.

Why would you not want to just get it out to as many people as possible? Now that we have the means to do it why would you not do it? I just can't understand that thinking like back when the printing press was invented.

Think about before the printing press. To create a Bible was very difficult. They were very rare. Nobody had their own Bible. Oh I don't like this new technology of the printing press. We're not going to do that.

Well now everyone has a Bible. So we need to have an outreach and just get the word out any way possible. And you can do that in your personal life. You can have your own mission and just simply tell people what Jesus has done in your life.

Look for those little opportunities to to share. Maybe not about yourself. Just a situation comes up. You know what the Bible says about this. You know just something like that. If someone I've said this before.

If somebody feels too I'm too nervous. I really can't preach or do anything like that. Anybody can hand someone a track. Anyone can hand somebody a little card and invite them to church. Anyone can do that.

Any questions so far? Any comments? Okay but what is this? It's evangelizing. And if you don't want to preach to them. Again invite them to church. I'll preach to them. That works too. So Acts chapter 1.

This whole idea of being a witness. It's been said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. How many of you have heard that expression? The early church spread when the gospel went out.

And to a large degree the church spread because of persecution. Everyone was hanging out in Jerusalem. And it seems like they would have stayed there forever except that persecution started and it made them flee.

And God actually used that. The first Christian martyr. And I do have. I'm building up to a point here. Who is the first Christian martyr? Stephen. Right. He was killed because of his faith. And that had a powerful impact.

Acts chapter 1 verse 8. The disciples were to be witnesses of Christ in Jerusalem. Then it spreads out from there. And you know what the Greek word translated witness is in that verse? The Greek word is what?

Well it's the Greek term translated witness. The word is martus. So do you hear the connection? Martus and martyr. The point is it's not just what he said. It's not just what he preached. It's what he did.

He died for the faith. And his death, his martyrdom was a great and powerful witness and testimony. You can tell somebody about Jesus and we should. And they may or may not consider it. But when somebody sees that you are willing to give up something for your faith, that has an impact on them.

When people see that Christians, and this has happened the past year or two all over the world. But in Canada, I'm thinking of some examples. When somebody sees that a pastor is willing to go to prison for what they believe, that makes people stand back.

Or when someone's willing to give up their life for what they believe. People are like, wow, they actually believe this. Wow, that's actually meaningful to them. So we can be a witness simply by what we do and the things that we go through.

The things that we're willing to give up. When a Christian, when it becomes clear a Christian is not willing to give up anything for their faith. Maybe they work somewhere and the company is really pushing some ungodly things.

And everyone sees that that Christian buckles under the pressure and just goes along with it. You know what that tells them? They don't really believe it. That's the worst witness possible. Don't even call yourself a Christian if you're gonna buckle under that pressure.

Yes, well we.

Shouldn't we shouldn't be discouraged by the fact that there are other religions that have martyrs as well. These suicide bombers, these poor Palestinians that get convinced they should go give up their life and destroy as many Jews as they can.

Or even in wartime, the kamikaze pilots were suicide missions, they call them. So all that to say, if even the powers of evil can produce that kind of dedication that people give up their life, well then we should be kind of ashamed of the fact that we're not willing.

Yeah, well if you think about it, Islam, just the knowledge of Islam, 20 -30 years ago people knew it existed but there really wasn't much knowledge of it. Yeah through their, they call it martyrdom, it's not.

But yeah, knowledge of that religion is spread because of what their, they do give up their life. Of course that's a bad witness. You know, we don't want to take lives. We're willing to give up our own, hopefully, if it ever came to that.

Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but if it did. So yeah, it's opposite. They're willing to take life as a witness, giving up their own. We Christians have given up their own.

Without taking. Yeah, well not just our physical life, I'm talking about, you know, pulse and respiration and things like that. I'm talking about giving your life. You know, we're meant to be a living sacrifice, not necessarily a, you know, dying sacrifice.

All right, let's turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5. 2nd Corinthians 5, we'll read verses 19 and 20 in just a moment, but I think we get this. We should share the gospel by our words and by our witness.

What are we talking about? Missions. Again, we typically refer to missions as something we support. We give money for missionaries to go to foreign lands, but this, and this church supports missionaries overseas, but we have our own mission field right in our own backyard, and we cannot neglect that.

2nd Corinthians 5, 19 and 20 says, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to who? To us the word of reconciliation, and we can do this by serving, giving, praying.

Look at verse 20. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. So this is our mission, to help carry out the great commission and preach the gospel to every creature in foreign lands, and right here at home.