The Challenge of Missions - Part 2 (Arabic) — George Verwer

Paul's Missionary Resolve in Acts 20

For many years, I would stand in the streets of India preaching and selling books. At least one of those words, one word sounds Arabic. Turn with me now in your Bible to the book of Acts chapter 20. This is one of the most important chapters, especially one verse in my whole life.

We'll read from verse 19 through verse 24, and 24, verse 24 is especially our text for this morning. Acts 20, 19 through 24.

I don't know what will happen to me there, but the Holy Spirit is witnessing in every city, saying, I have faith and I have many things waiting for me. But I don't count on anything or my soul to be valuable to me, until I have fulfilled the joy of my search and the service I have received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the glad tidings of God's grace.

Amen.

We don't have time to expound each verse, I have so much on my heart this morning. And I want this to be about missions and mission work. I've been to mission conferences, over 1 ,000 of them.

And some of them, they hardly talked about missions.

Because there are so many important things to talk about. The popular thing is to talk about social justice.

The popular thing these days is to talk about social justice. And of course that's important.

And then other people want to talk about the problem of poverty. I also speak about that. But we must not lose the basics. Reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And generally that involves preaching.

And God has used the preaching of his gospel to bring so many to himself. I am only here because God raised up a preacher in America, a very ordinary guy. And at the same time he raised up a woman of prayer.

And at the same time he raised up people who had money and the vision to give to ministry. His name was Dr. Billy Graham. Only a little over one year ago he went to heaven. I was with him in his home two years when he was there in bed so ill and yet he was rejoicing in the Lord Jesus.

Billy Graham did not only live well, Billy Graham died well. And the greatest challenges in life can come toward the end especially if there are serious physical problems.

And one of the truths we see in this passage and other passages is that the apostle Paul had lots of problems. We just read that the only thing the Holy Spirit promised him as he launched out was.

That there would be difficulties and hardships. Verse 23, I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prisons and hardships are facing me.

And yet today we sometimes in our churches give the idea it's just all blessings. Even money.

And all kinds of things. And that's gone to extreme. So in Nigeria there are Christian leaders with their own private jet plane. And what a mess we have in Nigeria. Yet I can tell you God is working in Nigeria.

That is messiology. It doesn't justify our mistakes. It doesn't mean we try to prevent them as I did leading OM for 46 years. And then when they happen we have to try to sort them out. But it explains the greatness and the mercy of God because of what Jesus Christ has done on the cross.

Some church leaders do not like this book or some of my other books because they are.

Basically legalistic, basically legalistic preachers.

And the church in some places, I don't know about your churches, they are basically legalistic.

They create a shame based culture in which actually some people eventually take their own lives.

They kill themselves.

And one of the most exciting things that the Holy Spirit is doing today is setting people free from this grip of legalism. Now try to listen to this. We say the main thing is believing in Jesus and becoming a disciple of Jesus.

Salvation is the main thing. Praise God for every new person that comes to Jesus. When I was a baby Christian I led my first people to Jesus.

One of the greatest experiences in my life.

I was 17 years old. I had many struggles. And yet God used me to bring another friend to Christ. And then he brought another friend. And many came to Jesus when we were only 17 or 18. God can use young people.

And God can use old people. Or I would not be here.

Global Missions and the Awakening of Grace

On some of the mission conferences I speak at, I have a special seminar. Quite a surprise to some people.

Seven great global trends in missions. What God is doing in a major way in missions. And often people are amazed. Partly because they are so ignorant of what God is doing in other countries.

I touched on that last night. And one of the things that God is doing is what I call a grace awakening.

I don't know how that translates in Arabic. Give it a try. Okay, I will try. It's basically 1 Corinthians 13 becoming alive in our lives. It's basically the fruit of the Holy Spirit outlined in the book of Galatians.

Moving from the head to the life on a daily basis. It includes a realization of all that Jesus has done for us. And a greater picture of our own sinfulness. We will stop being judgmental and critical of other Christians because we see our own sin.

In some of the countries where I minister, close to 100 countries,.

Christians are so critical of other Christians. And I'm sorry to confess this, but I was sometimes, as a young Christian, I had that tendency. But because I was every day in the word of God, and I read books like Calvary Road, there's only a few copies here, God broke me.

And he showed me the sins of the tongue, which were so wicked in his sight. In marriage, and I was not ready for marriage. We were a Bible college marriage. She read in the school paper, George Verwer is a man of God.

She wanted to marry a man of God. The school paper said, George Verwer is a man of God. When she met me, she didn't think I was a man of God. But she read in the school paper. And so she gave me a chance to meet with her.

I was already cuckoo, romance cuckoo in the head for her. And I thought, maybe this is a trick of the devil. I would hardly talk to a girl if they were not radically committed to global missions. I would hardly have a conversation.

So, in our first or second meeting together, and this is now in this film, I said to her, probably nothing going to happen between you and me. But just in case, you need to know, I'm going to be a missionary.

And if you marry me,.

Probably you will eventually be eaten alive by cannibals in Papua New Guinea.

Why would anybody say that to someone he was trying to win? It's a special gifting. It's called the gifting of stupidity. And I've done many stupid things.

And after the marriage, many stupid things.

And at times I hurt my wife with my tongue.

I like humor. I like to make jokes.

My wife takes everything serious. Even the other day, I just tried. After 60 years, I'm still so foolish. I'm trying. I said to my wife, have you heard about this family? The children are always talking.

It's driving the mother crazy. Always talking, giggling, shouting. They had five children. One of them was older. She was trying to help with the other children. And one morning, the mother came down.

The children were all silent. And the mother looked at the older daughter. What have you done? Oh, I put the super glue in the lip balm bottle. Put the super glue in the lip balm bottle.

Put the super glue in the lip balm bottle.

It's funny, no? My wife, absolutely serious. I don't believe in that. That's not right. I said, honey, that's a joke. Well, I don't like it, she said. So we've had 60 years of marriage. But I quickly apologized.

And then we prayed together. And then I gave her a hug. And I tell her, I'll do better tomorrow. She's got 60 years of hearing tomorrow. Tomorrow. Yet, in God's mercy, he's used her. And he's used me.

Because he uses all kinds of people. And if any of you are married, how many of you are married? Whoa. How many are single? Blessed are the single because they can join OM ships. Let us get back to the original topic.

There's a grace awakening in the world today. I was explaining how we say salvation is the main thing. But after a baby Christian comes to Jesus and goes to certain churches, they discover a whole culture of rules and regulations.

Usually there's at least one verse that defends that particular thing. I wonder if any of you have read the writings of Philip Yancey. Probably not. But he was, yeah, some of you. A great writer. And a close friend.

And a wonderful marriage. They have no children. In some cultures to not have children in marriage, people like India, this is a terrible thing. The Bible does not teach that. And when I talked to Philip Yancey.

About it, that they have no children, one of the greatest Christian authors in history, he said, we believe that is a gift from God.

Abortion, Gender Preference, and Human Dignity

I'm sure you know the problems we have in India. Where many families do not want girls. And so millions, millions of little babies are aborted only because they were a girl. So a non-Christian has just written a book.

Christians weren't saying much. A non-Christian wrote the book. The title of the book, where are all the brides? So many men in India, they cannot find a wife. They're dead. They were killed before they were born.

And this has given India one of the biggest sex trafficking and prostitution industries in the entire world. I'm writing a new book called Sinless, no. I'm writing a new book called Toxic Perfectionism.

Toxic Perfectionism and the Pressure to Be Perfect

This is the hardest book I've ever written. So I may not be able to write it.

But I can talk about it.

Because I believe because of the sinfulness of human nature, when we have this commitment to excellency and to do things right, which is good, and great things are accomplished through that, your nation is the proof of it for thousands of years.

But because of the fallenness of humankind, the toxic factor comes in. And so you have what I call toxic perfectionism. I had this as a young Christian.

Because of my culture.

Your culture, both Christian and non-Christian, is a powerful influence in your life before you are 10 years old.

I had a Dutch father.

And that means in my home, you did things right. And he was an electrician. If he didn't do things right, he could be killed on the job. An electrician across from my home, he could be killed on the.

Job. He made a mistake.

He electrocuted himself on the job. He's dead. So perfection and perfection committed to be perfect is good. But how do we deal with the toxicity? How do we deal with the toxic.

Factor? So with my Dutch father, and.

Then being in a nation with.

Strong Christian values, I would not say it's a Christian nation. I don't believe in that. I don't see that in the Bible. But different nations have a different degree of Christian values.

And, of course, one of those values is you do things right and you work hard. And so I was committed to excellency and perfection. And even in my high school before I went to high school, before I was a Christian, I accomplished some amazing things according to the students.

We had 1 ,000 students in this school. So they elected me president of the student government. But then the biggest thing in my life took place. So then the biggest thing in my life took place. I heard Billy Graham.

And I repented that night and believed on Jesus. That happened because one woman prayed for me. You can imagine I was a very happy teenager.

I had a very big ego. And the hardest thing, especially for many men, is to let the Holy.

Spirit deal with that ego, that I, my, me. And she prayed for me. And she not only prayed I would become a Christian. She prayed I would become a missionary. I wonder if you got someone praying for you.

Maybe your grandmother. Maybe your mother. Nah, your little sister. They often pray. Lord, here am I, send my sister.

Also little brothers. They don't want to go to the mission field. They want to have fun.

So they pray, Lord, here am I, send my sister. Now there's another group who are praying. Lord, here am I, send my grandmother. That is not in the Bible. The Bible says, here am I, send me. And that lady prayed that God would send me and he heard her prayers.

And she put action into her prayers. And send me a Gospel of John through the post. That same time, pornography started into my life. It was overwhelming. Not even the heavy porno that is everywhere today.

But just very seductive photographs of women. As a teenager, I didn't know that such things existed.

I found it in someone else's house. It was one of the greatest struggles in my life. How to handle my sexuality. And I thank God after my conversion, I sat at the feet of Billy Graham. Through his books, through his radio ministry.

He spoke honestly about this. And helped me by God's grace to develop a life of moral purity. Which has been one of the most important things in my life. A reality every day until this very hour. Because the devil uses a fiery dart of moral impurity to destroy Christian leaders and I've seen it for 62 years all over the world.

Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God

Remember in the book of Acts? Forty men, they hated the apostle Paul. They hated Paul. Forty men. And they made a vow. In some Bibles it says a conspiracy against the apostle Paul. But a young man overheard this.

And he reported it. And miraculously Paul was rescued from those 40 men.

As you become effective as a missionary or an ambassador right in your own country.

You will become a target of the enemy. And so you must understand the reality of Ephesians chapter 6.

I memorized those scriptures. I read them regularly.

From verse 10 through verse 19. About the armor of God. The shield of faith. The sword of the spirit. We dare not go a single day without the armor of God. That's why Jesus himself he said if any man come after me.

Let him deny himself every day and follow me. I want to ask you this morning. Are you doing that? Are you purposely doing that each day in the power of the Holy Spirit? That is the only way we're going to be effective in reaching this whole world with the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

And we at the same time can bring this message of radical grace and forgiveness.

Grace, Discipleship, and New Believers

And when we have new babes come to Christ.

Especially of non-Christian background. We must not immediately force our culture on those people. We must not immediately give them our little church rule book. And this will be hard for us because people don't easily change.

And many who are legalists have been legalists all their life. And to experience this grace awakening seems impossible. That is why messiology is so important to me. Because God has done great things in legalistic churches.

Because in some particular situations. Especially in certain parts of the United States. And especially in some parts of America. A hundred years ago.

That's the only churches there were. Because of the culture. Because of the complexity.

We had all these rules. And if you didn't keep the rules people would say to you you're probably not a Christian.

You're probably not a Christian. I remember a man we were witnessing too in jail. In the days when with the gospel we preached you can't smoke. Together with the gospel you don't smoke. This is before smoking was a health issue.

The bible says thou shalt not smoke. I've actually looked and I didn't find that verse. And I guess the great Spurgeon didn't read it either because he was a great smoker.

And I'm not saying people should smoke. But it's amazing. You can be proud. Nobody's saying anything. You can be beating your wife. It's happening all over the world. I just heard of another elder in a church.

He beats his wife regularly in.

England. The church doesn't know what to do. The greatest commandment in the bible is about loving one.

Another. We know that doesn't work out in the pressures of life. So there's many things you can.

Get away with. But let me tell you this. If you smoke in certain churches,.

You're dead. God will never use you. In some churches they immediately believe you're a demon oppressed. We will cast out in the name of the Lord the demon of smoking. And in the United States in those days, we would lay hands on the head of.

The woman before she had lipstick on. The demon of lipstick had invaded. In the name of Jesus Christ, we.

Would lay hands on the head of the woman before she had. The woman would start leaping. And her lips would quiver. And the lipstick would disappear. And the next day in the church newsletter, a miracle in our church.

Church Rules, Bible Translations, and Cultural Controversies

And they had special praise and worship. But then there were other churches. They decided the King James Bible is the only Bible. All other translations are from the devil.

And they opened a church. A big synagogue. And they put a sign on the church.

The King James Bible only church. How many thousand other stories would you like? We've already told too many. So you'll have to read the book. And the beautiful thing is how God keeps working. People got saved in the lipstick church.

I'm not going there. I'm not taking my wife there.

People are getting saved in the King James Bible only church. They're not going to invite me to speak. I got the new international here. But I think this is maybe relevant here in Egypt. I'll just tell one more story.

It's my Jordan story. It's an Arabic church story. There had come a new translation in Arabic maybe 30 years ago. Of course, I'm ignorant. I don't know what's going on. This was a controversy among God's people.

By the way, in most churches there's always at least 50 controversies going on all at the same time. I poured out my heart in that church. But I mentioned this new translation. And I said, isn't it wonderful?

It's mainly for non-Christian background people. Isn't God going to use that? Praise the Lord. After the meeting, one man came at me. You know what you have done. You have promoted this evil translation in our church.

I thought he was going to punch me. But some of the leaders of the church, they grabbed him and they grabbed me and they separated us. Church of Jesus. Now she just put a sign up about how much time I have left.

But I can't see it. You know, you in Egypt, you look very different. In all.

Over the world I've done this. The person with the sign sits in the front seat. This girl is sitting in the back and I don't even see her much less the sign. But I think there's four minutes to go. Just to try to sum up this passion from God's word.

Becoming Grace-Awakened Christians

God wants us to be grace-awakened Christians. I got this title from Charles Swindoll's brilliant book called Grace.

Awakened Christians. Mighty man of God. He's a mighty man of God I greatly respect. And very sensitive because these little convictions on these little issues, they are.

Often very important to people.

Characters like me, we need to be careful. What I say under the anointing of the Holy Spirit when I'm preaching,.

It's not what I would say preaching in a church where I knew they had all these rules and regulations. I would be.

Very sensitive when I say what I'm saying to you. In OM we created our own culture. It was amazing.

Part of it was good and part of it was toxic. And some of the early people who came on OM.

They were hurt. And we feel sorry for that.

Because of the toxic factor that leads to criticism and judgmentalism and unhealthy statements. I close by reading verse 24. Which became my life verse shortly after my conversion. Please read it once again in Arabic.

I read the whole book of Acts one night. Not time to tell that story.

That is the verse that jumped out. I was 17 years old. I was still in business selling firefighting equipment. I met a woman of God. She challenged me about baptism. It drove me to the book of Acts. And God gave me this verse which continued to change my life.

And I want you to take this verse and make it yours. As often as possible. Nothing else. Only to serve him and to finish the course.

Persevering in Grace to the End

One of the reasons I take meetings because I believe even young people need to meet some of us really older people. They need to know you can run the race right to.

The end. Amazing grace. One of the worst things about legalism is people get down on themselves.

They become very hard on themselves. I was hard on myself and so I was hard on my father who had a totally different background. I never had an unhappy day as a child. Her father divorced and got killed in the war.

At 19 she had many emotional and physical problems. I may share her story today or tomorrow. God had to break me and show me how to love my wife. I just thank God for his word. I thank God that we can trust his word.

Remember last night's story? He's taking your picture. Stop it. You have done maybe some place you have gone to. You should not be feeling guilty about that. If that's the only problem you have, you don't have any problem.

Let's live in a real world. Things go wrong in this world. The bible says we will sin. The bible says if we say we don't sin, we deceive ourselves. Forgive yourself. Breathe in the oxygen of God's grace.

He will use you in ways that perhaps you have never.

Dreamed of.