Seeking God’s Plan

Introduction

Can you imagine showing up for a new job and no one was there to tell you where to work or what to do or how to do it? I worked for a temp agency before we moved to Rosenort and went to a lot of different job locations. They always showed me where to work and what to do. A few times I finished what I had been told to do and there was no one around to show me what to do next, and that was frustrating, but that usually didn’t last very long.

The last few weeks we have been thinking about the assignment God has given us to go and make disciples of all nations. Sometimes I have wondered about directions for doing the job. We know that we are to be witnesses. We know many things, from Scripture, about how to do it. But there are times when we long for more specific directions. I have suggested that some of us have been dreaming about the possibility of our church becoming involved in planting a church. Does God let us know these things? How will we find out what He wants us to do?

There are many times when we need God’s direction in other areas of life. Over the last week, I have thought about God’s direction regarding a number of issues in my life. Young people are often thinking about and wondering about God’s direction for their life. Does God direct our lives? How do we discern God’s direction?

God’s Leading

The book of Acts is a good place to examine God’s leading. It has to do with the church. It is set in the time when Jesus’ reigns from heaven and is present on earth through His Spirit, that is, in the time in which we are now living. Therefore, the principles and ideas presented there are for our time and applicable to us. This morning, I would like to examine some of the stories of God’s leading. As we do, I believe that we will see that God does lead and I hope we will learn something about how He leads.

God Leads

In Acts 8:26ff. we have the story of Philip being led out by the Spirit of God to meet with the Ethiopian Eunuch. This man just happened to be interested in God and just happened to be reading the clearest passage in the Old Testament about Jesus when Philip arrived. He was ready to hear about Jesus and Philip was at the right place at the right time to help him because God led him there.

In Acts 9 we read about what happened to Saul after his vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus. He needed someone to help him. God spoke to Ananias through the Holy Spirit and Ananias went to Saul, laid hands on him, prayed for him, Saul’s sight was restored and he was baptized. Once again, God led the right person to the right place at the right time.

The most amazing story is that of Peter and Cornelius. Cornelius was a Gentile who was interested in God. God came to him in a vision and told him to send for Peter. At the same time, through a dream, God prepared Peter to cross this huge barrier between Jews and Gentiles. As a result, Peter went to Cornelius and helped him and those with him find Jesus.

All of these stories show us how God went beyond the revealed revelation in the Word of God in order to direct His people. What can we learn about how that happened?

Different Agents Of Communication

One of the things we notice is that God does not have one formula for communicating with his people. He communicated in different ways.

God spoke to Philip through an angel who told him to go and travel down a certain road. Then the Spirit of God spoke to Philip to go up to the chariot of the Ethiopian.

When God spoke to Ananias, he did so in a vision. Cornelius saw an angel in a vision and Peter had a dream which was so vivid that he knew it was more than just another dream. In Acts 13, God spoke to the people through the Holy Spirit while they were worshipping and they had a strong understanding that this was God’s Spirit speaking to them. Later when Paul was being warned about all the difficult things that were going to happen to him in Jerusalem, prophets spoke God’s word to him to warn him.

This tells us that we should not expect that God’s direction will come to us in a preconceived way. God’s word comes as God determines. Some people think that God only speaks through prophets or only through dreams. To limit God in this way is not right. We need to be open to God’s communication, however He speaks to us, but always remember that He does speak to His people when He has a message for them.

The Beauty Of God’s Leading

We also see something of God’s timing and the beauty of His leading in these stories. We see this in several of the stories in Acts. One is the story of Peter and Cornelius. God knew when Cornelius was ready to hear the gospel. God also knew that there was no way that any of the apostles were prepared to go to Cornelius and welcome him into the kingdom. Their whole life background was such that they had a belief deep in their hearts that Gentiles were rejected from the kingdom of God.

So God was at work in both Cornelius and Peter. God sent a message to Cornelius because he knew that Cornelius was ready. He also spoke to Peter and prepared him in just the right way and at just the right time. I find it fascinating that the text mentions that Peter was hungry and anticipating supper when he went on the roof of the house to pray. At this time of prayer, he went into a trance or dream-like state. As soon as he had received the vision, which interestingly enough was about food, the men from Cornelius arrived. Peter had barely had time to think about what the dream meant when they arrived and the whole picture became clear to him. God’s timing in speaking to Cornelius and giving the vision to Peter and knowing it would be enough to convince Peter at just the right time is amazing.

I believe that God does the same thing today!

Questions About God’s Call

Another interesting thing we see is that those with whom God communicated were not always ready to accept God’s direction and call immediately. They actually questioned God and God permitted them to do this.

For example, God spoke to Ananias in a vision, and Ananias realized that God wanted him to go speak with a person who killed followers of Jesus. In Acts 9:13, 14 Ananias said to God, ““Lord…I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” However, God did not dismiss Ananias or reject him for expressing his fears. He answered his questions and assured him and then Ananias was prepared to go and do what God wanted.

Peter also questioned God when he had the vision of the unclean food. He knew it was God telling him to eat this unclean food and yet he said, “‘Surely not, Lord!...I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.’” God did not dismiss Peter as his messenger because of his questioning. He accepted Peter’s problems, answered them and we see how the truth of God dawned on Peter. It is interesting that he even related these doubts to the Gentile audience and presented this as evidence of God’s leading.

This encourages us that if God gives us His message, He also knows our fears and doubts and is prepared to answer them. Asking questions of God and seeking clarification is not a sign of lack of faith. This should encourage us to be open to God’s leading and to know that He is aware of who we are and our fears. It should encourage us that if God calls us, He has called us because He knows that we are the right people for the job. It should help us to be open with God about our fears and objections as we process His call and then overcome them.

Sometimes I have thought – “Is this God’s call?” I have prayed and asked and there was no confirmation. At that point, I could have thought, “the message came and I was not ready and missed the opportunity.” That is not what we see in this passage. What we see is that there was room to wrestle and even debate with God about his call.

Human Initiative And God’s Direction

One of the puzzles we have about God’s leading is the relationship between human initiative and God’s direction. Some would say, “we know what God wants us to do, let us just go out and do it.” Others would say, “We need to get direction from God each step of the way.” What do we see in these stories of God’s leading?

I think what we see is that both are present. F.F. Bruce says, “The missionary journeys of Paul exhibit an extraordinary combination of strategic planning and keen sensitiveness to the guidance of the Spirit of God.”

We see this particularly in the second missionary journey of Paul. He and Silas returned to the cities to which Paul had gone before. Then they were planning to go further into Asia, but we read in Acts 16:6 that the Spirit was preventing them from going there. What is not said, but implied is that they knew what their assignment was and they simply went out to accomplish it. As they went, without asking the Spirit what to do each step of the way, the Spirit was hindering them from going to certain places. Twice the Spirit prevented them from going forward and so they adjusted their course. Then one night Paul had a vision in the night in which an invitation came for him to go to Macedonia.

I believe this story demonstrates this balance between human initiative and the Spirit’s leading. It encourages us that when we receive God’s call, we should go out and accomplish it with all the wisdom and direction we receive from the Word of God and from our God given wisdom. At the same time, we need to be sensitive to the guidance of the Spirit, who will guide us if we are open to His leading.

I have thought about this in the very personal matter of my ministry. If people ask me to preach, I don’t hesitate too long because I know that I have God’s call to preach His Word. Yet, I still ask God if this time and place and this topic is what He wants me to speak about at this time and I know that God has led many times.

Obeying God’s Call

Earlier I talked about room for debate and asking questions of God. Even though God leaves room for us to question and express our fears, we need to be careful that that questioning does not become faithlessness. What is the difference between doubting and faith based questioning? I believe it is a willingness to obey. Obedience is something that we see in every one of the stories that speak about God’s guidance in Acts.

In Acts 8:27, after Philip heard from the angel of the Lord that he should go to the desert road, it says “So he started out…”

In Acts 8:30 after being told by the Spirit to go up to the chariot, it says, “Then Philip ran up to the chariot…”

After questioning God and hearing the explanation about what God was doing in Saul, we read in Acts 9:17, “Then Ananias went…”

After understanding the vision he had had and meeting the men who had come from Cornelius, it says in 10:23, “The next day Peter started out…”

After the call of God to Paul and Barnabas at the church in Antioch, Acts 13:4 says, “The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went…”

When the Spirit of God was warning Paul that he was going to go to Jerusalem and meet all kinds of hardship, all the people tried to persuade Paul that maybe it was too dangerous and he shouldn’t go. Although his reply may imply that their concerns were getting to him, in Acts 21:13 he nevertheless said, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

When God calls us, we must obey!

A Seeking Heart

Some of us have been dreaming about what God may want to do through our church. Is this a vision that comes from God? How will we know? How will we discern God’s leading?

Reflecting on God’s leading in Acts has demonstrated that God does lead. How do we discover His leading?

I believe that we must begin with a seeking heart. It is possible for us to go through life with the understanding, “I am saved, I will try to obey what God’s Word teaches me and that is how my Christian life will be lived.” If we reason in that way, it is possible that we may limit what God would like to do in us and through us. I believe that in order to discern God’s leading, we need to have a seeking heart.

In Acts 13, we have the story of a church that was used by God to initiate the first missionary journey into territory beyond Israel. God spoke to them through the Holy Spirit and directed the task He had for them. What intrigues me is what it says before the word of the Holy Spirit came to them. The church had a particular practice. It says in Acts 13:2, “While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said…” The words “while they were” suggest the lifestyle of a church that was ready to listen to God speak to them. They were a church with a listening heart. Their listening heart led them to three practices.

Worship

First of all we notice that it was a church that was worshipping. Worship was something that happened in the life of the church.

As we worship, we have joy and God rejoices in us. We find comfort and encouragement from God. We discover more of who God is and we stand amazed in His presence. We understand the great glory of God. As we rejoice in God and understand His glory, we are drawn into an intimate relationship with God. We begin to see God in all His glory and we begin to see what God wants and desires. In worship, God prepares us to hear Him. In worship, we come to love Him and to love being with Him even when we do not hear Him speak. Our faith is increased and our hope is strengthened. Worship brings us into a posture of readiness to hear God and a desire to honour Him with our whole lives. Worship creates space for God to work. So we see that worship is an important part of having a seeking heart.

Fasting

We also notice that they were fasting. I have to confess that I don’t like the idea of fasting. There are lots of things that make me uncomfortable about it. Sometimes it feels like bribing God. It feels like something only super spiritual people do. And quite frankly, I don’t like doing without.

Before we dismiss it, however, let us think about fasting a little bit more. Although I have fasted a few times, I really don’t know a lot about it. What I do know, however, tells is that a seeking heart is willing to participate in fasting. George Miley says, “Fasting is an outer expression of an inner decision to hunger after God and learn His ways. It is a practical aid that brings clarity and focus to the soul. It muffles other voices and distracting impulses. It softens the heart and humbles the spirit before the creator.”

The way in which I have understood fasting is that it is a way of saying, “I want to know God and His ways more than I want to eat.” It is a way of expressing what Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

When we fast, it does not only have to be fasting from food. For example, it can also be fasting from television or something else. It is anything we do in which we say, “I want God more than I want this thing.” So as we fast, we stop eating or do without something else and, at the same time, turn our attention towards God. When I have looked at it that way, I have more of a willingness to fast. As I have been thinking about the dream I have been talking about, I truly want a seeking heart and so I am planning to do some fasting in order to open my heart and ears to God.

Prayer

The third thing we notice from this passage is that after they heard the voice of the Spirit telling them that Paul and Barnabas should be sent, they prayed again. I think this teaches us that prayer is an important part of having a seeking heart.

Miley says, “Prayer, from genuinely humble hearts, bound in the unity of the Spirit, filled with faith and love, is the engine of kingdom advance.”

Of course the Bible is full of examples of people who prayed and also teachings regarding prayer. Listen to the invitation found in Jeremiah 33:2,3, ““This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’” Jesus prayed often. Before he chose the 12 and before he was about to go on the cross, he spent time in prayer. It was Jesus who taught us to seek, ask and knock.

So I would like to invite us all to have a seeking heart. A seeking heart is a heart that believes in God, believes He is building His kingdom, and is open to God speaking to us today. A church with a seeking heart is a church which is worshipping God, willing to do without in order to hear God and a church which is in prayer. Do we have a seeking heart?

Hearing God

As I contemplate the matter of discerning God’s direction, I have experienced times when I thought that God was giving direction. Sometimes I have not been sure if something was God’s direction or my own impression. When I have acted on what I thought was God’s leading, sometimes nothing spectacular has happened and I have still wondered if it was God’s leading. Other times, I have understood afterwards that this truly was God’s leading.

It isn’t enough to have a seeking heart, we also need to hear God. How do we hear God?

God Wants To Answer

The first assurance I would like to remind us of is that God wants to answer. God is more interested in building His kingdom than we are. God is more concerned about having us experience His blessings than we desire them. Everything we read in Scripture tells us that God takes the initiative and God directs. The fact that we have His Word assures us. The stories we looked at earlier in Acts assure us. The promises of Scripture assure us. We can rest on the promises of Scripture like Proverbs 3:5,6 which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

We do not have to persuade God or trick God into answering. That would be a pagan view of God. How then do we hear God?

Willing To Obey

God knows our hearts. He knows, if he reveals something to us, how we will respond. He knows, if we hear His voice, whether or not we will obey.

Miley says, “God is eager to speak, but he seldom wastes words on unhearing or distracted ears.”

We will hear God if we are willing to obey God.

Listening

I think the most difficult thing for most of us is that we do not have the patience to listen to God. Sometimes when I am using my computer, I am very impatient if it does not respond quickly. If it doesn’t respond, instead of waiting, I am quite quick to reboot because I want it to respond now.

Miley says, “God speaks to those who wait and listen.” Just as a child has a very short attention span, so even as adults, we often have a very short attention span when it comes to hearing God. As we mature and learn to be quiet for longer periods of time, we learn that God is speaking as we wait and listen. As we get in tune with God and as we wait, God will speak.

Certainty

The final question is, “how do we know that this is God who has spoken?”

The answer is that when God speaks, His word of direction will always be consistent with His written Word. God does not change and what He says to us will always fits with what He has said before. So as we reflect and ask God, we can know His truth because it will always be in tune with Scripture. That is why I have sought to establish the basic concepts of planting a church in Scripture.

A further way of confirming God’s truth is to speak to others about it. If we are part of a community that is seeking God, God’s truth will be confirmed to the body - sometimes through prophetic words, sometimes through a word of wisdom, always through the guidance of the Spirit of God. When the council of Jerusalem, recorded in Acts 15, completed their deliberations, I appreciate what they said. They gave their summation beginning with the words, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” God had spoken through the community of faith and they knew it was God. That is why lone rangers are so susceptible to error. That is why it is so important to me that as a community we get together and pray together and fast and listen to God together. I believe that if God has something to say to us, He will tell us so that we, as a community will know.

Conclusion

The thought of God’s leading is exciting! To be doing God’s work is amazing!

What does God want to do through us?

Each of us needs God’s direction. I trust that the things we have examined will help us be open to God’s leading.

This morning, I would like to invite us, as a church, to be people who have a seeking heart and a listening ear to hear what God is saying to us. Will you join me in worship, fasting and prayer? Can we together listen to God and so discern His leading?

Growing God’s Church

Introduction

Whenever we have done the Healthy Church Survey, there is one question which appears on the pastors survey. The question is, “Has this church planted another church.” I always answer “yes” to that question, but always have in my mind that it happened a long time ago. In the 60’s, our church planted four other churches, which now make up what is known in the EMC as Region #6. Each church was started for different reasons. Of the four churches, Roseisle and Morris were started because an opportunity was seen for spreading the gospel and building the church. Church planting was prompted by need, opportunity and obedience.

When I fill out this question, I often think, “that was about 40 years ago, what about now?” Should we think about starting a church again? If we did, what would prompt us?

I have a dream. My dream is that we as a church would send a team to plant a church in an un-reached people group. If this dream is not God’s will for us, it should not happen. If we do not share commitment to this dream, it will not happen. Last week, we began to think about this dream. We talked about the need in the world for people to meet Jesus. As we realized that there are many in the world who do not have access to the knowledge of Jesus, I hope that our hearts were stirred to think about our involvement. This Sunday, I would like to continue to think with you about this dream and specifically to think Biblically about God’s plan for the church and for building the church. Then next week I would like to think with you about how we will seek God to discern His leading for us.

Make Disciples!

I think we all agree that God has given us the assignment to go and make disciples. We get this understanding from the great commission which Jesus gave to all of His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20.

Jesus had completed his mission. He had died for the sins of the world and risen in victory over sin and death. Now He was about to ascend into heaven. As a parting word, one we should take seriously because it is a parting word, He said to the disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This word is filled with promise and prediction. The promise of Jesus’ authority and presence and the prediction of the end of the age. In the context of this support and hope, there is an imperative, the only imperative in the passage, which is, “make disciples!” Under the authority of Jesus, which is an authority which extends over all the universe, those who belong to him are called to make disciples. The process of making disciples begins with the task of baptizing them, which is intended as a public symbol of identification with Jesus Christ. This involves the work of evangelism, that is, making the name of Jesus known so that people can believe in Him and indicate their belief through baptism. The further process of making disciples is the task of teaching them everything Jesus commanded. In other words, to make disciples is to teach people to be followers of Jesus. This is the work of Christian education, of nurturing people to mature as followers of Jesus. This command is to be carried out as we go into all nations.

This is foundational, but it is important to lay this solid foundation. Do we agree that this is Jesus commission to us? Do we agree that He wants us to make disciples? Do we agree that this is God’s will for our congregation today? Do I hear any “amen’s” of agreement? If we agree, then we can go on to explore what that might mean.

Establishing Groups Of Disciples

As the disciples began to fulfill this commission, how did they do it? Scripture reveals that they did it by establishing groups of disciples, that is, churches. Why did it happen this way? Why is the church so important to the plan God has for building His kingdom?

The NT Pattern

There is no doubt that as the disciples began to make disciples, they did so by establishing churches.

The beginning of the task of making disciples occurred on the day of Pentecost. It was necessary for the Holy Spirit to come first in order to lead the mission. When he came, Peter stood up to preach the first sermon of the Christian era. When he had finished preaching, the people were ready to respond. Many of them had seen Jesus and had heard of all the things that had happened and when Peter’s Spirit inspired message explained all these things to them, they were ready and responded quickly. On that first day, 3000 responded to the call to follow Jesus. The disciples began to do exactly what Jesus had commissioned them to do. These 3000 were baptized. Then the process of teaching them all things began. How did it happen?

Acts 2:42-47 tells us. We read that these new believers, “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ^Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

What is evident from the very beginning is that the work of making disciples included the establishment of the church.

As we read on in Acts, we see more of the same things happening. People came to Jesus and were taught the truth about Jesus. In some cases, it was individuals alone, like the Ethiopian eunuch, but for the most part, the story of Acts is the story of the growth and spread of the church.

A further example of this movement is found in Acts 14:21-28. Paul and Barnabas had been sent out by the church in Antioch. They went throughout the region of Asia and people were brought to know Jesus. For example, in Acts 14:21 it says that, “They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples.” They went to a number of places and when they had reached the end of their journey, they returned to visit each of the groups of disciples and we read in 14:22 that they strengthened the disciples and in verse 23 we read that they appointed elders. In other words, wherever they had spread the news about Jesus, they established groups of disciples called churches.

As we go on in Acts we see the same pattern repeated over and over again. In Acts 15 we read of a gathering of church leaders to discuss a difficult theological issue. Representatives came from the church in Jerusalem and the church in Antioch and the resolution was communicated to the churches Paul had established in Asia. Later in Acts 20, we read of an encounter Paul had with the elders of the church in Ephesus in which he instructed them to carefully care for the church.

I think it is important to note that God’s pattern for fulfilling the great commission involves the church. As people get to know Jesus, they are baptized and become part of the church. It is in the church that they are nurtured as disciples. In other words, establishing churches is the way in which God’s kingdom is built, the way in which the great commission is accomplished.

Why The Church?

Why is the church so important?

In the book, “Loving the Church…Blessing the Nations,” George Miley identifies eight reasons why God works to establish churches. In summary he says, “God has also placed each individual believer in His family – the body of Christ. There are crucial dimensions of our life with Jesus that can only be lived out in the context of this group.”

Specifically, the significance of the church includes these items:

Corporate Worship

A Christian community creates a context for corporate worship. We can worship alone, but there is something very powerful about lifting our voices together to praise God. Such worship is more than obedience, more than a nice feeling, it is a significant part of the defeat of the enemy. In Acts 16:25, when Paul and Silas were in prison, we read that they were praying and singing hymns to God. It was in this context of worship that God acted to release them from prison. When we worship together, we declare that the kingdom of God reigns in this place and thus Satan is defeated.

Community Prayer Life

Praying together as Christians is a way in which we can have a vital and sustainable prayer life. We can pray alone and have great times, but we are encouraged in prayer as we do it together. Those who attended the prayer times we had each month in spring remember what power and blessing there was as we prayed together. Whereas alone we may sometimes mumble a prayer, when we are together and we hear others pray, our prayers are encouraged. Corporate prayer is encouraging and powerful. In Acts 12:5, we see an example of the power of corporate prayer. Peter was in prison, but the church was in prayer to God for him and those prayers were significant in the release of Peter. On September 5,6, we will have an opportunity to pray together as a community in a 24 hour prayer vigil. We will pray for the work of our church and for God’s work in our community. Each of you is invited to choose a 15 minute prayer time during that 24 hour period. I invite all of you to participate.

Serving With Our Gifts

Another blessing of community is that we can serve each other with the gifts God has given. No person has all the gifts and so we have areas in which we lack. Where we lack, someone else’s gift will be a blessing to us. On the other hand, in the area of our giftedness, we have the blessing and privilege of serving others. Miley says, “If I have not been grafted into a group of Christians, my needs will not be met fully, and I will be frustrated in ministry. I will find no meaningful way to express the gifts Christ has given me.” Scripture reinforces this important truth. I Corinthians 12 speaks of the variety of gifts and the way in which we are blessed by one another as we use them. In Acts 13:1 we have a list of some of the gifts which were active in the church in Antioch. There we read, “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.”

Community Support

The church is also a wonderful place in which we receive support. In loving one another, we are encouraged and helped in ways that we would seriously miss if we were alone. There is a wonderful example of such support in Acts 9:36-43. Dorcas was a believer in the church in Lydda. She died and after her death, all the people of the church grieved and sorrowed. Their grief was deep because she had been a person who had helped a lot of people and when she died, they realized how much she had done for them.

Growth In Faith

Not only do we receive support, but we also have a great resource for growth. Alone we may learn about obedience to Christ, but in community we are reminded, encouraged and challenged. I appreciate what Miley says when he observes, “We can neither love nor learn to love by ourselves.” The most important command Jesus gave us must be learned and lived in community. A Biblical example of that is found in Acts 18:24-28. A good teacher, by the name of Apollos, came to the church in Ephesus. Although a skilled teacher, he was a new believer and didn’t have it all together. These verses tell us that Priscilla and Aquila took Apollos aside in order to instruct him more accurately and, as a result, he became a very powerful teacher in the church.

Discerning God’s Will

God reveals Himself to us in a number of different ways. Nature gives evidence of God. Scripture is a clear revelation of the truth of God. God’s Holy Spirit is the one who reveals truth. But we cannot ignore that God also speaks through His people. It is often in community that the subjective interpretation of Scripture and the subjective hearing of the Holy Spirit is tested and affirmed. In Acts 13:1-3 there is an example of how the church, in the context of worship, heard God speak regarding the new mission of Paul and Barnabas.

Witness To Jesus

Another important aspect of the church is that it is a picture of Jesus for the world to see. Although it is true to say that Jesus lives in me, it is even more accurate and significant to say that Jesus lives in His people. The world sees Jesus in the church. As seekers come to church, they see what a community of Jesus is all about and they meet Jesus. Miley says, “Many times the most powerful agent of evangelism is simply the life of Jesus lived out in the group.” This happened in the early church. In Acts 2:47 as the believers met together, loved each other and shared meals together, the surrounding community saw the life of Jesus lived and it says that “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Miley tells about a time when he and his wife were involved with Operation Mobilization and were serving on the ship Doulos. In one port, in a city in South America, Miley’s wife had many relatives, all of them Jewish. Miley says that he and his wife saw the ship as a place of constant chaos, but as her family came on board to visit them, they saw something different. They saw it as a place of peace, they saw Jesus present among His people.

A Community Of Encouragement

Finally, a Christian community creates a context for motivation to be sustained. When it gets tough and we are discouraged and the work is too much, we receive much encouragement from God’s people to keep going in our Christian walk and to keep going in the ministry. A Biblical example is that of Peter and John in Acts 4. They had been arrested and then were released with a strict warning not to proclaim the name of Jesus. After their release, they gathered with the church and prayed together and were encouraged, in spite of persecution, to keep on proclaiming Jesus. Verse 31 says, “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

Why Should We Be Involved?

So from Scripture we have established that God calls us to make disciples. We have also established, from Scripture, that as disciples are made, they must be gathered into groups for nurture and servanthood. Thus we could say that church planting is the way in which to accomplish the great commission. If we only invite people to come to church, we have not finished the job. If we only go out and invite people to meet Jesus we have not finished the job. God has sent us on mission to establish His church.

Brunner says, “The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.” What is fire? You can’t have fire if it isn’t burning. There is no such thing as a box of fire which you can pour out and observe. Fire only exists as it is burning. The church only exists by mission. It is only as it is on mission, making disciples in all the world that it is the church. If it stops being on mission, it is no longer the church, it is a social club.

We are the church for we are making disciples. The dream God has given me is to become more intentional and more active in that task. Can you imagine what it would be like for us to plant a church in an unreached people group?

Imagine that it would be a team of people. Each would contribute their gifts to the mission and each would support the other. Imagine that all the members of the team came from our church. They would already know each other and so could prepare together, go together, work together and hear God together. Imagine if they were able to work in an unreached people group and actually plant a church in that group. Imagine what kind of excitement and involvement such a project would mean for us back home – praying, giving and perhaps even short term teams going to help. Imagine how we would see God at work.

Conclusion

Thirty or forty years ago our forefathers believed that God’s call was to establish churches in Rosenort, Roseisle and Morris.

What is God’s call to us today? Does the knowledge of people who have never heard stir your heart? Does the Biblical mandate of establishing groups of disciples into churches encourage us to do it? Will you join me in praying that God will reveal His direction for us? If this idea interests you, talk to me and join me in prayer.

The World’s Need

Introduction

It is just over 10 years since the flood of the century. Since we came here, I have listened to a lot of stories about the flood and also about how volunteers came to help protect against the flood. I spent a few days sandbagging at the time as well. One day I was just east of Lowe Farm protecting a farm house. I heard some of the people say that it really wasn’t necessary to sandbag this house because the flood wasn’t going to come this far anyway. It made me wonder if our resources could have been better used. I suspect that there were cases in which some homes had lots of volunteers, but the need wasn’t very great. On the other hand, I suspect that there were places where help was desperately needed and no one was available. I suspect that there are people who can identify with this and perhaps even have deep feelings about it. From a philosophical point of view, it doesn’t make sense to add more help to a situation that is well covered while at the same time there is a desperate need somewhere else that is not being met.

Can that same principle be applied to the task of God’s mission of making Jesus known in the world? Should we spend more and more resources feeding “well fed” people when there are people in the world who have never heard about Jesus? A few months ago, our EMC leadership got together to see where God is calling us as a denomination. In part of that report it said, “One of the new priorities is an emphasis on un-reached people groups.” What do we at REMC think about this? How would God have us involved in His work in the world? This morning I would like to think with you about the need of the world and God’s invitation to us to become involved in meeting that need. I would invite us to listen to hear what God might be saying to us.

The World Needs Jesus!

The world is lost

God loves the world. By the world we mean all the people living in His creation. He made the world as a place of blessing and created people to know Him and relate to Him in a beautiful relationship and in a setting of paradise. The garden of Eden is the picture of what God intended for the world.

But the world does not love God. In Adam and Eve we see the beginning of the lost state of all human beings. Although people don’t see it, being lost is the condition of every person. I heard someone say, “I’m never lost, sometimes I just take the scenic route.” We can’t say that about the spiritual condition of the people of the world, all are lost.

A while ago the news reported that two young boys got lost while hiking in the bush. Although they found them fairly quickly because they did what you are supposed to do when you are lost and that is stay put and wait to be rescued, it still must have been a frightening experience. Can you imagine what it must have felt like for them when they realized that they were lost? Being lost is an awful thing. Ephesians 2:12 describes being lost as, “separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” Being spiritually lost is not a good thing.

The world needs to know Jesus.

People in the world need to be found, they need Jesus. They don’t need religion. There are lots of religions in the world and more ways of people deciding how to please God or come to God are not necessary.

They don’t need the church. Now I don’t want you to misunderstand. The church is important and once you become a Christian, being a part of the church is exactly what God does want for you, but people do not need to be invited to church first of all. There are lots of churches and lots of people attending churches who are still lost. In doing evangelism, we better understand very clearly that inviting people to church must always be only a strategy, not the end of our goal.

What people need is Jesus. Jesus is the one who gives life. Jesus is the one who forgives sin. Jesus is the one who promises eternal life. Jesus is the one who comes into a person’s life and makes them a new creation. Jesus helps people be found.

There were some people in the church in Corinth who wanted to attach themselves to a human leader and to make divisions because of human connections. Paul accuses them in I Corinthians 1:12, “One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas…” In verse 23 he points to the center of the gospel, when he says, “but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ^24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

The greatest hope we can offer to any person on earth is that they will meet Jesus.

How shall they hear without a preacher?

But how do they get to know Him?

Salvation is an act of God. He draws! He forgives! He redeems! He causes people to be born again! Yet, God invites us to be involved in the process. Romans 10:13-15 indicates our part when it says, “’Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ^15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “’How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”

There need to be people who will tell others about Jesus. We need to demonstrate the new life of Jesus and we need to proclaim Jesus to all those who are lost.

Jesus is the redeemer, but, as I Corinthians 12:27 says, “you are the body of Christ.” What does it mean that the visible presence of Christ today is found in those who are His followers? It means that the life-giving message of Jesus is communicated by us and through us. It is through us that people meet the one who can find them, the one who can forgive them and give them life.

I recently discovered that there is a difference between going on missions and being on a mission. Going on missions means that we take some time out to go on a trip and enjoy the responsibility of helping people find Jesus - for a while. Then we go back home to our normal life. That is how we often look at the ministry of evangelism, but God has not called us to go on missions, He has called us to be on mission. To be on mission, means that we are always doing God’s work. Whether we go on a missions trip or are at home going about our ordinary activities, we are always on a mission of bringing people to Jesus.

By being Christians we have a responsibility. We are on a mission. We are God’s servants.

Who In The World?

But how and where will we carry out this mission?

The Call To All Nations

The Jewish view of God’s call extended to the borders of Israel and no further. If someone wanted to join them, they could come to Israel and were allowed in, but in general, Israel had a limited view of God’s invitation.

We sometimes have such a limited view as well. We are here. If someone wants to find Jesus, they can always come to church and we will help them. But, what is God’s perspective?

The beginning of the nation of Israel is founded on the call of God to Abraham. In His first conversation with Abraham, God said, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” From the beginning, God wanted all nations to find life!

Psalm 96:3 invites God’s people, “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous deeds among all peoples.” Notice the mention of “the nations” and “all peoples.” God wants His people to proclaim the glory of God to everyone.

So even in the Old Testament God already had his eye on saving all those who were lost from all nations.

Jesus continues to emphasize this intent and upon His departure sent us on a worldwide mission when He said in Matthew 28:18-20, “…go and make disciples of all nations…”

In Matthew 24:14 this call to mission is even attached to the time of Jesus’ return when He said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

The intent of this broad call is so that people from all nations will be able to be in heaven and the promise of Revelation 7:9,10 is that they will be. It says, “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ^10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

As we understand the desperate need of lost people to find Jesus, how big is our vision? Do we just see ourselves or our family? Do we see the person across the street? Do we see the people across Canada? Do we have hearts that care about the salvation of people araound the world? God’s Word invites us to such a broad perspective.

Of course our first responsibility is for ourselves. Most naturally we will be most concerned for our family and we need to do what we can to introduce them to Jesus. Since we are “on mission,” God calls us to love our co-worker and to love the people in the store and to let them know about Jesus. We have talked about this before and I want to encourage all of us to continue on this mission. This morning, however, I would like to invite us, as a church, to think about being on mission to the broader world. Are we, as a church, doing all we can to make Jesus known to the nations?

Nations And People Groups

How should we look at the idea of “all nations?” We have sometimes looked at nations as political entities defined by borders on a map. So we send missionaries to Paraguay and believe that we have covered the country of Paraguay. But I think we know that this is not an adequate way of looking at the ministry. In Paraguay, there are many different people groups. Dave & Judy work with a people group which crosses several boundaries but has in common a connection to AIDS/HIV. In Paraguay there are Spanish speaking people, Low-German speaking Mennonites, Guarani speaking people and many other people groups. People groups are those who have a common language and culture. To plant a church in Paraguay and think that we have reached the nation is not adequate because there are many people groups in that country. This is true throughout the world. In fact, some people groups live in several different countries. The people group called Uzbeks live in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and other places. In the same way, Low-German speaking Mennonites are a people group and we know that they live in many places. To reach them probably means doing ministry in Ontario, Manitoba, Belize, Mexico and other places in the world.

So we need to adjust our thinking and not only think of going to the nations in terms of going to countries with political boundaries, but also to think in terms of people groups, and being on mission to these different people groups.

Unreached People Groups

Let us think further about what it means to be “on mission” as a church and what it means to fulfill God’s commission to go to all nations. A good question would be to ask, “Where is the need greatest?”

English speaking people groups around the world have many churches among them and many resources for nurture. There are many churches among English speaking people which are planting other churches. English speaking people are, for the most part, well reached with the message of Jesus. The Joshua Project, a group which has researched people groups has found that among English speaking Canadians, 80% are Christian.

On the other hand, there are many people groups where the gospel has hardly gone. In mission circles, these are called un-reached people groups. Unreached people groups are defined as “A people that does not have a viable indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize their own people without outside, or cross-cultural, assistance.” There are probably Christian churches in most “nations” but there are many people groups who do not have a Christian presence, or a gospel witness. Earlier we looked at how many Canadians are considered Christian. In contrast, Among the Tajik people of Afghanistan only .01% are Christian, the rest are Muslim. This people group desperately needs to know about Jesus. George Miley says, “All peoples minus all reached peoples leaves all unreached peoples, or the task remaining.”

As farmers, we would not reseed a field when there are un-seeded acres still to seed. Yet in the church we continue to put much energy into reaching those who are already reached and not nearly the same energy into reaching those who are un-reached. That is not to say that we should stop doing evangelism in Canada. However, is God perhaps inviting us to broaden our heart for His work? He is a God of compassion, grace, forgiveness and reconciliation. His message of love through Jesus Christ is to all nations. When Paul was proclaiming the gospel, he said in Romans 15:20, 21, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. ^21 Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” What is God’s word to us regarding this call?

What are we doing about it?

The Heart of God

The first thing we need to do is to examine our hearts to see if we have the heart of God within us. God’s heart is to redeem a lost world. In II Peter 3:9 it says that God is “not willing that any should perish.”

I do not think it is God’s intent to motivate us by guilt or in a negative way. Have you ever felt strong emotion when you heard that someone become a believer? I would suggested that such an emotion is evidence that the heart of God is within us. I love the way Paul puts it when he speaks about His heart for the lost. In II Corinthians 5:14 he says, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”

Sometimes our hearts become lazy, fearful or sleepy. As we examine Scripture, let us allow God to stir our hearts once again so that the love of Christ will move us to be on mission.

What Can We Do?

The theme of our mission conference this fall will invite us to four responses in the recognition that we are “on mission.” Those four responses are to know, to pray, to give and to go. Each of us needs to ask God, “what can I do?” As a church, we need to ask, “what can we do?”

All of us can seek to know. I have appreciated the effort our mission committee has made to help us know what is happening to our missionaries. When we get newsletters from missionaries or mission agencies, do we take the time to read them? I spoke earlier about unreached people groups. There are some great resources to open our eyes to see the need. Check out the Joshua project at http://www.joshuaproject.net/index.php. to learn more about unreached people groups.

All of us can pray. We can pray for our missionaries and I am sure that we are. We can pray for nations. One way to pray for nations is to pray for one continent each day of the week. We can pray for people groups. I would encourage us to check out the resources regarding un-reached people groups and choose one group which God lays on our hearts and begin to pray specifically for that people group.

All of us can give. When it comes to giving, it isn’t the amount we give, but rather that we give out of a cheerful heart. If our heart is filled with Jesus and being on mission, then our treasure will also belong to Him. What would that mean for you?

We can also all go. There are many ways in which many of us are already going. MDS, service groups, Singe stunde, Spanish ministry, VBS and camp are ways in which people from this congregation are going.

Are there more opportunities? In the Convention report which comes out of the Messenger it said, “the BOM is focusing on two primary objectives: one is to give priority to developing and strengthening partnerships with agencies working among un-reached people groups.” What is God calling us, as a congregation to do as we recognize that there are people in this world who are un-reached? As we pray, let us open our hearts to God’s call in this area.

Conclusion

My goal this morning was to call us to the heart of God. God loves the world and longs to give life to all who are lost. Do we have the heart of God for the world?

The other goal is to invite us to open our eyes to new possibilities in mission – as individuals, and as a church.

Will you join me in praying that God will help us to see what His plan is for us as individuals and for us as a church in the mission He has given us?