For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. (Hebrews 10:10 NLT)
Every day there were multiple sacrifices at the Jewish Temple none of which could fully remove sin from those who offered the sacrifices. But, Jesus came “once for all time” to give His life a ransom and pay our sin debt in full so we could be forgiven forever. There’s no more need for any other sacrifices because Jesus Christ paid sins penalty in full.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Consider This...
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. (Proverbs 17:9 NLT)
Way too many people live with a “chip on their shoulder” angry about some perceived wrong done to them. The end result is that they isolate themselves from relationships, end up lonely, and feeling unloved. The only people that want to be around angry people are other angry people. Let it go and be happy! You'll have a lot more REAL friends!
Way too many people live with a “chip on their shoulder” angry about some perceived wrong done to them. The end result is that they isolate themselves from relationships, end up lonely, and feeling unloved. The only people that want to be around angry people are other angry people. Let it go and be happy! You'll have a lot more REAL friends!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Consider This...
Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains. (Proverbs 14:13 NLT)
Not everyone that's laughing feels as good on the inside as they are acting on the outside. Let’s CARE enough to get close to people so they can open up about their hurts and pains. Someone you know needs a true friend that won’t judge them, but love them!
Not everyone that's laughing feels as good on the inside as they are acting on the outside. Let’s CARE enough to get close to people so they can open up about their hurts and pains. Someone you know needs a true friend that won’t judge them, but love them!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Consider This...
Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought. (Genesis 40:23 NLT)
Sometimes we feel forgotten by those we thought were certain to remember us. But, God never forgets us and always has a plan that is better than we've ever imagined. Just be patient till He reveals what's next for you! Joseph did and you know the "rest of the story."
Sometimes we feel forgotten by those we thought were certain to remember us. But, God never forgets us and always has a plan that is better than we've ever imagined. Just be patient till He reveals what's next for you! Joseph did and you know the "rest of the story."
Sunday, September 23, 2012
The Great Commission
Matthew 28:18-20
“If you were to do a little fun research to discover the sheer quantity of activities that happen each day in America, you'd be amazed. Consider, for example, the number of cups of coffee consumed, the number of babies born, the number of people who take a taxi, bury a pet, get divorced, go to the hospital, watch prime-time television, ride on an airplane, and go to school.
“So what? That's trivia, right? When you multiply all those things by 365, you get the general idea that there's a fair amount of energy, money, activity, and trauma going on in a year's time. And that's just in America - representing only a portion of the world's population. We may not be big, but we're busy. In fact, we are so busy it's easy to get selfishly swept up in the whirlwind of our own little playground sandwiched between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans . . . blessed beyond measure and rich beyond comparison.
“Every so often it's helpful to stop the annual merry-go-round, get off, look objectively, and think clearly. It's not only helpful, it's essential for the Christian. In this circus-like American lifestyle of ours, we tend to be deafened by the blare of our own band and blinded by the lights of our own spots, shining - always shining - on the ring of our own choice.
“That needs to change. We need to hear the voice of the Ringmaster as He raises His hand to stop the band:
“‘We interrupt this program to bring all of you a reminder that the world in which you live is not the whole world . . . but only a very small part of the world for which I died.’
“The Great Commission is still ‘the Great Commission,’ not ‘The Limited Agreement for My Corner of America.’ He still looks out across a wide world and weeps over men and women and children who do not know - have never heard - His healing, life-giving Name.” (Taken from "The Big Picture")
It light of those words maybe we can understand better why this command of Christ is rightly called the GREAT COMMISSION. After all, He gave His life so that all can hear of His love...through us!
A commission is defined as “an authoritative order, charge, or direction. Authority granted for a particular action or function.”
Just an overview of our commission shows it to be great because of...its authority, its message, its scope, its promise...just to name some of the reasons.
It’s great, as well, because it is the primary mission of the church and it’s not complete until the whole world has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ!
The mission of the church is...
1. Realized fully when worshipping Christ.
The mission of the church is...
2. Grounded totally in the authority of Christ.
The mission of the church is...
3. Focused primarily on making disciples of Christ.
The mission of the church is...
4. Designed globally till everyone hears of Christ.
The mission of the church is...
5. Possible only with the help of Christ.
“If you were to do a little fun research to discover the sheer quantity of activities that happen each day in America, you'd be amazed. Consider, for example, the number of cups of coffee consumed, the number of babies born, the number of people who take a taxi, bury a pet, get divorced, go to the hospital, watch prime-time television, ride on an airplane, and go to school.
“So what? That's trivia, right? When you multiply all those things by 365, you get the general idea that there's a fair amount of energy, money, activity, and trauma going on in a year's time. And that's just in America - representing only a portion of the world's population. We may not be big, but we're busy. In fact, we are so busy it's easy to get selfishly swept up in the whirlwind of our own little playground sandwiched between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans . . . blessed beyond measure and rich beyond comparison.
“Every so often it's helpful to stop the annual merry-go-round, get off, look objectively, and think clearly. It's not only helpful, it's essential for the Christian. In this circus-like American lifestyle of ours, we tend to be deafened by the blare of our own band and blinded by the lights of our own spots, shining - always shining - on the ring of our own choice.
“That needs to change. We need to hear the voice of the Ringmaster as He raises His hand to stop the band:
“‘We interrupt this program to bring all of you a reminder that the world in which you live is not the whole world . . . but only a very small part of the world for which I died.’
“The Great Commission is still ‘the Great Commission,’ not ‘The Limited Agreement for My Corner of America.’ He still looks out across a wide world and weeps over men and women and children who do not know - have never heard - His healing, life-giving Name.” (Taken from "The Big Picture")
It light of those words maybe we can understand better why this command of Christ is rightly called the GREAT COMMISSION. After all, He gave His life so that all can hear of His love...through us!
A commission is defined as “an authoritative order, charge, or direction. Authority granted for a particular action or function.”
Just an overview of our commission shows it to be great because of...its authority, its message, its scope, its promise...just to name some of the reasons.
It’s great, as well, because it is the primary mission of the church and it’s not complete until the whole world has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ!
The mission of the church is...
1. Realized fully when worshipping Christ.
- Jesus had sent the disciples on ahead to Galilee where He was going to meet them before ascending back to the Father.
- As He approached, the disciples fell down before Him in worship.
- Jesus repeatedly received worship during His ministry (Matthew 2:2, 11; 14:33; 28:9; John 9:35-38; Hebrews 1:6.)
- By accepting worship Jesus was declaring He is God (cf. Matthew 4:10).
- Some doubted: Maybe they didn’t recognize Him from a distance (He “came...to them”). Maybe this was the occasion that the 500 saw Him “at once” (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:6) and some of them “doubted” until He “ came...to them.” Maybe it was like other post-resurrection appearances where Jesus wasn’t immediately recognized because His identity was supernaturally withheld from some of them (Luke 24:13-35; John 20:11-18; 21:11-18).
- Ultimately, they all recognized Him and worshipped Him!
- It was while they were in the spirit of worship that Jesus gives them the “Great Commission.”
- On the day of Pentecost, 40 days later, what were the 120 followers of Jesus doing in the upper room? At least in part they were worshipping!
- When the church at Antioch was instructed to send out Paul and Barnabas as missionaries to the Gentile world (Acts 13:2), what was the church doing? At least in part they were worshipping!
- A worshipping church will be a world mission church! A materialistic, self-focused church will never fully appreciate or participate in the Great Commission!
The mission of the church is...
2. Grounded totally in the authority of Christ.
- By whose authority do we carry out this mission? What right do we have to disrupt other people’s lives? Who gives me permission to confront people with the Gospel?
- Jesus has absolute power and jurisdiction! There is nothing over which He does not have authority.
- There is an allusion here to the prophecy of Daniel about the “Ancient of Days” giving authority to the “Son of man” (Daniel 7:13-14; cf. Philippians 2:6-11) showing Christ’s deity and right to rule.
- For instance, He has authority to...
- Forgive sins (Luke 5:20; 7:48).
- Mediate to the Father (1 Timothy 2:5).
- Send the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26).
- Open the hearts and minds (Luke 24:45).
- Reveal the Father (Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22).
- Give eternal life (John 10:27-28).
- Raise us up on the last day (John 6:40).
- As His authority relates to the Great Commission...He has the authority to send us as His representatives and His ambassadors operating on His behalf.
- He also gives us power for the task (Acts 1:8), but power and authority are really two different things.
Illustration:
To distinguish the difference between power and authority think about the street that some of you crossed to enter the worship center today. Suppose a large truck is coming down the street and you decide you want to stop it. So, you hold up your hand until the grill of the truck meets your hand. Would you be able to stop the truck? Of course not! But, we’ve all seen men/women stand in the middle of a busy street and stop powerful trucks barrelling down the road just by putting up their hand. What’s the difference? He/she has on a police uniform and has been vested with authority by the people to stop trucks, if deemed necessary. The officer might not have any more “power” than you do, but he has “authority.”
- Jesus has the authority to do anything He wants as the sovereign God and He gives us the authority to represent Him in the proclamation of the Gospel.
- This is the reason that the disciples didn’t submit to human authority when they were persecuted and threatened (ex. Acts 5:29). Their authority came from Someone who had greater authority than civil government!
- And, how do you experience/recognize this kind of authority in your own life? By coming under authority...to Christ (ex. The Centurion/Luke 7:1-10).
The mission of the church is...
3. Focused primarily on making disciples of Christ.
- There is one imperative (make disciples) with three subordinate participles having the force of imperatives (go, baptize, teach).
- The primary task left to the church is to “make disciples.” Does that surprise you?
- A disciple is someone that hears, understands and obeys the teachings of Jesus.
- One mistake we cannot make is to divorce evangelism from discipleship...they must work together.
- We must not think of the Gospel as a “get out of hell free” card.
- The task of preaching the Gospel involves the arduous responsibility of nurturing believers in their faith until they become fully devoted followers of Jesus.
- It’s a process that takes time, energy, prayer, guidance and accountability for the one being discipled.
- My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you... (Galatians 4:19)
- We’ve got to bring people to Christ (making disciples certainly includes evangelism-Acts 14:21) and then assist them through the process of developing spiritual maturity.
The mission of the church is...
4. Designed globally till everyone hears of Christ.
- (Panta ta ethne) This exact phrase is used four times in the book of Matthew (24:9, 14; 25:32; 28:19) referring to “all peoples [without distinction].”
- It’s interesting to me that the church of the first century was apparently successful in fulfilling their portion of the mission, but each new generation must reach the people living in their day. --cf. Colossians 1:6, 23
- Dr. J. Vernon McGee writing about this passage says...
“Dr. Marvin R. Vincent, a great expositor of the Epistle to the Colossians, as well as other expositors, believes this is hyperbole. I’ll be honest with you, I also had difficulty accepting this statement. Is Paul trying to say that at this particular time when he was in prison in Rome the gospel had reached the world? That is what he says. I have come to the position that I believe he meant what he said literally; it is not hyperbole. When I visited Asia Minor, I stood in Turkey at the city of Sardis and saw part of a Roman road that had been uncovered by excavation. That is the road that Paul traveled when he came down out of the Galatian country on the way to Ephesus. For three years he preached the gospel in Ephesus to people who were there from all over the Roman Empire. As a result, the gospel had gone ahead to Rome long before Paul was taken there as a prisoner.
“...The gospel at that time had penetrated into the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire. It may have even crossed over to Great Britain. Every part of the Roman world had heard the gospel...”
Illustration:
George Sweeting, in his book “The No-Guilt Guide for Witnessing,” tells of a man by the name of John Currier who in 1949 was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Later he was transferred and paroled to work on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1968, Currier’s sentence was terminated, and a letter bearing the good news was sent to him. But John never saw the letter, nor was he told anything about it. Life on the farm was hard and without promise for the future. Yet he kept doing what he was told even after the farmer for whom he worked had died.
Ten years went by...Then a state parole officer learned about Currier’s plight, found him, and told him that his sentence had been terminated. He was a free man.
Sweeting concluded that story by asking, "Would it matter to you if someone sent you an important message -- the most important in your life -- and year after year the urgent message was never delivered?"
- Are we doing all we can to get the Gospel to those who’ve never heard?
The mission of the church is...
5. Possible only with the help of Christ.
- There are four times in verses 18 to 20 that you find a form of the word “all” (all authority-v.18; all nations-v.19; teach...all things-v.20; always with you-v.20).
- This is a spiritual work that requires the help of God’s Spirit.
- At least nine times in Acts it speaks of the boldness of those who witnessed for Christ and it came because Christ was with them through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
- Marketing may get you a crowd, but it takes God’s help to see people converted to Christ.
- That’s why we should pray everyday for God to help us recognize those we can speak to about Christ, as well as help us share the right things that will touch their lives.
- God has promised to help us in this work of the Great Commission!
Illustration:
David Livingstone was a well-known doctor/missionary by the time he returned to his native Scotland to address the students at Glasgow University. The previous sixteen years had been spent in the service of God on the continent of Africa. As he stood before those young men and women, the tremendous price exacted of Livingston was plain to see. More than 27 fevers had coursed through his veins, leaving his body emaciated and ravaged. One arm hung useless at his side, the result of being mangled by a lion.
The core of his message to those young people was: "Shall I tell you what sustained me amidst the toil, the hardship, and loneliness of my exile? It was Christ’s promise, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end."
What Christ promised to the disciples on the mountaintop nearly two thousand years ago is still available to us today. The companionship of Jesus Christ is offered to every believer that obeys the Great Commision.
Closing:
Let me challenge you to do some things in response:
- Take a missionary out for coffee and/or a meal.
- Read a good missions book/magazine.
- Write a letter/email to some battle-weary missionary in a distant country.
- Consider an opportunity to serve Christ in a cross-cultural experience.
- Make friends with a lonely international student from our local college.
- Make a commitment to Faith-giving to help missionaries go where you cannot go!
Illustration:
On October 10, 2005, a 9-year-old boy swam the precarious waters between Alcatraz island and the San Francisco shoreline.
Johnny Wilson, who was a fourth grader at the time, called the swim in the 53-degree San Francisco Bay "tiring" but said he kept telling himself, "I’m almost there, I’m almost there." He said, "the beginning was the hardest because I was all cold."
His classmates were waiting on shore, cheering as he made it to Aquatic Park. They chanted, "Go, Johnny! Go, Johnny!" Johnny finished the 1.4-mile swim from the infamous prison island in under two hours. The reason he made the swim was more than just the challenge. In the process he raised $30,000 in donations for Hurricane Katrina victims.
That’s commitment for a cause! Would to God we were that committed to the GREAT COMMISSION cause of Christ!
Friday, September 21, 2012
Consider This...
Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from inside the fish. (Jonah 2:1 NLT)
Learn the lesson early in your spiritual life that if you run from God you'll likely end up “inside the fish.” And, when you find yourself in a jam because of your foolish choices the best thing you can do is “pray to the Lord” and acknowledge He was right and you were wrong. Thank God He never gives up on His children even when they're in over their heads.
Learn the lesson early in your spiritual life that if you run from God you'll likely end up “inside the fish.” And, when you find yourself in a jam because of your foolish choices the best thing you can do is “pray to the Lord” and acknowledge He was right and you were wrong. Thank God He never gives up on His children even when they're in over their heads.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Consider This...
"Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling." (Proverbs 20:3 NLT)
We live in the most litigious age ever! People wear the arguments/fights they've won as badges of honor. Being a peacemaker or avoiding a quarrel makes you a "wimp" in some people's eyes, but with God it's a "mark of honor." Isn't it amazing how far we've gotten from the principles of scripture, but still call ourselves followers of THE TRUTH?
We live in the most litigious age ever! People wear the arguments/fights they've won as badges of honor. Being a peacemaker or avoiding a quarrel makes you a "wimp" in some people's eyes, but with God it's a "mark of honor." Isn't it amazing how far we've gotten from the principles of scripture, but still call ourselves followers of THE TRUTH?
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Consider This...
Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1 NLT)
Youth is a time to party, have fun and live without a care...right? Well, it is true that when you are young you ought to have fun and dream big, but following God should be the central purpose of your life no matter what your age. When your health is good, your mind is sharp, and your energy is endless, that's the best time to invest everything you can in the cause of Christ. Every day you put off being serious about serving Jesus is another day closer to the things that are the inevitable distractions that come with "grow[ing] old."
Youth is a time to party, have fun and live without a care...right? Well, it is true that when you are young you ought to have fun and dream big, but following God should be the central purpose of your life no matter what your age. When your health is good, your mind is sharp, and your energy is endless, that's the best time to invest everything you can in the cause of Christ. Every day you put off being serious about serving Jesus is another day closer to the things that are the inevitable distractions that come with "grow[ing] old."
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Consider This...
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. (Joshua 1:8 NLT)
Why should God bless us when we don't care enough to learn and obey thoroughly what He says? The key to the blessed life is to study, meditate (become saturated with) and obey His Word. Until the Scripture so permeates our being that it controls how we think, talk and act, our lives will continue to feel more like a desert than a fruitful and well watered plain.
Why should God bless us when we don't care enough to learn and obey thoroughly what He says? The key to the blessed life is to study, meditate (become saturated with) and obey His Word. Until the Scripture so permeates our being that it controls how we think, talk and act, our lives will continue to feel more like a desert than a fruitful and well watered plain.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Consider This...
This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. (Psalm 91:2 NLT)
Some days you just want to run away and hide in order to escape the trials of life. And, when you feel that inclination rising within you make sure you affirm what the Psalmist testified: “The LORD...alone is my refuge, my place of safety...” There is no more secure shelter than our God and His protection will cover all that "trust him."
Some days you just want to run away and hide in order to escape the trials of life. And, when you feel that inclination rising within you make sure you affirm what the Psalmist testified: “The LORD...alone is my refuge, my place of safety...” There is no more secure shelter than our God and His protection will cover all that "trust him."
Sunday, September 16, 2012
One Gospel For All People
Romans 1:14-17
What do the names William Carey, Adoniram Judson, David Livingstone, George Müller, Hudson Taylor, Jonathan Goforth, Amy Carmichael, Nate Saint, and Jim Elliot all have in common?
This answer is that they were all well-known missionaries from the past that made a significant impact on the nations of the world and whose lives are immortalized in their biographies.
William Carey (1761-1834)
William Carey is known as the father of modern missions. Carey was an English missionary to India who was a skilled linguist, writer and printer. He translated portions of the Bible into several languages.
Carey grew up in the Church of England but was saved while an apprentice to a shoemaker. He eventually joined the Baptist church and went to India as a Baptist missionary. As a self-motivated learner he taught himself Latin, Hebrew and Greek.
He founded the Baptist Missionary Society and was instrumental in influencing many other missionaries to the foreign field, particularly to India.
Adoniram Judson (1788-1850)
Adoniram Judson was a Baptist missionary who became the first North American Protestant missionary in Burma (Myanmar). Like other early missionaries, he was involved in translation work and church planting. He went to the field of India as a Congregationalist, but after much study of the Bible, became convinced that Baptist doctrine was more biblical. Because of anti-Western sentiment in India, he moved to Burma.
It took him 12 years to see his first 18 converts. By the time he died he had established 100 churches with over 8,000 members. The Baptist churches of Myanmar celebrate “Judson Day” each year to commemorate his arrival in the country.
David Livingstone (1813-1873)
David Livingstone was a medical missionary with the London Missionary Society. He was born in Scotland in 1813, but spent most of his life in Africa as an explorer and doctor. Coupled with his love for the Lord and desire to spread the Gospel, Livingstone used his understanding of nature and science to help him map much of southern Africa.
Livingstone never stayed long in any one place. He was driven to map the continent of Africa in preparation for the many missionaries who would come after him.
George Müller (1805-1898)
George Müller is known as a man of prayer who started orphanages and preached often about the need for missionaries around the world. In his lifetime his orphanage in England took care of more than 10,000 children. He was instrumental in promoting the idea of “faith missions.” This is where missionaries are not supported by a denomination but by individuals and churches. He believed in never asking anyone for support, but trusting God to lay it on the person’s heart to support the need.
Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)
Hudson Taylor spent more than 50 years in China as a missionary and is known for his respect for the Chinese culture. He was widely criticized in his home country of England at the time for dressing like the Chinese in his efforts to blend in while sharing the Gospel. This practice made him much more accepted by the people when he preached.
Hudson Taylor was trained as a physician and he worked as a doctor, evangelist and translator while in China.
He personally influenced hundreds of people to be missionaries in his lifetime. Many missionaries today attribute their introduction to the need for missions from reading biographies about Hudson Taylor.
Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936)
Jonathan Goforth and his wife went to China in 1888 as traditional missionaries. He soon found a need for short-term trips as an Evangelist. Instead of staying in one place and establishing a church and mission station, he traveled in various regions throughout China helping to encourage the believers and evangelize the lost.
Amy Carmichael (1867-1951)
Amy Carmichael was an Irish missionary who served in India for 56 years without ever returning to her homeland. Her primary work was with orphans in the southern region of India. She was influenced to consider a career in missions after hearing Hudson Taylor speak about the need for missionaries in China. She applied to be a missionary with the China Inland Mission (Taylor’s missionary group) but was eventually turned away because of her poor health. Many of her final 20 years of life was spent in bed due to illness and injury from a fall.
Nate Saint (1923-1956)
Nate Saint was a missionary pilot with the Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and helped make contact with the Waodani (or Auca) Indians in Ecuador. Eventually he and his companions were killed in their efforts to evangelize the tribe. However, through the efforts of Nate’s sister and the wives of the other men who died that day, the Auca Indian tribe came to know the Lord.
The short lives of men like Nate Saint may seem like a waste during the time of the tragedy, but God has a plan and works all things out to His glory.
Jim Elliot (1927-1956)
Jim Elliot learned the Bible from an early age and used it to direct his daily life. He is most remembered for his dramatic death (along with Nate Saint and three other missionary men) at the hands of the Waodani (or Auca) Indians. While their deaths were tragic, the response by the wives of these men towards the ones who killed them opened up their hearts to the Gospel.
And these are only a few of the better known stories of some of God’s choicest servants taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
It would be unthinkable to consider the great missionaries of the past without also discussing the Apostle Paul who was perhaps the greatest missionary of them all, aside from Jesus Himself.
Paul came to Christ on the road to Damascus and asked two of the most important questions anyone can ever consider (Acts 9:5, 6):
In response to these questions God called Paul to missions among the Gentile people. It is because of his dedicated efforts that we enjoy the message of God’s hope even to this day.
We get a glimpse inside the missionary heart of this incredible servant of Christ when reading the opening verses of this letter to the Romans. It was most likely written from Corinth (Acts 20:2-3) during his third missionary journey and Romans 1:16-17 provides us the thesis of the book.
In these introductory verses Paul makes three statements that summarize the depth of his passion for the work of missions.
1. I am a debtor...expresses the weight of obligation he felt.
The phrase “I am a debtor (under obligation)” is actually placed at the very end of the Greek sentence for emphasis; the entire sentence builds up to this startling statement.
To say that you are in debt implies one of two things:
It is this second sense that Paul has in view here. The saving message of Jesus Christ had been entrusted to him (and to all Christians generally) and now he is obligated to deliver it. (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:16-17)
Illustration:
A man stopped to get his car serviced and the attendant seemed especially happy, so he asked him about his upbeat mood. He responded, "I've just gotten all my bills paid and I'm out of debt."
The man congratulated the attendant for handling his resources well and then added, "I have no unpaid bills either, but I'm still in debt." Surprised by this, the young attendant asked him what he meant. The man went on to explain the Gospel story.
This man understood that he was under obligation to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. It was his debt to pay to those that did not know Jesus.
A Christian by the name of John Vassar was at a large railroad station when he saw a lady with a serious look on her face sitting by herself. He went over to her and began to talking with her only to learn that she was very unsatisfied with her life. He explained how Christ could change her life and urged her to trust Him. Although her eyes were filled with tears she did not believe on Christ that day. Just as he left, her husband came up and seeing the tears in her eyes demanded to know what was going on. She told him that a man had just been telling her about her need of the Savior. Her indignant husband said to her, "Why didn’t you tell him to go about his business?" To which she replied, "If you had only been here you would have seen that he was about his business."
This obligation Paul bore (we bear) crossed all boundaries of ethnicity, class, gender, culture, economics, education, etc. The Gospel is not for only one particular group of people, but for ALL people. (cf. Greek, barbarians, wise, unwise, Jew, Gentile)
2. I am ready...expresses the sense of anticipation he felt.
This is the picture of someone at the starting line waiting for the signal to begin the race. There is exhilaration, ambition and anticipation all wrapped up in the idea of Paul being “ready.”
On Paul’s part he was eager to go to Rome, but let’s not forget that he was also willing to stay put (Romans 1:13) until it was God’s will for him to go. Sometimes God calls us to go and sometimes He calls us to stay where we are and help others go.
And, listen to how he phrases his ambition: "As much as is in me..." In other words, “I can't do everything. I can't go everywhere, but as much as is in me, I am ready." Are we ready to say what Paul said?
Too often we focus on the wrong aspect of missions and see it as merely a plan that must be worked out or money that must be raised. But, missions is a passion more than it is a program. It’s a motivation more than it is a method. It’s a fire burning in your soul.
Missions is Jim Elliot going to the Auca Indians in Ecuador and saying, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Missions is C.T. Studd saying, "Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell. I want to live and set up a rescue shop within a yard of hell."
What we desperately need is to be baptized with the ambition and eagerness of Paul. We need to be possessed by a passion for souls.
"One person with passion is better than forty who are merely interested." --Thomas K. Connellan
3. I am not ashamed...expresses the depth of conviction he felt.
At first glance this seems to be a curious statement by the Apostle Paul. There is no indication that he ever showed any sense of embarrassment or shame at any time about the Gospel he preached (Romans 9:33, 10:11; 2 Timothy 1:8, 11-12, 16).
After all, Paul had been imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:23, 24), chased out of Thessalonica (Acts 17:10), smuggled out of Berea (Acts 17:14), laughed at in Athens (Acts 17:32), regarded as a fool in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:18, 23), and stoned in Galatia (Acts 14:19). And, eventually he would have his head cut off as a martyr for Jesus Christ in Rome. That certainly doesn’t sound like the life of a man that is ashamed of his message or his Lord.
In actuality, this is a figure of speech called a litotes, which is an intentional understatement to emphasize the opposite affirmation. (ex. “not bad at all”)
Rome was the queen city of the empire, the place of poets and legislators, the scene of imperial grandeur. There was the magnificence of wealth and power that was on constant display. Paul came to this mighty metropolis with absolute confidence that the Gospel would meet the deepest need of the human heart. He was proud to preach the Gospel at Rome because he was convinced that the Gospel was the only solution to their sin problem.
It may also be true that Paul had in mind the negative view that some people held about the preaching of the cross. In 1 Corinthians 1:17-31, Paul lays out how some feel about the Gospel, but he never shied away from proclaiming the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He possessed a deep conviction that this message alone was sufficient to change people’s lives.
This “power” of which he speaks as inherent in the Gospel was not the destructive power of dynamite (Gk. “dunamis”), but the constructive power to make people new creations in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:18-20). And, he is careful to emphasize that this powerful Gospel is available to anyone that will believe!
Too often in our day it is not THE MESSAGE that gets primary emphasis, but our method. As a result, we rely more on “Madison Avenue” techniques than on the inherent power of the Gospel itself.
Illustration:
At one time there was a Mercedes Benz TV commercial that showed one of their cars colliding into a cement wall during a safety test. Someone then asked the company spokesman why they didn’t enforce their patent on the Mercedes Benz energy-absorbing car body, a design that was apparently copied by other companies because of its success. His reply, “Because some things in life are too important NOT to share.”
This must become the attitude of every Christian if we are going to effectively reach this generation and the next...if we’re going to reach the world with the Gospel.
Our silence in sharing the Gospel whether out of fear or shame is even leading our own nation to the brink of being a neo-atheist/agnostic culture. Listen to these statistics:
In 1900, there were approximately ten million Christians in Africa. By 2000, the number had grown to 360 million. By 2025, the best estimates say there will be 630 million Christians in Africa. The numbers are even more significant in Latin America and Asia. But by the middle of this century, if Christ has not returned, only one-fifth of the world’s Christians will be westerners. Most Christians will be people living in what we call the Third World.
Closing:
#1. We must make ourselves available to go to our non-Christian friends and tell them the message of the Gospel.
#2. We must help those that are going to international fields take the message of the Gospel to those who have never heard about Jesus.
What do the names William Carey, Adoniram Judson, David Livingstone, George Müller, Hudson Taylor, Jonathan Goforth, Amy Carmichael, Nate Saint, and Jim Elliot all have in common?
This answer is that they were all well-known missionaries from the past that made a significant impact on the nations of the world and whose lives are immortalized in their biographies.
William Carey (1761-1834)
William Carey is known as the father of modern missions. Carey was an English missionary to India who was a skilled linguist, writer and printer. He translated portions of the Bible into several languages.
Carey grew up in the Church of England but was saved while an apprentice to a shoemaker. He eventually joined the Baptist church and went to India as a Baptist missionary. As a self-motivated learner he taught himself Latin, Hebrew and Greek.
He founded the Baptist Missionary Society and was instrumental in influencing many other missionaries to the foreign field, particularly to India.
Adoniram Judson (1788-1850)
Adoniram Judson was a Baptist missionary who became the first North American Protestant missionary in Burma (Myanmar). Like other early missionaries, he was involved in translation work and church planting. He went to the field of India as a Congregationalist, but after much study of the Bible, became convinced that Baptist doctrine was more biblical. Because of anti-Western sentiment in India, he moved to Burma.
It took him 12 years to see his first 18 converts. By the time he died he had established 100 churches with over 8,000 members. The Baptist churches of Myanmar celebrate “Judson Day” each year to commemorate his arrival in the country.
David Livingstone (1813-1873)
David Livingstone was a medical missionary with the London Missionary Society. He was born in Scotland in 1813, but spent most of his life in Africa as an explorer and doctor. Coupled with his love for the Lord and desire to spread the Gospel, Livingstone used his understanding of nature and science to help him map much of southern Africa.
Livingstone never stayed long in any one place. He was driven to map the continent of Africa in preparation for the many missionaries who would come after him.
George Müller (1805-1898)
George Müller is known as a man of prayer who started orphanages and preached often about the need for missionaries around the world. In his lifetime his orphanage in England took care of more than 10,000 children. He was instrumental in promoting the idea of “faith missions.” This is where missionaries are not supported by a denomination but by individuals and churches. He believed in never asking anyone for support, but trusting God to lay it on the person’s heart to support the need.
Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)
Hudson Taylor spent more than 50 years in China as a missionary and is known for his respect for the Chinese culture. He was widely criticized in his home country of England at the time for dressing like the Chinese in his efforts to blend in while sharing the Gospel. This practice made him much more accepted by the people when he preached.
Hudson Taylor was trained as a physician and he worked as a doctor, evangelist and translator while in China.
He personally influenced hundreds of people to be missionaries in his lifetime. Many missionaries today attribute their introduction to the need for missions from reading biographies about Hudson Taylor.
Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936)
Jonathan Goforth and his wife went to China in 1888 as traditional missionaries. He soon found a need for short-term trips as an Evangelist. Instead of staying in one place and establishing a church and mission station, he traveled in various regions throughout China helping to encourage the believers and evangelize the lost.
Amy Carmichael (1867-1951)
Amy Carmichael was an Irish missionary who served in India for 56 years without ever returning to her homeland. Her primary work was with orphans in the southern region of India. She was influenced to consider a career in missions after hearing Hudson Taylor speak about the need for missionaries in China. She applied to be a missionary with the China Inland Mission (Taylor’s missionary group) but was eventually turned away because of her poor health. Many of her final 20 years of life was spent in bed due to illness and injury from a fall.
Nate Saint (1923-1956)
Nate Saint was a missionary pilot with the Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and helped make contact with the Waodani (or Auca) Indians in Ecuador. Eventually he and his companions were killed in their efforts to evangelize the tribe. However, through the efforts of Nate’s sister and the wives of the other men who died that day, the Auca Indian tribe came to know the Lord.
The short lives of men like Nate Saint may seem like a waste during the time of the tragedy, but God has a plan and works all things out to His glory.
Jim Elliot (1927-1956)
Jim Elliot learned the Bible from an early age and used it to direct his daily life. He is most remembered for his dramatic death (along with Nate Saint and three other missionary men) at the hands of the Waodani (or Auca) Indians. While their deaths were tragic, the response by the wives of these men towards the ones who killed them opened up their hearts to the Gospel.
And these are only a few of the better known stories of some of God’s choicest servants taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
It would be unthinkable to consider the great missionaries of the past without also discussing the Apostle Paul who was perhaps the greatest missionary of them all, aside from Jesus Himself.
Paul came to Christ on the road to Damascus and asked two of the most important questions anyone can ever consider (Acts 9:5, 6):
- “Who are you, Lord?”
- “Lord, what do you want me to do?”
In response to these questions God called Paul to missions among the Gentile people. It is because of his dedicated efforts that we enjoy the message of God’s hope even to this day.
We get a glimpse inside the missionary heart of this incredible servant of Christ when reading the opening verses of this letter to the Romans. It was most likely written from Corinth (Acts 20:2-3) during his third missionary journey and Romans 1:16-17 provides us the thesis of the book.
In these introductory verses Paul makes three statements that summarize the depth of his passion for the work of missions.
1. I am a debtor...expresses the weight of obligation he felt.
The phrase “I am a debtor (under obligation)” is actually placed at the very end of the Greek sentence for emphasis; the entire sentence builds up to this startling statement.
To say that you are in debt implies one of two things:
- You have borrowed something that must be repaid.
- You have been entrusted with something for someone else that obligates you to the one that gave it and the one for whom it was given.
It is this second sense that Paul has in view here. The saving message of Jesus Christ had been entrusted to him (and to all Christians generally) and now he is obligated to deliver it. (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:16-17)
Illustration:
A man stopped to get his car serviced and the attendant seemed especially happy, so he asked him about his upbeat mood. He responded, "I've just gotten all my bills paid and I'm out of debt."
The man congratulated the attendant for handling his resources well and then added, "I have no unpaid bills either, but I'm still in debt." Surprised by this, the young attendant asked him what he meant. The man went on to explain the Gospel story.
This man understood that he was under obligation to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. It was his debt to pay to those that did not know Jesus.
A Christian by the name of John Vassar was at a large railroad station when he saw a lady with a serious look on her face sitting by herself. He went over to her and began to talking with her only to learn that she was very unsatisfied with her life. He explained how Christ could change her life and urged her to trust Him. Although her eyes were filled with tears she did not believe on Christ that day. Just as he left, her husband came up and seeing the tears in her eyes demanded to know what was going on. She told him that a man had just been telling her about her need of the Savior. Her indignant husband said to her, "Why didn’t you tell him to go about his business?" To which she replied, "If you had only been here you would have seen that he was about his business."
This obligation Paul bore (we bear) crossed all boundaries of ethnicity, class, gender, culture, economics, education, etc. The Gospel is not for only one particular group of people, but for ALL people. (cf. Greek, barbarians, wise, unwise, Jew, Gentile)
2. I am ready...expresses the sense of anticipation he felt.
This is the picture of someone at the starting line waiting for the signal to begin the race. There is exhilaration, ambition and anticipation all wrapped up in the idea of Paul being “ready.”
On Paul’s part he was eager to go to Rome, but let’s not forget that he was also willing to stay put (Romans 1:13) until it was God’s will for him to go. Sometimes God calls us to go and sometimes He calls us to stay where we are and help others go.
And, listen to how he phrases his ambition: "As much as is in me..." In other words, “I can't do everything. I can't go everywhere, but as much as is in me, I am ready." Are we ready to say what Paul said?
Too often we focus on the wrong aspect of missions and see it as merely a plan that must be worked out or money that must be raised. But, missions is a passion more than it is a program. It’s a motivation more than it is a method. It’s a fire burning in your soul.
Missions is Jim Elliot going to the Auca Indians in Ecuador and saying, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Missions is C.T. Studd saying, "Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell. I want to live and set up a rescue shop within a yard of hell."
What we desperately need is to be baptized with the ambition and eagerness of Paul. We need to be possessed by a passion for souls.
"One person with passion is better than forty who are merely interested." --Thomas K. Connellan
3. I am not ashamed...expresses the depth of conviction he felt.
At first glance this seems to be a curious statement by the Apostle Paul. There is no indication that he ever showed any sense of embarrassment or shame at any time about the Gospel he preached (Romans 9:33, 10:11; 2 Timothy 1:8, 11-12, 16).
After all, Paul had been imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:23, 24), chased out of Thessalonica (Acts 17:10), smuggled out of Berea (Acts 17:14), laughed at in Athens (Acts 17:32), regarded as a fool in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:18, 23), and stoned in Galatia (Acts 14:19). And, eventually he would have his head cut off as a martyr for Jesus Christ in Rome. That certainly doesn’t sound like the life of a man that is ashamed of his message or his Lord.
In actuality, this is a figure of speech called a litotes, which is an intentional understatement to emphasize the opposite affirmation. (ex. “not bad at all”)
Rome was the queen city of the empire, the place of poets and legislators, the scene of imperial grandeur. There was the magnificence of wealth and power that was on constant display. Paul came to this mighty metropolis with absolute confidence that the Gospel would meet the deepest need of the human heart. He was proud to preach the Gospel at Rome because he was convinced that the Gospel was the only solution to their sin problem.
It may also be true that Paul had in mind the negative view that some people held about the preaching of the cross. In 1 Corinthians 1:17-31, Paul lays out how some feel about the Gospel, but he never shied away from proclaiming the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He possessed a deep conviction that this message alone was sufficient to change people’s lives.
This “power” of which he speaks as inherent in the Gospel was not the destructive power of dynamite (Gk. “dunamis”), but the constructive power to make people new creations in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:18-20). And, he is careful to emphasize that this powerful Gospel is available to anyone that will believe!
Too often in our day it is not THE MESSAGE that gets primary emphasis, but our method. As a result, we rely more on “Madison Avenue” techniques than on the inherent power of the Gospel itself.
Illustration:
At one time there was a Mercedes Benz TV commercial that showed one of their cars colliding into a cement wall during a safety test. Someone then asked the company spokesman why they didn’t enforce their patent on the Mercedes Benz energy-absorbing car body, a design that was apparently copied by other companies because of its success. His reply, “Because some things in life are too important NOT to share.”
This must become the attitude of every Christian if we are going to effectively reach this generation and the next...if we’re going to reach the world with the Gospel.
Our silence in sharing the Gospel whether out of fear or shame is even leading our own nation to the brink of being a neo-atheist/agnostic culture. Listen to these statistics:
In 1900, there were approximately ten million Christians in Africa. By 2000, the number had grown to 360 million. By 2025, the best estimates say there will be 630 million Christians in Africa. The numbers are even more significant in Latin America and Asia. But by the middle of this century, if Christ has not returned, only one-fifth of the world’s Christians will be westerners. Most Christians will be people living in what we call the Third World.
Closing:
#1. We must make ourselves available to go to our non-Christian friends and tell them the message of the Gospel.
#2. We must help those that are going to international fields take the message of the Gospel to those who have never heard about Jesus.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Consider This...
Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. (Hebrews 5:14 NLT)
The ability to tell the “difference between right and wrong” is something that primarily comes through instruction and maturity in the faith. It's to be expected that new Christians must be given "spiritual pablum" to grow in the Lord, but it's not right when long-time believers have to be spoon fed, too. If you want to know why many Christians lack good decision making skills...they simply haven't gotten out of the infancy stage in their spiritual lives.
The ability to tell the “difference between right and wrong” is something that primarily comes through instruction and maturity in the faith. It's to be expected that new Christians must be given "spiritual pablum" to grow in the Lord, but it's not right when long-time believers have to be spoon fed, too. If you want to know why many Christians lack good decision making skills...they simply haven't gotten out of the infancy stage in their spiritual lives.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Consider This...
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)
We can have confidence in approaching God solely because He no longer sees us “robed” in our own failures and trespasses. Rather, He now sees us “robed” in the righteousness of Jesus Christ received when we trusted Him as our Savior. This doesn’t mean we can approach God brashly or irreverently. But, it means that our Heavenly Father wants us to freely (not fearfully) come to Him because He desires to “...help us when we need it most.”
We can have confidence in approaching God solely because He no longer sees us “robed” in our own failures and trespasses. Rather, He now sees us “robed” in the righteousness of Jesus Christ received when we trusted Him as our Savior. This doesn’t mean we can approach God brashly or irreverently. But, it means that our Heavenly Father wants us to freely (not fearfully) come to Him because He desires to “...help us when we need it most.”
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Consider This...
A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time. (Ecclesiastes 7:4 NLT)
Everything in us wants to avoid considering the reality of our deaths. It’s the natural course of life that we should want to live as long as possible. But, if we fail to ponder this inevitable “appointment” then we will also fail to make priority the things that are eternal. “A wise person thinks a lot about death” primarily because he knows he’ll spend a lot more time in the world to come than he ever will in this world. Only a foolish person lives for this life with no thought about his future life.
Everything in us wants to avoid considering the reality of our deaths. It’s the natural course of life that we should want to live as long as possible. But, if we fail to ponder this inevitable “appointment” then we will also fail to make priority the things that are eternal. “A wise person thinks a lot about death” primarily because he knows he’ll spend a lot more time in the world to come than he ever will in this world. Only a foolish person lives for this life with no thought about his future life.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Consider This...
Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. (Hebrews 2:18 NLT)
Sometimes what you long for is another person that can truly understand what you’re really going through. You need someone that can sympathize with you because he has walked "a mile in your shoes." Jesus in His humanity identified Himself with us and experienced the “suffering and testing” of our sin cursed world. That’s why we can go to Him in our deepest moments of despair and discouragement with the confidence that He’ll meet us there and “help” us.
Sometimes what you long for is another person that can truly understand what you’re really going through. You need someone that can sympathize with you because he has walked "a mile in your shoes." Jesus in His humanity identified Himself with us and experienced the “suffering and testing” of our sin cursed world. That’s why we can go to Him in our deepest moments of despair and discouragement with the confidence that He’ll meet us there and “help” us.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Consider This...
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! (Ecclesiastes 5:10 NLT)
These are the words of someone that was considered the wisest man alive. People are still reading and following his guidance left to us in the book of Proverbs. And, if anyone had the opportunity to prove that wealth can't produce "true happiness" it was none other than King Solomon. Money is certainly necessary to live in this life, but if you make it your main pursuit you'll "never have enough" and you'll miss out on the most meaningful things that life can provide.
These are the words of someone that was considered the wisest man alive. People are still reading and following his guidance left to us in the book of Proverbs. And, if anyone had the opportunity to prove that wealth can't produce "true happiness" it was none other than King Solomon. Money is certainly necessary to live in this life, but if you make it your main pursuit you'll "never have enough" and you'll miss out on the most meaningful things that life can provide.
Sunday, September 09, 2012
Rescued & Restored
Acts 15:36-41
Nine hikers (six of which were teenagers) were trekking across a mountain range in Scotland this past spring (2012) when a snowstorm suddenly trapped them there. It had been the warmest March on record in that region and they had no indication that the conditions were changing so quickly. The next day, from their trapped location, they called for help and a search/rescue operation was launched to find them. When they were found they were all airlifted to safety.
There are Christians that were once vibrant servants of Christ that were trekking across the mountains of His service, but through discouragement or some type of personal failure became trapped in an avalanche of guilt, regret, shame and/or fear. They are desperately in need of being rescued and restored to their former usefulness for Christ and to His service, which is a task that should interest all of us.
One such young man in Scripture is John Mark who was an assistant to the Apostle Paul on his first missionary journey. His life is an example of the fact that our God is the God of a second chance.
Follow the story of John Mark’s life leading up to the failure that is recorded for us in Acts.
What could have led to John Mark quitting the first missionary journey? Can we better understand what was going on at the time that he departed from them?
Maybe it was the...
1. Diminishing of emotional zeal
When John Mark volunteered for the trip there was great enthusiasm that permeated the church. He may have been on an emotional and spiritual high when this all began, but as the journey unfolded maybe he felt a sense of “buyers remorse.”
Maybe it was the...
2. Demand of daily tasks
He was their assistant and probably had many mundane, as well as difficult tasks committed to his trust (cf. Acts 13:5; 15:38 -- “work”). Sometimes you get tired doing things that are hard and/or don’t challenge you. Maybe the task was different than he bargained for when he volunteered to go.
Maybe it was the...
3. Distraction of homesickness
John Mark had come from a fairly wealthy family (Acts 12:12) and may have missed the comforts of home along this rugged trip. Ask anyone away from home for the first time and they’ll tell you about homesickness. Especially if your present circumstances are more difficult than the ones you left.
Maybe it was the...
4. Danger of future encounters
If he had continued with Paul and Barnabas they were going to have to cross the Taurus Mountain Range. Not only was the terrain of this mountain difficult to traverse, but it was also infested with thieves and robbers. Maybe fear overcame him and he could not go on.
Maybe it was the...
5. Disapproval of Paul’s message
He was a Jewish young man with a rich Jewish heritage. Maybe he had some concerns about Paul’s methods or message as the trip was advancing among the Gentiles. Prejudice is sometimes an unseen condition that many haven’t faced and eliminated from their lives. Maybe that was underlying his decision to leave and go home.
Maybe it was the...
6. Distribution of ministry control
At the beginning of the journey Barnabas had been mentioned first, possibly indicating he was the leader at the outset (Acts 13:2, 7). But, as the journey unfolded Paul became the dominant leader as the one specifically called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Maybe the change of roles disturbed John Mark and left him discouraged.
Maybe it was the...
7. Detection of physical illness
Paul ultimately became ill at some point on the journey (Galatians 4:13) and maybe John Mark saw the developing of this illness. Because of the dangers inherent with the trip he may have been concerned about his own health and felt it better to return to the safety of his familiar surroundings.
The truth is we don’t know the specific reason(s) why John Mark left. Any of those listed or some we haven’t even considered may have been the motivating factor.
Luke used a Greek word in Acts 13:13 that is a neutral term meaning, “to go away,” to describe John Mark’s departure. In other words, Luke initially records John Mark’s leaving in a general sense without indicating any malice in the term. But, the Greek word Paul used when considering the possibility of John Mark going on the second missions trip is a much stronger one that has the sense of “disloyalty” (Acts 15:38). [Actually, the Greek word Paul used gives us our word “apostate.”] Clearly he had strong feelings about what John Mark had done! Maybe Luke was not led to indicate these feelings originally or maybe they developed as the journey continued to unfold.
Whatever the reason for John Mark’s departure it ultimately led to a division between Paul and Barnabas. The text describes their disagreement as “contention” that was “so sharp” that the two men ended up parting ways. Barnabas took John Mark and headed to Cyprus which was his native home (Acts 4:36) and a safe place for John Mark’s rehabilitation. Paul chose Silas to travel with him to Syria and Cilicia to begin revisiting some of the churches they had planted on their first missionary journey.
I think it is interesting that Luke really doesn’t pass judgment on either of these two men. It is true that Barnabas is not mentioned again in the record of Acts, but I’m not confident that this necessarily indicates that Barnabas chose wrong and Paul chose right. They may have both been right and God used this division of assets to accomplish an even greater purpose than the two men could have accomplished together on a second journey.
Barnabas’ concern was with the welfare of John Mark and Paul’s was with the work. This is a classic example of the conflict that often arises over whether to deal with the interests of the individual first or with the (overall) work first. Men of equally capable abilities and vision will often think differently about some of these matters, possibly dependent upon their own spiritual gifting.
Now, for the rest of the story...
Approximately ten years later:
Application:
Nine hikers (six of which were teenagers) were trekking across a mountain range in Scotland this past spring (2012) when a snowstorm suddenly trapped them there. It had been the warmest March on record in that region and they had no indication that the conditions were changing so quickly. The next day, from their trapped location, they called for help and a search/rescue operation was launched to find them. When they were found they were all airlifted to safety.
There are Christians that were once vibrant servants of Christ that were trekking across the mountains of His service, but through discouragement or some type of personal failure became trapped in an avalanche of guilt, regret, shame and/or fear. They are desperately in need of being rescued and restored to their former usefulness for Christ and to His service, which is a task that should interest all of us.
One such young man in Scripture is John Mark who was an assistant to the Apostle Paul on his first missionary journey. His life is an example of the fact that our God is the God of a second chance.
Follow the story of John Mark’s life leading up to the failure that is recorded for us in Acts.
- John Mark was the son of a certain Mary that was apparently a woman of prominence and means in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12).
- He was of Jewish parentage, his mother being a relative of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10).
- When Peter was released from prison he went to Mary’s house to meet with the Christians who had been praying for his release (Acts 12:5).
- He was called Peter’s son in the faith (1 Peter 5:13).
- John Mark was chosen to assist Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 12:25; 13:5).
- During this outreach endeavor John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).
- When Paul and Barnabas began making plans for their second missionary journey a heated debate ensued about including John Mark (Acts 15:36-41).
- This ultimately led to Paul and Barnabas separating and going different directions.
What could have led to John Mark quitting the first missionary journey? Can we better understand what was going on at the time that he departed from them?
Maybe it was the...
1. Diminishing of emotional zeal
When John Mark volunteered for the trip there was great enthusiasm that permeated the church. He may have been on an emotional and spiritual high when this all began, but as the journey unfolded maybe he felt a sense of “buyers remorse.”
Maybe it was the...
2. Demand of daily tasks
He was their assistant and probably had many mundane, as well as difficult tasks committed to his trust (cf. Acts 13:5; 15:38 -- “work”). Sometimes you get tired doing things that are hard and/or don’t challenge you. Maybe the task was different than he bargained for when he volunteered to go.
Maybe it was the...
3. Distraction of homesickness
John Mark had come from a fairly wealthy family (Acts 12:12) and may have missed the comforts of home along this rugged trip. Ask anyone away from home for the first time and they’ll tell you about homesickness. Especially if your present circumstances are more difficult than the ones you left.
Maybe it was the...
4. Danger of future encounters
If he had continued with Paul and Barnabas they were going to have to cross the Taurus Mountain Range. Not only was the terrain of this mountain difficult to traverse, but it was also infested with thieves and robbers. Maybe fear overcame him and he could not go on.
Maybe it was the...
5. Disapproval of Paul’s message
He was a Jewish young man with a rich Jewish heritage. Maybe he had some concerns about Paul’s methods or message as the trip was advancing among the Gentiles. Prejudice is sometimes an unseen condition that many haven’t faced and eliminated from their lives. Maybe that was underlying his decision to leave and go home.
Maybe it was the...
6. Distribution of ministry control
At the beginning of the journey Barnabas had been mentioned first, possibly indicating he was the leader at the outset (Acts 13:2, 7). But, as the journey unfolded Paul became the dominant leader as the one specifically called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Maybe the change of roles disturbed John Mark and left him discouraged.
Maybe it was the...
7. Detection of physical illness
Paul ultimately became ill at some point on the journey (Galatians 4:13) and maybe John Mark saw the developing of this illness. Because of the dangers inherent with the trip he may have been concerned about his own health and felt it better to return to the safety of his familiar surroundings.
The truth is we don’t know the specific reason(s) why John Mark left. Any of those listed or some we haven’t even considered may have been the motivating factor.
Luke used a Greek word in Acts 13:13 that is a neutral term meaning, “to go away,” to describe John Mark’s departure. In other words, Luke initially records John Mark’s leaving in a general sense without indicating any malice in the term. But, the Greek word Paul used when considering the possibility of John Mark going on the second missions trip is a much stronger one that has the sense of “disloyalty” (Acts 15:38). [Actually, the Greek word Paul used gives us our word “apostate.”] Clearly he had strong feelings about what John Mark had done! Maybe Luke was not led to indicate these feelings originally or maybe they developed as the journey continued to unfold.
Whatever the reason for John Mark’s departure it ultimately led to a division between Paul and Barnabas. The text describes their disagreement as “contention” that was “so sharp” that the two men ended up parting ways. Barnabas took John Mark and headed to Cyprus which was his native home (Acts 4:36) and a safe place for John Mark’s rehabilitation. Paul chose Silas to travel with him to Syria and Cilicia to begin revisiting some of the churches they had planted on their first missionary journey.
I think it is interesting that Luke really doesn’t pass judgment on either of these two men. It is true that Barnabas is not mentioned again in the record of Acts, but I’m not confident that this necessarily indicates that Barnabas chose wrong and Paul chose right. They may have both been right and God used this division of assets to accomplish an even greater purpose than the two men could have accomplished together on a second journey.
Barnabas’ concern was with the welfare of John Mark and Paul’s was with the work. This is a classic example of the conflict that often arises over whether to deal with the interests of the individual first or with the (overall) work first. Men of equally capable abilities and vision will often think differently about some of these matters, possibly dependent upon their own spiritual gifting.
Now, for the rest of the story...
Approximately ten years later:
- John Mark was with Paul during his first Roman imprisonment (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 1:24).
- He seems to have been with Timothy when Paul wrote to him during his second Roman imprisonment and requested that he bring John Mark with him when he came to see him (2 Timothy 4:11).
- Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he wrote the Gospel of Mark, which is likely the earliest of the Gospel records penned.
- Tradition says that Mark was sent on a mission to Egypt by Peter where he founded the church of Alexandria and suffered a martyr's death in the eighth year of Nero’s reign.
Application:
- If you are like Paul...remember that when someone fails it doesn’t mean he/she can never succeed again.
- If you are like Barnabas...remember that trust is something that is lost in a moment and earned over time.
- If you are like John Mark...remember that FAILURE ISN’T FINAL...UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO BE!
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