World and Mission

Great to be with you once again and to speak to you while George is traveling, I believe,

for this week and next weekend as well.

It is always a privilege to open up God's Word together today.

Today I'll begin the first of two, a two-part series, I guess, on mission, and I'll say

a bit more about what the plan will be.

But these are teachings leaning into sermon, okay?

So I hope we'll be encouraged together.

In 1 Peter 2.10 we heard these words,

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.

Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

So why don't we pray before we come to Scripture together.

Father, we ask that by your Spirit you'd come, make us teachable,

give us ears to hear, give us hearts to receive.

We trust that you are the God of the nations.

We glory in that and we pray that we would be encouraged today as we open up Scripture together.

This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Brothers and sisters, if we're specifically a people, and specifically God's people,

given that whether we're Jews or Gentiles, we've been given the same ears to hear his voice,

shown the same mercy, and called together into one fellowship.

If that's our basic identity, well, what's our mission in the world?

Throughout history, we've heard different answers to that question.

Going way back, some have said, well, the church's main task is to see to it that the nations are Christianized.

That is, the church should see to it that everyone, from kings right down to the common peasant,

should accept baptism and the rest of the rites of the church by force, if need be.

Others have said, no, that's not our job.

Our job is not to try to convert people to other faiths, to Christianity,

because they have their own culturally appropriate ways of reaching God.

So we should just stick to the basics of justice and caring for the poor and the needy, and so forth.

Still others have said, well, we think the church's main task in the world is to extend the best of our Western Christian civilization

through education, through development, through the arts, through good government, and so forth.

So where do we turn for an answer?

History, of course, has a lot to teach us,

often by way of showing us all the problems that come when we pursue something good but the wrong way.

Or settle for something less than what God commands.

So we have to turn to Scripture so we can make sense of all the opinions we hear on the matter

and learn what God has to say about it.

So I'll be speaking about missions both today and next Sunday,

and my hope is that we'll have a greater clarity about the subject,

but above all that we'll be encouraged and challenged in the task that's before us.

To introduce both talks, I'd like to reflect briefly on two things.

So this serves to introduce both,

so this will encourage you to make sure to come back next Sunday

because I'll have already introduced the main theme.

What Jesus teaches about missions

and what, according to Scripture, is the final purpose of mission.

So first, what does Jesus say about mission?

I think it's really important that we grasp at the very beginning

how very central mission is,

not only to God's nature and purpose,

but to ours as his people.

What do I mean?

Well, consider John 20, 21,

where Jesus says,

As the Father has sent me.

If you have your Bibles handy,

have a look with me at that passage.

Fundamentally,

what we see is that mission belongs to the Father.

It was his work to send the Son into the world.

And Paul gives us the reason for that sending

when he says in 2 Corinthians 5, 19,

that God was in Christ doing what?

Reconciling the world to himself,

not counting people's sins against them.

And Jesus continues.

He says,

As the Father has sent me,

even so I'm sending you.

And so note,

not only what Jesus says here,

but the context,

the when,

of when he says it.

God has just raised him from the dead.

And now he appears to his disciples there as a group.

And first,

he comforts them.

He says,

Peace be with you.

And second,

he teaches them.

He instructs them.

And he bears witness

to what the Father has done.

And he declares what he is now ready to do.

And then thirdly,

he commissions them.

He says,

Receive the Holy Spirit.

If you forgive the sins of any,

they're forgiven them.

And if you withhold forgiveness from any,

it is withheld.

And I think that's precisely why Paul,

after saying what God accomplished through Jesus,

can add this.

He can say,

God has entrusted to us

the message of reconciliation.

The second thing I think we want to have clear

is the final purpose or end of mission.

It's of course very true

that God's will is to call together

a people to be his own

and to save them through Jesus.

But his final purpose in doing that

and in willing that

is his glory.

George pointed to this

when he said two weeks ago

that God wants more people

to glorify him.

It's his will to see his glory restored

over all the earth

as we read in Psalm 57.

The glory theme is strong

in Israel's book of common prayer,

the Psalms.

And particularly Psalm 67

which we've read responsibly already.

And that Psalm has a mission logic,

if you like,

that runs basically like this.

First, we ask God to bless us

and to shine his face,

shine on us.

Why?

Well,

so that his will

and his saving power

will be known among all nations.

And from there,

we pray for the nations.

We pray that the nations may be glad

and that all people everywhere

will praise God.

And then,

why?

Why do we pray that?

Well,

here's the warrant.

Because we long

for all the ends of the earth

to fear him.

See the logic there?

God's favor towards us

serves to bring

the nations to him.

And then as the nations

come to him,

the ultimate end of mission

is clear.

The holy fear of the Lord

is restored.

God is glorified.

Habakkuk says,

Earth shall be filled

with the knowledge

of the glory of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

So thanks for bearing with me

through this introduction.

There's still a bit more.

So let's come back

to the question,

what is the church's mission

in the world?

And I think we have to

clarify this too,

don't we?

Because it might seem

that the message

of reconciliation

is just given to a few.

Initially there,

the disciples,

who would be Jesus'

sent ones,

his apostles,

and from there,

maybe to ordained ministers

and professional missionaries.

And of course,

Jesus does say,

so I am sending you

specifically to his disciples.

But this morning,

we have also heard

in 1 Peter 2

something about our identity

as a church.

Let me ask you,

when you put

the words mission

and church

side by side,

how do you typically

relate those two?

Well, I think

what we typically do

is we think of mission

as a kind of department

or subdivision

of church,

logically.

We have

committees,

don't we?

We have,

I don't know,

finance,

worship,

Christian education,

hospitality,

and of course,

missions.

But,

while this is fine

organizationally

for the structure

of our

church

as an institution,

it can be

misleading

in a way

because it gives

a picture

of church

as something

that's pretty well

fixed somewhere

so that it has

a headquarters

where it does

one set of things.

One set of things

happens at headquarters

and then

it has outposts

like in the military.

It has missions

or mission stations

out there

where another

sort of set

of things happens.

That is,

if the church

has budgeted

for them,

right?

You see what

I'm getting at?

I think we have

to turn this

on its head

and think of

the church

itself

in missionary terms.

As Tim Keller

says,

the church

exists

to be

a mission.

That means

everything.

Our worship,

our teaching,

our hospitality,

our seminaries,

all of them

have to be

thought

through

in relation

to our

basic

missionary

identity.

as I've

pondered

that truth

that mission

is central

to our

identity,

I've come

to this

conclusion.

The church

is perpetually

on the go.

In other words,

a little bit

like my

grandson,

Timmy,

who's perpetually

on the go

when I look

after him

most mornings

of the week

and he keeps

me fit.

In other words,

being sent

is not

an occasional

activity

of the church.

This means

that until

Jesus comes

again,

we never

have the

luxury,

if I can

put it

this way,

of arriving

anyplace.

As if having

done our

missionary work,

well,

we could just

sort of

say,

okay,

well,

that's done

and now

we can

turn our

attention

to other

things.

We're always

in the business

of going

out in one

way or another.

yes,

we do

seek to

be salt

and light

where God

has placed

us,

but,

well,

to that

extent,

we're fixed,

if you like,

in one place

and you can

locate us

on the map

here every

Sunday.

But we

never settle

so permanently

so that all

that's left

to do

is hatch

and match

and dispatch

the faithful

in a kind

of chaplaincy

mode of

thinking of

church.

Nothing

against

chaplains,

right?

But that

can have

a way

of taking

church for

granted,

right?

And so

we have

church,

this steady,

stable institution

with its

chaplains

and its

parishes

and so on

and so forth.

Sometimes

our going

out is

literal

as when

we commission

workers to

go somewhere

else on

our behalf

and they

really,

truly go

out on

our behalf

or because

God has

allowed us

to be scattered

from our

homeland as

many Christians

find themselves

in history.

At other

times,

the going

out is

more of

an attitude

or inward

habit,

if you like,

in the sense

of going

out of our

comfort zone

so that we're

ready to meet

others where

they are for

the sake of

the gospel.

And it's on

this basis that

I think we can

say that we're

a missionary

people.

Well,

so you ask,

well,

what about

those we

actually ordinarily

refer to as

missionaries?

Well,

I'd like to

suggest that,

well,

we can continue

calling them

that and it

doesn't present

a special

problem,

but we have

to know

what we

mean.

What we

mean is that

they are,

if you like,

special field

workers.

That's about

the best I

can come up

with right

now,

special field

workers.

And we

support a

number of

them here

at Messiah.

And we

do this

and we

pray for

them regularly

and specially

because we

recognize the

particular nature

of their

work.

Until I

was 18,

I lived in

a special

field where

I was born,

Mexico,

where my

parents served

for close to

50 years with

an evangelistic

organization you

may have heard

of called

Operation

Mobilization,

maybe I've

mentioned it.

We were

blessed to

know that

Christians in

the U.S.

and Canada

and other

places were

supporting us

with their

prayers and

with their

finances.

And what

made that

field work

special or

extraordinary?

Now, I

don't recall

thinking of my

own identity

as a

mish kid,

as a

hardship,

because we

really were

given a

lot and we

were blessed

with all

kinds of

opportunities.

But as a

family, we

had left

behind certain

things, like

regular contact

with relatives,

back then it

was not easy

to go up to

the states to

visit relatives.

We did it

maybe once a

year, maybe

not.

And all the

things you miss

from your

native culture.

But this

wouldn't be the

real reason that

the field work

was special.

What made it

special were

two things.

First, evangelistic

outreach in

Mexico was

based on a

particular need

that had been

identified.

that was

the need to

preach the

message of

the gospel in

a land whose

form of

religion had

in many ways

obscured the

gospel itself.

For instance,

when my dad

first went from

village to

village back

in 1960 and

following,

giving out

gospels of

John and

preaching in

the town

squares, he

would often

find himself

chased out of

the town by

two people,

the mayor

and the

village priest.

Think about

that.

Pre-Vatican

II, the

people didn't

really have a

chance to read

the scriptures

for themselves,

so dad was

doing something

very counter

cultural in

handing out

gospels of

John in

the village

town squares.

And to

this day, the

dominant form of

religion in

Mexico remains a

kind of blend

blend of

medieval

Christianity

with a host

of pagan

customs, offering

little hope to

its adherents.

And I just

should add a

footnote here.

This fact should

alert us to the

way we sometimes

do.

Don't allow the

gospel to be

distinguished from

our own culture

and how much our

own culture impacts

the way we think

of Christianity.

A second reason

why the field

work in Mexico

was special was

that it served

as a constant

reminder that

mission is a

global reality.

The message

was churches

send out

field workers.

And the

lesson for us

all, whether

we're going or

we're sending in

that sense, is

that we are a

global people.

We're part of a

global fellowship.

I'm going to

speak about that

more next time.

My basic point

is this.

While it's really

important that we

learn to identify

special fields,

maybe sometimes

we get it right,

sometimes we get

it wrong, but we

have to learn to

identify special

fields, and then

send and support

people to work in

those fields, it's

still true that we're

all called as God's

people to missionary

work.

The church is

apostolic, both

because it's

founded on the

authoritative

teachings of the

apostles, right, and

the prophets, but

it's apostolic also

because we're an

apostolic people.

We're sent as a

people.

So in the

remainder of this

talk, I want to

focus on the

missionary task where

we happen to find

ourselves.

So we'll call it

mission among the

Gentiles.

We could say pagans

if you like, the

way some translations

render 1 Peter 2.12.

And then next Sunday

with a couple of

lessons from the

book of Acts, we'll

look specifically at

how local and

global are to be

thought together as

we think about the

missionary task.

So turn with me

back to that passage

in 1 Peter 2.

We'll go through

it.

We'll see, I think,

and I trust that the

missionary task involves

three habits, and

we'll start with the

first part, which is

verses 9 and 10.

But you're a chosen

race, as we read, a

royal priesthood, a

holy nation, a

people for God's

own possession, that

you may proclaim the

excellencies of him

who called you out of

darkness into his

marvelous light.

Once you were not a

people, but now you

are God's people.

Once you had not

received mercy, but

now you have received

mercy.

So what's the habit

that we're called to

here?

Well, it's

proclamation.

And this, I think,

this emphasis here

reminds us how

important and how

central proclamation

is, and how much it

has a logical

priority, how much

testimony, giving and

bearing witness, has a

logical priority over

any other missionary

habit we may think of.

Certainly our testimony

will be given

expression in many

different ways, but it

will always have a

propositional

dimension.

It will always have

content, rational

content.

The fact is, there

are truth claims

that are embedded in

the way we behave, and

in the way we worship,

and in the way we

serve.

And these will be

verbally declared

as God gives the

opportunity to

declare them.

And that's why if you

read further down in

chapter 3, Peter says

in that often quoted

verse, speaking of the

apologetic ministry,

be ready to give an

answer, an apologia, for

the hope that you

have.

Be ready to speak.

Are we ready to speak

as a people?

Are we ready in our

day-to-day encounters?

Are we ready to give a

word about the hope we

have?

So what are the

excellencies that we're

called to speak about?

Well, some translations

say virtues, and others

say praises.

And I think what we're

basically declaring are

God's marvelous qualities

and his marvelous deeds,

his mighty deeds.

They're marvelous if you

look back in chapter 1

because he's done, he

has done the marvelous

work of causing us to

be born again to a living

hope through the

resurrection of Jesus

Christ from the dead.

God's marvelous

God's marvelous

Well, and in doing

that work in history

and Christianity, the

gospel is always about

what God has done in

history.

And in giving us, he's

given us, he's worked in

us in history and in us

giving us a new identity.

He's quite literally

united us to Jesus.

And by adoption, he's

drawn us into Jesus' work

as prophet, as priest, as

king.

And by his spirit working

in us, we're what

Peter says, a royal

priesthood called to

something, called to

proclaim his excellencies.

That's what we do as a

prophetic people as well,

sharing in Christ's

threefold office.

And to this, to the

first hearers of this

message, whether Jew or

Gentile, and we have

reason to believe that

these scattered

congregations were made

up of both believing

Jews and Gentiles in

Asia Minor, this was a

very, this was very

encouraging news.

If they were worried

about their displacement,

about their exile, they

were reminded that Jesus

himself was rejected.

As Hebrews says, he

suffered outside the

city gates.

And they had, they had

this truth proclaimed to

them that Jesus was now

the cornerstone of a new

and everlasting temple.

And they could, they

could be encouraged by

this.

And why is it so

important that we learn

to acknowledge the

priority of proclamation

today?

Well, apart from the

fact that scripture

gives a natural

priority to the, to it

as the ordinary means

that God uses to

soften hearts and to

bring new life, I

think the short answer

is that claims that

certain things are true

for everyone, claims

that certain things are

true for everyone, are

automatically suspect in

our day.

To say publicly, God has

spoken.

He's made us male and

female.

That Jesus rose bodily

from the grave.

Well, these things make

people uncomfortable,

positively uncomfortable.

Statements like these

are taken, assumed to be

some kind of power grab

or something.

But we're still called to

utter them as clearly as we

can and as humbly as we

can, as chapter 3, verse

15 reminds us.

And we do this trusting

that the power belongs to

God and not to our

learning or to our

eloquence or anything of

the sort.

Now, in our daily lives,

as we go about ordinary

things, proclamation doesn't

come easy.

As even one of my heroes,

John Stott admitted, he

tells of how he was once

on a train in Wales in

one of those compartments

where you share, some of

you probably traveled in

those compartments in

Europe where you share

this cabin with one or two

other passengers.

Well, as it happened, his

traveling companion that

time was getting ready to

shave.

He had his shaving kit out

and everything and he

accidentally dropped it.

Well, Stott recalls that

this man vented his anger by

taking the name of Christ in

vain.

And Stott goes on, and I'll

just quote from his little

book, Our Guilty Silence.

He says, I said nothing.

Indeed, I was sorely tempted

to remain silent.

The usual plausible excuses

came crowding into my head.

It's none of your business.

He'll only laugh at you.

But the previous evening I

had preached in church from

Ephesians 4, 26 and 27.

Be angry, but do not sin.

I had spoken about righteous

indignation and the facade of

sweet reasonableness which

often conceals our moral

cowardice and compromise.

An inner struggle followed as I

argued with myself and

prayed.

And not until 10 or 15 minutes

later did I find the courage

to speak.

Although his immediate reaction

was unfavorable, I was soon

able to witness to the Christ he

had blasphemed and to give him

an evangelistic booklet.

From proclamation we turn to a

second habit.

So in verses 11 and 12 we read

this.

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners

and exiles to abstain from the

passions of the flesh which wage war

against your soul.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles

honorable so that when they speak

against you as evildoers, they may

see your good deeds and glorify God

on the day of visitation.

The second habit of a missionary

people, abstention.

From what?

Abstention as in stay away from

fleshly lusts.

The reasons are spelled out.

They're all encapsulated here.

We're exiles and pilgrims and sexual

impurity basically obstructs our way

to the promised land.

Most importantly, it's by nature

soul destroying.

And for instance, today we're all

too familiar with the way the lies

of pornography rewire the brain, if

you like, knocking us out, flat out

spiritually.

And so Peter, with this sort of thing

in mind, calls the first century

Christians to let their behavior

among the pagans be honorable and

blameless.

They were the atheists of the day, not

worshiping according to pagan custom.

So they would have been accused of all

kinds of wrongdoing and of not going

along with established custom.

But if they acted honestly, with integrity,

and treated others with respect,

they could trust that these good works

would bear fruit in God's time

on the day of his visitation.

Here Peter echoes Jesus' words in

Matthew 5.16.

Let your light shine before others that

they may see your good deeds and glorify

your Father in heaven.

Now the hope that was there in Peter

was that godly conduct would be itself

a form of testimony, even if it were

received for a time as falsehood.

Because a day of visitation would come.

And what's that day?

Well, God, either in Jesus' coming,

at the end of time as we know it,

in any case, God would bring things

to a crisis point, as one commentary

puts it.

Shining light on the real nature of things

so that their hearts might change

and give him glory even, the text says.

For what?

Well, for the work he was doing all along

in changing people's lives so that they

could truly live a godly life.

Now why is godly behavior so crucial

for mission here where we find ourselves today?

Well, the reasons are basically the same

as in the first century.

The Bible's guidelines for sexual purity

are taken to be plain silly at best

and at worst evil.

But if we give in and we pretend

that God's standards are of little consequence,

well, what sort of witness will we have

made or given according to the hope

that we have and according to the new life

God has given us?

Let me illustrate.

There's a denomination in the U.S. and Canada,

well-known here in Canada,

that this past summer took a very clear

counter-cultural stand on what counts

as sexual impurity.

Before its councils was a question.

Given widespread acceptance of sexual intimacy

outside the bonds of marriage

between one man and one woman,

in this area, the people were asked to consider,

can we agree to disagree on this

or must we consider it part of our essential doctrine?

A strong majority said that it was the latter.

Its sexual purity is part of our core doctrine.

Ultimately, the church pointed to its catechism,

happens to be the Heidelberg Catechism,

and said that its condemnation,

the condemnation of unchastity in that catechism,

includes adultery, premarital sex,

extramarital sex, polyamory, pornography,

homosexual sex.

On that basis, the synod declared

that the church must warn its members

that those who refuse to repent of these sins,

as well as of idolatry, greed, and other such sins,

will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Now, just under a third of the denomination's delegates

were unhappy with this outcome.

But what's at stake, ultimately?

From what we've seen in 1 Peter 2,

what's at stake is the church's very identity

as a forgiven, redeemed people set apart by God.

I think this has to be front and center.

What's at stake is our very identity

as a redeemed, forgiven people

who once walked in darkness,

but to whom God has shown mercy.

What's at stake is the church's soul

as a band of exiles.

What's at stake is the church's witness

as it has yet one more opportunity

to declare that God's standards

are actually true and lovely,

no matter how much the world might say

that they are hateful and unappealing.

So let's move to the third part of our passage.

Verses 13 to 16.

Be subject for the Lord's sake

to every human institution,

whether it be to the emperor as supreme

or to governors as sent by him

to punish those who do evil

and to praise those who do good.

For this is the will of God,

that by doing good you should put to silence

the ignorance of foolish people.

Live as people who are free,

not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil,

but living as servants of God.

In each of these passages,

we see how much there's an identity

of who we are in Christ

and what follows from that.

So from proclamation and abstention,

we come to submission

as a third habit of a missionary people,

according to Peter.

We can look at this one briefly

because the missionary significance

is the same as with abstinence.

To do what is right in this area

can serve as a form of testimony,

a testimony that in this case

silences those who accuse believers

of doing wrong,

of being insubordinate.

When Peter says,

that's why Peter says there at the end,

don't use your freedom

as a cover-up for evil.

He's referring to the fact

that some of us

will be quite tempted,

wouldn't we,

with our Christian freedom

basically to disregard,

to not acknowledge human authority

and its legitimacy.

We'd become anarchists,

as I well remember from Tolstoy

in my Russian literature reading days

where Tolstoy decided

he would teach a form of anarchism.

But as a habit,

it's worth considering on its own

because submission reflects

a third aspect of our identity

as God's people.

As a royal priesthood,

we have truths to proclaim.

Here's why I said

our identity issues in a practice.

As a royal priesthood,

we preach.

As strangers and sojourners,

we abstain from certain things.

And now as servants of God,

we are called to submit

precisely because we're servants of God.

And we submit to human authorities

for the Lord's sake,

in other words,

because God has willed it for us

in this life.

Now this doesn't rule out

civil disobedience

when we find

that the laws of the land are unjust,

but the principle remains.

We submit to the authorities

as unto God

because we trust,

ultimately,

that he's the one that's in charge.

He's the one who bends

history to his will.

He's the one who,

as I've heard George say or write,

who takes the messiness,

right,

and writes straight lines

with,

writes straight with crooked lines.

In our own day,

the temptation

to be disrespectful

to our elected leaders

can be very strong,

particularly when they seem deaf

to the concerns

of ordinary people.

We all know

what I'm referring to

from the last winter.

But how easy is it

to pray for those in authority

as we're taught in Scripture

while standing beside certain signs

that became prominent

during that movement?

And how does a visible endorsement

of such signs

impact our Christian witness?

I know one of my grandsons

was asking me,

well,

what are those signs,

Granddad?

What signs are you talking about?

I said,

well,

they were very rude signs,

Aidan.

We shouldn't stand by those signs.

And he said,

what did they say?

And I said,

well,

just nasty stuff.

And he interpreted it

in his own way.

But the question is,

what is our witness

when we publicly endorse

this kind of disrespect

for leaders

whose principles we might disagree,

whose ideas we may disagree with profoundly,

but that we ultimately disrespect them?

How can we pray for them?

So let me conclude

by bringing us back

to where we started.

I mentioned some of the main ways

that the church in history

has thought about mission.

So just to put it in other terms,

there was,

if you like,

the medieval,

let's make converts model

using force.

And I could give you stories about that

from my own Latin American understanding.

But there's also

the pluralist,

let's make friends model

since our job would not be

to preach Christ to others,

but to work together

for the common good.

And then there's the enlightenment,

let's make good citizens model,

which calls on the church

to extend Western civilization.

But Jesus gives us another set

of marching orders, doesn't he?

He says,

go and make disciples.

What does that involve?

Well, I hope it's clear to us this morning

that it involves our whole lives

because there's no room for

what Lewis talked about,

Christianity and-ism,

if you like.

Here where the good news of Jesus,

Christianity and,

where the good news of Jesus

is kind of collapsed into conquest.

The good news is collapsed

into social projects

as good and worthy as they may be,

but still the gospel

is kind of collapsed into them

as though they meant the same thing.

The gospel is collapsed

into building a civilization

of one sort or another.

We're talking about

a basic plan of disciple making

that involves us

really fundamentally

in looking up

to see what God is doing,

what he's doing

in changing hearts

the way he's changed ours

through our prayer,

through our witness,

so that we have the privilege

of baptizing people

and of teaching them

to obey all that Jesus commands.

And it involves trusting

that whatever success we have

is because of his power,

because he's promised

to be with us by his spirit

until the end of the age.

Finally, you say,

well, that task sounds

really, really hard.

It sounds overwhelming.

The needs are so great.

Opposition to God's ways

is so strong.

There seems to be

indifference everywhere.

So let me just close

with this recollection

from a moment I remember

from our Stella and I

had three years in India

and a moment

where we were visiting

our old friends

from Regent College

and Ivan and Sheila Satya Vrata.

They live in Calcutta.

And he was preaching

in his church

in the Assembly of God Church

there.

And I don't remember

the sermon topic

because it's been a while now.

It's been more than 10 years.

But I do remember this

very vividly.

At one point,

he was making reference

to the overwhelming needs

in his city.

And he looked up

and he prayed

and he said,

Lord, we have a problem.

Just like that.

And then he immediately added,

but I'm available.

Please use me.

And I think that

that has stayed with me

as the proper attitude

to acknowledge

that God is sovereign.

He's in charge.

He knows how he's working

and in which way

in time,

in our own times.

And he

is eager

to use us

as his instruments

wherever we,

wherever he happens

to place us.

So why don't we pray

in closing?

Dear Lord,

as with my friend Ivan

in India,

we acknowledge

the need is overwhelming

and we just ask

that you would help us

to be attentive

to your care,

your concern

for the world around us,

even where we are.

And we ask

that you would

draw us more closely

to Jesus

in our walk with him.

Make us more attentive

to your word

and draw us

into even greater fellowship

with one another

so that the world

may know

that you are king.

As we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thank you.