Habits of a healthy church: Mission

Lord we thank you for another opportunity to worship you Father Son and Holy Spirit

to worship you that you are the one true king our creator and that you are in the Lord Jesus

Christ also our great savior and we worship you Father for that plan of salvation established

before the foundation of the earth now we worship you Lord Jesus for coming to accomplish

the plan of salvation in your perfectly obedient life in your sacrificial death and then in your

victorious resurrection we praise you Holy Spirit for applying the work of salvation to the hearts

and lives of men and women and boys and girls all around the globe the fact that anybody confesses

Jesus as Lord is completely a work of your grace and so we thank you we thank you that we have good

news to share we have news of a God of covenant love a God who is faithful to his promises and

faithful to his people a God of great grace who delights to save those who do not deserve it

delighting to love the unlovely Lord we thank you that our good news is not just for some but Jesus is the

savior for all peoples now we remember that throughout your word there is that call to all the peoples to

praise you and so as we particularly focus on mission as we find it in the book of acts as we think

about the importance of mission in a local church we thank you that we can pray towards the great goal of

mission of seeing people become worshipers of you their father through Jesus the son and by the spirit

Lord we think of those agencies who are involved in translating the Bible and we know that people

need to hear the gospel to hear the good news of salvation as it's found in the Bible for them to be saved

and so Lord we pray for every translation project that's happening right now give all skill and wisdom

to those who are busy doing that in different parts of the world so that people would have the Bible in

their heart language to be able to hear from you Lord we also pray recognizing that there are so many

people groups who are as yet unreached that there are billions of people living today who have never heard of

Jesus who will never have the chance to meet a Christian who will never have a Christian church established

in their village or town or city unless you work powerfully by your spirit and so we pray for those who are

unreached asking that you would put it on the hearts of a Christian people all around the world and put it on our

hearts too to be ready to pray and to give and even if you would call us to go to make Jesus known

Lord we recognize that our great calling is to glorify you and to enjoy you and we know that that's an

enjoyment that is to be shared and so we pray that you'd help us locally now we pray that you'd help us

individually to be about the business of mission while we also pray for what you are doing around the

globe father tonight we pray especially for the nation of India with over 1 billion unreached people

and Lord we ask that from the the Christians in that country and from out with you would lay it on

people's hearts to learn those new languages to engage with those different cultures to be able to make

sacrifices for the sake of taking the gospel to where it's not gone yet and Lord we pray for some of the

unreached peoples in Sri Lanka and we pray the same that by your spirit you would bring openness where at

the moment things are closed Lord we pray too for those parts of the world where our brothers and

sisters in Christ are persecuted so severely we think of North Korea and Iran and Afghanistan we think of

Yemen we think of attacks in places like Nigeria and Pakistan and Lord so many live in fear so many are

imprisoned for their faith so many are watched as they go to a church service or are denied the privilege of

worship Lord as much as we want to be more and more thankful for what we have we also pray for our brothers and

sisters that you would refresh them in their chains in their limited freedom may they continue to persevere with

hope and with joy and may you use their lives and their witness to bring others to bring their oppressors to

bring their captors to faith in the Lord Jesus so we pray that you'd help us as we spend time in your word

and that you would guide us by your spirit we pray in Jesus name amen so we have two readings from the book of

Acts both are on the screens but you can also use your device or a church bible so we'll be in Acts chapter 1

Acts 1 · chapter mention

and the first 11 verses so Luke's introduction to this book and then Acts 13 and just the first

five verses where we will consider the church in Antioch and mission there

so let's hear God's word

in my former book Theophilus I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach

until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen

after his suffering

he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive

he appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God

on one occasion while he was eating with them he gave them this command

do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my father promised

which you have heard me speak about for John baptized with water

but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit

then they gathered round him and asked him Lord are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel

he said to them it is not for you to know the times or dates the father has set by his own authority

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth

after he had said this he was taken up before their very eyes

and a cloud hid him from their sight

they were looking intently up into the sky as he was going when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them

men of Galilee they said why do you stand here looking into the sky

this same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven

will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven

and then in Acts chapter 13 and the first five verses

Acts 13 · chapter mention

we read this

now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers

Barnabas Simeon called Niger

Lucius of Cyrene

Manan

who'd been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch

and Saul

while they were worshipping the Lord and fasting

the Holy Spirit said

set apart for me Barnabas and Saul

for the work to which I have called them

so after they'd fasted and prayed

they placed their hands on them and sent them off

the two of them

sent on their way by the Holy Spirit

went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus

when they arrived at Salamis

they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues

John was with them

as their helper

and we will leave it there

we'll consider some other texts from Acts and other places

but as we continue thinking about habits of a healthy church

here's habit four

a healthy church cares about God's glory

and global mission

and one of the things I hope is that we'll see that those two

absolutely belong together

let's begin thinking about motives for mission

perhaps the most striking or sobering statistic that I came across this week

is this one

consider this for a moment

as we look around

our small church gathering this Sunday evening

there are more Christians in this building

than there are in the whole of North Yemen

a place with 8 million people

there are still 7,400 unreached people groups

an unreached people group

an unreached people group is one where

there are so few Christians

that the church will never be

until the spirit moves

strong enough

to evangelize the rest of the group

455 of those unreached people groups

have over 10 million people in them

India has over 1 billion people today

who are still unreached

and so quite often when we think about

the motives for mission

we go straight to need

and the needs are evident

we don't need to go far

we can just think about

our own streets

the reality of people facing a lost eternity

without knowing Christ as Savior

need is there

but the primary motive

that we find in God's word

for mission

is the glory of God

listen to Romans 15

in fact you can turn to Romans 15

this is a point where

Paul is explaining his desire

to take the gospel

to places where nobody else has taken it

so he wants to keep traveling

and as part of that

so Romans 15 is all about that

and from verses 9 to 12

he quotes from four different

Old Testament texts

so his desire is that the Gentiles

might glorify God for his mercy

as it's written

therefore I will praise you

among the Gentiles

I will sing the praises of your name

this is motivation

again it says

rejoice you Gentiles

with his people

book of Deuteronomy

that stated intention

of God's desire

that the Gentiles

would be worshippers

with the Jews

and again

this time from Psalm 117

praise the Lord

all you Gentiles

let all the peoples

extol him

then Isaiah 11

the root of Jesse

will spring up

one who will arise

to rule over the nations

in him

the Gentiles

will hope

and so Paul recognizes

Jesus is this king

Jesus is both king

and hope

for the nations

and so his desire

was to go to new places

so that more people

would recognize

and know

Jesus as their king

but the glory of God

is the primary motivator

in scripture

for mission

John Piper famously put it

missions exist

because worship doesn't

we support mission

because God deserves honor

and we want to see people

being worshippers of him

so a healthy local church

then cares about local

and global mission

but if you know anybody

who has been involved

in mission

or if you know anybody

who organizes mission conferences

you will probably

recognize

that it's typical

that support comes

from those who are

more elderly

perhaps people who are

on the mission field

for a long time

those who have been faithful

and praying for decades

whereas people

would recognize

mission agencies

organizations

would recognize

that for a younger generation

there's that sense

well mission's not really my thing

I don't really do

the mission thing

but one thing that I hope

that we can see

from the word of God

is that if we care

about God being glorified

in the world

so if we care about God's honor

then we will care about

God's global mission

and how we get involved

in that will look different

but we should

at very base level

care about it

we should care about

all people

enjoying the gospel

and praising Jesus

and so it's really helpful

to look at Acts

which is the great

missions book

first half

which focuses so much

on the apostles

as they testify

to the Lord Jesus

even as they face

opposition

even as they find

themselves having to scatter

from Jerusalem

and then the second half

which focuses principally

on Paul's missionary journeys

so tonight we're going to look at

Luke's introduction

to the book of Acts

which in a sense

gives us some principles

and also sort of

make some observations

of how that sort of

worked itself out

in the local church

in Antioch

in chapter 13

to help us all consider

what's my part to play

in God building

his global kingdom

so let me

by way of

I guess defining

where we're going

let me

sort of spell it out

and then break it down

so a healthy church

will care about

God's mission

to continue

the work of Jesus

depending on the Holy Spirit

and bearing witness

to Jesus

in the world

and I think we can see

all of that

in the first 11 verses

of Acts

so the first thing

to notice

is that a church

on mission

continues

the work

of Jesus

and we're just going to

think about the first

four verses

to help us with that

as Luke begins

his book

he says

in my former book

Theophilus

I wrote about

all that Jesus

began to do

and to teach

and it's been recognized

that if

the gospel of Luke

is what Jesus

began to do

then we should understand

the book of Acts

is what Jesus

continues to do

now through his church

and by the Spirit

the gospel of Luke

speaks about

the birth of Jesus

the life of Jesus

including his teaching

and his miracles

his suffering

his death

the victory

of his resurrection

and his ascension

it is the record

of Jesus' ministry

on earth

and what do we have

in the book of Acts?

we have a record

of Jesus'

ongoing ministry

from heaven

through his apostles

now it's through

their sermons

now it's through

the signs and wonders

that they are doing

that the church

continues to grow

and expand

one example

to see that

in Acts chapter 3

Acts 3 · chapter mention

and 4

we have that story

of Peter and John

going up to the temple

to pray

and meeting the lame beggar

who asks them

for money

and Peter turns

to him

and says

in verse 6

of chapter 3

silver or gold

I do not have

but what I do have

I give you

in the name of Jesus

Christ of Nazareth

walk

so they are

healing people

in the name of Jesus

Jesus

is continuing

his work

through them

and then the rest

of chapter 3

and chapter 4

bring us

Peter

boldly testifying

that Jesus

is Lord

he is

the Christ

that while

they killed

as he says

the author of life

God raised him

from the dead

and they declare

there's no other name

by which

we must

be saved

and so

mission

is about

testifying

that Jesus

is Lord

and continuing

the work

of Jesus

how would the

apostles

do this

ongoing work

we find in the

first four verses

of Acts 1

four important

realities

first in verse 2

we're told that

Jesus chose

the apostles

so we think about

the apostles

that we meet

in the book of Acts

they are

chosen and appointed

by Jesus himself

in verse 3

we're told that

Jesus showed

himself

to them

and that's

going to be so

important for the

first church

because here

they are

qualified

to bear witness

they have been

with Jesus

all through his

ministry

there when he died

they saw him

risen

they are qualified

to bear witness

they are qualified

to write the

New Testament

thirdly

we discover here

that Jesus

commissioned them

verse 2

he gave

instructions

through the

Holy Spirit

to the

apostles

in verse 8

they're called

his witnesses

so by the

Spirit

empowered by the

Spirit

they would be

ambassadors

they would be

witnesses

they would take

that instruction

and they would

live it out

and fourth

and very

importantly

Jesus promised

them

the Holy Spirit

so in verse 4

do not leave

Jerusalem

but wait for

the gift

my father

promised

which you

have heard

me speak

about

so they would

continue the

work of

Jesus

once Jesus

had sent

the gift

of the

Holy Spirit

which is

in itself

a fulfillment

of Old

Testament

promises

so we have

here four

specific

qualifications

for these

first apostles

how were they

able to

turn

the world

upside down

because they

were chosen

Jesus revealed

himself to

them

he commissioned

them and he

gave them

the Holy Spirit

but at the

same time

when we think

about our

ongoing

ministry

we need to

recognize

that in a

secondary

sense

these things

are all true

of us as

well

if we are

Christians

we have

been chosen

by God's

grace

we've been

chosen by

Jesus

Jesus has

revealed himself

to us

by his

spirit

and through

the word

to be

our

Lord

and

Savior

and when

we are

followers

of Jesus

we are

commissioned

we are

sent out

into the

world

as his

followers

to make

Jesus

known

and we

too

have the

Holy Spirit

we have

God

with us

we have

that power

within us

and we'll

think a

little bit

more

about that

so here

we discover

Jesus

the all

powerful

Savior

and King

who could

have chosen

any means

for world

mission

deliberately

chose

the church

the church

is how

Jesus

is going

to continue

his work

in the

world

and that's

why we read

from Acts

Acts 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13

because Acts

Acts 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13

shows us

one example

of how that

works out

in practice

so here is

the Antioch

church

and the Antioch

church was

hugely

significant

for the

early

missionary

movement

so we're

introduced

in the first

couple of

verses

or the

first

verse

to their

local

leadership

and notice

how international

their leadership

is there's

at least

someone from

North Africa

there's people

from very

different

backgrounds

and they are

taking the

lead

they are

seeking

God's

face

they are

involved

in worship

they're seeking

the Lord

and as they

do so

they're led

by the

spirit

to appoint

Barnabas

and Saul

so two

of their

leadership

are then

sent

to go

on their

missionary

journeys

this

church

is a

very young

church

just recently

established

but from

the beginning

God's

design

for a

local

church

is that

it would

be central

to his

purpose

of global

mission

so that

means one

clear

priority

for our

church

and for

every

church

is

spreading

the

gospel

to be a

community

in the

first instance

truly know

Jesus

we love

Jesus

and where

we're ready

to proclaim

Jesus

for the

sake of

God's

glory

and we'll

also support

others

in different

ways

who are

doing

likewise

in different

parts

from us

so the

church on

mission

continues

the work

of

Jesus

and perhaps

it's important

for us

to ask

well how

can you

how can

I

support

global

mission

here's

four ways

that we

can certainly

do that

and there

are more

one we

support

global

mission

when we

speak

to spread

the gospel

locally

when we

are obedient

where we

are

sharing

the hope

of Christ

where we

are

secondly

when we

pray

for the

spread of

the gospel

because we

believe that

just as much

as it was

God's

design

to use

the church

for mission

we also

know that

it was

God's

design

to use

prayer

for mission

and his

kingdom

and so we'll

do that

at the end

of our

service

we can

also give

for the

spread

of the

gospel

that was

one reason

why we

decided to

establish

our mission

support fund

we wanted

to put this

principle

into practice

to give us

a weekly

opportunity

to be

supporting

the church

plant in

Galashios

and to

support the

Reannels

in

Colombia

but we

can give

to support

mission

agencies

and

organizations

involved

in different

works

and we

can go

for the

spread of

the gospel

all of us

in a sense

are called

to be on a

journey as

missionaries

but that

journey will

be different

for all

of us

for some

of us

maybe that

will just

take us

across a

room

to be

sharing

our

faith

within the

context

of our

family

perhaps it

will take

us

across the

city

and we'll

be called

to live

as Christians

in a

workplace

and maybe

that's

our

particular

challenge

some of

us

will maybe

be called

to take

the gospel

across

the globe

and we need

to be ready

to hear

and to

respond

in faith

and obedience

why

because of

Jesus

Jesus has

arisen from

death

saviour

there is

no other

name by

which a

person can

be saved

other than

through

the person

and work

of

Jesus

so the

church on

mission

continues

the work

of

Jesus

secondly

the church

on

mission

depends

on the

Holy Spirit

verses 4

and 5

of Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and then

verse 8

bear that

out

so again

to read

verse 8

you will

receive power

when the

Holy Spirit

comes on you

and you will

be my

witnesses

in Jerusalem

and in all

Judea and

Samaria

and to

the

ends

of the

earth

to read

verses 4

and 5

and verse 8

you realize

the same

truths

are brought

together

Jesus promises

he's going to

continue to

build his

church

and he's

going to

do that

through his

disciples

and he's

going to

do it

by his

spirit

and we

need to

remember

that

it's crucial

to mission

it's crucial

to our

Christian lives

the work

of the

Holy Spirit

to think

about Jesus

and his

own ministry

you know

his baptism

of course

was the

beginning

of his

public

ministry

and what

happens

as he

was about

to begin

his public

ministry

the spirit

descended on him

like a

dove

Jesus

is the

spirit

filled

man

and the

book of

Acts

and the

history

of the

church

represents

Jesus

ongoing

ministry

mission

is his

work

done

in his

power

Jesus

working

in and

through

us

by

the

promised

Holy

Spirit

we saw

a different

aspect of

that in

Acts

Acts 13 · chapter mention

chapter

13

the spirit

leading them

in mission

so as the

church prayed

as they were

seeking God's

wisdom and

direction

the spirit

led them

to commission

to in

particular

Barnabas

and Saul

to go

for Christ

into the

wider

Roman

empire

and it's

amazing

to read

through the

missionary

journeys

of Paul

and to

recognize

how much

he was led

and directed

by the

spirit

so one

great

example

let me

read

Acts

Acts 16 · chapter mention

chapter

16

you can

turn

there

verses

6

to

10

we

read

there

Paul

and his

companions

traveled

throughout

the region

of Phrygia

and Galatia

having been

kept by

the Holy

Spirit

from preaching

the word

in the

province

of Asia

so they

wanted to

go into

Asia

but the

spirit

said

no

and so

they went

elsewhere

when they

came to

the border

of

Mysia

they tried

to enter

Bithynia

but the

spirit

of Jesus

would not

allow them

to

so they've

been really

sensitive

to the

leading and

guiding of

the spirit

and perhaps

we're asking

why in the

world would

the spirit

tell them

not to go

and speak

of Jesus

perhaps they

were asking

that we don't

know

but we do

know

that they

passed by

Mysia

and went

down to

Troas

during

during the

night

Paul

had a

vision

of

a

man

of

Macedonia

standing

and begging

him

come over

to

Macedonia

and help

us

after Paul

had seen

the vision

we got

ready at

once to

leave for

Macedonia

concluding

that God

had called

us to

preach the

gospel

to them

and what

we find

after that

is that

Lydia

has

converted

the

Philippian

jailer

is very

dramatically

converted

the church

in

Philippi

has

its

beginning

and that

was the

spirit's

design

for that

time

in Paul's

missionary

journeys

and so

the spirit

was leading

and directing

and to

broaden that

and move

that away

from just

Paul's

missionary

journeys

and Paul

the apostle

we need to

recognize

that whenever

Jesus

through his

spirit

is giving

his people

power to

do his

work in

the world

it's a

spiritual

gift

that's why

God gives

us those

spiritual

gifts

so that

we can

work for

him in

the world

to make

Jesus

known

and so

it's

absolutely

fundamental

that we

are depending

on the

Holy Spirit

now three

ways and

there are

more but

three ways

at least

that we

are called

to depend

on the

Holy Spirit

when we

think in

the context

of mission

and let's

think about

our Bibles

and we are

called to

believe that

the Bible

has been

inspired

by the

Spirit

that this

is the

one

message

that people

need to

hear

and we

also believe

that it's

the Spirit

who gives

us

understanding

of that

word

and it's

the Spirit

that will

give someone

else the

understanding

of the

word so

they're able

to understand

their sin

and their

need and

Jesus as

Savior

one of the

things that's

so important

about the

ministry of

the Spirit

what did

the Spirit

delight to do

the Spirit

delights to

glorify

Jesus

so if

the Spirit

inspired the

Bible

and if the

Spirit

loves to

glorify

Jesus

then we

should

expect

our

Bibles

to be

testifying

all over

the place

to the

glory of

Jesus

and that's

what it

does

and the

Spirit

loves to

open

people's

eyes

so they

can see

the glory

of Jesus

in

his

word

so sharing

the good

news must

involve the

word of

God

and it

must also

involve us

asking the

Spirit

to help

open hearts

and minds

to the

truth

to help

us

if we want

to communicate

it

to help

the person

that we

want to

speak to

so we

need to

rely and

depend on

the Holy

Spirit

when it

comes to

the Bible

and our

sharing

of it

also

when we

think about

our

conversations

we're called

to depend

on the Holy

Spirit

even in

the context

of our

conversations

Jesus said

to his

disciples

slightly

different

context

where

they

were

going

to

face

persecution

and

opposition

and

Jesus

said

to

them

don't

worry

the

Spirit

will

teach

you

in

that

moment

what

you

are

to

say

and

there's

a

really

important

reminder

there

for

us

that

we

should

be

alert

to

the

opportunities

that

we're

being

given

and

we

be

trusting

the

Spirit

to

guide

conversations

to

guide

our

words

to

trust

the

Spirit

for

those

divine

appointments

those

meetings

that

God

has

already

planned

for

us

I

remember

years

ago

I can't

remember

who the

missionary

was

but

reading

of

one

missionary

who

in a

fairly

rural

context

had to

go to

the

market

every

day

for

their

supplies

and

then

go

on

to

their

work

now

you

can

imagine

having

a

constant

to-do

list

you might

want to

bash

on

and get

it

done

but

this

wise

missionary

added

at least

10

minutes

to

those

market

trips

to

have

that

margin

for

any

conversations

that

might

come

up

giving

herself

the

space

to

speak

to

people

to

engage

them

on

questions

of

faith

so

Bible

conversation

and the

third

one

where we

depend

on

the

Holy

Spirit

is

of

course

in

the

context

of

prayer

and

we

thought

about

this

not

that

long

ago

prayer

is

the

engine

room

mission

and

the

spirit

helps

us

as

we

pray

it

was

William

Carey

and I

really

like

the

image

I'm

going

to

share

it

again

it

was

William

Carey

the

famous

missionary

to

India

who

said

to

his

friends

I

will

go

down

the

mine

by

which

he

meant

I

will

go

to

do

the

hard

work

of

mission

with

all

its

sacrifice

I

will

go

down

the

mine

if

you

will

hold

the

ropes

prayer

is

taking

the

strain

to

support

ministers

missionaries

pastors

and

teachers

as

they

go

to

share

the

good

news

of

Jesus

will

we

take

the

strain

depending

on the

spirit

praying

for

missionaries

that we

know

and

missionaries

that we

don't

know

places

that we

are

familiar

with

places

we're

not

familiar

with

and

lastly

the

church

on

mission

bears

witness

to

Jesus

and

that's

there

in

chapter

1

verse

8

you

will

be

my

witnesses

in

Jerusalem

and

all

Judea

and

Samaria

and

to

the

ends

of

the

earth

it's

been

recognized

that

Jesus

had

what

sometimes

called

a

catch

and

release

strategy

with

his

disciples

by

which

it

meant

that

he

brought

them

in

and

they

spent

considerable

amounts

of

time

with

him

to

listen

to

watch

to

learn

to

help

him

in

ministry

but

then

he

sent

them

out

and

we

read

that

in

Luke's

gospel

sending

them

out

two

by

two

to

preach

to

announce

and

show

the

kingdom

was

near

and

so

here

in

Acts

1

we

find

Jesus

one

last

time

gathering

the

disciples

to

himself

before

he

returns

to

heaven

and

he

gathers

them

before

sending

them

out

as

witnesses

to

the

world

and

even

here

in

this

last

time

on

this

earth

that

they

would

be

gathered

together

he

has