God's Glory in Mission

Ephesians chapter 1, we're going to read from verses 3 down to 14, and it's on page 1173

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

if you're using a red-covered Bible. Let's listen to God speak to us as we read this.

Amen.

He has freely given us in the one he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood,

the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he has lavished on us

with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to

his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times have reached

their fulfillment, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out

everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we who were the first to hope

in Christ might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard

the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal,

the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption

of those who are God's possession, to the praise of his glory. Ken. Before Ken speaks, I'm just going to pray for him

and for us. Let's pray. Our Father God, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it's in our language

that we can read, but without your Holy Spirit we will not understand and it will not change us or transform us.

So we ask that by your Spirit you would speak into our lives today. We pray for Ken. We ask that you would

help him to communicate effectively and clearly the truth of your word. We pray that you will bless

his ministry and his work, his teaching ministry in the college. We pray for his visits to Peru,

that he would be an encouragement to the church there and that you would continue to help him

as he seeks to bring the gospel and encourage the church worldwide with the good news of Christ.

Christ. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Good morning again. I want to say it's a privilege to be here and to enjoy fellowship. I was going to

say the warmth of fellowship. The fellowship's good. The building's cold. I understand why you have tea

and coffee. I think that's great. And I've drunk Barry's tea for the first time in my life. Some

people drink nothing but, I'm told. Anyway, today I was asked a question about what I'm doing now that

I'm going to retire quite soon. I'm going to tell you a secret before I begin to preach. Today is my

birthday. A very kind gentleman guessed me at 51. I think that was flattery. I'm 62 today and life has

gone very quickly. Life moves along very swiftly, doesn't it? And it's good to be able to live for

the Lord and to know the Lord. And the theme today is mission. The whole weekend has been mission and

we've been thinking about mission and hostility. But really what I want to do today is perhaps pick up

the idea of mission and preach a sermon that may not be so typical. I want to reflect on why I am doing

what I do at this time, but not to make it that personal, to actually look at the scriptures and to see

what the scriptures say. And we've read together a lovely passage, Ephesians 1, 3 to 14, which I think is a

great passage on mission, but I'm not going to expound it. But really that is the background to what we're

going to do today. Before we get into the Word of God, let's pray. Father, again we pray. And once again,

our God and Father, we thank you that mission is part of your sovereign activity in the realm of

redemption in the world. And Father, we know that from first to last, it's your mission. It's not our

mission. We're involved in mission not because of us, but because of you. And Father, we know that

mission and the gospel of Jesus Christ originated in your heart. It's based on your love, determined by

your will. And the mandate was enunciated in the Word of God through the will of God. And Father,

we know that it is all explained. The rationale for mission is explained in the Word of God.

And the ultimate success and fulfillment depends on your power, not on us. Depends on your sovereignty

and not on our human will. Help us, Father, we pray, to proclaim the gospel, knowing that people

will believe because the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes in you.

We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

So, when I sit in my office in Belfast, in Moira, and think about mission, these are the thoughts that

come to my mind. And I want to share them today. And the starting place for mission is not me.

It's not you. It's not us. Nor is it the lostness of the world. Nor the command to go.

The mandate for mission lies within God and His desire to have a relationship with His creation.

So, this is my weak attempt to try to articulate what I believe the Bible teaches about mission.

And this church, every church, the church of Jesus Christ, and it's much bigger than any little local church,

exists because God is a missionary God. We can certainly say that. And God works through His Son.

He works through His Spirit. And without God's work, I would have nothing to do. You would have nothing to do.

The great thing about the mission of God is, and we were reading about it in Ephesians chapter 1,

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

is that the mission of God stretches from eternity to eternity.

Long before we came here, and I have to say, long after we will be gone from here.

What excites me when I look at the New Testament and the scripture about mission is,

that all the verbs connected to mission and God. If we have to be convinced it's God's mission,

think of the verbs, the action words. God loves. Action. God sends. Action. God chooses. Action.

God predestines. Some people will have a ball game just because I mentioned that word.

God does that. Action. God speaks. God creates. God plans. He sends. He moves by His Spirit.

And I have two big brush strokes this morning. And when I think about these two things,

my heart, I think, is kept right in regard to mission. I don't get the thing out of sync.

I don't lose too much sleep. And I follow the Lord more easily.

The first thing I want to say this morning, very simply, is this.

The primary motivation for mission, for you, for me, for everyone in the whole world,

is for the glory of God. That is the primary goal and the motivation of mission.

It's all about God. Let me clarify. Mission is not to do, has not to do,

in the first place, with the welfare and glory of the human race.

It's not about the growth and expansion of the church. When we think that's what it's all about,

we lose our vision and our focus. It's about the glory of God. And that forms the highest goal

of mission. And the ultimate goal is that God will be glorified as His people, that's us,

tell other people about His greatness, and as people who are at enmity with God,

come to faith in Jesus Christ. That's about as simply as I can put it.

Mission is church-centered. That's why we're talking about mission today. That's why there's a mission weekend.

And the church, us, we are the means of mission, and we are the goal of mission.

Does that make sense? We're how it's done. And it's all done so that people will be added to the church of Jesus Christ.

And again, the church is much bigger than anything that many of us might think about.

That's the goal and the aim. And the goal is to gather people into the community of local churches in the world.

And what do we do here? We've been doing it today.

Where we worship God. We've been doing that.

Where we equip people to grow in a relationship with God.

And that's why we're here today.

And where we share God, where we share Jesus Christ and the gospel with other people.

And that's not necessarily done within four walls.

The church of Jesus Christ has legs.

And we walk.

And we leave the building.

I come from the north.

I say that.

I've lived in the north since 1991.

If I was preaching today in the north, you know this.

I would have a suit on.

I would have a tie on.

Yes, I would.

Just so that I wouldn't offend certain people.

That's what I would do.

And we would probably be seated in some of the most lovely buildings in the world.

And my wife would be throwing off her cabigans because it would be far too warm.

That's just how it is.

And sometimes, perhaps, we can get connected to the building.

So let's disconnect from the building.

We know that.

We are the church.

And we are the goal.

People like you and me.

And so what I want to do today, and I'm picking this up from Johnny.

He was saying something like this.

And this is my paraphrase.

I simply want to challenge you and me, and I need to be challenged all the time,

to think about mission, about the practice of mission,

and perhaps to process all the stuff we've got into our heads and hearts over the weekend.

Yesterday we were blitzed, weren't we?

And sometimes when we're blitzed by it, statistics, how many Christians, where the church has been persecuted,

where things are not like that, and so forth, we don't know what to do with all that stuff.

So we think.

But I also want us to feel.

And I want us to feel the motivation for mission.

And then I want us to take the responsibility.

Now, we can't be responsible for all of mission.

And if I had my way, I would have all of you today picking up the four little boxes that remain

and saying, I want to support Baptist missions.

By the way, take them.

Because I'm going up in public transport today, and I'd rather not have all the stuff to carry along with me.

So take them and support Baptist missions.

And especially the radio in Peru.

Isn't that right, Tom?

There we go.

But I want us to think about responsibility about mission.

Now, we can't do everything.

All the Lord will ask you to do and me to do is something.

Something.

Maybe more than we've done up until this time.

So let's go back.

First big brush stroke.

And I don't want to lose this from my thinking, your thinking.

Because it's really what the Bible teaches.

The primary motivation is the glory of God.

And when you think about that, that keeps our hearts right.

Doesn't it?

And we can share in that because you and I, and we've read about it,

are co-heirs with Christ.

And the scripture goes on to say, if we share in his sufferings.

And I don't think there is any Christianity without suffering.

I had a little quote I was going to throw in yesterday, but I couldn't do it.

I didn't have time.

Archbishop Festo Kivingeri from the Anglican Church in Africa,

speaking at the anniversary of the martyrdom of a Ugandan archbishop,

said this, said this,

Without bleeding, the church fails to bless.

Now that sounds very tough, doesn't it?

Without bleeding, the church fails to bless.

And sometimes we want very comfortable lives.

But I'll tell you this, following Jesus Christ,

sooner or later, will cost us some kind of suffering.

I don't mean physical, necessarily.

It will cost us perhaps somebody laughing.

It will cost us something along the way,

where people make it a little bit difficult for us to follow Jesus,

and to believe the simple faith that we have in him.

And it's still true, co-heirs with Christ,

if we share in his sufferings.

Being willing to lay down our lives for Jesus.

It's never all blessings at no cost.

And that's true for the church here.

It's true for every church, everywhere.

We won't see the full blessing of God,

unless somewhere along the line,

there's a tough element to following the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now that leads me to my second motivation for mission.

And if you have your Bibles, please,

I want to pick it up now in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, please.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

In verse 18.

And Paul is talking about you and me,

and about what you and I are called to be in Christ.

2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 18.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

I'm just going to pick out a few verses,

because for me,

this is what you and I do.

And are.

And all of this is a gift from God,

who brought us back to himself through Christ.

And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

For God was in Christ,

reconciling the world to himself,

no longer counting people's sins against them.

And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

And I love this verse.

This is what you and I do.

So, you and I are Christ's ambassadors.

God is making his appeal through us.

We speak for Christ when we plead,

come back to God.

The secondary motivation for mission,

and these are the only two main points I have this morning,

is the ministry of reconciliation.

I can think of nothing more exciting than that.

The ultimate goal?

God's glory.

And that includes the reconciliation of this world to God.

Now, Jesus is here today by the Holy Spirit.

And Jesus empowers you and me by his Spirit.

And you and I are involved as members of a church,

as part of the body of Jesus Christ,

on Christ's behalf.

And we ask people,

we implore people,

to be reconciled to God.

And Paul goes on to say,

it is just as if we do so on Christ's behalf.

Now, when I used to tell my school friends,

into my teen years,

when I went through grammar school,

that I wanted to be a missionary,

actually, I believed then,

and I still believe,

that perhaps the Lord had given me the privilege,

of being called to do

one of the most wonderful things in the world.

But every Christian is called to do exactly the same.

And that is to call people to come back to God.

And we believe that.

And we certainly believe,

in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 3,

1 Corinthians 15:3

that Jesus Christ died,

he was buried,

and that he rose again.

And if a person does not believe that,

Paul goes on to say,

in 1 Corinthians 15,

if a person does not believe that Jesus died,

was buried,

and rose again for their sins,

that person is not a Christian.

And a lot of people say they're Christians

because they do good works.

And I think it's excellent that people do good things.

And none of us can ever criticize that.

And we certainly know

that there's a general goodness of God in the world.

But we believe that the resurrected Christ

appears to people,

and changes their lives.

Now that's a simple,

powerful message.

Paul.

What a wonderful testimony.

Against the church.

Against Christians.

Locking them in prison.

And totally opposed to the ideology.

And then God

showed the resurrected Christ to Paul

on the Damascus road.

And he was absolutely changed.

James,

the half-brother of Jesus,

mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15.

The half-brother of Jesus,

who when Jesus was alive,

said about Jesus,

he's beside himself.

Actually,

he was saying

that Jesus

was a little bit

out of his mind

at that point.

Didn't believe in Jesus.

You know,

I find that a tremendous comfort.

Sometimes people say to me,

I try to live for Jesus

in my family,

and people

don't want to hear.

Can you imagine

that Jesus,

the very Son of God,

walking on the earth,

and his own half-brother

had no faith.

And then he came to faith

and changed.

Other people were changed.

And I love the story of Peter,

mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15.

The failure.

The man who wanted

to follow Jesus

and didn't manage to do so.

And the resurrected Christ

appeared to him.

Do you not think

that sometimes

we give Peter

bad press?

We think that Peter's

the headstrong man.

We think that Peter's

the one who,

you know,

says,

I'm going to follow Jesus

and he gets it all wrong.

But the thing

that changed me

and my view on Peter

is I've read one Peter,

I've read two Peter.

And when we read that,

we have another kind of Peter,

a mature man

going on.

Changed.

So exciting.

That's the message

that you and I have.

Jesus died,

was buried

and rose again

for our sins.

And when we believe that,

things change.

In Peru,

I'll give you a statistic.

Incidentally,

please take these things.

They're heavy.

I don't want to carry them

on the bus, really.

And you read about Peru,

you read about Spain,

France,

different places,

Baptist missions works.

When I went to Peru

in 1973,

before many of you

were born,

1 to 1.5%

of the Peruvian population

professed

evangelical faith.

Let's put it that way.

According to government

figures in Peru now,

12.5%

God has done

wonderful things.

Peru's very different.

I get in a taxi

in Belfast

and we talk about

everything.

I get in a taxi

in Peru

and the guy says to me,

you're not from here.

No.

What brings you here?

And I say,

well, I'm a missionary.

I'm a Christian.

And we have a conversation.

And within minutes

we can be talking

about spiritual things.

People are so religious

in Peru

and so open

in a way that perhaps

they aren't here.

So I've been spoiled

working in that.

Now,

let's bring it back here.

This ministry

of reconciliation.

And you're probably saying,

do I have to go to Peru?

Does everybody have to go

somewhere else?

Not necessarily.

I think

wherever God

has placed you,

whatever job you have,

that's where the Lord

is leading you.

Somebody has put it this way

and I love this.

If we want to follow Jesus,

we have to follow Him

to the ends of the earth.

For that

is where He is going.

Now for me,

that was Peru.

For some of you,

that's here.

Some have come

from other places

to here.

It might seem like

the end of the earth

to you folks

who have come

from other places.

But this is the end

of the earth for you

because this is where

Jesus has brought you.

And where the Lord

took me

was to another country.

And it doesn't matter

whether you're here,

Belfast,

Orkney,

or the United States,

or Africa,

any place in the world.

That's where the Lord

is leading you and me.

And I thank God

for how He's led me

in my life

and for what I've been

able to do.

You know,

things have changed

in the world.

You've probably noticed this.

In the past,

most missionaries

were from the West.

True?

Yesterday,

I noticed that

the country that sends out

most missionaries today,

did anybody notice?

Huh?

Was it China?

China's sending out a lot.

You're almost right.

It surprised me.

Yeah.

Say that.

I think it was Mongolia

or Moldova.

It was one of those

weird countries.

Brazil sends out a lot.

China sends out a lot.

China wants to send out

100,000 missionaries.

Do you know

what's happening?

We naughty Westerners,

I'm talking about we Brits,

and I'm talking about

we Americans,

we're at war

in certain countries.

They don't like us

over there

for some reason.

Don't quite understand that.

I'm being facetious.

But you know

what the Lord's doing?

Chinese people,

I mean real Christians,

are going from China

and they want to send

100,000 missionaries

from China.

The persecuted church

that has grown

when missionaries

were thrown out of China

back in 1951,

I think it was,

one million Christians.

Do you know now

how many Christians

there are in China?

Some reckon

there might be

130 million.

That's one in ten Chinese.

Check it out.

Most of the things

we wear are made in China.

One in ten,

probably a Christian

making your shirts

and your trousers

and everything else.

But those guys

are going to other countries

and they're not going

as missionaries,

they're going as Christians.

Because at the end of the day,

to call yourself a missionary

is not very popular

in certain parts of the world.

And they're going.

This is going too.

But they're going.

They're going to work

in these places.

And they're in Afghanistan.

They're in Iraq.

They're in Iran.

And they're talking

about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isn't the Lord so wise

in what He does?

See,

call them what you like.

Maybe they work

in laboratories.

Who knows?

But they're working

for the Lord.

And in the past,

most missionaries

were from the West.

Not now.

Not now.

More people are coming

from the other countries

and we,

we will

have to receive people

and willingly

and lovingly

receive people

and say,

you guys perhaps

have so much to teach us

from other countries

here in the West.

We won't go down

that route

at the moment.

But there are now

more Christians

in the Southern Hemisphere

and in what used to be called

the Third World

than in the West.

I think that's great.

I think that's great.

I could go down

the line on that.

But in this task

of reconciliation,

I've learned this.

And this might seem

a very, very simple

lesson to learn.

And it's this.

There is no room

for first fiddles,

number ones.

There's only room

in the Lord's work

for number twos.

And I've called us

second fiddles.

I love to go

to the orchestra.

We went at Christmas,

Jeannie and I.

And I'm dreaming

of Jeannie today.

And incidentally,

Jeannie with the light

grey hair,

if you know her.

That's a good

Scottish song.

And we go.

And I'm always enthralled

because in the orchestra,

Handel's Messiah,

you name it,

first fiddle.

The conductor,

he stands up

and he bows forever

and a day at the end

and he gets the applause.

And first fiddle.

Have you noticed that?

And he often goes over

and shakes the hand

of the first fiddle.

That's probably not

the best way to say it.

But the second fiddler

is also playing.

Imagine first fiddle

without second fiddle

and third fiddle

and fourth fiddle.

Where would the orchestra be?

And in the Lord's work,

now you're beginning to think,

Ken's beginning to be

non-biblical.

Well, let me give you

my scripture.

Where about John the Baptist?

That's where I start.

The greatest of all the prophets,

Jesus said.

But what did John say?

Jesus said,

John is the greatest

of all the prophets.

Let Jesus say stuff,

not us.

But John said,

Jesus must increase.

I must decrease.

So when I think about

the practice of mission,

yes,

the ultimate goal of missions

is the glory of God

through the redemption

of people,

redemption of people

for God

through Jesus Christ.

The radio in Peru.

I'm going to show you

something from Baptist missions.

I only have two of these

and I'm going to give them

to you.

I don't know if you have

a notice board.

But I went to a church

in the north.

This is everybody

in Baptist missions.

There aren't many

of these around anymore.

Some of you may have them,

right?

Well,

I went to a church recently

and they had it up.

There I am,

right in the center.

I went to a church

and I said,

huh.

But it was up on the wall.

No,

not really.

That came out wrong.

But it was up on the wall

and we were there,

all the western missionaries.

And I said to them,

have you got another copy?

They said,

no.

I said,

what a pity.

Because if you were to pin

the other side up,

this is Peru.

There are,

look at the Peru bit,

this little corner,

three couples.

Three couples.

And I love these guys,

but they're not doing

all that much

because there's only

three of them.

Three couples.

But look at the front.

Fifteen different units,

all on Baptist,

with Baptist missions,

being paid a pittance,

perhaps.

But they're doing

far more work

than the missionaries

in Peru.

I think that's exciting.

And even in Peru,

the radio,

and it's my baby.

When you do give money,

give it to the radio.

There you go.

Specify the radio.

The Lord bless you.

But there they are,

great team.

They're Peruvians.

You see,

all I could do,

and I'm being quite honest,

all I could do

was set up the radio.

And my ministry

is very simple.

Your ministry

may be very simple,

may be better than mine.

I'm an implementer.

And you know,

when people said to me,

you're setting up a radio.

What do you know about a radio?

Nothing.

But all my life,

I've done stuff.

I've started stuff.

It's just one of the things

I like to do.

It's one of the things

that excites me.

It's why I get bored

and move on

to something else.

People are different.

I'm an implementer.

It's somewhere in the Bible.

I just haven't found it yet.

It's a gift.

Implementation.

But other people come behind.

So in this task

of reconciliation,

I'm learning

and I've learned

over many years

that I need to be number two.

Second fiddle.

Do you believe me?

So how does this apply to me?

How does this apply to you?

Obviously,

everything primarily,

and this is why

it's so important,

is for the glory of God.

But even in the ministry,

often,

there's no room

for number one.

It's only for number twos.

Let me give you

another scripture.

Paul is writing.

1 Corinthians 15, 9.

Now, let me say something

just before that.

Somebody told me

the other day,

and I love this.

I don't know

where he got it from.

Somebody said

from Charles Hatton Spurgeon.

It takes more grace

than tongue can tell

to play

the second fiddle

well.

I'll repeat that.

It's not a text,

but I think it's biblical.

It takes more grace

than tongue can tell

to play the second fiddle

well.

1 Corinthians 15, 9.

Paul is writing.

What does he write?

This is Paul,

the Apostle Paul.

I am the least

of the Apostles.

I am the least

of the Apostles

who am not worthy

to be called an Apostle

because I persecuted

the Church of God.

What did he say?

I am number two?

No.

Not even number two.

I am the least.

He met the risen Christ.

And when Paul

met the risen Christ,

he had two questions.

Check it out.

In the Acts of the Apostles,

he met the risen Christ

and he said this,

Who are you, Lord?

And isn't that

the greatest question

we can ever ask?

Lord, who are you?

I want to know you better.

And the other question is,

what do you want me to do?

I don't think you and I

can ask two greater questions

than these two.

Who are you?

And we want to know him better.

And you know,

he spent the rest of his life,

I believe,

answering these two questions.

And if you have questions in life,

I think these are the best questions

we can ever ask

and we can ever answer.

Lord, who are you?

Let me know you better today.

And I meant what I said earlier

and I hadn't pre-planned it

when he said to me,

When did you come to Jesus Christ?

I gave all that I knew

about me to God then.

And I know a lot more

about me now

because the Lord reveals

a whole lot more to me

about me.

And I can give a whole lot more

of me to the Lord now

than I used to.

And I knew Jesus was glorious

and I knew that

he changed my life then.

But I know that he changes

my life more now

because he's more glorious

than I realized

he was when I was 10.

52 years later,

that's how it is.

Later in life,

what did Paul write?

He's growing.

And I'll tell you

how I know this.

Ephesians 3, 8.

It was written

after 1 Corinthians 15.

Later in life,

Paul grows

and he says this.

He writes this.

To me,

who am less

than the least

of all the saints.

Imagine that.

What do we think

of ourselves

in the church

of Jesus Christ?

Do we think

we're the most important

kingpin?

We can be tempted

to think that.

But he goes on to say,

this grace was given

that I should preach

among the Gentiles

the unsearchable

riches of Christ.

What did Paul say?

Great sainthood?

Great sainthood

is to see yourself

like Paul,

the least of all.

That's a paradox,

isn't it?

Almost a contradiction.

He saw great grace,

he saw the greatness

of the gospel

and he saw that

it was all about Christ,

not about him.

Later in life,

and we know this

because 1 Timothy 1.15

was written

after Ephesians

and after 1 Corinthians.

Just before his death,

following Jesus,

he was growing.

This is growth.

1 Timothy 1.15.

There are several

faithful sayings

quoted in the

pastoral epistles

and this is one of them.

This is a faithful saying

and worthy of all acceptance

that Christ Jesus

came into the world

to save sinners

of whom

I

am

chief.

Now doesn't that seem

the opposite

of spirituality?

That's descending growth.

What happens

in spirituality

as we come to know

the Lord Jesus

is the exact opposite

of what happens

in the world.

Apostle,

the least.

Saint,

less

than the least

of all the saints.

Was Paul lying?

I don't think so.

I think Paul saw himself

in relation to other Christians

as not that important.

Maybe you don't think

you're that important.

Good

in that sense.

Maybe the Lord

can use you

even more

in that way.

And sinners,

the worst.

Did Paul mean that?

Absolutely.

And isn't that growth?

You know,

when I was younger

I used to think

that the older I would get,

as Johnny says,

near retirement age,

that I would feel

holier.

Ah,

I don't feel

holier

today.

I don't stand

here thinking

I'm a missionary.

I'm holier

than other people.

I'm absolutely

amazed

that the Lord

can use me

and He's still

calling me

to follow Him.

And the older I get,

the more I have to

confess my sins

than ever before.

And into that mix,

imagine this,

Paul presented

the unsearchable

riches of Jesus.

That's growth.

Descending growth.

The opposite

of what it is

in this world.

How about me?

How about you?

In me,

in you,

in us,

there's no room

for self-importance

in one sense.

I go into bookshops

when I travel

and if I see

another self-help book

I think I'll blow up

the bookshop.

Everything is

self-help,

self-esteem

and all that stuff.

The irony is

we only

are esteemed

finally

in Jesus Christ

and the weaker

we are,

the stronger

we are.

Isn't that strange?

Paul says,

did Paul mean this?

He says,

I have even

despaired of life

itself.

That's rock bottom.

And yet,

he says,

when I am weak,

I'm strong.

And there's no room

for self-righteousness.

I've been a Christian

for 52 years.

No room.

No room.

Life is just a vapor.

Let me tell you,

it's just gone.

And on the line,

my mother

passed away.

She was 90.

And I was talking

to somebody the other day.

I said,

I don't particularly

like to live

to be 90.

I said,

but the alternative,

I'm not too attracted

to that either.

You know,

life is just flying.

And that's good.

We'll be in heaven soon.

But meanwhile,

I don't know about you.

In my life,

and I mean this,

I do a lot of repentance now.

If I say something

I shouldn't say,

I think,

that's not nice.

If the Lord speaks

to my heart,

I just know that I have

to be right with God.

And it's a daily thing,

isn't it?

And I notice that people

who are like myself

at this age

are nodding their heads.

You know what I mean?

It's what happens

when we grow

and go on.

A lot of repentance.

But,

the other side to that is,

the beautiful paradox is,

we see more

of the unsearchable

riches of Christ

than we've ever seen before.

Isn't that true?

Back to Baptist missions

for a moment.

Three couples in Peru.

I think that's great.

13,

15 Peruvian units

on the Peru.

I think that's wonderful.

And to serve the Lord

on the foreign mission field

doesn't mean

you're a number one kingpin.

How people can put you

up on a pedestal

it's not like that.

They're just so important.

These guys working away

in Peru.

Peruvians that I love.

I'm going back in June

and July

and I'm looking forward

to that.

And when Peru gets

into your blood

it's in there.

You're going back

on your honeymoon,

are you?

Tom?

Oops.

There we go.

We're all number twos,

aren't we?

Partners.

ordinary people.

And God calls us

to be second fiddles.

I think that balances out

beautifully

every church.

Don't you?

And the glory is His.

You see,

we're on a faith adventure.

The other night

Elizabeth Almanza,

you know her Tom,

phoned.

It was so encouraging.

She,

if you know the Bible college

in the north,

we have Valerie

who works in the,

she keeps us

six lecturers straight

in Peru.

It's Elizabeth Almanza.

And she said,

Ken,

it's great.

We're meeting for prayer

every morning

and we're praying.

The pastor's wives

are meeting for prayer.

We're having an evangelistic

campaign.

And she told me

all kinds of things

and I thought,

wow.

I didn't know

all these things

were going on.

And there are the guys

working in the mission,

the Peruvians.

I was so excited.

I want to encourage you today.

I don't want to send you

on a guilt trip.

I really don't.

I want you to think

about the weekend.

Fine.

I want you to process it.

I don't want you

to try and do everything

for every mission

and every field

in the world.

You can't.

But I want you

to think it through.

But be encouraged.

The primary motivation

for what you do

and for your life

and my life

is the glory of God.

And He has a whole lot

more glory

in your life

and my life

than you might even think.

I believe that.

So don't give up.

Don't give up.

This is for the glory of God.

Secondly,

the secondary motivation,

the ministry of reconciliation.

It's a process.

That's the challenge.

Think about it.

Think about the practice.

Feel it in your heart.

Be motivated

and take that responsibility

to heart.

Recession in the South.

I wasn't going to say this

but I came across

this little quote

the other day.

Some folk are looking for jobs.

You think you don't have money.

But you know,

I found this

and I've worked with

poor people in the world

and they're some of the best people

I've ever met in my life.

I'm not against wealth.

I've met wealthy people

and some of them

are the best people

in the world.

But giving

is not giving

of any kind

until

it interrupts

our lifestyle.

People talk about a tenth.

The Bible

in the New Testament

doesn't mention the tenth.

Have you ever wondered about that?

It talks about generous giving.

I'm just leaving you

with that one.

Maybe that's

where you have to plug in.

I can't afford to.

Hey,

giving is not giving

until it interrupts

our lifestyles.

Without bleeding

the church

fails to bless.

Let's pray.

Father,

we thank you

our God and Father

that you are a missionary God.

Thank you

that the Bible

is a missionary book.

Father,

we thank you

that the gospel

is a missionary message.

It's to be shared.

It's good news.

And Father,

we thank you

that your church

is a missionary institution.

Here in Carragalline,

this church,

us,

these people

are missionary people.

Help us,

Father,

always to be missionary minded

so that we do not deny

the faith

entrusted to us

nor betray your trust

in not passing it on.

We know you.

We love you.

And we know

it's wonderful

to know you.

Father,

we go through many struggles

and we know that.

Sometimes we even doubt

and you take us through.

And Father,

we thank you today

that the ultimate goal

of preaching the gospel,

of sharing you,

is your glory.

And Father,

we worship you

that you have given us

this wonderful ministry

of reconciling

this world to yourself.

And Father,

we bless you

that we enter into mission

because Jesus Christ

is present

in the form

of the Holy Spirit

here among us.

And he gives us power.

Power to go,

but power to be.

And that we're involved

as members of the church.

The body of Christ.

And Father,

we thank you

for that wonderful text

that when we implore people,

we do so on Christ's behalf

to come back to God,

to be reconciled to God.

It's just as though

you make your appeal

through us.

And Father,

we thank you

that you've called us

to do that

simply,

daily,

when you give us

the opportunities,

not artificially.

artificially.

And thank you,

Father,

for we know

that in this lies

the only possibility

of forgiveness

and of a new relationship

with God

for many people

and for all

who will come to you

to worship you

in spirit and in truth,

loving you

with all our hearts

and with all their hearts,

souls,

minds,

and strength.

And Father,

in this we rejoice

in Jesus Christ,

our Lord.

Amen.

Blessings on you.