God’s Greatest Passion

God’s Greatest Passion

Talk one of two on Missions

Basecamp Scripture: 2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Some of you would know that I have written a book that is being published in a few months. Without being too self congratulatory here’s a short quote about the events around the Fall:

“People think the Bible is all about them.  It is not. It is about the brokenness of God's heart and His love that overflows to you… The joy of the Godhead was interrupted. Adam’s voice had been muted. Immediately the Father came looking. Adam and Eve had hidden themselves out of fear and shame after their sin had entered the perfect world. The cry of God, “Where are you?” had nothing to do with geography. God knew where they were hiding. He could see beyond the shrubs, trees and bushes to where they were physically. The question was prompted by the silence. Adam had stopped seeking God, and instead, had started fleeing Him. He had stopped praying and had remained tightlipped. He had stopped entering into God’s presence and started hiding. God’s question was the cry of anguish of a love rejected. He was heart broken.” 

We need to realise that the reaching of the lost is God’s greatest passion since the Fall. He does not want anyone to be consigned to an eternity with Him. That’s why He sent Jesus! When we pray flippantly, “Give us a heart for the lost,” we do not know the burden of brokenness that will come over us - we will share in God’s broken heart. 

This week and next week I want to focus on our commission for mission - the go of the gospel! After that we will be visited by Gary Gibbs, Elim’s Director of REACH, Elim’s domestic evangelism department. He is with us the whole day.

Here are some foundational things for us to consider today based on Luke’s Gospel:

Luke 10: 1-12 & 17-20:  After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town….

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

1. The Go of Mission For All

2: He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

We tend to think that the call to go is for the select few in church, the leaders or the really, really spiritual ones.  

There is a great deal of symbolism going on here too in the subtext of Luke’s account. In Luke 9 there is the record of the 12 being sent out on mission in much the same way (Luke 9:1-6). So is Luke 10 just a regurgitation of the same event. No. There were two separate missions (although Jesus and His followers are always on mission). Commentators believe that the account in Luke 9 is the mission to the Jewish nations, 12 symbolising the tribes. The mission to the 72 represents the known Gentile nations of the time, the mission to reach the Gentiles (Craig A. Evans, Luke, NIBC (Paternoster Press, 19909), 169 and 172).

So there is an intentionality about God’s plan - Jews first, then the Gentiles (Romans 1:16).

The commands to go are throughout the New Testament and are clear: they are unambiguous. Except for this one: pray for workers to go to the harvest. It sounds like there’s an option. You might end up praying for the ones around you to go for the wrong reasons!

Given the following verse the sending out of the 72 seems that Jesus’ emphasis is actually one of pray you can stay, otherwise get going!

You may have to stay away from the mission field outside of your locality due to age, health, family. Short term trips may be viable. 

However our money should not stay! In our budgeting we should be allowing for some to go to where we cannot.

We as a church take up an annual offering for our own missions and outreach endeavours. We call this World Changers and we support missions and outreach work around the globe and locally.

We also run a missions boxes scheme where all your spare change can be collected and sent to Elim Missions for general use. Across Elim this raises a phenomenal amount.

We are also launching a Pound by Pound Scheme - you just set up a standing order for £1 a week - £4 a month. Less than a weekly cup of coffee will make a huge difference to those around the world.

2. The Message of Mission

9: Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

The message is always the Kingdom of God is here! It’s not near, it’s here! It’s not distant, it’s right now!

Missions take on the need of where they go. We go to help! We are involved with several around the world:

In Bulgaria it is to support the church we work with.

In Spain it is to help plant a new church.

In Paraguay it is to build bridges of care into a community that until our missionaries went they had not heard of the gospel at all.

In Romania it has been to support Elim missionaries and others and to work in schools.

The message is always the same though: the Kingdom is here. Remember when this was proclaimed in Luke the people were under oppressive Roman rule. The Kingdom is here is a message of hope to them; it still is today!

3. The Motivation of Missions

You might be asking why anyone would go on missions? I’ve asked several people to come and share some of their story. They're going to answer three simple questions for us today:

• Why did you go?
• What did you do?
• How did it change you?

Welcome Angela, Barbie, Daniel, David, Paul, & Sophie (TBC).

For me the motivation of missions is joy. Jesus pointed us to this: 

20: “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

It is the joy of salvation that has led me over the years to sleep on floors, have no running water, sleep on a bed made of an old door with no mattress, fight off mosquitos and tummy upsets. It is the sheer joy of being saved that compels us to share the Good News with others.

Wrapping this up:

Pray for permission to stay, otherwise go with Elim Missions on a short term mission, or teams we assemble, or another reputable organisation.

Budget some money to give.

Do not pray for the burden or heart for the lost if you are not prepared for a change to come to you life.