Every Christian is Part of a Mission - to Reach the
World with the Gospel
Acts 1:1-11
DATE:
5 Mar, 2000
AM
PLACE: BBC Blarney
I.
Introduction (Acts 8:26)
A. Most everybody loves to watch the thrill and drama of someone on a special mission - an endeavour that is very risky and if failed, would result in disaster
B. In Acts 8, we see Philip being directed by the Holy Spirit on a mission - to reach the Ethiopian Eunuch with the Gospel! How gloriously he was saved!
C. It is the Mission of New Testament Christianity to reach this world with the Gospel. It is not the responsibility of the Government, or the Schools, or the United Nations, or the book publishers, or the radio stations, or the religious organisations - it is the job of every born-again, blood-bought believer!
D. It is when we see all of ourselves as being "On a Mission" that we see the need to work together as a team, and the need to prioritise our lives, and the need to battle our real enemies.
E. Jesus was "On a Mission." A mission only He could accomplish. But He passed on some tasks to you and me - tasks we can accomplish. We have a mission - a reason for existence beyond our lives - it is called OTHERS!
II.
Message - On
a Mission (Acts
1:1-11)
A. The Person of Missions (Acts 1:1-3) - Jesus
1. The world always associates great events with people
a. Person of the Year, or Century, or Millennium
b. Called Examples
c. Well, Who is our example of Missions, and Soul-Winning? Jesus
2. You find God reaching mankind from Gen 3 all the way through to the present - rolled-up His sleeves and has been working from the start
3. But you find Jesus as the heart-beat of God - the pace-setter - the trail-blazer. If you want to know what Missions is - you look at the life of Jesus! It was not His occupation - it was His reason for existence!
a. From the start, when Jesus met the woman at the well
b. To the time he called out his disciples to follow Him
c. To the time He faced an angry mob surrounding a woman caught in adultery
d. To the time when He witnessed to Nicodemas
e. All the way through to the cross when He saved the thief next to Him
f. All this is referred to as His "PASSION" (Acts 1:3)
4. It is THIS life that Jesus lived that defines what Missions is: It is simply the Gospel (1Cor 15:1-4) being presented by your life and words to someone else!
5. And we do it Jesus' way - I know it is 2,000 years old - I know things have really progressed since then (NOT)! I know people are different now (NOT)! The Person and Life of Jesus is the definition of Missions!
B. The Promise of Missions (Act 1:4,5)
1. An Empowerment (1:8), becoming "endued with power" (Luke 24:49) that comes from the Holy Spirit (John 14:16) - Comforter, Guide, Teacher, Helper.
2. A Filling (2:2,4; 4:8,31) - of the heart and spirit of a Christian with the power and drive, and strength needed to obey the Lord Jesus
3. Responsibility - As a body, the body of Christ, the New Testament Church is not to “relish” this spiritual gift, but use it for souls, and for the living of the Christian life (Cf Philp 2:5-8). All that Jesus did in His life and ministry, He did through the power of the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:2; John 3:34), not in the power of His deity! All so that He could show how WE can live, and reach the lost!
4. That promise was made good on the Day of Pentecost - it showed that God's Holy Spirit can enable ANYONE to win souls!
C. The Priority of Missions (Acts 1:6,7)
1. Notice what's on the mind of the disciples:
a. They wanted God to restore Israel back to its glory
b. They wanted life itself to be different, soon!
c. They wanted Heaven right then
d. They knew that God had all these promises as well
e. They just wanted to also know "how long?"
2. Missions is God's priority programme
a. The world has priority of social programmes
b. And priorities of educational programmes
c. And economic programmes
d. But what about the souls of men and women (Mark 8:36,37)?
3. Jesus puts things in perspective - by priority
a. Yes, Israel will be restored as a great nation - started up again in 1948
b. Yes, the future looks bright, with Jesus coming back to this earth
c. But the world is not ready - what if Jesus had said, not for another 2,000 years? Christians would have been lazy, and would have neglected the priority of soul-winning!
d. The priority of God is not to judge this world, but to save it - and he uses Christians to bring sinners to Christ (like a nurse brings patients to the doctor)
e. Don't worry about what time it is - I think it is getting very late - just worry about the millions who are lost!
4. Missions/soul-winning is more important than houses, jobs, wives, children, buildings, health, elections, fashion, hobbies, and your own life
D. The Path of Missions (Acts 1:8)
1. The path
a. Starts where you are at - your Jerusalem
b. Reaches into your surrounding region - Judaea
c. Reaches into the next counties - Samaria
d. Ultimately reaches into the uttermost parts of the world
2. Examples
a. Peter remained in Israel for quite a while, and then went East
b. Philip went South
c. Barnabas also into Europe
d. The Apostle John went North
e. Apostle Paul went North, by Northwest into Europe - three extensive Missionary journeys covering 10's of thousands of miles - starting hundreds of New Testament churches
1) The starting line for Paul - God's will (Acts 20:24)
2) The finish line - completion of the course (2Tim 4:7)
3. How was it possible that fishermen, and carpenters, and labourers could go so far, and reach so many (Acts 17:6)?
a. Because of the power of the Holy Spirit (John 20:21,22)
b. Because of the power of the Gospel - it does the work (1Pet 1:23)
c. Don't you see? All you are doing is delivering the message?
E. The Pressure of Missions (Acts 1:9-11) - no getting around it - the work of Missions, and soul-winning is urgent work! More urgent than a A&E trauma room! The spiritual battle rages all around us, and so many close their eyes!
1. All the disciples were gathered together, and in amazement, were squinting to watch Jesus as he ascended up back towards heaven
2. But two other men (angels), sitting nearby break the silence by yelling:
a. HEY! You saw him go up, well, He's coming back again! Soon!
b. Get busy men! Get out there and tell the world that Jesus lives!
c. Tell the world there is a way back to God - a way to get saved!
3. Notice the pressures on these first century Christians:
a. The pressure to pray - Oh what a glorious pressure
b. The pressure to hunger for God's power
c. The pressure to get busy doing something for eternity's sake
d. The pressure to be ready for Christ's return
4. There is no denying the pressure that is on the Christian
a. We accept pressure from all other quarters of life
1) Our job - be here at 8.00 am - work until 11pm
2) Our mortgage repayments
3) Our family's needs - got to get home and fix dinner
4) Our health needs - when feeling bad, the pressure is on to get to the doctor, or to the Chemist
5) Emergencies - like storm damage and destruction
b. Why do we always tell God to "lay off!" when death does not wait - and when hell does not close down for the winter so-to-speak!
c. Well, the Christian says, "I have GOT to tell somebody!"
5. There was a prophet named Isaiah, who had a vision of the Lord in heaven. The Lord was asking the question, "Who will go for me?" "Who will go?" To which, Isaiah, feeling the urgency of the request, and the need of the people of Israel, answered, "Here am I, send me!"
III.
Conclusion -
A. The Person of Missions (Acts 1:1-3) - Jesus
B. The Promise of Missions (Act 1:4,5)
1. An Empowerment
2. A Filling - of the heart and spirit of a Christian with the power and drive, and strength needed to obey the Lord Jesus
3. Responsibility
C. The Priority of Missions (Acts 1:6,7)
1. Missions is God's priority programme
2. Missions/soul-winning is more important than houses, jobs, wives, children, buildings, health, elections, fashion, hobbies, and your own life
D. The Path of Missions (Acts 1:8)
1. Starts where you are at - your Jerusalem
2. Reaches into your surrounding region - Judaea
3. Reaches into the next counties - Samaria
4. Ultimately reaches into the uttermost parts of the world
E. The Pressure of Missions (Acts 1:9-11) - no getting around it - the work of Missions, and soul-winning is urgent work! More urgent than a A&E trauma room! The spiritual battle rages all around us, and so many close their eyes! Acknowledge the reality of the situation, and respond to the urgency by grabbing a fistful of tracts, and then start talking!