September 13, 2020 - Kevin Taylor - We Are The Church

We Are The Church

We are the Church on Mission

The Church in Antioch -Acts 11:19-30, 13:1-5

 

Antioch: Fast Facts

>3rd Largest city at this time in the Roman Empire behind Rome and Alexandria.

>It was an international trade city. Nicknamed the “Queen of the East”

>Population of nearly 500K.

>Located 300 miles north of Jerusalem.

>Made up of Greeks, Romans, Syrians, Phoenicians, Jews, Arabs, Egyptians, Africans, Indians, and Asians making it incredibly diverse.

>Antioch was a strategic location and became a launch pad for global missions.

 

How Antioch was “Planted”:

Acts 8:1-5 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria & proclaimed to them the Christ.

 

Acts 11:19-21 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

 

1. God designed His Church to be the Launch Pad of Missions

Acts 11:19-30

 

The DNA of a healthy missional Launch Pad

Borderless Evangelism (11:19-21)

Purposeful Perseverance (11:22-23)

Christlike Disciple-making (11:24-26, 13:1)

Outward Focus (11:27-30)

Practicing Spiritual Disciplines (12:24, 13:2)

 

2. The Holy Spirit is Mission Control directing God’s Work

Acts 13:1-3

 

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

 

What’s the last thing the Holy Spirit has said to you?

 

Are you obeying His voice?

 

IMB -International Missions Board Report

3700 missionaries on the field

562,865 people heard the Gospel

77,605 New believers

52,586 Baptisms

13,898 New Church plants

11,732 people groups globally - 3,056 unengaged and unreached

 

QUOTE: *Dr. Paul Chitwood the president of our International missions board said this past year, “As we celebrate these victories, we are mindful that the only thing that prevents an even greater harvest is lack of more laborers in the Lord’s fields,” Chitwood said, noting IMB’s senior leaders have set a goal of growing the Southern Baptist international missionary force by 500 new missionaries by 2025. “That would take our total headcount to 4,200, which we believe is the minimum number of missionaries we need to make the maximum impact. “The vision of a great, innumerable multitude from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb demands more of each of us and of every Southern Baptist,” he said.

 

3. The Commander-in-Chief is always enlisting for His Mission

 

I John 4:14 says, “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his son to be the Savior of the World.”

 

QUOTE: “Whatever you’re good at, do it well for the glory of God and do it somewhere strategically for the mission of God.” - JD Greear

 

“As the Father sent me, I am sending you.”’ -John 20:21

 

QUOTE: JD Greear in His book, “Gaining by Losing” says, “Our God is a sending God, and nearly every time he speaks to someone in Scripture he is sending them on a mission…..We think of missionaries as God’s ‘super servants’, Jesus’ navy seals. The word ‘missionary’ is never used in the Bible, however, not even once. That’s because all of God’s people are sent; all of God’s people are commanded to go. There is no ‘special class’ of sent ones. So the question is no longer if we are sent, only where and how. Many of us are waiting on a voice from heaven to tell us what God has already told us in a verse: “as the Father sent me, I am sending you’ (John 20:21). When you have the verse, you don’t need to wait for the voice. “Every believer is sent. You go from mission field to missionary” -JD Greear

 

CLOSING BENEDICTION SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.