January 24, 2010 Go More to Your Judea Matthew 28:18-20 & Acts 1:8

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Ira Owen
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1 1 January 24, 2010 Go More to Your Judea Matthew 28:18-20 & Acts 1:8 Please settle into your seats and turn off your cell phones. Please turn in your Bible to Matthew 28. We ll look at verses We call these verses the Great Commission. These verses are a command from Jesus to his original disciples and to us, his current disciples. (18) And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Shortly after Jesus resurrection, he told his disciples to meet him at a certain mountain in Galilee. When Jesus joined his followers at the mountain, he told them to go and make disciples of all nations. In short, Jesus told them to go more. We are Jesus modern-day disciples. Therefore, the Great Commission is for us too. Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. In short, Jesus tells us to go everywhere more. Making disciples includes introducing people to Jesus and teaching those people to observe Jesus' commands. We get our church vision statement from the Great Commission. Here is our vision statement: To lead people into real biblical fellowship and an every-growing relationship with Jesus Christ. That is the essence of going more to make disciples. If we are a Great Commission church, we will be a success in God's eyes. Now, please turn in your Bible to Acts 1:8. Just before Jesus ascended to heaven, he met with his disciples to give last minute instructions to them. What would have been the last thing you would have said, if you were Jesus? Jesus could have said anything, but this is what he chose to say in Verse 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." Jesus told his disciples they would receive power. He wasn't talking about muscular power, spending power, or political power. Jesus said his disciples would receive God's power, because the Holy Spirit would come on them to live in them. A literal translation reads, "You will

2 2 receive the power of the Holy Spirit coming on you." The Greek word translated power is dunamis. From dunamis, we get our word dynamite. The power of the Holy Spirit is mighty, miraculous power. The power that believers receive from the Holy Spirit includes courage, boldness, confidence, insight, ability, and authority. That kind of power lives inside us if we are true believers. Next, Jesus told his disciples how they were to use God's power that would come on them. In a few days, they would use the power to witness. The mighty, miraculous power they would receive would help them tell people about Jesus. Jesus told his disciples they would be his witnesses. They would witness about the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, even in the midst of persecution, abuse, and death. The power of the Holy Spirit would come on them in a mighty way, and they would use the power to witness. The words, You will be my witnesses, were Jesus parting words. Those words were the last instruction Jesus gave to his disciples. In their minds echoed the words, You will be my witnesses. You will be my witnesses. You will be my witnesses. Those words should echo clearly in our minds too. As Christians, we have the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. As Jesus disciples, we must use the power of the Holy Spirit to witness about the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The power of the Holy Spirit has come on us. We must witness. Jesus told his disciples they would witness in places close to home and in distant places. As Jesus disciples, we must witness in places nearby and far away. Jesus told his first century disciples they would go more. As Jesus twenty-first century disciples, we must go more. Last week, we saw that Jesus told his disciples to witness in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit descended at the Feast of Pentecost, while all the disciples were in Jerusalem. The disciples received power to witness in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was their living place. Palm Bay is our living place. Palm Bay is our Jerusalem. How can we be witnesses in our Jerusalem, Palm Bay? We can leave a tract somewhere, use a tract to start a conversation, invite someone to church, support a Palm Bay mission such as Hope Ministries, reach out to people in a Palm Bay organization such as the Greater Palm Bay Senior Center, or seize some other opportunity. The disciples were obedient, by witnessing in their Jerusalem. When a great persecution

3 3 rose after the death of Stephen, many of the disciples ran for their lives to Judea. Jesus had told his disciples to witness in Judea. Now, it was time for them to obey that part of the Great Commission. Witnessing in Judea is our topic for this morning. Judea was the disciples nation. The United States is our Judea, our nation. Allow me to summarize today s teaching before we unpack the specific topic. Here s the summary. The disciples received the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses in Judea. We have received the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses throughout the United States. God gave his power to us, so we can be witnesses in our Judea. God gave his power to you, because he wants you to witness throughout the United States about the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Jesus told us to be witnesses in our Judea. OK, let's unpack the topic of witnessing in our Judea, the United States of America. What are some ways we can fulfill the Great Commission by allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to help us to witness about Jesus throughout the United States? Simply stated, how can we be witnesses for Jesus in the U.S.? How many of you will drive or fly outside of Palm Bay this year? How about outside Brevard County? How about outside Florida? Each of those trips is an opportunity to witness outside of our Jerusalem, Palm Bay to our Judea, the United States. Let's look at several ways we can be witnesses throughout the United States. One way to be a witness to our nation is to 1. Leave or share a tract. We can take tracts with us when we travel to other parts of the U.S. We can leave those tracts in conspicuous places. We can use the tracts to begin brief conversations that end with a request to read and think about the tract. We can use the tracts to begin a conversation that leads to a discussion of spiritual things and a presentation of the gospel message that Jesus died and rose from the grave to forgive the sins of people who believe in him and live for him. By leaving or sharing a tract, we are witnesses everywhere we go in our nation. A second way we can be witnesses in our Judea, the United States is to 2. Tell our families about Jesus. Some of us will travel to visit family members who are not Christ followers. Face-to-face is a better way to tell our families about Jesus than over the phone or by . Our next visit to family members may be the last time we see them. Let's not forfeit the chance to introduce our relatives to Jesus. Let s be prepared. Let's seize the opportunity to share the life-giving message

4 4 of the gospel. Our witness may be what God uses to bring our relatives to eternal life. By telling our families about Jesus, we are witnesses everywhere we go in our nation. A third way we can be witnesses in our Judea, the United States is to 3. Give to the Brevard Baptist Association. One way to have an impact in our county is to put money in the offering plate that passes by us each Sunday. When we give to our church, part of the offering goes to the Brevard Baptist Association. Those offerings are used to share the gospel in dozens of places throughout our county. Through our giving, we can indirectly witness all over Brevard County without ever leaving Palm Bay. As a Southern Baptist Church, we belong to the Brevard Baptist Association. Southern Baptist churches in Brevard County pool our resources to witness to the workers on the cruise ships, coordinate Vacation Bible School evangelism, minister to widows, provide disaster relief, and perform many other Great Commission activities. By giving to the Brevard Baptist Association, we are witnesses throughout our Judea, the United States. A fourth way we can be witnesses in our Judea, the United States is to 4. Give to the Cooperative Program. As a Southern Baptist Church, we belong to the Southern Baptist Convention. Since 1925, Southern Baptist churches across America have given to the Cooperative Program. We pool our resources to accomplish big things. When you give to our church, a part of your offering goes to the Cooperative Program to spread the gospel. The Cooperative Program fulfills the Great Commission in hundreds of ways, and we're a part of each one. We support over 10,000 missionaries. We're the third largest disaster relief organization in America. We've restored over 12,000 inner city homes since We start 68 Bible-based churches every day. We celebrate one baptism every 38 seconds. That's over 800,000 baptisms each year, including 4,000 senior citizens. Annually, we train over 1,000 children's workers and 2,800 college students to share the gospel. The list of Great Commission activities funded by the Cooperative Program goes on and on. By giving to the Cooperative program, we are witnesses throughout our Judea, the United States. A fifth way we can be witnesses in our Judea, the United States is to 5. Give to Southern Baptist Convention mission offerings. We receive four special missions offerings during each calendar year. Each offering di-

5 5 rectly fulfills the Great Commission. By giving to each offering, we become indirect witnesses to lost people who live near us and far away. The Annie Armstrong Easter offering for North American missions will be received the first Sunday in March. The offering supports missionaries and their mission efforts in the U.S. and Canada, including both nations' territories. The Florida Baptist Children s Homes Mother s Day offering will be received the second Sunday in May. Our fourteen children s homes have ministered to abused, neglected, and orphaned children since We take children out of crisis and introduce them to the Savior. The Maguire state missions offering will be received the second Sunday in September. Money from our giving supports church planting, college ministries, evangelism development, and 24 other mission ministries. In addition to these three special offerings that take the gospel to our nation, the Lottie Moon offering for international missions will be received the first Sunday in December. This offering takes the gospel to the ends of the earth. We'll talk about that offering another Sunday. These four offerings are an investment in eternity. Through these offerings, we are indirect missionaries to our Judea, the United States. A sixth way we can be witnesses in our Judea, the United States is to 6. Give directly to missions that have a national impact. Our church supports Jim Johnson with Justapreacherministries. God has called Jim to help the church re-focus her thoughts and energies back to the Lord Jesus. In this day of the church trying fads or programs in hopes of church growth, Jim believes that Jesus meant it when He said that He would build His church. Jim teaches that "it's time that God's people stop seeking a formula, and return to seeking Him." By supporting Jim, we have a witness across America. Our church supports Love Inc., which has a presence nation-wide, including an office in Melbourne. Love Inc. is the short form of the longer name Love In the Name of Christ. Love Inc. helps people in churches help people in need. They mobilize the church to transform lives and communities in the name of Christ. Imagine a person who needs food, financial instruction, and mental health counseling. Love Inc. can point the person to a church or organization that has a food closet, a second church or organization that provides financial instruction, and a third church or organization that offers mental health counseling. By supporting Love Inc., we have a witness in Brevard County and

6 6 across our nation. Our church directly supports missions that have a national impact. Through our offerings, we are indirect missionaries to our nation. By giving directly to missions that have a national impact, we are witnesses throughout our Judea, the United States. A seventh way we can be witnesses in our Judea, the United States is to 7. Be ambassadors for the sanctity of human life. Today, many churches will emphasize the sanctity of human life, as I am doing right now. We'll take a stand against abortion and other ungodly life-ending practices. We'll take a stand for adoption, pre-abortion counseling, and post-abortion forgiveness. God created life. Therefore, life has great value. At Lockmar Baptist Church, we honor our creator and recognize the sanctity of the life he created. We support Pregnancy Resources through the annual Walk for Life. I hope we'll add them to our budget next year. We can be witnesses to our nation by being ambassadors for morality and life. Those are a few of many ways we can fulfill Jesus Great Commission in our Judea, the United States. We have numerous, easy opportunities to be witnesses for Jesus. The all-important question is will we look for and seize those opportunities. Jesus endured torture and died for our sins. Jesus gave eternal life to us. Are we grateful enough to obey his command to be his witnesses in our Judea, the United States? Before we meet next Sunday, will we do something to witness about Jesus? Will we do something this week to obey the Great Commission? Let Jesus words echo in your mind. 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." Please bow your heads.

Missions Survey First Baptist Church Thayer, Missouri

Missions Survey First Baptist Church Thayer, Missouri Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Isaiah 6:8 1. Have you ever