I'm sure you can hear my accent. I tell people, we live in Bristol, UK, and so they think we should have a West Country accent.
I tell them it is a West Country accent, but it's a lot further west, near that westernmost outpost of Irish civilization called San Francisco.
That's where we're from. So I don't think my accent is difficult to understand in any event.
But my wife and I, we work for Africa Inland Mission. I'm the international director, and our international office is in Bristol, so that's why we're there.
But we worked for about 20 years in Africa, 10 years in a little place called Comoro Islands down by Madagascar, five years in another country called Djibouti.
And probably most of you have never heard of Djibouti, but you can look it up and find it. It really is there.
And then another few years in another country in the Horn of Africa that I don't like to say out loud just for security issues.
But we were actually kicked out of that country after a few years, and since then we've been in Bristol with our organization.
We have two grown-up daughters and one grandson.
I didn't have an option of showing pictures, but I would show you a whole bunch of pictures of him, but that gets kind of irritating after a while, doesn't it?
I was in South Korea not long ago, and I offered to show pictures of my grandson to some Korean people, and they said,
oh, in Korea you have to pay people to show pictures of your grandchildren, so I didn't want to do that.
I'm going to talk with you about sending and what it means and the privilege of sending missionaries.
I understand sometimes we don't like to use the word missionary anymore.
In the U.K., that's not a popular word because it just brings up all these colonial notions and, you know,
these old guys in their pith helmets marching through the jungle.
So people almost have abandoned that word.
I still use it, but if you prefer another word, they call them global partners in the U.K.
or international workers or this and that, but I still stick with the old term.
So, missionaries is what I'm going to talk about and the particular aspect of sending missionaries.
My text is John chapter 20, starting in verse 19.
It's only four or five verses I'll read, 19 through 23.
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week,
the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of Jesus,
Jesus came and stood among them and said to them,
Peace be with you.
And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them, Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, even so I'm sending you.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive the sins of any, they're forgiven them.
If you will withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.
Serving as senders.
That is a particular privilege and prerogative of a local church like yours.
Serving as sending.
Serving as senders.
Usually when I preach in the UK or the United States,
there's these apocryphal stories of people supporting their missionaries in Africa
by sending them used tea bags.
And that might seem like a funny story.
You might think that's one of these Christian legends that goes around the churches.
But I've actually met at least two missionaries who used to receive used tea bags
that were sent to them in Africa.
So that apocryphal story is really true.
But that's not what I'm going to talk about today.
I'm not going to talk about what you might think are the usual themes of sending,
sending and supporting, how we need to pray for our missionaries,
how we need to financially support them, how we need to visit them,
welcome them, emotionally support them, send them used tea bags
or your old worn-out clothes or whatever.
You know all these things.
And you don't need me to stand here and say that you should pray for
and financially support and encourage any missionaries that you know.
I think that's pretty obvious and you know it.
The thing that I want to talk about today is the privilege of sending.
Before I do, let's stop just a minute and dwell on the wonder of this passage.
We read through this.
We're probably pretty used to it.
We read through these resurrection stories.
But let's just stop for a minute.
These are the disciples.
It's Sunday.
It's the day Jesus has risen from the dead.
A couple of them have apparently seen Him already.
But they're in this room.
The door's locked.
They're still confused.
They're still very scared.
And all of a sudden, Jesus comes and stands among them.
I just stopped for a minute and thought about that this morning as I was preparing.
It's like, Jesus is there standing among them.
This man they've seen crucified three days before is now standing among them.
Think about how amazing that would have been for the people in that room.
All of a sudden, Jesus is there.
Jesus is truly risen from the dead and Jesus is standing here among us.
Think how amazing it would be if Jesus was standing here among us.
And I know He is here by the Holy Spirit.
But what if Jesus was physically standing here among us?
That would blow our minds, wouldn't it?
And think of these disciples who'd seen Him killed three days before,
who don't have the benefits that we have.
And all of a sudden, Jesus is there.
Jesus is risen from the dead.
Jesus is with us.
What an amazing moment that must have been for those disciples.
Jesus stood among them.
He rose from the dead.
And He pronounced peace.
Not just once, twice to their troubled souls.
And I know, we get used to this again.
Peace be upon you.
Be a shalom in the Arabs.
Salam alaikum.
Whatever you want to say.
But Jesus speaking peace.
Peace.
Jesus still speaks peace to troubled souls.
He showed them the ultimate proof of His grace and love.
He says, look at my hands.
Look at my side.
What greater proof could they have?
And what greater proof could we have of the grace and love of Jesus Christ?
He died for me.
He breathes on them.
He says, receive the Holy Spirit.
He talks about forgiveness of sins.
And somehow gives them even power and authority to forgive sins.
Think of the comfort, peace, and the grace the disciples would have received at that moment.
And that very same comfort, grace, and peace is available to us.
Jesus is present with His people.
Offering forgiveness.
Offering proof of His love.
Offering peace.
Offering power of the Holy Spirit.
Offering peace.
Yeah.
Today, just as much as He was there in that upper room.
If we're talking about mission sending,
I need to say something that you all know,
but it seems like it needs to be said anyway.
Your country for years has been a destination for missionaries,
not a country that was sending missionaries.
And there are still, I met a number of missionaries that are here
helping in your church planting efforts in this country.
But at the same time, you are now the ones bringing the gospel to Ireland
and beyond Ireland.
Your country was a destination for missionaries.
Now your country is starting to become a sender of missionaries.
And can we just stop and appreciate what an amazing thing that is?
What an amazing thing that the Lord is doing in this country.
I think of, in just looking out at you and thinking of the people I met
this last weekend of the multicultural nature of Ireland now.
And that's another thing that God has done,
how God has blessed Ireland by bringing in believers from other nations.
Same thing in the UK.
You know this.
The biggest churches in London, they're all African churches.
Incredible thing.
I was at a conference a couple months ago,
and the man who was standing up in front, he said,
he was a British man, he said,
we prayed for revival,
and we didn't recognize it when it came,
because its face was black.
Wow.
That was quite a statement.
The Lord is using Africans,
Latin Americans,
Asians,
to bring renewal and revival
to our churches.
Ireland was a valley of dry bones,
not so many years ago,
as far as the gospel was concerned.
And the Lord is breathing life
into this country.
You may be small,
but you are here.
You know the gospel,
you know the territory,
you know the people,
you know the language,
you know the culture,
you have the word of God,
you have the Holy Spirit,
you have the church,
everything is here in you,
in your churches,
to bring the gospel
to Caragalline,
to Cork,
to Ireland,
to Europe,
to North Africa,
to the ends of the earth.
Everything is here
in your churches already.
I use the word missionaries,
and let me just define that term
before I go any further.
There are a lot of ways,
again,
to define this,
but here's what I'm talking about
when I talk about a missionary.
With few exceptions,
missionaries are people
who are sent.
They're sent ones.
It's the Latin derivation
of the Greek word apostolos,
from which we get apostle.
An apostle is a sent one.
Okay,
literally that's what it means.
Okay,
so missionary in the same sense.
Missionaries are people
who were sent,
usually cross-culturally,
to perform or support
apostolic ministry
of preaching,
teaching,
building the church
of Jesus Christ.
Okay,
that's what we consider
missionaries to be.
There are a great variety
of ways to do this.
And people who are
in support roles,
not front-line preaching
and teaching,
they're critical
to this effort.
But fundamentally,
that's what mission
and missionaries are.
People who were sent
to advance the kingdom of God,
bringing the gospel
to people in places
where there is no gospel.
Okay,
just so you know
when I'm talking about missions,
what I'm talking about.
Okay,
let's go back to the text
for just a minute.
John 20,
19 through 23.
What I want to emphasize
is the importance
and privilege
of sending.
What happened
on that first Easter?
Who did Jesus see?
As far as I can
piece together the events,
or who saw Jesus
more likely?
First of all,
it was Mary Magdalene,
as far as I can tell.
And then there were
some other women.
Okay,
so Mary,
the women,
and then Peter.
He met Peter.
And then the two
on the Emmaus Road.
Those are the ones
that are listed.
And then these 12.
So,
this is the day
he rose from the dead.
One of the first meetings,
the first meeting
he has
with all the disciples
together.
What does he say?
He says,
Peace be upon you.
Then he says,
Peace be upon you.
He says that twice.
And then,
what's the very next thing
out of his mouth?
As the Father
has sent me,
so I am sending you.
Think about the things
he could have said
after those initial
greetings of peace.
Peace be upon you.
Think about the things
he could have said.
He could have said,
Why weren't you there
with the women?
Why weren't you there
at the tomb?
Why didn't you believe
what I said?
There's all kinds of things
he could have said.
He didn't say those things.
He said,
The Father has sent me,
so I am sending you.
Think of the importance
of sending.
That that's almost
the first thing
that comes out
of Jesus' mouth
the first time
he sees his disciples.
Sending is a big deal.
God sent Noah.
God sent Abraham.
God sent Moses.
God sent the prophets.
Finally, God sent Jesus.
It's a huge priority
for our God
that he sends.
Third thing he says to them,
I am risen.
Peace be upon you.
Let's get going.
And the sending
that started that day
continues until this day.
Don't believe that was
exclusively for the disciples.
It comes down to us.
As the Father has sent me,
so I send you.
Sending is a joint enterprise
of the Father,
the Son,
the Holy Spirit,
and the church.
Think about that for a minute.
Our little churches,
and even if it's some huge
American mega church,
it's still really very small
compared to the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
Our little churches,
we have the privilege
of partnering
with the Holy Trinity
in sending missionaries.
It is a high privilege
that the Lord gives
to his church.
Who is sent?
I believe that all of us
are sent.
Acts 1.8,
You receive power
when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you.
You be my witnesses
in Jerusalem,
Judea, Samaria,
the ends of the earth.
We'll talk about that
a little bit later.
How does he send?
As the Father has sent me,
so I'm sending you.
Okay,
what exactly does that mean?
I like it.
It's one of these
little preacher tricks
because there's some alliteration.
There's three M's in there.
Okay,
there's the means.
He sends by the power
of the Holy Spirit.
He breathes on them,
says receive the Holy Spirit.
There's the message,
forgiveness of sins.
Again,
Luke 24,
Luke 24, 47,
repentance and forgiveness
of sins should be proclaimed
in his name
to all nations
beginning from Jerusalem.
By the way,
there's a great commission
in all four Gospels
and in the book of Acts.
Right?
It's not just in Matthew.
We're talking about
John's commission here,
but there's one in each
of the Gospels.
Yeah.
And,
okay,
the means,
the message,
and finally,
the method,
as the Father has sent me,
so I send you.
Now,
with those first two,
the means,
meaning the Holy Spirit,
the message,
forgiveness of sins,
there's some little
difficult things
to understand
in this text
about when did they
actually receive
the Holy Spirit.
Was it there?
Was it the day of Pentecost?
What does it mean
that the disciples
have the authority
to forgive sins
or retain sins?
I'm not going to go into those.
I'm going to let
your capable pastor
talk about
those with you
another day.
That's the privilege
of a visiting speaker.
He gets to jump over
the difficult things
and leave it for the pastor.
He doesn't have that privilege.
I want to focus
on the method.
The method,
as the Father has sent me,
so I send you.
So,
if we want to know
how Jesus sends the disciples,
we need to look at
how the Father sent Jesus.
So,
how did the Father
send Jesus?
Again,
I don't believe
this is just for
foreign missionaries
like myself.
I believe this is
for all of us.
First of all,
he sent Jesus
as the sacrifice.
We know that.
He does not send us
to be a sacrifice
for sins.
The sacrifice of Christ
was done once for all.
But he does send us
to lay down our lives
for the advance
of the kingdom of God.
Paul says in Philippians 2.7,
he says,
even if I'm being poured out
like a drink offering
on the sacrifice
and service
of your faith,
I rejoice
and share my joy
with you all.
Paul said,
I'm willing to be poured out
like that wine
they used to pour
on the sacrifices
in the Old Testament.
Paul said,
that's what I'm willing
to be poured out
for the church
and for the gospel.
That's the way
the Father sent Jesus.
That's the way
Jesus sends us.
He sends,
the Father sent Jesus
to serve.
Matthew 20,
26 through 28,
Son of Man
did not come
to be served,
but to serve.
Give his life
as a ransom for many.
Again,
our call is not
to give our lives
as a ransom.
No,
done once and for all.
But our call certainly
is to follow
the leading of our Master
and not to want
to be served
but to serve.
He came as a sacrifice.
He came as a servant.
He also came to suffer.
And we know
that Jesus was sent
for the purpose
of the cross.
And as the Father
sent Jesus,
so Jesus sends us.
Paul said this
in Colossians 1, 24,
I rejoice in my sufferings
for your sake
and in my flesh
I'm filling up
what is lacking
in Christ's afflictions.
Now that's a difficult
verse as well
and it certainly
doesn't mean
that Paul is adding
something to the atonement.
No.
Once for all,
but Paul is
willing to suffer
to bring the message
of that atonement
to the Colossians
and to other communities
in the Mediterranean.
So,
sacrifice,
suffering,
service
are the ways
the Father sent
the Son.
They're ways
the Son
sends the disciples.
Christ was sent
in humility.
Philippians chapter 2,
you know these verses.
He was in the form
of God.
He did not count
equality with God
a thing to be grasped
but emptied himself
taking the form
of a servant
born in the likeness
of men
found in human form.
He humbled himself
by becoming obedient
to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
We keep coming back
to these same things,
these same themes.
They're all linked together
but if the Lord
is sending us out,
it must be
as the Father
sent the Son
in humility.
There's no place
for arrogance
in the people
that the Lord
sends out.
Whether to a local
community here,
in Ireland,
whether to the ends
of the earth,
we go out in humility
following the example
of our Lord.
Incarnationally,
the Father sent
the Son
incarnationally.
That's one of those
big theological words.
Incarnation,
it means He became
flesh.
Okay?
He became one of us.
Stop for a minute
and think about that.
that God the Father
sent His Son.
What an amazing thing
that God the Father
sent His own Son.
He sent a person.
He didn't just send
a message.
He sent a person.
And now,
He continues
to send people.
We send money
to missions?
That's a good thing.
Please keep doing that.
We do media ministries.
I'm involved
in an online ministry,
sharing my faith
with people
in different countries.
That's wonderful.
Keep doing that.
We do short-term things.
Send for two weeks.
That's great.
Okay?
But the model
that we're trying
to follow
is this incarnational model.
As the Father
sent the Son,
so the Son sends us.
We become incarnate
among the peoples
that we're trying
to reach out to.
Okay?
That involves
learning their language.
That involves
understanding their culture.
That involves
living together with them,
sharing life with them
as much as we can.
And that's true in Ireland
as well as is true
in Djibouti
and the Comorra Islands.
Okay?
It's true for all of us.
We are incarnational ministers
as Jesus was incarnated to us.
There's probably other things,
but those are some ideas
about how the Father
sent Jesus.
Now let's look at
a little bit more
about how Jesus sends us.
That's how the Father sent.
How does Jesus send?
First of all,
it's Jesus who sends.
And that's an...
I know I keep saying
obvious things to you,
but sometimes
these obvious things
are good to repeat.
Jesus sends people.
He may use individuals
who hear His call.
He may use churches
who confirm that call,
but it's Jesus who sends.
Better,
it's the Trinity
that sends,
especially the Holy Spirit.
But the Holy Trinity,
the Holy Spirit,
sends through the church.
Okay?
The church called to listen
to the voice of God,
identify people
that the Lord is calling,
commission,
and send,
and train those people.
people.
In AIM,
we are a mission-sending agency.
We send missionaries,
but we do not send anybody
by ourselves.
We only send people
that the church has identified,
that have received their call
through the church,
and that the church has sent to us.
We send them together.
We don't want people
who self-call.
We want people
whose call is confirmed
by the church.
We talk a lot in AIM
about the missionary call.
What does that mean?
Somebody's called
to be a missionary.
And there's mystery here
in the Scripture,
but there's only a couple things
that are really clear.
One is that the missionary call
comes from the Holy Spirit,
and the second is
that it comes
through the church,
or it's confirmed
and acted upon
by the local church.
So,
I'm referring to Acts chapter 13 here,
where the Holy Spirit
says to the church,
set apart Saul and Barnabas
for the work
that I have called them to.
And that is by far
the clearest teaching
we have anywhere in the Scripture
about a missionary call.
You can see the critical role
that the local church
plays in that.
The call comes
from the Spirit,
but it comes
through the church,
and it's confirmed
and acted upon
by the church.
I believe every church
needs to take this
very seriously.
And we take it seriously
in AIM too.
We do not want people
whose churches
will not confirm
their call to missions.
Okay.
Jesus sends into all the world,
again, Acts 1.8,
Be my witnesses,
Jerusalem,
Judea,
Samaria,
the end of the earth.
What does that mean for us?
Okay.
I don't think it's too hard.
Jerusalem is here.
This is your Jerusalem.
Judea,
same culture,
different location.
So,
a village
that's not far away,
a village in Ireland,
same culture,
needs the gospel,
you send people to there.
That's your Judea.
Okay.
Same culture,
a little bit further away.
Samaria,
now we're talking
cross-cultural,
but similar location.
So,
now we're talking about
reaching out to
Muslim people of Ireland,
Pakistanis,
Indians,
Somali people.
Okay.
Nearby location,
cross-cultural,
Samaria.
Ends of the earth,
still the ends of the earth.
Okay.
Anywhere beyond there.
Okay.
I think this is relevant
to us today,
not just to the disciples,
Jerusalem,
Judea,
Samaria,
and the ends of the earth.
And everybody needs to ask,
where's the Lord sending me?
I believe we're all sent.
Okay.
Where is the Lord sending you?
Most of us,
He's sending us to our friends
and neighbors
and family.
But for some of us,
there's another call
to go further on than that.
But all of us are sent
and all of us
should be asking the Lord,
where are you sending me
for the sake of the gospel?
Who do you want me
to be sharing the gospel with?
Jesus sends as salt and light.
Okay.
Jesus talks about
you're the salt of the earth.
You're the light of the world.
It's not always easy to understand
what He's talking about there.
I believe He's talking about
our physical presence
and the Christian lifestyle
that we live
in terms of salt and light.
We do good works
in the name of Jesus.
We are the salt of the earth.
We're the light of the world.
Okay.
He sends us His salt and light,
but He also sends us
as witnesses.
Okay.
You'll be my witnesses,
Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,
the ends of the earth.
A witness has to talk, right?
If you're called into court
as a witness for something
and you just sit there,
smile at people,
be really nice to people,
I don't think that's going to work, right?
You have to say something
if you're a witness.
My American friends,
they love this quote
that's attributed
to St. Francis of Assisi
who supposedly said,
preach the gospel at all times.
When necessary, use words.
Very clever quote, right?
And Americans,
my American friends
really like that
because that kind of
gets them off the hook
of actually saying something.
They feel like just
their good works
and their love
and this and that,
that's a sufficient witness.
The problem with that
is there's absolutely no proof
that the good saint
ever said that
and it's entirely inconsistent
with his life as well.
Whatever you think
about Francis of Assisi,
he ended his life in Egypt
trying to share the gospel
with Muslims down there.
Okay.
So it's not consistent
with his life
or anything he did
and it's not biblical either.
We do need to live
good and honorable lives
among non-believers
and show them the truth
through our good works.
We also need to be witnesses.
He sends in the power
of the Holy Spirit.
He doesn't send us alone.
Behold, I'm with you always
even to the end of the age.
You'll receive power
when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you.
He sends,
but he goes with his people.
Finally, he sends us
his sheep among wolves.
And I don't think
that needs much definition.
Sheep among wolves
is not in a particularly
secure or safe position,
but still he sends.
And it's striking to me
to think that
he sends us
his sheep among wolves
knowing that we're sheep
and knowing that we're
going to wolves.
But still he sends.
How do the Father
and Jesus not send?
We could come up
with a big list of these.
But they don't send us
with promises of comfort,
security, peace,
and easy results.
It's quite the opposite.
He says,
you'll be sheep among wolves.
He said,
you'll be hated by all men
for my sake.
And that's true
in Ireland
or in the ends of the earth.
Just a few comments
about the role
of the church as well.
What is the role
of a local church
in this mission sending?
First of all,
the church needs
to mobilize.
Okay?
The church needs
to mobilize
her people.
Yeah.
Need to mobilize
the whole church
for outreach,
especially local outreach
in a place like Ireland
where you have
only a very small
percentage of the population
being Bible-believing Christians.
I think that's still
got to be a very
high priority
for a church
here in Ireland.
Yeah.
Mobilize for local
ministry and outreach.
In a sense,
you're still living
in the midst
of a mission field here.
It's an obvious
priority for the church.
All are sent,
but not all are sent
to the ends
of the earth.
If the whole church
shows up in Africa
someday and says,
here we are,
I expect that will
create some problems
for us,
so please don't do that.
But at the same time,
everybody can be involved
in local outreach
and a few people
to go to Judea,
Samaria,
the ends of the earth.
The ends of the earth
is not for everybody.
And in AIM,
we want some
of your best people.
Think about Saul
and Barnabas
sent out from
the church of Antioch.
There were five leaders
listed there
among whom were
Saul and Barnabas.
and the Holy Spirit
said,
take these two.
Maybe your best
two guys
set them apart
for the work
I've called you to.
Very difficult
for small local churches
to do that.
But I believe
that's what the Lord
would have.
The ends of the earth
is not for everybody.
Church needs to define
what mission is.
the Lord
has a particular call
for different churches.
Okay?
And the church
needs to think
in advance
what is the Lord
calling us to do
and what are the
kinds of people
we want to send
and where do we
want to send them to?
Okay?
It's good for the church
to identify
those priorities
in advance.
Otherwise,
when someone comes
and says,
I feel like God's
calling me to do
this or this,
then if the church
hasn't defined
those things in advance,
then they're going to be
in a difficult situation.
Okay?
If the church
has defined,
for instance,
that we believe
that the kind of
missionaries
we want to send
are to
unreached people groups,
Muslim people groups,
people in places
where there is no gospel,
then when someone
comes along
and says that,
I feel like I need
to be a missionary
to Australia
to save the coral reefs
of Australia,
then the church
can say,
that's a nice thing.
And go ahead,
bless you,
but we're not
going to get involved
with that.
You know,
I said exactly
those words
in our church
in Bristol,
and one of the elders
came up to me
afterwards,
and he said,
there is someone
in our church
whose idea of mission
is close enough
to what you said
that they will think
that we put you up
to saying that.
It's like,
really?
But,
yeah,
I mean,
people have different
notions about mission.
So then I changed it,
and I started talking
about save the koalas
of Australia
or something like that,
but I don't know,
koalas are cute.
Maybe someone
would want to do that.
It defined in advance
what mission is.
Church needs to pray,
and I believed,
or Jesus told us,
pray to the Lord
of harvest
to send workers
into his harvest field.
I think the church
needs to ask the Lord,
Lord,
send workers
to your harvest field,
send Irish people
into the harvest field,
and send people
from this church.
I think that's a prayer
that tremendously
honors the Lord,
and I believe the Lord
will answer that prayer.
Lord,
send people
from this church,
from this community
of churches,
and Lord,
send some of our
best people.
That's a scary prayer,
maybe.
I think it's a prayer
that honors the Lord,
and he's likely
to answer.
And then the church
needs to listen
to the Lord,
and under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit,
identify those people
who have that call
of the Lord
in their lives,
just like the church
in Acts was able to do.
Church needs to prepare
and train missionaries.
Okay.
We have all kinds,
there's all kinds
of specialized
missionary training programs
we can refer you to,
and that's a good thing.
But the most important skills
of mission
are disciple making,
following Christ
as a disciple
and making other disciples,
serving,
bringing the gospel
to people outside the church,
learning the Word of God,
learning to teach
the Word of God,
learning to pray.
Those are all things
that can and should be taught
right here in this church.
You don't have to send someone
to a specialized
missionary training program
to learn those kind of things.
And those are the kind of people
who have learned those things
in their local churches,
who've learned to serve
in their local churches,
who've learned to share
the gospel out
in their own community.
Those are the kind of people
that we want to send
to Africa.
Last thing,
church needs to build up
the base.
Acts 20, 28,
be on guard for yourselves
and all the flock.
Okay.
Good statement
that Paul makes
to the Ephesian elders.
Yeah, guard the flock.
Savage wolves are coming.
They'll ravage the flock.
But he says,
first be on guard
for yourselves.
Before we can shepherd others,
we need to shepherd ourselves.
And before we can effectively
send missionaries,
we need to build up,
or so I shouldn't say before,
but as we think about
sending missionaries,
we need to watch
our own churches.
In particular,
I think there's two things
that churches need to do.
And especially
in this modern era
when the truth
is facing challenges
from every side.
The church needs,
first of all,
to maintain true doctrine.
And again,
I'm saying obvious things
to you.
But I think there's three things,
especially,
as far as missions is concerned,
the church needs to hold on to
with all its might.
One is the authority
of the Word of God.
The second is the eternal destiny,
whether saved or lost,
of every man and woman.
And the third is
the uniqueness of salvation
through Jesus Christ.
Authority of the Word of God,
eternal destiny
of every man and woman,
uniqueness of salvation
in Jesus Christ.
If you lose any one
of those things,
then why would anyone bother
being a missionary?
If we lose the authority
of the Word of God,
if we stop believing
that every man and woman
is either going to go
to heaven or hell,
and that the only way
to go to heaven
is through Jesus Christ,
if we stop believing
any one of those three things,
then why are we going
to do mission?
And why are we even
going to reach out
to our neighbors?
Why even bother?
Church needs to hold on
to those things
with all her might.
And then the last thing
is just promoting evangelism
here in your own community.
Don't make any distinction
between local outreach
and international
or global outreach.
A church that has a heart
for reaching out
to its neighbors
will also have a heart
to send its people
to North Africa,
bring the gospel
to those people.
A church that has a heart
for North Africa,
by God's grace,
will have a heart
for reaching out
to local people.
So in promoting
local outreach,
church is promoting
mission as well.
Local church plays
a crucial role
in the kingdom of God.
You are God's
chosen instrument.
Even a little bitty
church like you.
Sorry, you might think,
who's this American guy
telling us we're
a little bitty church?
But God's grace,
you're here.
It's wonderful.
You're God's chosen
instrument to establish
the kingdom
here in this country
and abroad.
What a responsibility.
What an honor
it is for the church.
What a blessing
for the church
and what rewards
God will give
to the church
that's faithful in this.
Amen.
You might say,
well, do we have
to do this?
No.
You don't have
to do it.
You don't have
to send anybody.
Your salvation
doesn't depend on it.
You don't have
to do it.
But I read
something written
by a man named
Robertson McQuilkin
a few years ago.
He was a seminary
professor,
or he was the head
of a seminary
in the United States.
And his wife
was ill
with advanced
Alzheimer's disease
and kept getting
worse and worse
and finally he realized
he was going to need
just to step down
from his position
and take care
of his wife.
So he did.
And he took care
of her for five years.
And when she died,
then he came back
to leading the seminary.
But he wrote
a little short pamphlet
called Living by Vows
and talked about
the journey
that he went
through in caring
for his wife,
stepping down
from his position
in order to care
for his wife.
And he said this,
he said that a lot
of people come to me
and they say,
oh, I'm so sorry
that you have
to do this.
McQuilkin always said,
he said,
I don't have to.
I get to.
And it's the same
for the church.
We don't have
to do this.
You really don't.
But we get to do it.
Sending is a privilege
the Lord gives
to a local church.
Let's pray.
Thank you, Father,
for your goodness.
Thank you for the privilege
you give to your church.
Thank you for this great plan
that you have accomplished
in building your church.
Jesus Christ
built this church,
each local manifestation
of it.
Thank you for these
brothers and sisters
that are here.
Thank you for your church
in this area of Ireland.
We praise you, Lord.
You are building
your church here.
And I pray for the
brothers and sisters here
that you would
encourage them.
You would encourage them
that you would send them
out into the community
and into other communities
cross-culturally
here in Ireland
and you would send
a few of these people
to the ends of the earth.
Lord, that you would
identify who those people are.
We know you have
your people everywhere.
Please make that clear
to the church leaders here.
And let us all,
wherever we are,
embrace this privilege
of sending.
We're thankful
for Jesus Christ.
We're thankful
that he sends us.
We're thankful
for the peace
that he speaks to us.
We're thankful
for the grace
that you give us
in Jesus Christ.
And we pray in his name.
Amen.