St Theodore's Wattle Park Anglican Church 

St Theodore's

Wattle Park

     
 

  Sermon of the Week

Look up the passage

  17/10/04  
  "How to become a World Christian" Gen 12:1-4
Matt 28:18-20
   By Rev Paul Arnott, State Director Church Missionary Society   
        

     

    If I were to come down to you this morning with a roving mike and ask you to tell me what you believe are God's priorities for his world in October 2004 I'm sure there'd be a variety of answers.
  But the only way I can work out what God wants is to read his written word. And when I do, I discover that God has a passion for the nations of the world. I read recently that all good leaders have a plan and God is the leader of all leaders. From the beginning of creation he's had a salvation plan for the human race.
  When we turn to Genesis we see that God wanted the first human beings to live in close relationship with him. But that they went their own way by trying to live independently of God, which is how the Bible defines sin. God then put into place a plan to bring humanity back into right relationship with him. As we read in Genesis 12 this entailed the good news being taken to the whole earth. God called Abraham to leave his country and relatives and to go to a far away land and promised that if he did he would become the father of a great nation. God made a covenant with him that if he obeyed he'd bless him and make him a blessing to others. The good news is that Abraham obeyed God.
   The nation of Israel was chosen by God to be a channel of his grace and love to a world that had turned its back on him. God kept his hand on his people through thick and thin. He led them out of slavery in Egypt, walked with them in the desert for 40 years. During that time they turned to other gods and built a golden calf to worship instead of giving God their worship and loyalty. Again and again God's people tried to live independently of him and were unfaithful to the marriage vow that had sealed the covenant God had made with them at Sinai. But God never gave up on them or abandoned his plan for their lives, despite their sin and waywardness.
   However, as part of his plan of salvation for all nations, he allowed some terrible things to happen to his people because of their disobedience. In 594 BC the entire nation was taken into captivity in Babylon. While in exile in Babylon God predicted through the prophet Isaiah that the day would come when the Sovereign LORD will come in all his power to rule with awesome strength. He'd feed his flock like a shepherd and carry the lambs in his arms (Isaiah 40.5,11).They were to survive as a people and they were to serve their captors. If faithful God promised they'd be able to return to their land when the 70 year captivity was at an end (Jeremiah 25.11-12; 29.8-14), which is exactly what happened.
   There was nothing especially attractive or special about the people of Israel that made God choose them to be his instrument of salvation to all the nations of the world. He simply chose them and decided that he'd use them as a channel of his salvation to the world. I find this especially helpful when I look at my own life, which is far from perfect, or at the church, which is also far from perfect. God didn't choose us to be part of the church, the new Israel, because of any particular giftedness or qualities we have. In fact the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2.8,9: "You have been saved by grace through faith alone. You cannot take credit for this: it is God's free gift. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we've done so none of us can boast about it." He simply chose us to be his people and promised that his Spirit would indwell us as we trust him as Lord and Saviour of our lives.
   As we know, in the fullness of time, according to the salvation plan of God, the second person of the Trinity came into our world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to pay the price of your sin and mine. The Messiah was a Saviour for all peoples and all nations. The final command of Jesus to his disciples was: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I've commanded you." (Matt 28.18-20). Many churches which are committed to obeying The Great Commission are passive spectators in a sport played by others. However, The Great Commission has never been withdrawn by God and is as much a command to us in the 21st century as it was to them in the 1st century AD.
   Jesus told his disciples that when the Holy Spirit came upon them and they had received power they would be his witnesses – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Act1.8). We too are called to witness to our faith in Christ, here in our local community, in Victoria, around our nation and overseas. There is no such thing as a Christian who's not called to be on mission and to be a witness to their faith in Christ. Our task is to discover how and where God wants us to witness. It may be here in Australia. How are you involved in mission in your local community? How are you involved in world mission? Biblical mission involves both local and world mission. One of the best ways I know to discover its mission possibilities is for a parish to set aside a half day to examine the options. I have to say that from what I've seen over the past two years the needs and the opportunities overseas are great, but so are the ones inside Australia.
   I had the privilege of visiting CMS missionaries in the field in Chile and Argentina last year and in Cambodia and Thailand the year before and each time I was struck by the way God had blessed their obedience to the Great Commission. When we go in obedience to God, when we step out in faith to share the gospel with others, whether overseas or here, God uses our obedience to bless others and us. It's the going that is the key. We talk about people in love having rose-coloured glasses. Well, God has world coloured glasses. He wants us to love people everywhere in the way that he loves them by introducing them to Jesus. He wants people everywhere to be part of his salvation plan for the human race. And he wants us to also have world-coloured glasses. God wants us to be world Christians.
   I believe the Lord is saying to us: "I want you to love the nations of the world and the peoples of those nations as I love them. I want you to yearn for and long for and pray for their salvation as I do. Are you prepared to go to a world that is lost and bring it hope by telling it that I am alive and that I am still changing the lives of human beings?"
   How can you get more involved in mission?
  
  • Pray for the missionaries
  
  • Attend the events like CMS Summer Under The Son or the Seriously Interested in Mission group. If you'd like to know more ask me later
  
  • Become a member and contribute financially to our work. I have new members brochures with me this morning
  
  • But more importantly than anything else be a World Christian who prays for the whole world, both here and there
   At the end of the day the most important thing is to find out where and how God wants us involved in mission

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