Missions Paul

A tiger can be kept in captivity but that doesn’t mean it is domesticated. Being ‘tamed’ which is usually done by way of abuse, fear or starvation is what the enemy of our soul desires to do to the Church. However …!

This morning I believe and can see signs of the Church filled and brimming over with the Holy Spirit.

That we might go on being filled to the brim, continually, being completely taken over, letting every aspect of our life being invaded and ultimately possessed by the Holy Spirit without ceasing, ongoing, keeping on, being filled again and again, every single day.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15 v 13

We need hope.

This is a real, tangible, definite, guaranteed hope in Jesus. Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) said this of hope, it “expects the coming of something new. Hope looks toward that which is not yet. Hope reaches out beyond ourselves to a power beyond us. Hope is grounded in the historic Christ-event … and as a dramatic affirmation that there is light on the other side of darkness.” (in Seeds of Hope)

We need joy.

Some people say you can have joy without being happy, but it usually those who are not smiling. Some people say their joy is deep down inside, but what good is a light that doesn’t shine?

Nothing satisfies, renews and re-energises like the joy of the Lord! How can we fight the battles of the Lord if we are downbeat? How can we be a light to the world if we do not shine? How can we set the world on fire if we are cold and dry? We need joy in our hearts. A joyless life is an un-revived life. Am I heartless to talk about joy when the world suffers? No, I have found the church with the most joy is the church that is suffering. I have wept with Christians in many despicable places of the world only to see their smile return because God is with them.

We need peace.

Jesus Christ is peace. Nothing else. No one else. Don’t look to the world. You can gain the whole world and you won’t have peace if you don’t have Jesus. Your friends may want the very best for you. They want you married, they want you to have children, they want you to have a great job, a house, a car, they want you to be happy, to travel, to experience, to be well. They are good friends. But they don’t understand that the best wish they could ever have for you is that you have Jesus Christ. To have Jesus is to have peace.

So, Come, Holy Spirit!

So here is why we should reach out and accept one another … because Jesus did it.

What Jesus did when He came was to bring good news of God’s love to all people no matter who they were.

So here is why we should love and not dismiss people who are different to us … because Jesus did it.

What Jesus did when He came was to step into one people group and show them their ancestral paths pointed to the Messiah and these ancient prophecies included more than themselves.

So here is why we should reach out to different tribes … because everyone needs the Messiah to save them from sin.

“For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jewson behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.”(2 Samuel 22:50) Again, it says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”(Deuteronomy 32:43) And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him.”(Psalm 117:1) And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.” (Isaiah 11:10)

(Romans 15: 8-12)

Jesus reached into the Jewish culture to fulfil all their promises of a Messiah and then held out a hand to those outside of their faith, to the Gentiles.

In doing so we see God being praised amongst the Gentiles; these people are called to rejoice; the Gentiles rejoice; and they will live with hope.

Why is Paul quoting these Old Testament Scriptures? He is trying to prove that it was always God’s intent to include the Gentiles. It was never only about the Jew. Jesus accepted all. So must we. It is never only about us. The demands of the saved must never outweigh those who are yet to know Jesus.

I stood before the congregation as I do most Sundays. Before me were people of different ages; different careers present and past; different scales of wealth; different nationalities, skin colour, gender, and even sexual identity. A young lady not used to public speaking came to the front to bring a presentation promoting an organisation. She was very nervous but despite the obvious struggle of a nervous stammer did very well and received an applause as she went back to her seat with people nearby saying, ‘well done’ with nods of encouragement. The Pastor came to the pulpit and called for the people to give to a local youth mission, ‘even though we may not benefit from this mission ourselves’. This church doesn’t have lots of youth but the ones they do have are catered for very well. This Church has a rich diversity of people, you wouldn’t necessarily arrange for this particular group of people to do life together because their difference is seen in a variety of ways. However, they all had been praising God using the same songs; they all would share the same refreshments after the service; they all shared the same Pastor and Eldership team who served them keeping this church in alignment with the Word and Spirit as much as they could. But they all were different. Some old in the faith but very young in spirit; some young in the faith but brow-beaten by life’s difficulties.

It wasn’t without tension. Most places like this have their ‘strong’ and the ‘weak’, as the Apostle Paul has spoken of in the previous chapter. It wasn’t perfect but it was a safe place.

During an appeal for anyone to come forward for prayer a man who had come to church for the first time that morning walked to the front. He committed his life to Jesus and everyone whooped and applauded bringing more praise to God.

As the man went back to his seat I said to him publicly these words: “Welcome to this Church. This is a safe place for you. You will grow as a disciple of Christ in this community.” Why was I so sure?

I was in a Church that understood these words, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans‬ ‭15:7‬ ‭

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15 v 5-6)

I don’t know who you are nor what has gone on in your life but I do know He is here with you.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement(Romans 15 v 5)

Where God is everything changes. He takes the bitter and makes them sweet; He takes the broken and heals their hearts; He picks up the fallen; He energises the tired; He cleanses the stained; He revives faith; He refreshes anointing; He renews His relationships; He encourages what is not there to be there.

Can you go again? Yes! Can you believe again? Yes!

He believes in you far more than you do. He is always speaking well of you before you have even done anything of merit. Your actions don’t bring His praise, you do, without doing anything.

He encourages you to change your position, to get up when you have been knocked down.

He encourages you to get ready and to have another go.

He encourages you to look again at His appointment of you for this world, you are chosen.

He encourages you to begin to serve Him where you are right now, to serve Him is to serve others.

He encourages you to lay your own agenda of what your life should be or what others expect and to live it out for Him alone.

How do I know this and how does He give this sort of encouragement?

In part it is the cry of our hearts in the place of solitude sat with an open Bible. In its fullest form it is a life of the consistent cry of our hearts with an open Bible where only He hears. It takes years to live this out but it can start today with a simple cry and a sure belief that “God gives endurance and encouragement”(Romans 15 v 5)

I am praying for my ministers that I serve this morning. I think of one in hospital with cancer; one battling cancer; one about to go in for surgery; another battling mental health; another getting help for the emotional abusive treatment they received; the list goes on; and we haven’t looked at those in the pews yet. Nor gone overseas to our brothers and sisters facing terrible situations every day of their lives.

I am comforted with the truth that God gives endurance to get through the most difficult seasons of life.

May the God who gives endurance… Romans 15 v 5

The inner battles within that are conquered are often greater victories than some public display of success. People never just give up. They gave up behind the smiles and laughter a long time ago. No matter how resilient you are if you are not continually being empowered by Christ then you will fade.

The word endurance is the English translation of Hupomone. This Greek word the Apostle uses doesn’t mean to ‘pull your socks up’ or to ‘keep smiling’ under duress. It is rather a conquering patience with anything that life can throw at us knowing that God will always turn even evil into good!           

It is always too soon to give up because there is always God!

23^rd June 1978, 9 missionaries and their 4 children went through hell on earth.

Today, Elim UK and Elim Zimbabwe remembers it’s missionaries who were terribly murdered in the Vumba, Southern Rhodesia.
Peter and Sandra McCann, Philip and Joy…Wendy Hamilton-White… Philip and Suzanne Evans and Rebecca…Catherine Picken…Roy and Joyce Lynne and Pamela Grace…Mary Fisher.
They are an inspiration who with the great cloud of witnesses cheer us on who are here today. They fell to the ground but their act propelled others into a life of service in missions. They fell to the ground not because of God or an evil spirit, it was man who did this. But their life or their impact didn’t end on the ground. They fell to the ground but it wasn’t because they gave up but it was because God gave them the endurance to not give up.

“May the God who gives endurance …” (Romans 15 v 5)

Here are some of the things our missionaries wrote in letters before that night:

Philip and Suzanne Evans: 1976: “The situation here is, of course, disturbing, but once all the public arrangements and safeguards have been made, all we can do is to redeem the time for the Lord. In some ways it’s more necessary than ever that there should be a Christian witness in this country.”

Mary Fisher; the night before the attack sang her favourite song, “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.”

Lynn, Roy and Joyce: 1978: “They are praying very hard for peace, meanwhile I think we must be faithful and one never knows when the fire will ignite and we too will be in revival.”

Peter and Sandra McCann: 13^th January 1977: “These are not easy times and they are likely to get worse: we could leave anytime but not them. It seems so much remains to be done here, and so little time for us left – but only eternity will tell the tale of fruit born and nurtured in the hearts of our people… Don’t get the idea that we are losing hope, because that is far from true. Our hope is in God, and we have no reason to fear the devises of man.”

Catherine Picken: Jan 1976: “We want the whole area to hear the gospel message. It has been a joy to see God moving.”

Wendy White: April 1978: “In some places the real Christians are being strengthened in the face of persecution (as are very few real disciples of Christ Jesus have also been strengthened here in the school), but very few ‘stand’ when asked to denounce the Name of Jesus at the point of a gun. (Would we?)… ‘Though you slay me, I WILL TRUST you , Lord’ – I said it aloud (though there were no one there to hear me) and a few hours later, when I was determined to praise through and was offering the sacrifice of praise – suddenly Jesus was there with me, and my heart was warmed and lightened and full of praise.”

Amazing attitudes! Were they extraordinary people? No they were ordinary people with an extraordinary God who gave them endurance. He still does.

Two days ago I took myself off to Costa with my Bible and notebook. I was in between meetings, I just had 1 hour but I was in need of God. Do you know what I mean? Those times when we just need His help. We need Him all the time but there are those moments when the ache in our hearts, the longing of our spirit for the Holy Spirit to refresh and renew us. I began reading verse 3, how Paul quoted the Messianic Psalm 69 to show that not even Jesus demanded the use of his rights, so we shouldn’t either. I then read this next verse:

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” (Romans 15 v 4)

And I saw it again….the influence of the Bible. Why does Paul keep referring back to the Old Testament? (It was his Bible, the Spirit was using him and others to write the New Testament).

It is because even today the Spirit uses the Bible to cause us to endure and to be encouraged. It is the testimony of my life.

Remember how Jesus in the most excruciating unbelievable traumatic of times, hanging on the cross, quoted these words:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

Why did Jesus say what he said? It is because as he went through hell the power of the Word of God held him. Just as he had done on many occasions where he would quote one verse from an Old Testament passage and the lesson wasn’t in what he quoted but the rest of the passage that he had been silent on. He endured because of the Scriptures.

What was Jesus saying? Maybe this:

“Though I feel abandoned and am going through hell, I still trust Him. And I know later in this Psalm that I am quoting, a Psalm that speaks of me, that vindication will come after the suffering.”

God’s written Word is at the centre of the cross.

Psalm 22, the Messianic Psalm, was in the mind of Christ. He was being held together by the Word.

Maybe someone today is going through their own personal hell or you know someone who is. Let the Bible speak at these times. Memorise, meditate and speak it out. Jesus needed the Word and so do we.

The Costa was a refreshing place for me as I saw once again that for my endurance and encouragement, I need the Bible.

We don’t have to think of what benefits us first; we don’t have to please ourselves without thought of others; we don’t have to live our lives the way we want to; we can choose to be different; we can choose to be like Jesus.

“We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbours for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” (Romans 15 v 1-4)

Jesus with all of his power, titles, position and rights gave them all up. What did he get in return? Insult after insult. Paul quotes Psalm 69 which was used in the gospels to describe the suffering that Jesus went through. We don’t know, but perhaps the ‘weak’ were throwing ‘insults’ at the strong?

The point is this that even though we might want to demand our rights to disputable matters, if Jesus could lay himself down, then we should follow his lead.

In concluding his teaching to who he describes as strong and weak Christians, Paul says to the strong that they should not impose what they believe and practice on those who don’t at that time have the same faith as them.

“So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Romans 14 v 22-23)

Church is not a group of people who all agree on matters that are largely unimportant. Neither is it a community where a part are trying to convince the other part to be more like them. Paul is in the strong camp, he has understood the freedom of the Spirit and the work of Christ’s forgiveness.

We live in a world which preaches rights. Though these are certainly important. Within the Church the gospel is that anyone has the right to act and speak so long as they have one understanding eye on others who may not hold that position without condescension or judgment on either side. Let’s pray that this is the case in the church we are part of.