Sermon Central
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Essentials Of Mission
Contributed by Romualdo Macam on Sep 24, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: All Christian must involve in missions. Isaiah provides the essentials of mission. Mission will not have substance without true worship of, transforming work of, and team work with God.
ESSENTIALS OF MISSION
(Pastor Ronald Macam)
Proposition: God wants his people to be involved in mission work.
Introduction:
Abraham Lincoln was considered by many as the greatest American president because he liberated many people (Black people) from slavery. Yet Christians are greater than Lincoln because although they are not involved in the physical liberation of people, they are the ones given the responsibility to liberate the people from the bondage of sin. They are mandated by God to rescue the perishing; to bring the people from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light; from death to life; from slavery to freedom; and from troubled life to peaceful life; from miserable to joyful life; and so on. This is all possible because of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Mission work is making the gospel more accessible and understandable to the people so that they are persuaded to become disciples of Jesus Christ. Mission work then, requires necessary understanding to make it clearer in our mind and in our participation of the Great Commission. First,
MISSION DEMONSTRATES TRUE WORSHIP OF GOD (v. 1-3)
Worship is the beginning and end of all mission work. Matt. 28:18-20, the Great Commission, is given by Jesus in the atmosphere of worship (v. 16, 17). In Revelation, a picture of heaven shows people from all nations, tongues, and tribes worship the Lord in His majesty.
What is True worship of God?
A. True worship sees the Lord in His Sovereignty (v.1-3)
Our God is not only the God of Christians. He is also the God of all creatures; the God who rules over his creation. Worship does not only recognize who God is, it is an experience of who He is. When you worship every Sunday, who and what do you see? Do you see the Lord in His majesty and sovereignty? Without our instruments and good song/worship leader; without air-conditioned worship room/hall; without good electronics and electrical systems? Can you still worship the Lord? Where do we focus our eyes on Sunday? On the Lord or on the people/leader who committed mistakes? On God’s plan or church program? On God’s victory or human failure (especially the errors of presider, song leader, musical number, programme, etc.) True worshippers see the Lord in his sovereignty every Sunday worship service.
Illustration : One newly converted Christian heard the challenge for Christians to share the gospel to people wherever they go before he goes to the mountain as a government social worker among people in a remote mountain village. While working with people, he shared the gospel to them and many accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. Because of this, he invited his pastor in the area to minister to the newly converted Christians. During time of bible study, this Christian lead in singing one praise song; he taught them only one Christian song entitled “God loves you.” The lyrics go something like, “The Birds the fly/fishes that swim cared by God, Don’t be anxious God loves you.” The song is fast in tempo. Good for praise song. The pastor thought that they would sing slow song as worship song. To his surprise, the this Christian lead them to sing the same song in slow tempo (Usually in the pastor’s church worship song is slow and praise song is fast; they are usually different songs). So, such singing is unusual for the pastor, but in spite of his uneasiness, he saw the people really in the spirit of worship. He testified later on to his congregation the following Sunday that his worship experience with this mountain people is one of the most meaningful worship experiences that he had. They truly worship by heart, not just by song. True worship sees the Lord in his majesty! Moreover...
B. True worship sees the Lord in Human Situation (v. 1)
What is the significance of Uzziah’s death to Isaiah? Uzziah led Judah to material and economic prosperity during his reign. However, his reign was also characterized by social injustice, religious syncretism, and oppression of the poor. His death, for Isaiah, meant social chaos, political collapse, and uncertain future. When Uzzaiah died, Isaiah said I saw the Lord. He is also saying that in times of difficulty, I saw the Lord; in times of uncertainty, I saw the Lord, in times of seeming hopeless situation, I saw the Lord. God does not want us to see Him only on Sunday. He wants us to see him in human situation; in our everyday living; in our problems and difficulties; in our struggles to endure the trials of life and our faith; in our fight against sin, worldly system, and Satan. God is the God who deals with us in every situation we are in. If we are lonely, we can experience his presence. If we are emotionally down, he gives comfort. If we are in material need, he provides. If we are tempted, he offers grace for victory. If we are discouraged, he gives courage and strength. If we fail, he always gives another chance.
