Pastor Edgar Mayer;
For more sermons and other writings check out pastors homepage: http://www.lca.org.au/pastors/edgarmayer
World
Missions From Here
I think that it would be fair to say
that many of us have struggled with Henry Blackabys Experiencing God course
and that for a number of reasons. We have been familiar with the teaching that
when we put our faith in Jesus Christ and his death on a cross, God is merciful
and forgives us our sins. Faith in Jesus Christ saves us from condemnation and
hell and be assured this is a most precious teaching and in our
circles we have done well to preserve and persevere with this crown jewel of
Bible doctrines. For instance, we have made Ephesians 2:1-9 one of our most
favourite Bible passages. I quote from the Bible:
you were dead in your transgressions and sins
we were by nature objects of
wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us
alive in Christ
it is by grace you have been saved
[Again ] For it is by
grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it
is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.
This is core Bible teaching. We bring
nothing to the table except our sin and unworthiness and the wrath of God on
our lives. But then by virtue of
undeserved love, the glorious riches of Gods grace towards us in Jesus Christ
we receive salvation if only we
want it and put our faith in him. No one
here deserves this. No one here can boast of contributing anything to their
salvation. No one here has it together before God. The same amazing truth
applies to all of us: Everything is given for nothing. Freedom from sin, death
and the devil on account of the shed blood of Jesus Christ eternal life
for people that were
dead in their transgressions maybe even angry and blasphemous toward God.
This is what we know and celebrate and
proclaim and rightly so but then the Experiencing God course comes
along and in effect explains that our most favourite Bible reading includes
another verse. There is one last verse which reads Ephesians 2:10: For
we are Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do. Created for good
works which God prepared in advance for us to do. This last verse now points out that salvation
includes a new life of good works with God. Thus, there is more to being a
Christian than simply knowing about the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. We
have never denied that in theory but in practice and this is true we have neglected teaching on what comes
after salvation the life with God good works that he has prepared for
us.
Consequently, we were stumped at least some of us when Henry Blackaby in the Experiencing God course said: If you
have trouble hearing God speak, you are in trouble at the very heart of your
Christian experience. Were we in
trouble? Was that factual? According to Henry Blackaby we were meant to have
the continuous experience of hearing God speak to us. [We were meant to have
more than simply knowing about some truth concerning Jesus dying on a cross.] We
were meant to have an ongoing revelation of his love toward us and his will
the good works which he prepared in advance for us to do. If that was true and the Bible confirmed that it was true then we had to change. We would have to get
ready for the living God daily encounters and experiences with personal
words from his mouth. There was going to
be a new commitment and renewed expectation that God would speak to us through
daily prayer, Bible reading, circumstances and other Christians.
And yet, this was not only challenging
but also exciting. Henry Blackaby shares in the course how it is for him. He
writes: Reading the Scripture is
an exciting time of anticipation for me. The Spirit of God knows the mind of
God. He knows what God is ready to do in my life. The Spirit of God then begins
to open my understanding
I meditate on a Scripture [original: it]. I try to
immerse myself in the meaning of that verse or passage. I adjust my life to the
truth and, thus, to God. I agree with God and take any actions necessary to
allow God to work in the way he has revealed. Then I alert myself to watch for
ways God may use that truth in my life during the day (p85).
First God speaks and then we can watch
with anticipation and growing excitement how that new revelation will be used
by God to accomplish the good works which he in advance prepared for us to do.
Every day becomes an adventure with God
an experience of an intimate love relationship with a God that not only saves
us but lives with us.
If you havent finished the book or if
you only did certain sections of the Experiencing God book, may I encourage you
to come back to it on your own. You can do this by
yourself and be blessed. I would go even as far as saying that if you only have
one other book next to the Bible that you may read paragraph by paragraph, then
you could do worse than opening the pages of this resource.
This is now my second time that I spent
the better part of a year going through the course chapter by chapter absorbing
as much wisdom as I can and learning the principles of knowing and doing the
will of God in an intimate love relationship with God. The book is 225 pages long
but does not waste words. Every paragraph counts and flows from the practical testimony
of a pastors deepening experience with God over many years. (You may also use the book to mentor another person
in the Christian faith.)
There was another concrete objective in
studying the course as a church congregation. The course was suitable to teach
us about the one-on-one love relationship with God and helped us as individuals
but then the course also expanded our vision in making us see that knowing and
doing the will of God was not a private matter but a matter of Christians
working together in a church in an
organic union which the Bible calls the body of Christ. Furthermore, knowing and doing the will of God was not simply about me
and my local circumstances but in a more expansive way we were to be
instrumental together with others to
execute Gods global will and endeavour to save a lost world.
Thus, doing this course as a church
congregation we were to be drawn into new mission horizons and still another objective in doing this course we were to learn about leadership. Anyone
that can know and discern the will of God is by definition a leader because he
or she can guide others in following the one true leader our God. If you are a small group leader, a father
or a mother, a JFK club teacher, an accountant, a mechanic, whatever you may
be, if you can know and discern the will of God in the things you do, then you
will always be an invaluable member of the body of Christ. Thus, I regard the
Experiencing God course as one of the best leadership resources that I know.
Know the will of God and you know the direction to take.
I come back to the way that the course
was to expand our mission horizons here at Living Grace. Henry Blackaby writes
in an audacious way: Every
congregation is a world missions strategy center
(p184). Anytime God has access to his people, he can touch a world through
that congregation. Every congregation is a world missions
strategy center. God can touch a world through you. You just
need to adjust your life to Gods activity where you are (p184).
Henry
Blackaby backs up these statements by relating a few personal church
experiences. In Vancouver he served as interim pastor of a little church (smaller than ours). A Laotian refugee family had joined the church the week before he came.
He knew that God never added to his body by accident. His responsibility as
pastor was to see what God was doing when he added that family to their church.
Thomas, the father, had been saved in a refugee camp in Thailand. His life was
so gloriously transformed that he wanted all of his Laotian people to know
Jesus. He went all over the community trying to find his Laotian brothers and lead
them to Christ. The first week Thomas led 15 adults to the Lord. The next week
he led 11 to the Lord, and he wept because he felt he was so unfaithful to the
Lord.
In their next church business meeting
Henry Blackaby said: We need to
start a Laotian mission church. Then
he said: We ought to call Thomas as the pastor. Two months later Thomas was invited to a
meeting for ethnic pastors in Saint Louis. Thomas asked whether he could go.
Henry said: Sure. Then he
asked: Can I take some friends with me? Henry didnt know what that meant until he said he wanted to take 18
friends with him. Then he said: Henry, would you mind if I came back
through all the major cities of Canada? My brothers are in these cities. God
wants me to go and lead some of them to the Lord. If God will help me, Ill
find a pastor for them. Then they can have a church in every major city in Canada.
Then Henry Blackaby knew that God was
doing something.
He said: Oh, Thomas, please go! He did. Later that year at Christmas, Laotian people from all across
Canada came to celebrate the new life in Christ they had found. Some time later
Henry went back to Vancouver to visit. He asked about Thomas. The Laotian
government had granted permission to start churches. Thomas returned to Laos and
preached the gospel, and 133 members of his family
came to know the Lord. He started four mission churches. He linked the church
in Vancouver with the Laotian churches with the hearts desire of seeing all
the Laotian people come to know the Lord.
All Henry Blackabys church saw was one
Laotian refugee. What did God see? He saw a people and a whole nation being
drawn to himself (p184-185).
Another pastor shared at a conference:
We began to look for
what God was doing. Someone from Jamaica joined our church and asked, Would
you come and preach in our country. We need the Lord so much. I took some
people with me. We started three churches while we were there. The next month
God added to our church someone from another Caribbean nation. We went there and
started churches. Now we are sponsoring mission churches in three Caribbean
churches
(p186).
Do we get hold of the vision Living Grace as another one of Gods world missions strategy centers? This is not about forcing something by our own strength but getting ready
to see with the eyes of faith what God may want to accomplish through us. One of our local sister congregations the Toowoomba City Church sponsors revival in Fiji and
supports pastors in Japan. Our Lutheran sister congregation Paravista
church in Adelaide is engaged in
Uganda. The Lutheran pastor August Fricke from Gympie is leading more and more
LCA pastors and congregations in mission trips to Thailand, Cambodia,
Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Mongolia and Myanmar. These are mainly grassroots
connections but finances are getting released and the Word of God is preached.
And then these Lutherans from our own denomination come back transformed as
well.
Here at Living Grace with encouragement from the Experiencing God course
the same seems to happen. God can use us
more and more in his desire to save a lost world. Only this year we have
reached out and are reaching out to Toowoomba, Highfields, Wandoan, Kingaroy,
Buderim, Canberra, Hopevale, Latvia, South Africa and only this week I have
received a rather enthusiastic email that a group of Lutherans (including
the pastor) in Portland Victoria are
going to study the But Wait There Is More Holy Spirit small group course with
great anticipation. [Jason & Vanuatu.]
This is all rather mind-boggling and
requires faith but I conclude with the promises of God. Jesus commissioned
twelve peasants if you want: one of
our small groups and said to them
Matthew 28:19-20: Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations
Only twelve (rather eleven) people were given this seemingly impossible
but grand vision of reaching all nations. Jesus again said to his disciples
Acts 1:8:
you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Then this is what in the Bible the church
congregation of Antioch did. They separated Barnabas and Saul and sent them
out. I read from the Bible excerpts from one chapter: Acts 13:
The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy
Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus
They traveled
through the whole island until they came to Paphos
From Paphos, Paul and his
companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia where John left them to return to
Jerusalem. From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch
The word of God spread
throughout the whole region
The Experiencing God course among other objectives makes us ready to be available to God in similar fashion. We have faith
for God-sized assignments together as a church and are not too surprised when knowing and doing the will of God makes
us reach a lost world.
Not everyone among us will do the same
work. Not everyone may have the same assignment of talking to strangers but we
are in this together. There is cooking to be done, the provision of finances,
strategic planning, administration, and so on.
I close with this encouragement from
Jesus who said in another situation what also applies here Mark 10:27: With humans this is impossible, but
not with God; all things are possible with God. You are I we are going to experience this here at Living Grace. Amen.