Make Disciples – 2019 - 6

Make Disciples – 2019 - 6

Subject – A Holy Spirit Filled Mission’s Church

by Rick Welborne

Matthew 28:16-20 (NLT2)
¹⁶  Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
¹⁷  When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!
¹⁸  Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
¹⁹  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
²⁰  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

--February was such an incredible month for Life Church and for me personally…We were able to emphasize Missions and we were able to bring more prominence to Holy Spirit. Tim Enloe.

--Your pastor started us out by giving glory to God for what we were able to accomplish thru Him in 2018. We again were able to increase the number of missionaries we support by another ten. PTL!

--Ann Marie and Steve McCarthy challenged us through their ministries in dangerous and difficult places. I personally believe if you sit through those services and not give to Missions, something in you has died.

Romans 10:13-15 (NKJV)
¹³  For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."
¹⁴  How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
¹⁵  And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" 

--I get it that not all of us are called to go to the mission field overseas somewhere. What I don’t get is how some in the church (especially members) can actually believe they have no responsibility to get involved.

--These verses in Romans tells us they must be sent to preach the gospel. Our job is to send. If that was not enough, Jesus said Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone. The Great Commission.

--I want you to do me a huge favor if you decide you have no responsibility in helping fulfill the Great Commission through a faith promise. Email me or write me and explain why. Please sign your name.

--Maybe you think, Pastor, I am not comfortable trying to explain to you why I do not want to support Missions through Faith Promises. It may be hard to explain. I am sure it will be.

--Imagine how hard it will be to explain it to me but compare that to trying to explain it to Jesus when we stand before Him on the great Day of Judgment. I wonder if that is why He will have to wipe tears from our eyes. 

--When I come to a meet and greet with our missionaries, when I hear missionaries preach in our church, or when I read their emails…I get fired up about how many souls are coming to Christ.

--Just imagine with me people in India receiving Christ (Ron Sellers), the Frotzheims fitting people with eye glasses in remote areas (40,000 receive Christ), and our college campus missionaries here winning people.

--Let’s figure all 180 missionaries or ministries going in the power of Holy Spirit wherever God has called them and leading thousands to Christ…that floats my boat…you are a part of that.

--All of these souls are accounted to us because of our willingness to send them through the means of Faith Promises…through our sacrificial giving. If you are giving until it hurts, it is really not a sacrifice.

Malachi 1:6-10 (NLT2)
⁶  The LORD of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name! “But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’
⁷  “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. “Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’ “You defile them by saying the altar of the LORD deserves no respect.
⁸  When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
⁹  “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
¹⁰  “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings. 

--I have said it before but let me say it again…If your cable bill (that which represents your entertainment) is more than your Faith Promise (that which represents your sacrifice to God) something is out of line.

--Pastor, aren’t we doing very well compared to previous years with our Faith Promises…Yes! And we thank God for that. What God has laid on our hearts is 100% participation. Unity in God’s House.

1. Faith Promises

--Let me say a great big thank to you who have for years been faithful with your tithing and with Faith Promises. We have widows who make less than $1000 a month who give at least $100 a month to missions. 

--I had one of those widows come up to me so excited to hand me a card she had personally picked out for Life Church. In it was a check for $1000 to help purchase the Hensley property. She was joyfully sacrificial.

2 Corinthians 9:5-8 (NKJV)
⁵  Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.
⁶  But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
⁷  So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
⁸  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 

--Covenant members of Life Church have no excuse for not doing Faith Promises. In our Covenant Member’s Class, I explained to you how we are a mission’s church and how you need to be on board.

--Let me just say it here, if you are a regular attender or if you are simply a born again Christian, if have an obligation to be involved in the Great Commission. 

--You faithful regular attenders need to become covenant members with us…join with us to touch our world before Jesus comes back.

--There are some of you who are members and who are faithful attenders who tithe and who also give to missions but you do not fill out a Faith Promise card. Please do it or call us and let us do it for you!

--Maybe you do not realize this but we can only figure out how many missionaries we can support by the number of Faith Promises we get and what that total ends up being. 

--We are at that point right now where we can pretty much handle the missionaries we support now but to add more missionaries and to help missionaries do projects, we need more of you to help us.

--We have so far 221 FPs which totals $267,165 which is only $5000 less than our total for last year. We have many brand new FPs and we are so thankful for that.

Last Year Faith Promises – 252. This equaled $272,000

This year Faith Promises –221 This equals $267, 165

--There should be a minimal of another 79 FPs. When I prayed I felt there was no reason we could not have 300 Faith Promises. I challenge you to be a part of the 300! Imagine what we could do with you!

2. Holy Spirit and Missions

--Think about this with me…is it any wonder that the person (Tim Enloe) in the A/G and beyond who teaches and promotes Holy Spirit is also very strong in missions. It only makes sense. 

--The greater degree of Holy Spirit in your life, the greater degree of witnessing to others and being involved with missions. Could that be why some are not interested in missions?

--There have been so many times in my life where I was able to lead people to Christ and I could not tell you why I had that opportunity other than Holy Spirit.

--When I was a youth pastor in Covington, La. I was with a family in the middle of the night praying with them that their daughter who overdosed would not die. All my attention was on them and their daughter.

--A male RN walked through the lobby where we were and looked toward us and kept walking. He walked through again and then, again. The fourth time he walked through a miracle happened.

--He walked toward us and immediately fell to his knees and cried out…I need Jesus to forgive me and I need Him in my life right now…we were in shock but we, of course, prayed with Him to receive Jesus.

--I had prayed in the Spirit all the way to the hospital, down the hallway, and into the room where they were. When I got there we prayed and invited Holy Spirit to come…He did!

--He said, I could not resist the power of God and the Spirit of God that kept pulling me toward all of you. He prayed with us that the girl would live and she did. None of us knew this man before. Only answer:

Acts 1:8 (NLT2)
⁸  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere…

--You see, you cannot separate Holy Spirit from missions…He is the power we need to be effective and to have the compassion to do it. 

--The Apostle Peter could not witness to a little girl and even cursed when questioned about his association with Jesus until Holy Spirit came on Him.

Acts 2:14 (NLT2)
¹⁴  Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! 

--What a powerful statement…Then Peter stepped forward. He was totally transformed by His encounter with Holy Spirit. I hope those people he denied Christ in front of were there to hear his message.

3. It is time for you to step forward. 

--Not only did Peter step forward that day but the other eleven apostles stepped forward…to you see the power of unity when we are all filled with Holy Spirit and we all step forward.

--Even doubting Thomas was there…their unity changed the world. Revival swept across the land because Holy Spirit was poured out.

--They all stepped forward to wait for Holy Spirit, they were all filled with Holy Spirit, and they were all used on the day of Pentecost to see 3000 people come to Christ. 

--I hope there is no one here today that would have an attitude of I will not be told what to do with my money in regards to missions or anything else. Your leadership is a gift from God to you:

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NCV)
¹¹  And Christ gave gifts to people—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people.
¹²  Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger.
¹³  This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like a mature person, growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection.

--We are to make disciples…to be a true disciple of Jesus you must be filled with Holy Spirit and you must be a part of sending missionaries all over the world. 

Step Forward!