I am sending you, 30th August 2020

[Music] good morning everyone welcome to victoria baptist church's online church at home service you're all very welcome this morning we're continuing to look at our theme of the i am sayings that jesus uh used throughout the gospel of john and this morning we're focusing on his words that as the father sent me so i'm sending you he's sending us into all the world to preach good news to all creation so this morning let's think about where he's going to be sending you let's pray heavenly father thank you that you so loved the world you sent your only son jesus christ to the world to save us from our sins to save us from ourselves to save us from the consequences and effects of our own silly choices and wrong decisions lord we want to turn to you and we want to proclaim this good news of salvation to all the world whether that's to our neighbour or our friends or our work colleagues or whether you send us to the uttermost parts of the earth we thank you that you are with us you've promised to never leave us or forsake us and you are sending us to go and be your representatives so as we worship you this morning help us to enter into your presence with joy and with security and with great rejoicing knowing that you never leave us alone amen so let's spend a few moments worshiping with some songs that focus on the greatness of god and why we would want to proclaim that message to the world [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] my teeth [Music] who is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] jesus [Music] everyone needs compassion [Music] the kindness of the savior [Music] is [Music] so take me as you find me all my fears and failures i feel my life again i give my life to follow everything i'm believing [Music] savior [Music] he is he rose and conquered the great [Music] jesus [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] he is he rose and conquered the great [Music] jesus [Music] jesus conquered the grave he rose and conquered the grave jesus christ so here we are at victoria baptist church out on the balcony on a sunny day and i have george ebdy here with me who's going to tell us a little bit about his forthcoming mission trip so thanks for being here george first of all tell us where you're going and who with so i'm going to be going to uh cagando in uganda it's a village based around a hospital over there it's a mission hospital and uh i'll be going over there with gary pickett and some other boys from the brighton battalion off boys brigade boys yes okay so when are you going uh how long's the trip uh hopefully we'll be leaving uh the 7th of august next year and then coming back on the 21st uh because of who knows because of the coronavirus indeed a couple of weeks and um what will you be doing whilst you're out there so hopefully we'll be able to um redecorate their classrooms because they do not have the resources over there and uh hopefully we'll be doing some food work making bags up or food for the elderly and for anyone else because it is difficult over there um also we'll be uh visiting the the children with hiv because um gary said we're the only people that um you know they see really and because they get pushed aside in society and just other bits and bobs we can do to um help out there so really practical hands-on and relational yes exactly that's great so what excites you most about mission it's uganda i mean it's africa it's fantastic i've never been there before but yeah i just love to do it and also mission just you're going out there to spread god's word to the people out there so it's a fantastic thing and helping them out fantastic so sharing god's love in a very practical way yeah is there anything you're a bit nervous about or worried about i mean like i say it is africa i've never been there before um like malaria and things like that all these tablets that you need to take but um there are hazards and things that obviously can go wrong but um we'll see we'll see and it's even hotter than this lovely sunny day but we'll be praying for your protection and all that sort of thing as your church family we're obviously going to really support you and get behind you in this trip but you've been asked to raise some funds to take with you as a practical financial blessing to the project so what sort of thing might you do to raise some funds for that well i did have in mind cake sales and car washes but of course with the coronavirus who knows what's going on so anything that can get like you know any pennies really so hire a george hire a george for the day and yes get send him to uganda you need your lawns mode or car washed at home george will come and do that for a contribution yes so what do you think you all contribute to the team and the work out there so yeah um gary said he can trust me and things like that so that was yeah i'm ready to do that and i'm ready to do anything really and um i've got these cooking still skills and things like that um uh but yeah i can do you know i'm physically able to do anything which i'm so glad for um so yeah i'm just hopefully i can do something and you'll bless them with your unique personality and character yes and these practical things so that's brilliant so george what do you hope to gain from or learn through the experience of mission yeah i just hope that um i will be able to understand what their situation is and i just want to be there and soak it all in and then i want to do i want to do something about it um after i've done it and i just i know god's got a plan for me so we'll see how it all goes so it might be the start of a call to to even greater things yeah yeah yeah of course well brilliant thank you so much george and it's clear to see your heart your passion your love to feed people physically and spiritually and nothing beats going and hugging somebody if they're the least the last or the lost in society so bless you and we look forward to hearing more thank you very much thanks there are two readings from the new testament this morning the first is from the gospel of john and this is about jesus's post-resurrection appearances on the evening of that first day of the week when the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the jews jesus came and stood among them and said peace be with you after he said this he showed them his hands and his side and the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the lord again jesus said peace be with you as the father has sent me so i am sending you and with that he breathed on them and said receive the holy spirit if you forgive anyone his sins they're forgiven and if you do not forgive them they are not forgiven so that's part of jesus's great commission to his disciples receive the holy spirit and go as the father sent himself and this is also recorded in matthew's gospel matthew chapter 28. then the 11 disciples went to galilee to the mountain where jesus had told them to go when they saw him they worshipped him but some doubted then jesus came to them and said all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit and teaching them to obey everything i have commanded you and surely i am with you always even to the very end of the age [Music] there is power in his name for the stone [Music] jesus christ jesus christ [Music] glory [Music] we will rise [Music] forever jesus christ [Music] is christ in glory [Music] raised the same power [Music] the great cannot [Music] once and for all [Music] is [Music] once and for all [Music] glory raised [Music] jesus christ [Music] our focus this morning is going to be on the key verse of john chapter 20 and verse 21. jesus says as the father has sent me i am sending you and we're looking at this i am statement i am sending you with the six questions that we're taught to use as we grow up and learn how to uh analyze things we're going to use those questions of who what when where why and to spoil the alliteration how so we're going to think about these words with these questions addressing each of them as we go so firstly the question of who who is it that's doing the sending here jesus said i am sending you remember when god revealed himself to moses through the burning bush moses said who shall i say you are who's who's sending me who's doing the sending and god said tell them i am who i am it's the i am that is sending you so i am is the title that god chose to to reveal himself through and jesus here by saying i am doing this i am sending you i am equipping you is identifying himself as god himself the eternal one he's the one who declared himself to be the bread of life and the light of the world the good shepherd the true vine all these words all these familiar things that we've been looking at over the last few weeks so that's who's doing the sending but who's being sent in the gospel we read clearly that it's the the apostles the disciples that jesus reveals himself to as soon as he's resurrected think about that moment at the tomb on the first morning of the resurrection who did he send he sent mary magdalene first he said go and tell your brothers go and tell the disciples that i'm alive and then those disciples in turn went out and told others jesus is alive and started to proclaim the good news anyone who is a follower of jesus christ is included in this sending that we often call the great commission when jesus is praying for his disciples before his death on the cross he prays to the father and he says god father as you sent me into the world now i'm sending them into the world jesus's disciples by nature follow him so this includes all of us all of christ's disciples throughout all time you and me he's sending us his message and his commission hasn't changed because jesus is the same yesterday today and forever the plan hasn't changed and thirdly in this section who are we sent to well to everybody jesus with the first disciples first sent them to israel and then to the gentiles and then to the ends of the earth so we're sent to everybody jew or gentile young or old male or female black or white powerful or vulnerable able or disabled the rich and the poor we're sent to the oppressed and the abused to the sick and the vulnerable mike pilavacci of soul survivor and many others use this little phrase about being sent to the least the last and the lost so that's to whom we're sent so moving on to the next question what are the disciples what are you and i sent to do it's interesting that it seems to have become a thing that that being a christian means being a nice person but there are plenty of nice people who don't believe in jesus christ too so there must be something else to this commissioning and we're not sent to be goody goodies who spoil everybody's fun we're not said to be religious nutters who are weird and removed from people in the world who aren't like us no not at all we're to go to whoever we're to we're to share this good news of the kingdom with our brothers and sisters with with our neighbor with our friends with people at work with people at school and college i'm going to read a few verses firstly from luke chapter when when jesus had called the twelve together he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of god and to heal the sick and he told them take nothing for the journey no staff or bag or money or extra shirt or bread whenever you enter a place stay there until you leave that town and if the people don't welcome you leave that town and shake the dust off your feet so they went out from village to village proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere matthew in his gospel says when jesus called the twelve disciples to himself he gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness and later on he said as you go preach the kingdom of heaven is near heal the sick raise the dead cleanse those with leprosy drive out demons freely you've received so freely give so we're being sent to do this same work to heal to preach to do works of justice to help the sick to help the needy to speak up for the oppressed even to cast out demons and raise the dead i'm not sure when that got watered down to what christians should do is be nice and be good and be well behaved listen it's it's great it's nice to be nice and it's really good to be good but we're born for a purpose and that purpose is to proclaim and to bring the kingdom of heaven it's interesting in my years in ministry many people have asked me many times how do i know what god's will for my life is this this is god's will for your life this is god's will for my life that we make a difference in the world that we proclaim the kingdom of heaven is near and we demonstrate how jesus brings heaven to earth our faith is not just about where you go when you die it's about having life here and now abundant life a life full of experience with god and of god so this is what we are sent to do so when are we supposed to do this when are we supposed to go into all the world do we have to wait till we're thoroughly equipped and feel ready and feel prepared and and feel like we know all the answers not at all it's just as well because none of us will ever be at that point think about the scriptures that say uh there are times where people said to jesus well i want to follow you jesus but first let me sort out my house and my finances or jesus just let me bury my parents first and then i'll come and serve you and jesus says look just don't worry about those things just come and follow me just get on with it just put your hand to the plow and don't look back there were lots of excuses that that people made to postpone their involvement with doing god's will and and following jesus and putting all these things into action but what we do notice is that in that passage in john chapter 20 jesus breathed the breath of life the holy spirit into and onto his disciples it was a little taste of what was to come a few weeks later on the day of pentecost when the holy spirit was poured out on many many people and they were enabled to preach the good news in their own languages and different languages but we're called to go as soon as we receive the holy spirit and maybe you haven't received the holy spirit yet maybe you're not sure about this whole christian thing all i can recommend is that you get born of the spirit of god born from born from above born again you might say but get filled with the spirit of god and as soon as you know that you've encountered him you'll want to go and share what's happened to you anyway and you'll get excited about fulfilling this great commission we're supposed to be always ready to share the good news peter says always be prepared to have an answer to give to everyone who asks for the reason that you have this hope within you and he adds but do this with gentleness and respect as we go proclaiming the good news we we do so not because we want to ram our faith down somebody else's throat but because we want to introduce them to our savior and our lord gently and respectfully paul writes to young pastor timothy preach the word in season and out of season correct review can encourage people with great patience and careful instruction so there's never really a wrong time to share about jesus but we just need to be sensitive and aware of when that might be appropriate and paul also says be wise in the way you act towards outsiders make the most of every opportunity every opportunity to do what to do good for people to provide works of justice and to share the kingdom of god where where are we being sent remember in matthew chapter 10 and verses 7 to 8 jesus said to his disciples as you go preach the kingdom of heaven is near and that little phrase as you go suggests that there's already a dynamic that you're already going somewhere now i don't know where you go on a regular basis you might go down to the shops you might go to work or a place of education wherever you're going as you go that's where you're to send where you're to share the good news jesus also said the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few so ask the lord of the harvest to send the workers into that harvest field your harvest field might just be your neighbors your street might be eastbourne it might be uganda wherever god puts you as you go there that's where you're called to share mark says go into all the world and preach to all creation go to the ends of the earth if you can but go across the road if that's where you go i went to the ends of the earth in new zealand there was nobody there except penguins so i preached to them too so why is jesus sending us why on earth would jesus choose a ragamuffin bunch of people like you and me well he does so because we're it now we are his body on the earth we're his arms and his legs we're his his mouth his voice and we're his heart he sent us to communicate and to continue his work of the kingdom what is that work well jesus spells it out in luke chapter four when he stands and reads from the gospel of isaiah jesus is sending us because of this reason the spirit of the lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor to proclaim good news he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind to set the oppressed free and to proclaim the year of the lord's favor that's why he sends you and me because he wants this work to continue we're here to point people to god the father to make jesus known and to bring that good news we're the plan we're it god commissions us to preach heal proclaim to make disciples baptizing them in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit and to teach them to obey everything that jesus taught remember in john chapter 15 after john after jesus has declared i am the true vine he says that i'm the vine and you're the branches remain in me and he says i've appointed you to go and bear fruit eternal fruit fruit that will last that's the fruit of making more disciples the fruit of more salvation and the way to bear that fruit is for us to remain closely linked to the vine so that's what we're here for when you ask what on earth am i doing here for heaven's sake that's why we're on the earth and finally our last question how how are we to go how are we sent how does this work well jesus said as the father sent me i am sending you. so that means that jesus has sent you and i in the same way the father sent him with love with purpose with intention and with all his power and authority at the end of matthew's gospel jesus reminds us that all authority was given to him by god and he passes that on to us and indeed again luke chapter 9 says he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases and to preach the kingdom of god we also read that jesus sent out 72 at a time in pairs to every place he was about to go why does he send people out in pairs well to pray for one another to back one another up to give each other confidence to share we're to go sacrificially sometimes it will cost us something to go and share the good news jesus warned i'm sending you out like sheep amongst wolves and matthew adds therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves or as gently as doves so the way in which we go is we go wisely we go with power and authority we go sacrificially but we're also to go full of joy and empowered by the holy spirit and we go never ever alone jesus promised i am with you to the very end of the age that's an i am in matthew 28 i am with you always so that's an encouraging place for us to wrap up in a moment we're going to listen to a song and look at the lyrics of we must go it's a great song by tim hughes and it's it's a song that i love because many times god has used that song to remind me of the call he's put on my life and really all of our lives as followers of jesus it's based on micah chapter 6 and verse 8 which says what does the lord require of you to act justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with your god so let's use this song as a basis of our reflection on what we've heard today and allow ourselves to be really moved and challenged by it god of justice [Music] [Music] jesus you have called us freely we've received now freely we will give we must go [Music] live [Music] we must [Music] [Music] loving mercy [Music] you have shown us what you require freely we've received now freely we will give we must [Music] we must go stepping forward [Music] fill us up and send us out fill us up and send us out fill us up send us out lord [Music] fill us up and send us out fill us up and send us out fill us [Music] out up fill us up [Music] so [Music] we must we go [Music] broken [Music] stand beside the broken [Music] move us into action we must go [Music] [Music] as we've reflected on those words about acting justly doing what's right walking humbly with our god and going going to the people who need him let's spend a few moments in prayer both for the world for those who are lost and need to find jesus as savior and lord and for those known to us who need a touch of his peace his empowering and his presence heavenly father we ask that we would reflect you in this world that you would enable and empower us to act justly to love mercy to walk humbly with you and to go wherever you may send us whether it's to be a friend to someone next door or whether it's to the uttermost parts of the earth father we pray for those we know and love who don't yet know you and we ask that you would show yourself to them as the way the truth and the life and father we pause for a moment to pray for those that we know in our church family amongst our social circles our families and friends who just need to know the peace of god and the power of the holy spirit at work in their lives lord whether it's for healing for restoration for cleansing for whatever purpose and we pray lord that you would meet them at their point of need amen so be blessed this week don't forget to hire a george when you need one and go in peace to love and serve the lord in the name of jesus christ amen [Music] you

Channel: Victoria Baptist Church

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Length: 44min 2sec (2642 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 30 2020