Church Mission
Part 8 – Where is Where?
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON TIMELINE
·
Introduction
o
Step One: Where do we Begin?
o
The Disciples
o Go and ‘Make’ Disciples
o Get Your Nets
o When, Where & How to Fish
o When is When?
o Where is Where?
INTRODUCTION
Today is Sunday. May 7th, 2023
Over the last couple of months we
have been discussing the Mission and Purpose of the local Church, and Body of
Christ. The instruction from Jesus is for all believers who follow Him, and we
are to live these instructions out as individuals, as households, as local church congregations, as communities and The Body of Christ as
a whole, which is made up of all believers.
We began this series by comparing Luke 5 to Matthew 28, which is the beginning and ending of the ministry of Jesus on Earth,
setting the foundation and stage for disciples to continue His ministry work.
Many times over the years I have had people say to me, “I don’t know
what God’s Will is for me,” to which I respond, “The same as for all who
believe and are called according to His purpose.”
Though it may not always feel easy,
it is very simple.
·
We respond to the call
·
The Lord tells us where
to meet Him
·
He enables us
·
Sends us out to fulfill
His Will
·
Using the gifts and
abilities the Lord endows us with through His Holy Spirit, as well as use the
natural abilities He gave us at birth.
We see this in both Luke 5 as well as Matthew 28.
The Lord called Simon in
Luke, and all the disciples in Matthew.
He told Simon to meet Him
in his boat in Luke, and the disciples to meet Him on a mountain in Matthew.
He told Simon to fish,
and sent him to the deep waters in Luke, and told the disciples to go into all
the world.
This is God’s
Will.
I Timothy 2:3-6 “This is good and acceptable in the sight of
God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full
knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the
witness for this proper time.”
So last week we looked at When is
when? And the importance of God’s Timing.
This week we will examine Where is
where? Because just as important as when, is answering the question of where.
ILLUSTRATION:
I
met this girl at the Genesee Valley Mall in the early 90s. Malls were the place
to be then. We talked, got along great, and she told me to meet her the next
day for lunch where she worked, which was in the mall at the incense kiosk.
The
next day at noon I met her at the incense kiosk. She was there, ready to have
lunch.
Two
important details allowed us to meet for lunch. WHEN, and WHERE.
One
without the other is no good. We must prayerfully consider these things when we
serve the Lord.
We
spoke last week about how important WHEN is. Timing must be God’s timing, or we
may do more harm than good in our attempt of ministering to others.
Think
of it like this.
Your boss tells you to be at
work by 9AM.
You decide to get up early,
get yourself ready, and you are at the fishing hole by 9AM, you may have the
timing right, but the location will more than likely get you in trouble with
your boss.
We
must have both the When and Where correct if we are to please the Lord and obey
His instruction.
Location is just
as important as timing!
The Lord’s Direction is of the Utmost Importance
SCRIPTURE READING (Legacy
Standard Bible)
Acts 21:3b-5
“And when we came in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept
sailing to Syria and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its
cargo. And after looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they
kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. And when our
days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with
wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. After kneeling
down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another.”
TODAY’S MESSAGE
I.
CAN WE QUENCH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS INSTRUCTIONS?
a.
Paul ignored the Holy Spirit
i.
We
read in scripture last week the Lord was trying to direct Paul’s path
ii.
Paul
was blinded by his own will and desires
iii.
Paul
fell pray to his Zealot behavior, his previous-self
iv.
We
must not give in to the old-man, but strive to remain in the new creation
b.
Paul ignored the Holy Spirit speaking through trusted believers
i.
When
Paul “quenched” the Holy Spirit’s instruction the Lord then spoke through
trusted disciples Paul knew
ii.
This
could have been a “confirmation” of the Holy Spirit speaking to Paul, but because Paul ignored the Holy Spirit, this too fell upon
deaf ears.
c.
Paul ignored the Holy Spirit speaking through the prophet Agabus
i.
Acts 2:10-13 “And as we were staying
there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to
us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the
Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who
owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” And when we had heard this, we as well as the
local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul
answered, “What are you doing, crying and breaking my heart? For I am ready not
only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
ii.
Three
times we see the Holy Spirit telling Paul not to go, but Paul ignored the Holy
Spirit and did his will, desiring to be a martyr for the Lord.
iii.
The
Holy Spirit made it clear this was NOT God’s Will
II.
HOW CAN WE BE SURE WE ARE HEARING GOD’S WILL?
a.
In the same way we read Paul ignored it
i.
The
Holy Spirit speaking directly to us
ii.
The
Holy Spirit speaking through trusted disciples
iii.
The
Holy Spirit speaking through trusted prophets
1.
Agabus
is said to be one of the 70 Jesus had sent out in Luke 10:1
2.
So
Paul knew he could trust this man!
b.
How do we hear from God’s Spirit?
i.
Spending
time in the Word
ii.
Spending
time in prayer with the Lord
iii.
Spending
time in meditation of God’s Word
iv.
Spending
time listening for the Lord
v.
Listening
closely to trusted disciples
vi.
Listening
closely to trusted men and women of God
c.
How will you know if it is truly from God?
i.
It will
line up with the Word of God
ii.
It
will line up with what the Spirit is telling you
III.
The importance of Luke 5 and Matthew 28
a.
It is the Lord who calls us, and we must answer
i.
We
read in I Timothy 2
that it is God’s Will that all are saved
ii.
Acts 17:30 “God is now declaring to
men that all people everywhere should repent”
iii.
So, God
wants EVERYONE to repent and be saved!
iv.
Luke 13:5
“Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
v.
We
must properly respond to His call for salvation by repenting!
1. We must confess we are sinners and need Jesus
2. We must repent, turn away from living in sin
3. Then He will forgive us
vi.
This
is the proper response, the Lord is calling all, you, right now.
vii.
Respond
to His call!
b.
We seek the Lord’s timing
i.
There
is timing in His call
1.
Listen
to His timing
c.
We seek the Lord’s direction
i.
There
is a direction where you need to go
ii.
Listen
to His direction!
God’s Direction is the ONLY Direction we need to
be Concerned with!
CONCLUSION
Whether you are reading Luke 5 or Matthew 28, the Lord calls His disciples, and they
answer that call.
He gives them direction, and that is where they travel to.
I first heard the Lord calling me when I was about 12 or 13, but I
ignored the call. As I grew, I heard Him calling various times in my life, and
I ignored Him, until a point where I created for myself my own type of religion
with God.
I conformed His Word and Will in the
shape of my own, in essence making myself my God. I did what I wanted, and
when, and justified myself with misused and displaced verses, completely out of
context with no theological meaning or understanding.
Then, at the age of 28, I broke down
and submitted to the Lord, for real. It was in that moment I finally answered
the call appropriately, and I was saved.
The Lord then gave me direction, and
I followed. He led me to a trustworthy disciple. Then to a church. Then into bible
classes. Then to the position of Elder in the Baptist church. Then to Interim
pastor in that Baptist church. Now, twenty years later, I am still preaching
and teaching God’s Word as He called me to do.
The most exciting part of answering
the call, getting the when and where, is the last step, which is the How. This
is where you get to use, not only all of the natural abilities God endowed you
with from birth, but the Spiritual Gifts the Holy Spirit gives for you to
accomplish your calling.
Next week: But How?
NEXT WEEK
Part 9 – But How?
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