The Ministry of Missions
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Good morning Church!
Announcements:
Tonight @ 6 pm
we have a notary that has volunteered their time to come to the church tonight at 6 pm to notarize all of the papers for the teens who are going to catching fire.
You and your parents must be present when the paperwork is signed.
Teens, please note that if your paperwork is not signed, notarized, and turned in by this Wed, you will not be able to go on the retreat.
This Tuesday night (11/1/2022)
There will be a women’s fellowship at Applebees in McMinnville @ 5:30 pm.
11/13/2022 - Business Meeting
We have also decided to team up with Lighthouse Christian Camp this winter for their Christmas Missions Project. We will be taking up unwrapped Christmas presents for boys, girls, and even adults. These gifts will all be placed in their gymnasium with price tags. The kids are given so much monopoly money to buy gifts when they arrive, but so much of their money has to be spent on someone else within their family. They are given large trash bags to go around and collect/or buy, the gifts that they want. The kids are also fed in the fellowship hall and then also read the Christmas story by local pastors while there.
All donations are due by Sunday, November 13th. See flyer in foyer for gift ideas.
They also welcome volunteers to help with the children during these events as well, so please let me know if you are interested in serving during this Christmas Missions Project.
11/18-11/20
Catching Fire Youth Retreat
The “Community Thanksgiving Service” will be held here at Dowelltown this year. We know that many are preparing meals for Thanksgiving dinner, so we will be having the service on Tuesday evening, November 22nd at 7 pm.
12/11/2022
Christmas Play during our Sunday School hour.
There will be a youth party afterwards.
12/18/2022
Thanksgiving/Christmas Dinner after the service.
Praise Reports:
We had a wonderful time at our Harvest Festival last night. We had a wonderful turnout and wonderful fellowship. Praise God!!!
Prayer Requests:
Mrs. Dorothy Duggin
October is breast cancer awareness.
those affected by the hurricane.
Jennifer has breast cancer
Darryl Counts has bladder cancer
Harvey/Hale family
Terry’s sister Lucy
Ronnie Taylor lost daughter
Betty McMillan passed.
Tithes
Children’s Church
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart that I might not sin against God! Amen!!!
Open Bibles To: Deuteronomy 16:9-12.
Last week, we started into our last two letters of the acronym that we have been working for almost an entire year now. We are nearing the end of this series, and I feel that it has been a wonderful series. I hope that you have been blessed by this series as much as I have been.
For the remainder of the year, we will be speaking on the topic of Evangelism/Missions.
This is the culmination of everything we have been talking about all year long. We can have unity amongst ourselves, but if we are not inviting the lost to come to Christ, we are not fully fulfilling the Great Commission.
We can be teaching the Word of God faithfully in our church and in our homes, but if we are not telling people about Jesus, we are not completely fulfilling the Great Commission.
We can be giving God the praise and glory that He deserves, but if we are not telling others about a wonderful Savior that loves them and wants to save them, we are not completely living out the Great Commission.
We must have all of those things: Unity, Praise and Teaching. But, if we are not showing the love of God in our hearts to others through missions and telling them about Jesus, we are only fulfilling part of what Jesus commanded us to do.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Context
Context
Remembering the time and setting of where we are in the text helps us to understand the fullness of this text.
They had no way to store food as we do today.
They did not have running water and an abundance of water everywhere as we do today.
They did not have modern-day technology to help them understand the weather forecast as we do today.
They did not have centuries worth of information and a plethora of options when it came to what they would grow as we do today.
They did not have Walmart, TSC, and other stores to go buy plants, seeds, supplies, and other needed items for growing crops as we do today.
They did not have these stores to fall back on during off seasons like we do today either.
They completely relied on the harvest of their crops, as well as God’s blessing during that time, to provide everything they would need to survive for an entire year.
Content
Content
Feast of Weeks (Harvest Festival)(Old Testament)
Have the feast at an appointed time.
They were to count seven weeks from the time they began their harvest.
They were all to count the same time, so that they would all celebrate together.
Go to a place of God’s choosing.
They were to come together as an assembly.
They were to come together to the place of God, which was the temple.
They were to rejoice before the Lord.
Bring Him an offering, based upon His blessing of your harvest.
They were to bring offerings to God, in honor of God, for what He had done all throughout the year.
They trusted fully in God to provide all the necessary ingredients for a good harvest.
Rain and sunshine.
Health to work the fields.
Laborers to work the fields.
Knowledge and wisdom to know how and when to go through the crop tending process.
Bring everyone with you.
They were to bring their children, their servants, and anyone else who was a part of their lives to:
show them how God had richly blessed.
To participate in the praise and worship of an Almighty God.
To show the real reason why their harvest was so bountiful.
Remember when you had nothing.
During their time of praise and worship, they were to remember when they were in bondage in Egypt and had nothing because of their bondage.
They were to compare where they were with where they currently was and give God the glory for all of the increase.
The Transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament.
Notice the time-frame that was given to the believers of the Old Testament as to when they would celebrate the Feast of Weeks (v. 9).
They were to count weeks. 7 weeks equals 49 days. On day 50, they were to celebrate the harvest.
The word “Pentecost” literally means “50”!
By the time the New Testament open up, the Feast of Weeks has become known as the Feast of Pentecost.
It took place exactly 50 days after Passover. It was 50 days after the resurrection of Christ!!!
It was a time of celebration. They celebrated the harvest that God had blessed them with and praised Him for all that He had done.
Feast of Pentecost (New Testament)
Have the Feast at an appointed time.
We have so many things that we put on a calendar and celebrate every year.
Birthdays
Anniversaries
Christmas
Easter
This allows us to have a time, and we should have a time, to put aside for the celebration of the Holy Spirit’s arrival to Earth.
Pentecost was to be a time of celebration for the harvest. It was a time to celebrate God. It was a time to showcase how good God had been to His people by providing for them with fruit for their labor.
In a New Testament Church, this equates to souls for our labor.
We had 5 young souls baptized at church two weeks ago. That is souls for our labor.
Like the crops of the OT, seeing souls saved is a complete work of God.
They had to till the ground, plant the seed, work the ground throughout the growing season, and harvest the crops when they were ripe.
We too must till the ground, plant the spiritual seed, work that ground through prayer and conversation, and be ready for the time of harvest with the Word of God.
Though we must put forth much effort, we must completely rely of God for the harvest.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Go to a place of God’s choosing.
In their time, God chose to dwell within the temple. That was where the presence of God was. Everyone came to the temple to hear the Word of God, to offer their sacrifices unto God, and to be in His presence.
Today, we have the presence of God within us through the His Holy Spirit.
Inviting people to come to the church building to be saved is very OT. Do you see it? They would come to the place of His presence.
Today, we are to take His presence with us unto them. We are to build relationships with these people, showcase God in our lives by the way we operate, and allow them to see His presence in us.
The NT church does not have to come to a place to feel the presence of God, we are to take the presence of God with us as we go out into the world.
Does this mean that we do not have to come to the church?
Absolutely not!
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
We are to come together so that we might feed off of one another.
We are to come together so that we might encourage one another.
This is not just at the church either. This is everywhere we go. If we are meeting at church, it should be Christ focused. If we are meeting at a restaurant, it should be Christ focused. If we are gathering anywhere, we should be sure that we are sharing the grace and love of God in that meeting.
If we do not, we are completely missing out on an opportunity to be a blessing to someone.
If we do not, showcase Christ, we are also quite possible missing out on an opportunity to be the only light of God that some people may ever see.
We are called to be light bearers. We are called to give Him glory. Do not miss out on the opportunity to bless someone’s life with God. It is truly the greatest gift that you could ever give.
Bring Him an offering, based upon His blessing of your harvest.
In the OT, they were to bring an offering unto God. The size of that offering was to be determined by the size of the blessing that God had poured out upon them.
They were to bring an offering, but in the NT, we are to be the offering.
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
We are to offer ourselves up to God. The size of God’s blessing is insurmountable. He has saved us from an eternity of separation from Him. He has completely forgiven every sin in our lives. He has completely changed us from wordly people with worldly desires to a people who love and crave everything Godly.
If the size of our offering is to be determined by the size of His blessing, then we are to give everything. We must completely give our lives to Him. We are to give everything we have to God. Even in doing that, it still does not compare to what God has blessed us with.
Bring everyone with you.
They were commanded to bring everyone with them when they came to worship the Lord.
This is where evangelism really hits home for us. God wants us to showcase His goodness to others. Out neighbors should know how good God has been to us.
Our family members should know how good God has been to us.
Our friends and co-workers should know how good God has been to us.
We are to show and tell everyone how good God is. People need to know that we are willing to put God first.
We don’t go certain places because we have devoted our lives to God.
We don’t get involved in certain relationships because we have devoted our lives to God.
We break relationships with certain people because we have devoted our lives to God and it is simply not spiritually healthy for us to be around those people.
We don’t say certain things, because we have given our mouths to God. We would never want to say something that shames the name of Christ.
We don’t watch certain things on TV because we have given our eyes and ears to God. We would never want to spiritually degrade that which God has consecrated.
God has called us to be a light unto those who dwell in darkness. That is the purpose of our entire lives.
The last thing we want to be found guilty of is being a stumbling block unto someone else.
How horrible to know that someone was on the verge of accepting Jesus, and they decided not to because of something that we said and did.
We cannot shine a light into someone else’s life when we ourselves are living in darkness.
Some people will argue by saying, “What I do in the privacy of my home can not harm others. As long as I am mature enough to know right from wrong and good from bad, then I should be able to watch what I want and simply not do the bad things.”
If this is your thought process, you are wrong!!! Can I say that again? If you think that you are strong enough to constantly fill your mind and heart with evil and then live in the light of God you are spiritually immature.
It is a lie of Satan that you have bought into to believe that. He wants you to think that you are smart enough, strong enough, equipped enough, mature enough and spiritual enough to handle it.
Truth is, you know better. If it is a TV show that you would not watch in the presence of God, you should not be watching it either. If it is a song on the radio that you would not listen to if Jesus was in the car, then you should not be listening to it either. If it is a comment that you feel guilty and ashamed for saying in the presence of Jesus, then you should bite your tongue.
They Holy Spirit in your heart must be your guide. If he does not approve, then you should not act.
Our goal is to be a light unto a dark world. We must do so by equipping ourselves in our idle time for the moments when others are watching.
We are not doing it to gain attention, make a name for ourselves, or to win some kind of contest, but so others can see how good our God is and choose to believe in Him as much as we do.
This is our mission. This should be the focus of our lives. We want those who are lost to find their way, by showing it to them.
Remember when you had nothing.
God told them to think back. Think back when you were in Egypt. Think back when you were in bondage.
When you are tempted to sin, stop and take a moment. Think back to when you were living in fear of God.
Think back to when you did not have a peace about death.
Think back to when you did not have a purpose in life.
Think back to when you had no relationship with God.
Think back to a time before you came to understand God’s love for you.
Think back to a time when you were living in sin, living for the world, and spiritually headed for hell.
Rejoice at your salvation. Rejoice in a loving God who sacrificed everything so that you might be saved.
I hear some people talk of the time before they were saved as if they miss it. I hear them laugh and giggle about the sinful things they used to do, almost is if they had way more fun and got way more enjoyment out of life when they were living in sin than they have ever gotten by being a part of the Church. If carrying the title of Christian feels like a weight on your shoulders, then you have never fully come into the realization of what a Christian is. If being a Christian feels more like work to you than it does a privilege, then you have misunderstood what it means to be a Christian.
If you look back and you can’t tell a difference from then and now. I would encourage you to seriously consider whether or not you really have God in your life.
I am serious. If you are not actively living for God, then you might be believing in something that is not real.
Listen to me, it would not be the first time. You used to believe in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny too, but you finally realized they did not exist.
The last thing I want for any person in this room, is to stand before God on judgment day and hear those dreaded words, “Depart from me for I never knew you.” Do you know Him?
Coming to church is not enough. Being convicted of your lifestyle once a year is not enough. Simply knowing what the Bible says is not enough. Giving yourself a title is not enough. Being a church member is not enough. Wearing a cross around your neck is not enough. Tattooing a Bible verse on your skin is not enough.
I want you to think about your life right now. Are you actively pursuing a relationship with God right now?
Do you believe He is real? As real as the person sitting next to you right now?
Are you consistently reading His word?
Are you praying to Him every single day?
Do you think and dwell about your life and how it could be better suited for Him?
Are you living in the purpose He has called you to?
Do you know what your calling is to serve Him?
Are you serving Him at all?
Do you know what it feels like to be in the presence of an Almighty God?
Have you ever really laid yourself out before the throne room of heaven?
Are you currently convicted of any sin in your life?
Do you confess your sins before a Holy righteous God every day and beg for His forgiveness?
Does it bother you when you sin?
When you are out in the world, do you look for lost souls to pursue?
Do you try to find God in your everyday life?
Do you see Him at work?
Do you see Him at home?
Do you find Him when are riding in your car or when you are shopping at the store?
Are you currently making a spiritual difference in anyone else’s life outside of your own?
Are you currently discipling anyone?
When is the last time you heard from God?
When is the last time you let go of something worldly because of the conviction God placed on your heart?
When is the last time God spoke to you directly and clearly?
Do not let the devil deceive you into believing that you are ok, if you are not. He hates God, and despite what you may believe, he hates you too. He will do whatever it takes to make sure you do not go to heaven, including allowing you to come to church and play at church, as long as you don’t ruffle any spiritual feathers.
Their last commandment was to look back and remember the bondage they were once in. They were then told to rejoice in the freedom they now had.
Can you truly do that today? Can you rejoice in your salvation? Does it truly bring you joy to know that you are eternally secure in God? Do you long for the day when you stand before God, or does it strike fear in your heart?