Sermon Tone Analysis

*Date:*      18th March 2007                                                                    (Sunday AM)                                                                       *Ref:* A0298

*Place:     Kambah P.S.*

*Title: The Supreme Task*

*Text:        *& Acts 1:4-8

 

*Illust:     *Awesome conference, lots of powerful anointed preaching, yet the highlight is as it always is, Thursday & Friday night.

Every Friday night, we plant churches into the nation, every Thursday night – Churches planted into the nations of the world.

– Thursday night, awesome night, something about the planting of churches into nations beyond our own that fires the imagination & the spirit.

See couples laying aside the comforts of home to go into all the world.

There are a number of mottos that could be used at such a time but one I want to give you this AM is this “The supreme task of the church is the evangelisation of the world”

!

I.                   The World

!! A.               World Vision

i.                 Reading an interesting book, “A City Vision All Leaders Must Have” lots of interesting ideas for reaching & being focussed on the city.

BUT as I am reading this, I can’t help but sense that this is too narrow a focus.

– When God so loved, He loved the */“world”/*

ii.

By nature we are parochial, people, provincial in our outlook and narrow minded in our vision of our own importance – Rivalry between WA & East Coast, Sydney & Melbourne, Suburb v suburb.

Your neighbourhood ~/ street.

– we are so easily focussed in on our own little piece of dirt

iii.

I think it was not by accident that Jesus used these words “lift up your eyes” when exhorting His disciples to see that souls are desperate for salvation.

John 4:34-35 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and /then/ comes the harvest’?

Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

(NKJV)

iv.

In a plane your vision is restricted to an airport precinct, as you take off & climb higher you start to see more of the suburbs around the airport, then the whole city, then even towns beyond.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is giving people the chance to go into space.

– look down on whole continents.

~~ When Jesus looks down on the world, He doesn’t just see your street or even Australia, He sees the whole earth laid out before Him.

!! B.               Staggering Numbers

i.

I want you to think with me about the scale of the task before us.

If God is concerned with numbers then Aust with only 20m people is barely a blip on the radar.

– Indonesia, 245m  Malaysia, 25m Sth Africa, 44m– Philippines, 89m Vietnam.

84m, India 1bn China, 1.3bn

         Acts 16:9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night.

A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

(NKJV)

ii.

Can you hear the Macedonian Cry, can you hear the cry of the lost.

We are not playing games we are talking about people’s eternal destiny.

And while much of the Church world is about naming & claiming your blessing, your new car, your promotion.

Millions stumble over the edge into the pit of hell.

iii.

Will this generation be judged because we failed to heed the call, & you were more concerned about your own toys & desires?

– May it not be said of you or I. – Lift Up your eyes off of yourself focus them on the World.

“The supreme task of the church is the evangelisation of the *world*”

!

II.

Supreme

!! A.               Priority

i.

The word /Supreme/ – What does it mean?

~~ highest in excellence or achievement; sovereign, dominant exercising influence or control – talking about the *number 1* priority.

“The *supreme* task of the church is the evangelisation of the world”

ii.

A word of warning, A teaching known as “Kingdom Now” is becoming very prominent, In short it is basically an idea that we the church will usher in the Kingdom of God on the earth, i.e. we will have the world Christianised and all Jesus will have to do is come down & be crowned by an adoring world population.

– I am not saying that we will Christianise the whole earth.

No the priority is to evangelise

       *Evangelise*: the verbal proclaiming of the good news of the Kingdom.

The Gospel.

         1 Corinthians 15:3-4 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, (NKJV)

iii.

The Good News that men & women can be saved from the punishment of their sins because of the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ.

~~ Ray Comfort says "simply put, Christian evangelism is when we share our faith with others."

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

(NKJV)

       Note it doesn’t say that they will all get saved, but it does place the obligation on you & I to evangelise to proclaim, to tell.

!! B.               He Is Lord

i.                 Yes I am interested in the city, I want to see people saved in this City, that’s why we are here, but our supreme task, yours & mine is to evangelise the world.

If not yours whose?

ii.

Do you call Jesus Saviour? has He saved you by His blood from the penalty of your sin? – Hallelujah!

BUT is He *Lord?* – If you sing ‘He is Lord’, but then won’t obey & put His demands on your life as the number 1 priority, then He is hardly Lord.

Call Him saviour yes, but don’t claim Him as Lord.

“I am Lord, I am Lord, I will do what I want because I am Lord”

iii.

*If* He is Lord then everything we do should have as the underlying objective the desire to fulfil His commands, His call – And that is clearly the evangelisation of the

         Matthew 28:19 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, (NKJV)

         Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

(NKJV)

       Why it’s called the Great Commission it is a charge worthy of being the Supreme task.

“The *supreme* task of the church is the evangelisation of the world”

!

III.

Church

!! A.               The Whole Church

i.

A number of denominations have a specific Missionary organisation that is set-up to raise money for missions and also to send, manage & support those denominations missionaries.

We don’t have this; it is the responsibility of the local church, the whole church.

“The supreme task of the *church* is the evangelisation of the world”

ii.

Imagine if we had a separate missions organisation human nature being what it is we would be inclined to the path of least resistance.

“That is there responsibility, that’s what they look after.”

By not having this we keep the responsibility right where it belongs – on you & I. the whole church

iii.

As the church therefore, this is more therefore than just a nice thing to do.

This is a priority from the master.

– this is the charge given you & I in our text.

& -

       & vs.4-5 ~~ Are you baptised in the HG? Then you need to know why; - & vs. 8 ~~ so you can be witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Parable of the talents, you will be held accountable.

Matthew 25:19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.