BFM 2000 Salem Study: Evangelism/Missions

In the early 1800s, a young man named Adoniram Judson graduated from seminary and was called by God to preach the Gospel. Judson was called to serve as the assistant pastor of a large, wellknown church in Boston and this was near the town that he was born and raised in. To anyone looking from the outside in, this seemed like a perfect match that only God could do. Judson would have the opportunity to be close to home and learn from a sound senior pastor and eventually become a senior pastor himself. Yet, Judson said that he couldn’t accept the call from the church. He explained that the Lord had been working on his heart and he felt called to preach the Gospel overseas. He once said this, “My work is not here. God is calling me beyond the seas. To stay here, even to serve God in His ministry, I feel would only be partial obedience and I could not be happy in that.” What is another word for partial obedience? Disobedience! Adoniram Judson had the opportunity to stay in his comfort zone. He was given the opportunity to stay near his family and to preach the Gospel in one of the largest cities in the United States - a first world country. After all, he would still be preaching the Gospel which he felt called to do… Yet, that would only be partial obedience for this individual. As a result, Judson and his wife of 2 weeks Ann, set sail for Burma, a 3rd world country in Southeast Asia, half the world away, in 1812. Judson left behind the comforts and conveniences of America for the confusion and chaos of a country that had never heard the Gospel. What did Judson do? He simply obeyed God’s call on his life. What would be the end result for he and his family?

Judson would travel from Burma back to Boston and then back to Burma several times throughout his remaining 38 years. He and his wife Ann would lose 3 children. Ann suffered from several diseases and illnesses and eventually passed away 14 years after arriving in Burma due to smallpox. Judson would remarry 8 years later to a widow who had lost her husband on the mission field in Burma as well. Judson would be thrown into prison on multiple occasions. He had difficulty communicating with the people upon his arrival. He was beaten and tortured for months on end. Within his first 12 years in the country, only 18 Burmese had accepted Christ as Lord. Meanwhile, that church in Boston kept on growing and 200 years later, it still is standing. Was following God’s plan worth it for Judson?

Judson set out with the goal of translating the Bible from English to Burmese and having 100 people convert to Christianity and become members in the church. Those were his goals. God, as only God can do, shattered those goals and by the time Judson passed away not only had he translated the Bible, he had worked on a Burmese-English dictionary to help the people understand one another better, and there were over 8,000 Christians in the country. Fast forward 150 years later and the Myanmar Baptist Convention has over 1.6 million members from nearly 5,000 churches. Millions of people have come to know Christ as Lord simply because a 24 year old husband and wife said, “Here am I… Lord, send me.”

We could go on and on with other missionary stories this evening and maybe sometime we’ll do exactly that and study from those who have gone before us in the mission field. Tonight, as we continue to study through the BFM 2000, our article of faith, we get to talk about one of the most incredible honors we have as Christians: Missions. You and I, just like Adoniram Judson, are given a command from God to share the Gospel with others. We have a mission and that mission is to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples of all nations. If we get nothing else out of our time studying God’s Word this evening, let it be that we remember that our lives are not about ourselves and our comfort level… Instead, our life’s purpose is to make Christ known to others. Let’s read BFM article 11

“It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.”

Isaiah 6:8 CSB

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.

Matthew 9:37–38 CSB

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”

Acts 1:8 CSB

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Romans 10:13–15 CSB

13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

2 Timothy 4:5 CSB

5 But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Hebrews 12:1 CSB

1 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,

Why Do Missions Matter?

Think through the BFM for just a minute. The first few articles are core essentials to our faith. We believe that the Bible is the inerrant and sufficient Word of God. We believe that Jesus is the only way we can be saved. We believe that we are all sinners and that we all need Jesus to save us. Pause there and ask this question again. Why do missions matter? They matter for a couple of reasons.

The Bible commands us to tell others the Gospel

There are people who have not heard the Gospel

Just as all who repent and believe are saved, those who do not will be separated from God for all eternity

If people don’t respond to the Gospel, we will be separated from God. There was once an atheist who was talking with a group of Christians and said this, “If heaven and hell are real places like you say they are, you should be doing everything in your power to warn people before its too late!” This man said that in his experience Christians are all talk and no action, especially when it comes to missions. The fact of the matter is that we have the best and most important news to share and it can be tempting for us to sit on our blessed assurance and fail to uphold the Great Commission.

Think of the goal of missions for a moment… What are we trying to accomplish? If you’ve ever gone on a mission trip, you know that there are normally some community service projects. In Guatemala we’ll build homes. In Moldova there were some construction and dental projects. In New Orleans Lindsey and I helped a homeless ministry and soup kitchen whenever we were in high school. Mission trips and local missions will naturally meet physical and material needs… But the goal of missions isn’t just to do that. Why? Because the Salvation Army, Red Cross, and community centers all do the same thing. Yes, we’ll meet material and physical needs, but the goal of missions is meeting spiritual needs… Something that secular organizations cannot do! Our goal is to make disciples of all nations and this is a task that is BIG as there are an estimated 1.6 billion people who have never heard the name of Jesus, much less the Gospel!

So if this is the goal - sharing the Gospel - how do we do it? Have you ever heard someone say that you might be the only Bible that someone ever reads? It’s a good statement but a potentially dangerous one. Think for a moment about something. If you live a Christlike life and someone knows that you go to church they might have a high view of you or your church. This is a good thing as they respect you and what your church is doing… But respect doesn’t save anyone. If you never share the Gospel with them verbally or invite them to come and hear the Gospel, they will go to hell thinking that you are a nice person and that FBC Salem does nice things for the community - absolutely that’s a great reputation - but it won’t save a lost soul. So how do we share the Gospel? With our words.

Romans 10:14 CSB

14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher?

The word for preacher in Romans 10:14 is not restricted to someone with the title pastor - it’s someone who proclaims or heralds the good news. You see the formula there! People must hear therefore, some must go.

Why do we bother going? Because we love others.

What is Our Church Doing about Missions?

Acts 1:8 tells us that we have 3 areas specifically to think about with missions: Home, region, and the world. Let’s think about what FBC Salem is doing in those places and why we do what we do.

Home: Give, Grow, and Go

Region: Give, Grow, and Go

International: Give, Grow, and Go

We give to support local ministries such as Love Thy Neighbor, Camp, and other local needs with people in and out of our congregation. We grow and build relationships with people and this takes time. We invite them to church and we go to them to share the Gospel.

We do the same with regional and international missions.

Here are some sobering facts about SBC churches from 2018.

25% of SBC churches did not baptize a single person

90% of SBC members have never been a part of someone coming to know Christ as Lord

Many Christians view missions as “someone else’s job” rather than their personal responsibility

Church, what God is doing here at FBC is nothing short of a miracle! It’s a miracle whenever 1 person comes to know Christ as Lord - Luke 15:10 tells us this truth! To see the Holy Spirit at work with lost souls being saved and baptized. To see the Holy Spirit bring about unity and to see more and more people hearing the Gospel is nothing short of a miracle! Each and every Sunday and Wednesday we participate in missions as a church as we proclaim the Gospel and pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to change lives.

Missions aren’t only Sunday and Wednesday things though.

Missions aren’t just the pastor’s job or the deacon’s job or the missionaries job. It’s a command for every follower of Jesus Christ!

Why do we do kidz choir, open gym, Love Thy Neighbor, and Pageant? To glorify God, proclaim the Gospel, make disciples, and build relationships with people in our community that we might not know otherwise.

Why do we have a radio and television ministry? To glorify God, proclaim the Gospel, make disciples, and make Jesus known in our community - especially to people who might be at home searching for some hope.

Why do we send teams to other states and countries? Why do we give financially to support churches and missionaries? Why do we pray for missionaries and church planters? Because we desire to glorify God, proclaim the Gospel, make disciples, and see lives be radically changed by Jesus Christ all around the globe!

Why do we do these things? Because we are called to do so by Jesus. Because Jesus is worth it. Because heaven and hell are real, literal places and the eternal destination of people is at stake… I’d say that the stakes are as high as they possibly could be and we must take our job seriously - which leads to our final question tonight.

What Can I Do about Missions?

You and I likely won’t be the next Adoniram Judson. We won’t be the next Paul or Peter or Timothy. We won’t be the next giant slayer like David or lion conquerer like Daniel. We’re not the hero of the story… We’re the background figure. So what can you and I do about missions? We can be like Ananias in Acts 9. Do you know what happens in Acts 9? We see the power of God on full display as God wrecks Saul’s life as he see’s the light and is changed forevermore! We see Saul in dire need of help and we see God use an unlikely figure to provide that help. For our response and a template to follow, let’s look at Acts 9:10-19 tonight

Acts 9:10–19 CSB

10 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” “Here I am, Lord,” he replied. 11 “Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time.

Here we see Ananias be called by God to go and pray with Saul. The same Saul who had destroyed and killed Christians is now supposedly in Damascus praying to God… What would you do in this situation if you were Ananias? Would you willingly go or would you pull a Moses card and say, “God find someone else?” Whenever we think of our mission of proclaiming the Gospel, we have to remember why we do what we do. We are called to simply go and obey… God takes care of everything else. We see in Acts 9 that God has a plan for Saul and we know that God has a plan for us and everyone else as well! Part of God’s plan for Saul was using Ananias to go and pray with him. God’s plan for your life could be to be an Ananias and simply go and pray with someone or to invite them to come to church or to provide for someone who is planning on going and doing this.

Here are 3 ways that you and I can do our part with missions: You can 1) Go. 2) Give to help others go. 3) Get on your knees and pray.

Again, we are all called to fulfill the Great Commission. We all have a role to play! Missions aren’t just for missionaries, pastors, deacons, or “Super-Christians.” Whenever Jesus saved you, He saved you unto service. Part of that service is to live on mission for Him wherever you’re at. That might look like you physically going on a mission trip this summer as you help with Love Thy Neighbor, Camp Joy, or go to Guatemala. That might look like you giving to support any of those awesome ministries. That might look like you praying for those ministries… But it also looks like you being a Kingdom witness for Christ at the grocery store. At an open gym night. At the baseball field. At the drive thru whenever you’ve had to wait for 15 minutes to get your food! We are all on mission for King Jesus wherever we find ourselves at today.

If Jesus called you to do something out of your comfort zone, would you be willing to get uncomfortable for Him?

I said this on Mother’s Day and I genuinely mean it. Consider how you and I as individuals and as a church can make a dent here in Dent County. We think of missions and evangelism as something that we have to do overseas or in another city… We have people here who need to hear the Gospel. Lindsey and I talk often about how blessed we are that God brought us here. We’re blessed by each one of you and how you’ve welcomed us here. But I’m excited to see what the Lord has in store. We’re living in a place that is in darkness. Even in small town USA in the middle of the Bible belt - we’re living in darkness with the majority of folks who don’t know Christ. How is this an exciting moment? It’s exciting because of this: Light shines brightest in the darkness. As we continue to grow in our walk with the Lord and as the Holy Spirit continues to unify the body of Christ, we allow our light to shine and the darkness has no defense against the light!

Be like Ananias and be ready to do what the Lord calls you to do. That might be to take someone under your wing and disciple them. That might be extending an invitation to someone who needs a community to belong to. That might look like serving in a different capacity or prayerfully starting up a new ministry here at the church. It might look like going on a mission trip. It might look like praying for someone the Lord is putting on your heart and following up with them.

Evangelism and Missions aren’t just things that we do overseas - although we do them there. We practice them here in Salem. We practice them in our homes. Why? Because Jesus is worth it. Because our world needs it. Because we exist to glorify our God above all else.

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