A People on Mission

Posted on Mar 3, 2016 by admin in Pastor's Blog |

Hello, blogosphere! I’m back! Don’t you just love when God seems to take the events of your life and arrange them in perfect symmetry to the point where they just blend together? Let me give you an example of what I mean. I have been preaching through the book of Genesis on Sunday mornings, and this past Sunday, my sermon was focused on Genesis 12:1-9 and the calling of Abram. In verses 2-3 of that passage, God lays out a striking responsibility to Abram:

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (NIV)

It suddenly occurred to me that God is laying out to Abram the missionary mandate not only for him but for generations to come. The missionary mandate for believers does not originate with the Great Commission in Matthew 28, nor does it originate in John 3:16. It doesn’t even start in Acts 1:8, though that verse does lay out the missional strategy for believers. No, the missionary mandate begins with the call of Abram in Genesis 12. Why? Well, it’s very clear. The Lord tells Abram that He is blessing him in order for him to be a blessing to others. In other words, we are all blessed so that we can be a blessing. Wow, what a thought! Now, this is the part of the story where God just kind of lines everything up in a connective way. Later that Sunday night, we had scheduled our church wide missions fair. This was an event where our church’s missions committee, known as our Acts 1:8 team, would roll out our church’s missions strategy for the upcoming year. When I scheduled the missions fair a few months ago, I had no idea that I would be preaching on the calling of Abram and the missionary mandate for all believers earlier that day. That is nothing but the hand of God working everything in unison and harmony! He wants to do the same thing in your life! The question is, are you allowing Him to move in such a manner in your life? Are you giving Him every aspect of your life, or are you holding something back? Let me encourage you to give Him every detail of your life, both the big and seemingly small details, and watch how He weaves everything together to serve His purposes.

Allow me to come back to our missions fair for just a moment and share with you our church’s missions strategy, mostly for the benefit of any of our members who were not able to be there. I mentioned earlier in this writing that while Genesis 12:2-3 lays out the missionary mandate, Acts 1:8 lays out the strategy we are to follow in fulfilling that mandate. In that verse, Jesus says this:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. (NIV)

Several things from that verse stick out to me. The first is that Jesus said that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us. It is not a question of if He comes, but when He comes. It is an absolute guarantee from Jesus to all of His disciples, including us. The second thing that sticks out to me is the cause and effect relationship that is evident in this verse. Jesus continues by essentially saying, “Because my power is guaranteed to go with you, you have a responsibility to go out and be my witnesses.” See the cause and effect? Because I am going with you, you now can go out with boldness. Amazing! And look where Jesus says to go. He says to go to Jerusalem, which would have been the disciples’ local context; AND Judea, which would have been their equivalent of a statewide understanding; AND Samaria, which would have been a national context; AND then finally, Jesus instructs them to go out to the ends of the earth, which of course would be an international context. You see, Jesus didn’t say “pick one of these areas and focus on one.” On the contrary, He said to be His witnesses in all of these areas. And because Jesus said that is what His disciples are to do, that is what UBC is going to do as well. So that being said, here is a very rough outline of our strategy.

Jerusalem (city of Thibodaux):

We are going to assist Nicholls State University’s BCM in renovating and refurnishing their kitchen. We are also going to provide volunteers at Crossroads Pregnancy Center to serve in a variety of areas.

Judea (state of Louisiana):

We are going to partner with the Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans, which serves the homeless as well as women and children in need. Our first event with them will be Saturday, April 2, when we will assist them with their health fair.

Samaria (North America):

We are partnering with Redemption Church in Ogden, Utah as they minister to the Mormon community and college students. We will be organizing a trip to Utah for some time next year.

Ends of the Earth (International):

We will be partnering with a team in Greece in ministering to the refugee community there. Our first trip to Greece will be sometime next year.

As you can see, this is an ambitious strategy. This is not a strategy to bring UBC glory. This is a strategy designed solely to bring God glory. It is a strategy that is going to take all of us being actively engaged. From prayer support to financial support to donations to people on the ground in these areas, it will require every single one of us. Start praying about what role the Lord would have you fulfill in order to make His name known in Thibodaux, in Louisiana, in the United States, and in the world. You better buckle up, because it’s going to be one amazing ride! Are you ready?

I love you,