The Very First Missionary Meeting

-


Scripture

 Acts 14:27 When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles.  28 And they stayed there with the disciples for some time.

Observation

Paul and Barnabas had been sent out as missionaries from Antioch. This group of Christians had laid their hands on them, believed in them, and sent them out. I’m sure that they continually supported them in prayer during the entire time of their mission and now they returned back to this church to give their report.

This aspect of reporting back was vitally important to the on-going and future work of Paul and Barnabas. Without this network back home it would be difficult to venture forward on another journey. Gathering the church together they had the first missionary meeting. They reported what “God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles.” They did not take credit themselves but reported what it was that God had done in and through them. This was a time of giving God the glory for they had been guided by the providence of the Holy Spirit.

They must have been excited to share this good news for they knew that the church had been behind them the whole time. McGarvey expresses the emotion of one returning from the hard-fought mission field and bearing good news as one who “pants beneath the burden of his untold story.” In other words — they were dying to let people know what had happened.

The church in Antioch had done something no other church had done before. This was an experiment in which they raised financial support and sent out missionaries. They prayed for the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit and now they were rejoicing with their success. This engagement with missionary activity signaled a shift in the center of Christianity from Jerusalem to Antioch. The very first missionary meeting pointed to the place where God was moving.

Application

If a church is to be alive and have a vital ministry, she must be engaged in missions. Whether the mission field is in the same town, or around the world, to be engaged in taking the good news to others life will be brought to the sending congregation itself. This is what happened at Antioch.

Within this simple experiment of a new and young church in Antioch you can find a plan for missions ministry.

1) Pray that there will be those among you who will feel the call to go out and share the good news of Jesus Christ.

2) Be willing to send your very best! God won’t forget about the sending congregation.

3) Raise financial support for those whom you are sending out. Make sure they know that there is a complete network supporting them and their ministry.

4) Pray continually when they are out and engaged in their work. From day to day we have no idea what they will be facing. Paul and Barnabas had been in prison, mistreated and beaten and yet God was with them and they were able to continue forging ahead, moving from city to city and sharing the good news of Jesus.

5) When they come home — have them share their stories of what God has done! Rejoice and give God the glory for the way in which he is moving in the world.

6) When the missionary comes home tired and weary, give them time and space to regain their energy.

Some 2000 years later these same principles apply. Too many churches are complaining about sending their resources to “other” people and don’t want to continue to give to the mission of God around the world. Why — the mission field has come to us! While that’s true, it was also true in Paul’s day. The church in Antioch chose to intentionally support a new missionary experiment. It was not to the detriment of that congregation. On the contrary, as they supported the missionary work of the church, so their own church grew and was strengthened. It is when we give away and help others that God helps us to grow into who we are supposed to be!

Tired of missionary meeting? Maybe we ought to think that over again and make space for the one returning, panting beneath the burden of their untold story.

Prayer

Lord, we give you the praise and the glory for what you are doing around the world. May we rejoice in the story.  Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more