Title: The Supreme Mission/Acts 14:19-28
Contents
The Supreme Mission/Acts 14:19-28
For churches and Christians, there is no mission and mission as important and priority as evangelism and missions. The biggest problem with the church today is raising a generation of mules, one theologian said anxiously. The mules work hard and sweat, but they do not give birth. In other words, it cannot reproduce. The greatest mission God has entrusted to the church is 'Go and make disciples of all nations'. In that regard, it is significant that our church plans to hold a juvenile education and evangelism meeting in June, and to send 90 people to more than 10 countries as short-term missionaries this summer, and I will not say that it is the work that the Lord is most pleased with. can't
Today's text is a scene that shows the contents of the apostle Paul and Barnabas being sent as missionaries from the Antioch church and evangelizing in Lystra near the end of their first evangelistic journey, and returning to the Antioch church and reporting the mission.
Paul's evangelism in Lystra was very successful. As he healed a man who had become crippled at birth, the whole city was excited and commotion broke out. It has become a top news item in newspapers in the fortress language. They experienced and witnessed God's miracles, saying that the gods Zeus (Zeus) and Hermes (Hermes) had descended on Barnabas and Paul.
However, if we look at the text we read today, the scene changes 180 degrees. The attitude of the crowd was completely changed. The Jews from Antioch and Iconium stirred up the people, so to speak, into a riot.
But what gives us a great impression and lesson is that when Paul got up from the spot where he was stoned and almost died, he went back to Lystra Castle. They could go somewhere else to avoid that damn castle, but they went back in. It is believed that this re-entry was intended to reassure and encourage the believers who were discouraged and mourned when they thought that Paul was dead.
If we look at the gospel ministry, encouragement, and exhortation that Paul and his companions preached in various regions, they can be broadly explained in four ways.
1) He was asked to 'make disciples of many, and make up their hearts and abide in this faith'.
When Jesus died, he said to his disciples, 'Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.'
Disciple-making is, therefore, the highest mission of the church and of Christians. Even if we cannot go far and preach the gospel like Paul did, we must preach the gospel to our close neighbors and friends. In order for us to preach the gospel, we must have passionate interest and love for each soul.
Such love interest and evangelism ultimately depend on our heart attitude and faith. So, in today's text, Paul exhorts us to 'harden your heart and abide in this faith'. The attitude of the mind is very important in our life. There is a saying in Korean that it depends on your mind. When the mind is weak, everything is weak. will shake
2) He said, 'We must go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God.'
The way we live by faith is ultimately to enter the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God means the kingdom where God dwells and reigns. Paul said very frankly that to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must suffer a lot. Paul said that the road to heaven is not an easy one. That is why Paul is saying in today's text that 'Jesus did not come to make our lives convenient, but to make us meaningful, valuable, and great'.
3) He chose the elders, set them up, fasted and prayed, and entrusted them to the Lord.
Paul established a church to follow up his missionary work and raised up elders. One father said, 'No man can have God as his father until he has the church as his mother'. Calvin even said, 'There is no salvation apart from the church'. Johann Wesley said, 'No one goes to heaven alone. He has to either meet friends or make friends.' What do you mean? The Christian faith is a communal faith. The church life is necessary to maintain and nurture our faith.
Therefore, you must love the church and live your life of faith centered on the church. There are those who often get hurt in church life and want to live a life of faith by believing in Jesus and not leaving the church anymore. Such people will leave their religious life in 10 out of 10. The Christian faith is a thoroughly communal faith. So, God established a church on this earth.
4) I went back to the Antioch Church and reported on the mission.
Through their mission trip, they reported how God opened the door to missions and worked. Paul emphasized that God did it, not themselves. They testified that they did not do it by their own strength or ability, but that God worked through them and demonstrated His power. They are saying that they only worked as God's instruments or co-workers.
Sharing and testifying of the grace we have received is a great strength and encouragement to ourselves and others, and it brings glory to God. Even in discipleship training classes or spiritual retreats, there is an order of testimony, which is a challenge and a blessing.