In this sermon titled 'A Missionary Church' by Scott Brown, the speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding God's passion to save sinners and the role of the church in seeking and saving the lost. The sermon highlights the centrality of God in missions and the guarantee of success in spreading the gospel to all nations. The concept of suffering and the urgency to go on missions are also explored. The role of local churches in sending out missionaries, character qualifications for missionaries, and the priority of church planting are discussed as well.

Okay, so as we're walking through this series on joining it together, we're covering fundamental aspects of church life in order to just sort of recalibrate us all, to get us aligned and clear on a lot of things that the Lord has both on the one hand laid on the church by virtue of his Word and also has given the elders a sense of urgency on. And we've talked about the nature of the church and what the church does. We've talked about the relationships that God has designed for the church, this beautiful culture that God wants to create in his church. But now we're shifting toward missions and what it means to be a missionary church. And so that's really our focus, and I just want to walk through several points about that.

And I want to begin with some foundations that would be item number one in my outline that I have before me and what what does what do we mean by a missionary church and I think There are several things we mean about a missionary church. One is that we mean that we understand God's passion to save sinners and that there would be worshippers all over the world. God is seeking worshippers who would worship Him in spirit and truth. He is seeking them, and because He is seeking them, He's deployed us to seek them as well, to seek and to save the lost. And of course, many of the functions of life in the family and in different other places, the purpose of it is the seeking of worshipers.

Why marriage? Why a family? Why children? Because God is seeking worshipers. Why did God say be fruitful and multiply?

Because God is seeking worshipers, and he delights to multiply worshipers in the world. That's why God brings people together in marriage. He changes them, and then they want to get married. And then what? Well, God is seeking worshippers, and that's also the purpose of a church, to draw people together to worship God.

And we've been speaking about the significance of the temple in some of our studies recently and this this phrase I can't get out of my mind my house shall be called they shall be joyful in my house of prayer God is seeking worshipers who will come into his house of prayer to be in a place where the gospel can be heard and also so that redeemed sinners can be mended and that really outlines the whole purpose of the the preaching and the life of the church for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. Equipping means mending. So because you know the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever then we have this burden upon us to spread that glory so that there would be those who would worship Him forever. And I think what that means for us is that the most critical issue for missions in any church is the establishment of the centrality of God in everything because we do missions because of God, not because we want to be somebody or do something. We're involved in missions because of God.

The more we have our focus on God, the more we have a passion for the glory of God, then the more we'll be able to carry out his agenda for the spreading of the gospel to the nations. And, you know, Psalm 96, verse 4, says, great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods. So the ultimate focus of a mission-oriented church is God, and that one thing ought to be the great fuel for our work. Now also, too, God has made his will known regarding the Great Commission.

It's very clear. In Matthew 28 verses 18 through 20, Jesus commands his disciples and he says, "'All authority has been given to me "'in heaven and on earth. "'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." God has commanded this, and so we do it. And going is an important part of the Great Commission.

I read the lines of Robert Savage who said, the command has been to go, but we have stayed. In body, gifts, prayer, and influence. He has asked us to be witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth, but 99% of Christians have kept puttering around in the homeland. And so it's right that we would pray for and prepare and inspire people to leave the homeland. That's right for us to do that.

And we have a guarantee of success. This is one reason why it's such a joy to be involved. God has certified with absolute certainty that this endeavor, this mission will succeed. Why do I say that? Matthew 24 14 Heaven and earth he said heaven and earth will pass away But why word will not pass away and then in Matthew 24 He said In this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.

That means that this mission is going to succeed. It's unstoppable, and it will accomplish what it was meant to accomplish. You know, when you go to a foreign nation with all the trials and difficulties that you experience and all the resources it takes to fund that and to support it in prayer, The thing that should keep us full of hope and brimming with it is that this is a mission that will succeed. Jesus Christ has promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church. He will multiply His church and the gospel will be preached throughout the whole world.

It will be, absolutely certainly it will be, and then the end will come. So we have an unstoppable mission, and I heard somebody say you can either get on board or you can waste your and cop out you can waste your life on that let's get on board on that mission it's a it's a mission that will succeed you know and I think we should also recognize that with all the suffering in the world, there are categories of suffering and gradations of the severity of suffering. And the most important kind of suffering in the world is eternal suffering. And you know, this is why God has called us to go. This is the greatest suffering.

Poverty's bad, yes. Sickness is bad, yes. But there is no greater suffering in the world than the suffering of the soul, both here in this world without Jesus Christ and his help and also the suffering for all eternity and so we should go because of suffering the suffering is incalculable for those who would not not go another reason we should go and we should go as quickly as we can, and that is that God is deferring his anger. The Bible makes it very clear that there's a reason he has not ended everything. He's deferred his anger for the salvation of the lost.

He's given us time for a reason, not so that we can play, but so that we can spread the gospel. And Isaiah 48 verses 9 through 11 make this very clear. Some of you were here when we preached on this verse, these verses. For my namesake I will defer my anger, and for my praise I will restrain it from you, so that I do not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver.

I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own namesake, for my own sake, I will do it. For how should my name be profaned, and I give my glory to another?" Why has he deferred his anger? For his own sake. So that he would save the lost.

That's why he's deferring his anger. You know, you wonder why it is that, you know, some people, They turn to every form of debauchery and disobedience, and God doesn't do anything. Why does He let them go? He's deferring His anger and His mercy. That's what He does with sinners.

There is a time when His patience runs out, But that's not the time right now for the world. God's patience hasn't run out yet today. And so there's time. And he's doing this also for a great multitude. He's doing it for millions and millions of people.

In Revelation chapter seven, verses nine through 10, you see this picture of this great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice saying, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures and Fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God saying amen blessing in glory and wisdom thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. We should be pressing hard on the missionary enterprise because of the great multitude and it's a responsibility that we have to spread the gospel to as many of that multitude as we can. So those are some background thoughts. Now let's talk about what is missions. Is missions everything the church does?

Is it everything the church does? Does it include social action? Does it include protecting the environment? Does it involve farming? I like what Stephen Neal has said.

He said, if everything is mission, then nothing is mission. And I want to give you a definition here that can be modified by us. It's not my definition. It's given by Andy Johnson, who wrote a book on missions that Nine Marks published. A missionary is a person who is sent out by local churches to intentionally spread the gospel.

A missionary is someone identified and sent out by local churches to make the gospel known and to gather, serve, and strengthen local churches across ethnic, linguistic, and geographic divides. So it has to do with sending people out in order to either plant churches or strengthen churches. Those two things. To be involved in the fortification of existing churches and through the sending out of missionaries to plant new churches and to pave ways that have not been paved before. I'd like to give you an illustration out of 3 John, if you could open up your Bibles to 3 John and find verse 1, 3 John verse 1.

And what we find here is an illustration of this matter. Verse 1, the elder and to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers for I rejoiced greatly When brethren came and testified of the truth That is in you Just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." Now you've heard that verse many times, but did you know what the context is? What is that walking in the truth?

That walking in the truth is the spreading of the truth and the strength, the planting and the strengthening of churches. That's what his greater joy is about. And I think it can be applied to children when you look at your children and you're so thankful they're walking in the truth. But that's not the exact context that John is bringing to us. Then in verse 5, Gaius is commended for his generosity.

Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers who have borne witness of your love before the church if you send them forward on their journey." This walking in the truth is directly tied to sending forth workers into the harvest fields. Send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, that's important, you do well, because They went forth for his name's sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such that we may become fellow workers for the truth." Now, This idea of sending them forth, this phrase occurs nine times in the New Testament, and it's always associated with missionary activity. The definition of the work, they went forth for His namesake. They went forth for His namesake.

It's the sending out of people to work for His namesake. And then the support, taking nothing from the Gentiles, it being funded from the church. Their diligence in a manner worthy of God. So they're sent out with diligence with a manner that's worthy of the urgency and the goodness of God. And then there's also this cooperation with churches in verses three and in verse seven.

In verse six, we notice that the support is critical and it is abundant support. So missionaries are not just free-wheelers doing what they want. They're tied to local congregations and they've been sent out to spread the truth of the gospel specifically and they are testifying of the love of God. Now, you know, our priority as a church is when we send out missionaries, we want to send out missionaries to plant churches and strengthen churches explicitly. Our primary desire isn't to send men and their families to foreign countries to get jobs.

Now that may happen, that may be you know a profitable and helpful way, but there's something about setting yourself 100% aside to plant a church, to collect disciples, to preach, to teach, and to give your whole life to the work. I'm not here to say that it's illegitimate to go and get a job in a foreign country. I think that can be a blessing, but I think the priority that is in our minds more than anything is the sending out of men to plant and to strengthen churches. And you know, as you know, you've been here, if you've been here for a while, you know, our church does different things, has had done many things like that in the past, both here in the United States and in other countries. But Missionaries have a particular focus in their work.

It's easy for, if you send unqualified missionaries out to the field, a lot of times they really don't do anything. But they must go out for a specific mission. Now, let's talk about the missionary, the missionary himself. And I have three issues that are on our minds about what kind of people we send. First of all, character.

The character qualifications for elders are listed in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 primarily, but our design is to send out men who are qualified and tested elders. And if they're going to plan churches, they need to be elders. Secondly, lifestyle. Are they evangelizing now? Do they have a heart for the lost now?

If they want to go on the mission field, and they're really looking forward to sharing the gospel on the mission field, but they're not doing it here, they should not be sent. Because who they are here is who they will be there. And so you want to look for the character qualities and you also want to look at the force of a man or a woman's life that they are genuinely and urgently involved in the spreading of the gospel right here. And then the third is knowledge. Do they understand the Word of God and do they accurately communicate the gospel?

They must understand the Word of God and they must understand the gospel. Particularly if they're going to plant churches, of course, that's obvious. But those three things, character, lifestyle, and knowledge, Those three things are critical to us. And then let's talk about the role of the local church. The role of local churches is to preach the gospel and to equip the saints and send out missionaries and care for those missionaries.

And that would involve a number of things. Number one, regular communication. Number two, visits from elders. Number three, even when appropriate, sending short-term help. A lot of money and integrity can be wasted on short-term trips, but it can be helpful to send people for short-term to preach, to equip, to encourage, maybe weep with those who weep.

That happens for sure. Then let's talk about prioritization. I've mentioned this already, but our focus is the strengthening and planting of local churches. There are many excellent things to support radio and orphanages and education and things like that. Churches have limited resources and they have to be prioritized in some way, and our prioritization is for church planting at this point.

Now, maybe in God's providence, you know, in times when there's greater, you know, great abundance and we're hitting, you know, we're hitting hard on church planting, then there's room for other things. But just so you know, Church planting is big on our hearts. It's the number one priority. And church planting and the strengthening of local churches, anything that we can do in those areas are right in the prioritization zone of our church. So I think, you know, our focus is both pioneer work and also the strengthening and planting of churches.

Those are the things. We want to help churches be structured biblically. This is part of the enterprise. In Titus 1.5, the Apostle Paul says, he says to Titus, he says, this is why I left you in Crete to set things in order. Things need to be set in order.

And being involved in biblically ordered churches is a critical matter, both here and abroad. But the apostle Paul says to Timothy that he has been urging him to remain on in Ephesus in order that he might teach. So it's critical that we are involved in that kind of a work. In many ways, our work is to fulfill Genesis 12, 2, and 3. I will make you a great nation.

I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So it's such a critical and helpful work. Now, I'd like to talk about a little bit more in terms of application of our church and its focus. You know, we, as you know, if you've seen the missionary board in the back, we're praying for many nations, and we do desire that we would be a prayerful people for various countries and the people that we know there. We've been involved in the planting of two churches and the equipping and even the transitioning of those churches to being pastored by nationals.

In Acts chapter 13, the disciples were praying and fasting together in Antioch. They sent out Paul and Barnabas as missionaries. The Apostle Paul returns twice to Antioch. Then on the third missionary journey, he writes to Rome asking for support for the outreach to Spain where Christ has not been named. So that should be normal, that type of thing should be normal.

We send someone out and God does it work and they write back and they ask we need more help we need more help can you send us more help I think we should expect that and pray that that would be the case with us you know Hudson Taylor made that famous statement God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply. And we should just keep that in mind. John G. Peyton wrote this, that when he landed in the South Pacific in 1848, there were no Christians. He says, there were no Christians here when I landed, But when I left in 1872, there were no heathen.

There were no heathen. Of course, God really poured his spirit out during that time. He said of John Getty, at the moment I put the bread and the wine into those dark hands, once stained with the blood of cannibalism, now stretched out to receive and partake the emblems and seals of the Redeemer's love, I had a foretaste of joy, of glory, that well-nigh broke my heart to pieces. I shall never taste a deeper bliss till I gaze on the glorified face of Jesus himself." So God has laid this burden on our church, not particularly because of any leaders, but because of the Bible. And so pray.

Pray that God would increase what we've begun and that he would multiply the work throughout the world. So let's be a missionary church. Let's be a great commission church, all of us pulling together. All right, let's pray. Lord, we thank you that you've given us such great plans and opportunities.

We pray, Lord, that these people and these resources that we are involved with would be blessed from heaven. That you would cause many to be born again into your kingdom. O Lord, that the pagans, the religious, would find rest and refreshment for their souls, because we sent missionaries. Amen.