INTRODUCTION:
·
Good Morning!
·
My name is T Welch
Married
to Pastor Bledsoe’s oldest daughter Julia
· Many of you know Julia and I will be
leaving in October in order to travel to Ghana, West Africa.
·
Thank you for holding the rope and the
privilege of sharing our heart for ministry.
This morning I would like to share our
heart for missions from 1 Timothy 1:12-17.
1
Timothy 1:12-17
1
Timothy 1:12-17
Main Point: God loves sinners
God’s
love for sinners saves
God’s
love for sinners motivates
God’s
love for sinners compels praise
Read: 1 Timothy 1:12-17
12 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has
strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing
me to the ministry— 13 one who was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of
ignorance in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with
the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.15 This
saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners” —and I am the worst of them. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of
them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him
for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only[a] God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
PRAY
1) God’s love for sinners saves:
PAUL’S
TESTIMONY: (1:12-15)
Paul shares his testimony in verses
12-15. You know the story, the Apostle Paul when he was an unbeliever was
incredibly zealous and devoted to Judaism. He was so zealous that he hunted
down and killed Christians. He was responsible for the deaths and persecutions
of many, many Christians-truly a mass murderer. On his way to kill Christians
in Damascus, it was there on that road, where the risen Christ appeared to Him. Christ blinded
His eyes! It was on this road where the man who thought he saw had to become blind in order to truly see. This was an encounter he never got over. And he would write in
verse 15, “This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners-and I am the worst of them.
God love for sinners saved Paul and
God’s love for sinners saved me:
MY TESTIMONY:
I grew up living for myself and living
for the moment. After high school I became a fire-fighter, I continued to live
recklessly and for myself. I would work hard in the fire departments, but on my
days off I would cope with alcohol. I spent many nights passed out on bathroom
floors. Through a series of deaths and bad accidents, I began to realize I
wanted to help people on a larger scale. I approached my boss and asked him
where I could go to learn how to help people, my boss said Liberty University. All
I wanted to do in college was party, drink, and learn. When I arrived in August
and learned Liberty students took their Christian faith seriously, I was furious. I hated everyone.
Even though I hated everyone the Christians at Liberty loved me, through their
love and self-less actions the walls around my heart came crumbling down. One
night I struck up a conversation with a leader on my hall. He explained
to me through the use of the law that I was a sinner. At the end of the
conversation, I understood that I was guilty before a holy God and if God were
to judge me by the Ten Commandments He would send me to Hell. He left that
night without explaining the story of Jesus. He understood that I was not ready
to hear the Good News and needed to spend the night thinking about the weight
of my sin. I spent all night terrified before a Holy God. I knew if I were to
die I would go to Hell and I did not know how to fix myself. The next morning a
traveling evangelist came and spoke on the love of God found in Jesus Christ.
Not finished with his sermon yet, and I knew that I wanted Christ. I had seen
others going down to the altar and I thought that is what you had to do to be
saved. Therefore, ¾ of the way into his talk I stood up and went down. In October, 2006, I was able to say with the Apostle
Paul, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-and I am the worst of
them.
1)
God’s love for sinners saves.
2)
God’s love for sinners motivates:
(1:16)
16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of
them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him
for eternal life.
Paul never got over his
salvation. Paul was motivated to be involved in missions because of God’s love
extended to him (the chief of sinners). Paul’s reasoning was that if God saved
the chief of sinners than he could save any one. Pastor John Piper writes, “God
saved the chief of sinners to demonstrate that no-one is beyond the saving arm
of Christ.” (REPEAT) God’s love for sinners
motivated Paul to be involved in three missionary journeys and in less than
twenty years, he would be able to say that all of the known world had heard of
Christ.
God’s love for sinners
motivated Paul and God’s love for sinners motivates Julia and I. God’s love for
sinners is the reason why Julia and I are putting our belongings into storage
and traveling to Ghana, Africa. We will be moving to the Northern most part of
Ghana and working in a Baptist Hospital. We will work with the chaplains at the
hospital; engaging the patients in evangelism. I would like to direct your
attention to the screen in order to watch a video which will provide a picture
of where we will be working….
VIDEO: (Baptist Medical Center)
Our mission may be broken down into
three points:
Engage,
Advance, and Co-labor. We will engage the patients in evangelism, advance the Gospel in the villages, and co-labor with the Chaplains at the hospital.
Engage:
(African Tribal Religions: Spirit and Ancestor Worship and Islam) most
individuals who come to the hospital live in remote villages and have little to
no access to the Gospel. There is only a 2% evangelical witness in Nalerigu. Men
are typically the hardest to reach, however the hospital provides inroads. The
doctors will engage the patients with their physical needs and we will engage the
patients with their spiritual needs. The doctors will give a cup of cold water and we will share about Jesus who is the living water.
Advance:
We will have an opportunity to advance the Gospel among the villages. As
individuals in the hospital become believers or desire to learn more about
Christ we will follow up with them in the villages. Our goal will be to disciple new believers, evangelize, and plant churches which plant churches.
Co-Labor: We will be working with a team of seven chaplains. Part of my job will include training the chaplains in the area of
evangelism as well as discipleship. Julia will also have an opportunity to train and disciple
Pastor wives.
1) God’s love for
sinners saves
2) God’s love for
sinners motivates
Finally, God’s love for
sinners compels praise:
1:17: 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only[a] God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
King:
God’s sovereign right to rule. He is in complete control, nothing takes him by
surprise. Great comfort as we prepare to go; lots of unknowns, however, God
will not be surprised He knows it all.
Eternal, immortal:
He has always existed. He is alive. He was the living God when the universe was
created. He was the living God when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth. He was the living
God when America was founded. He was the living God when each of us were born
and He will be the living God ten trillion ages from now when this building has
fallen apart, and all of us in this room are dead, He will still be alive!
Invisible:
Spirit, Our words cannot fully explain Him. He is greater than us.
Only God:
Jehovah, God of Christianity is greater than the demons found in ATR and the
demon Allah found in Islam. The people of Nalerigu must be told about Christ
because Allah is NOT worthy of their worship, NO Christ is the Only God worthy
of their worship. The hundreds who follow ATR must be told that there is a God
and He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son and whosoever
believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
Honor and Glory:
All individuals have been created to bring God glory. The problem is God’s
glory is dishonored among the people of Nalerigu. Julia and I will leave behind
everything in order to proclaim God’s glory among the people of Ghana, Africa.
We go to proclaim…
A
valuing of God above all that is valuable.
A
loving of God above all that is lovely
A
savoring of God above all that is sweet.
A
prizing of God above all that is precious.
CONCLUSION:
In
conclusion, we must remember that God loves sinners. His love for sinners
saves, His love for sinner motivates and His love for sinners compels worship.
If you would like to partner with Julia and I there will be sheets in the back
you may sign to receive an e-newsletter. Fill out your name and email address.
If you do not have an email address fill in your home address and the church
will print out the newsletter and mail it to you. We would love to talk with
you more about our ministry in Ghana. We would love to answer your questions. (LUNCH.)
(Thanks).
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