Surprised by the Assignment

Jesus is the hope of the world. As a church, we share in the responsibility of reaching the world for Jesus. We work with ten thousand other churches to send missionaries, currently engaged in over 1,200 Urban centers. The International Mission Board has 3,667 missionaries on the field in 2021.

Ask you to do 3 things:

• Pray regularly for missionaries.
• Sacrificially give to the cause of missions.
• See yourself on mission with God.

Text: John 20:19-22

• John 20:21, compare to John 17:18. The Son speaks Missionally to the Father.
• John 20:21 is the heart of a doctrine called the, “Missio Dei.” It’s Latin for “The sending nature of God.” Missions and sending is not just an action that God wills, it is the nature of God’s very being. The Trinity is a “sending” God. The Father sent the Son. The Son sent the Apostles. The Son sent the Spirit.
• John 20:22, he breathes on them the Holy Spirit. Ez. 37:9-14, the Holy Spirit is pictured as God’s breath.

Four Surprises about the Assignment:

1. Surprised that God has not

• Many Christians have given up on the world. They are not worried about the spiritual condition of planet earth.
• God is on mission to make things right in our world. The Trinity calls us to join Him.
• John 3:17 , Luke 4:18 , John 6:38-39 , Luke 10:2-3
• Missions is not something the local church does = It’s Who we are. The church is the body that is sent.

2. Surprised at the

• The Church easily loses sight of the mission of God. Many Christians first get saved, want to be part of changing the world for Christ. But passion for world missions soon evaporates into interest in a solely “personal” relationship with Jesus.
• Looking at major theological systems at play in the church today, it is worth noting that no dominant theological system emphasizes the Mission of God.

3. Surprised at the

• The assignment is personal
• The assignment is communal. It is bigger than me alone, or my church alone. Jesus did not choose one superstar apostle to carry the message of Salvation; he chose 12 to work together in community. He started a movement called, “The church” (ekklesia, called out ones) who he sent to preach the Gospel as a team.
• At the Tower of Babel, God confused the languages. At Pentecost, God reversed the curse of Babel and united the languages. It was a symbol that through His People, God would bring the Gospel to every language and every people on earth. Today, the Church of Jesus speaks more languages than the United Nations.
• Palms Baptist as a church sends out missionaries. This includes to places like, London, Egypt and a secret country we cannot list.
• Palms works with the International Mission Board to send out missionaries as part of a team effort.
• Working together with the International Mission Board allows us to:
• Have a coordinated effort.
• Give missionaries financial stability.
• Create stability on the ground.

4. Surprised at the

• We should not think we will join God on mission and not sacrifice.
• Once a year we do special missions offering that goes solely to missionaries on the field serving right now. So far we have already raise $3,292.

How to pray for a missionary:

1. They be confident in God’s Word.

2. They be filled with the Holy Spirit.

3. Pray for victory in spiritual warfare.

4. Pray for their success in Gospel witness.

5. Pray for favor with unbelievers.

6. Pray for their joy in the midst of suffering.