Global Missions Week • Matthew 28 & Acts 1

Show Notes

Sunday, January 3rd • Beau Bradberry

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." — Acts 1:8

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Host

Beau Bradberry

Senior Pastor

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Well, good morning and happy new year.

We are glad that you are here joining us, whether you're here with us on campus or whether

you're joining us online.

It's a new year, right?

And with new years, we're going to do something different.

We're going to do something new this morning.

I was talking to my family the other day, and we were mentioning about what we were grateful

for and what we were thankful for in 2020.

And I know 2020 has been a difficult year, but I'm fully convinced that God is still working

in the midst of all the things that are difficult.

And so we talked about things that we had done differently, things that had changed,

new traditions that we had started.

And so what I would like to do this morning, kind of in that mindset, is start off today

by starting a new tradition here at Willow Ridge Church.

And what I would like for us to do is to take this first Sunday of the year and to adopt this

and to embrace in the years as long as God gives me the privilege and the opportunity to be

the senior pastor here and to establish this Sunday as our Global Missions Sunday, where

we talk about all of the things that God has done, all of the things that God is doing, and

what we hope to be a part of in the future of what God's going to do, not only here in our

church, but all over the world.

And here's why I think this is so important.

We've all got important dates that we remember.

For me, a date that has been etched into my brain is March 15th.

And March 15th was the day where our governor got on TV and said that our state was going

to begin to observe the shutdown because of COVID-19.

And so March 15th was the last Sunday that we met together as one congregation, as our church

together.

And since then, right, we've just been adapting and changing from all of us worshiping at home

to some of us worshiping at home to some of us worshiping here to no kids ministry or

student kids ministry to an adapted model of student ministry.

But here's what I want us to look at.

Here's what I want us to remember.

Here's why I think today, as we start off 2021, is so important for us as a group of believers.

It's over this past year, so many things have stopped.

There was Christmas get-togethers that didn't take place.

Weddings that couldn't happen in the way that they hoped them to happen.

Jobs that ended.

A lot of things stopped.

Over 2020, a lot of things changed.

I would find it hard to believe that there's anyone who is sitting in this building or watching

at home and your life was not greatly changed over 2020.

From how you go to work, to how you interact with your family, to the recreation that you

do, to the mask or face coverings that we wear, so many things changed.

Things stopped.

Things changed.

Things stopped.

Things changed.

But here's what I want us to be reminded of.

Not one time in 2020 did God stop.

Not one time in 2020 did God change.

In spite of all that stopped, all that changed, God continued being who God is and continued

doing what God does.

And so to me, this Sunday is a reminder of that for us.

Of what God has been doing in the past.

Of what God is doing right now.

And while we do not know what God is going to do, we can cling to some promises that we

see from Scripture of what God is going to do.

And a lot of that for me culminates into this idea, this biblical concept that we have of global

missions, of seeing what God is going to continue to do and how we can continue to be a part of that.

Businesses shut down.

Churches shut down.

Airlines shut down.

Missions organizations shut down.

God did not.

And so today we want to celebrate that.

And so I want to do that by talking a little bit about our history as a church in missions.

Talk about who we currently are in missions.

And to share with you some new and exciting things of what we're going to be about as we move forward.

As we continue on to do what God has called us to do.

Willow Ridge is a church that is rooted in missions.

We're going to talk a lot about this over the course of this message this morning.

I want to highlight though two areas where a foundation was established of our church in missions.

About 10 to 12 years ago, this church took a step that many churches do not take.

As they didn't just partner with an organization, but they started a work that God called them to in Haiti.

As Alex's house orphanage was started.

The level of commitment that Willow Ridge Church put in the establishment of this was rooted not only in the financials and the people that they would send on short-term mission trips.

But as they released and cared for and provided for their senior pastor, Bill Howard, to go and to start Alex's house.

And what began as an orphanage has now grown into an organization that sees the gospel and community development happen all over Haiti based and rooted in Disciples Village.

This church also of a history of missions is found in our Hispanic congregation.

If you're visiting here and maybe you don't know that we have an Hispanic congregation, but just as we all are a part of Willow Ridge Church,

so too are our Hispanics who are a part of our Hispanic congregation led by Pastor Juan Hernandez.

They gather in here every Sunday just like we do.

They worship just like we do.

They hear a message just like we do, but they hear all of theirs in Spanish.

This congregation has been a part of our church for well over 15 years as God has continued to bless.

As the wisdom of the leadership of this church at the time saw that not only are we called to go to the nations,

but God was doing a miraculous thing as God brought the nations to our very doorstep.

And we've seen great works of God happen through this congregation.

I don't know if you realize this, but on any given Sunday you can walk into our Hispanic worship service

and what you will see before you is a representation of sometimes over nine different countries coming together to worship all under one language.

So we can celebrate that.

I do want to tell you I've had the privilege and the opportunity to attend several of those worship services,

many of those worship services over my seven years of being the pastor here.

And I want to tell you, all right, I took Spanish for three years in high school and for two semesters in college,

and I don't remember any of it, okay?

And so I come to these and I don't really know what's being said.

I don't know what's happening or take place, but here's what I can tell you.

You can feel and you can know the very presence and spirit of God as you engage within there in that service.

So if you've never been a part of that service, I want to encourage you.

One Sunday, maybe that's even, you don't come to this service, but you come to that service.

And you're able to see and hear and respond to what God is doing.

So stepping into this role as the senior pastor of this church who has a background and passions for missions,

it wasn't a difficult spot for me to step into because this is a church that has embraced that.

But about four years ago, about three years into my journey of being the senior pastor here,

we began to have the feeling, the calling from God of what's next.

We've got what's happening in Haiti.

We've got what's happening within our Hispanic worship service and in that congregation.

But God, what do you have next for us?

And so we were able to put together a leadership team known as the Global Missions Team.

And within this team, we've been, for the last four years, but very heavily early on for the first two years,

coming together to pray and just simply ask God, what's next?

We didn't have somewhere where we knew we were going.

We didn't have somebody that we knew we were partnering with.

Be honest with you, outside of a couple of us who myself not included in this, right?

We had one guy, Matt Evans, who had served on the international mission field,

and Tim Rice, who had served on the international mission field.

But the rest of us had been on mission trips and had taken classes on missions,

but had never been in that depth.

And we took about the first year.

And we didn't talk about places.

We just prayed and looked at Scripture and asked God,

God, not what do you have for other churches,

but God, very specifically, what do you have for us?

What are you calling us to?

And it was a wonderful, long process that we went through.

And what we felt like God was bringing out of this for us,

at first, was not a people.

Not even a place.

But what God was calling us to was a strategy.

And it was very important because this strategy would help us decide

where we go and what we do and who we partner with.

There are missionaries all over this world who are doing great and godly works.

There are missionaries that are doing wonderful things.

And there's no way in the world that we can partner with all of them.

So what this strategy does, it helps us figure out how to partner with some of them,

with where God is calling us.

And so we developed what we call the peace strategy.

And what I love about the peace strategy is each letter of peace is going to stand for something,

but it's the continual reminder, ultimately, of what we're here for.

We're not a good works organization.

We're not here just to make sure you've got a new roof on your house,

pat you on the back, and say, see you later.

We're here for a reason of the gospel.

And what we know and understand the gospel does is it brings peace between God and man

of what sin has created through the hope found in Christ.

And so the continual reminder, when we go on our mission trips,

we're carrying the peace of the gospel that takes us no matter where we go or what we do.

Whether it's a day mission trip in Lexington, South Carolina,

or whether it's hopping on a plane for 20 hours and going to Jaipur, India,

where everywhere we go, it's the exact same representation.

And so this morning, I want to share with you what the peace strategy is.

And for some of you, it may be a reminder.

For some of you, it may be the first time that you've heard it.

But then also what God is doing in each and every one of those,

what God has done and what we are looking forward to.

The first part of the peace strategy is the letter P.

And what we want to do within there is plant Great Commission churches.

And here's what's really important.

We don't want to just plant churches.

We want to plant Great Commission churches.

And that's very important for us that we understand that.

We're not just here to plant churches who can attract a crowd.

We're not just here to plant churches who can do a worship service really well.

That we're here to plant churches that understand what the Great Commission is

and that they want to work forward in continuing on in that strategy of what God has given us.

And so let's remind ourselves of the Great Commission.

Matthew 28.

And Jesus came and said to them,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

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.

And behold, I'm with you always to the ends of the age.

And so Jesus gives this to his followers.

And it's to go and make disciples.

It's the very early calling of the early church.

You see, the church didn't exist here in Matthew.

The church was going to be formed in Acts.

And so Jesus has this group of ragtag followers who get it wrong more than they get it right.

And Jesus tells them,

But here's what you're to do.

You're to go.

And you're going to make something.

You're going to make disciples.

And you're going to baptize them.

And you're going to teach them.

And so that's what we do here.

That's our goal every single week.

Not to make you a greater fan of this church or a greater fan of a worship leader

or not a greater fan of a pastor,

but to make you a greater disciple to be used for the kingdom of God.

And that's the hope.

And that's what the Great Commission is all about.

And so that's who you want to partner with.

Now, church planting, there are some people that kind of hear this and say,

We need to start new churches, but hold on.

Aren't there already enough churches?

I mean, it's not hard.

You can leave here, take a deep breath in, and be at another church before you have to let it out, right?

Like, this is the world that we live in.

But that's what God has called us to do.

And the truth of the matter is, if you are in a church today, you are in a church plant.

Somebody planted every church that has ever existed going all the way back to Jerusalem

when Jesus mobilized the disciples to plant churches.

Our church, for instance, was planted in 1979, Agape Baptist Church.

We were actually out on Platte Springs Road at the time, and the church was planted in 1979, Agape Baptist.

And later on, it moved to this location and was renamed Willow Ridge Church, and it's where we find ourselves.

And while that story, I think, is remarkable, the story of what took place in 1979 and the story of what took place to bring us here,

I think the story that's even more remarkable that needs to be celebrated is the church that planted us was not another church from another state.

The church that planted us was not another church from Charleston or from Greenville,

but the church that planted Agape Baptist Church, who would become Willow Ridge Church, was Red Bank Baptist Church.

Now, I want to ask you a quick show of hands for those of you in the auditorium.

How many of you drove past Red Bank Baptist Church this morning on your way here?

It's a church that got it, that understood it.

They said it's not just about building our name and building our kingdom.

It's about helping other churches reach those who we could never reach.

And so that's what they did.

You see, what happened in that commitment of that church in 1979 was others who would never sit in these seats

thought that your salvation and growth was important enough to invest in a work,

even if that meant a work in their own town,

even if that meant that people from their church would leave and go to that church,

because that's what they were called to do.

And so for us, it's our call to not sit back and just enjoy what has been done,

but it's our call to continue the work that's been established in our very DNA.

And so looking back at what we've been able to do,

and I'll be honest with you,

I don't know all of the church plants that Willow Ridge Church has partnered with over the years,

but I do know several over the last several years that we've had the opportunity to come alongside

in our very own community, Mill City Church in West Columbia and Yahweh Sons and Daughters.

Now, I don't take the credit that we planted them because we didn't.

There were pastors who were called to those works and they came there,

but then what we had the opportunity to do to come alongside with them is support them

and encourage them specifically financially so that they could have the resource they needed

to renovate a space like Mill City did,

or they could have the resources given to them to be able to have a sound system,

to have worship like Yahweh Sons and Daughters did.

And so we were able to come alongside and do that.

Several years ago, we were able to come alongside Jamie Rogers

as he and his family moved from all places, Camden, South Carolina, to Long Island, New York, right?

You want to talk about a culture shock?

And what God was able to do in their lives through Crossroads, Long Island,

that while Jamie, as we helped him, is no longer serving there,

that that church is healthy under Pastor Elliott as he continues to lead there.

And so we're able to celebrate what God has done,

but we're also looking forward to what God is doing.

Just this past year, we found out that there was a church in Atlanta

that we're not in a long-term partnership with,

but their church, because of where they're positioned in downtown,

did I say it? Downtown Atlanta, I'm sorry.

They're in downtown Atlanta, and they needed some financial resources

because so many of their people were out of work,

and we were able to provide for them financially

so they could meet the needs of their people who couldn't pay their power bill.

So God helps us as we seek to do that.

And now what God has for us in the future

is an opportunity to partner with Pastor Dustin Stottman,

who's going to be planting, in August of 2021,

Hope Valley Church in West Jordan, Utah.

And we have the opportunity to come alongside him, his wife, and their children

as they seek to reach a city in West Jordan, Utah

that is almost completely void of the gospel.

West Jordan is one of the suburbs of Salt Lake City.

And to give you an understanding of the depth of lostness,

I know oftentimes we think of cities within the United States,

and we think, well, obviously, they know the gospel,

or they've got churches, they've got a lot of believers, right?

But 97% of Salt Lake City does not know the gospel.

97% is lost.

Provo, Utah, I shared this a few weeks ago.

Provo, Utah, which is just right down the road,

which is where BYU University is, Brigham Young University,

has a lower percentage of believers than Afghanistan, right?

And it's the opportunity of what God provides us.

In the area of West Jordan, Utah, there are 54 Mormon churches

and only one evangelical church sharing the true hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And so what Dustin and his wife, what they've committed themselves to

under the calling of the Lord is to come alongside

and to plant there in West Jordan, Utah,

to raise their family in an area where many of the people,

while they are polite to them,

know the message that they bring,

and they do not want them anywhere near themselves or definitely their children.

But we've said we'll come alongside and we'll partner with you

and we'll help fund and we'll send people

so a church can be planted for the glory of God.

Because it all is going to begin in the spread of the gospel with planting churches.

The next letter that we're going to see in this likeness,

E, is that we're going to equip indigenous pastors and planters.

We're going to equip 2 Timothy 2.2.

Paul writes to Timothy and he says,

Not only did God entrust us with the proclamation of the gospel,

but God entrusted us with the pipeline of leadership development

to raise up others who will continue new works in other places.

And so as Paul writes this to Timothy,

he says,

It's very important what you've heard from me in the presence of many others

entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach and entrust others also.

I really started thinking about that word entrust.

You see, I could give you things.

I can give you things of value.

I can give you things of worth.

But what I entrust you with is those things that are most valuable and most important to me.

Paul didn't say just give them the gospel.

Just share the gospel.

Paul says entrust them with the gospel.

So that what you communicate to them,

they can embrace and process and understand and ask questions and dig deeper

so that they can come to an understanding of the gospel

so that they can do the same thing over and over again.

And what we have said for us is of value is to do this with pastors and planners,

but we've added a word to make sure that this is important for us,

that we want to equip not just pastors and planners,

but we want to equip indigenous pastors and planners,

which means this.

It's not just about finding people within our congregation

and then sending them to plant churches all over the world.

It's about going all over the world

and beginning in the process like Paul did with Timothy,

where we help raise up those who know the culture,

who know the language,

who have a heart for the people because they are their people

and to help them raise them up

so that an Indian pastor can share the gospel with an Indian congregation.

The important value of what's there.

And so that's what we have committed to do.

It's what God has given us multiple opportunities

over the last several years for me to have the opportunity to go to Haiti

and to do that and to teach at pastor's conferences.

We're pastors there.

Most of them, because the language that they speak

is not a language that's recorded,

because it's a language filled with poverty,

do not have the resources that we do.

So you watch these pastors and literally,

they're not looking for your point to jot down real quick.

As you're speaking, they're writing down as fast as they can

because every word is precious to them.

It's what we had the opportunity a couple of years ago to go to India and do,

where I had the opportunity to go and teach and preach at a Bible college.

Now, I want to tell you, like, I'm about to finish up my second master's degree

and have never felt more intimidated in my life

than knowing that I was heading to a Bible college to teach.

I was petrified, right?

Like, oh my goodness, they're going to know more than I know.

But God said, trust me and go and take these steps.

And so at first, I was like, I'm going to build a team that's going to go with me

of other pastors from other churches.

And we're going to go, we're going to do this together.

And God gave me one other pastor to go, my father-in-law.

And then God laid on my heart,

2 Timothy 2.2 is not about pastors going and just talking to pastors,

but it's about people of faith who know and understand the gospel.

And so two pastors and two lay leaders,

and those lay leaders, two who work for an airline company,

one who's a nurse, got on a plane and flew 20 hours to another side of the world

to a place that we had never been for many of us

and shared the gospel and taught.

And the most beautiful thing that happened and took place

was not when me and the other pastor, when we got up and we taught,

but it's seeing those men of faith who God does the great word

and work inside of them to get up and to hear them share.

So when we talk about equipping indigenous pastors and planners,

it's not just me and the staff that do this,

but it's each and every one of you who dive in and study God's word

and who know it and want to understand and know more.

And so as we move forward in this

and we're looking forward to going back and doing more of this,

I want to invite you to join me, to be a part,

and to be as we go forward with this.

The next that we see is to announce the gospel to UPGs.

Now I want to explain this a little bit, all right?

Really quickly before we explain what a UPG is.

It is important to share the gospel with everyone.

So the people that you encounter at the grocery store,

your neighbors, your friends, your family,

while there is a church almost everywhere that we turn in our community,

there is still lostness everywhere in our community.

In fact, the United States, the lostness is increasing,

and we can't just say, well, it's all good in the Bible Belt

and blame everybody else because lostness is increasing

in every state in the United States.

And in good old Lexington, South Carolina,

where we find ourselves today,

lostness has never been greater than it is right now.

So we need to share the gospel with everyone.

But specifically in our strategy,

we wanted to know who are we targeting?

Because we want to take the rifle approach

and not the shotgun approach to this.

And God laid on our hearts unreached people groups, UPGs.

And so an unreached people group is a group of people

defined by a language, a religion, a territory,

or a region in the world.

And a people group could be spread out all over the world.

You can find numerous people groups

right here in Lexington, South Carolina.

In fact, if you're traveling down St. Andrews Road

and you're heading off and you're heading toward Irmo

on St. Andrews Road right there off of I-26,

there's several apartment complexes

that are near the interstate.

And located within there are Syrian people groups

and Iraqi people groups who are refugees

who have been brought there.

So we are surrounded by unreached people groups.

And an unreached people group is defined as a people group

that has less than 2% of their people

have been reached with the gospel.

Less than 2%.

So based off of what I shared earlier at Salt Lake City,

it's trending toward that now.

Salt Lake City could be an unreached people group

within the next year or two.

So we want to share the gospel with an unreached people group.

Well, there are 17,439 different people groups in the world.

Of those people groups, 7,413 of them are considered unreached,

which means this, 42% of the world's population

is a part of an unreached people group.

42%.

That doesn't mean that 58% is saved.

That means that more than 2% of the 58% is saved.

Begin to see the staggering numbers.

Most of them are found in what is known as the 1040 window,

which is the area kind of surrounding the equator,

but located primarily in Asia near the equator and the Middle East.

Some of the most difficult people culturally,

some of the most difficult people in their religion

to embrace and to come alongside.

And it's where the depth of lostness is found.

And so several years ago, as we're praying through this,

trying to identify unreached people groups,

there was a moment in time that struck me.

And what struck me was,

I've shared the story with many of you before,

but my wife and I, we were laying in bed one night

and we were watching TV.

And we were watching a show called Stories by Light.

It's a documentary.

We love to watch documentaries.

And it's a documentary about photographers

who travel all over the world

and who tell the story of cultures and people

and history, but through photographs.

And so this particular one,

there was this British guy,

he's about six foot seven,

and this is important,

big, tall, white British guy.

And he was going to India

and was going to tell the story

of the Festival of Holly through photographs.

We don't have time to go into

what the Festival of Holly is,

but the closest thing in our culture

that can help explain it to you

to get some familiarity with it

is if you've ever done

one of those color runs, right,

or seen those,

where they take the powder

and they throw it up in the air

and so you've got like yellow

and purple and blue and green powders

and people are running through it

and their clothes change colors, right?

That is based in,

that came from the Festival of Holly

where they celebrate this Hindu God

through doing that

and this big, almost like Indian Mardi Gras

type party that happens and takes place.

And so this photographer is there

and now I was taller

than most of people in India

at six foot, right?

And he's walking through at six, seven

and he stands out a little bit

and he's walking through their temples

and he's snapping pictures.

This big, long camera lens.

And every time he snaps,

you can see the picture

that pops up on TV.

And he's taking pictures of men

and they got their arms around each other

and they're singing

and they're dancing.

He's taking pictures

of beautiful, ornate temples.

He's taking pictures of statues

that are idols to be worshipped.

And then he starts to take pictures

of more of the crowd.

And what got me

was as he's snapping the pictures,

he focuses in on this little girl.

She might have been somewhere

between four and six years old.

And he, she's like here

and he's up here

and he's snapping pictures.

And as he's taking pictures of her,

he's working his way down to his knees

and he gets down

and he's almost face to face with her.

And she reaches up

and she's got a handful

of yellow powder

and she just hits him on his cheeks.

Okay.

And at first I smiled

just like I did then.

How cute that was

in that moment.

And then it struck me.

And then it hit me.

The importance of the gospel.

Because unless someone goes

and shares,

unless someone goes

and tells that little girl,

her eternity is going to be found in hell.

And so we have to go.

Mark 16, 15 through 16 says,

and he being Jesus said to them,

go into all the world

and proclaim the gospel

to the whole creation.

Whoever believes

and is baptized

will be saved.

But there's not a period there,

there's a comma.

But whoever does not believe

will be condemned.

And as believers,

the truth of that statement

must be unacceptable to us.

It must not be okay with us

that there are people

all over this world

who are going to hell.

And they're not just going to hell

because there's a church down the road

and they refuse to stop by to hear.

They're not just going to hell

because their neighbor

has been sharing the gospel

with them for 10 years.

They're going to hell

because there's no church.

They're going to hell

because there's no pastor.

They're going to hell

because there's no believer.

Because they don't know

who Jesus is.

And right now,

in this very moment,

there are thousands,

millions of people

all over the world

and they cannot find about Jesus

right now

even if they wanted to.

And that has to be not okay with us.

And so yes,

we share the gospel with everyone

but our strategy,

what we focus in on

is sharing the gospel

with unreached people groups.

Because if not,

who will?

And it's why we've embraced

so many of the works

that God's given us

the opportunity

to be a part of.

Rick and Tina Nolan,

some of our own very family

from here

who moved to Athens, Greece

not to take in the history

or the architecture

but because Athens, Greece

is where Afghan refugees

are finding themselves

and who are desperate

to know the truth

of Jesus Christ

and they're there

to share it with them.

It's why we support

and we're not going to use

her real name

because we're online

but a woman

we refer to as Ashley

who is doing ministry

in North Africa

in a country

that at one point in time

was a hotbed

for the recruitment

of ISIS soldiers

who lives in a country

where women

can't speak in public

who went where women

can't ask questions

especially religious questions

and so she's there

as a safe place

and as a safe opportunity

for the many women

who live

under the abusive nature

of Islam

can find out the hope

of Jesus Christ.

That's why we partner

with the John family

in Jaipur, India

who every year

send out their graduates

from their Bible college

not to fill their churches

as associate pastors

but to go into villages

to plant churches

where there are no churches

to come alongside

men and women

who have never heard

and oftentimes

those pastors

don't pastor

one church

but two or three churches

in neighboring village

because there's

no one else to

that's why we partner

with Hans Ostrom

who finds himself

in Toronto, Canada

that as I went there

several years ago

it's the only time

that I've been outside

of the United States

and felt like I was still

inside the United States

at the exact same time

right?

But Hans is in Toronto, Canada

reaching

Unreached People Group

how so?

Because Toronto

is a hotbed

for refugees

from the Middle East

to come to

and so Hans

and his family

are there

providing opportunities

for families

to hear

specifically

Middle Eastern

Muslim families

to hear the gospel

we gotta announce

the gospel

to the Unreached

People Groups

the next

that we'll do

is see

we'll care for those

less fortunate

you see

in the book of Acts

there was a problem

that existed

and in Acts

very early on

within the church

it was just the disciples

and they were going out

and proclaiming the gospel

but what was taking place

was there was a lot

of needs of people

who were there

in their community

there was a lot of needs

of widows

and of orphans

and so they had come

to the church

and the church

having a long standing

in relationship with God

with caring for those

less fortunate

the apostles

didn't know what to do

because they were called

to do this

and so instead

of ignoring it

what they said

was we placed

so much value

on this

that we're going

to continue

to do this

but we're going

to call

from amongst us

those who are qualified

to be deacons

to go out

and to care

for those

who are less fortunate

with the hope

of sharing

the gospel

themselves

and it's part

of that basis

that we see

the church

in Jerusalem

begin to spread out

because people

are being cared for

because you know

what is easier

to do

to share hope

of eternity

with someone

that you've sat

down with

and given them

hope for tomorrow

and so it's what

we see happen

and take place

in the book of Acts

it's largely

what we are seeing

done with Daryl Cheeks

in the Philippines

as Daryl

while the Philippines

is largely

a country

that is saved

when you begin

to understand

the dynamic

of the Philippines

is most

of Christianity

exists

in the major cities

but the Philippines

being a nation

of many many islands

to get the gospel

out into those

smaller villages

where poverty reigns

is extremely difficult

and so Daryl goes in

and cares for those

less fortunate

to have the opportunity

to do that

it's what we've seen

happen

and take place

in Disciples Village

in Alex's house

as they're there

faced with the

worst poverty

of any country

in the world

and they're going in

and they're providing

hope through education

they're providing hope

through clean water

they're providing hope

through meals

and through that

being able to share

the hope of the gospel

and so what we want

to do as a church

what we want to do

as leadership

within this

is we want to

encourage missionaries

the last part

that we're going to

see through this

we want to encourage

missionaries

now I don't know

about you

but I think

the men and women

and often times

families

even their little

children

who say

I'm willing to

walk away

from everything

that I know

I'm willing to

walk away

from being near

to my elderly

parents

I'm being willing

to walk away

from my young

children

and their

grandchildren

I'm willing

to walk away

from my

retirement account

from my job

from all of

these things

that we are

building here

that we have

here

to go

and to go

onto the mission

field

and to provide

great sacrifice

like those

for me

are the hall

of famers

of our faith

that we're

experiencing today

so we want

to encourage them

and we see

that the bible

speaks highly

of them

in Romans

chapter 10

Paul writes

starting in verse 14

and he's talking

about the call

for missions

and the necessity

for missions

and he says

how then will they

call on him

in whom they have

not believed

and how are they

to believe in him

of whom they have

not heard

and how are they

to hear

without someone

preaching

and how are they

to preach

unless they are

sent

in verse 15

as it is written

how beautiful

are the feet

of those

who preach

the good news

how beautiful

are they

and so what you

and I

have the opportunity

to do here

this isn't

to beat us

all up

because we're

not all

in the mission

field

because God

will call

some

to go

and he will

call all

to send

that's what

Paul's writing

there

how can they

go

unless they

are sent

so they

can't go

unless there's

people like

us

who are

sending them

and so what

we want to do

as a church

is we want

to send

and we do

that three

different ways

here

we want to

encourage you

to join us

within there

number one

we sin

by praying

by praying

and that may

seem like

oh well

we pray

for a lot

of things

yes

but let me

tell you

God laid

on my heart

and there's

one missionary

that asked

me

can you

pray for

me

every day

I said

yeah I think

I can do

that

and she said

no no no

I'm not saying

can you pray

for me

every day

if you think

about it

I'm saying

every day

without failing

will you

commit

to pray

for me

that's why

I need to pray

about that

came back

and said

yeah

I think

I can do

that

and so

every day

we pray

every day

I pray

for her

and what

God is going

to do

and how

God is going

to use

her

we pray

for our

missionaries

we pray

when we

think about

them

when God

lays on our

heart

but we

build

the

regimen

and the

routine

into our

daily life

so they're

written

in our

journaling

bible

they're a

part

of a

sticky note

that's a

reminder

on our

computer

their faces

are put

on a

magnet

onto our

refrigerator

why

so that

when people

walk in

they can

look at

our

refrigerator

and go

oh

you support

missionaries

no

so that

when we

see them

we go

I need

to pray

for them

and I need

to pray

but we

also

commit

to

financially

partner

right

it takes

money

to do

ministry

and so

we commit

to

financially

partner

and we

do that

here for

our

church

we

provide

for our

missionaries

out on

the field

this past

year

God

was very

gracious

to our

church

through

your

generosity

in

giving

and

we'll

talk more

about that

later

but

it's

our

responsibility

not to

just

sit

back

on

that

but

to

continue

to

bless

and

go

forward

with

it

and so

we

fulfilled

all of

our

financial

obligations

of what

we

said

we

were

going

to

do

for

our

missionaries

but

then

there

was

other

opportunities

that

came

available

and

because

we

couldn't

go

anywhere

this

year

what

we

did

was

you

got

this

opportunity

then

we'll

send

you

this

check

you

got

this

opportunity

we'll

send

you

this

check

you

got

this

opportunity

we'll

send

you

this

check

and

I

want

to

be able

to

share

with

you

as you

give

your

tithes

and

offerings

to

us

that

we

were

able

to

go

this

year

above

and

beyond

what

we

committed

to

to

fulfill

the

needs

that

were

there

with

people

we've

got

long

term

partnerships

with

but

even

places

where

we

didn't

one

of

our

instances

that

we

had

was

a

church

in

Atlanta

where

God

just

said

yes

do

this

and

so

we

had

the

opportunity

to

do

it

so

we

pray

for

them

we

financially

partner

with

them

but

then

also

we

participate

we

participate

with

them

we

say

you

know

what

it's

not

just

about

you

doing

the

work

over

there

but

it's

about

us

doing

the

work

together

and

what

I'm

excited

about

what

I'm

praying

about

in

2021

is

that

at

some

point

in

time

these

shoes

will

be

able

to

step

foot

onto

a

plane

that

will

land

with

one

of

our

partners

in

another

country

where

we're

able

to

go

and

come

alongside

them

and

partner

with

them

and

work

it's

why

we

do

student

ministry

mission

trips

not

so

that

they

got

somewhere

fun

to

go

and

you've

got

more

money

to

give

but

it's

ingraining

in

them

the

importance

of

missions

so

the

question

I

have

for

us

the

question

that

we

have

to

wrestle

with

is

the

where

and

Jesus

gives

us

that

answer

Acts

1

8

but

you

receive

power

when

the

Holy

Spirit

has

come

upon

you

and

you

will

be

my

witnesses

in

Jerusalem

and

all

Judea

and

Samaria

and

to

the

ends

of

the

earth

so

Jesus

in

Acts

1

8

they

got

the

great

commission

Jesus

is

about

to

ascend

and

go

to

heaven

and

they

said

Jesus

what

do

we

do

now

where

do

we

go

you've

given

us

this

but

what's

next

and

Jesus

says

just

wait

because

the

work

that's

going

to

be

done

is

a

spiritual

work

it's

not

going

to

be

done

in

your

power

and

in

your

power

alone

but

just

wait

and

when

you

go

I'm

going

to

give

you

four

places

to

go

the

first

place

that

Jesus

tells

them

to

go

is

to

Jerusalem

the

place

where

they

called

home

Jesus

you're

going

begin

there

and

so

for

us

we

begin

at

home

so

what

are

we

doing

as

a

church

here

in

South

Carolina

I

wanted

to

say

earlier

I

started

to

label

this

as

Lexington

County

but

it

was

the

great

reminder

of

what

God

does

as

we

don't

just

have

people

here

from

Lexington

County

what

I

know

is

that

we've

got

people

here

at

least

from

Orangeburg

Richland

and

Lexington

got

people

all

over

our

state

and

so

for

us

our

Jerusalem

is

South

Carolina

and

what

God's

been

able

to

do

through

our

church

is

to

partner

with

organizations

like

the

South

Carolina

Baptist

Convention

that

is

mobilizing

and

our

giving

there

is

mobilizing

men

and

women

and

opportunities

all

over

our

state

we

have

the

opportunity

in

our

partnerships

with

White Knoll

Elementary

that

while we

can't

do

our

fall

festival

and

the

things

that

we

normally

do

we've

been

able

to

come

alongside

and

support

them

and

to

give

them

things

that

they

need

and

hope

to

share

the

gospel

we're

able

to

partner

still

every

single

week

with

project

153

as

each

Wednesday

they

fill

our

kitchen

with

people

who

are

cooking

to

take

food

to

those

who

are

homeless

which

by

the

way

right

now

project

153

the

city

women

and

families

to

give

them

out

to

be

able

to

partner

but

I

want

to

say

this

our

greatest

partnership

here

our

most

powerful

partnership

that we

have

is not

an

organization

it's

you

it's

you

because

we

are

all

mobilized

every

single

day

where

God

places

us

so

the

factories

that

we

work

at

the

firms

that

we

work

at

the

schools

that

we

go

to

every

place

where

we

find

ourselves

that's

the

mission

field

Jesus

says

don't

only

take

it

to

Jerusalem

but

take

it

to

Judea

now

for

us

I'm

going

to

find

Judea

as

the

United

States

a

region

a

little

outside

but

including

where

we

find

ourselves

for

us

we

have

several

partnerships

that

we've

been

able

to

establish

here

within

our

country

to

see

the

gospel

spread

several

years

ago

we

started

a

partnership

with

a

Christian

orphanage

called

the

Black

Mountain

Children's

Home

in

Asheville

North

Carolina

and

have

been

able

to

take

our

middle

schoolers

there

and

our

high

schoolers

this

past

year

and

God

has

really

blessed

that

I

want

to

share

this

with

you

though

if

you've

never

been

I

want

to

encourage

you

maybe

one

day

when

you're

driving

up

to

go

apple

picking

take

a

little

detour

google

it

it'll

come

up

on

your

phone

and

find

where

Black

Mountain

Children's

Home

is

and

just

ride

through

there

and

here's

what

you'll

see

it

is

absolutely

beautiful

I

find

that

why

it's

called

Black

Mountain

this

past

year

because

there's

a

shadow

that

falls

on

that

side

of

the

mountains

all

the

time

it

is

the

most

amazing

thing

even

when

the

sun

is

fully

out

no

clouds

you

see

this

shadow

alongside

the

mountain

that's

why

it's

called

Black

Mountain

so

if

you

stand

there

at

the

children's

home

and

you

look

out

you

see

the

mountains

and

it

is

a

beautiful

place

to

spend

a

week

with

a

group

of

middle

schoolers

absolutely

beautiful

but

if

you're

standing

there

and

you're

staring

straight

from

the

children's

home

that's

what

you

see

but

if

you

turn

to

the

right

it's

not

so

pretty

and

if

you

turn

to

the

right

you

don't

see

the

mountains

you

see

a

women's

prison

and

here's

the sad

part

about

where

this

is

located

that

a lot

of the

kids

are

there

because

mama's

over

there

and

daddy's

nowhere

to be

found

and

so

through

Black

Mountain

children's

home

it's

not

just

a

place to care for them and get them educated but it's an opportunity to share the gospel with them. We partner with the North American Mission Board that plants churches, the largest church planning organization and plants churches all over North America. We partner with Dustin Stockman and Hope Valley Church in West Jordan, Utah. This year we'll be able to provide them not only funds, but people hopefully through a trip as we go. Jesus not only call it

He calls us to Judea, but he calls us to Judea, but he calls us to Samaria. We're classifying that for us as North America and the Caribbean. It's where we continue to see the work that Bill Howard has started through Alex's house and continuing on through Disciples Village as they see that work and that ministry spread as they see men and women living in the midst of poverty, finding daily hope that is connected to their eternal hope. It's where we see men like Hans Ostrom leading an upward

Canada and Canada in Toronto to see Muslim families to see Muslim families and connecting them with a local body of believers. But then Jesus doesn't just stop there. He doesn't just say Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. But then Jesus throws out the hard target, the difficult places. Jesus says to the ends of the earth. Now I want you to imagine this. I want you to imagine that you're standing there with Jesus. And Jesus says, I want you to go to places that you've never seen.

You've never heard of. You don't even know that you've never heard of. You don't even know that there's people there. Think about this. They didn't just go to the library and get a map and find out where this is. They couldn't jump on their phone and Google search, right? Jesus says, you don't even know what's on the other side of that water, but that's where I'm sending you. And that's where you're going. And that's where he calls us to go. And that's why he says the ends of the earth.

Because we're to go to people in places that we've never heard of, that we've never seen, that we don't understand. But we have the hope of the gospel. And God's been gracious with us.

Through our partnership with the International Mission Board, the IMB, we have the opportunity to see that the IMB is the largest missions organization in the world, deploring more missionaries every single year than anyone else.

So we have the opportunity to partner with Daryl Cheeks, who has to jump from island to island to island to share the gospel.

So we pastor with the John family who is seeking to see churches planted in every village in the state of Rajasthan.

That's why we partner with Ashley in North Africa.

That's why we send out from our home Rick and Tina, who we deeply love and miss.

But it's worth it for the gospel.

So I've got a question for you.

2020, the beginning of a year, the beginning of 2021, lots of us like to make resolutions.

All right, we're going to go to the gym more.

That'll last about a month, right?

We're going to read more.

We get really through the introduction of that book, and then we decide maybe not.

We get all these resolutions that are good things, right?

I need to go to the gym more.

I need to read more.

I need to do all of those things more.

And they could change our tomorrow.

But what if we made resolutions that didn't just change tomorrows, but changed eternities?

What if we made resolutions that impacted lostness all across this world?

That you and I as a church is what God has done in and amongst us and through us and what God is continuing to do.

But what if we stopped looking at it in the sense of the organization?

And what if we looked at it in the sense of the individual?

And so what if for this year, what is God calling you?

What if God has in mind for you a Samaria?

What if God has in mind for you a Judea?

What if God has in mind for you a different Jerusalem?

What if God has called you to the ends of the earth?

What if today, instead of the commitment being to go to the gym every day,

what if today was the commitment to pray every day for a missionary?

What if today was the commitment instead of,

I'm just going to see how much more I can put into my retirement account?

What if today was the commitment to,

how about today I give more to a missionary that I know is in need?

What if today is the resolution to not take yet another vacation,

but to take your family on a missions trip and to go and engage?

What if our life was not just about tomorrow?

But what if our life was about eternity?

And the importance and the value of the hope of what God's doing.

Lord, thank you for the graciousness of our congregation, Lord,

as I've gone along this morning.

The importance of what we're talking about.

Lord, the work that you're doing, the work that you haven't stopped,

and the wonderful opportunity and privilege that you give us to be a part of it.

So, Lord, I thank you.

Lord, I thank you that right now there's individuals that are wrestling

within their soul and their spirit

about adopting a missionary to pray for.

Lord, I thank you that right now there's men and women

who are beginning to understand that maybe there's a family they know

that are missionaries and they can support them monthly.

Or they can write a one-time check and help fund some work that they're doing.

Lord, let them hear in their hearts that it's not about giving more to here,

but it's about giving more to the work that's being done.

And so, if those dollars and cents never pass through here, Lord, we praise you for it.

Lord, I pray right now that there's individuals who are wrestling with

maybe canceling a cruise and instead jumping on a plane

and going and serving at an orphanage.

Instead of going to a beach, going to a village or a Bible college.

Lord, I hope

that there may be even a family or an individual who's here

who says it's not just about doing something different for tomorrow,

but it's about doing something different for the rest of my life.

And they're looking at answering the call

to not go for a weekend or a week,

but to go for the rest of their life.

So that little girl can hear.

So that village can be given an opportunity to have hope.

So that language might be introduced

to the only one who saves

Jesus.

God, convict us.

Draw us.

Point us in the direction of obedience to you.

It's here to me pray.

Amen.

Just a moment.

We're going to stand and we're going to respond in song.

Do not let your response end when you walk out these doors.

Maybe it's about praying more.

Maybe it's about giving.

I'm not talking about giving more to this church.

If you want to give to a missions organization,

a missionary,

let me know.

I'll get you connected.

Straight to them.

Maybe it's about going

for a weekend or a week

or a month or a season.

But I want to say this.

I pray that we lose church members this year

because we lose you

because you go

and you're sent

and you find another country

and another people

and you share the gospel

and you live there

and you plant a church there

and you come alongside them

and you give them hope.

Maybe you go.

Thanks again for listening to the Willow Ridge Church Weekly Podcast.

We hope that you enjoyed listening to this week's message.

If you'd like to learn more about who we are

or explore additional resources,

visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com

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