Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Stewardship – God-given responsibility with accountability
Four Factors of Stewardship
1. God owns everything, you own nothing
2. God entrusts you with everything you have
3. You can either increase or diminish what God has given; He wants you to increase it
4. God can call you into account at any time, and it may be today
2 Peter 1:12-13 - Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder…
3 characteristics of the task that Christ has entrusted to us
I. Be Submissive Because Our Mission Is Grounded in the Authority of our Resurrected King
Matthew 28:18 - And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth...”
A. Even to some who are doubtful
Matthew 28:16-17 - But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 - For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep…
John 20:25 - So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
B. As an extension of the authority he demonstrated throughout His earthly ministry
“During His earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated His authority over disease and sickness (Matt. 4:23; 9:35), over demons (4:24; 8:32; 12:22), over sin (9:6), and over death (Mark 5:41-42; John 11:43-44). Except for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus even exhibited the authority to delegate such powers to certain of His followers (Matt. 10:1; Luke 10:9, 17). He has authority to bring all men before the tribunal of God and to condemn them to eternal death or bring them to eternal life (John 5:27-29; 17:2). He had the authority to lay down His own life and to take it up again (John 10:18). He has the sovereign authority to rule both heaven and earth and to subjugate Satan and his demons to eternal torment in the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20; 20:10). Satan’s tempting Jesus by offering Him rulership over the world (Matt. 4:8-9) not only was wicked but foolish, because lordship of both heaven and earth was already Christ’s inheritance by divine fiat.” (John MacArthur, Matthew 24-28, p. 339)
C. With a scope that is absolutely limitless
Matthew 28:18 - And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth...”
Matthew 6:10 - Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
II. Be Focused Because Our Mission Fulfills God’s Redemptive Plan
A. As a course of life
v. 19 - Go
B. Encouraging others to follow Christ
v. 19 - Go therefore and make disciples…
“Mathēteuō (make disciples) is the main verb and the central command of verses 19-20, which form the closing sentence of Matthew’s gospel. The root meaning of the term refers to believing and learning. Jesus was not referring simply to believers or simply to learners, or He would have used other words. Mathēteuō carries a beautiful combination of meanings. In this context it relates to those who place their trust in Jesus Christ and follow Him in lives of continual learning and obedience.” (John MacArthur, Matthew 24-28, p. 340)
Genesis 3:9 - Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
Revelation 22:17 - The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 - Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The mission of Faith church is to glorify God by winning people to Jesus Christ and equipping them to be more faithful disciples
C. With compassion on all the nations
Matthew 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…
Acts 1:8 - …but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
D. Emphasizing the importance of taking a stand publicly
Matthew 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…
E. With the goal of “teaching to observe”
Matthew 28:20 - …teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…
III. Be Hopeful Because Our Mission Relies on Our Savior’s Powerful Presence
Matthew 28:20 - …teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
- one of the popular TV programs in the 1960’s was entitled Mission Impossible – it was about international and domestic espionage it was iconic for all sorts of reasons…
…For example, it always started with the same soundtrack and a fuse being lit on the television screen…you immediately felt like a spy…
- then there was a tape recorder and sometimes an envelope of pictures that described the villains that needed to be addressed…
- these enemies were usually described as being “outside the reach of conventional law enforcement” and the mission was frequently to neutralize them in some way…which was a polite way of saying – they needed killing and the government couldn’t officially do it…
- the main characters also supposedly had the option of rejecting the assignment – the opening scene would say something like – “your mission Jim, should you choose to accept it…”…of course team always did…
- then there would be this ominous warning…"As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions."
- do you remember how that introductory segment always ended?... “This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim."
- by the way, in the extensive research I did for this introduction, which included a full 15 minutes worth of reading on the internet – I learned that in the beginning, they had one of the actors pour a chemical on the cassette tape and then blow on it…
- do you why they replaced that with smoke coming up out of the tape recorder?...
- to save money – because the first process was too expensive…
- they also switched in later seasons from international targets to domestic ones…because the accountants got involved and wanted to reduce expenses…I just thought you would want to know that in case it ever comes up in a Trivial Pursuit game…
- Part of what made that show so successful was that there was no question about the mission…you knew within minutes exactly what they were supposed to accomplish…but then the issue always was…how in the world would they do it, because after all, it was always a …mission impossible…
- That’s one of the many characteristics of the church of Jesus Christ for which people like you and me should be very thankful…our Lord and Savior has not left us in the dark about our mission…
- it’s clearly articulated in multiple places in the Word of God…
- and it’s not only clear…it’s also significant…
- its not that the God of heaven and earth is out doing important things so He needs us to handle a few minor, unrelated tasks…
- our mission is His mission…and His is ours if we want it to be…
- which means that we’re called to live and function in such a way that we are participating in accomplishing God’s plan, will, desires in His world…
- and when we pause and think about that, we have to include that it’s an incredible trust or stewardship…
- and that’s what we want to focus on this morning – The Stewardship of Our Mission…
- With that in mind, please open your Bible to Matthew 28:16-20…page 26 of the back section of the Bible under the chair in front of you…
- Our theme this year has been Hope for Everyday Life…
- that’s a high calling…because there are plenty of reasons this side of heaven for despair and discouragement…
- we could illustrate that in all sorts of ways and you undoubtedly have private concerns and difficulties that perhaps few if anyone else knows about…
- yet Scripture says things like… Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- so by this point in the year, I hope you could say…you’re seeing this theme lived out in practical ways in your heart and life…that in Christ and His Word, you’re finding hope for everyday life…
- today is the beginning of Stewardship Month…so not surprisingly, we’re going to organize these messages around The Stewardship of Our Hope…
- now this next statement is truer this year than it has been for quite some time – but we realize that we have a large number of men and women who have joined us in the last year – and we want you to know that we are very thankful for you…but that means this is going to be your very first stewardship month…
- but this is actually an emphasis we have made each November for the past 47 years…
- it was started by my predecessor Pastor Bill Goode in 1976…
- and I remember when Pastor Goode and I were making a leadership transition twenty years later in 1996…he asked me if I thought if the value of Stewardship Month had run its course…or if I thought it should be continued…and I said without hesitation that I believed it should continue…and I still believe that…
- and many of our members would say that the principles we study from God’s Word on these matters have been life-changing and impacted us at the very deepest levels of our relationship to Christ and His church…
- so what are the components of Stewardship Month?...
- this year there is a stewardship devotional guide that is being distributed at all three campuses…I appreciate our staff members who worked diligently to put this together…
- there are also wonderful testimonies from various church members like the one you heard this morning about what the Lord is doing in some aspect of stewardship in their hearts and lives…
- we focus all our Sunday morning messages on stewardship – and we’ll be encouraging everyone attending our church to review where you are in the stewardship of all aspects of your life and make specific commitments to grow in one or more area of your Christian life …there’s a QR code in the back of the devo guide for that purpose…
- and then the culmination of all of this is our annual stewardship celebration which this year is on November 19th at the new building that our county constructed at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds…
- this event functions as our church’s Thanksgiving Dinner together [except with no dinner, but some very tasty appetizers and desserts]…but more importantly, an opportunity to thank the Lord for all He has done and committing ourselves to another year of growing and serving Christ together if He tarries His coming…
- we often say at this time of year – let’s work hard at being good stewards of stewardship month…there’s a lot here from which all of us can benefit…
- so, what is stewardship?... Stewardship – God-given responsibility with accountability.
- and that definition addresses one of the key misconceptions about stewardship – that it is primarily about money…when it’s not…
- stewardship includes anything that the Lord has entrusted to us…for example…our minds…the way we choose to think about life…God trusted us with that capacity…
- our wills…the ability to make choice…
- there’s the stewardship of time…or of our tongues…or of friendships…or of our spiritual gifts…the gospel…ministry opportunities…
- the list is long….which is why it’s not like the pastors pull out the same sermons year and after year because we’re too lazy to prepare something new…
- you could go an entire lifetime and not exhaust what God’s Word says about this subject and how that applies to the practical issues of everyday life…
- I mentioned a moment ago that for decades now, our church family has reminded ourselves of the…
Four Factors of Stewardship
1. God owns everything, you own nothing.
2. God entrusts you with everything you have.
3. You can either increase or diminish what God has given; He wants you to increase it.
4. God can call you into account at any time, and it may be today.
- now, you might ask – are you saying that the church family reminds ourselves of these principles every year?...yes, because we understand the Scripture’s emphasis on the power and importance of being reminded of key biblical truths…we’ve seen that in our study this year of First and Second Peter, haven’t we?...
- 2 Peter 1:12–13 - Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,
- My assignment this morning is to lead us in a study of the stewardship of our mission…and one of the key places in Scripture where we can learn about that is right here in Matthew 28…read Matthew 28:16-20
- so we’re talking about The Stewardship of Our Mission…and with the time we have remaining, let’s think about Three characteristics of the task that Christ has entrusted to us.
I. Be Submissive Because Our Mission is Grounded in the Authority of our Resurrected King.
- Jesus reminded His followers at the beginning of this commission that…Matthew 28:18 - And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth...
- that immediately provides a challenge and an opportunity for the church of Jesus Christ…
- because we are living in a world and a culture that has very little willingness to follow any authority of any kind…
- and we all despise abuses of authority – there’s no question about that…
- but a fair amount of what is being written on this subject, even in the Christian world is based on the Minnesota Power Wheel…which finds its roots in radical feminism which sees power and authority as the problem and works to dismantle such structures whenever and wherever possible…
- a church cannot be a mission-focused organization is that philosophy takes hold…it goes back to what we’ve been studying in the book of 2 Peter this fall…how false teaching can rise up from within the church…
- on the other hand, it’s an opportunity when followers of Christ joyfully acknowledge…we have decided who our authority is going to be…it’s our Savior, our Lord, our rightful king…and we want to organize our lives around His goals and His purposes…we submit ourselves to His authority…
A. Even to some who are doubtful
- verses 16-17 give the curious detail that… Matthew 28:16–17 - But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.
- that’s a fascinating statement…which by the way, is a yet another demonstration of the integrity of Scripture…
- if the gospel writers were just making all of this up…what would have motivated them to include a comment like that?...
- we also have to decide – is Matthew saying that one or more of the 11 disciples (Judas had taken his life by this time) was still doubting even after the resurrection?...
- some conservative Bible teachers believe that it wasn’t just the 11 disciples who heard this commission…but maybe as many as 500 of the eyewitnesses whom Paul mentioned in 1 Cor 15…
- do you remember this statement - 1 Corinthians 15:3–6 - For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
- the question is – could Matthew have been referring to some of those 500 as still doubting…the text doesn’t say…
- we do know that the disciple Thomas doubted after the resurrection… John 20:25 - So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
- if there was ever a “be careful what you ask for” verse in the Bible, that has to be it…
- or, the disciples on the Emmaus road…that was after the resurrection and they were surely “doubting”…at least at the beginning of the interchange…
- but here’s the overall point – this amazing mission was given even to some who still had some doubts…and I believe there is tremendous hope it that…
- you may be here this morning and you’ve not yet trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior…
- I want you to know that we’re glad you’re here….
- this is an amazing statistic – last Sunday there were 19% more people here at our 3 campuses than the corresponding Sunday a year ago…
- that’s an incredible blessing…but we also want to be sure that we are challenging every person coming to be sure there’s been a definite time in your life where you admitted your sin and placed your faith in Christ…
- and if you’re not sure – let’s sit down with one of your service pastors and make sure…and what we’re studying this morning is another compelling reason to do so…because you then have the opportunity to participate in the accomplishment of this mission of our Great King…
- others might be here and would say – I’m a Christian…but honestly, I’m pretty distracted…I have doubts about this…and I have doubts about that…which makes me like the double minded person of James 1…and my life certainly isn’t very mission focused…at least not on Christ’s mission…
- aren’t you glad that Jesus issued this command to people, even when some were still in the process of figuring out what they believed and what they wanted to do?...
B. As an extension of the authority he demonstrated throughout His earthly ministry
- During His earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated His authority over disease and sickness (Matt. 4:23; 9:35), over demons (4:24; 8:32; 12:22), over sin (9:6), and over death (Mark 5:41–42; John 11:43–44). Except for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus even exhibited the authority to delegate such powers to certain of His followers (Matt. 10:1; Luke 10:9, 17). He has authority to bring all men before the tribunal of God and to condemn them to eternal death or bring them to eternal life (John 5:27–29; 17:2). He had the authority to lay down His own life and to take it up again (John 10:18). He has the sovereign authority to rule both heaven and earth and to subjugate Satan and his demons to eternal torment in the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20; 20:10). Satan’s tempting Jesus by offering Him rulership over the world (Matt. 4:8–9) not only was wicked but foolish, because lordship of both heaven and earth was already Christ’s inheritance by divine fiat (John MacArthur, Matthew 24-28, p. 339).
- the point is – for a follower of Jesus Christ to fail to acknowledge and submit to the authority of Jesus Christ would be to ignore massive amounts of Scripture…and MacArthur also alluded to…
C. With a scope that is absolutely limitless
- Matthew 28:18 - And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth...
- the reason we can believe that this is an eternal mission is because it doesn’t just involve regional events here on earth…
- we’re talking about being part of accomplishing what Christ taught His disciples and us to pray for…
- Matthew 6:10 - Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
- so what does that look like?...
- let’s think about all the nursery workers and childcare workers and youth workers that will serve at one of our 3 campuses today or at one of our ministries throughout the average week…
- I never cease to be amazed at not only their willingness – although that is huge in and of itself…but of the seriousness with which they take their craft which results in serving the children of our church and community with a level of excellence that is worthy of the name of Jesus Christ…
- and you asked them why…the answer isn’t convenience…it’s not that they’re taking the easy way out…or that they always have all the answers…it’s because they want to be submissive because they believe this mission is grounded in the authority of their resurrected King…
- and friend – the question for all of us to answer is – is that true of you?...
- are you and serving in such a way that can only be explained by observing that you are living for an authority other than yourself…and you’re not doing that grudgingly…because you believe this Savior is worthy of your allegiance…
II. Be Focused Because Our Mission Fulfills God’s Redemptive Plan
A. As a course of life
- one of the challenges that we have with the topics of leadership and authority in this day and age is looking at our war-torn world…or at our current political landscape…and having all sorts of examples of people exercising their leadership…no doubt about the power they wield…but in ways that are completely unrighteous and destructive…
- that’s certainly not true here – we’re not just talking about a King…a redemptive king…a loving/saving king…another observation we need to make is that disciple-making should be…A. As a course of life
- many have observed that the word – v. 19 – Go is a participle…and we don’t want to get mired down in the grammar because participles can be used imperatively (as commands)…but this is why some Bible teachers prefer the translation “as you’re going”
- either way, there’s no doubt that God’s people shouldn’t have the attitude – well, I’ll get bust about this after I graduate, or after the kids are out of diapers, etc, etc…
- no, this is a course of life…and we’re talking about…
B. Encouraging others to follow Christ
- v. 19 – Go therefore and make disciples…
- Mathēteuō (make disciples) is the main verb and the central command of verses 19–20, which form the closing sentence of Matthew’s gospel. The root meaning of the term refers to believing and learning. Jesus was not referring simply to believers or simply to learners, or He would have used other words. Mathēteuō carries a beautiful combination of meanings. In this context it relates to those who place their trust in Jesus Christ and follow Him in lives of continual learning and obedience.
- why?...because our God is a redeeming God…
- that’s the story of the Bible – how our sin separated us from our Holy God and He in His love and grace sent His Son to die in our place..
- and now He is in the process of drawing men and women to Himself and He has entrusted us with the responsibility of making disciples…
- isn’t that the kind of God you want to be serving?...from cover to cover in Scripture, we find the Lord moving to redeem people…
- what did the Lord do when Adam and Eve sinned?...He called out to them…Genesis 3:9 – Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
- and how does the Bible end?... Revelation 22:17 – The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
- that’s why so many of our church’s ministries have some kind of evangelistic focus…we don’t have church athletic leagues…we have community leagues…because we’re trying to build relationships whereby we can share the gospel…because that’s a sacred trust…
- Paul said it this way to the Corinthians…2 Corinthians 5:17–21 - Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
- I can’t say enough about how thankful I am for the ladies of our church who are organizing this year’s taste of Christmas…
- that very easily could have been an event focused simply on those who already attend Faith…but from the very beginning, they wanted it to be an outreach event…
- the rate of people signing up is far ahead of any other year…
- one woman bought 24 tickets for her friends and co-workers…that’s disciple making right there…
- a 12 year old girl was helping her mom with her table and then asked if she could have her own to invite her teen-age friends…
- 5 hostesses are fluent in Spanish so parts of the concert can be translated for them…
- that’s called being faithful to the mission the Lord has entrusted to us…
- we say it this way around here…The mission of Faith church is to glorify God by winning people to Jesus Christ and equipping them to be more faithful disciples.
- and I would ask you – are you faithful to the mission of disciple making…
- please don’t confuse “I go to an evangelistic church” with “I’m an evangelistic person”…perhaps one of the decisions the Lord would want you to make is to commit yourself to more faithfully sharing Christ with those the Lord has placed around you…
C. With compassion on all the nations
- Matthew 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…
- that has always been the focus of God’s plan…
- even as early as the call of Abraham in Genesis 12 – he was not just to be the father of Israel, but a blessing to all the nations of the earth…
- this was repeated in this seminal passage in…Acts 1:8 - but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
- that’s why there’s no place for racism in this church…and why we invest so much of our church’s resources in foreign missions…
- this is another reason why I’d encourage you to attend our Stewardship Celebration on November 19th because we’re going to review some of our efforts in places like Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico…
- I’d also appreciate your prayers as a team and I leave very early tomorrow morning for a ministry trip to Japan…
- also at our Stewardship Celebration – we’ll have the privilege of formally commissioning Naoto Funada (to missionary service in Japan…what an incredible privilege that will be…
- I should also mention that all of this costs a lot of money…and we’re very thankful for the way our church family gives so generously and sacrificially…
- last year at our stewardship celebration I was able to share the amazing news that people in our church and school family had committed $11.3M to fund our new high school building, and the athletic training center, the Restoration Barn, the skate park …along with retiring all our church’s external debt…
- by God’s grace – the giving for those projects is all right on track… and I will tell you that some of the stats nationally on the subject are concerning…because studies are suggesting that younger people and families are not giving at the rates their parents and grandparents gave…stewardship month gives us an opportunity to evaluate that as well…that helps us have the resources necessary to love the nations well…
D. Emphasizing the importance of taking a stand publicly
- Matthew 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
- baptism doesn’t save…but it a powerful public demonstration of what has already occurred in someone’s heart…
- if you’re here and you’ve trusted Christ but have not yet been baptized…that’s another opportunity for you to have a conversation with your service pastor…who will steer you into an Intro to Faith class…and if you’ve done that…to taking care of being baptized…and there are a couple of opportunities to do that yet this year…
- why, because we want to be good stewards to the mission our Savior has entrusted to us…
E. With the goal of “teaching to observe”
- Matthew 28:20 - …teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…
- there’s no doubt that 2 of the most neglected words in this commission are the words “to observe…”
- faithful disciples aren’t just people who know things…they are people who do things…
- this is where a biblical counseling emphasis is so important…whether we’re talking about formally or informally…
- how do we take what we believe and apply it practically to everyday life?...
- this is why we’re asked to travel the way we do, and have conferences where people travel here…
- you could think about it as the 4 phases of evangelism…[develop]
- this is why when you’re trying to grow and change in your personal life, your family, the way you function at work, in our community, and in our church…you’re being a good steward because your life is on mission…can you say that this am?
- that is why when you help serve at the BCTC so these principles can be taught to the thousands of people who attend…you’re being a good steward…
- when you support all these missionary endeavors…you’re being a good steward pf the mission…
- and what’s the great promise with which Jesus concluded?...
III. Be Hopeful Because Our Mission Relies on Our Savior’s Powerful Presence.
- Matthew 28:20 - teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- the Mission Impossible TV show always ended the description of the task with - …"As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions."
- aren’t you glad our mission is far different?...
- Jesus said – Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age…
- and I hope that message is coming through loud and clear…this mission isn’t impossible – it’s achievable because of the character and the wisdom of the Person issuing it…
- He promised to build His church…and it is an incredible privilege to participate in the fulfillment of His mission to His world…