Missional Calling - Our Judea

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Good morning church. So good to see you all here this morning. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the room here this morning. Whether you're joining us online or in person, I want to welcome you this morning. What a joy is it to have our children involved in the services. Isn't that fantastic? I get so encouraged to see our little ones grasp these truths and be able to share with us what the Bible says. And if you've been coming for the last couple of weeks, you'll know that today marks week two of May Mission Month. And so we're going to be continuing in a series that we've titled Mission or Calling, looking at Acts 1-8, which Jesus, his words before he ascends back to heaven, he says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. If you were here last week, you will have heard Pastor Doug talk about the first of these areas. We have four areas that have broken up in this statement. He spoke about Jerusalem. And so following suit this morning, our focus is going to be looking at our Judea. And there's a little bit of a spoiler because very truly, the children preached the sermon for me this morning. I could get down and you'll have just as much. So I'm not going to, but I'm going to say exactly the same thing in a slightly different way. But before we do any of that, would you join me in prayer? Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are God. Lord, we thank you that you give us life, you give us a purpose, you give us a mission while we're here on earth. Lord, thank you for our young ones, for our children, who have already grasped this truth. Lord, as we unpack it a little bit further, would you lead us and guide us by your Holy Spirit? Help us to respond in the way in which you call us to. We pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. All right, if you've got your Bibles, Acts 1.8, 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 ends of the earth. As we focus our attention in on this area of our Judea this morning, I think it's helpful for us, first and foremost, to clarify what it is that we're talking about. See, Judea, in the context that it's written here, was the region that surrounded and included Jerusalem. So let's take a moment, let's make some comparable borders for ourselves because we define our mission field of Judea here today. Last week, if you're here, you would have heard Doug say that our Jerusalem is anywhere that God places us. And so, this morning, we find ourselves here in Kabbaltah Baptist Church. That's where we've been placed. Throughout the week, you probably live locally if you're visiting. Fantastic, it's great to have you here. But we live kind of local, we probably work in the area. Our lives are kind of in this space. So if Jerusalem is wherever God places us, where is our Judea? Well, we push the borders out a little bit. We broaden the mission field and we say it's the surrounding area. It's the surrounding region in which we find ourselves. And so for us, it's not Kabbaltah Baptist Church. We push out that little bit further. Kabbaltah Moray Field and the whole Morton Bay region. This is the area that we're talking about this morning. This is what we're going to explore. How do we engage missionally and let our light shine in our surrounding Morton Bay region? To do this, we're going to look at two primary texts. The first we've already read is Acts 1.8. And the second, the kids have shared with us already. Matthew 5.14-16, if you've got your Bibles there, we'll read that now to refresh our minds. These are Jesus' words. He says, You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but put it on a stand and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. I want to show you something. I've been excited to show you this. This here is my favorite torch. If you are a part of Seniors or a part of We Did an Empowering at Grace Lutheran, you would have seen my old favorite torch. But I bought this torch this week and it's my new favorite torch. This is my new favorite torch and what I'm going to say, hopefully, if you have heard this stuff before, I hope there's something new in there for you as well. The reason that this is my new favorite torch is because it is very, very powerful. I didn't go half-hearted. This is a really powerful light. It shines light super far. It lights up fields on a dark night. We were testing it during the week and the whole backpatic and the neighbors at acreage, it was brilliant. This is my new favorite torch. This is going to be our illustration for this morning, so let's make sure we understand the illustration and get it right. This torch represents you and me. We are the torch. We're tracking? We got that? Yeah, good. The light that comes out of the torch is the good news of the gospel. It's the good news of Jesus Christ, who has paid for our sins and offers us salvation. That's our illustration. With that in mind, let's reread Acts 1.8. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. I don't know about you, but as we read that, it seems as though our purpose, our mission in Judea is pretty clear. We're to be witnesses of who Christ is and what Christ has done. In other words, we need to let our light shine in Cabocha, Murrowfield and the Morton Bay region. And just like this torch, because it's so powerful, this torch can make a massive impact in dark places. I said I was testing it out during the week, lit up the entire acreage of our neighbour's place. It can make a massive impact in the darkness. And so too, the light that we have, the good news of Jesus, the gospel truth that he gives to us, can have a massive impact in the lives of those in our Judea. If you're sitting here this morning, if you're a Christian, you know the impact that it has. It's light changing. And we can't forget that. This light, this news that we have to share is powerful. But as we explore this this morning, I want to give us a caution. Because very truly, I believe the impact of the light can be really, really good and positive. If you're a Christian here this morning, you know that. But I want to warn us that if we approach this incorrectly, it can also be really unhelpful and potentially harmful. So it's important that we not only understand that we have a light to shine, that we have a mission, but we understand how to shine this light well. Let's unpack it. The first thing that I think we can learn from these scriptures is that we need to be authentic. Okay, as I said, I bought this during the week, and the packaging was amazing. It was a nice little box. But all over the box, like typical branding stuff, they put all the best features of it, right? And so on the box, it told me that this light has a maximum intensity. That's the light that it produces and sends out of 2,600 lumens. That means nothing to me. But what caught my eye was that it can throw this light up to 630 metres away. That's the span of this light. So I can stand somewhere, light it up, and the light will reach. I can see, my eyes are good, 630 metres away. I've been told this, and I'm packing it, the torch looks the part, right? It looks like a capable torch. I would believe that this torch can do it. But we need to be authentic. Let's say for a moment, okay, that I've decided after church, Zali, we're going camping. Okay? We just pack up the car, we go into, whoop, whoop, nowhere. There's no street lights. The clouds are pretty thick today. So the only light we would have had would be the moon and the stars. But that's all covered by cloud. But it's okay, because we've got the rooftop. I've got my torch. We're going to have light for days. Everything is all good. We get out there, we set up camp. It's wet, so we can't get a fire going. We're rugged up in jumpers. And anyway, the sun goes down, and it's pitch black. I go, brilliant, now I can use my light. This light tells me it can light up 630 metres. Crazy, loomage, send out. How good. I get it out of the glove box, and I go, I go. It's not working. Push the button again and again. It's not working. The packaging told me that this was a fantastic light. And that it was going to be able to light up all this stuff. That if I had it with me, if I had took this, it was going to make sure I see. And yet I click this button, and nothing. Where's the light that this torch had promised me? Torch looks the part, but it has nothing there. Acts 1, 18. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Notice the order in that statement. Jesus doesn't say, drop everything, go start witnessing, and as you're out there in the trenches, then you'll receive power. No, he says you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And then go out and witness in all these places. See, we have to be authentic. If we don't have a personal relationship with Jesus, we can't witness. We don't have any good news to share with anyone. If we haven't truly accepted and grasped the gospel for us in 1416, then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you, and he will be with you forever. Once we receive the Holy Spirit, we not only have the power to do this, but we have the mission to go into our Judea. We find ourselves here at Cabocha Baptist. We have the mission to go into Cabocha, Murrowfield, the Morton Bay region, and shine our light to share the good news of Jesus. Matthew 5 of 14 to 16. You are the light of the world. Why? Because you've accepted Jesus. You've got the Holy Spirit. You've got something to shine. You've got something to share. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. But put it on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. When we have the Holy Spirit, we have a light to shine. We have a mission, Jesus tells us, to go into Jerusalem and Judea, and I'm not going to say the rest, because that's for future weeks. We not only find ourselves in the places where we physically are, we find ourselves with a region surrounding us to go in and share our light with. And just like when I turn on this torch, it's noticeable. No one sits down and goes, oh, the torch isn't on. You can see that the torch is on. Just like this torch is noticeable when it's on, you and I should be noticeable, both individually as Christians, but also as a church. We should be noticeable in our Morton Bay region. But to do that, we have to be authentic, because otherwise we've got no light to shine. The reality of light is it stands out in the darkness. It stands out in the darkness. And the reality of our region being a part of our world is that it is sinful and fallen and in need of Jesus, in need of light. And you and I, as Christians, as part of Kabuchah Baptist, we have a light to shine. But we have to be authentic. The reality is standing out can sometimes be uncomfortable. But we're told here in Matthew not to cover our light. Sometimes we can fall into the temptation of going, oh, I'm going to stand out if I'm a light in the middle of darkness. Yeah, that's what we're called to do. Jesus says, don't cover your light. That's silly. Instead, let it shine. Be authentic. Don't say you're a Christian and then not shine. Be authentic. Let your light shine in our region of Morton Bay. I want to suggest that the only thing more tragic, right, the reason that we have this mission is to reach those who haven't accepted Jesus, to share the good news with those who may not have heard it. I want to suggest this morning that the only thing more tragic, more damaging, and more worrying is a torch that thinks it's shining, but doesn't have a battery. We can't think that just because we come to church, just because we are good people, that we've got the battery, the Bible's very clear, we have to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. We have to accept that we can't deal with our sin by ourself. We need that personal relationship. We need to be authentic. The second thing that I think we can learn from this scripture is that we need to be approachable. Matthew 5, 16. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Let's begin with what Matthew 16 doesn't say. Matthew 16, when we read this, no translation will say, relentlessly blind others with your light so that they may have and fade off. And yet, I fear that's a danger for us this morning. If I had this light on and I walked up to you, and as I was walking up to you, let's say the middle of the cross is your face, and I walk up to you like this, what are you going to do as this light gets closer and closer and closer to your eyes? What's going to happen? I can guarantee you're going to shield your eyes, you're going to close your eyes, you might pull a sour face at me. You're going to be off-put by my presence. That's the reality of it. The packaging came with a warning to this torch. It said, do not look directly at the light source or shine to eyes, or else it may cause temporary blindness or permanent damage to the eyes. Don't shine lights in eyes. It would be off-putting. You wouldn't want me near you if I came over and shone this in your face. So we need to be careful as we interact in Caboolture, Murrowfield, the Montmay region, to shine our light well. If you have epilepsy or struggle with light sensitivity, just close your eyes for the next 10 seconds. We have a danger of coming up to people so excited that, oh, I've got this good news to share. Hey, you have to hear this. You need to see this. And we start blinding those who we're trying to share the light with. There's a danger of Bible bashing, and only going up to people to try and guilt them and say, hey, you're going to hell if you don't take it. Guys, we cannot condemn anyone to salvation. It's an important part of the story, but we can't just scare people to Jesus. That's not what we read here. That's not what good witnessing is. We can't be unapproachable like that. Instead, what does it say? In the same way, let your light shine before others. If I'm walking along and I have my light like this, I can see where I'm going. It's guiding my steps. But also, very truly, does anyone have this in their eyes? No. Can everyone see this? Yeah. Very truly, if this auditorium was pitch black, you would be able to see this light guiding my path. And if you wanted to, just by me being here, just by me shining my light, you could see that. And if you wanted to, you could approach me and say, hey, what's that light? Can I check that out? Can you tell me about it? Can you tell me what is this thing? Why is it here? But in the same way, like this, if someone was over there, I can approach you. And gradually, my light's going to come over, but I'm not shining it in your eyes. I'm just here. I've brought the light in front of you. You can now see it. I might engage a conversation. I might tell you about my light. If you've still got the option, you can say, that's fantastic. I'm so glad you came over. I really want that for myself. The person we approach might go, that's good for you, but don't really think I need that. I'm happy where I'm at. And that's OK. I can turn around and keep on my way. But in that interaction, in that interaction, no damage has been done. I've gone over and blinded the person. I haven't attacked them with scripture. I've approached them. I've shared with them. And they know that if they come to me, I'm not going to flick my light on and blind them, but they know that it's here. It's evident. And so how do we interact with the people in Kabuchah and Murrowfield and the Morton Bay region? Is it clear that we have a light guiding us where we go? Is it clear that people can come and ask those questions? Are we approachable? Do we allow people to come and speak to us? Or are we big and scary? Are we distant and removed? Do we sometimes go too far attacking people to Christianity? We need to be approachable when we shine our light. Finally, we need to be available. We need to be ready to respond to the Holy Spirit's leading. See, while the Holy Spirit is the power source, He's the one that gives us the power to do this thing. He also guides us. He leads as He prompts us. And I want to suggest this morning, church, that we need to be listening. We need to take those opportunities that God puts in front of us each and every day. See, the reality of this torch is it shines wherever I point it. What? We need light over there. We need light up there. There we go. It shines wherever I point it. And so let's say we're camping again, and Zali and I have decided to go out on a bush walk. And as we've been out, the sun's come down. It's now pitch black. It's okay. I've got my torch, and it's working. It's got a battery. We're walking along, no problem. But as we're walking along, someone in the congregation has got them themselves into trouble. They've slipped and fallen and broken their leg. Can someone yell out help? Thank you, Eli. I've heard that. Okay, there's a prompting. But this light goes wherever I point it. So I can continue to go, oh, that sounds like trouble. It sounds like he's really hurt. Can you scream out again, help? Sounds like he's in trouble, but I've got baked beans ready to eat, and that would be inconvenient. So I'm actually just going to continue on my way. Is this light any good to Eli? No. But if I get that prompting, and I go, oh, Eli needs help. I'm not going to because I don't want to blind people. And I point my light towards him, and I go over and I interact. Is that helpful? And so too, as we go to work and through the daily rhythms of our life, we need to be conscious and aware that we are a part of a bigger region. Kabucha, Morayfield, Montenegro. And that in this space, as we go through the rhythms of life, the Holy Spirit will prompt us. It might be, hey, go have a conversation with this person, invite them to this thing that's going on. Just help them out. But if we're not listening, if we're too preoccupied with where we're wanting to go, then we're not going to respond, and we're not going to live out the command that we've been given to witness in our Judea. We need to be available and listening to God so that we don't miss these opportunities to shine our light well. And so Acts 1.8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Matthew 5, 14 to 16, you are the light of the world. That's phenomenal. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Church, as we interact with our Judea, as we go about living in the Morton Bay region, can I encourage you, be authentic. If you're a Christian, be a Christian. If you have a relationship with Jesus, have a relationship with Jesus. And if you don't, but you have questions, ask them. Be approachable. There's good and bad ways to shine light. And be available to the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus. Lord, we thank you that through Him we are able to receive forgiveness for our sins. Not because we are worthy, not because we can work for it, but because we are loved by you, our God. Lord, thank you that when we receive Jesus, we also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Lord, thank you for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to lead us and guide us to grow us more in the likeness of Christ. Father God, thank you that you provide us with a mission. Help us not to brush this off or take it lightly. You tell us to go and be light in the world. You tell us to go and witness in Jerusalem, Judea. Wherever we find ourselves, Kibbutch and Morayfield, the Morton Bay region. Lord, would you lead us and guide us? Help us to be authentic. Help us to be approachable. And help us to be available to you, our God. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.