WEBVTT 00:00:00.001 --> 00:00:04.000 What does a local church have to do with the fulfillment of the Great Commission? 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:07.000 That's our topic for tonight. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:18.000 2 Corinthians chapter 8 says this,"But they put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:24.000 For he not only accepted our appeal, earnest, he is going to you of his own accord. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:31.000 With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:44.000 And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show your good will. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:50.000 We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:56.000 For we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight, but also in the sight of men. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:06.000 And with him we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:11.000 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:22.000 And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ." Lord, we ask your help this evening. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:36.000 Lord, we know that you oppose the proud and give grace to the humble, and that when we draw near to you, you draw near to us. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:46.000 Oh Lord, we want to understand your word and your will, and as a church, Lord, we want to be faithful to it. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:52.000 We want to carry out the task that's been set before us in a way that's pleasing to you. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:02:05.000 And we know that if we do that according to your scriptures, that that is pleasing to you, that that is the way we ought to conduct ourselves, specifically in regards to the Great Commission. 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:24.000 Lord, make us a fruitful church, not only caring for the flock that is a part of this church, but also being diligent to seek out those other sheep that you made reference to, O Christ, in John chapter 10 that have yet to come into the fold. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:31.000 We want to be a part of that great work of bringing in the harvest in Christ, and we pray. Amen. 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:36.000 You may have heard of a man named Samuel Moffat. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:43.000 He was a fairly well-known missionary in Christian history. 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:49.000 In the late 1800s, he was sent by his church here in the United States to the Korean Peninsula. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:55.000 At that point, it was just one Korea unified. This was before, obviously, the war. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:03:01.000 And he went there really as one of the very first Christian missionaries. 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:08.000 A few in China, in Japan, maybe one or two at Set Foot in Korea, but really not much to speak of in terms of the long-term work. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:11.000 He went there along with some fellow laborers, and the Lord blessed. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:26.000 They were able to establish several churches, and they began to raise up Korean men who could take over the church so that there would be indigenous leadership after a set amount of time. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:34.000 And the Lord did that. The Lord brought faithful, available, teachable men who would call the ministry to lead the church. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:39.000 And the day finally came, and he sent it out to Gyeong-yeon, the capital of the peninsula and now the capital of North Korea. 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:45.000 Gyeong-yeon, a very waiting cyber-regionalist, would be in his wording as first in the ministry. 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:47.000 This was a mind moment. 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:55.000 They were all elected by what the team for their lives and their spiritual responsibilities never offered them. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:04:20.000 They sent all into the meeting. One of them said, "We be a third ministers of the Korean church, which has more than ministers. It has missionaries." And they looked at what was there with him, and they said, "You don't know what you ever saw, didn't you?" And they said, "You will be our first missionary." They walked into the assembly, and they were dangling. The vincer that man stoned, and so they pelted him with stones as he preached the gospel with Samuel Moffat. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:26.000 And Samuel Moffat was presiding over that assembly, and Samuel Moffat ordained this man to the gospel ministry. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:40.000 It wasn't long after that that this man was sent out by the Korean church as the first Korean missionary to an island a little ways offshore where he, in turn, was pelted with stones when he first stood to preach the gospel. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:48.000 Now, what is the role of the local church in the Great Commission, and how do local churches relate to missionaries? 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:52.000 What do they have to do in that process? 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:58.000 This evening I want to give you two lists, and I want to look at this question from two different perspectives. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:09.000 One is, what is a church to do? What's the to-do list for churches who want to be found faithful in the task of carrying out the Great Commission? 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.000 What are they to do? 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:21.000 The second list is, what are missionary candidates to be? A to-be list, if you will. A to-do list and a to-be list. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:23.000 Let's look at these together. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:36.000 If you notice in verse 17, the first part there, it says, "For he not only accepted our appeal." That's the first point we want to put a pin in. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:41.000 And it's simply this, the first item of the local churches to-do list is this. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:46.000 Local churches make an appeal. Local churches make an appeal. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:52.000 The call to serve as a missionary is often initiated by an appeal. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:06:02.000 An appeal is simply a strong plea, a request to carry out to a person or a group of people who can potentially meet that need. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:10.000 Well, local churches make an appeal to the members of that church to go. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:12.000 Now, that doesn't mean that all members should go. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:22.000 We sometimes have this idea that if a Christian would only become mature enough, then that, once they reach a certain level of maturity, then they go to China or they go to Africa. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:28.000 That's not how it works. The Lord does call some to do that, but not all. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:33.000 God specifically and especially chooses and calls some to go. 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:40.000 Churches make an appeal in that process in order as a part of the mechanism of God's calling. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:45.000 Now, an appeal doesn't always have to come from the church for it to be a legitimate call. 00:06:45.000 --> 00:07:08.000 Someone could stand up tonight or talk to me afterwards and say, "I believe the Lord's calling me to such and such people group, and maybe we've never mentioned that or never made an appeal." That can very well be a legitimate calling, but churches are in a unique position to make an appeal first because they're aware of the state of the gospel across the world. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:10.000 At least they ought to be. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:16.000 We ought to be paying attention to the specific needs that God providentially brings before us, and we do that. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:19.000 We share those with you on a weekly basis. 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:27.000 So this information is shared with the congregation, and that sort of appeal can be used by the Lord. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:45.000 Also, local churches know that the answer to the spiritual needs in the world, the lack of gospel among people groups, local churches know that the answer is sending their members as missionaries to that people group. 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:47.000 That's ultimately the answer. 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:49.000 Now, I don't want to frighten anybody. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:08:04.000 I don't have a sign-up list for Timbuktu tonight, but the Lord may very well call some of you, members of Grace Bible Church, to go to a place where the gospel has not been preached. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:14.000 Another reason that churches are well positioned to make an appeal is because pastors know their members and are aware of those members who might be wrestling with the call. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:34.000 In fact, I'm aware of several of you right now who have expressed to me, "I think the Lord might be calling me to missions." Some of you have said, "The Lord is calling me to missions. How do I get there?" So we have the ability to talk to you directly because we're aware of that information. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:36.000 Okay, here's number two. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:39.000 Local churches send missionaries. 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:44.000 So local churches make an appeal. We make an appeal to the membership. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.000 Local churches also send. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:55.000 Verse 18, the first part, "With him we are sending the brother." Now, these men were called. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:57.000 They're in the text. 00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:00.000 You won't see it depending on your version, but they're towards the end. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.000 Let me see what verse it is exactly. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:10.000 Yeah, verse 23, "And as for our brothers, they are," do you see that phrase right after those two words? 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:17.000 "They are what?""Messengers of the churches." I'm guessing that's what your version says as well. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:18.000 This is the ESV. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:27.000 Well, the Greek word there is "apostelos.""Apostles of the churches" is the actual phrase there. 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:42.000 So that's a decision that translators have made in order to reduce confusion by using that term "apostel." But "apostel of the churches" is a term that we find in the New Testament. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:50.000 So we don't have time to go to all of the passages and follow this trail. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:57.000 But let me just ask this question. What's your favorite verse that makes mention of missionaries in the Bible? 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:01.000 What's your favorite verse that uses the word "missionary"? 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:08.000 Or better yet, what's any verse that uses the word "missionary" in the Bible? 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:12.000 I'd love to hear it because there's no verses. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:14.000 If you have one, tell me. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:19.000 There are no verses in the Bible that use the word—you don't find that term. 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:21.000 You don't find that title in the Bible. 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:39.000 What you do find is this phrase, "apostles of the churches." And when we look at that pattern—it's used of Barnabas, it's used of Timothy, and Titus here and others—we see that that is the pattern that we ought to follow when we think of missionary. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:40.000 Now, there's more to that. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:51.000 I don't have time to share it, but there's a really good solid case for that in terms of where the term "missionary" came from and where that was translated from. 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:58.000 So, "apostles of the churches"—they were sent out by churches in order to carry out the work of the Great Commission. 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:10.000 "Apostles of the churches" or "messengers of the churches"—it literally means "sint one of the church" or "sint out by the church." That's what the term literally means. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:13.000 And if we trace the word "missionary" back, that's what "missionary" literally means. 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:23.000 "Missionary" comes from the Latin "missionarius," which meant "sint out one.""Missionarius" was translated from "apostelos" into Latin. 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:42.000 "Missionary" means "sint out one." But "sint from whom?""Sint from what?" There's no such thing as a self-appointed missionary or self-sint ambassador. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:44.000 Those are representatives. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:56.000 By definition itself, those are representatives or "sint out ones." And what we see throughout the New Testament is the local church is the missionary sending agency. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:59.000 You are the missionary sending agency. 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:00.000 You are. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:02.000 You have a really important part of that. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:04.000 I'll get into the nuts and bolts of that in just a moment. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:14.000 But local churches "sint missionaries." Local churches have to be careful not to outsource this responsibility to a parachurch organization. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:20.000 That's unbiblical and unsafe, unwise. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.000 Here's the third "to do" on our list. 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:28.000 Local churches "test" missionary candidates. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:31.000 And this is where you come into play. 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:58.000 Verse 18, "With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the God." And then verse 22, "With them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters." Local churches "test," "evaluate," "consider" those who claim to have an inward call. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:11.000 We have to get rid of this idea that if someone steps forward and says, "God is quicker," we have to set this idea aside that we say, "Oh, well, God's called him so that must be true." Well, the inward call to missions is very important. 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:16.000 Call is just as, if not more important than the inward call. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:19.000 The outward bolt, we gladly send him out. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:21.000 We gladly support him. 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:23.000 We are part of the call. 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:27.000 And a part of that examination is this. 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:34.000 That word there in verse 22, "And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters." We have often tested. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:42.000 That word "tested," and I'm not trying to get too, too Greeky here, but that word "tested" is the same Greek word that Paul used. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:44.000 Now, this is Paul writing this. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:50.000 It's the same Greek word that he used when he, when he talked about testing elders and deacons. 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:53.000 It's the same word. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:14:10.000 I think there's a really strong argument to be made that we ought to hold those we send out to start churches in other lands to the same standard that we hold those to who stay here to lead churches and to pastor churches. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:14.000 I'll talk about that more towards the end of our time here. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:24.000 Missionary candidates must be tested by their local church, those believers who can observe their life most closely. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.000 What ought they to test? 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:27.000 Their doctrine. 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:30.000 We see that in verse 18 as preaching of the gospel. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.000 Their giftedness, so their ability to teach. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:40.000 Yeah, there's more I want to say there, but I don't have time. 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.000 Their ability to teach, their doctrine, and their character. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:46.000 So are they above reproach? 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:47.000 Now, that might sound familiar. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:48.000 Are they above reproach? 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:49.000 Are they apt to teach? 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:50.000 Are they sound and doctrine? 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:52.000 What does that sound like? 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:54.000 Well, it sounds a lot like a pastor, doesn't it? 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:56.000 There's a good reason for that. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:05.000 So really quickly, there are five reasons why a local church must be diligent to test those they send to the mission field. 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:10.000 There's more, but let me give you five really quick reasons. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:14.000 Diligent testing of missionary candidates honors God. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:18.000 This is honoring to our Lord who gave us the Great Commission. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:22.000 A king is honored when his knights are excellent in every regard. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:28.000 On the other hand, it's to his shame when they are slovenly dressed and poorly trained. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:32.000 It honors the Lord to send out well-trained missionaries. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:37.000 Number two, it acknowledges the importance of the task. 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:42.000 The more important a task is, the greater care is taken in its completion. 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:51.000 When banks move large amounts of cash, all manner of precautions are taken to ensure that all goes as planned. 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:59.000 Number three, it protects the reputation of the church, the sending church, and also of Christ. 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:07.000 Untested missionaries have done great damage to the name of Christ and his church in foreign lands. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:12.000 I know this firsthand. 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:32.000 I've seen multiple missionaries shipwreck their faith, their testimony, and drag the name of the church and Christ through the mind because of their behavior, and that behavior seemed like it stemmed from not being tested. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:34.000 Number four, it safeguards the missionary. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:47.000 This is in the missionary's best interest that he be fully prepared before he goes into such a rigorous context. 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:51.000 Number five, it's in the best interest of the people group. 00:16:51.000 --> 00:17:04.000 Those he is going to serve are better served if they are encountered by a missionary who is prepared. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:11.000 It's not difficult to see why an untested missionary can do more harm than no missionary at all. 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:24.000 Consider a scenario in which a first-year medical student is asked to perform open-heart surgery, or an aspiring pilot is given the opportunity to fly a 787 full of passengers on his first outing. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.000 It's unwise, isn't it? 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:34.000 Well, as unwise as that is, consider what hangs in the balance for people groups who have not heard the gospel. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:45.000 So churches must be diligent to test the character, giftedness, and doctrine of a man before they send him out as an ambassador of Jesus Christ and an apostle of the church. 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:47.000 Let me make a mention there. 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:50.000 I've used the masculine pronoun multiple times here. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.000 I've used man referring to missionary. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:18:01.000 I don't mean to say that women cannot be sent out as a part of a mission team to serve as a missionary on the foreign field. 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:07.000 It's just easier to use the masculine pronoun here, and if you have questions about that, we could talk about it afterwards. 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:16.000 The local church should test her missionary candidates with as much rigor and care as we test pastoral candidates. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:19.000 Okay, here's the neti for those who are sent out. 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:25.000 Those missionaries who are sent out, those apostles of the churches are tethered to the church. 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:28.000 They're held accountable by the church. 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:37.000 In fact, if they fall into sin or they're not disciplined, ought to be begun in that situation. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:39.000 So appoint missionaries. 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:45.000 Like here in this verse, it says that they've been appointed to travel with them to carry out that they were. 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:54.000 When a missionary candidate is looking at going to the field, it's not that he's to do when I go to whatever country it is. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:56.000 That's not the right way forward. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:03.000 The proper way forward is for that candidate to decide together what will be the task of that missionary. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:12.000 They're appointed to that appeal test, and yes, we look for. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:23.000 So I want to give you a to-be list, and this is something that you might use this as a sort of rubric to evaluate your own life and heart. 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:29.000 We're going to look at the same passage, but now what sort of missionaries ought to be sent out? 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:31.000 The first one is this. 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:33.000 They must be missed. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:38.000 The first item on our to-be list is this person must be earnest. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:40.000 Now, this is all over the passage here. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:20:13.000 Verse 16, "But thanks be to God who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you." Verse 17, "For you not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he is going to you of his own accord." Verse 22, "And with him we are sending our brother, whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you." If you're working through the Bible study process, you would have written that word down in repeated words. 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:14.000 That tells us something. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:19.000 This is a really important element when thinking what he had in mind is this earnestness. 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:20.000 What is earnestness? 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:22.000 This is what we were today. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.000 What is earnestness? 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:28.000 Describe it as a mixture of seriousness, full, diligent. 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:35.000 It's like a fire, we could say, but not a fire fueled by the cedar logs that burns hot but for a short. 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:38.000 It's fire, sealant, smoke, burnt out of the sustained heat. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:41.000 Earnest is an indicator of a true inward call for God. 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:44.000 If someone's not earnest, called. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:56.000 Now, there, inward called certainly must be confirmed by the—a congregation may say, "Yes, this person seems like the perfect missionary candidate if there's no earnestness here." It doesn't matter. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:57.000 True earnestness can't be. 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:59.000 It's raw in the heart of a person by the Holy Spirit. 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:01.000 It's not self-generated. 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:03.000 It's not a mere excitement. 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:05.000 It does include anticipation. 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:06.000 It's not merely an emotion deeper than that. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:12.000 The mere heart of an injury and willing to give up all he knows in order to take the gossiest Christ to or inland. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:13.000 Please say that. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:14.000 That's a little test. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:17.000 Uh, does your heart shrink back? 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:20.000 Like, uh, that sounds crazy. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:21.000 No says. 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:25.000 The desire is like a fire in his bones and contempt. 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:30.000 Not possible to keep the heart of a person that will divine earth, but there will be evidence. 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:37.000 This evidence is observed proven over time, but if it is there, it will conclusively be detected. 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:39.000 Um, so what is evidence of the moral art submission? 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:42.000 Just a couple of things that we can see here in the text. 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:44.000 There's the same earnest care I have for dental art. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.000 I just say the same earnest care I have for you. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:55.000 The true earnestness is not simply an interest in the practical and concrete enough for a people that you haven't even met yet. 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:57.000 It's this desire to do this. 00:21:57.000 --> 00:22:04.000 It's this spiritual good. Those businesses already envision themselves sharing the gospel in a new Havana, family of new believers, alums of Mombasa. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:08.000 Their earnestness has weight, concrete, but even some of their he's only due of his own. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:12.000 A man who is earnest about reaching a people group for Jesus Christ's higher to. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:14.000 Now we have to be careful here. 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:21.000 Just because someone had, just because someone has ministry, let's say, that's not conclusive evidence of true divine earnestness or an inward call. 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:23.000 We have to, we have to, discerning. 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:36.000 There is an affect, a inward calling that says, "Whatever it takes, I will reach this." I respect that. This is a zeal that is not biblical. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:39.000 This is a foolish zeal, an untested zeal. 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:49.000 So I think we can see here a fine line between godly earnestness and foolish passion, and we must be careful that we never confuse the two. 00:22:49.000 --> 00:23:00.000 This takes time and patience. This takes all of the congregation prayerfully laboring together to testament. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:05.000 That's why it's necessary to examine over a long period of time. 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:07.000 One more point about earnestness. 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:21.000 A man who's truly earnest, verse 22 says, if he's found earnest in many matters, a man who has an inward call to missions will also be faithful in his other callings. 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:30.000 He won't only be earnest about reaching a people group, but he will also be earnest in his calling to be devoted to Christ. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:33.000 His devotional life will be vibrant and consistent. 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:36.000 He will be earnest in his calling to shepherd his family. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:44.000 He will be earnest about living a holy life untethered to any enslavement to sin. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:50.000 Look at verse 17. Here's our second item on the to be list, willingness. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:58.000 For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he is going to you of his own accord. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:07.000 One who is sent out by the local church to carry out the work of evangelizing and discipling in a foreign land ought to do so by voluntary acceptance. 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:11.000 There ought to be no compulsion in this area. 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:14.000 Of course, this dovetails with the idea of earnestness. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:27.000 All of this does actually, but the church makes the appeal, but the appeal needs to be accepted voluntarily, not in an obligatory way. 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:30.000 Now, there have been cases throughout missions history where that happened. 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:36.000 Some interesting cases where churches said a missionary is needed in Papua New Guinea. 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:43.000 And Tom, congratulations. Pack your bags. You're going. I didn't mean that, but not really. 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:44.000 But that's what has happened. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:25:08.000 In fact, if you've ever read Peyton's biography, John G. Peyton, who went to the New Hebrides near Papua, this denomination or association of churches there in Scotland, they had a burning desire to reach that island with the gospel. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:10.000 I mean, they wept. They agonized. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:15.000 They came together at an assembly, all the churches, all the ministers. 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:24.000 They had all of the ministers sit up front and they asked all of the congregation to make two votes. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:27.000 Which two men should we send to the New Hebrides? 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:30.000 And John G. Peyton was in the crowd. 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:32.000 He wasn't a minister. He was in the crowd there. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:38.000 And they said whoever gets the most votes, the top two guys, that's who are going to send. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:42.000 Now, by God's providence, there was not a clear majority. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:47.000 It was so spread out, so even among the whole group, they couldn't send anyone. 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:58.000 And it's amazing Peyton describes the moments there saying he could feel the hot tears running down his face and the cries of the heathen in the South Seas ringing in his ears. 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:01.000 And he said, I knew I must go. 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:08.000 So it's interesting how the Lord called John G. Peyton, even in the midst of that sort of unique way of getting a man into the field. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:13.000 So willingness. Now, this has to be tested as well. 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:20.000 It's not a willingness to go because someone wants to go on an adventure and see a different part of the world. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:23.000 Or, you know, this would be at least this would be a steady income. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:27.000 Or I've had so many problems here in my own home church or home culture. 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:29.000 Let's try another one. 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:33.000 To become popular or famous or to be your own boss. 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:36.000 None of those are good reasons to be willing to go. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:49.000 Obviously, we must test to make sure that their willingness and indeed their earnestness has to do with the spiritual good of the people by the spreading of the gospel, evangelizing, discipling, and church planting. 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:52.000 Here's the next item on the to be list. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:57.000 The third one, sound in doctrine and skilled in teaching. 00:26:57.000 --> 00:27:00.000 Now you can see how these fit together with the to do list, right? 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:03.000 These fit together with what the church ought to do. 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:07.000 And this one in particular, the church tests this. 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:13.000 But this missionary candidate ought to be sound in doctrine, skilled in teaching. 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:18.000 With him, we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:23.000 Now, the first two characteristics, earnestness and willingness have to do with the inward call. 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:28.000 This characteristic touches upon ability. 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:33.000 A missionary should be sound in doctrine and able to preach and teach. 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:35.000 Now, this is absolutely critical. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:43.000 A missionary must be, before he hits the field, sound in doctrine and able to preach and teach. 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:51.000 This doesn't mean necessarily that he has had to have gone to seminary, but he does need to have been discipled. 00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:53.000 That can happen in a local church. 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:57.000 He also needs opportunities to show himself able to teach and preach. 00:27:57.000 --> 00:28:07.000 He ought to teach and preach the congregation so that they can be observing, evaluating, and determining whether or not this candidate is ready to be sent out. 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:10.000 Now, let's make a note here. 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:17.000 If a man is not yet totally sound in doctrine, I'm not saying that he's a heretic, but maybe has some growth to do in his understanding of doctrine. 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:23.000 If he's not yet a skilled proclaimer of the word, that doesn't mean that they're not called necessarily. 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:24.000 That's not what that means. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:31.000 It means that their time of preparation might need to be extended so that they can be fully prepared before they're sent out. 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:36.000 Here's our last item on the "to be" list. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:38.000 They need to be above reproach. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:40.000 Above reproach. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:52.000 Verse 22, we see that the apostles of the churches were tested, and with them we are sending our brother, whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:29:05.000 Again, this word "tested" is the same word that Paul used in his description of the testing of elders and deacons. 00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:10.000 Let me just read a short paragraph from Emission's text here. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:13.000 It says this in regard to this idea. 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:24.000 The word "tested" is translated from the Greek verb "dokimatso," which was used to describe the testing or a saying of metals to determine their purity. 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:32.000 This same word, "dokimatso," is used with regard to the testing of elders and deacons before they are ordained into the ministry. 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:43.000 It is probable that the apostles of the churches were tested according to this same standard as elders and deacons set forth in 1 Timothy 3, 1 through 13. 00:29:43.000 --> 00:30:03.000 Now you might say, "Well, you're saying it probably was associated with that, so maybe it wasn't. Maybe we don't have to have such a high standard." Well, I think the biblical evidence is very strong, but logic would lead us to the same conclusion. 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:11.000 So do we truly have a warrant to hold missionary candidates to such a high standard? 00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:17.000 I believe that we do, and at Grace Bible Church I believe that we ought to. 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:23.000 I believe that they ought to be tested with the same rigor that a local church evaluates a pastoral candidate. 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:35.000 Those men who are sent out by the church in order to carry the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to foreign lands must be tested and held to the biblical standards laid out for ministers. 00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:41.000 Why? Because they're doing the work of the ministry. 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:53.000 Some believe a willingness to go to the mission field is qualification enough to send them, yet this flies in the face of common sense and also the biblical paradigm. 00:30:53.000 --> 00:31:00.000 So think about this. We all agree that it is essential for a local church to be led by qualified elders, right? 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:10.000 We believe that our elders should meet the standards laid out in the Scriptures, and if they fail to meet those standards, then they ought not to be appointed. 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:15.000 And if while they're in that position and they fail to meet those standards, they ought to be removed. 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:34.000 Likewise, when a local church plants another local church in a foreign land, it is essential for that new local church, would you not agree, to be led by qualified elders who meet the same standards laid out in the Scriptures? 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:50.000 Thus, wisdom cries out that the missionary who is sent from the local church with qualified elders to establish a local church in a foreign land with qualified elders should himself be elder qualified. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:57.000 And what about identification, examination, and appointment of elders in that new church in the foreign land? 00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:04.000 Many people believe missionaries to simply be evangelists, simply sharing the gospel, and that's all they do, and certainly that's how many begin. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:09.000 But the hope and the plan is for local churches to be planted. 00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:18.000 Evangelism leads to discipleship. Discipleship leads to church planting, and church planting requires the development and appointment of pastors. 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:28.000 Is it not foolish to send a missionary to appoint elders who must meet a standard that the missionary himself doesn't meet? 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:31.000 And this begs a further question. 00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:38.000 Can a missionary who has never served faithfully in a pastoral role effectively identify, examine, and appoint an elder? 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:40.000 Can he train an elder? 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:46.000 If a missionary has no experiential knowledge of shepherding a flock, how will he teach others to shepherd the flock of God? 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:58.000 It seems that it would be wise for local churches to require missionaries and to give them the opportunity to take up pastoral duties in their local church before going to the mission field. 00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:09.000 And there's a further practical reason, and this is what happened to me, actually, for missionaries to be elder qualified. 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:26.000 It is not uncommon for the Lord to save souls and form them into a group that is then forming into a body of Christ long before there are any elder qualified men from within the group. 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:34.000 In such cases, the new believers will naturally and rightly look to the missionary to shepherd their souls. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:41.000 And if this missionary is not elder qualified, then the sending church is in a predicament. 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:51.000 Do they encourage the man who has been sent out from them to take up the role of the pastor, though he's never been tested or he's never been affirmed as being a qualified pastor? 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:56.000 Or do they restrain him and leave the new believers without shepherding? 00:33:56.000 --> 00:34:02.000 The new believers certainly are not ready to test him and affirm themselves yet. 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:20.000 Thus, wisdom would lead us to fully prepare and train a missionary before he goes on the field, testing to see that he is elder qualified, that he is able to teach, that he is sound in doctrine, that he is above reproach. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:26.000 So in this text, we see two important checklists, a to-do list and a to-be list. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:31.000 Local churches ought to make an appeal to their congregation. 00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:37.000 They ought to test the character, the doctrine, and the abilities of missionary candidates. 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:49.000 They appoint those missionaries to a specific mission, and they send out missionaries by preparing them, supporting them, holding them accountable for the duration of their ministry. 00:34:49.000 --> 00:35:01.000 In the to-be list, a missionary candidate ought to be earnest, willing, sound in doctrine, and able to teach, and above reproach.