“Here Am I, Lord. Send Me!” For what reason? To glorify God.
Preached by Mr. Paul Beltz, Missionary & Guest Speaker
First Baptist Church Earlville, NY Sunday October 7, 2018
The engine that powers missions is when true believers give God the honor and respect due Him.
-Psalm 67:3-7
-Psalm 97: 1-6
-Psalm 104:33-34
Missions will be an outcome of our burning desire to worship and glorify God.
What is your attitude about God? Is it only Savior, Protector, the God who forgives?
He is all that but also the Lord God Creator. The One Who creates also owns!
-Isaiah 40: 25, 26, 28
It is by God’s power and strength that we exist. He holds all things together by His will.
Imagine…No gravity
No friction
No oxygen/carbon dioxide
No water
No sun.
Isaiah in Chapter 6 of Isaiah saw God’s glory and said, “Here am I; send me.”
Charles Misner, a scientific specialist in general relativity theory, expressed Albert Einstein’s skepticism over the church with words that should waken us to the shallowness of our experience with God in worship:
The design of the universe…is very magnificent and
shouldn’t be taken for granted. In fact, I believe that
is why Einstein had so little use for organized religion,
although he strikes me as a basically very religious
man. He must have looked at what the preachers
said about God and felt that they were blaspheming.
He had seen much more majesty than they had ever
imagined, and they were just not talking about the
real thing. My guess is that he simply felt that religions
he’s run across did not have proper respect…for the Author
of the universe.
And they are right. If it were not true:
-Our churches would be overflowing
-Prayer meeting would be packed
-Teen groups would be flourishing
-Our missions programs would be exploding
How can believers who are not in awe by the greatness of God be sent out with His message?
-Like we see in Psalm 96
When was the last time we honored God like that?
-As I look at myself I say listen to the preacher!
-Where is our zeal for God’s glory?
-What are our desires?
Jesus had a mission to show the glory of God’s mercy
-Romans 15:8-9
In John Piper’s book, “Let the Nations be Glad!”, he points out 3 truths about Jesus’ mission.
1) Zeal for the glory of God motivates world missions.
When we desire to glorify God, missions will become our desire
The apostle Paul gave 3 reasons why Christ came as a servant
1. To show God’s truthfulness
2. To confirm God’s promises
3. That the nations might glorify God for His mercy
Jesus came into the world for God’s sake.
To demonstrate that God is a God of truth, a Promise keeper, and He is glorious.
Jesus, “God Himself,” came to magnify God’s glory. Zeal for God’s glory
motivates world missions.
2) Jesus came to show—a servant spirit and a heart of mercy which motives world missions.
1. Christ was a servant in that He was the means by which God’s mercy was brought to us
2. He came as a servant and gave His life
3. He demonstrated the connection between compassion and missions.
-Matthew 9:36-38—Pray that the Lord of the harvest would send out laborers.
-Jesus gave us what we did not deserve. Mercy, servant hood, and mercy
-A servant spirit and a heart of mercy motivates world missions.
3) The third truth is that the first and second truths are one truth.
1. Christ came so that the Gentiles would glorify God.
2. Glorify God for His mercy.
A heart for the glory of God
A heart of mercy for the nations
-Makes a Christlike missionary.
CONCLUSION:
Jesus’ mission was to glorify God’s mercy.
Our mission is to glorify God’s mercy.
Is that showing in our life and worship?
Why not, why, what is your reason?
Close in prayer