People are spiritually hungry. Only Blood of Jesus can take away the guilt of the human heart. Authority is given from Him. Half the world has no presence of Christianity. Yes, there’s disappointment, but give all things to God and be a worshipper of Him. Our appointments must be a divine expectation based upon words that never fail. Matthew 28:18-20; Revelation 5:1-5

Speaker(s): Pastor Thomas Schaller
Sermon # 11476
7:30 PM on 5/23/2018

P. Schaller

We gather here tonight anticipating the Spirit to move. Is Eric Driesell here? He is soul winning down in Washington, DC the White House address. All kinds of high schoolers from around the country and he’s out on the street soul winning. I said tomorrow I’d like to go with you. Here he is right now. Eric, is that you? I was just saying you go soul winning down in Washington, D.C. by the White House. Do you use a microphone? Yes. Do you do sketch board? No. Street evangelism. Street preaching. Tomorrow can we go with you? Yes. Are you welcoming us? Yes. We’ll leave around 3. It’s a wonderful spot and it would be glorious to have a team of a lot of people. And people that can sing. Just to sing praises. A lot of tourism and traffic down there. Later in the summer you do the same thing in Ocean City? Yes. A lot have gone here from the past. The high school seniors go down there celebrating graduating. Part of our outreach is to them…We are praying for evangelism and want to reach people. I’m thankful for you that you are committed to that. After the service, we can do the rap together and ask any questions.

Saturday is graduation here for MBC&S. Any graduates here, stand up. That will be 1:00 Saturday. We’ll celebrate their finishing the program and enjoy that very much. After are the barbeques and things that go on. You are welcome to come.

P. Liam mentioned his son graduated from law school, Conner. Roselyn Jones, did you graduate? Who else graduated from high school or college? Conner, congratulations from the church family here.

Zoe lives in Finland and is studying over there. And she’s a team member and just came back in a surprising way. Zane, her brother, didn’t know she was coming so he walked into the room and he fell over!

P. Scibelli wrote a Faith Promise letter with some statistics here as we share tonight about Jesus’ authority. What a great subject.

Mt. 28, It’s a great time of year at Greater Grace. We think about missions, missionaries are coming. Many of you open your homes. Thank you for doing that. We shake hands and connect.

Pam Greaves has written an excellent book on missionary stories. That will be a great book for you to get your hands on when it’s available to the public. Thanks, Pam. Great job.

We are hosting the Convention. That is such a privilege to us. Authority of Jesus.

Mt. 28:18, think about the Great Commission and the great commander of the Great Commission. The great weapons God has given us to do the Great Commissions. God’s ways are not our ways so there is a great strategy for doing the Great Commission. There are also great results for doing the Great Commission.

We were in China two weeks ago and so impressed with what I saw. People are so spiritually focused and sharing and believing and worshipping. The ideology of the nation, materialistic, atheism. We have seen in other parts of the world like the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and Vietnam. P. Doug is sending back the report that these people are spiritually hungry. Communism does that. Narrowing your beliefs to atheism produces a hunger.

We are in the U.S. and it is a secular culture and we see great results. It can be interpreted into great rewards. Great power, Great Commander who has authorized us to be in the highways and byways sharing the gospel of Christ. The only thing that can take away man’s guilt is the blood of Jesus. There are pills and alcohol and drugs but you wake up to the same problem, the guilt of the human heart. When the reality of Christ comes into the life and they become a worshipper of the living God. Christ has all power in heaven and in earth, most important kind of power and most important kind of results. Sometime later in time – I can use this as a timeframe. This is 2018. There is power here now. Christ’s power with the believer. Sometimes when we talk to missionaries, they are amazed when they landed and started to move and walk, they had an amazing sense of confidence. They had this sense of mission, peace, confidence, authority. What is happening is God is with me in this country or with these people. It seems to be and not obvious to everyone that the authority of God is with us in this mission of world evangelism.

We could draw it this way regarding the world population. Here’s the world’s population. Cut it in half and quarters. One quarter of the world is Christian, meaning the culture, churches. It doesn’t mean they are believers. The other quarter of the world lives in the presence of the Christian culture. Meaning people immigrate or move or are next to or nearby a Christian nation. There is a definite relationship with another part of the world. Let’s say Iranians come here or Saudi Arabians study in Europe. The Muslim population has gone to Germany, the 1 million Syrian refugees. They have access to Christians by living in a Christian or post Christian culture. One half of the world doesn’t have any presence of Christianity in it. There are parts of the world where there is very little presence. For sure God answers our prayers and people there. There are radio programs that go to Saudi Arabia. Some are in Turkey. Pakistan. India is a huge country but now growing Christianity is significant. We need to travel across borders and go to parts of the world where there is not the message. It is happening. Nepal with Diane and Pastor Jon Post and P. Rajan and P. Narj. In India, in China.

My point of saying it is we are world Christians, not worldly Christians. We are Christians that believe the entire world is our target. The Great Commission is to go because there is authority from God’s throne in our work, words and prayers and even in our presence. We are there in the name of Christ. We are there with a message. We are there with kindness, a word of counsel, a school or some kind of service to the people. Many ways it is expressed through the Body of Christ.

Rev. 5:1 this text would take some explanation. I don’t think I can do much of that just now. I want to make a point.

vs. 1. There was a book in heaven in the right hand of God who sat on the throne. This book is connected with the future of planet earth, the future of the human race. This book has to do with legal authority and who has a right to see this future unfold with judgment that is to come upon the earth for the coming of Christ, the returning of Christ. We understand in eschatology these trials, plagues will come on the earth for a seven year period. The Apostle John is wondering who can open the book, who has a right to the earth in this way. Who has a right to bring judgment on the earth? How could the evil and wickedness woven into the fabric of the world, how can this be expunged, corrected, challenged, stood up against? How can all the evil be addressed? Who has the authority to address this evil that is in the world?

vs. 2. I don’t know how to explain it. When Nazi Germany was strong with a four-million man army and thousands of tanks and planes and submarines, we could say who could stand against Nazi Germany? Who could put them out of commission and challenge the lies, the debauchery, and the murder. Who can challenge this powerful, evil system?

vs. 2. Worthy to open the book. Who has the right? We could say, you have a strong angel. You can open it. The angel would say, I can’t. I’m an angel. I don’t have the right over the earth. Do you know who has the right over the earth? Man is to have authority over the earth. Not angels. Man was to fill the earth. Man was to be in charge. Man was to be the king of the earth. Man was to have the right. But there is no man.

vs. 3. There was no one. This is such a story of spiritual insight that stimulates and provokes us in our heart.

vs. 4. It seems there is no solution. How can an unclean thing cleanse an unclean thing? How can a wicked man correct a wicked man? How can a wicked system be challenged by another wicked system? How could it happen? I wept much.

vs. 5. Look at our screen. This is going to happen here at this point. He has the authority to open the book. I want to go back to his resurrection. He said I have all authority and power and I send you. That’s what I want to say. I send you. There is a time coming at the end of the seven years he is coming back with the sword of his mouth. Do you know what will happen when he comes back? Let’s say there is a leader and he’s a wicked, evil man. At the end of the Tribulation he stands up against Jesus and he says you’re a dead man. He’s gone. The man dies on the spot. Jesus out of his mouth it’s over with this evil. His kingdom comes on the earth. Now we see it this way. Go to China. I am with you. Go to Oman. I am with you. Go to Mexico. I am with you. Go to India. I am with you. Go to Nepal. I am with you. Go to Turkey. I am with you. Go to Lebanon. I am with you. Go to Syria. I am with you. I believe the power we feel as believers is so substantial it surprises us at times. We are amazed at the comfort and authority and power and blessing. This is our honor and it bears fruit. In a few weeks, we will celebrate here when we gather and the Spirit is with us speaking to our hearts with joy and stories and great testimonies. We’re going to say, really? That’s amazing.

Here are some statistics P. Scibelli found. Only 10% of missionaries work among unreached people groups. One percent of foreign mission funds are used for work among the unevangelized and unreached people. American Christians spend .5%, one half of one percent to reach the unreached. I’ll skip a few. The average American Christian gives $3.56 a year to global missions. The average western missionary spends only 3% of his time in direct evangelism. I’m not trying to present a discouraging picture but to encourage you in a great work, Pastor Scibelli said or wrote here in this letter.

Neh. 6:3 You are involved, we are involved with something.

Mt. 28:18, all power. All power. Wow. It seems the power goes like there is all power and the power over our tongue, our speech, and our hearts. The power in our decision making.

As you know, many of us have done missions work and many times we say it was the highlight of my life and so thankful. I also realize here we are in Baltimore, a great mission field with great needs and we are seeing great results with people that are coming in from the woods that are homeless with drug problems. These things can be swallowed up with the power of Jesus Christ. I think it is a rough battle but as I walk by faith just every day I live by faith the power of Christ in this work of redemption, regeneration, mind renewal, Spirit filling. He doesn’t hold anything back. This is obvious to us in our N.T. Exceedingly great precious promise. Great victories of incredible magnitude in every life.

Remember, when you have your ideas of how your life should be. This is an important point. My life should be this way. This is how I think. It’s kind of like a frozen box. You start to walk with God and you give those ideas to God. Lord, I need to get married. Give it up to God. Let God decide. Lord, I need to have children. Let God decide. Lord, I have to have a Starbucks coffee in the morning. True story. We had a divorce case years ago. This woman had child, young, and she said I just want to be on my own. I want to be able to get a Starbucks coffee in the morning and have a job. I never had a chance to do that. I became a mother right away. It led to divorce. She had some concept about a Starbucks coffee being important, I mean in that way. I mean in that degree.

This is something we all struggle with. That might sound humorous or maybe I’m making fun of it but I’m not actually. We all have these things. Best advice I can give anybody is give it to God with all your heart and be a worshipper of him. You will see he is wiser than I am. I might be disappointed but I have him. He is my expectation. Here is another little tip on disappointment. It’s appointment dissed. I’m disappointed. How can I be disappointed if my appointment is a divine expectation based on something that never fails? God is my expectation. This is what I need in my life. God filling me and satisfying me and giving me what I need. Living in faith.

I remember when Justin and I were living in Hungary. Sometime in the year we had a talk. He brought it to my attention. Dad, when you told me not to look forward to leaving Hungary because I might miss what God wants for me before I go. If I set my affection on something in the future….I might miss what God is doing on the way. I am the way….life I will not be disappointed if I make God my expectation. There is a lot of power here.

Do you know when they were weeping, John was weeping. There isn’t any man. He didn’t know this about Jesus yet. Jesus can take the book…The confrontation with every life. The work against very demonic spirits. There is one made like the Son of God and he became a relative of ours through the seed of David, the seed of Abraham. He was a man indeed. This is a mystery to us. This man is God and is the answer for the whole human race. I believe it with all my heart.

We have a Mongolian brother in our congregation. We are talking the other day and he’s a born again believer, Russian speaker and lived in Mongolia. Only 3 or 4 million people. We will not let our heart shrink and exclude Mongolia. It’s a mission field. There are souls there like you and I. We will be thinking and praying about the world as we work in Jerusalem….utter most parts, Mongolia. This is our vision and mission. It is a Great Commission by a great God given with great power, great patience, great strategy, and great deliberation on purpose, great focus, and maybe we make great sacrifice to get it done.

One last thing about finances. If my budget is $2000 a month which is very little, $1800 with my social security check and whatever else I get is so little money. This is not about tithing but about faith. Is the power given to Jesus, is that power powerful enough to give me money every month that will channel through me to give to missions. Every month $50, Lord, that I can give to missions. Jesus, you have to give me that money every month. I want you to be praying about it and thinking. Friday night we will have paper and if want to make a faith promise. I think I can make a pledge every month to give x number of dollars for missions. I know you are sitting in a missionary church but that’s one reason why we ….most of the pastors here have done this kind of work. I’m refreshed in it. Hudson Taylor went back to England because he was sick. He couldn’t put it away. God send missionaries to China. This is 1860 I think. My heart is broken. My heart is aching for lost people. People need to know about Jesus Christ and please send labors. I think 4,000 went to his China Inland Mission and did an amazing work. vs. 19. Start Bible schools, teach, preach, Bible studies, small groups. Do it here. Go there into Harford County, Delaware, New Jersey. Go therefore to Virginia, Cumberland, just teach in the pizza shop. Have a Bible study group. I am with you. The anointing is there. One soul, one teen. Teach all people groups.

vs. 20. You will be sleeping, I will be with them. You teach your class and go home and go to sleep. I will be with them and give that word to their spirit and they will believe you.

I’ve been a missionary in Finland and met a group of men in my first years there (naming them). These are still my friends, my brothers. The ladies that were there (naming them). I’m amazed. Why are they believing today? Because of this. I do what I have commanded you. Lo, I am with you always.

This is what you do in Rosedale and Hamden and Perry Hall and everywhere where there are people. We are empowered and commissioned by God. We are enjoying the benefits of it. It’s above our pay grade. If you get locked into your hopes and dreams, they may disappoint you, trouble you, and fail you. They may. I’m not saying they may not. How safe it is. We are saying Jesus, what is on your heart? Let me pay attention to what you are doing and you will take care of me. None of us know if our life will be long or short.

Let me finish with that story. We had a brother in Hungary. He had a birth defect, his hand and leg. He had his leg amputated as a child because of a defect at birth. Good looking guy, humble, a servant of God. Amazing guy. He did a Bible study by himself in Hungary. He would walk with a limp. I said you don’t have to do it. He said don’t take it away from me. It’s the best part of the week. I go alone but God is with me. He said maybe three or two people or five. Anyway, some years passed and I said I think you should go to Baltimore to Bible college. He decided to go. In the beginning, I said are you going to go? I’m going the second week of September. No, you are to go now. I got angry with him like. I said get on the plane and go now. I had total conviction about him going now. Two days after he flew was 911 and it shut down all the airports. The American embassy gave him the visa. He came and studied one year. He is now 29 years old, ministering in Zeged and one night he died. 29 years old when he died in his sleep. They don’t know why.

My point is you don’t know how long you will live. We don’t know what this is all about. I’m so convinced we are in something we will not be ashamed of what we are doing. We will not be disappointed ultimately by what we are called to do. Everything we are doing…listen.

Last thing! Am I going to hang out with people trashing the church or God’s people? Am I going to hang out with people suspicious and raising questions and sit around and don’t do a thing.

You live your life; I live mine. I got something going on between me and Jesus Christ. Christ has given us authority to break through enemy territory. To go to places where people need Christ in their life. …depressing thoughts and ideas and ways of life. We are on a mission.

It’s precious and sacred and I don’t appreciate it when we don’t have the sense to say thank you for your time but I don’t have time for this. I’m talking about human nature and the Bible. Paul warned about it and it’s to scatter the sheep and discourage people and leave them in unbelief and they go nowhere when they could go very far with God.
 

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