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Global Missions Sunday with Jacob Theiss
28 Plays1 year ago
Sunday Message recorded 31 December 2023
by Missionary Jacob Theiss
First Baptist Church -- Columbus TX
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
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Transcript
Bible Version and Introduction
00:00:06
Speaker
So before I go ahead and start, if you don't have your Bibles with you today, the words are going to be up on the screen. I use the CSB standard, or the CSB version of the Bible. So if it's a little different from yours, that's why. But if you need a Bible, we have them in the pews. And I have it written down on my hand, so I don't forget. It starts on page 1089, if you're curious.
Journey to Ministry and Japan
00:00:31
Speaker
But yeah, so I did want to do a little bit of an introduction, so if you wouldn't mind just going ahead and throwing that next graph up there from the slideshow, that'd be great.
00:00:42
Speaker
Okay, so there's a lot of information up there just I'll talk about that in a minute But my name's Jacob Tice for those who don't know me and if you just read my name for the first time on the screen I grew up here in Columbus I was saved in this church when I was about 16 and a couple years later God began calling me into full-time ministry and Specifically to fulfill the Great Commission in my life by going internationally to Japan
00:01:11
Speaker
So I took about 10 years to get prepared and go to school and take way too long to get an undergraduate degree and start my master's. It took me like six and a half years to get a four year degree. Riddle me that one. I don't know how it worked out that way, but it did.
Missionary Work and Cooperative Program
00:01:27
Speaker
But then I moved back here and in 2019 started the application with the International Mission Board. It's a missions organization. I'm sure you're familiar with it, especially being a Southern Baptist Church as it is a Southern Baptist denomination kind of entity.
00:01:47
Speaker
But before I get into all that, I just wanted to share with you where I was at. Columbus is a city of about 3,500, 3,600 people, give or take, whatever year. So I lived in Osaka, Japan, which is the second largest city in Japan. So when people think of Japan,
00:02:07
Speaker
They're probably thinking Tokyo. Japan has a population of about 128 million people. 37.5 million live in the Tokyo metropolitan area. That's not where I was at. That's too big for me. So I went to the smaller city, Osaka, where in the metropolitan area, there's about 19.3 million people. So it felt like a small town. That's where I lived for about three years.
00:02:33
Speaker
With the IMB I served on the Saturado soccer team. That's what we kind of call ourselves there And it was just an amazing time and I've shared with the church before and I'd love to share with you all Individually if you ever want to know I do also have prayer cards available on either side of the stage their new prayer cards at prayer prompts you know QR codes and websites that you can go to for our team website to find out what we're about and
00:02:59
Speaker
and what we do there in Osaka, but also the IMB's website if you're ever interested in praying with more insight, praying for specific areas, giving or going even, there's tons of ways you can go. But yeah, so I served with IMB as an ISEer and that's our Denominations International Sending Force. And so
00:03:23
Speaker
Our denomination set up the cooperative program. For those who don't know what that is, there's going to be a lot of statistics here in a minute and I swear this isn't the sermon, we're going to get into some good stuff. This season is important, especially for people like me and the rest of the world, really.
Funding and Lottie Moon Offering
00:03:42
Speaker
So the cooperative program, a long time ago, our denomination basically decided, look, instead of trying to tackle everything that's going on with the world by ourselves, now each church should go and do the things in their local community as they, like on their own, but how much better would it be if we united as an entire denomination, and thus the cooperative program was born. So the cooperative program is really just, you know, as you tithe to the church,
00:04:12
Speaker
Throughout the year, the church will give roughly, I think on average, about 15% to 55% depending on the church's ability. Some more, some less than those statistics. And that goes to the co-operative program. 50% of that goes to pay
00:04:31
Speaker
for all things done here in North America. So church revitalization, church planning, pastors in need, seminary discounts, paying for things at the six seminaries we have in the states, relief work, all of this different stuff, that goes to pay for that. So that's a pretty large amount. And then the other 50% goes directly to the International Mission Board because it takes a lot of,
00:04:58
Speaker
money to be able to go and do these things. That 50% makes up, yep, just want to make sure I have my numbers right, makes up 37% of what we need on an annual basis. And so that leaves quite a deficit. And that's why this season that we're in is so vitally important to the mission field and the Great Commission being carried out. During the Lottie Moon Christmas offering season,
00:05:25
Speaker
100% of everything that's donated goes directly to the IMB and that makes up another 61% of what we need and then the other 2% just comes from random donations and things through the year.
00:05:38
Speaker
But that goes for so much. That goes to provide living for the missionaries, housing. It goes to provide for medical care. It goes to provide for, most importantly, the ministry needs and relief work. There are so many areas of the world that are hurting right now.
00:05:57
Speaker
the earthquake in Turkey, earthquakes in Japan, you know, all of the war in Ukraine, all of that is being funded by, when IMB is involved, it gets funded from what IMB has. And so you're giving not only goes to share the gospel and to provide resources that we need,
00:06:16
Speaker
But it goes to provide that relief, because we don't want to just care for people's spiritual well-being. While that is what's most important, we want to care for their physical needs as well. And that allows us to do that.
Prayer and Support in Missions
00:06:26
Speaker
So from the bottom of my heart, as an IMB missionary who has benefited from that, as a seminary student who's benefited from the cooperative program, I just wanted to say thank you for the way that the church has given and prayed. Prayer is arguably the most important, aside from finances. Without a foundation of prayer, it's really
00:06:45
Speaker
not built on a strong foundation at all. So I just wanted to thank you on behalf of me, on behalf of my team, all the IMD, and just kind of another thing, I didn't realize this until I recently gone to our training center in Virginia. There's about 3600, I almost said thousand, 3600 missionaries.
00:07:04
Speaker
actively on the field with about 1,200 in the pipeline getting ready to go. And that's just an amazing thing, trying to tackle this crazy thing called the rest of the world. So even that's not enough. And so we need more workers. And we partner with people all the time that aren't IMB. I work with people in Japan and in Osaka that come from all walks of life. We were there on their own.
00:07:32
Speaker
They're through various different organizations, and so I'd encourage you, if you're ever interested in going, let me know, and maybe I can get you connected to someone that would benefit you.
00:07:44
Speaker
But yeah, so that's just a way of introduction.
Sermon: The Spirit-filled Follower
00:07:48
Speaker
So for today's sermon, I really, I called it the Spirit-filled follower. And before we go into Acts 8, 26 through 40, and again, the words will be, the scriptures will be up on the screen if you just want to follow along there. You can turn on your phone, get your Bible there. There's Bible in the pew or your physical Bibles if you got them.
00:08:08
Speaker
But there's a really famous passage in the scriptures. I'm not talking about John 3.16, although that is very famous and very good. I'm talking about the Great Commission. So Mackey 28, 18 through 20, I'm probably going to misquote it, so I hope I don't. But it teaches us to go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all the commands I have given you,
00:08:38
Speaker
And lo and behold, I'm with you to the very end of the age. And so we as Christians are called to live missionally wherever we're at. Yes, I am a missionary, so I go overseas. That's where I live for long periods of time.
00:08:58
Speaker
But that doesn't mean that missions is only for missionaries. Every single Christian is called to live on mission. This command given in the Great Commission is for all of us. And so missions exist everywhere. There's nothing special about me other than God wanted me to fulfill the Great Commission specifically in my life.
00:09:21
Speaker
by going to Japan. He's calling you to fulfill it specifically by serving here in Columbus. And so I just wanted to kind of preface it with that. That's a very near and dear passage to my heart. But with that, we'll go ahead and get into the sermon. So sorry if I talk real fast or anything like that. Like Josh said, I get a little nervous. So it's been a while since I've done this.
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
00:09:44
Speaker
Yeah, so let's go ahead and read. So if you can and are willing and able, I'd invite you to stand in honor of reading God's word. Again, we're gonna be in Acts chapter eight, verses 26 through, oop, let me make sure I have it.
00:10:02
Speaker
Yes, verses 26 through 40. It seems like a long passage, but I promise I'll try and get us out of here at a respectable hour. So an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is the desert road. So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, and high official of Candice, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury.
00:10:31
Speaker
He had come to worship in Jerusalem and was sitting in his chariot on his way home reading the prophet Isaiah aloud. The Spirit told Philip, go and join that chariot. When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said, do you understand what you were reading? He said, how can I unless someone guides me?
00:10:55
Speaker
So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the scripture passage he was reading was this. He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shear, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied him who will describe his generation, for his life is taken from the earth.
00:11:17
Speaker
The eunuch said, Philip, I ask you, who is this prophet saying this about, himself or someone else? Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus beginning with that scripture. As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, look, there's water. What would keep me from being baptized?
00:11:36
Speaker
So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip appeared in Azostes, and was traveling and preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
00:11:59
Speaker
I'm going to go ahead and pray for us and then we'll dive right in.
Obedience to the Spirit
00:12:03
Speaker
Lord, we just thank you for today and I just thank you for the ability to speak to the church and Lord, to be able to relay what you've laid on my heart with this Ethiopian unique passage and acts. I just pray that you would guard our hearts.
00:12:15
Speaker
and just guide them Lord and just open them up to what you want us to hear and learn today that Holy Spirit you would illuminate our our minds our thoughts our hearts our souls Lord to receive this daily bread from you and that's in your holy and precious name we pray amen and you can go ahead and be seated
00:12:36
Speaker
So if you see me looking down in Japan, I got really used to working with a translator and typing out everything I was going to say. So I have my notes here with me just to kind of keep me on track.
00:12:48
Speaker
So today's sermon is the Spirit-filled follower. And I think this is a really timely message, especially being at the end of 2023 and 2024 starting
Sharing the Gospel
00:12:57
Speaker
tomorrow. I know that for me, I want this next year to be a year where my life is characterized by being a Spirit-filled follower of Christ, taking those opportunities to faithfully serve when and where he has me. But the first point that I want to make
00:13:14
Speaker
is the spirit filled following and obedience. So in verses 26 through 21, we see that the Holy Spirit calls Philip to go and do several things. He calls him to a specific place, to a specific person at a specific time who was reading a very specific passage.
00:13:35
Speaker
And this is nuts, but Philip obeyed. He just, hey, go out to this random place, there's gonna be someone on a cart, go up to the cart, get in the chariot, not cart chariot, and let me work through you. Philip obeyed. So he knew that God had saved him for a very specific purpose. God has saved all of us to know him and to make him known, to share the truth with those around us.
00:14:03
Speaker
And we have been called from death to life to share the gospel with those around us. So the spirit led him to this beautiful divine appointment that I like to call it. I'm sure you've heard of that phrase before. Philip could have said no. He could have changed his mind. He could have, you know, argued with God how he wasn't ready or
00:14:23
Speaker
was unable to speak as we've seen other characters in the scriptures do before of God I'm not the most eloquent speaker I know who am I to say these things but we know that God works through our imperfections
00:14:38
Speaker
to bring about His perfect will. So He could have done anything else, but He was walking in step with the Holy Spirit, which led Him to want to obey the Spirit as He encountered God more. He wanted to magnify God more.
00:14:54
Speaker
And so Philip obeyed. And so the question from this particular point is, are we going to obey and follow the Spirit in our own lives in what He gives us? We constantly have the choice to make, to honor God and follow what He wants, or to follow our flesh and our own selfish desires.
00:15:16
Speaker
I'm not saying that it's wrong to have fun, it's wrong to enjoy the life that God's given you. In fact, He wants us to do those things. He wants us to enjoy each other's company, enjoy our homes, enjoy our TVs, our cars, our family. He wants us to enjoy things, but He wants us to enjoy with Him, abiding in Him. You know, when we choose not to abide in Christ, when we choose not to follow the Spirit, then everything kind of starts going haywire.
00:15:44
Speaker
So again, this doesn't mean that we constantly have to worry about what we're doing or are we becoming legalistic in what we're thinking. But in fact, it's more just letting us know that the more we abide with God, the more that our desires, the more our wants, the more our will is naturally going to begin to follow suit, just like Phillips did.
00:16:06
Speaker
So honoring God and following him is a natural byproduct of a changed, surrendered life in Christ. But maybe, you know, it's like, how do, what does this mean for me and today? Like obviously people aren't driving around in chariots here. I mean, hey, in some places in the country they do, but we don't really see that much here anymore. So what does that mean for us? Well, maybe you're in the store, maybe you're at work,
00:16:32
Speaker
Maybe you're on a family trip. Maybe you're on social media. A lot of people are on social media. Honestly, it's a dumpster fire in my opinion, but hey to each his own. But you know, there are just so many ways that the world is connected now. So many ways that people are interacting with each other. Just like Philip interacted with this unit. And so
00:16:54
Speaker
We all need to be looking for those moments wherever we're at and asking the spirit to show us what opportunities are you giving me today to follow the spirit, to obey the spirit, to take those divine appointments, those opportunities, those privileges that God's giving us to share the good news of the gospel, to share what we're learning, to share how God has been good to us with those around us. How are we going to do that? We need to be doing that in all of these moments.
00:17:24
Speaker
And so we, in all of that though,
00:17:27
Speaker
There are times that I kind of get a little fool myself if I'm honest. I kind of think I know everything to say and whatnot, but I learned a long time ago and I'm still learning quite often that it's not the wise words, the sage-like advice that I have that people need to hear, but it's what God wants to communicate through me. And so as we're going out and sharing, we need to understand that we don't need to be argumentative
00:17:56
Speaker
We don't need to, I know this word might be a little strong, obnoxious. I've been at fault for that. I've done that in life and honestly I've seen it do way more harm than it ever did good. But we need to be able to meet people where they're at and share with them by being led by the Spirit. So when we go out it's
00:18:15
Speaker
It's scary, it's nerve-wracking. We may not want to do it, but we can rest knowing that God says He is with us to the very end of the age. He's going before us. He's already preparing the field. He's going to give us the words to say. And no, nothing might happen. Someone might say, oh, I don't want that. It's good for you, but I'm going to do me or whatever the case may be. We're just called to be faithful and to go share.
00:18:39
Speaker
And so are we going to do that? The Spirit's going to let us know when, where, with whom to go, and what to say.
Abiding in Christ
00:18:46
Speaker
And the second point that I want to bring up today is Spirit-filled sharing. So what are we to share?
00:18:57
Speaker
Well, first, what we say is actually important. I don't know if you realize that or not. There's a lot being said in the world. Like I said earlier, social media is dumpster fire. Honestly, the world itself is kind of a dumpster fire right now. There's a lot of stuff being said, a lot of things being...
00:19:14
Speaker
Expounded as if it's the truth and it's not it's just detrimental. It's it's horrible So what are we sharing? Well we as Christians we have the truth. We have God's very word So what do we need to be sharing first and foremost? We need to be sharing the gospel people can't understand spiritual things They can't understand the scriptures unless they have the spirit dwelling in them And they don't have the spirit dwelling in them unless they come to believe and they don't believe unless they hear the gospel So we need to be sharing the gospel. So what is the gospel?
00:19:44
Speaker
All of us probably know it but quite simply the gospel is that God created us to know and love him and walk in relationship with him and we botched it. We screwed it up by sinning. Sin is anything you do say or think that is wrong or contrary to what God has deemed wholly impure and that sin
00:20:05
Speaker
Guess what? Just like work and we get paid for work, we get paid for our sin and that is death. So death physically, death spiritually, eternally separated from God. But what's crazy is God made us, knowing all of this would happen, knowing that He would have to provide the only way out, the only way back into a right standing, a right relationship with Himself. So He sent Jesus Christ, His only Son, fully God, fully man, to live the perfect standard, the life that we
00:20:34
Speaker
couldn't and died the death that we all deserved on the cross, was buried in its tomb, and three days later he came and rose again. We just got done celebrating his birth and the fact that he did all of this and that he's coming again for all those who believe. It's just an amazing season we're in and we can really be in that season all year. But the gospel is that, you know, Jesus came, lived the life we couldn't, died the death we deserved, was buried three days, rose again,
00:21:00
Speaker
And when we realize our need for that bridge, our need for that Savior, Jesus, when we realize that we are broken and we cannot fix ourselves, nothing we do can ever get us back to God. It's everything that God did to get us back to Himself. And so by believing in what Christ did, by believing in who He is, by repenting and genuinely surrendering your life to Christ,
00:21:24
Speaker
you will be saved and stand in right relationship forever. Nothing can take that from you. So that is the gospel.
00:21:32
Speaker
It's a mouthful, I know, but it's true. And that's what we need to be sharing, and that's what Philip was sharing with this eunuch. We see that, you know, this eunuch was reading a scroll of Isaiah. We see that Philip arguably knew, you know, what scriptures they had available at the time, and I didn't know if you know this, but the Bible wasn't necessarily completed at this point in time, but they did have quite a bit of the scriptures, especially the Old Testament, available to them.
00:21:59
Speaker
And so this eunuch is reading a part of the scroll, part of Isaiah, and Philip just goes. He has no idea what this guy's gonna be reading. He has no idea what's gonna be said. He has no idea how he's gonna respond. But we see that Philip was prepared to share and to give a defense and to lead him in the truth. So we also need to be prepared to share, to give a defense, and to answer any questions that people might have about the scriptures.
00:22:28
Speaker
So real quick, there's this phrase that I've been guilty of living by in life, especially in college with final exams and papers. I know a lot of younger people in this room have either been through college or everyone in this room has probably been through college at some point, and younger people are either there themselves or getting ready to, but the phrase is flying by the seat of your pants.
00:22:51
Speaker
That's a phrase that I've lived by more times than I care to admit, but that is not at all what we see Philip doing in this passage today. So sometimes life does actually have opportunities that we might not be ready for, but not being ready for an opportunity does not mean that we can't be prepared for the opportunity. While I was in Japan,
00:23:18
Speaker
in Osaka in a city of 19.3 million people. I got to know this cafe, this hotel, really, really well. It was like five minutes from my house. They had cheap coffee, really great atmosphere, and a lot of the workers spoke English. I didn't know if you know this, but...
00:23:34
Speaker
English isn't really a language spoken a lot in Japan and so anytime I could actually have some conversation on a deeper level other than how's the weather or I'd like this please off the McDonald's menu I took the opportunity and so through this you know there were a lot of workers at this hotel and they had a cafe there who spoke really good English but they had a lot of them who didn't and they really wanted to be an international like kind of hotel and so
00:24:00
Speaker
I started teaching English there. So for a year and a half I was teaching English every week. I'd go every couple days and just grab some coffee and hang out. But this one moment, they knew who I was. They knew that I was a missionary in Japan. But one of the workers who didn't really speak English and was working through translation, through the boss who knew perfect English, asked me why was I a missionary in Japan.
00:24:27
Speaker
And I wasn't ready for that moment, but I was prepared to give the answer.
00:24:32
Speaker
And I told them why I wanted the Japanese to become Christians, why I think that the Bible is the only source of truth, who Jesus is. And this guy, this manager, translated it all for me because he understood perfectly what I was saying, translated it for all the workers who had no idea what I was saying in English. And so, arguably, I wasn't ready for that moment, but I was prepared for that situation. So just as the Spirit led me,
00:25:02
Speaker
to this hotel to establish this relationship, he led Philip. So when Philip gets there, he asks, do you understand what you're reading? And he proceeded to share from that point in scripture all the way up to where Jesus, who Jesus is, what he did, and what he is going to do. And he launched off where the eunuch was. And so I think it's also important that as we're going through life and we're seeing these opportunities
00:25:30
Speaker
to share and be led by the Spirit, that we also allow the Spirit to lead us to meet people where they are at, that we wouldn't strut our stuff, so to speak, but really just be sensitive to where the Spirit's leading because God knows where people are at. God knows exactly how to communicate to people and exactly what they need to hear and when they need to hear it, so we need to be attentive and listen to the Spirit as well.
00:25:54
Speaker
And we need to be prepared to share. And so one thing that I've really been learning a lot lately is how to abide in Christ. This isn't something I'm doing perfectly, but I'm doing better each day, I would like to think. But abiding in Christ means, first and foremost, we're abiding in its word. See, we can't share what we don't know, and we won't know the word unless we're actively
00:26:17
Speaker
in it, chewing on it, letting God convict our hearts and change our minds and change our lives through the word. And so we need to be abiding in God's word so that we can know it and then we can share it. This doesn't mean that we have to have all the answers that, you know, I'm just
00:26:33
Speaker
I don't know if you know this or not, but I don't know everything. And I'd be willing to bet that Victor and Josh don't know everything either. And, you know, we're always learning. That's the crazy thing about the scripture is that you can read the same passage over and over again your whole life and always learn something new or learn something deeper or be reminded of something.
00:26:50
Speaker
So we don't need to have all the answers. So we need to be ready to share what we do know. We also need to be ready to say, I don't know. We live in a world where everyone wants to be right. I'm not saying that about you. I'm saying it about myself. I like to be right. My dad can attest to you and so can my mom. I was a pretty argumentative child growing up. You know, I was always right. But we need to be ready to say we don't know and that we're willing to go find the answer and get back with them on it.
00:27:16
Speaker
go find the answer together or point them to somebody who might be able to talk a little deeper into what they're kind of having questions about. And so we need to be ready and we need to know that it's not our puffed up knowledge, our pride or our sage-like advice, but like I said earlier, it's God's words are what people need to hear.
00:27:36
Speaker
And so we need to know that and see that Philip allowed the spirit to give him the words to say, Philip was led by the spirit to go. He was also led by the spirit to share. And so are we going to do the same thing in our lives? The third point I want to make is probably the shortest out of
Eunuch's Zeal for Faith
00:27:52
Speaker
the four points. I have no idea. Okay. So, you know,
00:27:55
Speaker
cooking with a little less time. So the third point I want to make is excited to follow. I think this is a really important thing to look at as well. So we're actually going to look at the eunuch. So the eunuch, as they were traveling the road, it says they came some water and the eunuch said, look, there's water. What's stopping me from being baptized? He was excited to follow. This eunuch was going up to Jerusalem to worship. You know, he
00:28:18
Speaker
We have no idea where he was at in life. Philip didn't have any idea where he was at in life, but he was reading the scripture in Isaiah, trying to understand, trying to get to know who God is. Jesus and what he was doing was all over the headlines in this area of the world at this time and what he did. And so he's probably trying to get to know who God is more. And so Philip comes along, goes, do you understand?
00:28:46
Speaker
It shares with him, arguably shares the gospel with him. He shared what Jesus did, and Jesus did the gospel, right? And so this guy comes to faith and is so excited, he goes, what's stopping me? He sees some water, orders the chariot to stop, jumps out, gets dunked, and gets baptized. Baptism's a little more sacred than dunking, so I just got a little ahead of myself there. But he gets excited. There's this zeal.
00:29:13
Speaker
So when he heard the good news, he believed and instantly was thrilled that he could follow Christ. For a lot of us, the first steps of obedience that we have in our Christ-filled lives is to follow the Lord in believers baptism. And so baptism is a wonderful thing.
00:29:30
Speaker
It's this public declaration of the inward change that's taken place in our hearts. It's a bold statement saying that we are no longer our mistakes. We are no longer our past. We are no longer what the world tries to accuse us of. We are no longer a part of the world, but we, our identity is solely wrapped up and hidden with Christ on high and nothing can change that. Nothing can take that from you. So our identity is with Christ.
00:30:00
Speaker
This unit was a very important person and was so excited about his new life and identity that again, he wasted no time. He pulled the chariot over and baptized. He wanted to follow the Lord. So when we first come to faith, a lot of us have this zeal.
00:30:16
Speaker
this kind of excitement to follow. And I'm not gonna lie, there are a lot of days that I'm not excited. There are a lot of days that I don't want to go do what God's led me to do. There were days in Japan where all I wanted to do was sit on the couch and not go out of my front door. There are days where I just don't feel it.
00:30:34
Speaker
And so what do we do? We ask the spirit to renew in us a steadfast spirit to renew in us a heart of zeal that is excited to follow him and to be used. Like, I don't know how mind blowing this is for you guys, but God, the God
00:30:49
Speaker
made every atom and inch of the universe and holds it all together in His hands is the same God that saved us, is the same God that chooses to use us for His perfect will and plans and is actively saying, I want to use you. I want you to be a part of what I'm doing. He doesn't have to do that. He doesn't need us, but He chooses to use us. Like that is mind blowing. And so are we going to be excited to follow Him?
00:31:14
Speaker
That's something that I need to work on a lot in life. There are days where we just don't feel it. And even in moments, don't ever shy away from sharing or taking those moments to be faithful with opportunities God's given you if you don't feel it. I can't tell you how many times I didn't feel it necessarily, but I still shared and I was the better for it. Like if I was having a bad day and didn't want to talk to anybody, God would inevitably always have a situation where I would share with someone
00:31:41
Speaker
And then I would feel better because what happens is I'm experiencing God, which is just the best remedy for ever getting rid of any issue. But I saw the Spirit working and that just was good for my heart, good for my soul.
00:31:57
Speaker
So the final point that I want to make is getting in the chariot and I just want to stop and say I hope all this is making sense so if not you can come and pick like talk with me afterwards or you know tell me any questions or concerns you might have. But the fourth point is getting in the chariot or get in your chariot.
Seizing Faith Opportunities
00:32:17
Speaker
So this is the final point that I wanted to make for today, and it's that we all have this call to make on a daily basis to get in the chariots, to get in these opportunities that God shares or gives us, to take that opportunity, that chance that God given divine appointment. So I have another story. I like sharing stories, especially about Japan.
00:32:41
Speaker
I served in Japan for three years, and when I first got there, there was this man I met at our teams at that point, church plant, that no longer exists, unfortunately, but this guy is going to the church where I was a member at now.
00:32:57
Speaker
His name is Baba-san. His last name really is Baba. I don't know his first name. His American name is apparently Andrew, but I just felt weird calling a Japanese man Andrew. So I just went with Baba-san, which is like the honorific for like Mr. or whatever. But Baba-san and I got to know each other a little bit. His English had gotten better. He had spent some time in the States, I think in Idaho. Had some Christian exposure, like Idaho of all places. I don't know if you're from Idaho, I'm sorry, but.
00:33:26
Speaker
You know, it's a great state. But yeah, so he'd spent some time in Idaho way before I was born and got exposed to what he said was Christianity then. And I had no idea. So he always wanted to hang out in practices English. So one day he goes, hey Jacob, let's hang out. I'm like, okay, I got you.
00:33:46
Speaker
Meet me at Kitahama train station. You don't need to know where Kitahama is unless you're ever in Osaka and I can show you where it is, but Kitahama train station. So I go and I meet him there and he goes, okay, like get in my car. I'm like, okay, that's a little different. So he takes me to a building that is filled with lawyers. I'm like, oh gosh.
00:34:05
Speaker
What is happening? He goes, hey, I need you to sit in the car. And I go, why? And he's like, well, I don't want to get a ticket. And there's no parking in Japan. You have to pay. So he basically just wanted me to sit on the side of the road, watch his car, so cops wouldn't give him a ticket. And they probably wouldn't talk to me because they would assume I don't know a Japanese. And I mean, it was true. I didn't. So I'm sitting in this car, and he comes out, and he goes, OK, hey, go ahead and come on in. I want you to meet my lawyer friends. Apparently, he was settling a dispute with his brother in some inheritance stuff.
00:34:35
Speaker
So after that, you know, we're driving and we're driving through the city and I'm like, I know where we're at. You know, I'm thinking we're going to go to a coffee shop. We're going to stop and talk, you know, maybe go to a restaurant. I'll pay for his dinner or something like that. And we just keep driving. And we drive 30 minutes clear out of a city of 19.3 million people up into the mountains. And I tell you, I literally thought, my goodness, this is it.
00:35:01
Speaker
This is how it is. Like, no one's going to find me. I'm never going to go back to America. This is where I meet Jesus. I didn't really know him that well, but I mean, I knew him well enough to know he's not like that. But I mean, in my mind, I'm like, okay, like you literally just tell me to get in your car and we're all like up in the mountains. So we go to this like beautiful area where there's this trail you can walk down in the mountains. There's a beautiful waterfall.
00:35:24
Speaker
And I'm just like, okay, is he gonna push me in the water or what? I watched way too much ID TV growing up, so I don't recommend it. I don't watch it no more. But we're hiking, we're walking, and then we get back in the car and we keep driving through the mountains. And he starts driving by all these famous temples and shrines. And he starts explaining to me about Buddhism and Shintoism and the religions that he grew up with. And in this drive,
00:35:51
Speaker
Again, I wasn't ready for this moment, but I got in my 21st century chariot and started talking to this guy, and he started asking me questions, what's the difference between Mormonism, or I found out that the Christian exposure he had was Mormonism, which is not Christianity.
00:36:10
Speaker
And he was like, what's the difference between that? What's the difference between Buddhism? Why do you worship this way? What's the difference between temples and churches? What do you think about Jesus? We talked about so much and I got to explain all of this stuff to him.
00:36:24
Speaker
But the point is, is that I got quite literally into a chariot. But like, what chariot are you going to get in? God presents you with those opportunities every day. So are you going to get in your chariot? This is exactly what Philip did. He got up in that chariot. The eunuch said, how can I understand unless someone guides me? And that's where we come in.
00:36:47
Speaker
So get out there, find your person, find your chariot, and take the opportunities that God is giving you. And you're going to love it, I promise. It's going to be nerve-wracking, it's going to be scary. You might not want to do it, but you'll always see the Spirit work in ways that you never could have imagined.
Application for Believers and Unbelievers
00:37:07
Speaker
Do you want to say, though, it is not our job to save people? I don't know if you know that or not, but I personally did not lead one person to faith while I was in Japan. And I wrestled with that. I thought I was a failure. I thought, God, what did I do? That is not a measure of success.
00:37:25
Speaker
True success is you being faithful to do what God has called you to do. It is His job to save people. It is our job, however, to share the truth, to take that truth to people, and to make disciples. Saving someone is only something the Spirit can do. We just get the privilege of being a part of someone's salvation story. Whether that's moving the pebble one step closer to that bucket where Christ is at, or whether it's getting the privilege of leading someone to faith, we get to be a part of that story.
00:37:56
Speaker
And so that brings us to today's application. I always like trying to apply the application or trying to apply the scriptures to both believers and unbelievers. So we're going to have some application for both. And I guess I'll go ahead and invite the musicians back up here. I guess that's the time to do it. I haven't done this in a long time and Japanese service is a little different. So yeah, musicians, if you want to go ahead and come up here for when we have the time of invitation.
00:38:22
Speaker
But for believers, you know, I have a slide for the application and I have the application that I'd like to give the believers and verse 40.
00:38:33
Speaker
Philip literally, I don't know if he caught that, like God literally takes Philip and in my mind teleports him somewhere, takes him somewhere. And Philip without missing a beat just goes from town to town sharing the gospel, sharing the truth as if what happened is an everyday occurrence. The scripture doesn't tell us like honestly I probably need a moment to collect myself, but Philip just went and he was sharing. So we need
00:38:59
Speaker
We need to spread the gospel and be a beacon of light wherever he might have us. And, you know, I also want to throw another scripture up there. Romans 10, 13 through 15, we all know this probably. It's another famous passage, but it says, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. I'm turning around reading because my eyesight is not good enough to see what's on the TV back there.
00:39:22
Speaker
How then can they call on Him they have not believed in, and how can they believe without hearing about Him, and how can they hear Him without a preacher, and how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
00:39:37
Speaker
Good news, we've all been sent. That great commission is for all of us. The example we see with this Ethiopian eunuch is for all of us. We are all called to have beautiful feet. I mean, my feet ain't beautiful, I don't know about y'alls, but to have beautiful feet and to take the truth to those around us. We see right here, and just like the Ethiopian eunuch, he would have kept reading that scroll probably unless God sent someone else. They won't
00:40:04
Speaker
They can't be saved unless they hear the good news. They won't hear the good news unless we are telling them. And so we need to be prepared. We need to abide with God. We need to share the truth in word and deed. Our lives also need to match what we're preaching. Our lives need to match what we're teaching. Our lives need to match what we say we believe. Because we need to show them, not just with our words, with our lives, that Jesus is worth
00:40:33
Speaker
He is better than what the world offers. The world screams so stinking loud for everyone's attention, even as Christians. The world is screaming and wisdom is also screaming. God is also screaming and vying for our attention. We need to help them see Him through our lives and our words. We need to, you know, I had a team leader or a boss.
00:40:59
Speaker
He retired halfway through my term due to his wife's health reasons. But he always had a phrase, know him, know him, make him known. And that's another point of application. We need to know God personally. We need to know him
00:41:14
Speaker
know Him through His word so that we can go make Him known to those around us. And we need to take the opportunities to get in our chariots. And so as believers, are we abiding and growing in our walks with Christ, which abiding with God and growing in our walks enables us to know Him, walk in step with Him, be led by Him, make Him known to those around us.
00:41:35
Speaker
And so are we doing that as believers? And I don't have a slide for this next part because I just wanted to talk to those who might be listening, who might watch this later, who might be in this room today, who are not believers. I'm not calling you out. I'm not pointing the finger. I'm not. I guarantee you, if you came up this aisle during the time of the invitation and gave your life to Christ, everyone in this room,
00:41:56
Speaker
would be rejoicing. It would be ecstatic. It would make my heart glad. It would make Victor and Josh's heart glad. No one's going to laugh or think any differently of you. They would just be overjoyed that someone's come from death back to life. And so as an, as an unbeliever, you've heard the gospel today. You know, I shared it earlier when I said, what is the gospel? Well, simply it's this. That is a truth that I
00:42:22
Speaker
I just really challenge you to not let pass by you today. As you go into this new year, go into the new year alive, alive in Christ. We all need saving from our sin. And for those who have not made that commitment to Christ yet, He's waiting with open arms.
00:42:40
Speaker
to receive you back wherever you're at in life. You're not too dirty. You're not too far gone. You're not too out there for Jesus to save. He died for me. He died for you. He died for everyone in the world, for all those who would believe in Him and receive that free gift of grace in life. He's ready to give that to you. And so if that's a choice that you haven't made today, I would invite you to come up during this time of invitation that we're going to have. I'm going to invite Victor to stand up here and
00:43:07
Speaker
And if you don't want to walk up because you're nervous or you don't want people looking at you, we'll find a Christian that you know of here in this congregation and talk with them later. Call the church. The point is just talk with someone about the decision that you're thinking of making or the decision that you want to make to follow Christ. And maybe you are a believer and you just want some prayer and just need to rededicate or just, you know, get some answers to some questions. But regardless of whatever your reason is for coming, I just invite you to come up during this time of imitation.
00:43:37
Speaker
Pour out your hearts. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milan Street, Columbus, Texas.