Reflections

So a few weeks back I was able to speak in front of my church here in Grand Haven. This is a loose transcript of what I said. Fun side note, our church used to be really stodgy and old fashioned, very traditional, and I was the first person ever to give the sermon who wasn't a pastor. A fun departure from the usual :)

1 Timothy 4: 10 "For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living god, who is the savior of all people." and
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?" Romans 10: 13-15. This passage was on my heart about eight weeks ago as I was commissioned here by Tim and prepared to go to Istanbul Turkey for the summer. I went on a summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ. That first line, Everyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved. This is a theme that I will continue to come back to, and that is that all people, everywhere, need to hear the gospel and need to know Christ. This seems a basic principal, but it is easy to forget. My thought process for going to Turkey instead of taking another opportunity to go on a different project somewhere in the united states, was that it is a field ripe for harvest, but so few laborers compared to other places.
I am going to try and approach this from a few different directions. First I am going to be talking about Turkey specifically, since that is obviously the area I know. I also want to touch on missions and evangelism in any place. Last I need to mention a few things God opened my eyes to as I was there serving Him that I came to recognize as essential for an intentional life of fulfilling the great commission. But we'll get to that in a bit.
Doing full-time missions in Turkey is difficult. It is not easy. You have to learn quick to adapt. Not only to the culture, but an entirely new attitude towards doing evangelism. Maybe I have been spoiled coming up in Campus Crusade with our yearly trips to Panama City Beach and Indianapolis, talking to people about Christ, and having many people come to know him and accept him as their savior. Turkey is not like that at all. Our focus was to go onto campuses in Istanbul and talk to students, building relationships, and ultimately turning the conversations to spiritual things and hopefully being able to share the fullness of the gospel. Simple right? You have to learn almost immediately that a victory is to go out in faith and do as the Lord commanded. If you have a day, and I had plenty, where you are out for 5 hours trying to talk to people and not get anywhere, you have to know that you did as you were commanded and that that is a good day, a day you were faithful. If you try and think of things in terms of conversions you are going to be crushed. It's a tricky place. Istanbul is such a modern city. You can go into a store and buy a coke. They have iPhones, PlayStation's, skyscrapers, if you aren't paying attention it might seem like a mini-America in some ways. But right below the surface is such a dark undercurrent. Turks have a line on their identification cards that labels them as Muslims. They all believe in God. They have so many false notions about Christianity that they have grown up hearing as truth and have adopted those ideas and in their minds they're real. They are so lost. In America I think we have a much easier time. Most people don't know anything about God or Christianity. That is to say they don't have too rigid a set of beliefs. Many people in America are able to recognize they are not fulfilled or not on the right track. Turks are trying to earn their way to heaven. Islam teaches that good deeds are weighed against bad deeds on a cosmic scale and whichever side wins out determines where you go, heaven or hell. They believe in one God, like Christians, they believe this God is all powerful, merciful, just, etc. They believe Jesus existed, that his teachings should be kept. They acknowledge the Bible is the word of God. Islam is so similar to Christianity and it is something that is so tough to deal with. The big difference is in who Jesus is. They believe he was a prophet, but that Mohamed was the ultimate prophet and the Koran is the final word of God. They do not believe that Jesus' death and Resurrection did anything. And that is the obstacle we face. Well, one of them. Missionaries are frowned upon in Turkey, and so we have to be secretive. We can not go up to students and ask them if they want to talk to us about Jesus or any "traditional" evangelism. So we need to be very careful. The students would not trust us if we walk up to them and immediately try to bring up Christ. To them, missionaries are people who pay others to convert to Christianity and who want to overthrow the government. So to get past this we need to build trust. Most Turks assume since we are Americans that we are christian. But they assume we are like most Americans and that it doesn't matter to us. So we build relationships and friendships, with the hope that we can tell them the truth as a friend. They told us when we got to Istanbul, "These people don't need more friends. They need a friend who can point them to Jesus." And it is so true. But it still isn't easy. There are people who have been friends of crusade people for years and still never accept Christ. Some people, when they eventually find out what we are as missionaries, they disappear and will not answer texts. Others, it may seem like God is working in them, changing them, opening them to the truth of His gospel, only to see no fruit for so long. Turkey has something like 20 million people. Of that, there are about 3-5000 known believers. Let that sink in a minute. 3-5000 out of 20 million. We have to believe God has people in that city, in that nation. The field is ripe. The harvest is ready. There just aren't enough laborers. So, I am back, but please don't stop praying for Turkey. This place is a bridge between Europe and Asia. It is a gateway to the middle east. It is a place with a desperate need for the gospel. There are people there, full-time, working for the Lord, spreading his way. Turkish believers with Crusade. Pray for them, pray for more to be raised up, and perhaps even consider supporting them financially. These people do not have the luxury of friends and family to ask for money. They are abhorred by former friends and disowned by family. So keep praying for them and for turkey.
Jesus gave us an incredibly tough command, to go and make disciples of all nations, in the great commission. I also am reminded of the parable of the sewer who went out and threw seed all over. Both of these start with important verbs. "go" and "went out." This is why evangelism is so hard, and I believe why it is ignored so often in the church. It is hard. You have to be intentional with it. Being intentional about something that is not always comfortable to talk about. Being bold about something that some people are not going to like. 2 Corinthians tells us that we are spreading the fragrance of the gospel, and it will smell of death to some. But we are called, all of us, to go and do it. In the great commission the word "go" might also be translated to mean "as you go," or "as you are going." I am not saying that everyone needs to quit their jobs and move to China and become a missionary. I am not saying we need to go door to door with little booklets of 4 easy steps to salvation. What I am saying is that in our daily lives we all interact with non-believers. With people who NEED the gospel, who need Christ, who are going to hell. It angers me that we live in this post-modern age of political correctness where no one seems to want to talk about hell. The fact is that people around us, people we love are on a path to hell and we may be the only people in their lives who can show them the way. We may be the only instrument God has placed in their life to tell them the gospel. If we do not have hearts that break for the lost, and a true sense of urgency, then this command will never be fulfilled, never be heeded. Now, don't think I am speaking as any sort of professional. I spent seven weeks in Turkey, and in that time I learned that I do not have the gift of evangelism. I am just not that good at it, not really that comfortable with it in certain situations. But that does not mean I am not also called to spread the gospel. As 2 timothy 4:5 tells us, "be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist." We are all called by the great commission Christ gave. We are all told to do the work of an evangelist. This can be a scary thought. I love that this church has made evangelism a priority in the past year. It is the ultimate purpose for our existence. We exist to bring God glory, and what brings him more glory than for us to fill our lives, our hearts, our minds, and our words with him, telling of his glory and grace, and ultimately leading others who did not acknowledge him as lord to see him as we do?
This seems scary, because if you are like me at all you realize that you are not good at things like this, and this seems like an awfully big thing to be entrusted with. Luckily we really don't have to do anything. Christ, before his ascension, tells the disciples to wait until the spirit comes upon them before going out. Then when the spirit comes upon peter in Acts he preaches the gospel and many believe. God does not just tell us to go and good luck. He sends us out with His holy spirit. 1 Corinthians 1 has Paul telling us he came only to preach the gospel, and he did that not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross be emptied of its power. And also, Paul says "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." It really is that simple. I know I sometimes wonder what I am going to say, how I can convince people I am telling them the truth. But that is all wrong. Nothing you say will convert anyone. Let me repeat this because it is important for a correct view of evangelism. Nothing you say will convince anyone to accept Christ. All you can do is tell them about Jesus, tell them the truth, and let the power of God work in their hearts and He will convert them, He will save them. We are humble tools. A vessel through which the Word of life may flow. It took me some time to figure that out. But it is key, because that is the view of evangelism that is needed. We need to have all faith in Christ and no faith in ourselves. We need to acknowledge that it is all about God, about the death of Christ, and nothing else. We need to have faith.
One of the most difficult passages I have come across in scripture is the last sentence in Romans chapter 14 which reads: "For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." That statement is staggering. Everything that is done apart from faith is sin. It is a verse that is key to showing why we need a savior, why all the "good people" of the world who do good things are still going to hell without Christ, because even a good deed, if it does not proceed from faith, is sin. So coming to church might be sin, going out to a campus to spread the gospel may be done in sin. God impressed this on my heart over the summer, that f I get upset, distraught and discouraged, and lose faith, if I obey his command and "do the right thing" without any faith, then it is still sin. That doesn't mean God can't use it, because He can, but it does mean that I am sinning even when I do the things I am supposed to. So the right view of God, this faith, is so important.
The other major thing God placed on my heart this summer is the right attitude of heart that evangelism requires. This applies to all people at all times in all situations, whether missionaries in the far east or just a christian in the work force talking to their co-workers. There has to be love. 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3 rocked me this summer. It says "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." To me these are some of the most powerful words in the Bible. Colossians 3: 12-14 adds "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. AND ABOVE ALL THESE PUT ON LOVE which holds everything together in perfect harmony." Love, above all else! This blows my mind. Paul speaks of some of the major spiritual gifts, tongues and prophecy, he talks of faith to move mountains, he mentions being burned, martyred, forgiving as God forgives. And over all these he tells us we need love. Without love we are useless, a loud gong or clanging cymbals, good for nothing but annoyance. Without love we are nothing, we gain nothing. My first few weeks in Istanbul I looked at my heart after reading this and realized that I was there not out of love for the people or the gospel, but because God told me to go and I obeyed. I was there out of obligation and dedication. Now, we need to obey, but we ought to obey out of love. I came to realize I loved god enough to do what he told me to do even if I didn't want to, but to me that wasn't good enough. We need to love like god loves, to have that deep of love. I wanted to love god to the point our hearts were one, that mine would break as His does for the lost, that I would love him so much that it was the most natural thing in the world to talk about him. If evangelism is a chore or a duty done out of obligation God can still use it, god is good at that and he is bigger than us. But we gain nothing from it. We become nothing. The heart of evangelism is love. To love all people as they are made in God's image. To understand it pains god to see them in their rebellion. To love them enough to tell them of the gospel, the only hope they have. To want to save them from that torment. If that isn't the heart you have, you end up clanging emptily like a gong. I struggled with that all summer, and every day I prayed god would open my heart, fill me with his spirit, and let my heart be filled with love and that I would go in that love and nothing else. And he is faithful and answered.
"I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." Romans 1:16 The power of god, bringing salvation to all who believe. Which brings us back to the beginning, to Romans 10. How are they to believe without hearing, hear without someone preaching. How can they preach without being sent? We have all been sent. Christ commissioned us to be making disciples as we go. All around are people who need Him. It will look different for everyone. Some have the means and ability to up and leave and go overseas and be a missionary. Some have been called to the workforce. Some to school. People everywhere need the gospel. People in Turkey, people in America, in Africa and Asia and everywhere. It is up to us. We are God's chosen means of spreading his word. He does not send us alone, but gives us his spirit. It is up to us to be bold and courageous speaking the gospel in all boldness and clarity. To let all we do proceed from faith and be grounded and rooted in love. Ephesians 5 says "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of time, for the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the lord it." The will of god is that we go and do the work of an evangelist. The will of the lord is that we have faith in Him and go out in that faith sewing seed. The days are evil, of that there is no question in my mind, so the question becomes "are we making the bast use of time?" How many conversations do I let slip by, how many of my friends are on a path to hell because I am too chicken to say something? I am learning this as I go, seeing how far I still have to go. But God can use us if we are willing to let him. I said one day "god, use me as you see fit," and he told me to go to turkey. While there we saw no one come to Christ, maybe watered a few seeds, and you know what, that is enough, that is a victory. I urge you all to look at your days. Are you making the best use of the time. Are you being bold with the gospel. Do you trust God to use you. You don't need to know anything but Jesus Christ and him crucified. That God loves us, but we, in our sin, have earned death and separation from him. You only need to know that it is through Christ, his death that we can be saved, and that making that choice and accepting Christ is the only way to be saved, the only thing in life that matters. It is for this reason we toil and strive. So, as you are going through your life, out into wherever your week takes you, go. Make disciples. You have Christ, you know the truth, you have the one true hope. Share it with those around you. Beg the lord to change your heart to love them and to break for those who are lost. Beg him to change your life that it would pain you not to share that hope with them. He will answer. And then, being rooted in love, and proceeding from faith, we can finally understand what the will of the lord is, do the work of an evangelist as we are commanded, and give God glory. Lets pray.