Date:   02/14/10

Text:   1 Timothy 2:1-7

Title:   Local Church with a Global Mission

Theme: The call to Pray leads to proclaiming the gospel to All.

Introduction:

  Today is a rare occasion when Valentine's Day falls on the same day as the first day of the lunar Calendar. It is truly the East meeting the West. This is the first time in my 28 years of preaching and it has certainly created a tremendous problem for us preachers. Where can you find biblical texts that address both Valentine's Day and the lunar New Year? Since I know my limitations, I'll let the experts in topical preaching come up with a solution. Meanwhile I'll just stay with what I am familiar with: back to 1 Timothy. J

  Recently, in a conversation one individual said to Cynthia and me, “lately we have been visiting different churches.” I am certain we have heard and may have said this when we first came to this or another city. This is good and important, but we want to make sure it won't take too long. For we have seen individuals after one or two years, still visiting different churches. In the process, we would say, “the music was great and the church would not even let us know ahead of time who would be the worship leader”, “I like the sermon here, no one can preach like him” or “I really like their small group or outreach ministry.”

  When we visit churches, we do have something back in our minds that we are searchng for. In our study of 1 Timothy these past few weeks, we learned about the importance of truth and correct doctrine in a local church. In chapter 2, we begin to learn about what is important in public worship. In this passage is the truth that when we come to worship in a local church, God calls us to pray. The obedience to this call will lead us to a global mission.

I •  We are called to Pray in public worship. 1-3

“ 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,” What is important when we come to worship? It is Prayer. God calls us to pray. I have yet to hear people say, “I like this church because of their prayers.” However, the scripture clearly tells us that when we worship, first of all, of utmost importance is that we pray. There are different kinds of prayers; praying for specific needs, praise and thanksgiving. The scriptures also tell us how to pray.

1 •  Pray for all. Isn't it true that at times, or most of the time, our prayers are rather self focused? We pray for the sick, the unemployed, those in various kinds of crisis. We pray for the ministers and church leaders. These are all good and important. Yet God's word further instructs us that when we come together to worship, we are to pray for all. Not just those in this congregation, but for everyone. In Aberdeen, Scotland is a church that has a prayer meeting every Saturday evening. In the front of their prayer hall, is a board with the names of all the missionaries they support. The prayer meeting started with praying for the sick and the needy ones in their congregation. Then someone would start to pray for the city of Aberdeen. Soon followed by prayers for the entire Scotland, then the British Isles. Someone else would start to pray for the missionaries and the countries they were serving. Besides being a prayer session, it was also a geography session.

Lately I am following this prayer guide: the Global Prayer Digest (or ???? ).Each day one would pray for a minority group around the world. For illustration purpose, I'll point out some minority groups in China. There is the Salar group in the Qinghai province. The Bonan group in Ninx ia province, known for the knife they produce, Xibo known for their language translation ability. As I follow this guide, it is a prayer session and also a lesson in anthropology and geography. When we come together in small groups and fellowship groups, we may want to use resources like this, so we'll pray for one group of people around the world. When we pray for all, it pleases God. Who else is included in this All?

2 •  Pray for the rulers. Very often we have the tendency to pray for the rulers, governors, mayor and the presidents we like. Its good to remember that when the Holy Spirit through Paul instructed the church to pray for kings and those in high positions. The kings of that time were among some of the most violent emperors and those in high positions were notorious for their corruption. Yet believers were told to pray for them. It pleases God when we pray for our presidents, governors, congressmen and congresswomen, senators and mayors.

3 •  Pray for peaceful living. Now, why do we pray for the rulers? 2b, “… that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” Ah, we like this, peaceful and quiet life. This will motivate me to pray for the rulers so that I can pursue my American dream, without stress or conflict; typical middle class suburban dream. But, this is not the meaning here. In 1 Thess 4:11-12, “ 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” this means that we ask for peaceful conditions so that Christians can freely live out exemplary lives, so the non believers can speak well of God. That is, in peaceful conditions our lives can be a witness for Christ. You see, the best spokesman for the Christian faith is not our words but the way we live.

William Barclay told a story about the well known British biologist and agnostic, Thomas Huxley. Toward the end of his life, he was a guest at a retreat in a country home. On Sunday, most of the guests went to a church. Naturally, Huxley did not go. While alone, he approached a man known to have a simple and radiant Christian faith. Huxley said, “Suppose you don't go to church today. Suppose you stay at home and tell me quite simply what your Christian faith means to you and why you are a Christian.” The man said, “ but, you could demolish my arguments in an instant. I am not smart enough to argue with you.” Huxley gently replied, “I don't want to argue with you; I just want you to tell me simply what this Christ means to you.” The man stayed and did as Huxley had requested. When he finished, there were tears in the old agnostic's eyes. We pray for peaceful living so that our godliness and dignity can point others to Jesus Christ. How we live is the best witness for the Christian faith.

II •  We are called to pray because of God's heart. 4-6

Now, we want to look at what is the basis for God's call to pray for all. Vs. 4-6 tells us great things and eternal truth about God.

1 •  God's divine desire. Vs.4, “ who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God's desire is for all to be saved, to be saved from His wrath, to be saved from the dominion of Sin. God's desire is for all to know His truth; those eternal truth and knowledge about God and human. It is God's desire that you, you and you be saved. On the other hand, there are also clear teachings about God's election. Ephesians 1:4,5, “ 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,..” 2 Thess 2:13, “ 13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved, …..” These and many other passages clearly instruct us that God has chosen us to be his children. This is an irrefutable truth in the Bible.

This truth of God's election is also complemented by passages like this. Vs.4, “ who desires all people to be saved…” John 3:16, “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” On the one hand, God wants all to be saved. On the other hand, he has chosen some to be saved, to be his children. Many of us may try to find ways to reconcile the apparent differences in these two truths. It is difficult to have a definitive solution to this puzzle. However, I feel that solving this puzzle is beyond our ability. We have to keep the two in balance. On the one hand God wants all to be saved, and on the other, he has chosen us to be his children. It is not my responsibility to know who is chosen and who is not. But it is my responsibility to tell all about God's love and His gospel.

2 •  One God and one Mediator. Vs.5, “ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,..” we have discussed this in several of my sermon in recent week. There is one God. And if one wants to go to God, it has to be through Jesus Christ. He is the only middle person between God and men. In the 80's Jane Fonda, the actress, met with Archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop said, “Jesus is the son of God, you know.” Fonda said, “Maybe he is for you, but he's not for me.” To which the archbishop replied, “Well, either he is or he isn't.” there is only one God. There is only one Jesus Christ that can bring us to God. Not all roads lead to heaven. Jesus is the only way.

3 •  One ransom. Vs.6, “who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” In the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, is the story about Edmond, being captured by the white witch. According to the Deep Magic, all traitors, including Edmond, belong to her. So, in order for Edmond to be freed, Aslan, the lion offered himself to take Edmond's place and was sacrificed. However, according to the Deeper Magic, when one who is blameless willingly dies on behalf of the guilty, he may return to life. Aslan was the ransom paid to save Edmond's life. In Lewis' book, Aslan, the lion, always symbolized Christ. Before we come to know God, we were captured and under the control of Satan. We were powerless to resist Sin. But God sent his only son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross. He was the ransom paid for our release. Because of his death and resurrection, we were freed from Sin's power and dominion.

III •  We are called to proclaim the gospel to ALL. Vs.7

When we come together to worship, God calls us to Pray for all. This call is based on his uniqueness; that he is the only one God, there is only one Mediator and one ransom. And this lead us into vs.7, “For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” Paul is saying that because God desires that all men are saved, we are to pray for all. This desire for all to be saved is based on the uniqueness of God. There is no other God like him; therefore all men need to hear him.

There was a time, in the mid 1880's; when we can find coca cola only in America. However, this company was so sure of its product; that there was only one coca cola. So what did it do? It sent out representatives or missionaries to Africa, India, Taiwan, China, and all over the world. Wherever there are people; the company will send ‘missionaries' there. Now, you can find coke in the most unlikely places. Because this is one of a kind product, it deserved to be seen and experienced by every person on earth. Coca Cola is a local company in Atlanta, Ga; but it has a global mission.

Paul was commissioned to proclaim the gospel to the gentiles. For what reason? It is God's desire for all to be saved. Why such desire? There is only one God, one mediator between man and God, only one ransom paid to free us from the power of Satan. This is the reason, Paul and all believers are to proclaim the gospel to all people. It is a global mission. Our world must be bigger than ourselves. Yes, we are a local church, but with a global mission. God's world is to be our world. This is God's world, it is also our world.

Conclusion:

  When I reflect upon my Christian journey, I recognized there were times in life I was rather naive and clueless. When my peers in the youth group were being rebellious by going to movies or parties, I had no clue what was going on. It was at the beginning of my high school years, I was moved in a service with Oswald Smith as the speaker; resulting in dedicating myself to God. Again, I had no clue what I was doing and what its real implications. (Come to think of it, even to this day, there are things going on around me that I am totally clueless L ). However, there is one thing I still remember vividly. Shortly after that rally, for whatever reason, I started to pray for Africa every day, that the gospel may be proclaimed there. May be in those days, Africa was considered the Dark Continent. For some reason, somehow God instilled in me at that time, at that age, that my world must be bigger than myself.

  In today's lesson, we learn that since there is no other God, so He desires all men to be saved. For this reason, when we come together to worship, we are to pray for all people. This call to pray for all leads to the global mission to proclaim the gospel to all people. In another two weeks, there is the Mission Conference organized by our sister churches. I want to encourage you to take part in this event and let God broaden our horizon. Let God's world be our world. However, having said this, it is important to remember that it all starts with prayer. Yes, we pray in this location, but we pray for all people. We are a local church, but with a global mission. It all starts with praying, and for all people. When we come together to worship, be it on Sunday, or in small group and fellowship group levels, let us first of all pray for all people, for this is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.