Sunday, February 23, 2020

Witness to the Gentiles Mark 7:24 - 8:9

After Jesus left there, he went to the region of Tyre. When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know, but he was not able to escape notice. People were completely astounded and said, "He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
Mark 7:24‭, ‬37 NET

Johnny Dodsworth www.EasTview.org 
Who do you say Jesus is?
He's a leader, healer, teacher, trouble maker, disruptor, confusing, shepherd, fence breaker. 
Fence bad. Shepherd good. 
The story is also in Matthew
The woman was a Greek, of Syrophoenician origin. She asked him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
Mark 7:26 NET
Strikes against: woman, gentile, Syrophoenician
So many fences
Syrophoenician from Tyre very non Jewish enemy "that God hates"
Jesus waited for his disciples to engage the situation. They said send her away. They had not yet learned compassion. 
Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you." And her daughter was healed from that hour.
Matthew 15:28 NET

All the peoples of the world are to be blessed. 

Jesus came to reclaim Israel to bring blessing to the world. The woman understood that there is enough bread for everyone. To bring others into the shepherd's fold. 

Read Gospel Unpacked book

Acts 10:34-36 Peter finally got the message. God does not show favoritism. 

We're able to show there is room in the fold. Share with people to bring people into relationship. The spirit will lead. How will the world know Jesus? Share your Jesus relationship with others. 

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Witness to Jews Mark 6 & 7

Youth worship team:
I reach out to you
I will rejoice in the simple gospel

Reading through the book of Mark
Then he went around among the villages and taught. And wherever he would go – into villages, towns, or countryside – they would place the sick in the marketplaces, and would ask him if they could just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
Mark 6:6‭, ‬56 NET

Johnny Dodsworth pastor www.EasTview.org

Jesus is teaching with authority. Healing people. Sends his disciples out. 
Who do we say Jesus is? 

Jesus had a different leadership style. We're all leaders. Parents. Church. Leadership is influence. Influence is leadership. 

Coaching 3 and 4 year olds in soccer is chaotic. They played ring around the roses any time.
They needed to be contained within the field. 

Herod had a banquet and John's head comes off. 

Jesus teaches the crowd and feeds them miraculously. 
The crowd had religious, regional and Roman leaders but Jesus says they need a shepherd that stays with the sheep at all times. They need someone to take care of them. 

Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy something for themselves to eat." But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." And they said, "Should we go and buy bread for two hundred silver coins and give it to them to eat?" They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces and fish that were left over, twelve baskets full.
Mark 6:36‭-‬37‭, ‬42‭-‬43 NET

Jesus is the shepherd by teaching and providing for them. Jesus enters into our lives. Not make more rules. Not legalism. 

Washing hands had nothing to do with cleanliness only rituals. A fence by the religious leaders. 
God wants a shepherd not a fence. 

He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ' This people honors me with their lips, but their heart  is far from me . He also said to them, "You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up your tradition. There is nothing outside of a person that can defile him by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles him."
Mark 7:6‭, ‬9‭, ‬15 NET

We're sheep. I don't want to be a pharisee. 
What ways does Jesus want you to go? Witness to someone. 
How does Jesus want you to lead and shepherd? Take an awkward person for coffee. 

Sunday, February 09, 2020

Jaime Saint

Grandson of Nate Saint Auca martyr
Grew up in a mission family
Business people help missions do what they do. 
Jim Elliot was a missionary friend to his grandfather. The missionaries were fathers. 
The Auca now Huaorani would kill anyone they didn't like and all their family. They killed each other. None if them would be left alive today if not for the missionaries. They were scattered over 6,000 miles. Eventually they found them and did some bucket drops over a period of weeks. They exchanged gifts for a while, including roasted monkey meat. Book END OF THE SPEAR written by Nate's son. 

They built a tree house. Eventually a man and 2 women came out to spend a friendly day with them. A few days later all 5 were dead. 

That wasn't the end of the story. We like stories with a happy ending. Not all have that. 

All who follow Jesus shall suffer. That's normal. 

The man who killed Nate taught Nate's son how to hunt. In 1995 we moved into their community to live. Foreigners come at their convenience to help. They wanted someone to teach them how to care for each other. Started Indigenous People's Technology and Education Centre, a or I-TEC for short, a Christian non-profit agency. https://www.itecusa.org/

In 4x100 race when the first runner makes the lap the next runner takes the baton. Missionaries need to learn to do that. 

90% of missionaries are in countries that are considered reached. We're to make disciples and the disciples to make disciples. 

Is short term missions useful? Churches need to become self supporting and self propagating. I-TEC trains and equips the local church to walk on their own not to be mama mama. Shepherding is for the sheep.

Kids are net takers and become net givers. Churches need to learn to be givers. NA missionaries are always coming to fix the mission church. 

3 rules of mission is listen listen listen. 

They need us we need them. We need to work together. So many missionaries want to take credit for everything so they can raise more funds.

Not propagating the prosperity gospel. Name it and claim is not what Paul said.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

The sessions will be on youtube shortly. 

Mark 4:35 - 6:6

Carol read the Scripture. 
Brigitta Schuler teacher www.EasTview.org 
She has the gift of teaching.
Open to Mark 5
On my drive I often listen to CHVN. A pastor on the radio always concludes with JESUS CHRIST IS GOD. 
The previous passage focuses on Jesus's teaching by word. Today's passage focuses on Jesus's deeds. 
The possessed man was scary demon possessed. He prostrated himself in homage to Jesus. 5000 soldiers are a legion. That's how many demons he had. Jesus knew that but wanted the disciples to know that. 
Then he cried out with a loud voice, "Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God – do not torment me!" They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind – the one who had the "Legion" – and they were afraid. But Jesus did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, "Go to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, that he had mercy on you." So he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him, and all were amazed.
Mark 5:7‭, ‬15‭, ‬19‭-‬20 NET
Jesus sent the man out to tell the community about what Jesus had done for him. 

An important leader falls at Jesus's feet:
Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came up, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet.
Mark 5:22 NET
With no time to spare, Jesus takes time to heal a perpetually outcast woman. She is immediately healed.
When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,  Jesus knew at once that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?"
Mark 5:27‭, ‬30 NET
She fell at Jesus's feet. Completely healed. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your disease."
Mark 5:34 NET

Jesus validated her. He showed that he is the one who restores with love and gentleness. 

While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue ruler's house saying, "Your daughter has died. Why trouble the teacher any longer?" But Jesus, paying no attention to what was said, told the synagogue ruler, "Do not be afraid; just believe."
Mark 5:35‭-‬36 NET

Then, gently taking the child by the hand, he said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up." The girl got up at once and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). They were completely astonished at this.
Mark 5:41‭-‬42 NET

Completely healed. Nothing is impossible with Jesus. 

In the previous chapter:
But he was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?" And he said to them, "Why are you cowardly? Do you still not have faith?" They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, "Who then is this? Even the wind and sea obey him!"
Mark 4:38‭, ‬40‭-‬41 NET

Chaos to calm. Only God can control the storm. See Psalm 107:29 Jesus proves he is God.
They cried out to the Lord in their distress; he delivered them from their troubles. He calmed the storm, and the waves grew silent. The sailors rejoiced because the waves grew quiet, and he led them to the harbor they desired.
Psalms 107:28‭-‬30 NET

Do you display God in your life? We can't follow Jesus well if we don't know who he is. 

Saturday, February 08, 2020

Missions in persecution

Nik Ripken
https://www.nikripken.com/
Nik and his wife Ruth are mission veterans of 34 years with the International Mission Board, SBC, having served in Malawi, South Africa, Kenya, Somalia, Germany, Ethiopia and the Middle East.

Nik was at a camp of refugees and he asked them if they knew his friend Jesus. Right away there was a crowd scaring him and eventually they said Jesus was at the other camp. 
He ran out of the camp and took a taxi to the airport and flew home. 
You get scars that only heaven can heal. 
Islam was hunting Christians and a lot of friends got shot and their bodies were disposed into the latrine or ocean. The funerals were held without the bodies there. Somalis were hunting them. 
16 year old son died of asthma. We vowed not to waste our pain. We learned how to witness to them. Jesus said I'm sending you sheep among the wolves. I was raised to be a sheep among sheep. 
This says the Lord. There are non negotiables. 
Matthew 10 Jesus pushes the reset button. You will be flogged on my account. The spirit will speak through you. Persecution is normal. We think we need to walk through it. 
30 pastors in FSU are not writing about persecution. It's normal for them. 
An evangelist told a bunch of muslims that they would burn in hell if they didn't accept Jesus. Evangelists are scary. 
You are as likely to be in jail in Muslim countries for being a Christian as for being a criminal. 
Why are we not on our faces asking God what to do? We don't need CNN to tell us what to think. God has defined what to do. 
Persecution is normal. If you have someone who is afraid of suffering for Jesus you need to deal with that. 
The number one cause of persecution is people coming to Christ. Where there is a great harvest there is persecution. Why are we not suffering persecution? There is no such thing as a free church or not. 
Pray for the persecuted Christians. They share Christ on a daily basis. They have given their lives to Jesus and they are giving him away. 
We are not persecuted because we are keeping Jesus to ourselves. Satan wants to keep you quiet. Then you are supporting the persecutors. 
We tend to witness to younger people. We need to witness to our peers. 
We must follow Jesus even when it costs our lives. Their suffering gives them purpose. 
3. Our obedience. We need to say blessed be the name of the Lord. 

Abdu Murray

Abdu Murray
 https://www.missionfestmanitoba.org/speakers.html

There is always a barrier to truth. The crooked lawyer went for a walk. Meets a bear that knocks him over. He says oh my God. God responds by what do you want? Make the bear a Christian. Then the bear says thank you Lord for the food you have provided me. 

We don't want to lose our comfort. We hear what we want to hear. Evangelism is the effort to get someone to change their world view. That is hard. You are asking them to change their Sunday. That is painful. Not just good luck but we need to walk with them through the change. Help them. 
C. S. Lewis Quotes. If you look for truthyou may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.

Apologetics is the seasoning the handmaid of evangelism. The answers are hard to accept. Took me 9 years accept the truth. 

In the Asian market you bargain for the price. Not what the sticker says but what the market will pay. 

Jesus tells you what the price is. You're a mess and you need someone to save you. You are promised that it will be tough. 

Show the world what it's worth. Jesus said to Pilate:
So Pilate went back into the governor's residence, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"  Jesus replied, "Are you saying this on your own initiative, or have others told you about me?" Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Then Pilate said, "So you are a king!" Jesus replied, "You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Pilate asked, "What is truth?" When he had said this he went back outside to the Jewish leaders and announced, "I find no basis for an accusation against him.
John 18:33‭-‬34‭, ‬36‭-‬38 NET

Are you talking to a cynic or a skeptic? Thomas was a skeptic but Jesus accepted him. In the movie THE PASSION Pilate talks about truth a lot. 

Don't hide the radiance of the son from people. Lack of action by Christians is blocking their faith.

When we say God loves you people respond with their experiences. They don't hear what you say. 

Are humans free or predetermined? Is morality real. Atheists don't want there to be a God.

Ask open ended questions. 
What will happen next? 
Aren't those consequences enough to keep you from accepting Jesus.

Went to hospital to talk to sick Muslim. Thoughtful guy. He had no visitors. What would happen if you became a Christian? I would die alone. Gave him a Bible. Can I keep it? He asked. 

Ask the question and shut up and listen. That's the hardest thing. Get rid of your yeahbut syndrome.

A couple was volunteering at church but were not Christians. Went to see them. Asked her why she didn't get the Nobel peace prize? What had she done to deserve it? Why do you think you deserve heaven? 

Listen and
Commit and follow up. Where will you be when I make that commitment? Be there for them. Show them the value of paying the cost. Answer the people with their questions. Make people wish the gospel was true and show them that it's true. 

Joy is fundamental for the Christian. 

Know your value in God's eyes. What are you willing to pay for what you consider valuable? God paid for you with Jesus's death. That tells you your value. 

Because I live you also shall live, sums up everything. 

When we've been there 10,000 years, we've no less days to sing God's praise. Bring others with you. 

It's a privilege to do evangelism. 

Friday, February 07, 2020

Missionfest 2020

Abdu Murray
Featured speaker
SEEING THE SON THROUGH THE FOG OF THE CONFUSION OF CULTURE TODAY

He was a Muslim evangelist. Most muslims are peace loving. God is greater. The greatest. 
Trinity is confusing to them. How could the God of the universe die on a cross? 

Those ideas are what makes so much sense. He did 9 years of searching before finding the truth in Romans 5:8.

Flotilla of ships crossing the Atlantic in the fog. Light up ahead. The captain. Change course. No you change. No You change I'm the lighthouse. 

Sometimes we think we are a tiny light and the flotilla of culture scares us. 

Gene therapy is happening. There are gene hackers changing people. What is life? What is Male and Female? Our society lives in fog. 

Cold war song Superman Where Are You Now? Could be written today. 

Children 8 years old can decide who they will be for the rest of their lives and society is enforcing that decision no matter what it is. Society likes confusion
Heroic
Bigoted
Regressive

What does post truth mean? Elevating feelings above reason. If you don't agree you're a Hitler. 

Post modernism there is no objective truth. Only perspectives. They reason. 

We have a struggle for autonomy. Not freedom. 
Self law. A law to yourself. You decide what's right or wrong. Everyone makes their own rules. Power wins. Your preferences are criminalized and you become a slave to the power brokers. 

Our purpose is to commune with God. Meant to be with God not to be following their own preferences. 

Post Truth bender. Clarity and truth have been sacrificed on human autonomy. Wisdom dies. 

Offer the freedom that truth brings freedom. 10s of thousands are coming together to search truth. Became a Christian because it is truth. T equals Full Truth.

Everyone has equal truth? Hitler Stalin etc. All paths lead to God? Sounds respectful. All paths don't lead to God. Buddha wants oblivion. Hindu says we are gods.

2015 sports team did a protest. A journalist was forcefully removed by the journalism professor. 

Integrity doesn't disappear quickly. Christians often don't follow truth. Posting false stories. Let's provide verified truth in our postings. 

Humanity is the measure of all things? Can we reach a rough agreement concerning values? No.

We have reached agreement to be rough.

We're becoming phone zombies. With information machines more powerful than all the computers that took man to the moon. 
We've humanized objects to dehumanizing humans. 

The Bible stands against autonomy but not against freedom. Freedom has boundaries. A picture has a frame. 

Freedom. Bought a house. Big back yard but a road required a boundary. We need moral law. Only God knows what that boundary is. 
Know the truth and the truth will set you free. Jesus. Our desire for autonomy blinds us. The SON sets you free. Preferences don't set you free. Jesus said I'll die and I'll rise in 3 days. That's truth. 

Global hope. Applies everywhere. Africa needs Christianity. Christians served the pagans. The Christians make the world a better place. There are no hospitals of the blessed nothingness. 

Christians change people's hearts. Liberty freedom brotherhood are from the gospels.

Truth leads to freedom. Does the resurrection have anything to do with it? We are made in God's image and meant to have a relationship with God. He died and rose to prove he was right.

I need someone to make me alive. Jesus. The truth is a person.