So thankful to be with all of y'all on this exciting weekend in the life of Mercy Hill and so excited about what's happening with Andrew's new book. He gave me a sneak preview. And allowed me to read the manuscript before it was published and give him a little feedback. But really, it's going to speak to your hearts in a great way. And I'm very thankful for Andrew.
I know you are thankful for Andrew as well, but what you see is what you get. He's the real deal. What you see in the pulpit is the real man that you see in private, and it's just amazing to see how God's hand is on him. He and his wife Anna and their home are just a beacon of light of what it means to follow Jesus. It's a privilege to stand in the pulpit that he often stands in.
to talk to you tonight about the inspiration. of an early church The Church at Antioch. And that inspiration is most of all in the call of global missions, the call of Mercy Hill. being a great commission congregation. That is taking Jesus' mission for the church.
And fulfilling it in the way that God has His hand on Mercy Hill. to fulfill your role. and that great commission.
So, if you've got a Bible with you, I want to ask you to turn in your Bible to the book of Acts. If you're new to Bible study, that's the fifth book of the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You come to Acts, written by Dr. Luke.
He wrote the Gospel of Luke. That's about the body of Christ, number one, Jesus. And then he wrote Acts about the body of Christ, number two. The church. And as we see the beginning of the church there, we focus on this church at Antioch.
And it was an incredible church that God used to this day. to this weekend. Here at Mercy Hill.
So I want to read to you from Acts chapter 13. We're going to be studying through verse 12. But I'm going to read the first three verses, and it's good on occasion just to show our honor. And worship of God to stand for the reading of God's Word.
So if you're physically able, would you stand for just a moment? in honor of God and His word. Acts 13, Beginning at verse 1.
Now there were at Antioch in the church that was there prophets and teachers. Barnabas? And Simeon, who was called Niger. And Lucius of Cyrene, Amin, who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch. And Saul.
And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then when they had fasted and prayed, They laid their hands on them. And they sent them away. Father? As we stand before you to honor you as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
We are eager to hear from you. And we ask for you to speak, to speak through your word. And Holy Spirit, as we study and hear your word, May you convict our hearts, our minds, our wills. To understand what you, Lord Jesus, are calling us to be and do when it comes. to your great commission.
O Lord, may everything that is said and done here be to glorify you through your Son, Jesus Christ. For it's in Christ's name that we pray. Amen. You may be seated. It's a long time to stand through the message.
There were three decisions. That God led our church in Atlanta, Johnson Ferry. You wonder, that's a strange name. We're on Johnson Ferry Road, that's the reason for the name. But God led Our church in the early days To make three decisions that really helped us to become a great commission congregation.
First of all, in giving to missions.
Now, we were just a few families meeting in a doctor's office. And as this young Church planner that was coming to North Atlanta to try to get this church started. I felt like we needed a church budget, so we got with a couple of the businessmen in the church and. We decided to set up our first budget for all year 1982. And it was a whopping $88,000.
I didn't know how in the world we were going to raise that budget or see that budget given. But as we were going through that, that covered the cost of leasing the medical center. It covered the cost of all the ministry expenses. It covered the pastor's salary. Just do the math.
It was not a whole lot in those days. But as we were planning that budget of $88,000, I asked those Christian men that were with me in my living room that night, I said, look. Would you be open to at least tithing to global missions? They said, yeah. I said, well.
Could we give 11% of this budget to global emissions, 10%? to our denominational missions and 1% to young life.
Well, they understood giving 10% to our denominational missions, but they said, what's young life?
Well, I said, well, that's a ministry outside the church that is where I came to know Jesus Christ and to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It's always been a burden of mine that so many denominational churches don't have much of a kingdom vision, and they only do things within their denomination rather than with the kingdom mindset.
So if we could just give to a ministry like that, it would be a dream. To see us partnering together for the building up of the body of Christ. I said, well. If you came to Christ a young life, I guess we ought to do it. And thankfully they did.
And what happened? It seems like a very insignificant thing to give a tithe plus out of a small church budget like that. But Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:21, He says, Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.
Now, I've already probably said, where your heart is, there your treasure will go. Jesus didn't say that. He says, where your treasure is, where you spend your money, that's where your heart goes. Think about it. Think about where you spend your money.
So little did we know in the beginning days there with just a few families getting a church started in North Atlanta by giving a priority on giving to missions. that our heart would begin to go there. And it prepared the way. And soon, as we got into our second capital campaign, we thought, well, we've been given a tithe out of our church budget to missions. Why don't we give a tithe out of this capital campaign?
And we began to give the first 10% of every dollar that came into capital campaigns to expand the facilities of the church to global missions. And over time, that grew to the first 20 cents of every dollar that came in for capital campaigns. And it was just a way that God multiplied. Just that small seed faith commitment of giving. to global missions.
But secondly, it's prayer. In about five years in, as a new church, we began a 24-hour prayer ministry, and it was a very exciting time in the life of our church, calling on people to commit to one hour a week. We set up a prayer room there in the church facility. People had a clear guidance about what to focus on in their prayer life, answering the phone for prayer requests that came in. We began to realize how vitally important it was to undergirding everything that was happening in our ministry to stay connected to our power source, the Lord, through prayer.
And a couple years after that, the International Mission Board came to our church. They saw that we were giving generously to missions, and they said they had targeted 10 churches in our convention of churches. that they ask if we'd be willing to adopt an unreached people group. We said we'd love to do that. Who are they?
They said it was the Kyrgyz people. We said, Who's that?
Well, they're in Kyrgyzstan. We said, where's that?
Now, it's classically geographically challenged, American pastors and laymen to not know where it was, but it's part of the old Soviet Union, it's in Central Asia. overwhelmingly Muslim heritage, but because of all the years of communism, obviously mostly atheistic. And they told us, look, you're not going to be able to get to them. The door is closed.
Now, I realize if I mention the Iron Curtain, a lot of you don't even know what I'm talking about.
So, ask your grandparents about the Iron Curtain. It was a time where the Soviet Union basically built a wall to keep everybody in so nobody would escape. A lot of countries build walls to keep people out, but they were having to keep people in because communism was such a colossal failure when it came to economy and things like that.
So we were excited. We just began to pray. We knew we couldn't go to Kyrgyzstan, but we prayed for an open door. And y'all. Are you listening?
Don't miss this. On Christmas Day, 1991, the hammer and sickle flag of the Soviet Union came down for the last time, and the iron curtain fell. And we were able to begin to send teams into Kyrgyzstan. And you know, the folks at Johnson Ferry very humbly were taking credit for the fall of the Soviet Union. Because we have been praying for an opportunity to go in, and God opened the door, and we began to send in all kinds of business people.
Then to tell people how to start a business, they had no idea how to do that, nothing under no understanding of free enterprise. And so we sent these teams in. They were trained to share their testimonies and share the gospel as people would ask why they were there. And there is a thriving Christian community in Kyrgyzstan today, still overwhelmingly culturally Muslim and atheistic. But there is a thriving Christian community, part of the body of Christ there today, and that's exciting.
It came really through prayer. But the third area About ten years in, God really helped us to become more of a going and sending congregation. Our student pastor came to me, and we were going through a time, he was a wonderful student pastor. But we've gone through a time where our summer beach retreats were just kind of flat and students had a lot of other options, wasn't going well. And I just ask myself, why don't you get away for a few days of prayer and fasting and just ask God, what is it that needs to be unique about our student ministry here at Johnson Ferry?
He did that. He came back and he said, here's what I'd like to do. I want to challenge the high school students to give up their spring break. Go through eight weeks of discipleship training. and go down south of the border to Matamoris, Mexico.
Build houses for the people living in shacks or cardboard shacks or tin shacks there, and then go door to door in these little villages sharing the good news of Christ. Man, I said, that's exciting. Do it. And you know, those students going through that eight weeks of discipleship training, learn how to share their faith, learn how to have a quiet time, all the basics of being a Christian. I remember telling my wife Ann, you know, if these students never leave Atlanta, This is a special time for them.
But they all got on that bus. About 30, about five adults, 25 students. It wasn't a big group. And their experience Of leading people to Christ, of building one-room houses that for a lot of these students was smaller than their bedrooms. It was life transforming.
To see Students come alive in their faith in sharing Christ and the love of Christ, and seeing people begin. They'll come to Christ in those communities. The church through sending And those who are willing to go in that very small group. Just grew and grew in the life of Johnson Ferry. To where by 2015 through 2020, leading up to COVID, we were averaging about 2,000 teenagers and adults going on about 70 to 80 mission trips around the globe every single year.
Now, I know that you've got your go teams here, and you are on the move. At Mercy Hill in doing that. But it's hard to describe what that does to the local church when people get out of their comfort zone to take the good news of Jesus Christ in cultures that are different from ours.
Now with that in mind. I want us to look at the church at Antioch. And see how they were a giving church. How they were a praying church, how they were a sending and going church, and to learn what we can from them so that Mercy Hill can continue on this great trajectory. Great path.
that your own And when it comes to global mission.
So let's go look back at verse 25 of chapter 12. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission. Taking along with them John, that's John, Mark. And what this is about is they were sent from Antioch. To take a special offering to the mother church in Jerusalem.
Now, real quickly, let me tell you about Antioch. It was about the third or fourth largest city in the Roman Empire at this point in history. You had Rome the largest city. You had Alexandria, Egypt, the second largest city. And historians argue over whether Ephesus or Antioch was the largest city.
It was a very big, influential city. Then it was in Syria.
Now it's in southern Turkey. And when they heard about the famine in Jerusalem, even though they were really a plant, if you will, from Christian believers who migrated up to Antioch. They felt they needed to take up an offering and to show their love for that mother church. They were overwhelmingly Gentile, the mother church, overwhelmingly Jewish followers of Christ.
So we see that they were a giving. and a generous church. Here at Mercy Hill, you are as well. But wouldn't it be exciting? If you moved it up a notch.
especially in giving the global missions. But secondly, They were a praying church. Look at verse 1 of chapter 13.
Now they were at Antioch in the church that was there, prophets and teachers, Barnabas, that's one. Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene.
So you've got two men that are probably from North Africa. Manaean, who had been brought up in the household of Herod the Tetrarch.
Now don't you know he had some stories to tell about that household. And then Saul.
So here's a church that overnight had become a mega church. It may have grown more rapidly than Merchy Hill. I mean, it had just exploded. They already had, they were a multi-staff church, five great leaders in this church. And these leaders came together and felt the church needed a time of prayer and fasting.
Look at verse 2. While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, The Holy Spirit said, Set apart from me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
Now, Really, this is kind of like what some folks call a solemn assembly, an extended prayer meeting. As the church came together seeking God's will. But here's a big difference. A lot of times in the American church, when a solemn assembly is called, most people see it as a time to just grow deeper in their faith in Jesus Christ. That was not the case here at Antioch.
At Antioch, when they came together to pray, they were praying about how God could use them to send people out in sharing the good news of Christ in places of the world where they did not know Christ or never heard of him. That's a different motivation for a solemn assembly. In other words, it wasn't inward focus. How can we be deeper in our faith? It was outward focus about how we can carry out the mission that Jesus Christ.
has given this church. And they felt led To talk to Saul. And Barnabas about being sent.
Now, that's two of their five staff people.
So look at what happened in verse 3. Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them. Away.
Now I imagine That when J.D. Greer at Summit Church in Raleigh sent out Andrew, your pastor, and about 30 others. to plan a church here in Greensboro. I imagine it was a big gulp for J.D. As a matter of fact, in his book, Gaining by Losing, he talks about the big gulp a pastor has when you begin to send out some of your best.
And think about this. This is two of the five leaders of a thriving, growing church at Antioch in one of the greatest cities of the Roman Empire. And they were led to send them out. Understand this about the mission's calling.
Now listen, are you listening? It is both individual And it is corporate. What do I mean by that? The individual has a calling of God to go. But it always involves the affirmation of the local church.
to send them. Through the years, I pastored that church in Atlanta for 38 years. And a lot of times I'd have some guy that wasn't in our church come to me, maybe after a service, talk about how he was called to the mission field in certain areas. And I'd say, well, what church is sponsoring you? He said, I don't need a local church, God's called me.
And I said, brother, That is completely unbiblical. There are no lone rangers in God's missional plan. The local church has just as important a role of sending and affirming that individual calling. But that's not all. You'll know that they were sent out in teams, just like Jesus did with the disciples.
He sent them out two by two. Why? Because it's not easy. to go along. Let me explain it this way.
I was a little slow to have a calling to go into full-time ministry. I was in the business world for a few years when I finished college. And I was in sales for a chemical company. I was working straight commission. Which really always tended to give me the Monday morning sweats.
I didn't know where income was going to come from that week, so I'd get you out of bed to get going. But thankfully, There was another sales rep with that chemical company that lived in Augusta where I lived. And every Monday morning we got together and we just gulped. Cups of coffee to get fortified, to go out, to be turned down and rejected 90% of the time. That's not an easy task.
But because we had each other, Man. That gave us encouragement. If somebody else had understood. And we would get each other kind of fortified to go out and face the child is born a face.
Well, it's a lot harder being a missionary. With all the rejection, all the cultural changes that are so different, the language problem, it is so much more complex. But Jesus knew to send them out in teams. We need teams. in order to encourage one another, because it's not easy.
to do that. But we see here That this church was a sending congregation, and they had two who were willing to go.
Now let's look and see where they went. Look at verse 4.
So being sent out By the Holy Spirit. They went to Seleucia.
Now Seleucia is that port city. Of Antioch to this day, the modern-day city is Antakya in southern Turkey. but it's about 10 to 15 miles from Antioch. And from Seleucia, their port city, they sailed to Cyprus, an island there in the Mediterranean Sea. When they reached Salamis, that was on the east coast of Cyprus, they began to proclaim the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.
That's what Saul was always led to do, to go to the Jews first, the synagogues first, even though he was called to the Gentiles. And they also had John as their helper. And when they had gone through the whole island, in other words, they began to go west to where they came to Paphos. That was the capital city of Cyprus.
Now Here's another thing that we can learn from what the church at Antioch did. about global missions. It takes a lot. of courage. Because you are going into a culture that is completely different from yours.
That's why it's called cross-cultural missions. There's a lot that you don't understand. There's a lot of things that can seem. Kind of silly. There's a lot of things that are hard to even grasp.
But think about when people come to Greensboro. And Atlanta. that have come from another nation. There's a lot of things that are strange to them. And that's how it is when we're sent out on global missions.
You know, I love one of my favorite books is Stephen Ambrose's book, Undaunted Courage, about Lewis and Clark. And you talking about guts? I mean to be sent out west to explore this continent. They had no idea what they were going to face. It truly was undaunted courage.
Well, think about Saul and Barnabas being sent out. This is the very first mission trip in the history of the church. You're talking about courage. Missions is a calling into the unknown. That calls on us to depend on God.
in the strength and power of God. Because it's too big for us as individuals.
Well, let's look and see what happened. Look at verse 6 again. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Pe as far as Paphos, They found a magician, a Jewish false prophet, whose name was Bar-Jesus. He was with the Pro Consul. A man named Sergius Paulus, a man of great intelligence, This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
But Elimis, which was another name for Bargesus, the The magician For so his name is translated, he was opposing them and seeking to turn the proconsul away. From the Fay.
Now I want you to understand this situation. If you begin to go out of your comfort zone, cross-cultural, to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Expect Spiritual warfare. Expect it. Don't be afraid of it.
But expect it. Here's Saul and Barnabas, they're crossing this island of Cyprus. Sergius Paulus is like the governor of Cyprus for Rome. The proconsul. And he's got a key advisor, like somebody in our president's cabinet here in the United States.
And this man is of the devil. And he does not want the governor to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. And so he's doing whatever he can to prevent the governor from hearing. But the governor is an intelligent man, he's really a classic seeker. He's heard about these guys traveling across his island, and he wants to hear from them directly the message that they've been sharing on the island that he's responsible for.
But this man in his cabinet wants to prevent it from happening.
So how does Saul and Barnabas respond? Look at verse 9. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, now this is the first time he's called Paul in the scriptures. Saul was his Jewish name. Paul was his Roman Name, and certainly in the call to the Gentiles, it was very appropriate that he chose to go by Paul.
He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He fixed his gaze on this man. He said, You are full of deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness. Will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
Now behold, The hand of the Lord is upon you. and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time. And immediately A mist and a darkness fell upon him. And he went about seeking those who would lead him. By the hand.
Now This had to be a pretty exciting scene. There were a few times in the life of Johnson Ferry. I wish God had given me a discernment like the Apostle Paul with some sorry so-and-so's out there to just call him out as the son of the devil. For the way they acted and the way they sought to undermine things, but the Lord never gave me that kind of insight, but man. Wouldn't that have been exciting to be In a meeting like that?
He calls him the son of the devil, full of deceit. And then the man is struck blind.
Now think about this. He struck blind. Listen, are you listening? Which was really symbolic of the spiritual darkness he was living in.
something that Saul fully understood. For when he was the original religious terrorist seeking to terrorize, kill, persecute. and imprison Christians. He was confronted by Jesus Christ. And he went bond for a time.
It was symbolic of the spiritual darkness he had been living in with all of his religious devotion and seeking to help God out his way.
So he understood that. Don't Forget. That when you're on a GO team or when you're sent out in career missions calling. You got to expect spiritual warfare and understand why. Because when we go out to share the gospel where the gospel is not known, It is a territory that has been claimed by the evil one, by the devil.
And a person that is spiritually lost is captive of the evil one. I realize even your neighbors that are lost, they don't realize they're captive of the evil one. You may be somebody that doesn't know Christ that is captive of the evil one today or tonight or this weekend, whatever service you're in. But understand this. When people go in to liberate the hostages of the evil one, To set people free with the good news of Jesus Christ.
So that we are free to finally, at last, experience the abundant life that God wants to give every single person here. The devil doesn't want that to happen. And he goes into overdrive through distractions or whatever. to keep that from happening. You know, I've only been a part of one exorcism.
on the mission trips that Johnson Ferry took. We were in India. And a lot of the national Indian pastors that we have been working with have been working really for months. To urge people in a poor rural area and villages there to come hear this American speaker. A lot of those folks never seen an American in person, much less hear an American speaker.
So there were hundreds, about 700 of those folks gathered under a big tent that they had. Built for that occasion, temporary gathering spot. They were all just packed in there, sitting on the ground. And as we were having a worship, just like you were having a worship a few minutes ago, of praising the Lord through worship. All of a sudden, this woman in the middle of that crowd let out this blood-curdling scream.
I mean,. I mean, the hairs on my arm just stood on edge. It was not a normal screen. And her body just began to go into all these spastic contortions. And you know, in India, with all the false gods there in Hinduism and They have no trouble believing in demons.
I mean, it's a culture where they began to scatter away from this woman. All of a sudden, they were just scrambling to get out of that tent. And several of those Indian pastors just went up to her, laid hands on her, and began to pray. And my interpreter that day from India. Begin to pray boldly.
I didn't understand what he was saying. But I could tell he was praying with great power and boldness. You know, I have to admit this. I had my eyes open. I was curious what was going to happen.
And all of a sudden, as he was praying, that The woman's body went limp. And she looked up. Before, her eyes were so wild and terrorized, it would scare you just to see her eyes. But there was a look of perfect peace in her eyes and countenance. The devil was seeking to disrupt a meeting.
Where all these people didn't know anything about Jesus Christ, created a distraction like that. And in the process, God overpowered that occasion. And there were about 700 people that day. Just to be sure people were understanding what they were doing, we asked them all at the end of the message that day to stand if they wanted to follow this Jesus. And about 100 people stood.
You know, I'm not a gifted evangelist. I always want to share the gospel. Tonight we want to talk about the gospel, but I'm not a gifted evangelist like some folks. But you see, the devil went into overdrive to try to prevent those people from hearing the good news. God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, went into greater overdrive.
And it was a victory for the kingdom. It was so moving that when our group from Johnson Ferry was going back to the bands that day, I told the guys, I said, You know, if we could have an occasional exorcism at Johnson Ferry, we'd see a lot of people come to Christ. It never did happen, but... Man, when you experience something like that, whoa my goodness.
So, realize this: if you're going to be on the front lines, whether it's going next door to your neighbor who doesn't know Jesus Christ or going halfway around the world, expect. Spiritual warfare. Expect it. Don't be afraid it. Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.
Don't be afraid. He's no match for Jesus. But there's something else here. Verse twelve. Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
Well, I guess so. I guess so after something like that. This man struck blind. It got his attention. And think about this.
Everybody? This is the first recorded convert. from the very first mission trip in the history of the church. How about that? happens to be the governor of Cyprus, the proconsul.
How did that come about? Because after Paul confronted this man, he shared with that proconsul, the governor, the good news of Christ. And what is the gospel? You have a pastor and staff, they preach and teach the gospel. But what is the gospel?
The gospel is this. Christ died for our sins. And Christ rose from the dead. That is the gospel.
Now You need your pastor, Andrew. You need your staff. To explain who Christ is, He's the Son of God that left His throne in heaven and became one of us as a human being, fully God and fully man. And why did He come? He came to give His life for us on the cross.
Why? Because we're all sinners. And because of our sin, we find ourselves separated from God. But when Jesus went to the cross, He went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, which is death. He was our substitute.
He died in our place.
So that when you and I realize the love of God is so great.
Now, listen, are you listening? The love of God is so great for you. Every one of you. That are in this room and those of you in other campuses on this weekend. His love is so great for you.
that he sent his son to give his life. For you.
So, when we finally come to our senses and realize our sin has caused separation from God in our own life. And we ask the Lord to forgive us and claim the forgiveness He offers through His death on the cross. Then we're made right with God. Not because we're good enough. But because Jesus is.
And it doesn't stop there. Christ conquered sin and death when he rose from the grave. He whipped it.
So that you and I, as followers, not only have forgiveness of our sin, we're not only made right with God, but we get to conquer death. Our physical bodies will give out because of our sin. But when we come to Christ, our soul, our spirit, it lives on forever. From the moment our physical body gives out, we are with the Lord and will be in relationship with the living Lord forever. Forever.
What could be better news than that? I don't know how it is in Greensboro, but I know this in Atlanta. The news is all bad. We've got good news. We got good news.
The best. And that's what Paul shared. With the pro-council, of Cyprus. The first person recorded to come to Christ From the very first mission trip, in the history of the church. We owe a great debt.
to Antioch. Today, it is the modern-day city of Antakya. February of 2023. An earthquake happened there. I've never seen such Such incredible tragedy has occurred there.
Over 50,000 deaths. A ministry you support called Sin Relief that the Lord allowed me to serve with five years after I finished pastoring at Johnson Ferry. We were there. Turkey is 98 to 99 percent Muslim. But in being there, I was so excited to think that Antakya, which is ancient Antioch, That has set such a great example for churches like Mercy Hill and Johnson Ferry, and all through history.
That we were getting to go in and return their favor of being a giving church. I'll be an ascending church. And we were providing temporary housing for those Muslim families and filtered water. It was so exciting to see. Let me just tell you one good thing that happened.
That was in February of 23. In December of that year, They asked similarly for a grant to have a big Christmas party. for the many folks they've been ministering to. They couldn't have it there in Antakya because about 90% of the buildings and houses were destroyed or uninhabitable. But it would be at Seleucia.
You read about it here in this passage, Seleucia, the port city. They had a ballroom in a hotel that hadn't been damaged. They invited all those families, overwhelmingly Muslims, individuals that they had been ministering to during the year, to come. for a celebration of making it through the year. 1,500 Muslims showed up.
And they told them why they were doing this and the meaning of Christmas and why Christ came as they shared this good news. Does it get any better than that?
So, see, here's the church at Antioch. Here's the church at Antioch setting a great example for all of us today. And even though the church in Antioch days of small little congregations, God is still at work. carrying the gospel to people Who need to know Jesus?
So, question. Question. How is God leading you to give more? to global missions in 2026 individually and A church like Mercy Hill. in all its many campuses.
And how is God convicting you to pray more? for the opportunity To go and open doors and see people sent, just to pray diligently, intensely. Those opportunities. And not only that, How is God leading you to go, to be a part of one of these go teams here at Mercy Hill? This year.
And how is Mercy Hill in the future going to be sending not five or six hundred a year, but a thousand and fifteen hundred and two thousand and well beyond to where some of you are being called. to full-time missions because you got your toe in the water. on short-term mission trips. The church at Antioch Sets a great example. For every single church today.
How are you going to respond? What is God saying to you? We've got a great mission. To take the good news. to every people group on the face of the earth.
How are you going to respond? In 2026. How are you? Let's pray. Father God.
We thank you so much for Jesus sending us your Son. to give us forgiveness. Make us right with you to give us eternal life. Oh, Lord, what a gift! If there's an individual That's a part of these weekend services of Mercy Hill.
That knows they're not really connected to you. They feel distant from you. They know they don't really know you. Oh, Holy Spirit, may you just convict them now of the fact that you love them so much. You're longing for them to come home to you, and may they right now say, Oh Lord, forgive me, I've been.
So skeptical, so reluctant, but... I want to trust this Jesus. I want to follow this Jesus. And I want to be a part of something far bigger than myself. The most important Work on the face of the earth.
The mission. of Christ's church. And Father, I pray for those individuals. Who may be led to give more than ever to global missions and this church to give more than ever. For this church to be a praying church for global missions.
Calling on the power That you have for all of us when we come to you in prayer. And Father, May people be willing to go this year. And may this church As great of a sending church as it is today, may it just explode. in sending people out. Whether it's to our next-door neighbor to share the good news, or whether it's to plan a church.
or to plan another campus. or whether it's to be called to career missions and A place in the world where Little, if anyone, knows about Jesus. Holy Spirit, please speak to our hearts, our life tonight. May we respond in faith. But we pray this prayer in Christ's name.
Amen.
