Holding the Ropes: Supporting Missionaries
Holding the Ropes: Support
WELCOME
This is the first week of our mission month. I love this time of year. We get to talk about God’s heart for the nations. He is at work in our big world. I was talking with someone a few weeks back about the planet. How big is the population? Does anyone know? We can check online at the population clock.
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
It tells us there are 8.2 billion people on the planet.
Two-point-three of them claim to be Christians. If all those people who say they are Christians are truly trusting Christ as their Savior, that leaves 5.9 billion people who don’t. Fortunately, there are approximately 445,000 missionaries. If they were evenly distributed, that would mean there is one missionary for every 13,000 people. However, they are not. Ninety odd percent of them go to the reached parts of the world, leaving 3.5 billion to the least reached. Some don’t have a Bible translated in their native tongue, a church in their region, or any Christians https://www.thetravelingteam.org/stats#:~:text=ALL%20MISSIONARIES,%22Calling%22%20People%20to%20Missions.
Who will go to all of these people to share the good news about Jesus?
Who will pray for God to send out more workers?
And who will send and support those workers when they go?
That sending and supporting is what our church has been doing since we opened in 1952.
ECCLESIASTES
In weddings, we often hear Ecclesiastes Chapter 4,
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12, ESV)
This morning, I am going to be talking about how we, as a church, can send and support workers to a field with 3.5 billion people who are least reached.
TEXT
To start,
SHC
I am going to have C. S. read for us in her native tongue, Bengali, and J.&J. B. will translate. They can do that
CCC
I am going to have us listen to the text in Bengali first. Then I will have _____ translate for us. They can do that
BOTH
because it is in English in Romans Chapter 10, verses 9 through 15. If you can, would you please stand with us in honor of God’s Word?
9 তুমি যদি নিজ মুখে যীশুকে প্রভু বলে স্বীকার কর, এবং অন্তরে বিশ্বাস কর য়ে ঈশ্বরই তাঁকে মৃতদের মধ্য থেকে জীবিত করেছেন তাহলে উদ্ধার পাবে৷
10 কারণ মানুষ অন্তরে বিশ্বাস করে ধার্মিকতা লাভ করার জন্য আর মুখে বিশ্বাসের কথা স্বীকার করে উদ্ধার পাবার জন্য৷
11 শাস্ত্র এই কথাই বলে যে: ‘য়ে খ্রীষ্টে বিশ্বাস করে সে কখনও লজ্জায় পড়বে না৷’
12 এক্ষেত্রে ইহুদী ও অইহুদীদের মধ্যে কোন পার্থক্য নেই, একই প্রভু সকলের প্রভু৷ যত লোক তাঁকে ডাকে সেই সকলের ওপর তিনি প্রচুর আশীর্বাদ ঢেলে দেন৷
13 হ্যাঁ, শাস্ত্র বলে, ‘য়ে কেউ তাঁকে বিশ্বাস করে ডাকবে সে উদ্ধার পাবে৷’
14 কিন্তু য়াঁকে তারা বিশ্বাস করে না তাঁকে ডাকবে কি কবে? আর যাঁরা তাঁর কথা শোনেনি তাঁকে বিশ্বাসই বা কি করে করবে? কেউ প্রচার না করলে তারা শুনবেই বা কি করে?
15 যাঁরা প্রচার করতে যাবে তারা প্রেরিত না হলে কি করে প্রচার করবে? হ্যাঁ, শাস্ত্রে কিন্তু লেখা আছে: ‘সুসমাচার নিয়ে যাঁরা আসেন তাদের চরণযুগল কি সুন্দর৷’
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How then will they 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? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:9–1, ESV)
PRAYER
Thank you. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, your Word is amazing. Thank you for your mercy and kindness, which have given us Jesus. We love you. We worship you. We want to see you honored in the lives of those who don’t know you. We want to see you worshipped in places without churches, Bibles, or missionaries. God, use our little church and few resources to magnify your name in all the earth by your Spirit, amen. You may be seated.
CONTEXT
We have been preaching through Romans and are in Chapter 14. I want to come back to zero in on the theme in Chapter 10. To provide context, the apostle Paul wrote to the first church in Rome. He was headed to Spain on a mission trip to boldly go where no missionary had gone before. He wrote from Corinth, Greece, to share spiritual truth and get support. He began reminding them of the good news about Jesus, God’s one and only Son. Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, and died a sinner’s death to forgive people of their sins, make them right with God, give them heavenly peace, free them from ungodly habits, and offer them love, mercy, the Spirit, and a hope of heaven. In Chapter 10, we hear part of this message that 3.5 billion people need to hear. Let’s work through the text to see the message and how it spreads.
VERSE 9
Look at verse 9:
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, ESV).
If you align with Jesus as your king in your heart and mind, and acknowledge that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved,
Saved from God’s anger at your sin,
Saved from the eternal consequence of sin,
And saved to live for and with God forever.
That is a fact, and the good news we share in missions.
10 AND 11
But the good news doesn’t end there. Jump to verse 10:
“For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame’” (Romans 10:10–11, ESV).
Through one’s faith in Jesus, God views a person as right. Through one’s confession, we are spared eternal punishment. We speak of what we know and believe in our hearts. Words can signal our convictions. From Genesis till now, people have been born in trouble. We have a predisposition to hurt. We live in brokenness. Left to ourselves, we would move toward harm. God calls us to acknowledge our past, present, and corruption candidly. We are to stand on the scale of Scripture and weigh in. And in so doing, the Old and New Testaments say that, instead of shame, we can surprisingly find healing for our souls through Jesus, the Messiah’s victory over death and sin. That is the good news we share in missions.
12 AND 13
Jump to verse 12, Paul was not done.
“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:12–13).
Whatever your pedigree, nationality, or family history, this statement by Paul is true. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Everyone can be spiritually rich.
FOUR QUESTIONS: CALL
That is exciting and led Paul to ask four cascading questions.
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?”
People will not call out to Jesus for help if they have not believed in Jesus. Five-point-nine billion people need to believe in Jesus before it is too late.
FOUR QUESTIONS: BELIEVE
Here is the second question Paul asked:
“And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?”
People can’t believe in Jesus if they have never heard of Jesus. There are some 7,000 unreached people groups in the world. One-point-five billion people don’t have a Bible in their heart language, 1.5 billion. (https://wycliffe.org.uk/blog/story/record-breaking-year/#:~:text=Work%20with%20urgency) How will they believe if they never hear?
FOUR QUESTIONS: HEAR
This leads to a third question:
“And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”
People won’t hear unless someone preaches. Someone needs to proclaim the message. It could be from a pulpit, more likely it will be over coffee, tea, or a meal. Yet, how will they hear if no one shares?
FOUR QUESTIONS: PREACH
Finally, Paul asked:
“And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”
The people who preach must be sent, or the gospel will not go forward, and people will not hear, and they won’t believe, nor will they call on the name of the Lord, and they won’t be saved. Sending is the starting line. It begins there.
BEAUTIFUL
Paul concluded,
“As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (Romans 10:9–15, ESV).
The result of God using missionaries is like rescuing a family that broke down on a lonely desert road, with no water and no charge left on their phones. Missionaries are a lifeline.
APOSTELLO
The Greek word for sending is ἀποστέλλω/apostellō. We find this word 135 times in the New Testament. You might hear the similarities between the title apostle and ἀποστέλλω/apostellō. Apostles are the sent ones: a noun, while ἀποστέλλω is a verb. Paul used ἀποστέλλω to refer to God sending and his sending. For example,
“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17, ESV)
And another time, Paul used it:
“Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you?” (2 Corinthians 12:17, ESV)
In the book of Acts, we see that the apostles did the sending:
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 8:14–16, ESV)
In 2 Corinthians, we read that the church did the sending:
With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. (2 Corinthians 8:18–19, ESV)
The apostle John commends the church sending:
Beloved, [another name for church] it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. (3 John 5–8, ESV)
Not everyone is called to leave their families and homes to share the good news about Jesus. Not all of you are called to go like Abraham or the disciples to a faraway land. But we are all called to be fellow workers for the truth.
How? We can all pray. Pastor Mike will talk about supporting missions by praying.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/William_Carey.jpg/500px-William_Carey.jpg
But we can also support missions in other ways. Let me tell you a story to illustrate the work of missions and the importance of church support. In 1761, in Northamptonshire, England, Edmund and Elizabeth Carey had their first child, William. He was the oldest of five. As he grew up, it was obvious that he was bright. For example, he taught himself Latin. Who does that? He apprenticed to become a shoemaker. Eventually, he married Dorothy Plackett and worked in this trade for seven years. They lost their first child when she was two. William began to preach on the side at his local church. He taught himself Greek. At twenty-four, he became the official pastor of his church, while continuing to work as a shoemaker to support his family. Four years later, he became a pastor of another church. Two years later, at thirty, he founded the Baptist Missionary Society. He was convinced of the need to share the good news about Jesus to people around the world. He worked to help the church send out messengers of the good news about Jesus. Two years later, at thirty-two, God called him to go. So he set sail with his pregnant wife and three sons to join the field. He headed to Bengal, India to translate the Bible into Bengali, the language that (SHC) C.S. read for us (CCC) That we heard read for us. His work continues to bless people today. Here is a picture from 1792 of the land he felt sent to.
Missionary life was not easy. Within a short time, William contracted a mosquito-borne disease, malaria; his five-year-old son died of dysentery, and his wife had a mental breakdown. They had little money and little food. Yet after six years of work, he completed the first Bengali translation of the New Testament. He moved his family to Calcutta to teach others about language and help in Bible translations. By year seven, he had seen one person come to faith in Jesus.
[William and his team] “translated parts of the Bible into various other languages and dialects, planted over 25 churches, founded 125 schools, organized medical missions, savings banks, and India’s first printing operation, paper mill, and steam engine.
William Carey’s missionary endeavors helped bring about social reforms such as the abolition of infanticide, assisted suicide, and widow burning…. In 1818, Carey founded Serampore College….[The first college with a degree program in all of India.] Today, this school offers theological and liberal arts education to approximately 2,500 students.” https://www.gotquestions.org/William-Carey.html#:~:text=William%20Carey%20(1761%2D1834)%20was%20an%20English%20missionary%2C,all%20the%20world%20and%20preach%20the%20gospel%22
Here is a picture of the school from 1901.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Serampore_College_1901.jpg
On June 9th, 1834, after forty-some years of ministry, William Carey passed away. Recalling those early days of ministry, a friend wrote that William would not go unless he was sent and supported by the church. He said,
“There is a gold mine in India, but it seems almost as deep as the centre of the earth; who will venture down to explore it?” “I will venture to go down,” said Carey to his brethren, “but you must hold the ropes….”
What did …he mean? Why, by “the gold mine” they meant there were many precious souls in India that wanted saving and setting high in heaven. By “going down into the mine,” they meant going there to try to save and bless these souls. And by “holding the ropes” they meant the work that those that were left behind at home would have to do to help the missionaries that should be abroad.” https://books.google.com/books?id=G2IEAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=carey&f=false
The church answered that call and supported him and his family. People held the ropes. We hold the ropes for missionaries today. Together,
We support Jeff Dryden in the work to train pastors to explain God’s Word with God’s heart in Central Asia and Romania.
We support Mike Bowden as he cares for missionaries and pastors through Team.
We support Justin Vander Ark, who works with To Every Tribe, extending the worship of Jesus to every tribe by equipping and sending gospel-driven disciple-makers to serve on cross-cultural church planting teams.
We support Sarah and Irian Hernandez with Rio Grande Bible College, equipping leaders to minister internationally.
We support Tara and Mitchell Wimbush with Wycliff, SIL, mapping out languages and helping with Bible Translation.
We support Jonathan Swift’s Great Sea Commission training and equipping ministry across the Mediterranean Sea.
We support Gil Zinke with Training Leaders International in training pastors in Japan.
We support John Mehn with Gospel Rest, planting and supporting churches in Asia.
We support Eduardo Mendes with Spoken, helping translate audio Bibles into the heart language of people in South America and Africa.
We support a couple who go in and out of a closed country, working with relief and secretly supporting the local church.
We support IREF (India Rural Evangelical Fellowship), sharing the love of Jesus through education and gospel ministry. Josh and his family are here with us today.
We support Converge Worldwide and Converge MSC in reaching people with the gospel and our regional ministries.
And more
I have been a pastor here for some fourteen years, and since that time, we have raised about 1.5 million dollars to hold the ropes for these missionaries. And we are not done, nor is God. John Piper has said, Missions exist because worship doesn’t. God is calling more worshippers to himself. We have an opportunity to expand that worship. We can reach part of that 3.5 billion least reached by supporting our missionaries as they reach the lost.
HOW
How? How do we support them? I sat down with one of our missionaries this year for coffee, and he said we are a model. He loves hearing from us each month and asks how we can pray for him. You guys are doing great.
ADVICE
If you are wondering what other ways you can support missionaries, I asked them, and this was what they relayed to me:
PRAYER
Engage
Give
Visit
Send
Write
Borrow
Help
Learn
Ask
Engage:
Sign up for their emails and newsletters. But don’t stop there. Thoughtfully, read the letters they send. If you don’t get their letters, we post them to the Gems. Sometimes the material is sensitive. We can’t post them. However, when missionaries visit, you can ask them for their letters so you can read them, respond, and pray over them.
Reply to the letters as God leads you. One missionary told me that one of you shared some Scripture that God brought to mind while reading the letter, and it was so encouraging that it has stuck with him over the years.
Give. I know I already mentioned our financial partnership. Some of you give outside of our joint efforts. Your financial gifts keep them afloat. Almost every missionary is behind. Missionaries are living on donations and don’t have excess. Remember their kids. Share things you like. Send them care packages and gifts.
Visit. Maybe you want to see what their lives are like. See if they want a visitor. If you can’t visit or it doesn’t make sense, visit them when they are back. Or, schedule a video call.
Send. Send more missionaries to the field. It is a lonely place. The harvest is ripe. The workers are few.
Write. One missionary wrote, “Missionaries love getting mail. Send random cards of encouragement that let them know you are praying for them. Remember their birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, and holidays.” (Justin Vander Ark).
Borrow. When they are back home on assignment, let them borrow things, like a car or your home.
Help. Offer to help them with things they need. Maybe when they are home, they need a photo for their newsletter. Think of what you are good at. How can you use your talent to bless them? Can you change the oil? Offer that. Do you like to cook? Bring them a meal. Offer your service.
Learn. Learn about them. Get to know what life is like. Be curious. Find out about the country they live in. Come to hear them speak. You can look at our calendar and make it a priority to listen in the next four weeks. Jeff Dryden is sharing at 6:00 PM tonight. Next week, at 9:00 AM, we have the president of our region of churches speaking in Sunday School; at 10:00 AM, we have __________________________. And before the banquet next week, you can hear from Justin Vander Ark, Mitchell Wimbush, and Mike Bowden. Show your support by showing up and being a learner.
Lastly, ask them how you can bless them. It may be that you are an answer to prayer, the wind in their sails, the Holy Spirit’s blessing. And don’t assume. What may be a blessing to one missionary might be a burden to another.
Mike Bowden wrote to me about the gift of listening. Don’t ask questions for the purpose of talking about yourself, fixing them, investigating, teaching, but to care.
Here are questions he came up with that could be helpful:
What is hard for you?
What has been hardest about the transitions?
What has been saddest for you?
What losses have you experienced?
What do you miss about your life overseas?
What was/is it like to live in another culture?
What is it like for you to be here?
How is it really going for you?
How are your kids/spouse adjusting?
What do you need to help you in this time?
Ask open questions, not yes/no questions, and leave space. Don’t judge. There may not be a freedom to answer your questions, or they could be too hard. Don’t take it personally. Let it go and pray. Let us support our missionaries by giving them the gift of listening. Ask.
Engage
Give
Visit
Send
Write
Borrow
Help
Learn
Ask
Church, hear this: God is amazing. He loves us to death. Five-point-nine billion people don’t know it. They won’t unless someone goes to them. And no one will go and share unless they are sent. God is sending people, and we can join in. We can hold the ropes. He has given us time, energy, and resources to be a blessing to these servants who risk their health, invest their money, take their time away from family, and forgo the American dream to reach others for Jesus. Would you prayerfully consider one way you can hold the ropes for these frontline workers? If you already are, thank you, way to go, keep it up! We need each other. Our missionaries need you.
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