Bring Salvation to the Ends of the Earth!

22nd Sunday after Pentecost, Synod Mission & Ministry Sunday, 10/21/18
Acts 13:38-48


Bring Salvation to the Ends of the Earth!
I. By proclaiming the forgiveness of sins through Jesus
II. By speaking the word of the Lord to the world


Are you familiar with the movie Toy Story? I’m guessing many of you are. I’ll admit that I’ve never watched a minute of any of the Toy Story films, mostly because my children were already grown-up by the time the first movie appeared and so I didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy those movies with them and I certainly didn’t want to watch them all by myself.

But I am familiar with the main character, Buzz Lightyear, and his famous phrase, “To infinity and beyond!” In fact, I just watched a YouTube clip of him declaring that very thing as he launched himself from a bedpost into the air while his animated friends watched. It makes for great entertainment, but think about that phrase for a minute—to infinity and beyond. How do you arrive beyond infinity? In fact, how do you even get there? If that’s your travel goal, isn’t it unreasonable to think that you’ll ever attain it?

Today we’re joining our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith across the Wisconsin Synod in celebrating our Synod Mission and Ministry Sunday. As we do so, we recall that our Savior gave his church on earth this mission just before he ascended into heaven, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). “To the ends of the earth.” Imagine being a follower of Jesus about 30 AD and hearing those words. You didn’t even know where the ends of the earth were, let alone what they looked like or whom you might encounter when you finally arrived there. “To the ends of the earth.” And even though we modern followers of Jesus are far more familiar with the nooks and crannies of this carbon ball on which we live, to the ends of the earth still seems like a mythological place, a destination unknown, perhaps even an unrealistic goal.

But make no mistake about it, that’s exactly what Jesus meant when he gave his church on earth its marching orders. He literally meant for us to take his gospel to the ends of the earth. And we hear that very same truth repeated for us this morning in Acts 13. That was the ministry goal the Apostle Paul embraced and it’s still our goal as a synod, as a congregation of followers of Jesus that has taken to itself the name Shepherd of Peace of Powell, Ohio, and as individual Christians who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and now live to serve him with all that we are and have. Bring salvation to the ends of the earth! By the working of the Holy Spirit, let’s embrace that goal and receive the power of our risen Lord Jesus to attain it.

Part I.

There’s a term in Christian circles that has been used by churches to reach out to others. It’s the term “felt needs.” Are you familiar with it? Maybe so. If you’re a congregation operating under the outreach philosophy of meeting felt needs, you strive to offer a person what they feel they need. For instance, if a person struggles with substance abuse, you offer that person individual or group therapy. If your congregation operates in an economically depressed area, you offer life’s basics—food, clothing, shelter. If your church is surrounded by families with young children, you offer activities for kids and family events. For some churches, that’s where it ends—just meeting these felt needs. But other churches use those opportunities as a door to meeting every sinner’s greatest need—the forgiveness of sins.

The Apostle Paul’s approach on this day in his ministry was to leap over felt needs and to jump right into the main point. He was on his first missionary journey and he was standing in the synagogue in the city of Antioch in Pisidia, which is in modern day Turkey. It doesn’t appear that Paul spoke to them about addictions, or the lack of food or employment. Instead, he cut right to the sinful heart of the matter and stated, “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.”

What’s your greatest problem? It’s not your job or your relatives or your finances or your health. Our greatest problem is sin, for two reasons. One, we can’t do a single thing about a single sin. And, two, a single sin is more than enough to condemn us to hell. And my life is full of sins. How about yours? That was true of the people sitting before Paul on this day as well. Their greatest problem was sin. That means their greatest need was the forgiveness of sins and that’s what Paul was there to proclaim to them through Jesus.

Sounds fairly simple, doesn’t it? Our biggest problem is sin. Our greatest need is the forgiveness of sins. Jesus gives forgiveness to us. Done! End of story!

If only it were that simple for us. You see, we’re our own worst enemies to embracing that saving truth. So were these Jewish people to whom Paul originally spoke these words. What do I mean? Listen to what Paul said, “Through [Jesus] everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” What was Paul saying? That Jesus is option two when it comes to forgiveness? That the law of Moses is option one? Not at all. Like every other person in the world, these people were under the impression that they could earn God’s forgiveness by being good people. Just do what God says and all will be well. That has always been Satan’s number one lie.

And it still is today. That’s why we, as God’s people, have so much work to do. Billions of people in our world adhere to one of several other world religions. Contrary to modern thinking, these other religions don’t lead to anywhere good; they are all the lies of Satan because they all teach that life beyond the grave depends on doing your part now. And the number of those people who believe that lie right now is staggering.

But, sad to say, that’s even a problem within Christianity. Some who profess Christianity still struggle with that lie. Look how many Christian churches preach about Jesus as the Savior but still require sinful people to live good lives to be sure of forgiveness and eternal life!

Without a doubt, the number of people living without the forgiveness of sins is beyond count. The task of bringing them the forgiveness of sins through the truth about Jesus seems insurmountable. But the goal still stands. Bring salvation to the ends of the earth by proclaiming the forgiveness of sins through Jesus.

But have you ever doubted your forgiveness? Ever tossed and turned at night in bed with a guilty conscience? Been there. Done that. It’s proof that we have trouble believing the very heart of our Christian faith—that Jesus forgives sins. And that’s why we meet regularly—weekly—to hear that good news and through the working of the Holy Spirit to believe that good news. But just because we have trouble at times believing it, doesn’t excuse us from the responsibility of proclaiming it to the ends of the earth. In fact, our struggles with that truth make us just the ones to proclaim it. Share your struggles with sin and forgiveness with someone who doesn’t know Jesus as their Savior. Be real with them. Trust me—they struggle in life. Hearing that you have struggles, too, makes your message to them all the more real. And then share with them the only real Savior the world has ever known—Jesus who forgives sins.

Part II.

Like I stated earlier, I’ve never watched Toy Story. I’ve also never tweeted—you know, used Twitter to send a message. But I understand it’s an incredibly fast method of sharing information. For instance, a tweet regarding a Philippine TV show was retweeted 41 million times in 24 hours. 41 million times!

In today’s text we hear about Paul and Barnabas sharing the message of forgiveness on their first missionary journey. Can you imagine how long it would have taken Paul to reach 41 million people? I think it’s safe to say that in his entire ministry, he didn’t even come close to reaching that many people.

But notice what happened on this day in his ministry. Our text tells us, “As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.” First, the people extended an invitation to hear more about this forgiveness through Jesus. Then they tagged along with Paul and Barnabas who talked with them and encouraged them to hold on to the saving truth about Jesus. And then notice what they did: they spent the next seven days talking with their relatives, friends and neighbors. I can hear them saying, “You should have been at the synagogue with me last Saturday. I heard the most amazing thing from this guy named Paul!” And then they invited them to join them the next Saturday in doing that very thing. And they didn’t have phones, the internet, Facebook or Twitter.

They didn’t need them, because Jesus is the one who opens doors for us to share his truths with others no matter what the time or place in history. He did for these people. They shared his word and he blessed their efforts.

He’s still doing that very thing. Whom did God place in your life last week who needed to hear God’s truth about whatever they were facing in life? Whom will he place in your life this week who needs to hear that Jesus died and rose for them? That’s all he has called us to do—just share the message; he’ll take care of the results…

…All the way to the ends of the earth. This past Thursday I received some information from our synod to review prior to publication. I read through some materials about an opportunity you and I have to spread the gospel in Vietnam. I’ll admit, the information was so moving and the opportunity so urgent, that it was difficult for me to finish it because I became emotional. There were quotes from your fellow Christians in Vietnam thanking you for sharing the truth of God’s word with them and now asking you to help them share that truth with millions of other people in their country. Vietnam isn’t the end of the earth, but it’s got to be close. And you and I are part of God’s plan to share his saving truth there soon. And that’s just one corner of the earth. Through your synod you are working in all four corners of the world right now to share the gospel of Jesus with one and all. Every single person.
Is that an unrealistic goal? Not at all. Not when you have the risen Lord Jesus with you, blessing you. So do it! Bring salvation to the ends of the earth! Amen.