Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Everybody. Good morning. Welcome to Westgate. We are so glad that you're here. It's been such an amazing week hearing from our friends from Tea house in Germany and all that God is doing in their parts of the world and such an exciting time that we get to be part of the work God is doing.
It's going to be amazing with every tribe and every tongue gets to worship him together. Stand and join us Every tribe will see your glory.
Every nation bow before you all our treasure turned to.
Jesus as we're singing Holy is the Lord Almighty Only you are worthy Worthy of it all Praise and glory Honor and strength Unto our God Unto our God Matchless, endless love unrestrained this is our God Every tribe see we worship you.
I will see your glory.
Every nation bow before you.
All our treasure turned to ashes in the light of you Jesus as we're singing Holy is the Lord Almighty Holy you are worthy worthy of it all Praise and glory Honor and strength Unto our God Unto our God Matchless, endless love unrestrained this is our God Every try See Come on.
Yes.
There is no one like our God There is no one like our God There is no one like our God
[00:03:15] Speaker B: There is no one like our God.
[00:03:34] Speaker A: Glory, honor and strength Unto our God Unto our God Matchless, endless love unrestrained this is our God this is our God Praise and glory Honor and strength Unto our God to our God Matchless, endless love unrestrained this is our God Every TR Sing Praise and glory Honor and strength Unto our God Unto to our God he is matchless Endless love unrestrained this is our God Every tring There is no one like our God There is no one like our God There is no one like our God There is no one like our God.
[00:04:39] Speaker B: Amen.
Amen.
[00:04:42] Speaker C: God is good.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: Amen.
He is.
[00:04:44] Speaker C: Go ahead and grab a seat. We are so thankful that you have chosen to worship with us today, Westgate family. And if we have not had an opportunity to meet, my name is Rob Zimmerman, lead pastor here at Westgate. And if you are new or have been new over the last few weeks or even months again, I just want to give you my special welcome this morning. We recognize that whenever you kind of check out a new church, that sometimes it takes time before you're ready to take that step of getting connected. But if today, today is that day for you, the best way to begin is with the connection card that you'll see in the pew in front of you. And I'd encourage you to fill that out. And at the close of our service today, you could take that out to our main entrance where we have our guest center and some hosts that are there that will take the card. But also would love to answer questions you have about Westgate, how you and your family can get connected or even more. We also just have a small gift they would love to give you to say thank you for being here with us today. And so I'd encourage you to stop by at some point.
Again, it has been such a fantastic week. As you can see, we have been in the midst of our missions emphasis week. One of the things we love about being a part of the Christian Missionary alliance is the partnerships that we have globally to spread the good news of Jesus all around the world. And so I want to say thank you, church family, for your investment this week in our global missions emphasis week and for just coming out, for participating. But also considering how God would have you to be a part, it has also been great to have have our international workers with us, some from Central Asia. Also, we've got Sean from Vaden, Germany with us. Would you again thank Sean for coming out and spending the week with us as well?
And Sean, just again, thank you. You joined us this past Monday and have been with us throughout the week. But maybe share with everybody just a little bit of your connection and about your family. Go ahead.
[00:06:47] Speaker D: Yeah. Good morning. It is great to see you.
And I just want to start by saying thank you. Your church is an incredible partner to us and our team. We have the privilege of, my wife, Susie and I, our two kids, Ian and Mazie, have the privilege of working alongside Ben and Sarah Carey, who I know are dear to many of your hearts. Yeah.
In northeast Germany in the city of Warren.
We, my family served in church ministry in New Jersey for about eight years before moving to Germany. But God has just really gotten a hold of our hearts for missions and particularly for this dark corner of the world, post Soviet, post Communist, very densely atheist, a region in need of hope and light. And so we've been blessed to be able to step into that space for the last four and a half years.
[00:07:35] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:07:35] Speaker C: You know, one of the interesting things that I was reading this past week is about Germany is just continuing to understand the darkness that is there. Right. It is considered to be one of the more godless places within our world today. And yet there are so many incredible things that God is doing as the gospel is going forward. Would you share maybe just a couple of stories and updates with us about how things are going in Vadun?
[00:07:58] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. We feel really blessed to be Joining in a season where many years of hard labor by people like Ben and Sarah has just really been blossoming. In this last season, the hard work of tilling the soil.
Just in these last few years, we've seen our little church plant grow from being a couple families meeting in a living room to now 40 to 50 people meeting every Sunday in our own rented space, doing Bible studies, a midweek kids program. We launched a youth group a couple years ago. Every year we're seeing people come to faith and get baptized in a place where that just wasn't happening and typically just doesn't happen. God is doing something really cool. And that's the ultimate theme of the story, is that God is at work.
He's building his church. So a couple quick illustrations of that. We had a guy come to the church about a year. About a year ago. Lonely guy, single guy, really obviously broken and struggling and honestly pretty hard to connect with, but was interested in the community and was experiencing something different that he couldn't quite put his finger on. And as many times as we tried to point him to Jesus and say, the thing that you're experiencing is the presence of Jesus. There was just a spiritual barrier that we couldn't break through. And it felt like we were having the same conversations again and again. And that wasn't something that we could change, but God can change it. And one day it just clicked. Another one of those kinds of Gospel conversations. This guy says, you know what? Yes, this is the thing. I believe. I want this. He got baptized a year later from walking into the church for the first time. He's now serving, and his life is transforming before our eyes. And only God can do that kind of thing.
Another really cool way that God has done. Just written an incredible story. I was reading my Bible in a coffee shop one day, not being overtly evangelistic in that moment, but this guy taps me on the shoulder and says, hey, you're reading the Bible, right? And I was like, yep. And he said, do you have a church here in town? And I said, yeah. And he said, can I come?
And I said, yeah. This is amazing. These are not the kinds of conversations that happen all the time. And it turns out this guy is coming out of a hard background, a cult background, and has been on a journey of rediscovering, maybe discovering for the first time the real truth of scripture, what it really means to be in relationship with Jesus, but had never had the opportunity to be in healthy Christian community. And so God brought us together in that moment to provide for him on top of that. One of the things that is a big part of the life of our church is we have a number of Ukrainian refugees that our team has helped to resettle in our community, and they make up over half of our church. But they have a hard road.
They don't all know the language.
There's challenges for them in navigating life in Germany. Well, this guy happens to speak both fluent German and fluent Russian, which is what our Ukrainians speak.
And his job is working with Ukrainian refugees, helping them to navigate the German system. I mean, only God can write that kind of story, so. Amen. Right?
So yeah, not only is this guy's life being changed, but God is using him in really dramatic ways. And I could tell you a whole bunch more stories and I could tell you after church, if you want, of just God building his church, one person at a time, changing hearts one person at a time, really doing incredible things to bring light into this dark part of the world.
[00:11:44] Speaker C: That is awesome, Sean. And we've been thankful just for your presence with us this week, but also your partnership. And again, would you thank Sean for joining us this week and being a part of our missions emphasis week.
One of the things I would love to do as we continue in our worship this morning is just give you the opportunity now to welcome each other. And so would you take a moment, stand, turn, find someone that you haven't said hello to yet this morning and welcome them to our service.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: Generations falling down in worship to sing the song of ages to the lamb and all who've gone before us.
And all who will believe will sing the song of ages to the land.
Your name is the highest, your name is the greatest.
Your name stands above the moon.
All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions. Your name stands above them all.
And the angels cry holy.
All creation cries holy.
You are lifted high.
Holy, holy forever.
If you've been forgiven and if you've been redeemed, sing the song forever to the end.
If you walk in freedom and if you bear his name, sing the song forever to the land we'll sing the song forever and amen.
And the angels cry holy.
All creation can cry holy.
You are lifted high.
[00:14:49] Speaker B: Holy.
[00:14:52] Speaker A: Holy forever.
Hear your people sing holy to the king of kings.
Holy you will always be holy.
Holy forever ever.
Jesus. Cuz your name is the highest, your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all.
Above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions. Your name stands above them all.
Jesus, your name is the highest. Your name Is the greatest. Your name stands above them all.
Above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions. Your name stands above them all.
And the angels cry high.
Holy.
All creation Christ.
Holy you are lifted. High.
Holy.
Holy forever.
Yes you are.
Hear your people sing holy to the king of kings.
Holy.
You will always be holy.
Holy forever.
You will always be holy.
Holy forever.
You will always be holy.
Holy forever.
You will always be holy.
Holy forever.
[00:18:04] Speaker B: Is he worthy of all of our praise?
Do you feel the world is broken?
[00:18:13] Speaker A: We do.
[00:18:17] Speaker B: Do you feel the shadows deepen?
We do.
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the light from getting through?
We do.
Do you wish that you could see it all made new?
[00:18:40] Speaker E: We do.
[00:18:46] Speaker A: Is all creation coming?
Is a new creation coming?
Is the glory of the Lord to be the light within our midst?
It is.
Is it good that we remind our ourselves of this?
Is anyone worthy?
Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal
[00:19:32] Speaker B: and open the scroll?
[00:19:36] Speaker A: The lion of Judah who conquered the grave, he saved.
Is he worthy?
Is he worthy of all blessing and honor and glory?
Is he worthy of this?
[00:20:10] Speaker B: Amen, says the Father. Does Father truly love us?
[00:20:17] Speaker A: He does.
[00:20:20] Speaker B: Does the spirit move among us?
[00:20:23] Speaker A: He does.
[00:20:26] Speaker B: And does Jesus our Messiah, hold forever those he loves?
[00:20:33] Speaker A: He does.
[00:20:36] Speaker B: Does our God intend to dwell again with us.
[00:20:46] Speaker A: Us?
[00:20:50] Speaker B: Is anyone worthy?
Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the se and open a strong the lion of Judah who conquered the grave?
He is David, true in the Lamb of die from every people and tribe, every nation.
He has made us a kingdom and praise to God to reign with the sun.
Is he worthy?
Is he worthy of all blessing and honor and glory?
Is he worthy?
Is he worthy?
Is he worthy of this?
He is.
[00:22:00] Speaker A: He is.
[00:22:03] Speaker B: Is he worthy?
Is he worthy?
He is worthy.
He is worthy.
Amen. Hallelujah.
[00:22:33] Speaker C: Praise the Lord.
Which family? You may be seated.
I love that song.
Paints such a picture for us of not only our experience in a broken world, but the beautiful hope and truth that one day he will make all things new. Amen.
And we will reign with him from every tribe, language, nation and tongue. We will reign together with Him.
It's such a beautiful picture, but a reminder of the beautiful call that God has placed on our lives as we wait for that day where he will restore all things. He has called us as his people to be those who would go out into this broken world to share the good news of His Son Jesus.
And you church family are so faithful in doing that in your neighborhoods, in your communities, your workplaces, and in your Schools. And this week, as we've been going through our missions emphasis week together, we've been talking about the call that God places on us and our lives and to understand our part as the larger body of Christ, to know our part as individuals about how he desires us to participate in the taking of the good news of his son to the nations.
And this morning I just want to say thank you. As we prepare to come to our time of offering, there are a few things that we talked about one last week, which is this church over the last six years has given about $2 million to the great Commission Fund of the Christian Missionary alliance to reach around the world globally.
And I want to say thank you to you. Because of your generosity and your heart for God's heart for the nations, we are able to help enable other workers and people to go out to be sent and to spread the good news. And Jonathan was sharing with us over dinner that I think since the alliance has been keeping track, that Westgate has given around 20 million to global missions through the Great Commission Fund. And again, that is because of your faithfulness to God's voice in your life.
One of the things that you'll see this morning inserted with your sermon notes as you came in is this pledge card.
As a part of the Christian Missionary alliance, we give, as I've mentioned, around 350 to $400,000 a year to the Great Commission Fund, which supports our international workers all around the world and the work that they are doing to take the Gospel to the least reached places. And many people have made commitments. And I want to ask you this morning as well to prayerfully consider, would God have me give above and beyond my regular giving to Global Missions, to the Great Commission Fund through the alliance to enable more people to go and to share the good news?
You can open it up today. I'd encourage you to take some time to read through it this week and just prayerfully go to the Lord and say, lord, what would you have me do? Would this be part of the role that you have given me?
Whether you've been giving for some time and you're asking, lord, would you have me increase what I give? Or maybe you've never taken that step and you just say, lord, I want to take a faithful step to do a small part to answer what you're asking me to do? And so we'd ask you to prayerfully consider. Is God calling you this week to give to further the push of the gospel to the nations as well? Something that we talked about this past Week is that we have been so blessed to have our internationals work with us from a closed country in Central Asia. Also having Sean from Germany, we're going to be taking today a love offering at the end of our service for them. You'll see that also on the inside with your sermon.
And if you came prepared to give that offering, I'm going to encourage you to hold onto it, not to give it while we take our normal tithes and offerings this morning. But at the close of the service, we have these baskets that are here in the front. And as we sing our final song together, I'll invite you to come forward and to give your love offerings to support our international workers, to thank them, but also to support their ministry. We'll do that at the close of the service today.
So again, I just thank you for your generosity and let's go to the Lord in prayer together and offer this time as our worship to him.
Father, we thank you because you in so many ways have provided far beyond all we could ever think, ask or imagine.
Lord, everything that we have comes from you. You have given us so many beautiful gifts, and not just in our resources, but especially in your son, Jesus Christ.
One of the most beautiful gifts that you've given us, not only in our salvation, Lord, is that you see us as worthy to participate with you in bringing the good news of your son to this world.
And so, Father, I pray that you would continue to sow that heart and that passion inside of each one of us that truly, God, you would cause a transformation in us that for the things that make that your heart or, Father, that God, we would long and desire for those things as well as we give of our tithes and our offerings this morning to support all our local work.
Father, we do so cheerfully thanking you, Father, for how you provide, asking that you would continue to shape our hearts in this area. But mostly God, we give it as an offering to you today to say thank you. And we ask God that you would multiply it so that more people would know. Your son, Jesus, Jesus Christ, we love you. We pray this together in Jesus name, Amen.
We're going to take our morning offering. And so our offering buckets are here on the center aisle on the main floor. You can grab those. We'll pass them out to the sides and then they're in the corners. If you're sitting up in the balcony, we'll pass those in and we'll just continue to worship the Lord through the giving our offering for the next few moments together.
[00:28:36] Speaker E: But I'm like, man, if I could just release that.
[00:28:53] Speaker C: As we close out our missions emphasis week, as I mentioned last week, we are super blessed to have a very good friend with us, but also the president of the Christian Missionary Alliance, Jonathan Schaefer. I got the opportunity to meet Jonathan years ago when Pastor Larry, who happens to be here this morning, he'll hate me for saying that, but when Pastor Larry invited him to come and talk to our staff, I was introduced to Jonathan and Rachelle and I have had the opportunity to get to know Jonathan and Mary together in the large church network of the CNMA over the past many years.
We have developed a great friendship. I got a deep love and admiration for Jonathan and very thankful though he has served so faithfully for, I think you said, like 27 years at Grace Church in Cleveland area that the Lord has called him to lead our denomination as the president and to give vision and direction to it. And so I'm excited that he's here to share with us this morning as we close out. Would you welcome president Jonathan Schaeffer as he comes to share this morning?
[00:29:57] Speaker E: It is great to be with you.
I have.
This church has so much impact in history. I've known about you for decades and just so grateful. In fact, one of our staff members years ago had attended here when a university student. And we have people from Cleveland who are coming this way. We say, oh, you gotta go to Westgate Chapel. And we also had some of your people come to our place. So it just, it's really fun to be with you today.
And my wife Mary is here with me and she would love to say hello after the service, but we have been married for 38 years and I'm just so blessed to be on the journey with her. And so God has been very gracious.
We do have still of Cleveland in our blood. And so any Guardians fans here by chance? All right, a couple of you. All right, enough said. If you're like, I don't know what you're talking about about, check the sports news this morning and you'll find out you are very blessed as a church family with the leaders you have, Rob and Rochelle. We have so much admiration for them.
And Adam and Sarah, your whole team being just watching your worship. I mean, God has really wonderfully blessed you. Rob has a leadership role that really has had beyond the national alliance and really thankful for that. One of my teammates is here, the national office, Leah. It's really good. Leah is just a rock star. Some of you know Aaliyah and her family and Then one of your, one of our board members for the Christian Mission Alliance, Mike Stein, just so grateful for Mike and Cindy, I think might be in this service. Right back here, Mike. And Mike has been a wonderful board member for us. And really.
Yeah, just so in many ways, your church has been a blessing not only in Toledo, but to the broader alliance family and globally as well.
So it's an honor to be here with you for this missions Emphasis Week. I love your theme on mission together, joining God on the move. That you and I get to be part of this story that God is writing in the world today. Like, we have this good news almost as like we have the cure for a terminal disease, that we can say we have the news of Jesus or like giving water to people who are desperately thirsty and that they can have an encounter with Jesus that is life changing. That they can experience total and free forgiveness, that they can know that their lives have purpose, that they have a home awaiting them in heaven. And you and I have been entrusted with this news to be able to say, God, we get to be on mission with you, on mission together, taking this to people in our own neighborhood. And I love seeing your, the big board out in the lobby here that you want to have a broad reach and all the different conversations, spiritual conversations saying, God, would you continue to use us here, there and everywhere for your, for your purposes?
You and I are good news people, right? That's what we get to do.
Is he worthy? He is absolutely worthy of our worship and our saying yes to Him.
[00:33:05] Speaker A: Him.
[00:33:07] Speaker E: Here's what I sometimes wonder.
Do you ever wonder in the journey, you think I'm saying yes to Jesus, but I don't see a lot of, like, I don't see a lot of results.
Or I wonder, is God, like, is he doing something that, like, I feel like I'm just. Maybe you're in some kind of. You're volunteering in some way in his name. And you go, I just don't know how much is actually taking place. I don't, there's not a lot of gratitude. I don't, you know, is there something happening through what I'm doing?
If you've been there, maybe you are there. You're not alone.
When we have questions like that, it's when we return to this book, say, okay, God, what do youo Tell Us? And here's what we can say with confidence based on the authority of God's Word. Here's my big point today. That yout Word done in Jesus name is having greater impact than you could ever imagine.
I want that to be so drilled down. I wonder, would you say that with me? Can we just say it together aloud? You already doing that. Let's say it together aloud. Ready? Your work done in Jesus name is having greater impact than you could ever imagine. God is at work more than you know. You can count on that if you're following him one day you are going to share in the reward of what he's promised you.
As you pray, as you give, as you send, as you encourage, as you serve, as you say yes to Him. I want us to see this evidence in two ways. First of all, scripture promises it and secondly, history affirms it. Scripture promises it and history affirms it. Let me start with one story, true story, of how that can happen. I love this story.
I heard it a while back and I just have been like, God, this is what you're doing. Sometimes you need to take sort of zoom out, you know, and see the bigger picture and to say, wow, this is what God and this is. Let me. Here's what. In Columbus, where I live right now, there's a French speaking alliance church that is there pastor by a guy named Roger and Todi. You'll see Roger's picture here. He and Pauline, super couple. And they helped to start a church in Manhattan, in New York. They started a church in North Carolina and now they're starting at. Now they have a church in Columbus. You might go a French speaking church in Columbus. There's also a Spanish speaking church, Amharic, Nepalese, There's.
I met my Nepalese sisters over here a little bit ago. Hey you guys, good to see you.
And did you know that today in alliance churches just in the US people are worshiping. Can you guess how Many languages today?
45 languages today in the US Roger's pastoring one of those churches. Not only is he pastoring, seeing people come to know Christ, he's mentored five pastors in the last year in the alliance who are French speaking, Haitian, Congolese, some others from Africa who are serving within Ohio and Kentucky and making an impact.
Roger is a guy who's on mission in whom Jesus is at work. But you might wonder, how did Roger get to Columbus, Ohio from the Democratic Republic of Congo where he grew up.
If you go back, Roger grew up in a town called Maduda, the drc and he went to a high school that was founded by the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
And that school had an impact on thousands of young people. And Roger would tell you, he'd say there was one Particular missionary, whose single missionary name was Norma Hart.
Norma spent about 35 plus years, almost all at that school in Maduda and the drc. And Roger said, she has such a formative influence on my life. He said, my handwriting today still looks like Mama Hart's.
He said, I just, she had a big influence in my life. She became the principal of the school.
Norma Hart influenced a generation of students, including Roger. You go, well, how did Norma wind up the drc?
Well, if you take the story back a little bit further, Norma grew up in a non believing family in the various towns and cities across the state of Nebraska.
She ended up in college working at Safeway grocery store regional office. Anybody ever heard of Safeway?
So she's there at this office and she said, you know, it's a fun place, meet all these other, you know, colleagues and stuff, people my age. She goes, and there was the typical stuff, a lot of gossip, a lot of complaining about management, you know, all that. But she goes, there was one colleague I had who my non complaining, non gossiping colleague.
And we all liked her. She like treated everybody with kindness. And her name was Dora, Dora Bishop.
And she said, I was intrigued by Dora's life. And so one day when Dora invited Norma to come to her church, which happened to be an alliance church, Norma said, I was intrigued and I was like, yeah, I'll go. And so she comes to the church, she encounters Jesus, puts her trust in Jesus because of Dora's influence, ends up switching majors, transfers to a school called Crown College up in Minnesota, becomes part of a missions major, does her training, goes to France and Belgium to learn French, ends up in the DRC in Maduda, teaching at a high school where she influences Roger and Toto, who is now mentoring pastors and pastoring a church in Columbus, Ohio. Here's the question, how much of what's happening today, not only through Roger's life, but hundreds if not thousands of accountants and engineers and professors and pastors and faithful parents and service people and nurses who went to the school in Maduda. How much can you say that Dora has a share in the harvest?
A lot, right?
A lot.
That there was this young woman back in the Safeway grocery store, the non complaining, non gossiping employee seeking to say yes to Jesus, wondering maybe at times like God, are you doing anything through my life, life, I'm stuck in this grocery store regional office and could have never dreamed that years and decades later that her life from Nebraska would touch thousands upon thousands of people, not only in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but Also in Columbus, Ohio, Manhattan, North Carolina and countless other places.
God is always at work, right?
Here's what I think today.
I think today that there are a lot of stories being written like that with all kinds of you here in this room.
That more than you know that God is taking your simple yes, he's placed you strategically, maybe in a school, a university, and just the way that you live. Other students notice and they go something about you.
Maybe you're in a cubicle and it's the people around you and you're the non complaining, non gossiping employees.
Even Paul says in Titus chapter two, he says, just by the way we work, we can make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.
It could be you're in a doctor's office where you don't even want to be and people sense something different about you. It might be your neighborhood, wherever God has strategically placed you as you say yes to him and continue to live with integrity and say, I'm just going to represent Jesus and have spiritual conversations and talk. God is doing far more than you know. Do you believe that?
The Bible promises it and history affirms it.
I want us to look at a passage that when we say Scripture promises it. I want us to look at a passage that God has sort of used in my own life just to sort of drive down Jonathan. Even when you don't see see it, I'm doing more than you could ever know. The passage I want to look at is in Galatians chapter 6. If you'd like to turn there with me. Galatians chapter six. If you didn't bring a Bible, we'll have the verses on the screen. Galatians chapter six. This is the Apostle Paul who had a life transformation of his own and went from just being really nasty to Christians to becoming one of them.
And if you ever wonder in your life, God, as I teach this Sunday school class, as I lead a life group, as I see to serve in this care ministry or whatever it is, as I on missions emphasis week as I pray for what you're doing this, by the way, this prayer guide you came up with. Beautiful. This is amazing. Put this on your kitchen table and pray for one of these international workers at every meal.
But as I pray, as I give, as I give sacrificially. God, are you doing something?
This passage is for you. Here's what it says. I'm just going to start with one verse. In Galatians 6. 9. It says this.
Let us not become weary in what doing good for at the proper Time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. He starts off, he says, don't grow weary in doing good if you're a follower of Jesus. That's what we ought to be known for, right?
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and what goodness. We just do good. That's what Jesus did. In Acts, chapter 10, Peter is speaking. He says this. He says, you know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. Now he went around, what, doing good? Doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil because God was with him. Jesus went around doing good. He was known for that. So all of us who carry his name, that ought to be something we're known for as well, right? That you do good starting at home. If you got people living under the same roof that they just say, man, I am so glad I have this person as my dad, my sibling, my mom, whoever, as my child, that you just do good for those with whom you live. You might do good for a neighbor, a single mom, a widow, someone who's new to your neighbor. And you just go, I wanted to stop by. You take cookies, you offer to cut the grass when they have a hospital stay.
You might do good for someone at work, a colleague or a fellow student who you know is going through a hard time. And you say, you know, I just been thinking about you, and I want to you do good wherever you can, and you do good for people who are suffering, for people who need Jesus. Which means we don't just do good.
We often say in the alliance, it's here and it's there and it's everywhere. And so we say, God, even people I may never meet this side of heaven.
That's what mission's emphasis and what our global family's all about is God, I want to keep on doing good and not give up.
And here's the promise Paul uses in this verse. He uses a farming metaphor, and he talks about seed and waiting for the harvest.
And I want us just to look at a couple of basic laws of farming that he sort of highlights here. And you'll see them in your notes. Three characteristics of the harvest. And here's one. First of all, you always harvest what you plant. That's pretty obvious, right?
When you plant watermelon seeds, you expect what to grow up. Watermelon, you plant corn. You don't plant a seed of corn and go, I wonder if this time it might be tomatoes or cucumbers, right? You always harvest what you Plant. So when you plant this, you get what you're going to get. We were driving up yesterday from Columbus, and it's a beautiful drive, and there was lots and lots of corn fields that have been harvested and. And you always harvest what you plant.
And Paul here mentions that it starts with our character. It's interesting for Dora in that grocery store, if she would have just started sharing her faith. But they're like, you're no different than anybody else here. You fudge on stuff, you cheat a little bit, you gossip, you know. But Paul says here it starts with our character. Listen to what he says in verse, verse 8.
He says, those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature. In other words, if we live just like I want to be comfortable, I want to be happy, I want to. I want to do whatever brings me pleasure, he goes, if you live for yourself just to satisfy yourself, you're going to harvest decay and death.
It's not that pleasures are wrong, but if they become the center of my life, what I pursue, he says, it's going to be decay and death.
But those who live to please the Spirit, in other words, if I'm saying yes to Jesus, yes to the Holy Spirit, will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
So what Paul wants us to be aware of, he goes, if you just go your own way and just live life for yourself instead of God's plan for you, you're gonna wind up in a dead end.
But if you say yes to God and you just go, God, here's my life, I want you to be at the center, he'll give you good stuff as well. But if you say, God, everything I have belongs to you, You, I want to keep on saying yes to you.
He's going to make an impact through your life. And it starts with character, starts with integrity.
Think of Dora and you say her impact on Norma, and Norma's example of integrity and a life with Jesus, impact on Roger. And it just keeps on going.
You always harvest what you plant. The kind of choices you're making today will influence the kind of life that you end up living. Someone put it this way. One time, they said, if you don't like the crop that you're reaping, check the seed that you're sowing.
If you don't like the crop that you're reaping, check the seed that you're sowing. So the question we can ask today is, first of all, am I living to please the Holy Spirit?
Am I allowing Jesus to have his rightful center, place in my life, you always harvest what you plan. That's number one.
Secondly, you always harvest more than you plan.
When you put one kernel of seed in the ground, a corn seed, you don't expect, like one kernel of corn to come back up. What do you expect?
You expect that right there, right? This guy at our church in Cleveland, we didn't have many farmers, but he lived probably 30 minutes away. And his farms supplied a lot of grocery stores in Cleveland.
So I remember one day he came and he said, hey, Jonathan, can I come and bring this box of corn seed? And he said, I just. My business belongs to God. Would you just pray a blessing on this seed as just a representation that I want him to? And I said, I'd be glad to. And I was looking at this corn seed and I heard how much it cost. I was like, wow. I had no idea it would cost that much.
But I knew that that corn seed, that would produce how much corn? Acres and acres, truckload and truckload. There would be so many households that had that corn on their table. From that box of seeds, you always harvest more than you planned. It's like the little boy with Jesus, right? This is so true in Kingdom economy that the little boy brings his lunch to Jesus and could have had no idea, right?
And I think that's an example too, that.
That in real farming today, you might say, well, you don't always harvest more than you plant. Cause if there's a crop failure or drought or some kind of infestation of whatever disease, you might have a terrible harvest, right?
But in God's plans, when you invest for his purposes, the yield is always more than you could imagine.
Even when it doesn't appear to be that far way.
Some of you know that song called Waymaker? We sing this. We sing. I won't sing. And my wife would kill me. She wouldn't kill me, but she'd tell me, don't ever do that again. Do you know the song, though? It says, even when we don't see it, you're what? You're working. Even when we don't feel it, God, you're working, right?
Whatever the Lord has called you to do, don't grow tired of. Of the good that you're doing in Jesus name. God is up to something.
You will always harvest more than you plant.
When you give and you think it's man, I'm not. I can't give as much as others. God can take your gifts and multiply that for all kinds of people coming into his family. When you pray he can. He can put the wind in the sails of other people who are serving you. Always harvest more than one last truth we see here in this verse, and it's this number three, crops grow according to God's sovereign plan. It says this, that last part of the verse. At the proper time, we will reap a harvest. No farmer goes out, plants the seed, hour later comes back and digs it up and goes, hey, what's happening here with the seed?
You have to do what?
You have to wait. You have to wait, right? It might seem like nothing's happening, but while you're waiting, God is working, working.
Let's just make this like, you know, rubber meets the road here. Some of you are working in kids ministry or youth ministry.
Can I just tell you, God is doing more than you, than you know.
At the proper time, you're going to see the impact.
Some of you are part of the care, the Westgate Cares Ministry. You're part of an outreach team, or you're maybe hosting or leading a life group, or you're part of guest services or you've been called to serve in some way. We have this card in your bulletin. I love how this was put together here that says, how will I participate in missions? And on the back it talks about, I'll pray. I'm going to welcome and befriend those who come to the U.S. i'll mobilize, I'll send, you know, through encouragement, logistic and finance. I'll even go, God, I'll do whatever you call me to do.
Every yes that you say you can know that those seeds of just God, I'm trying to do good in your name.
By the power of your Holy Spirit. Those seeds are germinating.
Something is happening.
It might be after you get to heaven that the harvest comes. Because some crops grow fast and some grow slowly. But here's what we know. Every crop, every bit of seed, so in Jesus name will produce a crop.
He's going to keep his promise to you. How do we know it?
Here's the promise of God's word. In fact, would you say this verse with me aloud? Together. Let's say it together. Ready? Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Scripture promises it, history affirms it. I could share so many stories about what God is doing in examples. Do you mind if I share a couple of stories? What's happening the alliance around the world.
This is so encouraging to me.
People have asked how has it been these last 14 months in your new role? Mary and I have said we get to see so many different ways. As we heard from Sean a bit ago about God at work through a guy in a coffee shop and just story after story that God took this family. The alliance began 139 years ago.
Seven people around a little stove in New York City one cold winter night.
And 139 years later, those seven people have turned into 25,000 churches in 88 countries.
And I mean, it's just amazing what God is doing. We're reaching out into the hardest, least reached places and God is at work. And you have been partners as a church family in praying and giving and encouraging and sending and welcoming missionaries back. The stories I'm going to share today, they're your stories. These are like, this is your alliance family. So let me share a few. Let's go first to Mongolia in 1990, following the end of the communist regime and the introduction of religious freedom in that country. At that time in 1990, in the whole country, there were four known believers in Mongolia.
Four.
The only thing I knew about Mongolia was pretty much anybody play the game, risk. Growing up, I knew about Mongolia, right? And risk four people. When the country opened up, the alliance, along with some other like minded groups went to Mongolia and they did all kinds of outreach. One example and Mongolian winners. Some of you have been there. I was talking to Pastor Robbie, he's been there. The Mongolian winters are severe. Like, I mean, it's July. We think maybe northern Ohio is cold for them. It's not uncommon for the extreme cold and deep snow to kill off millions of livestock, which can be decimate.
Just the livelihoods of nomadic herders.
So the alliance has routinely stepped up in these times, these crises, enduring severe winter droughts. They've purchased millions of, well, you know, just all kinds of tons of wheat bran and fodder to isolated herdsmen in the remote Gobi Desert, a place that has been often overlooked by government programs and local NGOs and the result today, according to research by places like Operation World, the number of people who put their trust in Jesus from 1990, when there were four known believers, to today, 36 years later, 40,000 to 50,000 believers, people have put their trust in Jesus. That's amazing, isn't it?
You as a church, you've been sowing and God is working. Let's go to Manchester, Great Britain, where one in three people in Manchester have been born outside of the United Kingdom. I mean, it is an international place. And the alliance now is partnering with an envisioned team running a coffee shop, a community center called the Giving Tree. There's an international church that meets in the building.
The baristas are trained by a woman from Hong Kong who's there part of a Chinese alliance church in Manchester.
In fact, the Chinese Alliance Church in Manchester, the United Kingdom is Today they have 2,000 people that meet every Sunday at that church. It's a thriving church family and they're partnering together with this envision group. There's a large group of Pakistanis and people from the Middle east in that place. It's a true picture of all nations. Various alliance people from different countries reaching all nations.
That's Manchester, New England. Let's go to Kosovo. Two community centers run by alliance workers includes CrossFit.
People are using all kinds of different strategies today I talked to someone else in the Middle East. They're using pickleball. That'd be more myself speed and building relationships that they say can carry the weight of gospel conversations where people have developed a trust level.
Our international workers in Kosovo want to start a coffee shop. They're on the verge of launching a church that is. They just said people are beginning to respond.
You've been sowing and God has been working, working. In Indonesia, we partner with comma services. That's one arm of the Alliance. It stands for compassion and mercy associates. And they proclaim the gospel not only in word but in deed. Not only a declaration but a demonstration. So one example. There has been severe flooding in Indonesia. Maybe it doesn't make the news a lot. You might know that Jakarta now is the largest city in the world. The capital city of Indonesia is 45 million people. Beat out Tokyo a year ago.
By the way, the alliance in Indonesia is bigger than the alliance in the U.S.
the U.S. alliance is now the sixth largest body of the alliance in the world. You might go how did it started here? Indonesia is bigger. The Philippines, Democratic Republic of Congo where Roger and Toto and Norma Hart were Cote d' Ivoire. And the largest alliance church network in the world world is in Vietnam.
So Indonesia, Indonesia.
They've been helping with in these flooding. They helped clear out mud from dozens of homes. Mud that was a few feet high. And it's just given them opportunity. When the tsunami hit 20 years ago, they were the alliance was there reaching out. I was in Indonesia a few months ago and was deeply moved first of all by the sacrifices of missionaries in the past passed nine of whom were killed when Indonesia was invaded during World War II. And there's been lots of suffering since. But today the alliance in Indonesia is over 3,000 churches. And they're sending out missionaries of their own.
God is at work in West Africa.
West Africa. There are thousands of local alliance churches in those countries where you'll see, but terrorism is on the rise and, and food insecurity and economic hardships are worsening and it's displaced a lot of people. And the alliance is reaching out, saying we can give food and some shelter and counseling and prayer. My brother and sister in law have been in Burkina Faso for over 30 years. In fact, they're the last alliance couple there. Partly because it's a dangerous place. 40% of the country has been overrun by terrorism.
And in the last two and a half years, years, 12 alliance pastors in Burkina Faso have been killed because of their faith.
Dozens of alliance believers. Some of those pastors were my brother's students in Bobo Gelasso.
But in the midst of suffering, I asked the president of the national church in Burkina Faso a few months ago, I saw him and I said, are there how many churches are in Burkina? Is it 700? He said, well, that's a few years old. We're now over a thousand churches in Burkina Faso alone.
I have a sister serving in Senegal, my youngest sister Jessica. And they're on the just on the beginning side, but God is working among the Fulani people. All kinds of things that are taking place.
Finally, let me just mention the Middle East.
Middle east, let me just tell you about one city. There was a City where 20 years ago there was almost no gospel witness.
Today, in that same city, in the last two years, over a hundred people from the dominant local religion have put their faith in Jesus through Alliance outreach and have been baptized at great personal cost. Many of them beaten, rejected by their families. Yeah, friends, you've been sowing. And God has been working. All of Jesus for all the world isn't like just a slogan. That is actually our calling. And it takes all of us stepping out of our comfort zones just saying, God, what is the good that you're calling me to do that we've talked about here in this card that you know we have. What good are you calling me to do that you say, God, how can I step up? I want to be part of the story that you're writing in the world today.
The kingdom of God is advancing. In fact, it's the greatest story being written today that you and I get to be a part of this kingdom. Advance the family of God growing.
So I just want to say thank you thank you for praying faithfully for international workers, some of whom you've met this week.
Thank you for giving sacrificially, at times, faithfully. Just saying. God, I want to invest in Mary and I have often said we're going to get to heaven one day and there's going to be people we meet and we're going to find out it was because of our giving and praying and sending and encouraging that they ended up in heaven.
You're going to have a share in that. May we be open to God's call wherever he would lead us to step outside of our comfort zones to say yes to Him.
Friends, God is faithful to bring a harvest. The promise of our Father is this. Your work done in Jesus name is having more impact than you could ever imagine imagine in Toledo and beyond. There's just one contingency in this verse. Can we just finish up the verse here? The Apostle Paul says this. You will reap a harvest if you what?
If you don't give up, you might be in a place where you go, man, I'm teaching this kids class and kids ministry.
Do you know that I remember every single one of my Sunday school teachers from first grade on.
Those men and women had an impact in my life. They probably have no idea they helped to shape me to become the person I am today.
The people who did my youth group, the guy who discipled me when I was in college, people who have encouraged me along the way.
When you feel discouraged and you wonder, God, are you doing anything? Don't give up.
When you don't get thanked for what you're doing and you go, does anybody even notice what I do do?
Don't give up.
When life gets hard and you think, I really don't know, or you have other distractions that you could spend your time doing something else. Don't give up.
Here's the promise of God's word.
At the proper time, you will reap a harvest if you do not give up. Scripture promises it.
History affirms it.
Friends. You know, I wonder, just thinking of Dora Bishop again, I wonder sometimes what was it like for her working in that office.
Did she wonder about the value of what she was doing, the impact of her life?
She could have had no idea.
Maybe she didn't even know before she died the extent of her work. I'm sure she didn't.
Friends, when you and I get to the end of our lives and we're in heaven one day, I wonder what we'll look back on.
Will people say of us. Man, he just never gave up.
From the time he had that life transformation and put his trust in Jesus, he just kept on serving where she she went through that bump in the road and she got back on track and she didn't give up.
Some people finish well and some don't. May you and I be those who just keep on doing good, trusting the promises of God. He's going to bring a harvest more than we could ever imagine.
And may we never ever give up.
I'm glad to be on mission with you and I can't wait from heaven's perspective to celebrate together all that he's done. You're going to reap a heart harvest as you stay faithful. Can I pray a blessing on you?
Lord, I thank you for my sisters and brothers here.
I thank you for how you have worked in our lives, Lord, to bring us to relationship with you. And maybe some here are not quite there yet. Lord, I pray that you would continue to reveal yourself, let them know how dearly loved they are by you, the plan that you have for their life and then, Lord, thank you for inviting us to be a part of of what you're doing in the world today.
We're so grateful that you invite us ordinary people who sometimes feel our own inadequacy very keenly.
And yet you take willing people, available people who say yes to you and keep on doing good and you just say, I'm going to make a difference through your life.
Lord, thank you, thank you for inviting us to be part of the greatest, most important story being written in the world today.
Would you come, Holy Spirit, fill us, anoint us even this week. May we be faithful to you for the glory of your name and the good of people who have yet to hear of you. We pray and everyone said it's great to be with you Westgate family. God bless you.
[01:05:52] Speaker C: Thank you Jonathan. As Jonathan mentioned in his message this morning, inside of your notes you find this card I just ask you pulled out just a moment with me.
As we come to the end of our missions emphasis week, we began by saying we know that as the larger body of Christ, that as individuals within that body, that God has a role for us us to play a role not only in how we function here together within this body and this church and in this community, but as well to take the good news of the gospel to the nations. And we've asked you this week and many of you have engaged deeply in praying about, Lord, what would you have me do? What would my part be?
And you'll see that on here we've got the five ways that you can respond. One, hopefully that we all do and will pick up on is to pray regularly, to commit to praying for our international workers, to be praying for countries, to be praying for the people within those countries, for openness to the gospel.
We can welcome One of my favorite things about the ministry at Westgate Chapel is the ministry that we have to internationals who are coming from all over the world to the University of Toledo that are here and in just few many weeks we're going to be having our international Thanksgiving dinner where we welcome people in and we what do good, we show them the love of Jesus and gain opportunity to share the greatest news that this world has about Jesus and his love for them. And there are many ways that you can be involved. By welcoming people into this community, you can be involved, mobilizing, helping to connect, cast and spread vision with other people even here within this body to have a desire to have a heart for the nations. You can send people through your giving and many of you have done that for years. You've given faithfully. But you can take that step of saying lord, what you've given to me, I want to give a portion back so that other people would be equipped to go. But as well you could respond by also opening up. And I'm be honest with you, I I think for many people this is the hardest thing is to say with open hands, God, whatever you desire for my life, I will do.
Not my plans, but your plans. And I would ask you, would you prayerfully pray that prayer and say, God, would you send me, whether that's short term, to be an encouragement to other international workers throughout the world world to investigate your own calling with missions or even would you say, yes Lord, I'll leave whatever I have behind to follow you wherever you would lead me.
These are the five ways that we can respond this week. And I want to ask that you would just take time as we move into this closing song to fill out this response card. How is God moving in your heart to respond? What is it that he is to going calling you to is it to to pray, to welcome, to mobilize, to send or to go? And as we sing this last song together, we're going to stand and we're going to worship. I'd invite you to bring these cards, you can place them in the buckets that are here up front as your way of saying, yes Lord, I hear you and I respond today and I desire to take a step with you in the direction that you are calling as well. At this time, we're also going to to be collecting and taking up our love offering for our international workers that have been here with us all week from Central Asia and Sean from Germany. And so if you came ready to give that gift this morning, as we sing this closing song, I invite you also to come forward. You can place your gifts in these baskets. And can I just ask you church, bless them generously and their ministry and give them thanks for all that they have done this week ministering to us as well. Well, and so I'm going to invite you. Would you stand with us right now and let's worship and let's respond together.
[01:10:07] Speaker B: Our homes are hit by heartbreak Let your presence meet us there when the pain seems overwhelming we hold on to you.
When the strength streets are torn by chaos we will be your hands and feet when the darkness brings division may
[01:10:50] Speaker D: we be your light.
[01:10:57] Speaker B: We know you our world needs Jesus we know our world needs freedom so give us eyes to see the broken Let our lives align with everyone you say when the nation take from violence we will be your blessed peace when the headlines scream injustice May we shout your name.
Because we know know our world needs Jesus we know our world needs freedom so give us eyes to see the hurting and the broken and let our lives alight with every word you say you know know our world needs Jesus and we know our world needs freedom so give us lives to see the burning and the broken Let our lives alive with every word you say.
[01:12:44] Speaker E: Our prayer that every heart hears his
[01:12:46] Speaker C: name and knows him and then every voice cries out to him.
Would you guys sing this bridge with us as we cry out to who he is.
[01:13:07] Speaker B: Let every heart turn to Jesus Let every voice sing of your great name Let all the earth know your freedom Cause we believe for more.
Let every heart turn to Jesus Let every voice sing of your great name Let all the earth know your freedom.
We believe for more yes we believe for more.
We know our world needs Jesus yes we do we know our world needs freedom so give us eyes to see the hurting and the broken and let our lives life's align with every word you say. We know we know our world needs Jesus we know our world needs freedom so give us eyes to see the burning and the broken Let our alive with every word you say.
