Ye Have Well Done

Temple Baptist Church - 11-21-2012
Philippians 4:14-18

Introduction:

A. “Missions: The Heart Beat of God” John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (We cannot over emphasize the importance of missions.)

1. Missions show the Love of God for the sinner! Romans 5:6-8 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. (8) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (The Holy for the unholy; the Just for the unjust; the Hope for the hopeless; the Help for the helpless; the lovely Son for the lifeless sinner. The love of God is truly beyond our comprehension. “That God should love a sinner such as I; how wonderful is love like this!”)

2. Missions show the Importance of the Sinner to God! 1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

3. Missions show the Price that God is willing to pay for the sinner! 2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich. (If Jesus Christ gave up heaven with all of its glory and riches for you and I, can we do less for others? Tithe because it is right and give an offering to missions because sinners are worth the sacrifice.)

B. David Livingstone once said, “God had an only Son, and He was a missionary and a physician.” If God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son, can we give less? When David Livingstone died, this epitaph was engraved on his headstone: “For thirty years his life was spent in an unwearied effort to evangelize.”

C. “Ye have done well”

1. When you lift up your eyes and see the multitudes dying without Christ! Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat. But narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Tonight is Prayer Meeting at church and we take prayer requests and read our prayer lists because it is important that we pray for one another as well as for others. We are commanded to pray and pray often. I often quote the Lord’s prayer request: “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest!” Truly there are multitudes in the Valley of Decision who need to know the gospel in order to have opportunity to make a right one. The problem of the harvest is that the laborers are few!)

2. When your will is to do the will of your heavenly Father! John 4:34-35 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (35) Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. (1 Timothy 2:4 sets for God’s will for mankind: “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Every creature needs a preacher because every person needs the Lord and deserves to hear the good news of the gospel. Jesus said, “Not my will, but thine, be done!” The pattern of the harvest is missions: at home and abroad at the same time.)

3. When your priorities become eternal at the expense of the temporal! Philippians 2:5-8 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in the fashion of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death" even the death of the cross. (The priority of the harvest is now because sinners are perishing at the rate of 250, 000 to 300,000 a day! I pass the cemeterys almost every day and, as a norm, there is at least one tent up or one mortuary busy.)

D. Ye Have Well Done!

1. Done well by being a blessing to the missionary. Verses 10, 14-16. Supporting, loving, supplying, and praying for God’s special people: missionaries. What a blessing missionaries are to the local church and what a blessing the local church should be to the missionaries! Missionaries are a blessing not a burden. Always allow Temple to be a haven of rest and a harbor of safety for these precious families as they minister to our needs while we minister to theirs. Ye have well done!

2. Done well by being a blessing to the lost through missions. Verses 15-16. We may be struggling to win souls for Christ in the unbuckled Bible Belt, but we see many souls come to Christ through our missions outreach. We knock on doors in our JERUSALEM while we help missionaries knock on doors in SAMARIA and the UTTERMOST PART of the world. A mission song says, “Thank you for giving to the Lord; I am a life that is changed!” Daniel 12:3 says, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” Ye have well done!

3. Done well by being a blessing to the Lord through love and obedience. Verse 18. Our love for missionaries and sinners is shown by our sacrifice of both time and money. In missions, we emulate the Trinity as the Father sent, the Son went, and the Spirit draws. In missions, we please the One who loved us and loves the lost for which He died! Ye have well done!