Losing Our Jerusalem
Richard A. Bradley
Acts 1:4-8
Acts 1:4-8
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ''which,'' He said, ''you have heard from Me;
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.''
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ''Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?''
7 And He said to them, ''It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.''
In this passage Jesus defined four areas of mission's responsibility. These are Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Let's think of these four places in terms we can all identify with.
''Jerusalem'' would be our community - the place where we live. ''Judea'' would be our state.
''Samaria'' would be North American Missions - missions to the continental United States. ''The ends of the earth'' would be International Missions - missions outside of North America.
Most churches have some sense of responsibility to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. The problem as I see it is that too many churches are losing focus on their Jerusalem because the health of their church is not as good as it should be. Because of this too many churches are in the process of losing their Jerusalem. If we lose our Jerusalem because we've lost our church nothing else matters. Missions cannot long exist without a healthy local church. This is why the devil's number one priority will always be to attack the local church.
How can we ensure the health of our church and therefore ensure the overall, general health of missions in general?
WE WILL LOSE OUR JERUSALEM IF THE FELLO ...
Richard A. Bradley
Acts 1:4-8
Acts 1:4-8
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ''which,'' He said, ''you have heard from Me;
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.''
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ''Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?''
7 And He said to them, ''It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.''
In this passage Jesus defined four areas of mission's responsibility. These are Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Let's think of these four places in terms we can all identify with.
''Jerusalem'' would be our community - the place where we live. ''Judea'' would be our state.
''Samaria'' would be North American Missions - missions to the continental United States. ''The ends of the earth'' would be International Missions - missions outside of North America.
Most churches have some sense of responsibility to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. The problem as I see it is that too many churches are losing focus on their Jerusalem because the health of their church is not as good as it should be. Because of this too many churches are in the process of losing their Jerusalem. If we lose our Jerusalem because we've lost our church nothing else matters. Missions cannot long exist without a healthy local church. This is why the devil's number one priority will always be to attack the local church.
How can we ensure the health of our church and therefore ensure the overall, general health of missions in general?
WE WILL LOSE OUR JERUSALEM IF THE FELLO ...
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