Principles of Strategy and Methodology, Part 3

Introduction to the Missions Policy Series and Today's Focus

0:00 This adult Sunday school class was held on November 26, 1989, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:11 Now, I've yet to see someone who is a new visitor among us, possibly just now, notice the face, but if there are, we do welcome you very cordially and warmly in Christ's name, and feel an obligation to give just a brief word of explanation to you as to what we have been doing in this, our adult class, which is the main teaching forum of our assembly. For a number of weeks, I have been seeking to spell out, as together we have dug into the Word of God, the missions policy of our own particular congregation.

0:52 And this policy was formalized at an elders' retreat in February of 1987, after many years of seeking to wrestle with biblicalism, and biblical principles, as our responsibility in the work of missions was pressed upon our consciences by the Word, and as we sought to respond to opportunities as God providentially set them before us. And now we have come to the final, the seventh, of the major or large categories of concern touching the task of missions. In all of the other classes,

1:33 I have sought, rather than to lecture, to take up the study method in which together we have read passages, and then I have asked you to extract the principles from them. However, this morning, I will change that format, and will basically lecture and teach, and possibly, in the final point, even merge into preaching. And if there is any time left over, we will leave that for questions. And my basic reason for doing this is that I've heard such excellent reports of how your appetites have been whetted to get into the book of James after having your introductory study last week.

2:17 And in the light of our special meetings this coming Lord's Day, and then the holiday season, etc., I felt it would be the part of wisdom to conclude and wind down our studies on our missions policy today, and the only way I can see doing that is if I lecture. Now I hope that will not mean that you turn me off and lean back on the pew and go off somewhere halfway between wakefulness and sleep but that your minds will be just as active as though you were discovering these principles in your own examination of the word of God rather than listening to me as I articulate them in the interest of time.

Review of Previous Strategic Strands

3:02 Now in this seventh category of our missions policy we have been wrestling with what we have called a strategy and methodology in the work of missions and thus far we have looked at three strands of any strategy that is in any way in touch with the principles, precepts and precedence of the word of God. We have seen first of all that our strategy should be one that is strictly based on the words of our Father. that is worldwide in scope. In the light of Matthew 28 to 19, make disciples of all the nations.

3:40 Revelation 5, 9, in which the redeemed are shown in heaven as a company comprised of every kindred, tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. We said, as we worked on a statement of the scope of our missionary endeavor, that we should desire that the Lord Jesus would receive all that was promised him and all that he died to redeem from every kindred, tribe, tongue, and people, and nation. And if that is indeed our vision, then our attitude and disposition will be parallel to that of the Apostle Paul, both individually and corporately,

4:24 as expressed in Romans 1, 14 and 15, in which he wrote, and regarded himself as a debtor to all men, in all places, in all circumstances, and stood ready to preach the gospel as God enabled him. Then secondly, we saw that our strategy should reflect that of the Apostle Paul, highlighted particularly in his first missionary journey, in which he and his companions went from city to city in a distance, economizing way, preaching and planting churches as doors were opened to them. When they left Antioch,

5:06 in order to take off on their first missionary journey, they went to the island of Cyprus, moved across the island from east to west, and from there moved up into this area and labored in the planting of churches before returning to Antioch. And we noted that God used what we might call, natural, providentially arranged interests and contacts in determining where to begin. Barnabas, Paul's companion in the first missionary journey, was a native of the island of Cyprus. We get that information from Acts 4, 36,

5:48 and the church at Antioch was planted by men who came from both Cyprus and an area down here called Cyrene. And so it would appear that those natural, providentially arranged ingredients of the complexion of the church at Antioch were a major factor in determining that rather than going the overland route to Tarsus and on to these cities of Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, where he later labored, that it was this factor that led the apostle and his companions to go to Cyprus. And then the third strand of our strategy we examined two Lord's Days ago.

6:31 Our strategy must be one in which we maintain real sensitivity to the Holy Spirit who is the executor on earth of the will of the exalted Lord in heaven. And this is seen particularly in the beginning of the second missionary journey when twice it is stated that after Paul and his companions started out and visited these churches, they attempted to go west and the Holy Spirit said no. They attempted to go north and the Holy Spirit said no. So they ended up over here at Troas and there God gave to Paul a vision and a man of Macedonia stood in that vision

7:15 saying, come over and help us. But the terminology, the Holy Spirit forbade them, the Spirit of Jesus did not suffer them. And what we learned practically from that, that is that as a church, we must not grieve and quench the Holy Spirit. If we are to know his superintendence in our missionary endeavors, we must know it in our personal ethical walk before God, with one another, and before the world.

Fourth Strand: Seeking Providentially Prepared People and Places of Freedom

7:45 Now this morning, we will focus on the final two elements of a biblical methodology and strategy in missions. And the four elements of a mission, the fourth strand, will be taken from the following passages. Now you may wish to follow as I read. They are all taken from, or they are taken from all three of Paul's missionary journeys and they are but a sampling.

8:13 In the first missionary journey, we read in Acts 13, 4 and 5, So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And now, Acts 13, verses 13 through 16, still on this first missionary journey.

8:56 Now, Paul, in his coming, set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, and John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. But they, passing through from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. That's the Antioch here that is just south of Galatia and east of Asia Minor. That's the Antioch of Pisidia, almost due north of the western coast of Cyprus.

9:27 And we read, They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. And Paul stood up, and beckoning with the hand, said, Men of Israel. Here is one of the biblical precedents for at least some physical animation in preaching.

9:56 The Holy Spirit says, He beckoned with His hand. He used paralinguistics in preaching the Word of God. Now then, we come to chapter 14 and verse 1 still, this first missionary journey. And it came to pass in Iconium, they entered into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake that a great multitude, both of Jews, and of Gentiles, and of Greeks, believed.

10:30 Now we come to the second missionary journey, and we have a summary statement in chapter 17, verses 1 through 3. And now, when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica. There in Greece, they came to Thessalonica, right up here. They came from Philippi down to Thessalonica, and they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews.

11:08 And Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three Sabbath days, reasoned with them from the Scriptures, opening and alleging that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom said He, I proclaim unto you, is the Christ. Now, a specimen passage from the third missionary journey, chapter 19 of Acts, and verse 1. And it came to pass, that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper region,

11:51 came to Ephesus. Now drop down to verses 8 and 9. And he entered into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for the space of three months, reasoning and persuading as to the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened in disobedience, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

12:25 Now, I am sure if I were to ask you, what is the dominant principle or precedent found in these passages, many of you have seen it in the bare reading of the text. The methodology is patent in all of these passages. Paul would, wherever there was a synagogue, in any town or city where he went, seem to go immediately, first of all, to the synagogue, and there he would reason, and argue, and seek to persuade the Jews, Jews of the dispersion, who had set up a synagogue in any city or town where there were ten or more males,

13:09 heads of households, they would set up a synagogue. And there might be some devout proselytes as well who had embraced the God of Israel and joined themselves to the synagogue in that area. And in that context, using the scrolls of the Old Testament that were present in every synagogue, he would seek to demonstrate that the facts concerning Jesus of Nazareth perfectly fit everything that the Old Testament Scriptures said about the coming Messiah. That Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the fulfillment

13:50 of all of the Messianic prophecies and expectations. Now, what is clear from these particular labors in all of these cities where Paul went and labored in the synagogues is that in going into the synagogue he could assume at least two things. Number one, that there would be a broad base of general biblical knowledge. He would not have to say, now I want to tell you who Adam is.

14:25 I want to tell you who Noah is. I want to tell you about a flood that came upon the ancient world. I want to tell you how God manifested His power in the deliverance of His people out of Egypt. I want to tell you about a man named Moses, about prophets named Elijah and Elisha.

14:48 He did not have to do that. He could rightly assume a broad base of biblical knowledge so that basic concepts concerning God as the exalted Lord who existed before creation, who created all things by the word of His power, who placed man on trial in the garden, man having fallen, man having become so sinful that God blots out the whole human race except one family, Noah and his family, the God who in sovereign power and grace takes an idolater named Abraham, calls him out of Ur of the Chaldees.

15:32 He could assume all of that general biblical knowledge. And then secondly, he could assume that there was a sense of messianic expectation. That is, some solid preparation for the reception of the gospel. For those who met in the synagogues met to read and to expound the scriptures and they were concerned with reference to the central theme of the Old Testament scriptures, namely the promise concerning the coming Messiah.

16:10 Now, unlike the situation recorded in Acts 14 in Antioch of Pisidia and in Acts 17 there at Athens when Paul was reasoning with philosophers in Acts 17 and with pagan idolaters in Antioch of Pisidia, there he did not reason from the scriptures about the messianic hope. He did not prove and argue that Jesus of Nazareth was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies. He had to start back further. He had to start with God as Creator.

16:49 God as the Lord of the universe. God as man's sovereign Lord and Judge. God as Provider. God as Judge.

16:59 But in these situations where there was a synagogue, Paul and his companions would go immediately into that situation and begin their evangelism. Now, if that is indeed the cord that holds these passages together, we ask the question, what is the application of this practice for our mission's methodology today? And I would answer in two parts. Number one, we should seek to find in any place we go a group of people who are providentially prepared to be taught the way of life and salvation.

Application of the Fourth Strand to Modern Missions

17:40 We should seek to find a group of people who are providentially prepared to be taught the way of life and salvation. It's been interesting to see that churches have been planted through our endeavors where tapes and books have gone before and found their way into the hands and hearts of people hungry for the biblical gospel, hungry for biblical worship, hungry for biblical church life. And finding those prepared people, we've been able to send a man in,

18:21 and the result has been that a church has come to birth. And so there is the great principle that where we may not have synagogues, we may have people in religious institutions who are weary of empty religion, weary of religion that is not in close and constant honest contact with the Bible and with reality. And God has providentially prepared them to be taught the way of life and salvation. And we ought to seek out such people where we become aware of their existence.

18:57 And then the second great principle that I see as applicable to our missionary policy is we should seek the places where the gospel can be taught and proclaimed with freedom and liberty. In the synagogue, Paul was free to teach and to preach until such time as men began to blaspheme. Then he would separate himself and find another base as he did in Acts and apparently rented this school of Tyrannus and used it as his basis of ongoing evangelism. Now in terms of how this applies in our own missionary endeavors, most of you are aware that one,

19:42 if not the most fruitful evangelistic contacts in the endeavors of Pastor Steve in the Philippines is the Bible study held in one of the office complexes there in Manila, the DIT Bible study. There is a group of people willing during their lunch hour to come and study the Word of God. They don't have to be convinced that it is the Word of God. They're prepared to study it.

20:10 Roman Catholics in background, many of them, absolute pagans, others, but a hunger and a thirst. And those doors are wide open and it's one of our concerns that another man should be sent because many more such synagogues are waiting for someone to come and to gather a group of people together and to teach them the Word of God. Shortly after I was saved, it's part of a different generation. Even though it was in the early 50s, there was a whole different climate.

20:44 The main street in Stamford, Connecticut was a marvelous Agora, a marvelous Mars Hill. And the guys would stand around on Thursday night, the night the Liggett's drugstore was open and the stores were all open and people were shopping. It was a marvelous place to stand and preach and often on Sunday afternoon. And there are times that some of us preached until our stomach muscles were literally cramped and we'd step aside and the next fellow would preach.

21:13 And the next fellow would preach. Until his stomach muscles were cramped, our throats didn't go, our stomach muscles did. And we would have people standing and listening sometimes for 20 minutes, half an hour, 45 minutes, an hour to the preaching of the gospel in the open air. Now there are few places in this present situation where that is the case.

21:33 Because of a number of factors, people are so suspicious of ranters and ravers that they just walk by, make a comment and will not listen. But if, in other circumstances of missionary endeavor, we find that people are willing to stop and to listen, that they come together for discussions of other issues, we should then seize those opportunities as part of our methodology. So then, strand number four indicates that as part of our methodology, we must not only have a worldwide vision, we must not only, like the Apostle Paul, seek to move from one place

22:17 to another in a distance economizing manner, preaching where doors are opened and where God has given us providential interest and context. We must not only be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in all of this endeavor, but once arriving in a place, we should seek to find, if there are a group of people, who are providentially prepared to be taught the way of life and salvation, and seek out those places where the gospel can be, as it were, put into the marketplace of human thought and interest. Now then, we come to the fifth strand

Fifth Strand: Targeting Strategic Centers of Influence

23:02 of our missionary policy. And rather than take the time to read all of the passages, I'm simply going to cite the reference and give you the gist of its contents. We are taking up now the fifth major strand of a biblically-based missionary strategy and methodology. In Acts 11.26 and following,

23:27 we have the record of the establishment of the church at Antioch. And some of you will remember that I mentioned, I believe, three weeks or two weeks ago, that Antioch was the third ranking city in the world at this particular time. Rome, Alexandria, and then Antioch. And it was at Antioch that Paul sank his roots when Barnabas came over to Tarsus and found him and brought him back to Antioch, and he taught and preached the word of God with him.

24:04 And it was there at Antioch that Paul had the base of his missionary operations. He may have eventually transferred it to Rome and made a foray up into Spain. That was his desire, according to Acts 15. Whether or not that desire was ever realized, we cannot be certain.

24:28 Then in Acts 16.11 and 12, we read, and you may wish to follow this in your Bibles, setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, that's an island off the coast, and the day following to Neapolis and from thence to Philippi. Now why did they not stay at Samothrace or Neapolis but go to Philippi? Well, we are told, which is a city of Macedonia, the first of the district, a Roman colony.

25:04 Now one of the reasons you ought to buy a Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary is you won't think your pastor's brilliant when they use it all the time. You'll say, hmm, I could have known that if I'd only looked it up. But in the Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary under Philippi, this is what we read. A Macedonian town in the plain east of Mount Pangaeus.

25:28 It was a strategic foundation of Philip II, father of Alexander in 357-358. The position dominated the road system of northern Greece. Hence it became the center for the battle of 42 BC in which Antony defeated the tyrannicides Brutus and Cassius. And then it mentions another Roman leader, Octavian, and his input.

25:57 And then I go on quoting, there was a school of medicine in Philippi connected with one of those guilds of physicians which the followers of early Greek medicine scattered through the Hellenistic or the Greek world. This adds point to the suggestion that Luke was a Philippian. There's a touch of pride in Luke's description of Philippi as a city of Macedonia, the first of the district. Acts 16, 12.

26:26 Amphipolis was in fact the capital. M.W. Ramsey comments, afterwards, Philippi, quite outstripped its rival, but it was at that time in such a position that Amphipolis was ranked first by general consent, Philippi first by its own consent.

26:47 These cases of rivalry between two or even three cities for the dignity and title of first are familiar to every student of the history of Greek cities. Philippi was the first European city to hear a Christian missionary as far as the records go. Paul's choice of the locality throws light on the strategy of his evangelism. Antioch, third chief city of the Roman world at that time.

27:22 Philippi, chief city in this part of the world. Then Acts chapter 17. We read in verses 14 to 16, of Paul's endeavors to preach and establish a church at Athens. It is said that Athens was the seat of Greek art, science and philosophy, and was the most important university city in the ancient world, even under Roman rule.

27:54 And even though it was politically conquered, one writer wrote in a very clever turn of phrase the following, even though it was politically conquered, it conquered its conquerors with its learning and with its culture. It conquered its conquerors with its learning and culture. So why did Paul come to Athens? Another city, the center of art, of science and of philosophy.

28:27 And then in Acts 18, verse 1 and then verses 8 through 11, we read the record of Paul's endeavors in the city of Corinth. Here's Athens, Corinth over here. And while once a center of trade, a rival of Alexandria, Syria, it was in a declining state and had become the center of the heathen cult worship. I'm sorry, I've skipped down to Acts 19.

29:04 I knew something wasn't right. I'm sorry. Although Athens was the official center of the educational and cultural influence, the Romans declared Corinth the capital of Achaia. The Romans declared Corinth the capital.

29:21 And from the standpoint of trade and commerce, it was the most important city in the country. And we could go into, again, some of the statements in the Bible dictionaries demonstrating that, but I only quote enough to underscore that, again, this was no third-rate city. Athens, center of culture, art, and science. Corinth, the center of commerce.

29:48 Now then, in Acts 19.1, verses 8 to 10 and verse 20, we read of Paul's labors at Ephesus. And Ephesus, while once a center of trade, here is Ephesus, at the time that Paul was a missionary, it had really become a dying city as to its commercial enterprises. However, there had grown up in Ephesus the cult worship of Diana, God of the Ephesians.

30:25 And this cult worship was base to the core. The very images made of Diana are grotesque. A many-breasted figure of fertility. And there were temple prostitutes in conjunction with the worship there, as well as at Corinth.

30:46 And what happened was that it became, much like Rome is today, the old devout Roman Catholic who makes a pilgrimage to Rome, hoping to come back with some relic, a piece of stone, chipped off one of the building blocks of St. Peter's Cathedral, or a hair from the Pope's ear, or some other silly thing. Well, this is what happened at Ephesus. And people made their pilgrimages to Ephesus, hoping to come back with some memorabilia of their visit.

31:19 And that helps to understand why the silversmiths got upset. Because the Gospel was making such an impact, people didn't want to go back with a little trinket of their visit to Ephesus and its central concern, worship. Worship of the great goddess Diana of the Ephesians. And then in Acts 19.21,

31:40 and I'd ask you to follow, as we see Paul's great concern to go to another city. Acts 19 and verse 21, Now after these things were ended, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. Now chapter 23 and verse 11. Chapter 23 and verse 11.

32:14 And this should forever settle the question of people saying, Paul attempted to go down to Jerusalem and on to Rome in disobedience to the will of God. The night following, the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, for as you have testified concerning me at Jerusalem, so must you bear witness also at Rome. And then in Romans 15 and verse 25, Romans 15 and verse 25, Paul says, I go unto Jerusalem, ministering unto the saints, for it's been the good pleasure

32:58 of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem, yet it has been their good pleasure and their debtors they are. When therefore I have accomplished this, verse 28, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will go on by you unto Spain. Writing to the Roman church, he says, I desire to come to you, and then after I have been with you a while, Romans 1 indicates this, he desires that they profit from his ministry, and he profit from their faith, that he would then make that the new base. You see how economizing he was?

33:43 It would be much cheaper to come back to a home church at Rome from Spain than to go all the way over to Antioch. So he, though he was a chief mission executive, did not feel that he had an unlimited expense account. He wanted to set a good example of good stewardship in the use of the Lord's money, and so he says he hopes to shift his missionary base from this strong and thriving church at Antioch, from which he had reached out until he said, I have no more place in all these parts. I have preached representatively in all of these major population centers, these key cities, as well as passing through from one place to another

34:27 a number of lesser cities. I now long to come to Rome and from there to establish a new beachhead for the gospel in Spain. Now, in the light of these passages, what is the great principle concerning a missionary strategy? Paul labors at Antioch.

The Principle of Strategic Centers and its Biblical Realism

34:48 He labors at Philippi. He labors at Athens, at Corinth, at Ephesus. He longs to go to Rome. What are we to learn from this?

35:00 Well, surely it's clear to all of us. Paul sought to labor in the strategic centers of influence in the existing Roman world. Not merely the concept of reaching many people because there were denser concentrations of population, but there was the matter of the influence of these cities. Here you had people coming on pilgrimage from all over to Ephesus.

35:32 And if they could be reached with the gospel, they would go back to their hometowns and there carry on their witness. Likewise at Athens, scholars who had come to, as it were, validate their credibility. One of the questions a scholar would be asked in that day, have you been to Athens? Yes, sir.

35:53 How long were you at Athens? Six months. I was there three years. You see?

35:58 It was sort of degree polishing. Well, if these men of influence and learning could be one for the gospel, what an impact they might have in days to come, though there's no indication that a strong church was ever established at Athens. And I wonder if it doesn't illustrate 1 Corinthians 1. You behold your calling, brethren, not many mighty, not many wise.

36:22 God hath chosen, James says, the poor of this world to be rich in faith. I wonder if that may not be the answer to why there's no record that a church was ever even established, let alone a thriving church at Athens. Whereas at Corinth, people so base and wretched that to Corinthianize meant to make a man polluted and vile. Paul could say, you know your calling, brethren.

36:47 Such were some of you. You were homosexuals and you were adulterers and murderers and all of these other gross manifestations of sin. Well, it's at least a conjecture, but we see his tremendous burden to reach these population centers. And as God used persecution down in Jerusalem to scatter those people that were gathered on the day of Pentecost and for some period afterward were established when all the apostles were there at Jerusalem, God scattered them throughout the Roman Empire so Paul seeks to go and be the instrument of scattering the seed of the word

37:32 in these various places. Now, it was interesting to me as I made these preparations, or the preparations for today's lesson, and I've done it each lesson, to look back and see, well, how has God led us? Well, let's look back over our missionary endeavors. Where did we send Pastor Blaise to plant a church?

37:54 In the city of London. The chief city of at least England. Now, a loyal Englishman would say, of the British Isles. Well, you see, a loyal Scot would debate that and talk about Edinburgh and other things.

38:13 But anyway, we can say it is no mean city. And so our brother was sent to London, that important city in England, to plant a church. Where did we send our brother Steve? Manila, the chief city of the 800 islands.

38:32 No, not 800. How many thousands, Steve or Don? How many thousands? Is it 7,000 islands, 800 language and linguistic groups?

38:40 That's it, 7,800. I try to keep my numbers straight. Well, where has our brother been sent? To Manila.

38:47 That's the center of the life of the Philippines. And where has our brother Arif Khan been sent? Islamabad. Islamabad.

38:57 That's the capital created by Pakistan when Pakistan was separated from India. Originally, what is now Bangladesh was called East Pakistan. And what is now Pakistan was called West Pakistan. And if you look up an older dictionary, it will say the planned capital.

39:19 And the temporary capital is Rawalpindi, or was Rawalpindi. And where is our brother Arif working? In Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Significant, is it not?

39:33 And in the missionary endeavor we made in Sweden, Gothenburg. Second, I believe, city in terms of influence there in the relative southern part of Sweden, a center of commerce and of business. And our concerns were to see a biblical church established in that area, though alas, we didn't see a church established. Does that mean we shouldn't have made the endeavor?

39:59 If so, it means Paul never should have attempted to establish a church in Athens. You see, I love the realism of the Bible. We can follow a principled policy, but that does not guarantee, quote, success, as the world counts success. And it means that some of the principles of the church growth movement are dead wrong, that we only look out responsibly for those who are not responsive peoples.

Application of Strategic Centers to Trinity Baptist Church's Missions

40:27 No, we are a saver of life unto life and of death unto death. But as we pray and as we wrestle with God about this matter of missions in the sending out of men to our own needy country and to the ends of the earth, we should have upon our hearts the key centers of influence. Now that does not mean that we despise nation's lakes in Michigan. If you could sit as I have with Cal Walden and I have to restrain myself from both weeping and shouting at the same time when I think of it to see that congregation of some sixty or seventy people where once a few years ago there was an empty building sitting

41:12 in a beautiful country setting, the kind of thing that artists drive out and sit and paint as memorabilia of old America. America. And now there are people sitting there, hanging on the word of God, saved by grace. We don't despise the Missoula Montanas. We don't despise the Demings Lakes. But we should have a

The Strategic Privilege of the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan Area

41:35 strategy that has as one of its central concerns the key places of influence. And I want to close on this note as it relates to the privilege of being planted as a church in the New York, New Jersey metropolitan area. Now I'm getting sick and tired of all the bad press in our own ranks about the New York, New Jersey metropolitan area. Now I don't speak out of any cultural loyalty. I was born in Virginia. I've got a birth certificate.

42:14 I was reared in Connecticut, considered part of New England. Spent five of my most formative years in the heart of the Old South before civil rights days, both in Greenville and in Columbia, South Carolina. And I used to walk to the back of the bus long before there was any civil rights and sit with the blacks simply because my Christian heart told me it was right.

42:47 And I learned to appreciate the South and its particular contributions. And then I spent five years in beautiful Lancaster County. They say Lancaster. You folks say Lancaster. But it's

42:58 Lancaster County amongst the Amish. And then I've spent the last 27 years here in New Jersey. But I don't speak as someone who was born in New Jersey, raised in New Jersey with parents who said New Jersey's the... This is not a matter of reason. This is not a matter of reason. This is not a matter of

43:18 regional prejudice or of naturally inherited affinity. But what I'm saying is this, dear people. Yes, cost of living is high. The traffic is terrible. And New Jerseyans can be rude. But

43:32 we need to get beyond this triveling business and see what a privilege to be planted in this megalopolis with this vast amount of people around us and the mixture of ethnic and racial groups. And we haven't even begun to penetrate in a concentrated way the student community. And when I see God bringing a converted Egyptian family among us who speak Arabic, I say, Lord, could it be that places in the Middle East where we can't go and preach, that we will yet see them sitting

44:10 in the living room of the Ibrahim family, preaching the word of God to them, and then seeing them saved? Going back and some of them perhaps even becoming martyrs for Christ. We have one among us who's fluent in Russian. And with the new open doors, I wonder, could it be where we could not send someone to Moscow to establish a church led by a Bible study in which that person's language ability in Russian can be used? We haven't begun to tap the opportunities. And I believe

44:49 that's the way it is. It's a tool of the devil to get us concentrating on all of this negative stuff about northern New Jersey. Dear people, what a privilege to be placed here. I count it a privilege. I don't like when

45:03 I'm out running to feel I'm filling my lungs with smog and all of the rest. But so what if I go to my grave a few years earlier to have had the privilege to have the gospel go out and touch the ends of the earth? And in no little measure, it's because God has put us here near those three major airports. And we have the privilege of the people of God coming to us from all over the world and being encouraged and strengthened and having their vision enlarged and going back. Do I need to go on? Have you caught

45:38 something of the tremendous privilege that is ours, dear people of God? And we need to recognize that God has sovereignly raised us up. And we need to recognize that God has raised us up. And we need to recognize that God has raised up this church in this area of strategic and tremendous opportunity for influencing the gospel. In a sense, it is the Antioch of this part of the country.

46:04 And we need to thank God for it. And in our prayers, we need to begin to hear praises to God for it. And as I look back and see how God providentially took me by way of Virginia and Connecticut, I'm going to say, I'm going to say, I'm going to say, I'm going to say, I'm going to say, in South Carolina and Pennsylvania, to plunk me down in northern Jersey, I marvel at God's goodness. I marvel at his providence. And I have to laugh at his ways,

Personal Testimony of God's Providence in Ministry Location

46:34 because as many of you know, what brought me here to north Jersey was a two-week job of shoveling manure in an old barn 30 miles from here. That's the truth. A friend of mine had bought a house in North Jersey. I had bought a house in North Jersey. I had bought a house in North Jersey.

46:50 and a group of people, an old Catholic retreat center with a house and a chapel and a barn. And he was in a church planting endeavor in Chester, New Jersey. And he knew I had some time between meetings when I was perambulating around the country as an evangelist and Bible teacher. And he said, brother, would you like to earn some good money doing some unpleasant work for two weeks?

47:14 I said, sure, I need to put bread on the table. He said, $15 a day, that was big bucks back in 1962. He said, there's a whole section in the downstairs of the barn with all those iron pipes. That was the old bullpen where they kept the bulls.

47:30 And we're going to turn that into toilet facilities and shower facilities for a youth center. But the problem is there's old dried manure that hadn't been touched in five, ten years, one or two inches thick, and it's just like epoxy. You're going to have to go in with a hose and reactivate it and soak it and scrape it out and shovel it out. $15 a day, I said, fine.

47:52 And I was ankle deep in reactivated cow manure.

47:57 When that man said, my home church up in northern Jersey is without a pastor. If they have no supply for this weekend, will you be willing to go and preach? I said, sure. I'm not going to shovel manure on the Lord's Day, so if I can be preaching, I might as well be preaching.

48:12 And that's how God led me here. That's the truth. That's not embellished with rhetorical devices. That's the truth.

48:18 And I look back and I say, oh, God, how wise are your ways. To bring me into a situation from shoveling manure in Chester while living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, that I might have the privilege of seeing you, Lord, do something far beyond anything that was ever part of my most enlarged prayers, my most enlarged desires in the establishment of this assembly that we under God might fulfill a place in the kingdom of God in our generation

48:51 to see the gospel go forward with new impetus and we trust with unction and power even unto the ends of the earth. Well, other matters could be mentioned as far as our missionary strategy. We haven't mentioned the peculiar advantages of the Roman road system, Roman government, the unifying language. There are many factors.

Concluding Exhortation: Leveraging Modern Advantages for Missions

49:20 In the first century. In the second century, that in some ways made the job a lot easier for Paul and his companions. But there are many factors that make it easier for us. When we want to go and encourage the Lord's servants, we don't have to run the risk of shipwreck, buy an airline ticket and barring God's providence that would let the plane drop out of the sky.

49:45 In a few hours, we're there. We can regularly pick up the phone and hear the voice of our missionaries and we can encourage them. And bring their prayer requests. We have our little mechanical preachers, we have the printed page, we have fax machines, we have all kinds of advantages they did not have.

50:03 And rather than concentrating upon the advantages they had over us, let us concentrate upon the advantages we have over them in terms of these providential provisions. And by the grace of God, keep a bright, ever-expanding vision that we may press on in seeing the Lord Jesus receive all that he died to receive through the labors of this assembly as it lives and works out its missionary mandate under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in obedience to the scriptures unto the glory of our God. Well, let's pray. Our time is gone.

50:48 Our Father, how we thank you for the blessing, we have known in these past weeks, as we have studied together from the scriptures, the policies that ought to regulate our missionary endeavors. And we marvel at the way you have led us. Oh, Lord, we feel at times that we've been like those who were blindfolded, but seized upon by a hand stronger than our own and guided by a way we knew not. And when the blindfold has been removed,

51:28 and we've looked about us, we've had to cry out with the psalmist, the lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places, we have a goodly heritage. And we bless and thank you for all we've been privileged to know and experience of your blessing in our missionary endeavors. But, oh, Lord, we are not content. We think of our own responsibilities placed in this tremendous position of privilege and opportunity, in this metropolitan area.

52:00 And we pray for enlarged vision and increased strength, increased gifts, and increased measures of the Holy Spirit. Oh, Lord, give us, we pray, an enlarged heart as a congregation, that we may lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of us. And then we pray that you would guide us as we seek further to fulfill the mandate to make disciples of all of the nations. Give us further light in the outworking of our missionary principles and policies and strategy.

52:39 Oh, Lord, if in anything we are presently sinning through ignorance, show us, we pray, that we may repent and amend our ways and live in the light of your word. Hear then our prayer and receive our thanks as we draw near in Jesus' name. Amen.