Making Our World A Better Place

Chris Long
Missions Weekend

2 Tim 1:15-18

Paul was blessed by someone that made his world a better place.
That someone is Onesiphorus.

Do you have a someone like that? Or maybe you could be that someone?

Paul talked highly about Onesiphorus.
What did he do?

1. Remained loyal and stood by Paul in times of destress.,

v.15

definition [Loyal] :

• firm and not changing in your friendship with or support for a person or an organization, or in your belief in your principles
• always supportive
  
• always liking and supporting someone or something, sometimes when other people do not

We need to be loyal to the ones who's precious in our life.
Loyal to our faith, to our family, friends, and nation.

2. Onesiphorus ministered to Paul's deepest needs.

v.16 - refreshed me (NIV) ; visited and encourage (NLT).

Rom 12:13 - Practice hospitality.
Usually Christians, they loved God SO much so gave all to God, and left nothing for others.

We can refreshed others with an act of kindness.

3. He was noble and not ashamed of Paul's sufferings

v.16b
Nobility - someone has to got standard classy, not mediocre. He's a class act that can affect people.

definition [Noble] :

noble (HIGH RANK)
adjective [not gradable]
having a high social rank, esp. from birth
a noble family related to the queen

noble
noun [C]
a person of high social rank, esp. from birth

nobility
noun [U]
the class or group of people who have a high social rank, esp. from birth

When Jesus was on the cross, He prayed for the ones who prosecuted Him.
They KNEW what they did to Him was wrong. And still He prayed for them!
People was like, "what? are you serious?"
Why?
Cause He's got class. He got standard classy.
He saw the case beyond everyone else.

Same thing happened to the murderer who's hanged beside Him.
He forgave him, and promised paradise to him, right now!

4. Onesiphorus had a shepherd's heart

v.17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me.
Luke 15:4-5

That's why, ministry isn't a business.
You go and search for the 1% who's lost, in need, etc. and leave the 99%

Onesiphorus traveled from Ephesus to Rome, just to go and found Paul.

It's a long way!



5. He came and helped Paul in many practical ways.

1 Corinthians 12:28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

No one got excuses to say "I don't have a special gift like you to serve", cos there's a gift called a gift of able to help others. Everyone has this gift.

Why Bother?

Pt. Duane Danielson

Luke 18: 35-43
Luke 19:1-9

God did things differently
God do things differently

1. God Works in Different Places

v.35 - in ordinary place, a street.
v. 4 - an inordinate tree : Sycamore tree, in an ordinary street.

Nowadays, we usually think that God needs to do things only on stage, line up people, etc.
It doesn't work that way.

Ordinary Places VS Holy Places, Spiritual Places.

God will just intercede in ordinary places.

2. God Works in Different Person

A blind man, which also is a beggar. Usually people don't want to spend time to go deeper coz at the end they think they need to take care of the beggar.

Zacheus, a corrupt man. Do you want to do biz with this kind of people?

Jesus spend the day with an inordinate person.
Jesus just spend a small time in the world, but spend a day one on one with every person that He met.
He's more interested for the people who are on our least of list, just because we ourselves don't stand those bottom list people.

If you want to reach them, you need to reach further in the mud, and it's gonna be muddy. Also you need to get all "the crap" out, while you are pulling stuffs outside the mud.

It's gonna be:

• muddy
• complicated
• there's a time limit
• less return

but guess what?
Some of us, God strategically put us in "The Mud"

3. God Works in Different Plans

Sometime Jesus wants to interrupt our plan, coz He got bigger plan for us.

Imagine if the disciples has schedule Jesus, and the blind beggar is just not on the program. Would they stopped Jesus from interfering their plan, just becoz He need to stop for everyone?

v. 43 - Jesus has plans also for the blind man : Follow Jesus and praise God.

If we follow God's plan, it will transformed us immediately.
Transformation that effects you and your family.

4. God Works in Different Participation then we thought.

v.40 - what do YOU want ME to do?
v.5 - I must stay in your house.

He got personally involve with every single "prospect".
He didn't delegate to the disciples, but do it one on one.
Always have a daily interacting with people.

How do you need to be personal and on going with people?

1. Everyone need to pray for the harvest, by name.
2. Need to be giving more..
3. There's time when God us going to stretch you.
4. We need to go unto the fitness and work - figure our where God want to seed you.

Q&A Weekend

Can we challenge God?
Read the book of Job.
Just remember that God is not afraid of our questions!

Why do people pretend to be Christians?
Cos it's easy to do. Mostly think that they can just humble themselves every time they sin.They took advantage of that.

How do we know that God answers our prayers/not?

1. Pray in obedience to God. Not because we want something to happened. But because we ARE supposed to pray.
2. We don't have to pray everything that's happened ________ circumstances. The more we pray, the more coincidence we have. Pray because of obedience.
3. Don't become so rational. Just glorify the Lord.

Tithing somewhere else?
2 Corinthians 9:6-11
Everything belongs to the Lord.
Give wherever, however, whatever He leads.
As long as we give joyfully.

Gossip?
Eph 4:15 - share out of truth, share because of love, if not, STOP talking.

If you're asking the LOVE question, you will never gossip.
If you asked the GOSSIP question, you will never loved.

feel offended because of__
you are putting yourself as a weaker Christian.