Testimony - Macedonian Call and life - Call to congregation to a Missional Life
Notes
Transcript
5 yrs old
8yrs old - shoplifting - SAVED from being caught at school Priest
point of jail/death
15/16 Jamie
Westergate
18 - Baptised
22 Fruit Machines
The Macedonian Call 1: To Macedonia;
· Discussion with Peter.
· When people call for help
· Awake 2am
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
· Internet – where is Macedonia
· Easter Sunday. Open Bible to Philippians.
· 10 days after call arrived in Macedonia.
· Campsite - very cold
· Tourist Info - not during the week!
· Sabbath
· Methodist. Spy
· Home to stay. Phone numbers.
· Evangelical Church. AGAPE.
· Warehouse. 84 yr old. Teams from the states.
Marriage
· Refugees went back
· Handicapped society. 1000 families. Visitation. Gospel shared
· Civil war.
· Paid work [Eric] taken on with Swedish Organisation.
· Came out of Country
· Portsmouth
Cardiff
Swansea
London
God’s Call on each of us: It comes in different ways. Each calling is unique. I am not special in this – when I remember where I have come from, for I was a petty criminal before coming to faith in Christ through a persistent friend...we should all remember where we have come from.
Perhaps we should take opportunities to go on the mission field even if it is for 5 days or 2 weeks – remember the 84 yr old woman who travelled 5000 miles to Macedonia to help out.
We are never too old to go.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me.
18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
We don’t want to finish our lives with regrets.
It is easy to fritter away our time watching TV. As Christians we are not called to stay but to go. It seems wrong to me that the latter part of our years are not used for Christian Service in some way – there is no retirement in this life as a Christian – we have all probably heard that before – for once we have finished this life it will be to enter into our rest. It is not always possible for us to go somewhere; whether physically or whether financially so we all need to find out God’s call on us: one calling that stands out is to be an intercessor.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon us and somewhere in these two verses is our calling.
There has always been a sense of God’s call on my life as it ought to be for all of us but there was always a sense it was going to be more specific. About 20 years ago I started to read the book of Romans that we have already heard through Roy. Chapter 1.1 says: “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God”. No sooner had I read it that that voice spoke to me and told me to put my name instead of Paul’s. There is absolutely no way I would have even imagined to have done that. Since that time I have been in church work or leadership position.
As for the specific call to this church it started with looking for a house just down the road from here. Irena noticed this church – I did not. [What I noticed was something that looked like a prison!] Afterwards whilst in the bath I was asking God what was I doing here instead of Macedonia where he had originally called me and where I was once a missionary (and which is another story!) - no sooner had I finished saying this to God Irena came in and told me she had found this Church on the internet. After my bath I looked up the website. Across the top of the site it said: We hope that someone will heed the Macedonian Call and come and help us. And that is how I came to Ely Baptist Church.
A verse I shared at my valedictory which I have printed out on my bookshelf says this: Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. (1 Chron 28.20)
And only this morning I read these verses confirming again to me his call to the work and with which I finish perhaps also confirming God’s call on your own life:
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent?