Report back to church

  Acts 21:15-25; 4/14/2024; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang

 Introduction

Today’s scripture brings us to a topic that we may not be familiar with in the past but is very important, which is missionary debriefing.  In the past, the missionary model had varying impacts on the church and believers, and even had mixed effects, both good and bad. Therefore, we need to go back to the Bible to see the impact of missionaries’ reports on our future.  Let’s look at the first point:

 Preparations for entering the city

As a missionary, his mood is complicated, full of gratitude and expectation, or even fear and uneasiness, right?  Paul and his party had finished their third missionary trip and were about to return to Jerusalem.  Starting from the detour through Macedonia, the Holy Spirit reminded Paul along the way that he would encounter persecution and even pay the price with his life when he returned to Jerusalem.  First, the determination to die.  This is a truth that I failed to understand when I was a missionary many years ago.  This is a path of no return that should be pursued with the determination to die.  Why?  Because missionaries have touched Satan’s cheese and shaken the devil’s camp.  If Paul had not come out to preach, the Jerusalem church would have been “step by step” to “protect the territory and the people” there.  Just think about what it would be like?  ？ At least there would be no church history of more than two thousand years. The gospel might not spread to the west, but to the east.  What kind of picture would that be?  Therefore, the church should support missionaries with great trust, so that missionaries can have the grace to regain their strength when they come back to report on their work.

Secondly, a normal mentality.  As a missionary, it is very important to maintain a normal mind.  Don’t feel as if just because you are a missionary you are spiritually proud and look down upon the humbleness of the church.  I remember that at my mission sending ceremony in Hong Kong, a speaker said that he admired missionaries more than pastors.  After listening to it, I felt a little light-headed, and subconsciously I had the illusion that the church owed me something.  In fact, this path is God’s call to missionaries and has nothing to do with anyone else.  As Brother Bian Yunbo said:   “It is my hands that are willing to give up the enjoyment of the world, and it is my feet that are willing to run on the road of suffering, even putting myself on the altar of death unconditionally!”  Ordinary hearts, ordinary people , do unusual things!  Do you want to?

Finally, stay with the Mnason family for a while.  It had been ten years since Paul left Jerusalem, and the personnel and environment were already somewhat unfamiliar.  Therefore, Paul’s residence in Jerusalem was provided by the disciples in Caesarea.  Mnason was a large family in Jerusalem and could accommodate ten people at the same time.  Some translations say that Mnason and a few disciples from Caesarea accompanied Paul back to Jerusalem.  This shows that Mnason knew that Paul was about to be imprisoned and was prepared that he might be implicated.  Such tests have always existed and happened around us.  Pastor Cao Sanqiang was sentenced to seven years in prison.  His mother was in her eighties and traveled between Yunnan and Changsha.  The brothers and sisters in the local church have also contacted many parties and are not afraid of the intimidation of the antiChrist regime.  Let’s look at the second point.

 Ministry sharing

When missionaries return to the church, it is indispensable to share their knowledge and experiences in the missionary field.  More importantly, what missionaries share is the church’s participation and commitment in missionary work.  First of all, meet each other happily.  After ten years of not seeing each other, the love for each other is clearly visible on their faces.  The Jerusalem church has been in the church for ten years, and James is still there, as are some of the familiar elders.  For missionaries, this is a comforting thing.  Not only the leaders of the church,   but also the brothers and sisters of the church, whether familiar or unfamiliar, also rejoiced together.  When members in the Lord see each other, they get not only happiness, but a deeper joy, which is joy in God.  Joy comes from the core values ​​​​of faith in Jesus Christ, and the situation of life will not be changed by temporary happiness or gain or loss.

Secondly, share missionary matters among the Gentiles. With ten years of missionary experience, I believe that the records in the Bible can be summed up in one stroke.  In verse 19,  “After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ”  If it were at a gathering, how could it be possible to explain everything clearly?  It is estimated that they will inevitably talk about parting ways with Barnabas, and also use this to understand the current situation of Barnabas and Mark, so as to understand each other’s longing for each other.  Mnason was a native of Cyprus and a fellow countryman with Barnabas.  God’s arrangement for Paul to live in Mnason’s house must have had this profound meaning.  The addition of Mnason‘s name, which means memory (Μνάσων/Mnason) paved the way for Paul to re-accept and use Mark in the future.

Finally, give glory to God together.  The Bible says: “And when they heard it, they glorified God.”  This is the law of mutual interaction in the spiritual life of the church!  How to say this?  When members of the church share the grace of the Lord, we should not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving, let our requests be made known to God.  This is what we often hear from brothers and sisters: Thank the Lord!  Why thank the Lord?  It’s because the glory goes to the Lord!  Why should we thank the Lord when glory is given to the Lord?  Because when glory goes to the Lord, peace comes to those whom God loves!  There should be opportunities to continue sharing in the coming time, and everyone will feel the same spirit, and experience the filling of the Holy Spirit.  Let’s look at the third point:

Clarification of concepts

When spiritual people meet, it is not necessarily the case that everyone agrees on everything, let alone that they all hold the same views.  In particular, the early church had more than a hundred years of debate surrounding the relationship between the law and the gospel!  First, the observance of the law.  In church Sunday school or fundamental truth classes, we may hear about the relationship between the law and the gospel, right?  The gospel saves people, but the law kills people, right?  Of course!  Because the function of the law is to make people aware of their sins and that they are sinners.  And apart from the gospel given by Christ, there is no hope!  As a result, people can easily come to a paradox, that is, there is no need to keep the law!   even do whatever you want, violate laws and disciplines, and steal or rob things in stores without having to bear legal responsibility!  James and elders then said to Paul: You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law.  This means that although you preach the gospel among Gentiles, you should know the need to keep the law, right?

Secondly, obedience to the law.  In the Jerusalem church at that time, some people were somewhat reluctant to Paul’s preaching of the gospel among the Gentiles.  The apostles also relayed what they heard to Paul: “you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.”  This is an undercurrent in the mood of the church, a sign of both church weakness and satanic destruction.  Usually the church’s attitude is to calm down the church’s emotions first and then deal with other issues slowly.  James and the elders certainly knew that these were unfounded disturbances, but when problems arise, the church’s difficulties are often due to the inability to find so-called evidence and its inability to deal with them.  Therefore, settling the matter has become a high probability option.

Finally, the original meaning of the law.  The apostles’ approach involved compromise, clarification, and adherence to gospel principles.  It happened that four of the people with Paul were Gentiles and had the desire to keep the law.  He took them to perform cleansing ceremonies and satisfy all the requirements of the law.  To what end?  The Bible says: “Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.” This is the church’s approach to showing sympathy to the weak members, and it is often handled this way in today’s churches.  However, James and the members remembered the rules established together at the Jerusalem Council in chapter 15: “But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.  (Acts 21:25)” The reason is simple: the original purpose of the law is to make people believe in Christ and be saved!

 Conclusion

Thank God! Unexpectedly, Paul would have to face so many challenges when he returned to the church to report on his work!  But, thank the Lord, because everything comes from God, and nothing is impossible for Him!  May God give us a missionary mentality, live out the missionary aspirations, and bear a beautiful witness for the Lord in this empty and rebellious era!

Let us pray……

 

Acts 21:15-25

15 After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 

16 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 

18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 

19 After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 

20 And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, 

21 and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. 

22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 

23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 

24 take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. 

25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,[a] and from sexual immorality.”