Plenary Session 1, September 23, 2024
We need the entire body of Christ for the mission of Christ. Worst line we could say – ‘I don’t need you’.
…But we do need each other. We are in this together, and we cannot do this without each other. We become 99% more effective when we need each other. God can certainly do His work in and through all of us, no matter who we are.
We’re to declare and display Christ. We ought to be more vocal and more visible in the World, to declare and to display Christ.
We should declare and display Christ – not in fear, but in awe; Not in competition, but in collaboration. Declaring Christ in the Gospel is more than mere communication or creation of content; it’s contextualized.
We should be faithful where we are, but we should know that every Christian being faithful where they are will not be enough to see the Great Commission fulfilled. We need to work together, in order for us to make an impact to the descending trajectory of sharing the Gospel.
We may be decentralized and autonomous, with our own identities. However, we should not forget – rather, we should continually realize that our own identity is further enhanced and specified and clarified, the more we work with each other.
When the Gospel is beautifully displayed, it becomes effective. It takes our being humble and our being intentional to display and declare the Gospel beautifully.
I hate to admit this, but when we DO work with each other, we are led to ‘give up’ some of our own desires and habits – or, whatever does make us decentralized and autonomous from one another. When it is mentioned that way, sure, it sounds painful… but, again, we should not forget – rather, we should continually realize that the ‘enhancement’ of our identity does not merely imply adding value, but also the removal of obsolete programming, seasonal thinking, and so on.
That may be painful, but it is still necessary. We work together, for ourselves, and for each other.
7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
Revelation 19:7-8
We declare Christ as an effective church, and we display Christ as a beautiful bride.
On Collaborative Action
Consider the Tower of Babel vs Nehemiah’s Rebuilding of the Walls. Also, that Christ disclosed the Great Commission to a group of people versus just one individual.
Collaboration is a response to who God is and how God has made his people. A mind blowing way to think about the imperative to collaborate — to partner — to work together. – Greg Jao
Honestly, it’s pretty painful and it’s pretty costly. We do acknowledge our need to be humble, and to let go of our own agendas to make space for others.
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’Acts 2:1-21
Rev. Dr. Femi Adelye speaks:
Every generation of Christians in every place receives the power of the Spirit that makes possible the witness to the Gospel ‘in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). In other words, every church, wherever it may be called to share in God’s mission – A mission that is local, regional and world-wide in scope – beginning it its own ‘Jerusalem’.-Rene Padilla
Reflection on 3 Major Emphases:
- The Coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-3)
- The Response of Immediate Crowd to Evidence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:5-13)
- Proclamation as Witness to the Purpose of the Coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:14-21)
In the waiting and the praying in the upper room we see that the disciples were obedient to Christ’s command to wait for Him in Jerusalem. Not a simple task, considering the diversity that was actually present – the disciples had their different backgrounds – but they all came together, in prayer. Prayer is a non-negotiable, not only for Missions, but, personally, it’s a natural output in our walk with Christ.
Soon after the Holy Spirit came down by way of tongues of fire resting on each of their heads, followed by their speaking in various foreign tongues in the marketplace. The Reverend also mentions Azusa Street and other events where we see the ‘coming’ of the Holy Spirit.
In each of these events, the people were as the people in the marketplace – diverse… but all of them marvelled at the work of the Holy Spirit. We see that the Gospel is for all nations. The goodness of God enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit is for ALL nations.
And they were not only amazed, but they also heard the ‘wonderful works of God’. And some of them may have mentioned these folks were drinking new wine… but this was not necessarily the END of the event. See, Peter then spoke to all of them, no matter how they reacted:
He emphasized that what just happened was a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. Jesus who was killed and crucified but is risen from the dead, and God has made Jesus Lord and the Christ!
To this, the crowd responded – ‘what shall we do?’ Peter’s response to their conviction was for them to repent and to be baptized.
At this point, it was emphasized – Repentance must continue to be preached. However, a good majority of the folks around the world watching with me virtually seemed to be together in what I’m calling a ‘limited’ perspective to repentance – that is, feeling bad for your sin primarily.
The Holy Spirit came as promised – He came as signs and wonders. Signs and wonders are essential to the missions… but they MUST not be the END in themselves. Miracles are not enough if Christ is not proclaimed… and repentance and baptism follows. Repentance must continue to be preached. Christ is the goodness of God which leads to repentance.
Our proclamation and thanksgiving shouldn’t stop at our answered prayers, but bringing the focus back to the One who made the signs and wonders possible in the first place.
The Holy Spirit has taken such a critical role in the book of Acts. He moves in our display (to catch the attention of the marketplace) and declaration (to proclaim Christ to one and all).
This same Spirit moves in our world today! It has impacted nations and communities throughout the generations, and it moves in and through us today. Jesus and the Holy Spirit – They are the same, yesterday, today and forever.
The Holy Spirit transcends cultural dictates. But I’m honestly challenged to believe in the signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit… I’m not doubting! Rather, I’m excited to see and realize His move in today’s day and age, compared to what we have seen in Scripture.
We should never hope that the mission goes ahead of the Spirit’s movement.
The Role of Repentance in Missions
Sarah Bruel speaks
Repentance paves the way for revival: 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, Acts 3:19-20
The Bible is a collection of stories of repentance. Repentance precedes prayer, and prayer precedes the move of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit transcends cultural dictates, and facilitates the revival of societal change.
What is revival?
John Wesley states: ‘We are desperate for plain, Scriptural Christianity.’
Jonathan Edwards says it is ‘Intensification and acceleration of the normal operations of the Holy Spirit’.
Finally, Tim Keller shares that ‘when revival happens, sleepy Christians wake up, nominal Christians get converted, and the far to reach are dramatically brought to faith.’
We posture for revival, we pray for revival, and we continually repent to remove impediments.
At this point, this lady’s points and the heart behind them are putting emphasis on all the works followed with appeal to emotions, and to end with ‘to God be all the glory’.
But hold on. She does mention something nice regarding how Christ is the head of the Church – of all nations, from the North, South, East and West; We’re not in a post-Christian phase, she says, but we’re all in a pre-Revival phase… and this all seems to be a call for global repentance.
I’m in the breakout room right now and there’s a lot of calling for repentance FROM stuff – pride, complacency, lacking sense of urgency, apathy, and so on. When I was finally brought into a proper breakout room, I spoke out for all in attendance to consider repentance TO or FOR stuff – humility, passion, having a sense of urgency, empathy, and so on.
It was only at the very end that we were asked – How is the Holy Spirit working in your own community? I still have no answer for this.
Personal questions to ponder on, and to challenge others with:
- What do you think about how we should be saying ‘We need each other’ instead of ‘I don’t need you’?
- What have you been told repentance was, and what do you think repentance is after your own experience with Christ?
- How is the Holy Spirit working in your individual life, and in your city, your region, and your country?
God bless us more and more, as we continue to collaborate with the body of Christ, all over the world. This is exciting, let me tell you.
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