Go With Purpose

Okay. ♪ Rumors of the Son of Man ♪ ♪ Stories of a Savior ♪ ♪ Holiness with human hands ♪ ♪ Treasure for the traitor ♪ ♪ Nowhere is heard, no eye is seen ♪ ♪ The image of the Father ♪ ♪ Till heaven came to live with me ♪ ♪ Rescued like no other ♪ ♪ And you are worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy of your name ♪ ♪ Yes, you are worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy of your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ You did not speak, you made no sound ♪ ♪ And you died for your accusers ♪ ♪ As your blood fell to the ground ♪ ♪ You died for your accusers ♪ ♪ As your blood fell to the ground ♪ ♪ You redefined my future ♪ ♪ On that day when you arose ♪ ♪ The darkness readied for cover ♪ ♪ For the King of kings has claimed his throne ♪ ♪ Now until forever you are worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy of your name ♪ ♪ You are worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy of your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ You're my author, my maker, my ransom, my savior ♪ ♪ My refuge, hiding place ♪ ♪ You're my helper, my healer, my blessed redeemer ♪

♪ My answer, my saving grace ♪ ♪ You're my hope in the shadows, my strength in the battle ♪ ♪ My anchor for all my days ♪ ♪ And you stood by my side, you stood in my place ♪ ♪ Jesus, no other name ♪ ♪ Only Jesus, no other name ♪ ♪ And you are worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy of your name ♪ ♪ Yes, you are worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy of your name ♪ ♪ Yes, you are worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy of your name ♪ ♪ Oh, you are worthy ♪ ♪ Yes, you are worthy of your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ You give light in Your halls ♪ ♪ You bring light to the darkness ♪ ♪ You give hope in You, Jesus ♪ ♪ Yes, you are worthy of your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ You restore every heart that is broken ♪ ♪ You are worthy of Your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ Great are You, Lord ♪ ♪ You give life, You are love ♪ ♪ You bring light to the darkness ♪ ♪ You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken ♪ ♪ Great are You, Lord ♪ ♪ It's Your breath in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise ♪ ♪ It's Your breath in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise to You only ♪ ♪ Great are You, Lord ♪

♪ You give life, You are love ♪ ♪ You bring light to the darkness ♪ ♪ You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken ♪ ♪ Every heart that is broken ♪ ♪ Great are You, Lord ♪ ♪ It's Your breath in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise ♪ ♪ It's Your breath in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise to You only ♪ ♪ And all the earth will shout Your praise ♪ ♪ Hearts will cry, these bones will sing ♪ ♪ Great are You, Lord ♪ ♪ And all the earth will shout Your praise ♪ ♪ Hearts will cry, these bones will sing ♪ ♪ Great are You, Lord ♪ ♪ And all the earth will shout Your praise ♪ ♪ Hearts will cry, these bones will sing ♪ ♪ Great are You, Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, it's Your breath in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise ♪ ♪ It's Your breath in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise to You only ♪ ♪ And it's Your breath in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise ♪ ♪ It's Your breath in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise to You only ♪ ♪ Great are You, Lord ♪ ♪ And great are You, Lord ♪ ♪ And great are You, Lord ♪ ♪ And great are You, Lord ♪

I hear the Savior say, Thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in me Thine all in all. Jesus paid it all, and all to Him I owe. And sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. Lord, now indeed I find, Thy power in Thine alone. Can change the leather spots, and melt this heart of stone. And Jesus paid it all, and all to Him I owe. And sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. And when before the throne, I stand in Him complete. Jesus died my soul to save, and my lips shall still repeat. And Jesus paid it all, and all to Him I owe. And sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. Oh, praise the one who paid my debt, And raised this life up from the dead. Oh, praise the one who paid my debt, And raised this life up from the dead. Oh, praise the one who paid my debt, And raised this life up from the dead. Oh, praise the one who paid my debt, And raised this life up from the dead. Jesus Jesus Jesus And Jesus paid it all, and all to Him I owe. And sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

And sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. My name is Mike Duras. I'm President Emeritus of Orphan Outreach. Emeritus has been my middle name this stage of my life. I have just a real passion for kids who have lost their parents around the world. There are about 150 million children that are considered orphans. We started Orphan Outreach in 2007. I just retired from a large non-profit. My plan wasn't to start a new ministry at 55, but the Lord just opened up the door and really demonstrated a real need for this type of organization. And it was a group of us that all prayed together that made the decision to go ahead and start Orphan Outreach. And I think that really the heart of our ministry is relationship. Obviously, these children have lost a parent or parents. They're in the child welfare system. They need help. Most of all, they need peace. Connection and these kids that we minister to don't have that. In fact, you would be surprised to know That children in orphanages and in the child welfare systems think it's their fault that they're there We have the opportunities of ministry to connect not only these children to adults that uniquely love them But to Jesus Christ who uniquely loves them that will be with them through everything That is the heart of our ministry It was the heart of Jesus when he ministered to the most vulnerable in society and showed him that he uniquely loved them We have that opportunity and 121 has walked with us in Honduras And really been a bulwark of support for for an hour each all this time So that we could accomplish that goal because we could be the hands and feet the representation of Christ that these kids are not forgotten That they mean something that they're uniquely loved and there's no greater joy Than to be in ministry and make something that's your passion your life's work But all it takes is walking through that door And to be able to experience those blessings Well, my name is Jermaine Arfel and I'm the student minister here at 121

I'm blessed to be able to bring you God's Word today I love that we showed this orphan outreach video to See what God's doing within orphan outreach and what he's been doing with Mike Duras It's actually a really really special It means a lot to me to see that because I've been a part of this ministry for a long time I've been a part of this ministry for a long time. I've been a part of this ministry for a long time It means a lot to me to see that because going to Honduras with 121 was the first ever global mission trip that I got to go on being here on staff at 121 and what's even cooler is that was several years ago and now Going into next this this summer my wife and my kids two of my kids are going to go and Participate in the global mission trip as well. So it's it's really cool Whether you are older or younger or a Student we are all called to go as a matter of fact Our live weekend is February 27th to the 28th And I just want to take a quick second to say to all the students grades 6 through 12 You are being called to go and invite students back into 121 to see Everything that God has to offer and to see him magnified in big big big ways And so all of that is based off of a principle or a command That Ross has started to started a couple of weeks ago in our series called sent it starts off in Matthew chapter 27 verse 37 This is our these are our anchor verses the next three verse our anchor verses This is what we are anchoring everything in this series in all the way all through the year It's in Matthew 22 starting in verse 37 Jesus says you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind This is the great and foremost commandment and the second is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself Yes, this is our anchor for everything that we are doing as a believer We have to love God first We have to have a vertical relationship with him first

And then as a result of that that will allow us to go out and love the way God loves us grace received grace Extended and then we got marching orders from Jesus Ross talked about it in Matthew chapter 28 We have marching orders and in Matthew chapter 28 verse 18 Jesus says to us and to the disciples all Authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth It is crucial that we not only understand the great command of loving God and our neighbor But it's also crucial that we understand the primary marching order Which is that God all authority has been given to Jesus and we're going to look specifically over the next couple of weeks of what that command is what our specific marching orders are and So before we get into met the rest of Matthew chapter 28 starting in verse 19 I'd like to take a moment to pray and ask God to work in our hearts. So God we thank you for rescuing us We thank you for choosing us to accomplish your divine purposes, and I pray that we would be willing in obedience to go That we would ask the question where will we go Being commissioned by you. It's in Jesus name. You pray. Amen So that's the question today for you is where will you go? You know, like I mentioned I have kids. I'm married to my wife Megan. We've been married for almost 20 years It's 14 years now, we've got four kids, and oftentimes when we go places, that is the first question, where are we going? Where are we going, dad? Whenever I say, hey, let's go, let's get in the car, that's the first question, where are we going? They don't know where they're going, but I do, and my wife knows where we're going. Oftentimes, we like to surprise them with maybe going out for a dessert treat, or sometimes, like a few years ago, we surprised them by giving them a little puzzle to have to figure out where we were going,

and they had to put the pieces together for the puzzle to know that we were going to travel to New York City. And so sometimes, just like that, we don't know exactly where to go, but we have to be willing to go. We have to be willing to understand the call, that we're all being called to go in obedience. Jesus commands us to go, and not just to go, but he calls us to go with a purpose. Go and make disciples of all nations. Go and make disciples of all nations, and we're gonna see all throughout Scripture that it's always been, God's always commanded us to go. He's commanded people like Abraham and Moses and people in the New Testament to go, going all the way out into us as well, to go, and we sometimes will have to cross cultural and spiritual boundaries that might be intimidating or confusing or scary, but he promises later on in this commission that he is always with us. And so not only do we have this commandment, we have the comfort of knowing that Jesus is with us as we are called to go, and we must trust God as we go into the world to share his good news and his name, to make his name known. So that's what we're going to look at today. We're looking at the opportunity for all of us to take advantage of what God tells us to do, which is to go, go with purpose. Jesus commands us to go with purpose into the nations.

The first thing that we need to see is that God's instructions have always been go. We can see from the earliest pages of Scripture that God advances his redemptive plan through people he intentionally sends. In Genesis chapter 12, verse one, God commands Abram to leave his land, to leave his people and his security so that all nations might be blessed through him. Look what it says in verse one of Genesis chapter 12. "'Go forth from your country and from your relatives "'and from your father's house to the land "'which I will show you, "'and I will make you a great nation. "'So you shall be a blessing.'" And then in verse four, it says, "'So Abraham went. "'He went forth just as the Lord had spoken to him.'" By the way, Abraham was 75 years old. It doesn't matter how old you are. When God tells us to go, we should go. This command requires obedience, not just partial compliance. Abraham didn't know the destination. He didn't know the timeline. He didn't really know the outcome. Yet he trusted God who sent him into the world. We move on into Exodus chapter three. We look at Moses. Moses is called by God in verse 10 of Exodus chapter three.

It says, "'Therefore come now and I will send you to Pharaoh "'so that you may bring my people, "'the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.'" God commands Moses to go to Pharaoh, sending him back into the very environment tied to some of his fear and his failure. I love the story of Moses because Moses is very much like myself and maybe you. He kind of says, hey, I'm not good enough. I'm just an ordinary person. And God says, yes, but I am. I am going to use you to accomplish extraordinary things. And so there's, some of us might be feeling the way I feel sometimes when God tells me to go and do something that's uncomfortable. We might wrestle with God a little bit like Moses did. Our faith isn't always perfect sometimes, right? But if God is our Lord, then we must obey. And God consistently loves to use his people to move his mission forward through obedient movement rather than passive belief. And so that's the challenge. for us to understand is that biblical faith is it's never just staying still it's always going it's going with the purpose and when we look at scripture even into the Old Testament it's always been central to God's global plan and let's just be honest with ourselves if we're talking outside of the scripture and into everyday life we have to think about the how oftentimes we have to move into environments that are uncomfortable or make decisions not knowing what the outcome is going to be I know a lot of us we have jobs and we've had to make

major career changes in our lives I remember several years ago over a decade ago as a matter of fact being in the marketplace and Megan and I were pregnant with our second child and being called into ministry not knowing exactly what was going to lie ahead for us we had to pray and make that decision this is God's calling on our lives to move into vocational ministry and lead those to live for Jesus Christ and equip the Saints to do the work very scary at the time because we didn't know what was gonna lie ahead of us but we had to have faith in Jesus and a lot of you you have lots of different life-changing circumstances and moments that they really just happen to happen and move you out of into just a nice comfortable space you always have to consider moving into out of your comfort zone it usually means picking up and moving sometimes it can mean moving different cities it could mean moving different schools and you have to navigate these things and and figure things out as you go along the way taking risk maybe even sometimes failing or even messing up all this stuff that we have to go through in life actually prepares us and identifies things in us that we didn't know were there and so we actually have to have a little bit of faith in regards to that now when we transfer that over to what we have been talking about over the last couple of weeks and moving forward throughout the year we're talking about being sent globally a lot of us might have some fears about what that might look like but going back to our first anchor in Matthew chapter 22 if you love God and you love your neighbor and if Jesus is our Lord and Savior then we should trust in him and move and go to wherever God is calling us to go because he does have a purpose for us in those moments Abraham I call him the OG of faith he couldn't get God's full promise while parked in his hometown he literally had to walk away from familiarity understanding that his purpose was going to be revealed on the road likewise Moses he had to move into an uncomfortable space the space that he was trying to actually leave and stay away from and so Moses had to had to have faith as well in fact Moses never even got to see the promised land but that doesn't mean that God didn't use

him to accomplish his good purposes and so I beg you to consider that movement going as that we see in the command in Matthew chapter 28 go therefore and make disciples that is something that God has always instructed us to do from the very beginning and so we have to if we are really truly loving God and we truly say that he is our Lord we have to get involved we have to be faithful to Christ Great Commission which means intentionally praying about where we are going to go intentionally praying about how we are going to give and to support in sending resources to different global workers and moving outside of our own neighborhoods it is a key part of everyday obedience thinking with a global mindset and going on mission is not an add-on it is something that we have to constantly be thinking about it's a continuous commitment to see the gospel being spread everywhere and this call is not just for adults is for students is for all ages to consider and so we have to ask ourselves to help God we have to ask ourselves we have to ask God to help us see past what's comfortable and what's convenient we're called to step out in trust and to commit to a path of discipleship and service even when we don't know what the final destination is or the whole plan. We're called often to go with purpose. And that often means to cross cultural and spiritual boundaries. When we look at the story of Philip in Acts chapter eight, man, Philip, I love Philip. Philip's just an ordinary dude like me and you. God used him to do extraordinary things. In the beginning of Acts chapter eight, we see that Philip was basically starting a revival. And then God called him in verse 26 of Acts chapter eight. Hey, I'm gonna use you to do a more one-on-one discipleship, not in Jerusalem,

but out to the ends of the earth. I'm gonna use you to expand the gospel globally. It says in verse 26, but an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza. And he got up and went. What a great example of what it means to live a life focused on mission and how God intentionally pushes us. He intentionally pushes us. He will push us beyond our comfort zone in ministry. God tells Philip, hey, leave this familiarity behind. Leave this success behind. Leave everyone and go to this desert road. And he got a clear and direct command from God to leave Samaria, to leave his family and to head out to a lonely and desert road. This unexpected destination immediately shows us that God has a unique strategy sometimes. He often sends us to the least likely spots to show off his amazing power and his glory and how he wants to use us. And look, when you read along that passage, I won't read the whole thing, but read it because you'll see that Philip encounters somebody who is outside of Jerusalem, who is outside of the ends of the earth. He's an Ethiopian eunuch. And Philip doesn't second guess. He just goes, he just goes.

And his willingness to step into this new territory is an example of the type of faith that we must have when God calls us. He is calling you. Actually, he is calling you. And so we have to have that sort of faith. And we have to know that God wants to use us. Philip's journey down that desert road, I'm sure may have felt a little unproductive or even confusing. There's no crowd anymore. There's no real clear plan. There's no real visible opportunity that he can see. He's just walking. Yet as he was going, his obedience positioned him for a divine appointment with the Ethiopian eunuch. And we see he interacts with them. And we see that God uses him to lead the Ethiopian eunuch to him, to the Lord, to be saved. For us crossing cultural and spiritual boundaries, it might be difficult and it might be unfamiliar. It may also mean that we have to develop relationships with people from a different culture than what we're used to locally. And so going with a purpose also requires us to have courage and openness like Philip. I love this. Just as a quick aside, we get to see a practical example of how we can engage with someone. So I know we're thinking about being sent globally,

but even here locally from a local context in your everyday life, we see a great example of how we too are engaged with people who don't know Jesus. Because all of us wrestle with that tension of, man, it's just super awkward. I don't know if I wanna approach this particular person. I don't wanna seem weird. And what we see from Philip is number one, there's a willingness to go. There is a willingness to go. And so the question again is, are you even willing to be used by God? Are you even willing to entertain the possibility that God wants to use you tomorrow? Are you even willing to think about it? God calls Philip and he goes. He doesn't know what's around the corner. He doesn't know what he's gonna encounter, but he's willing to go. And then we see him embracing the awkward. he initiated the spiritual conversation and I know from experience initiating spiritual conversations are super awkward sometimes because people don't just open up and talk about spiritual things it's a very heavy topic and it's just weird sometimes or it can be weird sometimes even when God tees it up for us sometimes it can be weird it's you know when we're sitting on a plane right that's a great example those who are in business you might have to go travel to a different nation or a different country and you might be positioned right in the middle on your airplane you might have to be in a position where you you you have to engage with someone and sometimes everyone wants to put on their

headphones and act like they just don't want to be bothered and so there's that tension that you wrestle with but sometimes there's clear opportunities for you to engage and so if you're willing like Philip we have to be willing to embrace the awkward and also remember that it says in Ephesians 2 10 for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them so that we would go so God ordains specific moments for us and the call for us is to walk in them trusting in him and then look how he interacts with them he starts with the question so we are have to be willing to go we have to embrace the awkward and then we open up with the question he just basically says what are we reading what are you reading what do you think about that is something that you can say he doesn't run up with a sermon and starts beating him over the head with the Bible he just genuinely cares and asks a question and so would you look at Philip as an example of how to go with the purpose to be willing and open to embrace the awkward and once God puts you in a situation genuinely care and just ask a question about their faith and see where God goes with that oftentimes when I go out into the world whether it's globally or in the context of our local community or even our church the question is would you create opportunities for me to talk about you Lord and then would you give me the courage to take those opportunities it's a simple but powerful prayer and what it's really saying what we are really saying when we pray a prayer like that is we are saying we trust you God with the results that's my third point we trust God with the results we go with purpose because God has continually from the beginning we see he commands us to go not just in Matthew 28 it's all over the Bible and oftentimes we were called to go into cultural we were called to cross into cultural and spiritual boundaries and as we do we are to trust God with the results meaning following Jesus command to obey doesn't mean that we are going to see instant or obvious results and I think that also can be scary because we live in a world where that's like that's everything think about it in your job we need to see results or else with your kids we need

to see results or something's not right everything that we do is results oriented and so when we don't see it right away especially in the microwave society that we live in right now with everything happening at your fingertip in an instant if we don't see results we kind of think that something is wrong or that there is a failure and I encourage you think about Abraham think about Abraham I didn't go out into a foreign country not knowing what to expect other than to just trusting in the promises of God think about Moses who went out back to bring his people bring God's people out of Egypt and not being able to see the promised land eventually but still having to trust God with the results same with Philip they just acted not knowing exactly how things would pan out and scripture constantly reminds us that the results are really up to God we have to trust in the promise that he makes in the Great Commission to be with us this, not to have guaranteed success, but we trust God with the results, and as a result, it takes the pressure off me and you. We don't have to be a performance, we don't have to have a performance-driven faith. We just have to have obedience and trust. So the way we keep taking meaningful action is by leaning into God and submitting everything to Him, trusting that what He's doing goes way beyond what we can see or even measure. I don't know if you know, but Glenn and Mary Smith, they're our mission pastors here at 121, we've got Kevin Brooks who's leading the whole charge, but I would love for you to talk with them. They were out on mission for years, and I know that they'll tell you stories of impact that they made while they were out globally, but they would also talk to you about situations

where, man, they didn't get to see the results. Many global workers labor faithfully for years without seeing the whole fruit, yet we are still called to go with purpose and to trust God with the results because He is in charge of everything, and He is accomplishing His divine purposes. And so when we trust in Him, that enables us to go. Trust requires real commitment to God, and we have to remember that God asks us to obey. Changing hearts is not our job, that's God. Moving forward with purpose means choosing obedience. Not what's easy and not what's comfortable. We have to trust in Him. And so I hope that we are inspired by looking at different aspects of scripture to see and understand and be encouraged, and even in some cases challenged to go, but let me read you a scripture from Romans chapter 10. If you have a heart for God, going back to our anchor verse, and you have a heart for people like God does, then these verses should really compel you more than anything. So I'm gonna let the weight of scripture empower us to move forward, to go with purpose. It says, how then will they call on Him, God, in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent?

Just as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things. Another piece of scripture, Jesus said in John chapter 20, verse 21, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. We are called to go, and we are called to go with purpose. He has called us to move with intentionality, not to sit. God has ordained that now after Christ has come, that the message of His kingdom is going to happen through me and through you, everyday people, and God wants to use us as messengers. So going back to the story that I shared earlier before when we first started this, my kids are always asking, where are we going? Where are we going, Dad? The question is not, should I go? The question is where, where will you go? If you truly love the Lord, and He's truly your Savior, God is commanding you to go. Just like we've seen so many people in scripture say, the question should be, where will I go, God? Where do you want me to go? Where are we going to go? And then just like it says in Matthew chapter 11, verse four, we go and we report what we hear. We report what we hear and see. May God bless you as you consider where you will go. We have people like Kevin Brooks, Glenn Smith. Amy Hadley, Jehuda Aramor are part of our missions team. If you have questions on where you should go,

what opportunities we have at 121, I encourage you to talk with them. You can find all of this information on our website, 121cc.com. All different mission opportunities to go. You can find out and hear stories of global workers who have gone to be inspired and be encouraged, to go with a purpose. May God bless you today. Let me pray over us and then we'll go. God, thank you again for the opportunity to be used by you to go with purpose. We see that you have commanded us to do this from the beginning. And we know that we are called to go into places that might be uncomfortable from a cultural or spiritual standpoint. But we lift everything up to you because we trust you and your promises. So the question now is, Lord, where do you want me to go? Give us clarity on that and give us courage to move on it. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.