Missions Conference 2021
November 14, 2021

It is Time to Finish the Mission

Jonah 1:1-7 (NLT)

Stand Alone Message | Mick Veach | lead pastor | first aired on 11.14.2021

I. Introduction

Read Scripture
1 The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”

3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.

4 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. 5 Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.

But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. 6 So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”

7 Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. —Jonah 1:1-7

A. Do I have what it takes to finish the mission of Jesus?

B. Our Excuses are numerous

  1. I don’t know the bible
  2. I am struggling in my life
  3. I am shy
  4. I don’t want to be rejected

C. My story

  1. Born and raised in a small town in Indiana never saw anything beyond that town until the age of 17

    a. Grace Anderson reached out to me
    b. Do you remember when you experienced Jesus?
    C. Honduras—Gen 12:1-3

  2. Prayer groups changed me and the world

    a. Taylor University
    b. Columbia
    c. USSR fell and Albania opened up

D. What does the bible say about the Mission of Jesus?

  1. Romans 10:13-15
  2. Matthew 28:18-20
  3. Acts 1:8

E. Three Truths from Jonah that will help us to Mission the Finish


II. Three Truths found in the Jonah Story

A. God is

  1. Question—why is this story in the bible?

    • God has chosen to us people
  2. V. 2—Jonah GO

    a. To the hated Assyrians
    b. Can’t choose your mission

  3. He has always been calling, He was calling before Jonah and God has been calling since Jonah

    • Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah
  4. 2 Chronicles 16:9—The eyes of the Lord…

  5. Matthew 24:14—Finish the mission and go home

  6. Examples

    a. William Carey
    b. Haystack Revival
    c. Missionaries with their coffins

  7. Question is not is God calling but are you listening?

  8. Colombia 1987—Acts 20:24—are you willing to die?

  9. Azerbaijan—5 Christians amongst 8 million

  10. Jonah ran from his call

    a. He would rather die than obey God’s call
    b. Go to Nineveh
    c. Jonah runs from his call—to a boat

  11. Are you running from his call on your life?

  12. Sin of Omission is screaming at the church today

Key Point—God is calling all his children into his mission

B.

is Required

  1. Jonah’s disobedience is a lesson for all of us

    • V. 16—in his disobedience an entire ship makes vows to God
  2. 3:2—God gives Jonah a second chance

    a. A large fish is God’s mercy to Jonah
    b. Jonah agrees to go Nineveh

  3. Example of Obedience

    a. Standing up for Jesus in high school led to obedience in college
    b. 9/11 in Azerbaijan—tough obedience
    c. Many stories of my obedience
    d. I am at KCC out of obedience

  4. Trust and Obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus

  5. Many say the following about obedience

    a. God is a joy kill
    b. He will make me go to Africa and live in a hut

  6. Obedience has a cost

    a. Jesus said pick up your cross
    b. The cost of Azerbaijan and Detroit
    c. Samuel Lamb
    d. Baton being Passed

  7. Obedience leads us into messy relationships

    • John 8—drop the stones

Key Point—Jesus calls us to obey in all areas of our life

C. God Turns

to Victories

  1. 3:10—The entire city turns to God

    a. It was impossible but God came through and an entire city repented
    b. Jonah did not even care

  2. Numbers 13—only 2 declared we can see the impossible possible

    a. KCC we can do this

    1. Develop our housing
    2. Reach out into our community
    3. Woodfield
    4. Friendship house
    5. Streams of Hope
    6. Hand2Hand
    7. Mission trips
    8. India
    9. Mozambique
  3. God wants to the impossible through you

    • Do you believe God can do the impossible?
  4. God is calling us to reach the Unreached

    a. 10/40 Window
    b. Back to Jerusalem Movement
    c. South Koreans

  5. Matthew 9:37-38—All we need is laborers

  6. A new generation is being raised up to finish the mission

  7. DL Moody—the World has yet to see…

  8. William Carey—Expect great things…

  9. Biblical Support

    a. Rev. 7:9
    b. Is 6—whom shall I send?

Key Point—God makes the impossible Possible!

III. Call to Action

A. Pray—Break my heart for what breaks Yours
B. Go on a short term trip
C. Pray for missionaries

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