Well, if you have your Bible, please open it to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. 1 Corinthians chapter 16. We're going to look at the first nine verses of chapter 16. 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verses 1 through 9. I'll read through these verses and we'll pray together. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me. I will visit you after passing through Macedonia for I intend to pass through Macedonia and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter so that you may help me on my journey wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost for a wide door for effective work has opened to me and there are many adversaries. Let's pray together. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we come now to declare, not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be glory, because of your love and your faithfulness to us. Father, it's been said that the gospel is clear enough for a child to understand, and yet at the same time, it is profound enough for the the wisest theologians, the most intelligent theologians to never plummet its depths. And so Father, as we come now, we ask that you would help us to understand your gospel in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior, particularly as it pertains to our relationships with one another as well as around the world. So Father, we ask that your spirit would come and speak to your church. and help us to have ears to hear. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, this morning we're going to begin to consider God's calling on our lives individually, as a church, as well as it pertains to global missions. the gospel of Jesus Christ extending to the nations of the world. Last week, Dr. Koistra opened God's Word as it speaks of faith promise giving, if you were here. But today, as you walked in, I hope you noticed some things just a little bit different in the narthex. different flags from around the world and different pictures of different people from around the world. So really a quick airplane view over the next five weeks in the life of our church. We want to engage God's world as we exalt God together and equip, God equips us for the work of the ministry. Our prayer as a pastoral staff is for us, again, individually, but also as a church collectively, that we would grow in connecting with our missionaries, that we would grow in praying for missions, that we would grow in giving toward missions, and also that some of us, God would raise up from our congregation, that we would go cross-culturally to the mission field. Now, funny thing is, is we've always, well, not always, but for the past several years, many years, we've had this prayer as a pastoral staff and a leadership of the church as it pertains to the mission conference. These are our objectives or they're our goals for having a mission conference to begin with. And that is connecting, praying, giving, and going. But the funny thing is, is that is actually going to be our outline as we consider this passage this morning. One of our theme verses for the conference this year is 1 Corinthians 16, 9, where Paul says, for a wide door for effective ministry has been opened to me, but there are many adversaries. I know it might seem just a little bit obscure for our theme, but as I've been studying and preparing for this conference, I've sensed the Holy Spirit speaking powerfully through this little verse to our church, specifically in ministry and in missions. But before we get to where we are as a church, let's consider the context that Paul wrote to in this specific letter in 1 Corinthians. So the first thing I want to look at is sincerely yours, Paul. Our passage this morning, it's at the end of this letter that he wrote to the church at Corinth. If you remember a few weeks ago, Travis preached on 1 Corinthians 15, the chapter right before our passage. And I want to highlight just a few things that he said when he preached on 1 Corinthians 15. He sets us up well. This is what he said. He said, Paul covers various different ideas in this entire letter. He looks at things like divisions in the church, food sacrifice to idols, immorality, marriage, love, spiritual gifts. Travis said, it's like a teacher that kind of opens the floor up for a Q&A session. And as Paul ends his letter, he wants them to remember the most important of all, and that is the gospel of Christ. Chapter 15, the first few verses. And then Paul walks through the resurrection of Christ, the most important event in the history of the world, and what the resurrection of Christ means for Christians. Now, after all the theological Q&A heavy lifting that Paul does, chapter 16 is basically, sincerely yours, Paul. I'm not sure we really use this language much anymore because nowadays we communicate in text messages and tweets and emojis. But not too long ago, people actually wrote letters. You know, letters. And they ended the letter with things like, sincerely yours, meaning genuinely or honest intentions toward the person you were writing to or toward the church you were writing to. Now, why does this matter for us this morning? I think it's small, but I think it's very important. And this is the reason why. See, a church can have solid gospel doctrine, but if it doesn't have solid gospel relationships, with the gospel culture, it will be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13. The Apostle Paul knows without love, the Corinthians are nothing and they gain nothing. So chapter 16 is the gospel relationship side of ministry. And it's the gospel missionary relationship side of ministry. See, Paul knows for him to have all the right theology means absolutely nothing unless he sincerely loves people. For us, we can have all the right answers about missions and ministry, but unless we love God and love one another, we will spin our wheels in vain. Maybe even we'll be an aroma displeasing to God. Some might even call us Pharisees if we don't love God and love one another. There was a time when people cared about what you knew, but more and more now people don't care what you know unless they know that you care. So let's consider this gospel relationship side of ministry, not only in our context here at Chestnut Mountain, but also the gospel relationship side of missions as we approach the conference. Again, gospel relationships in our church and gospel relationships in missions. And as we do this, we're gonna see our goals of the mission conference unfold. So let's begin by looking at the relational side of giving, or the first characteristic of a gospel relationship is giving, verses 1 through 4. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper. so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me." So last week, Dr. Koistra challenged us in faith promise giving for global missions. And his text last week was 2 Corinthians chapter 8, the second letter. But what we've just read brings a little bit more light for us as God's people. So the need here is for another church that's in Jerusalem. And remember last week we know that the Corinthians, they were quite wealthy. Paul has encouraged other churches to give. Think of some type of mercy fund for them to give to the church in Jerusalem. So he encouraged churches in Macedonia, in Philippi, Thessalonica, and in Berea, and they gave out of their poverty. And so Paul here is encouraging the Corinthians to give out of their riches. Now, make no mistake, rich or poor means nothing to the Lord. but the life devoted to Jesus gives to others because Jesus gave his life for us. Now, friends, this is a very practical part of the Christian life, giving. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul calls it an act of grace in verse 7. That is, gracing others with what they don't deserve, but quite possibly what they really need. Concerning our missionaries, we call it faith, promise, giving. Not that we promise God, but that we trust God's promise in His Word that He will provide. Philippians 4, 19. See, God makes the promise in faith, promise, giving. It's not our promise. God doesn't need or want our promise. Rather, He wants our whole lives. Just as God provides for us, He doesn't need us to provide for others, but He delights to use us to provide for others because He connects us with His work around the world. Faith promise giving is an act of grace in our lives when we give because we don't deserve to be a part of God's work around the world. We're not entitled to join in with Him around the world, but we really need it because it moves us outside of ourselves and it connects us relationally. It moves us closer to the heart of God for the lost around the world. So, how do we give like this? Well, Paul tells us, it's quite simple. On the first day of the week, put something aside, store it up as each of you prospers. and then they'll gather it all together and give to those who are lacking. In faith promise giving, I often fear that we think that our faith promise is going to come through like shazam, boom, there it is, magically fall from the sky or something, or we just all of a sudden find an amount of money that we promised. And maybe it can happen like that for some of us. But probably, most of the time, I think it's just little by little, week by week, store it up, put it aside, gather it together, and give. See, Paul's heart for the church in Jerusalem is to meet their needs, while his heart in the church for Corinth is to meet their spiritual needs. Both of these happen because God's people give. The body of Christ grows stronger in relationships when God's people give. The second thing I want to look at is the second characteristic of a gospel relationship is connecting. Let's read verses five through seven. Paul says, I will visit you after passing through Macedonia for I intend to pass through Macedonia and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter so that you may help me on my journey wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now just in passing, I hope to spend some time with you. So a couple of things are happening here. One, it's just real simple travel plans for Paul. What's most practical for Paul as he visits different churches. But the second thing that's happening here is Paul is longing to spend some significant quality time with the church that he loves in Corinth. So Paul will stay in Ephesus for a time, we'll get to this in a minute, but then he'll pass through the churches in Macedonia, that's Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, on his way to Corinth. And so Paul passes through some churches, but he actually stays in Corinth, probably for about three months or so. So the question is, why would Paul pass through some, but stay for a time at another? Well, every church has different needs. And for this journey, Paul's third, he realized the need to spend some extra time with the Corinthians. We know from the question and answer session of the letter, the church had some pretty significant issues going on. And some things need to be done just face to face. Some things need to be person to person. Notice here, Paul's not taking the money from one church to the other. He actually wants the Corinthians to take the money from their church to Jerusalem. He wants them to do it themselves. And he'll join them if needed. Why is that? Well, because some things need to be done face-to-face and person-to-person. Think about it this way. Think about what happened with Zoom during COVID. According to an article just a few weeks ago, Zoom is cutting another 150 people from its workforce. The article said this, Zoom exploded in popularity at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as workers turned to the video conferencing platform to stay in touch with colleagues, friends, and family. But as the pandemic subsided and many workers returned to in-person roles, Zoom stock has plummeted. Currently, Zoom shares are down about 10% this year and have dropped almost 90% from their record high in October of 2020. Face-to-face is better than Zoom. Or think about it this way. You know, I could actually ask chat GPT to have written my sermon for me this morning. And maybe I could have gotten a robot to come up here and preach, and I could just sit down. Hopefully, you think face-to-face is better. Maybe we could just, I mean, John Piper is an incredible preacher on missions. Maybe we could just cast his video up on our screens and let him preach on missions this morning. But hopefully, face-to-face, person-to-person is better. See, as our missionaries come to visit us during the mission conference, or they could come on home ministry assignment, our time together is important. It's relational. It's real. It's face-to-face. It's person-to-person. This is not just another event in the life of our church. It's not just another program for our church. See, we have an agreement with all of our missionaries that we partner with. And that agreement is this. Anytime they come to this area, We will always give them FaceTime in front of you so that they can talk to you, so that you can see them, so that they can see you, so that you can pray for them, so that you can connect with them relationally. Our desire is that you would really connect with our missionaries. When you spend quantity time and quality time with someone, you get to know them. They become real, not just another number or not just another name on the back of the worship guide. I just had the privilege to visit Alex and Maggie Halbert in Honduras just a couple months ago. And I'll tell you, it was really good to connect with them. It was good to meet the people that they minister with and to, it was good to see all those that they serve beside. And so I had a really good time seeing the ministry there, but it was even better to be able to spend some time with Emma Kate, William, Warren, and Wallace, who they actually call Wally. Wally is the young one there in the middle, and he rules the house. But I also got to spend some time with their Great Dane puppy, Stella. And I can imagine that Stella is much, much bigger now. So Wally and Stella rule the house. See, our missionaries, for the most part, are willing to let us into their lives, to be a part of their lives, to connect with them. And you know what that creates? It creates friendship. And you know what friendship is? It's the opposite of adversary. Next, I want us to look at a phrase at the end of verse 7 and consider the third characteristic of a gospel relationship. That is going, going with the gospel. That phrase there is, if the Lord permits. Paul knew his plans were subject to change. He knew Proverbs 16, 9, the mind of a person plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. See, the Lord opens doors and He closes doors. So I want to challenge all of us at CNPC with this phrase, if the Lord permits. Maybe you can write it on your bathroom mirror and think about it when you brush your teeth in the morning and at night. Or maybe you can put it on a screensaver on your phone. But let that phrase sit in your heart and in your mind over the next five weeks. If the Lord permits. Because I want to ask you, what do you have planned for your life? What do you have planned for your family, or your future, or your career? What do you have planned for this church transition that we're going through? What are your plans? See, most people get frustrated when their plans don't work out the way they expected. Most people get upset when change takes place. But what if we had over our lives the banner that said, if the Lord permits, meaning God's plans are higher than our plans. God's changes are better than our changes. If the Lord permits means we follow what the Lord has for our lives and our families and our futures. And we follow what the Lord has for this church. If the Lord permits means we follow the Lord as we go. It's what it means for us to go in a gospel relationship, to follow the Lord in ministry or in mission. So what does that look like? Well, I don't know. You have to fill in the blank there, but God will open the door for you. Here are a few thoughts. Maybe you go by opening your home to your neighbors and extend hospitality to them. Maybe you go by leading a discipleship group of teenagers. Maybe you go by serving in the nursery. Maybe you go, actually go on a short-term mission journey this year. Maybe you go by fostering a child that's vulnerable and without a family. Maybe you go by visiting one of our missionaries on the field instead of taking your normal beach or mountain vacation. Maybe you go cross-culturally as a missionary. I don't know how you go, but God does, and he'll open the door for you. As you're going, carry the gospel of Jesus with you. Consider now praying for one another in gospel relationships. Let's look at verses eight and nine, praying for one another in gospel relationships. Paul says, but I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost. for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." Paul is about to make his way to see the Corinthians, but for now he's going to stay in Ephesus because God has opened a door for him to minister there. God's hand was moving, he was working, and isn't it true that when God works, Satan works, or Satan attempts to work? And so how did Paul know to stay in Ephesus or to leave and go somewhere else? How do you and I know to stay or to go? To serve here or to serve cross-cultural? Well, first, if we're living under the banner that says, if the Lord permits, God will open those doors for us. And He'll close other doors for us. But the only way we will notice the door is by praying and following His Spirit where He is working. Later on, I want you to look at Acts 19. We're not going to turn there, but in Acts 19, we find Paul in Ephesus, where he said he was going to stay for a time. And in verse 11 in Acts 19, it talks about how God was working extraordinarily through Paul, but Satan was also working as well. In verse 9, there's slander in the church. In verse 13, there's evil spirits. In verse 19, there's magical arts. In verse 23, there's false gods and greed. In 28, there's a riot. All of these we're taking away from God's work in Ephesus. The remedy is what we acknowledged earlier in our declaration of truth. Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus and this is what he says in chapter 6. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. So how do we wrestle against this present darkness? With the whole armor of God as we pray. So in ministry and in missions, praying for one another in gospel relationships is crucial. And think about our context just for a second. God has opened a wide door here at Chestnut Mountain for effective work. Over the next five weeks, you're gonna hear how God is moving. You're gonna hear how he's working and you're gonna be amazed at what he's doing. And you'll be excited to celebrate his faithfulness to his church. But there are many adversaries. Many who oppose God's work, there are enemies, namely the schemes of the devil. Satan uses things like doubt and distrust. He uses bitterness and unforgiveness. He uses miscommunication and frustration. He uses superiority and pride. But you know, Satan's crafty and he also uses good things too. He uses good things so he can distract us from God's work. He uses our families and our finances to distract us from what God's doing. He makes our entertainments become entitlements. And he makes our leisure time become laziness. Good things become greater things when Satan wants to redirect our focus from what God wants to do here in his church. And so we must be in prayer for one another during this time of transition in our church because God has opened a wide door for effective ministry. But now I want to consider our missionaries. We must pray for them. It's crucial that we pray for them. Satan will attack anything and everything, those on the front lines of God's work around the world. Mental health, financial health, physical health, an older parent's health, a child's health, war in the country, teammates who can't work together. All of these have impacted our missionaries just over the last year, and just our missionaries. We've lost missionaries to each of these areas over the last year, but the big one, COVID. When I look back at the beginning of 2020, Chestnut Mountain Presbyterian Church has lost 17 missionary units. These missionaries left the mission field. 14 of those 17 units, they're not with us anymore. They've actually left missions completely. And the remaining three, in the next couple of years, they're gonna retire and they'll be off the mission field also. None of those left directly because of COVID, but COVID has changed the world of missions. Think about it this way, in 2023, just last year, our church had 52 missionary units in 25 countries around the world. Currently, this year, we have 45 missionary units in 21 countries around the world. Jesus says the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few and the laborers are declining. The day of prayer and fasting for global missions on March the 9th is one of the most important, if not the most important days during this season of our church. Daily prayer, daily seeking to follow God through the open doors. So as we close our time this morning, remember these four characteristics of gospel relationships, connecting, giving, praying, and going. These are one another passages for us as a church. And my prayer is for all of us to consider each of these areas as we move closer to the mission conference. What we do with our missionaries should really just be a natural extension of what we do here in the church. A few weeks ago, Mark and Natalie, some of our missionaries that are in the Middle East, they came to visit us for the first time. They've never been here, but they were able to come a couple weeks ago. Many of you heard from them. They actually had to flee the field that they were on and they're not going to return because of the war in their country. Thankfully, they're seeking out other fields, another team to go to, but we need to pray for them because they're looking for stability because they have a young family with small children and they want to serve long-term in the Muslim context. When they were here, they shared with us a story about Muhammad and his family. Muhammad's family fled Syria and has been living in that particular country for about eight years. It's been a struggle for them to survive, and currently Muhammad is working a construction job lifting heavy metal beams for 12 hours a day, making $1.50 an hour. That's $1.50 an hour. Muhammad and his wife actually became believers in Jesus Christ at different times. This is how his wife came to Christ. She was connecting with a local church that was extending mercy to her through aid boxes, things like food and supplies for refugees. And this church invited her to come to church to attend their gathering. When she finally decided to go, she definitely didn't tell her husband. but she was captivated by this Jesus that they spoke about. And she began to follow him. Her secret from her husband was found out when someone saw her going to church and that person told Muhammad, her husband. And so Muhammad immediately sent her and his children back to Syria to his family. And when they got there, the family began to persecute them because of their new beliefs. One day while his family was away, Muhammad was walking by the same church that was extending this aid and he heard singing inside the church, people singing to God and he was just baffled because that doesn't happen in a mosque. And so he listened and found himself there the next week hearing about Jesus for the first time and he was asking lots of questions and he too soon became a Christian. And so as the wife and children are in Syria, they were planning in complete secrecy a way for them to flee Syria once again, to flee the family and escape to be back in this country. And so they made the trek over the mountains again. They made it to the city where Muhammad was again. And Muhammad learned about their arrival and he met them and he welcomed them into their home. That's the story of God's grace. Fleeing a country twice. Mark and Natalie, our missionaries, actually were invited to Muhammad and his family's house for dinner one night when they were serving on the field there. And this is the way they told us in Sunday school. They said, the sun was almost completely set, and as we parked our car, we all had to get out our flashlights to navigate our way to this home. As we walked from the main dimly lit road to a small dark alleyway, the lights from the city fell to reach our steps. As we walked, we took a left turn down an even more narrow and darker alley, and yet again, we turned right onto another. The alley was so tight, you could easily touch buildings on either side of you. The ground was full of puddles from the rain, broken glass, and trash that had been thrown out. As we approached Muhammad's home, we had to stoop down and knock on an old metal door that was only visible with our flashlights. As the door opened, the alley flooded with light from his home. Let me say that again. As the door opened, the alley flooded with light from his home. See, Mohammed now teaches the Bible in his home, asking neighbors and friends to come and hear what he learns at this church. He jokes by saying he wants to put a sign over his door that reads Mohammed's Church, so that everyone will feel welcome to come in and hear about who Jesus is. Friends, God will open the doors. In fact, He has opened the door. And when the door is opened, the light of the gospel will shine. But join me in praying, because there are many adversaries, and the task of the gospel of Jesus going to the nations is unfinished. Let's pray together. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we pause now to pray that You would continue to direct our hearts to your heart for the nations. Father, we pray that you would stir in us a desire to connect and give and pray and go in one another's lives with the gospel of Christ here in this church. And we pray that you would do the same as we connect with our missionaries. Father, we want to see the gospel of Christ extend to the nations of the world. Help us as we prepare to see you in all your glory. And we ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen.