Psalm 96 3 says, declare his glory among the nations. And that's what we're celebrating this Sunday, which we're just calling Mission Sunday. Now, you might say at a church like Burnt Hickory, every Sunday is a Mission Sunday, because every Sunday we are about fulfilling the mission of God. But this is a Sunday in particular that we want to highlight and remember that we serve a global God and we are part of a global church. And to do that, we have the privilege of joining in what the Lord is doing throughout the world by going on short-term trips. So in for just the next few minutes, we're gonna introduce our 2026 short-term mission trip opportunities, and we have five new trips this year, five new locations that Burnt Hickory has never been to before that we are excited to share some of those with you. So Kimberly, what's one of the trips that you are excited about?

Yeah, I am super excited that Burnt Hickory is going to be going in 2026 to Dune Scotland. Um, dune is a, um, very small village, um, halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and they, um, report to us, the, the ministry partners there. Tell us how dark spiritually Scotland is. You know, it has a great spiritual history, but that has just gone away. There's not even a church that meets in Dune. Um, there's a church building, but it's so run down that no one meets there. And so we are going to be partnering with churches that exist and joining them in the work outside of Dune and in Dune building with the community work that's already happening there and partnering with them, helping hold up their arms as they are doing the work on, uh, for a day to day.

Another place that we're gonna go in 2026 is Senegal in West Africa. I had the chance to visit Senegal last July, and this is a country that is 93% Muslim, yet there is complete freedom to engage in Christian ministry out in the open. So great spiritual opportunity. And one of the ways that we can engage in ministry in Senegal is through sports. Now, you might be out there thinking, man, I love sports, I love participating. How does that fit into the mission of God? Well come on a trip to Senegal and use sports as a platform for sharing the gospel, for making disciples. So that trip is happening in October.

So another trip that, um, we're excited about is Niece France. Um, our partners there on the ground in France are actually old friends. I would say. We, um, know Patrick and Catherine from their ministry that they, they did as church planters in, um, New York. And if you, um, guys may remember our New York trips that we used to take, it's Patrick and Catherine became empty nesters and moved to France in the name of Jesus. Amen. And then they are, um, working really to connect churches. There are churches from Monaco to can to Nice, and they're Bible believing churches. They're Christ followers, but they don't know who else is out there. And so Patrick and Katherine are working with them to help connect them to one another so they can support one another. And that, um, it would be part of what Burt Hickory would be getting involved in, um, with evangelism and outreach with them.

Another trip opportunity in 2026 is to Romania. Now, just two weeks ago, I had the chance to visit Romania and connect with the partners that we'll be serving. So Eastern Romania, which is where we'll be, is a very impoverished part of the country, but it's also a very spiritually impoverished, uh, part as well. But man, there are faithful believers there. And we're gonna be partnering with a church that has already planted 20 churches in kind of some of the villages that surround the city of me, MEIA, which is where we'll be serving. So we're gonna have the opportunities to engage in outreach, uh, to help really build up these churches and come alongside faithful brothers and sisters. There's also a community center in Merida that serves gypsy children over 80 by giving them, uh, clean clothes and a warm meal and some extra education. So incredible opportunities to serve. And that trip will be happening in the second half of 2026. Now, Kimberly, uh, folks might be thinking, um, you know, what do I do to to, to let y'all know if I'm interested in a trip,

Right? So not all of these trips are open for registration yet, but we'll be soon. But what we need, want to do first is kind of gauge your interest. We wanna know where you feel the Lord is calling you to go, where you feel that would be a good fit as far as, um, serving. So hopefully you got a card like this today. It's got a QR code on the back. It's also in the Worship guide. You can scan that, and there's a form to fill out. And just lets us know about your interest in missions at Burt Hickory in 26 and how we can get you connected.

And what's exciting is these are just some of the new trips. We're still going to Camp Trailways to serve adults with special needs. We're still going to Kenya and Guatemala. In fact, our student trip this year is going to Kenya in May and June. And we have another trip, uh, scheduled to Guatemala. And in fact, we have our partners from Kenya and Guatemala that are here today that are gonna share in more detail what is going on in their ministries. So would you please welcome Peter from Kenya and Javi from Guatemala to the stage.

All right. All right, well, hey, we are excited Church about today. Um, number one, because it really lays down in where we've been walking through the book of Acts. Uh, we've seen the God fall in Jerusalem. We've seen it spread into Judea and Samaria. And today what we're gonna be looking at in the text today out of Acts 12 is, is really when it begins to even more spread into the end of the Earth. But before we do that, um, I just wanna have a short conversation with two of our long term just amazing partners, uh, that Lord has put in our lives. We know we have a lot of new burnt hickory people, uh, and we want to expose as many people as we can to these guys. Hey, I want you to introduce yourself, tell the church where you serve and, uh, and kind of what does the ministry you operate in Do. We'll start with you Javi.

So yeah, good morning everybody. And Luis, the Guatemala. Greetings from Guatemala. And my name is Javier, as pastor Matt just said. And we are actually serving in Guatemala City, which is, um, our, my church. We're city of Refuge, but also we serve up North Guatemala in a village called Thu with, uh, the church's, the church's name is Showers of Grace. So in both places, we have been blessed with, um, so many things, but also with the partnership that we have with you, Hickory, because in Thu, a new held, uh, compassion Center, uh, has been built for over, for more than 300 kids, and all them have been able to go to study, to be feed, and to also prepare for themselves in lives. And also in Guatemala City, we have the opportunity and the bless to being hosting many of your mission trips, um, mission trips again as well. And we have seen how the Lord has been blessed these two places with, um, your missionaries, but also with his, uh, grace and his love.

Amen. Amen. Peter, I know you've been around for a long time, but we've, uh, we've got a lot of new people. Would you introduce the church to who you are? What is happening, um, in Swahili?

Uh, praise the Lord. Good morning in Africa. When we say praise the Lord, people respond by saying, amen. Praise the Lord. Amen. Great students, um, my name is Peter Bungo from Nairobi, Kenya. Uh, this church, uh, van Hickory has come behind us, locked arms, uh, with us for the last 14 years, uh, that has allowed us to be planted in our community long term and, and really meet, uh, the needs go deep, uh, in terms of, uh, discipling and mentoring, not just young people, but pastors and weo and, and, and offerings, and, uh, provide a community that allows them to thrive and grow in their relationship with Jesus.

Amen. Yeah. Peter, what's one, looking back at the last season of ministry that you would just say, thank you, Jesus, uh, for what's happening in Nairobi?

Uh, this year we have seen tremendous harvest of souls. So, uh, through our outreach programs in, in schools, we have two programs in schools. There is the Purity Program for girls. We have over 800 girls in that program. Then we have a discipleship program called The Fast Priority. We have over 1400, uh, students, high school student in that program. And in that program alone, we've seen, um, combined, we've seen with Fast Priority and Jumbo Purity program, over 400, uh, lives surrendered to Christ. Come on. We have enlisted over 137 pastors who benefit from discipleship and training so that they can correctly divide the word of truth so that every child that comes to Christ can be planted into a healthy church. We've, we've, uh, um, served a hundred and forty, forty four widows that we meet with food baskets and encourage them and, and, uh, and help them. We've, we have, we've graduated over 120 girls this year in our Beauty Pro, uh, in our mentorship and empowerment program that allows girls to learn trade and skills to become financially independent so they're not desperate, uh, and, and, and do desperate things to survive. And so God is using, uh, so many of these, uh, ministry opportunities, uh, for us to shine his light in such a dark place.

Amen. Javi, looking back at this last season, uh, with you guys in Guatemala, man, what are we celebrating? What's happening in the ministry there?

Yeah, we also celebrate the, um, after all the activities and, and, and all the work that God has allowed us to do in both churches, um, we have seen kind of an increasement of the members of, uh, Sunday school with the kids, let's say like 50 or 20% more. Every mission, every time a mission trip comes, or missionaries come down to Guatemala because the kids get excited, the kids wanted to know more about it. And that's great because through the kids, we can affect their whole families. We can pray for them, we can acknowledge their needs, and that's been amazing through the Compassion Center as well, has been a great opportunity for sure about the gospel for sure, about the love of cats. So we have seen the increase on the more, more kids coming on Sunday school and more families also adding to the churches.

Amen. Amen. Well, some of you may know, um, and some of you might not know, is every kid that you adopt through, uh, burnt Hickory in the Compassion International Program, every one of those kids is in that one compassion center that this church has built, um, and has nurtured and has a relationship with. So anytime you get a chance to go to Guatemala, you can actually put your arm around your little compassion kid. Ours is Christopher, uh, down there, and we get to see him and give him the big high five and say hello to him. And it's been a great, great partnership, uh, with you guys. Now, uh, Javier, what is one thing looking forward, uh, that everybody here could pray for, uh, when it comes to Guatemala?

Yeah, please pray for wisdom and strength from God to keep going his work. Please pray for the ones that are on the ground doing the daily work. Jorge, is he, he cannot be here, so I'm here for him, <laugh>. So please pray for Jorge his family and, and so we can still keep going, keep doing and keep going on his word.

Amen. Peter, what's one thing looking forward that we can be praying for, for you guys at Swahili?

Well, um, number one, pray that, uh, we'll continue to hear the voice of the Lord and walk in obedience, uh, pray that those things that prick the heart of God will continue to prick our heart and cause us to respond and pray that the Lord will protect our families.

Amen. Amen. Church, I just want you to be proud, um, in a, in a good way because of how you are supporting these two guys, the ministry that is happening in these two countries. And I just beg of you to keep praying for God to move. And then also, man, I just want you to step in and go and serve. You know what, um, there is no reason to pray about it. I talked to God this week and he said, go. All right. Um, so I encourage you, however your family can fit in, uh, jump into service in one of these two places. Will you guys give them a hand for being here this week? Awesome. Awesome, awesome, man. Such good, good times. Well, hey, as we continue in our acts series, I just want to invite one of my best international friends, a brother from another mother as he says it. Um, Peter Abood to present the word this morning out of Acts chapter 11. You guys chime in. He's got a great word for us.

Uh, uh, thank you Pastor Martin. What Mark doesn't know is that, um, he's about to, uh, open a GoFund me page <laugh>, uh, to, uh, help him foot his electric electrical bill because, uh, in his basement at night has been, uh, uh, quite warm <laugh>. We've had a, we've had a warm African temperature in his basement. I am very grateful to be here this morning. Uh, receive much love from my family, uh, my wife and my my kids. Uh, miss Julie and I, we've been married, uh, uh, 20 years this past August, and yeah, thank you, thank you. Yeah. And, uh, and the honeymoon has not stopped. Uh, God has blessed us with some amazing kids. Uh, in fact, I'm usually careful not to talk too much about our kids because when I'm done, most people don't feel great about their children. <laugh>,
Uh, yeah, they're amazing. Our eldest is, uh, called Burnables James Baraka. He's is, um, about to turn 19 next weekend. And, uh, our second is called Ani. Uh, she's already, uh, 17 on the 22nd of October. And Abigail, uh, WEMA is 11. Uh, she turned 11, 11, 11 on the 22nd of October. So the birth days are 22nd of November, and two second for the girls is the same day, 22nd of October, same day and same month. It's called Good Planning <laugh>. Yeah. Uh, God has been free gracious to us. Uh, it's really been, uh, amazing to, uh, to see how, uh, when a community of people, uh, locums together and walk in unity and in purposes and understanding their calling, how God can respond and bless it for his glory. Uh, this morning, uh, I am excited to share God's word with us. If you have your Bible, turn with me in the Book of Acts chapter 11.
Are you there? If you're there, say, say Amen. Amen. If you're not there, say, oh, my. Some people are not there yet. Alright, we're gonna read from verse 19 all the way to verse 30. Uh, and it's recorded. Now, those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Steven made their way as far as Foria, Cyprus, and Antioch speaking the word to no one accept the Jew. But there were some of them men from Cyprus and Siren who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks, also proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a large number who believed hand to the Lord. News about them reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to travel as far as Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with the devoted hearts, for he was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and a faith, and a large and large numbers of people were added to the Lord.
Verse 25, then he went to Tasses to search for soul. And when he found him, he brought him to Antioch for our whole year. They met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. In those days, some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Aaba stood up and predicted by the spirit that there would be a severe farmer in throughout the Roman world. This took place during the reign of Claudius. Each of the disciples, according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brothers and sisters who lived in Judea. They did this sending it to the elders by means of Barnabas and soul. I pray, father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, we thank you for who you are. We thank you that you're a good God, and that you're a God who is big enough for all of us to worship.
We thank you that in the palms of your hands, we find safety and our destiny is clear. We thank you that you have bursts together this morning, Lord, to break the bread of life. I thank you, Lord, according to words in, um, uh, according to word that declares that, uh, as an iron sharpens an iron, so does a sister and a brother sharpen one another. Pray that this, uh, proverb Lord will continue. Lord, to be so clear this, this morning, and that as we sharpen one another, that even if the sparks fly, we will respond. Lord, in obedience, I pray that may those things that truly turn your heart, turn our hearts. May we be challenged this morning. May we be inspired and may we respond in faith. In Jesus' name, amen.
So the title of my sermon this, uh, this morning, is leaving your calling, uh, hopefully after delivering of my sermon two hours from now. Um, I was told that, uh, my cue for ending my ceremonies, when the last person leaves the room, <laugh>, the title of my sermon this morning, is leaving your calling, or hopefully by end of, of this, uh, of, of this teaching, uh, will be discovering, embracing, and living out God's calling in our daily lives. Life is most fulfilling when we are living according to our divine purpose. And many people wonder, what is my calling? Or how do I know if I'm really walking in it? That's a question that every believer needs to ask. Every believer seated in this space need to ask themselves that question. In fact, if you've not asked yourself that question, you probably need to repent, uh, because it means that you've not understood that there is a great commission that doesn't just involve the pastors, it involves every member of the body of Christ. So all of us need to ask ourselves that question. In Acts 11, from 19 to verse of our study, we see, um, a church and individuals who discovered and lived their calling amid difficulties. The church at Antioch became a powerful model for us. Ordinary believers scattered by persecution who lived out their calling and changed the world.
Your calling will often begin in unexpected places. In fact, um, as as we read it, it records that. And now those who had been scattered by persecution traveled as far as Ian Cyprus and Antioch spreading the word. They were scattered by persecution. It was not, it was not something they did out of their desire to go. I, I pray that we don't sit pretty until persecution, it know gets out of our comfort zone. In Acts chapter one, verse eight, Jesus is saying, it's, it's telling them that when my once, when my spirit comes upon you, you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and, and to the outermost parts of the world. But this group of believers, we see actually, um, one of the men that is stoned, that, uh, is, is death trigger us. This massive, um, escape is, is Stephen actually was one of the men, the elders that were picked to, to, to serve.
He was, he was a man full of the spirit and of, of, of a good, of a good report. So, so Stephen then is killed, and, um, and then the church begins to scatter. In fact, the man who is holding his caught is called, is called soul. He's a witness seeing the death of, of Steven. And then when that happens, they scatter. Then just before that, we, uh, just before we, we get to the church in Ancho, we, we see, uh, Peter receiving this amazing, um, uh, vision to go and, and, and reach this, uh, this gentile called Cornelius. So it's, so it was happening. In fact, Peter has such a hard time back, uh, back in Jerusalem because they begin to ask him, question him and inter interrogate him, asking him, what are you doing? Why are you speaking to these gentiles? Then he tells them that, that the gospel is now has, has now reached the Gentiles. It's not just, uh, for, for, for the, um, for the, for the Jewish, uh, um, family. And so and so, the believers didn't plan to go to Antioch. It happened because persecution drove them out.
Yet, in that disruption, God planted seeds of revival. What they did was simple but powerful. You know what they did? They shared Jesus wherever they went. It was simple and powerful. You don't have to be knowledgeable. You don't have to have gone to theological schools to and acquired doctorates. And, uh, you become the most knowledgeable person as far as memorizing of scripture is concerned. You don't, you simply need to respond what God is calling you to do. This body of Christ in Antioch understood their assignment. Of course, they didn't get there in their own, uh, in their own desire. They got there because persecution had pushed them there.
But when they go there, they began to share the gospel with the Greeks. Brothers and sisters, I challenge us this morning that we consider our calling. We consider ourselves as the people that God has planted in this community, in this state, in this nation, in our, in our world, as such a, at this time and this season, to reach the lost with the gospel. Think about it. If each person in this room, just this month, not even this week, shared the gospel with one person, just one person, and led that person to Christ, first Sunday of December, we would not have enough space for people. All of you would need to like stand on the side or come to fast service <laugh>.
Yet we find it so hard to respond because we allow fear to grip our hearts. Maybe you're seated at a restaurant and, and, and the person, the people that are serving, you have so many opportunities, so many opportunities to share the gospel. In fact, most of my meetings are around food. We are constantly enjoying a nice meal here in the us. I I usually say that by the time I'm, I go back home, there's always more of me for Miss Julie to love <laugh>. So talk to that person seated in the restaurant or the person serving you. Ask them how they doing? How's their day? How can I pray for you? Maybe your neighbor, maybe the place where you work. You have colleagues that you probably, maybe they, they know you are a Christian, you go to church, but they don't even know why you do it.
90% of people who have come to Christ, they came to Christ because someone shared the gospel with them. And over 90% of people who have come to church have come to church because someone invited them. How many people have you invited to come and experience worship this year? As a matter of fact, if this church invited one person a year, you would need bigger facilities. Just think about it. You would need bigger faci facilities quick. And that's why this calling is not for a few people. It's for everybody seated in this room, all of us equally.
So I challenge us not to hold back. I challenge us to find us our place this morning. We've just been told with the mission team to scan the QR code, please scan the QR code with, with QR code has not reached Kenya yet, but you guys have it. They've made it simple for you. Find a place where you can be locked in and, and, and effectively serving the body of Christ. Right here, right here, so that you can be part of, of, of what God is doing here and edifying the body of Christ in this place. And I know many of you are, because many of you have come to serve with us, whether it's in Kenya or Guatemala, or the, the many opportunities that God is opening for this church.
But I challenge you to go further. I challenge you to do more just like the church in, in Antioch, the believers. Um, the believers didn't plan to go to an, uh, to Antioch. It happened because persecution drove them out. Yet in that disruption, God, uh, planted seeds of revival. What what was, what? What they did was simple and powerful, which was they shared Jesus wherever they went. Your calling doesn't always begin with a grand vision. It begins with obedience in small steps. Uh, it's in fact, it's how, how dare say that it is small step that matters. It's just the small step. But so many of us are afraid. I've been afraid many times. There are times when the spirit of God has told me, you need to talk to that person. And I've just said, ah, man. Uh, I've been, I've been afraid to talk to them because I don't wanna offend them. But the gospel in itself is an offense. The gospel in itself is an offense to those who are perishing.
So whether you like it or not, the fact that you're working with Jesus, you're already offending people. So you may just do more and get good results. So God often uses uncomf uncomfortable situations to push us into our calling. Are you waiting for the perfect moment to serve God? Are you waiting for a perfect moment? Are you waiting for a perfect moment for you to step up and serve God? Now, today is the day of salvation. Today is the day you need to share the gospel somewhere. Every opportunity that the Lord provides for you, you need to step up. You need to do not wait for the perfect moment. Start where you are, your workplace, your neighborhood, your school could be your Antioch. Your Antioch is where God has planted you.
Number two, your calling is affirmed in community. When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to an Barnabas arrives. And so the grace of God, he rejoices and encourages them. Barnabas then brings soul to help showing humility and partnership. Everyone who has come, who has ever come to serve with us and see God move, uh, both in the lives of the people that they've served, but also in their own lives, when they come back to the US and they share with people and they invite them to go, majority of those people actually usually are who are invited, go. They go.
So Panama sees what's happening and says, man, I gotta bring, I gotta bring, I gotta bring Saul in. And for a whole year, they taught for a whole year not asking you to come to Kenya for all year. You can go to Guatemala for a whole year. Yes, you can. You can go to North Africa or wherever it's the Lord is calling you to go to. You can. But what we are asking for is simple obedience. Simple obedience. I God. Um, the calling of the, the calling of the Antioch Church wasn't individualistic. It was confirmed and strengthened through community. It is this, this will always be the case. Uh, there, there are so many times when, um, we, we, we are trying to function on our own. Uh, I, I encourage every believer to find people that you can journey the journey, the walk of faith with, and, and you can, um, you, you, you, you can be held accountable.
In fact, when you watch the national geographical channel, one of the things that you will see is that if the lions are hunting, by the way, we have a great Masai Mara, uh, in Kenya, by the way. So when you come on missions, you can do that as well. Um, but one of the things you see when they're hunting the zebras, if a zebras is excluded from the park, that zebra would not survive. That zebra must find its way back into the park. And so once zebra will run, and once it's about it's just about to get tired, it'll come back and a fresh one that has not been running will go back and they will just play that game with the lions until the lions are tired. But if the lions manage to keep that one zebra off from joining back, that lion is that zebra is dinner.
That's why as a believer, you should not forsake the fellowship of the brethren. Be part of the community of what God is doing in this place. God confirms or calling through others who seek, who sees grace at work in us. Who are your Barnabas who sees and affirms God work God's work in your life. Likewise, be a Barnabas to others. Encourage a farm and strengthen them and strengthen them in their calling. Don't be a party poppa. Don't be the kind of person, when someone shares with you what God has laid in their heart. You become, you cut them down and you give them a thousand reasons why it'll not work. Be the encourager. Be a Barnabas. Encourage people, step up because that's what God is calling us to do.
Number three, your calling reflects Christ to the world. Your calling reflects Christ to the world. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch, the people of Antioch. So something different, this believers Jesus. In fact, the word Christian literally means little Christ. If someone was looking for a Christian in your neighborhood and they asked maybe someone who didn't live there stopped by walking, and they say, can you show me an address in this street, on this street of a Christian? Would they give your address as the Christian on the street? Uh, one of the things that I find difficult is, uh, and we do it even in Nairobi. You find someone putting a, a, a bumper Christian, a bumper sticker that is Christian, that is maybe words of God or, or some scripture or just something that shows that they are, they're, they're a follower of Jesus, but then the way they drive, they drive like they're going to hell.
So let's, let's be very intentional about these things. Living your calling is not about titles, positions, or platforms. It's about reflecting Jesus, wherever you go, when you leave your calling faithfully, others see Christ in your life. When you leave your calling faithfully, others will see Christ in your life. You know, Peter, uh, was, uh, at night, it's at night, um, and is as, um, Jesus is, is going through, uh, this, the most, the hardest, the most painful, uh, time of, of the, of his appointed, uh, assignment. And a young girl, in fact, the Bible calls her, made a very young girl, looks at Peter and, uh, and says, you are his follower. This young lady looked at Peter and saw how Peter talked, how Peter behaved, how Peter handled himself and he knew this person must have been with Jesus. He says, you are one of his followers. Us.
Can people point out and say that you've been with Jesus? Can people point out and say, this person must have been with Jesus? That's a challenge for all of us. That's a challenge, ah, for all of us. Would others recognize you as a follower of Christ by how you live, you speak and how you love? Just ask yourself that question. Would they, would they recognize that you are a Christ follower? Our greatest weakness is not our words, but our resemble resemblance to Christ. That's our greatest witness. Our greatest witness is when people see so much Christ of Christ in us, that they say, that is what I want.
Brothers and sisters, we are already making an effort. We are, we are already making an effort. But I challenge us to go further. I challenge us not to hold back That every opportunity that we have, that we make Jesus famous, we make him famous, not famous by other means, but famous by how we live our lives and how we proclaim the gift and the hope that can only be found in Christ Jesus. The gospel, the gospel proclaiming the gospel to everyone is, is a mandate given to everybody seated in this room. All of us, all of us are called to share the gospel. Number four, your calling produces generosity and compassion. Your calling produces generosity and compassion. The Antioch Church responded to prophecy, not with fear, but with generosity.
So if someone says, oh, there's gonna be a farm mine, you can really get, you know, be anxious. But this, they did not. In fact, instead what they did was they brought their resources together and they sent it to the church In Judea, their faith turned outward meeting needs beyond their city. The mark of a ma of ma of a mature calling is a heart that gives, I want to applaud this church that you have. You, you have been a generous church. You've been a giving church. In fact, we are, we as a ministry are a beneficiaries of the generosity of this church. Give Jesus a mighty hand club.
But I want to challenge you that you, you can do more. You can do more for Jesus. You can because these men, they gathered their, their, their, they gathered their resources. Genuine calling always leads to service and sacrifice. How are you using your resources? Time gives to bless others? How, how are you using your resources? How are you using your time to be a blessing to others? I, I, I challenge all of us to take stock and answer those three questions, those three areas. I encourage all of us to do that because it's easy for us just to, to go with the rhythms and, and just to and just to be. But if you're not, if we are not, if you're not asking the questions and being intentional, then, then we might, we may miss the opportunity, uh, that God has, has put right in front of us, uh, to, to proclaim, uh, to proclaim him and make him known. When we leave our calling, we naturally become channels of God's provision.
The believers in Antioch reminds us that leaving your calling is not about prestige. It's about faithfulness. It's not about prestige. It's about faithfulness. When the church at Antioch leave their calling, the gospel spread to the wild, when you leave your calling, God's kingdom advances through you. All of us. This message is not for some people. This message is for everyone who is a follower of Jesus. All of us in this room scan the QA code. I challenge you to scan the QA code, find a place where you can be planted and serve the Lord. Respond in obedience and serve the Lord.
And maybe you may be asking, Lord, what's next step for me? What's next step? I I need us to remember this, that leaving our calling begins with obedience today. Small steps. Because if we don't walk in obedience, do you know what is, what will happen? Persecution will come. So why don't we just respond before persecution comes, just respond to what God is, is as already put before us. That when we leave our calling, we grow through community. We shine in crest likeness character, and we bless others through love and generosity. Do you know when we get to heaven, we'll give an account. Um, heaven is gonna be amazing because there'll be every tribe and every language. Uh, so start loving other tribes. I mean, other people who speak different language. I'm grateful that your church is already doing it. Oh, because you're gonna hear a lot of other languages. 'cause every tribe, every language will be represented in heaven. That's if you want to go to heaven. That is for those of us that are waiting a desiring, uh, can't wait for that day. When we stand before the Lord and he says, well done, good and faithful servant. When you give an account, what will that account look like? When you say what you've done with your resources, what you've done with your time, what you've done with your skills, and what you've done with what God has entrusted to you, what would that look like?
So leave your calling because God's plan for this world includes you. God's plan for this world includes you.