Latest / Reformed Thinking / Why the Tried and True is Still Better, Even in Missions | Kevin DeYoung

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Why the Tried and True is Still Better, Even in Missions | Kevin DeYoung · Reformed Thinking

• 0:00
  Welcome to the deep dive. This is the part of reform
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  thinking where we really try to get into some valuable source
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  material. Yeah, unpack it a bit.
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  Exactly. We want to pull out the key
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  insights, the, you know, practical wisdom.
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  For you. The aim is clarity, precision,
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  but without drowning you in detail you don't need.
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  Keep it focused, right? And today we're doing a special
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  deep dive looking at something pretty foundational, modern
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  Christian missions A. Huge topic.
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  It really is. Our goal is pretty
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  straightforward though. We want to unpack the Apostolic
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  model for missions. What does that look like?
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  Look at its core parts. Try to clear up some common
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  misunderstandings, maybe some deviations you see out there.
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  Yeah, the drift that can happen. And grasp why it all depends
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  ultimately on God's Spirit. So by the time we're done, you
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  should have a, well, a much clearer picture of what biblical
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  missions genuinely involved. And for this, we're drawing from
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  the teachings of Kevin Deyoung. He's a well a respected voice in
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  Protestant Christianity, particularly his thinking on
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  what he calls the tried and true methods for God's mission.
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  Right, especially looking at Acts 14 as a key example.
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  Exactly. So let's jump in.
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  Great. It's good to be talking about
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  this missions is. I mean, it's really at the heart
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  of what the church is called to do, isn't it?
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  Absolutely. Back to what's genuinely
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  biblical, what actually holds up over time that's so essential?
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  Yeah, cutting through the fads, maybe.
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  Precisely so. As our sources show, Deyoung
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  really champions this tried and true approach.
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  He sees it aligning with what we'd call, you know, the
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  biblical means of grace for God's mission.
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  Old paths, he calls them. Yeah, old paths that are still
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  the good paths today. But, and this is important, it's
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  not about just clinging to tradition for tradition's sake.
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  That can be a real pitfall. Right.
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  And we've all seen that. Deyoung is quick to admit.
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  You know figures from the past, they made mistakes.
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  They had errors. We learned from those, too.
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  Of course. The real goal, as he puts it, is
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  to stick firmly to what's biblically sound and what
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  history actually shows has worked what's been fruitful in
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  God's work. That's a really helpful
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  distinction you just made. It's not blind tradition, but
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  careful discernment based on Scripture, right?
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  And backed up by little spiritual fruit over the long
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  haul. So Deyoung lays out what these
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  old paths actually look like in practice.
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  He mentions core activities, evangelism, discipleship, church
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  planting and church strengthening.
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  Core functions. These, he argues, are still the
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  biblical means for God's work today.
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  But when we talk about biblical means of grace, ambitions, what
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  does that practically mean? Can you flush that out a bit?
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  Yeah, absolutely. From a Reformed perspective,
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  when we talk about means of grace, we're usually thinking
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  about the ordinary ways God has set up for his Spirit to work,
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  you know, to bring spiritual life and growth.
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  Like preaching sacraments. Exactly.
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  Faithful preaching of the word, the sacraments, baptism,
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  communion and prayer. Those are the main channels.
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  So applying that to missions means relying on these God
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  ordained tools as the main drivers, not primarily human
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  cleverness or the latest strategy or, you know, cultural
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  adaptation is the key thing. Those might have a place, but
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  they're not the engine. The engine is God working
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  through his appointed means. Right.
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  And the big picture goal here, connecting it all, is seeing
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  fruitfulness to the ends of the Great Commission.
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  Which isn't just a suggestion. Definitely not.
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  It's Jesus direct command to his church, marching orders.
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  So how do we actually achieve that fruitfulness?
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  Where do we see it modeled? Well, this is where Deyoung,
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  through our sources, points us straight to Acts Chapter 14.
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  Pauls missionary journey, Yes. He sees Acts 14 as maybe the
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  clearest, most helpful single snapshot we get of what missions
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  should be about. Paul is held up, as you know,
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  the missionary par excellence. The prime example.
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  If you want to know what a missionary does Paul's work
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  there is the foundational pattern.
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  OK, so if Acts 14 is the blueprint, what specific things
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  does Paul do there? What are the concrete
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  principles? Well, Deyoung analyzes Paul's
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  actions in Acts 14 and pulls out what he calls the three legged
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  stool of mission work A. 3 legged stool OK?
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  Yeah, it's a helpful picture, right?
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  Because it immediately tells you for any mission strategy to be
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  healthy, stable, genuinely fruitful in the long run, all
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  three parts have to be there. They have to work together.
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  Like a real stool, take one leg away and.
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  Exactly. It gets wobbly or just
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  collapses. Makes sense.
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  So what are these three essential legs for biblical
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  mission? OK, the first leg absolutely
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  foundational. It's all about new converts.
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  This covers both the initial outreach evangelism and then the
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  crucial follow up discipleship. Right.
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  And the sources point to Acts 14 verse 21.
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  Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel to that city and had made
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  many disciples. Key phrase made many disciples.
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  Yeah, and Deyoung jumps on that. He says this is way more than
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  just getting someone to, you know, pray a prayer or sign a
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  card. Not just a quick decision.
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  Or counting up numbers to pad statistics.
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  It's not about superficial results.
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  The real goal is to speak the gospel effectively, leading to
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  genuine conversion, and then immediately build them up as
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  disciples. A.
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  Continuous process. Exactly.
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  You mean sharing the news of Jesus, the Messiah and Savior.
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  But also, and this is crucial, sharing and modeling a new way
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  of life, something that replaces at least partly the old social
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  norms, the old behaviors of their former life.
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  So it's belief and practice changing.
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  Right, a real transformation in worldview and actions lining up
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  with Kingdom values. And while that initial contact,
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  the evangelism, the early discipleship might happen
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  anywhere, maybe a coffee shop study, maybe St. outreach, the
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  ultimate vision has to include the centrality of a local
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  church. That's the main place these new
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  believers are meant to grow, get nurtured, really live out this
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  new faith together. And what's really interesting is
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  how this lines up with other scholars like Ish.
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  Schnabel makes a very similar point.
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  He says missionaries don't just bring news about Jesus to people
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  who haven't heard. They also communicate this new
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  way of life which actively replaces the old social norms
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  and patterns. So it's comprehensive, it is.
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  It's not just abstract ideas, it's how faith actually works
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  out in daily life, in community. And Kostenberger and O'Brien
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  agree, too. They say, yeah, winning converts
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  is the starting point, but it's definitely not the whole story
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  of missions. Just the beginning, right?
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  It's the spark, but there's a whole fire that needs building
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  afterward. OK, so you have new converts,
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  new disciples. What's the next critical step in
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  Paul's model to make sure this lasts, that it's stable?
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  That brings us squarely to the second leg of the stool,
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  establishing new communities specifically.
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  Church planting. Planting churches?
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  Yeah. And Paul modeled this directly.
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  Acts 14 verse 23 says he appointed elders for them in
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  every church. Elders in every church.
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  That sounds organized. It is this isn't just, you know,
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  a few believers hanging out informally.
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  The real goal is to integrate the new believers into a new
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  community, and in that community is the local church, right?
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  The local church is seen as both the origin and the goal of
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  missions. It's the visible result, the
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  structured expression of the gospel taking root.
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  So real churches with leadership.
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  Structure, exactly. Not just casual get togethers.
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  Deyoung even uses a funny but kind of pointed example.
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  He says if someone claims they've planted, say, 3000
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  churches, a good Presbyterian might ask, maybe with a bit of a
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  smile. Show me your elder minutes.
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  Checking if they're actually organized, governed churches.
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  Precisely. Are these biblically structured
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  communities that have a chance to last or just, you know, loose
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  groups that might fade away? That example really does drive
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  home the point about being intentional about structure.
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  Sounds like the quality of the new community is just as key as
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  just forming 1. Absolutely.
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  And Schnabel echoes this strongly, too.
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  He emphasizes that missionaries integrate new believers into a
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  new community. Integration.
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  Yeah. The idea is clear.
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  Conversion doesn't leave you isolated.
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  It brings you into a body, a structured group, the church.
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  So the church isn't just like a side effect of mission work,
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  it's deeply connected to it. It's really the purpose of the
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  whole thing. OK, so we have new converts, new
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  communities, churches. What's the third leg?
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  How do these new churches grow strong and, well, survive?
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  The third leg is all about nurtured churches, ongoing
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  church strengthening. Paul's regular practice right
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  there in Acts 14.22 involved strengthening the souls of the
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  disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith.
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  Strengthening and encouraging. Yeah, this meant giving crucial
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  theological and pastoral counsel, helping them deal with
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  dangers both from inside the church and from outside
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  pressures. Like false teaching or
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  persecution? Exactly.
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  And it also meant making sure that these newly planted
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  indigenous churches have their own theological resources,
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  enough depth to withstand temptations toward worldliness,
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  whether from inside or outside pressures.
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  Building resilience. Definitely.
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  I mean, think about Paul's letters.
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  They contain some of the deepest, richest theology in the
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  whole Bible, right? Women's Ephesians.
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  And who did he write them to? These young fledgling churches?
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  This shows he was committed to deep theological grounding right
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  from the start. He wasn't aiming for some kind
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  of lowest common denominator Christianity just to keep things
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  simple. He expected them to grapple with
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  deep truths. Yes, and to make this happen,
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  our sources mention it often requires practical things like
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  good schools, seminaries, maybe good publishing houses producing
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  sound books to equip believers and leaders.
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  And Kostenberger and O'Brien add that this strengthening also
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  means helping believers, both individually and as a church
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  body, face suffering and persecution, helping them stand
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  fast in the Lord. That's right.
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  So it's not just avoiding wrong ideas, but building faithfulness
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  through hardship. That's very real for many
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  Christians around the world. Indeed, it's equipping them not
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  just to know what they believe, but why and how that faith holds
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  up when things get tough. So putting the three legs
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  together, evangelism and discipleship make new converts,
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  church planting establishes new communities, and church
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  strengthening nurtures those churches.
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  Convert community. Nurture.
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  Basically, yeah. And the sources are clear.
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  These three things should be the main focus when churches budget
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  for missions, when agencies evaluate their work.
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  Now, not every single missionary has to do all three personally.
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  Right, different gifts and roles.
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  But all three must be happening in the the overall strategy.
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  They need to be working together for the whole thing to be
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  biblical and effective. OK, that three legged stool
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  gives a really clear picture of what biblical missions are.
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  But to really get the the driving force behind it all, we
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  need to look at how the book of Acts itself presents a mission.
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  You mentioned its focus on the word.
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  Yes, exactly. To understand the power behind
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  this, we need to see acts focus on what some call its defining
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  theme, the biography of the word.
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  Biography of the word. That's an interesting phrase.
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  It really is. Because you see, Acts isn't
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  primarily a biography of Peter or even Paul, though they're key
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  figures. It's more like a story tracking
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  the triumph of the Word of God as the early church expands.
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  So the word is the main character in a.
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  Way In a very real sense, yes. Remember, Luke wrote his gospel
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  about what Jesus began to do and teach.
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  Acts is like volume 2. It's about what Jesus continues
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  to do and teach through his church after he ascended.
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  Through the Spirit, through the Word.
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  Precisely so. The real focus, the main theme
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  running through Acts, is the ability of the Word of God to
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  accomplish the work of God, Deyoung points out.
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  Chapter after chapter shows the Word advancing, overcoming
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  obstacles, bearing fruit. It's unstoppable.
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  And what is acts not focus on in terms of mission?
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  That's just as important. If you go looking in Acts for a
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  big missional push on, say, creation care or societal
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  renewal projects, or fixing the art scene or detailed political
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  strategies, you won't really find it as the central theme.
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  Not that those things are unimportant, maybe, but not the
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  focus of Acts mission narrative. Exactly what Acts does
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  consistently show is preaching, teaching the centrality of the
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  Word and the centrality of the Church.
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  The story is driven by the message of the gospel being
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  spoken and lived out, not primarily by cultural programs
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  or social change initiatives. That really highlights the
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  specific priorities we see in the early church's expansion.
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  Can you give us some examples from Acts?
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  How does it show this triumph of the Word in action?
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  Oh absolutely. Acts is full of them right from
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  the start. In Acts 1, after Jesus ascends,
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  they need to replace Judas. What's the main qualification
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  for the new apostle Matthias? He needs to be a witness to
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  Christ resurrection. The Word, the testimony to that
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  core truth is foundational. Then Acts 2, Pentecost, Peter
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  preaches. What does he do?
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  He explains the Old Testament scriptures bears witness to
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  Jesus's death and resurrection and the result?
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  People were cut to the heart and many received the Word.
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  About 3000 were added to the church that day.
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  It wasn't just Peter's skill, it was the spirit using the Word.
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  Then Acts 3. Peter heals the lame man, but
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  the miracle isn't the end point. It becomes the platform for
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  Peter to preach about Jesus again.
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  And many who heard the Word believed so.
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  Even acts of mercy serve the Word right?
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  By Acts 4, Luke notes that the number of believers had grown to
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  about 5000 men. Just think about that growth.
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  Clearly the Word is spreading rapidly.
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  Then in Acts 5, after being released from jail, what does
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  the Angel tell the apostles? Go back to the temple and speak
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  to all the people the words of this life.
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  A direct command to preach. Unmistakable, and maybe one of
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  the clearest links is in Acts 6. There's a problem with food
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  distribution. What do the apostles prioritize?
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  They say they must remain devoted to the Word of God in
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  prayer. They appoint deacons to handle
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  practical stuff so they can focus on word ministry.
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  And what happens? The very next verse says, and
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  the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the
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  disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem.
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  It's presented as a direct result.
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  Prioritize the Word and the Church grows.
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  Wow, it really seems like the word isn't just part of the
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  growth, it's presented as the actual engine driving at all.
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  It truly is. Deyoung uses that analogy of a
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  seed. The Word of God is like this
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  tiny seed. You plant it and it has inherent
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  life within it. It germinates, grows, becomes a
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  mighty oak. The power is in the seed itself,
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  not mainly in the gardener's fancy techniques.
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  That's a great picture. And think about how Axe ends.
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  Paul's under house arrest in Rome.
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  He's restricted, right? Yeah, seems like the set back.
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  But the very last words of the book are that Paul is still
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  proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord
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  Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
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  Without hindrance, even under arrest.
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  Exactly. The point, according to sources,
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  isn't really about whether Paul gets out of jail.
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  The point is, the word is unhindered.
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  It has reached Rome, the heart of the empire, and it continues
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  to advance. The whole book tracks the words
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  unstoppable journey from Jerusalem to the ends of the
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  earth represented by Rome. It's a story of the words
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  triumph. That's a really powerful way to
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  read Acts. OK, so we've built this strong
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  case for what biblical missions are.
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  But you mentioned earlier the danger of mission drift getting
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  off course even with good intentions, right?
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  So it seems just as vital to be clear about what missions are
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  not. This helps us stay focused,
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  doesn't? It it absolutely does, you know,
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  most Christians might not. Along with the positive stuff,
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  evangelism, discipleship, planting churches, strengthening
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  them, the real problems often sneak in when we aren't clear
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  about the boundaries about what missions are not.
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  That's when the focus gets blurry.
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  Exactly. That's mission drift.
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  The core purpose gets diluted, maybe even lost.
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  And these errors, these drifts, tend to fall into two broad
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  camps, misconceptions related to the Church and misconceptions
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  related to the Word. OK, let's tackle the church
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  centric misconceptions first. What's a common one we see?
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  The first big one is thinking that missions are not about
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  conversions alone. We touched on this, but it bears
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  repeating. The Great Commission says make
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  disciples, not just get decisions.
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  Big difference. Huge.
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  It's not about, you know, padding statistics or
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  celebrating numbers of decisions for Christ that might not mean
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  much long term. Paul's mission had this clear,
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  church centered focus. He didn't just preach and move
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  on. He deliberately appointed elders
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  in these towns. He formed people into
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  communities, into churches. Right, the community aspect
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  again. Because the church, as our
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  source of stress, is both the origin and the goal of missions.
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  It's not just about individuals making isolated choices.
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  It's about bringing them into this living, growing body of
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  faith. OK, that clarifies the goal
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  beyond just initial decisions. What's another church centric
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  issue you hear sometimes about insider movements?
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  What are those and how do they fit or not fit this picture?
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  Right Insider movements. This is an approach where new
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  believers are sometimes allowed or even encouraged to keep their
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  old religious identity outwardly.
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  So someone might believe in Jesus but still identify
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  publicly as, say, a Muslim or a Hindu.
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  Trying to change things from within their old group.
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  That's often the idea, yeah. Maybe subtly redefining their
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  old faith around Jesus. But the book of Acts shows a
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  pretty stark contrast to this. How so?
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  In Acts, conversion to Christ clearly meant taking on a new
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  religious identity. It meant visible public
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  incorporation into the Christian community.
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  Baptism wasn't just a private symbol, it was a public means of
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  incorporation and identification.
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  Marking you out as belonging to this new group.
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  Exactly. It signified a break with the
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  old and allegiance to Christ in his church.
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  And we need to remember, especially in the West where it
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  might not cost as much, that this public identification often
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  involved and still involves real suffering and persecution for
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  believers. So the early church was
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  distinct, identifiable. Yes, they were known by their
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  new allegiance to Christ and his community.
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  That's a really important point, especially thinking about
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  missions globally. OK, what's a third church
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  centric misunderstanding? A third one is the idea that
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  missions are not about converting nations as nations.
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  Meaning like trying to make whole countries officially
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  Christian. Yeah, thinking the Great
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  Commission means getting formal political entities, nations to
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  adopt Christianity, maybe put it in their laws, become a
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  Christian nation in a political sense.
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  OK, why is that seen as a misconception?
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  Well, there are a few strong reasons, biblically and
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  linguistically. First, look at examples in Acts.
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  When Philip in Acts 8 preached to all the towns, he was
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  preaching to individuals and families living in those towns,
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  not trying to get the town councils to declare themselves
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  Christian. Right people within the town.
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  Same with Paul preaching in cities.
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  He's reaching the people in those cities, not the city
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  government as an entity. Makes sense?
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  What else? Second, look at the Great
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  Commission itself. Go therefore and make disciples
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  of all nations, baptizing them. That word them in the Greek is a
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  masculine personal pronoun. Okay, grammar matters here.
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  It does. It points to individuals, to
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  persons from all nations, not to the nations as collective
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  political blocs. It shifts the focus from
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  national political identity to individual spiritual
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  transformation within God's Kingdom.
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  Interesting detail. 3rd Think about Old Testament prophecies
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  like Isaiah saying all the nations shall flow to the
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  mountain of the Lord. This is generally understood as
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  people from all nations coming to worship God, not entire
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  political states making official declarations.
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  Like individuals drawn from everywhere.
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  Exactly. And Revelation shows the same
• 19:43
  picture, right? People from every tribe and
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  language and people and nation around the throne.
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  It's a multitude of individuals saved out of all nations, not
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  the nations themselves as political units.
• 19:54
  So the danger is getting sidetracked into political
• 19:57
  efforts instead of church focused ones.
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  That's the risk focusing on Nation Central.
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  Energies can pull us away from the core task.
• 20:05
  The mission aim needs to stay church centric, seeing
• 20:09
  individuals from every nation come to Christ and be gathered
• 20:12
  into local visible Christian communities.
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  It's primarily about building the church, not renewing the
• 20:18
  nation state, although converted people will of course impact
• 20:21
  their societies. That really sharpens the focus
• 20:23
  on the church as the primary sphere of mission activity.
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  OK, let's shift now to the other category, word centric
• 20:29
  misconceptions. What's the first pitfall here?
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  The first one is that missions are not about lowest common
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  denominator Christianity. Meaning not dumbing things down.
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  Exactly. Paul's model, as we saw,
• 20:41
  involved deep theological strengthening for young
• 20:44
  churches. Remember his long lectures.
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  Remember him writing Romans and Ephesians to these new churches.
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  Yeah, not exactly beginner material.
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  Right. He wasn't just giving them the
• 20:52
  basics and moving on. The goal wasn't some shallow,
• 20:55
  superficial faith that everyone could easily agree on.
• 20:58
  The goal was making sure believers were really grounded
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  in their faith, that they had robust, solid doctrine.
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  How does that happen practically?
• 21:07
  Well, often it requires intentional effort through
• 21:10
  things like good schools, maybe seminaries for training leaders,
• 21:14
  and good publishing houses providing sound theological
• 21:17
  books and resources. It's about building theological
• 21:20
  depth and maturity. So definitely countering any
• 21:23
  idea of a simplistic gospel. OK, the second word centric
• 21:26
  misconception missions are not about every good thing
• 21:29
  Christians might do, so it's tricky.
• 21:32
  Lots of good things are done by Christians.
• 21:34
  It is tricky. And this is where mission drift
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  often happens subtly. There's that saying when mission
• 21:39
  is everything, mission is nothing.
• 21:42
  It loses its specific meaning. If everything is missions, then
• 21:45
  nothing uniquely is missions. Precisely look things like
• 21:49
  improving job skills, digging wells for clean water, setting
• 21:53
  up medical clinics, starting schools, helping with
• 21:56
  agriculture. These are all good, often vital
• 21:59
  things. Christians can and should do
• 22:02
  them to the glory of God. But they aren't necessarily the
• 22:05
  mission. They are not the unique mission
• 22:07
  of the Church unless they are directly serving as a means or
• 22:10
  platform for evangelism, discipleship, church planting,
• 22:14
  or church strengthening. So the good deed needs a direct
• 22:17
  link to the core missionary task.
• 22:20
  Yes, churches and mission agencies actually must learn to
• 22:23
  say no, sometimes even to really good things.
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  Why? Because those good things, if
• 22:27
  they're not directly tied to the core task, can distract
• 22:30
  resources and energy from the one thing that only the Church
• 22:33
  of Jesus Christ is commissioned and equipped to do, proclaim the
• 22:36
  gospel of Jesus Christ. That.
• 22:38
  Requires real discipline. It does.
• 22:40
  Peter Drucker, the business thinker, had this idea of
• 22:44
  priorities requiring posteriorities, things you
• 22:47
  intentionally decide not to do, to keep the main thing the main
• 22:49
  thing. That applies here too.
• 22:52
  That's a really challenging but crucial point for focus.
• 22:55
  OK, finally, the third word centric misconception.
• 22:58
  Missions are not about creative approaches as the primary means.
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  What does this mean for using modern media or arts in
• 23:07
  missions? Well, it doesn't mean those
• 23:08
  things have no place. Modern communication technology,
• 23:12
  creative arts. They can definitely be useful
• 23:14
  tools to help communicate the gospel.
• 23:16
  But not the main thing. All right.
• 23:18
  The sources argue that the missionary task is fundamentally
• 23:20
  accomplished by the foolishness of preaching, as Paul puts it,
• 23:23
  and by the ability of the Word of God.
• 23:26
  Think about Paul's time. They had drama, rhetoric, visual
• 23:28
  arts too, but Paul consistently relied on verbal proclamation as
• 23:32
  his primary method for presenting the gospel.
• 23:35
  The spoken word was central. Yes.
• 23:37
  So the point isn't to ditch creative methods all together,
• 23:40
  it's that they shouldn't replace or diminish the centrality and
• 23:43
  the power of the word itself. The core task won't be achieved
• 23:47
  primarily by the Jesus film on its own, or just by showing
• 23:51
  episodes of The Chosen or through any other media alone.
• 23:54
  Those are aids, not substitutes for proclamation.
• 23:57
  Exactly. They can be great for opening
• 23:59
  doors, illustrating truth, maybe reaching different kinds of
• 24:02
  learners, but the ultimate conviction, the spiritual life,
• 24:06
  comes through the proclaimed Word, empowered by the Spirit.
• 24:10
  OK, we've laid out a really thorough picture of what
• 24:12
  biblical missions are drawing from Paul's example in Acts 14,
• 24:15
  and also what they are not, clarifying common points of
• 24:18
  drift. Now let's turn to the the power
• 24:21
  behind it all. How does this huge task actually
• 24:24
  get done? This brings us to that really
• 24:25
  encouraging picture from Zechariah chapter 4, right?
• 24:28
  Yes, Zechariah 4. It's such a powerful and
• 24:30
  encouraging vision, especially for anyone feeling overwhelmed
• 24:33
  by the task, whether it's missions or any Kingdom work.
• 24:36
  What's the setting there? The context is Arubital.
• 24:40
  He's tasked with rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem after the
• 24:42
  exile, and it looks impossible. They're a small, discouraged
• 24:46
  group facing huge obstacles. It seems like a monumental task
• 24:50
  completely beyond their own ability.
• 24:52
  Sounds familiar for missions sometimes.
• 24:53
  Doesn't it? So Zechariah gets this vision.
• 24:56
  He sees a golden lampstand and feeding this lampstand is a
• 25:00
  constant, seemingly inexhaustible supply of oil
• 25:03
  flowing from 2 olive trees. Threw Parks into a bowl on top
• 25:07
  of the lampstand. An endless supply of fuel.
• 25:10
  Exactly. It symbolizes this limitless
• 25:12
  divine ability. More specifically, it represents
• 25:15
  the ability of God's Spirit, pictured as this oil constantly
• 25:19
  pouring in. And the core message is stated
• 25:21
  explicitly in verse 6. Not by might, nor by ability,
• 25:24
  but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
• 25:27
  That famous verse, Yeah. It powerfully underlines that
• 25:30
  the missionary task, just like rebuilding the temple, feels
• 25:33
  impossible in human strength. It can only be accomplished in
• 25:36
  the supernatural ability provided by the Spirit.
• 25:39
  It's not about our strength, our cleverness, our resources,
• 25:41
  ultimately. So it's clearly God's work,
• 25:44
  depending entirely on his Spirit.
• 25:46
  But does that mean we just sit back and wait?
• 25:48
  Is it passive? You hear that criticism
• 25:50
  sometimes that relying on the Spirit leads to quietism.
• 25:53
  No, absolutely not. And that's a really critical
• 25:56
  point to get right. It's a common misunderstanding.
• 25:59
  Some people here not by might nor by ability, but by my spirit
• 26:03
  and think it means OK, I don't have to do anything, just wait
• 26:06
  for God to ZAP things into existence.
• 26:08
  Right, a hands off approach. But Zechariah's vision actually
• 26:11
  shows the opposite. Yes, the power is all gods, but
• 26:14
  he works through human beings. Those two olive trees providing
• 26:19
  the oil. They aren't angels or abstract
• 26:22
  ideas. They represent 2 real human
• 26:25
  beings, Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor.
• 26:28
  The leaders of the rebuilding effort.
• 26:29
  Yes, they're called the anointed ones, through whom God pours out
• 26:33
  his inexhaustible spirit to get the job done.
• 26:35
  So the divine ability flows through people who are actively
• 26:38
  engaged, obediently participating in the work.
• 26:40
  So God empowers our activity, He doesn't replace it.
• 26:43
  Precisely. It's this interplay of divine
• 26:46
  sovereignty and human responsibility.
• 26:48
  God's power enables and directs our efforts.
• 26:51
  It doesn't make them unnecessary.
• 26:53
  That's a much more dynamic picture.
• 26:54
  OK, And then there's that other really striking phrase from
• 26:57
  Zechariah 4. Do not despise the day of small
• 27:00
  things. What on earth does that mean for
• 27:03
  missions, which seems like such a huge, grand endeavor?
• 27:07
  Ah yes, do not despise the Day of small things.
• 27:10
  This might be one of the most practically encouraging verses
• 27:13
  for anyone in long term ministry or mission work.
• 27:15
  Why is it so important? Well, think about the temple
• 27:18
  again when it's finally completed.
• 27:20
  Zeruba Bell is pictured holding a Plumb line, a tool for
• 27:23
  ensuring precision for careful building.
• 27:26
  That huge, monumental task wasn't done overnight.
• 27:28
  And some spectacular miracle. How was it done?
• 27:32
  Bit by bit. Exactly.
• 27:33
  It was accomplished through days and weeks and years and decades
• 27:36
  of small things, Persistent hard work, laying one stone carefully
• 27:39
  on another, facing set back, keeping at it.
• 27:41
  It was the accumulation of countless small faithful
• 27:44
  actions. OK, I see the connection.
• 27:46
  O Alley, that to the missionary task.
• 27:48
  Yeah, metrics for everything. And in that environment, the
• 27:51
  call to just be faithful and these small things can feel
• 27:55
  small, insignificant. It's tempting to despise them,
• 27:58
  to think this isn't making a difference.
• 28:00
  But. Zechariah says don't despise
• 28:02
  them. Right.
• 28:03
  The message is profound. Do not despise a lifetime of
• 28:06
  small things done in the ability of the Spirit.
• 28:08
  Why? Because by God's inexhaustible
• 28:11
  Spirit, they just may add up to something truly great.
• 28:15
  It's the cumulative effect of quiet spirit empowered
• 28:18
  faithfulness that builds something lasting, often far
• 28:21
  more lasting than flashy human driven efforts.
• 28:24
  That is genuinely encouraging. It reframes faithfulness,
• 28:26
  doesn't it? It means the ordinary day-to-day
• 28:29
  stuff matters enormously when done in dependence on the
• 28:31
  Spirit. But if the work is so demanding,
• 28:34
  If it involves this lifetime of often difficult small things,
• 28:37
  what keeps someone going? What's the ultimate motivation?
• 28:40
  It can't just be grim duty or willpower, can it?
• 28:42
  No, you're absolutely right. It can't be sustained by just
• 28:45
  gritting your teeth. That burns out eventually.
• 28:47
  The sources suggest the missionary endeavor.
• 28:49
  Any real Christian service must be driven by love, by
• 28:53
  satisfaction, by delight, and by confidence and greater things to
• 28:56
  come. Love, satisfaction, delight,
• 28:58
  confidence. Yeah, it has to flow from a
• 29:01
  place where Christ himself is genuinely more precious to us
• 29:05
  than even the mission itself, where serving Him isn't just an
• 29:09
  obligation, but an overflow of joy in who He is, what He's
• 29:13
  done, and the amazing hope we have in his coming Kingdom.
• 29:16
  So the motivation is rooted in relationship and delight in
• 29:19
  Christ. Exactly.
• 29:20
  That internal spirit produced desire and delight in Christ and
• 29:24
  a passion to see His glory known among all peoples.
• 29:27
  That's the real fuel. That's what sustains the work
• 29:29
  long term, ensuring it comes from a vibrant relationship, not
• 29:32
  just a sense of duty or a task list.
• 29:34
  Wow. Well, this deep dive has really
• 29:36
  given us a comprehensive blueprint, hasn't it?
• 29:38
  We've looked closely at how modern missions can be guided by
• 29:41
  these tried and true biblical methods centered on evangelism,
• 29:45
  discipleship, planting churches, strengthening churches.
• 29:48
  The three legs. Right.
• 29:49
  And all of it powered by God's Word and crucially, by His
• 29:53
  Spirit. And we've also spent important
• 29:56
  time clarifying what missions are not what we need to set
• 29:59
  aside to keep that focus clear and avoid that mission drift.
• 30:03
  Setting those boundaries is key. It really is.
• 30:06
  So as we wrap up, maybe a thought for you listening as you
• 30:09
  think about God's huge work in the world, what small,
• 30:13
  consistent acts of faithfulness might you be called to right
• 30:16
  where you are, knowing that God's Spirit can take those very
• 30:20
  things and use them for His grand purposes?
• 30:22
  And that day of small things applies to all of.
• 30:24
  Us it does. And maybe what aspect of this
• 30:27
  biblical blueprint we've discussed today will you apply
• 30:30
  to how you understand missions or how you participate, maybe
• 30:34
  even just in praying for or supporting the mission work of
• 30:37
  your own local church? Good questions to ponder.
• 30:40
  Definitely. Well, thank you so much for
• 30:42
  joining us for this deep dive into the foundations of mission.
• 30:44
  We hope it's been helpful. It's been a great conversation.
• 30:46
  Until next time on reformed thinking, we wish you well.