Bahan Alkitab: Luke 24:13-35. Tokoh missionary: William Careyo
Tanggal: 09/05/2021
Ringkasan:
Last week you learned about Peter’s confession about who Jesus is. Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” His disciples answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Jesus asked again, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
What makes someone to be able to give such answer? That Jesus is the Christ. Christ means “the anointed one”, the Messiah, the Saviour. Not everyone is able to proclaim that Christ is his/her Saviour. What makes someone believes that Christ is his/her Saviour? That is the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is one the three Persons in the Triune God: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God the Father elected (chose) His people, the Son (Jesus Christ) redeemed His people, the Holy Spirit applied salvation. What does it mean: the Holy Spirit applied salvation? It means the Holy Spirit applies God’s salvation in our heart. When we hear the gospel, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit works in our heart, regenerates our heart, gives us a new heart, a heart that realises our sins, we grieve over our sins and we repent. We turn to God and turn away from evil.
I want to emphasise on sin. It is important for someone to realise his sins not just about all the wrongdoings that he has made, but actually it’s more about his spiritual sinful state. We are all born in sinful state, every intention of the thoughts of our hearts is only evil all the time. We are not capable of being righteous because we have broken relationship with God. So, if God does not save us from this sinful state, our life direction will never go towards God, but will go to eternal death instead.
So, the role of the Holy Spirit is very, very important. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, so when we hear the Word of God, the Truth, the Holy Spirit makes us realise our sins and enable us to believe in the Truth we heard and accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour.
Do you remember the story of the two disciples that were on their way to Emmaus after Jesus’ resurrection? Let’s read from Luke 24:13-35.
The two disciples said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?” When Jesus told them the Scriptures, the Truth, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit worked in their hearts and helped them to understand and believe the Word of God. So, the Holy Spirit will teach us all things of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus Christ and when the Holy Spirit is at work, He also makes us want to testify about Jesus Christ.
Luke 24:33 – And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. What made them return to Jerusalem that very hour after they had travelled seven miles (11km) to Emmaus. Because they wanted to testify about Jesus! They proclaimed to the others in Luke 24:34 – “The Lord has risen indeed”
The same Holy Spirit who exists from eternity to eternity, continues to work throughout centuries, from the first century until today the 21st century. The Holy Spirit moved the apostles in the first century to go to everywhere and testify about Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit moved many different people to do the same throughout centuries. Last week you learned about David Brainerd, an American missionary to the Native Americans in the 18th century. This week I will introduce you to William Carey, an English missionary to the Indians in the late 18th century.
William Carey:
· Born 17 August 1761 in England
· Died 9 June 1834 in India
· Carey is known as the “father of modern missions”. He devoted his entire life to the service of God.
· During this early life Carey earned a living as a cobbler, but was eventually converted at the age of 18 and became a pastor at the age of 26.
· He was renowned for his linguistic talents. He taught himself Hebrew, Italian, Dutch, and French, often reading while working on the shoes.
· At age 31, he published his groundbreaking missionary book that consists of five parts:
o theological justification for missionary activity
o history of missionary activity, beginning with the early Church and ending with David Brainerd and John Wesley
o tables of areas, population, and religion statistics for every country in the world
o answers objections to sending missionaries
o calls for the formation by the Baptist denomination of a missionary society
· His most famous quotation: Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.
· At age 32, together with his wife and four children, Carey went to India. He spent 41 years in India.
· His works:
o Bible teaching and translation:
§ He translated the Bible into Bengali, Oriya, Marathi, Hindi, Assamese, Sanskrit and parts of it into other dialects and languages.
o Education:
§ Carey started Sunday Schools in which children learned to read using the Bible as their textbook.
§ Carey opened, at his own cost, what is considered the first primary school in all of India. The public school system that Carey initiated expanded to include girls in an era when the education of the female was considered unthinkable.
§ Carey and his team produced textbooks, dictionaries, classical literature and other publications which served primary school children, college-level students and the general public.
o Ministry:
§ He founded Serampore College to train indigenous ministers for the growing church and to provide education in the arts and sciences to anyone regardless of caste or country.
o Social order:
§ He helped to rid India of a number of barbaric practices including child marriage, human sacrifices and helped many children, orphans and widows to create new and fulfilling lives.
o Agriculture:
§ He had a great interest in botany and plant cultivation. He helped to found the Agri-Horticultural Society of India in the 1820’s, and wrote many of the earliest essays on forest management and plant conservation.
§ Carey also helped to introduce cultivation of coffee and gave prizes for the best cultivators and growers. He introduced European fruits to the region, and created better conditions and methods for growing indigenous fruits.
William Carey used the gifts that the Holy Spirit gave him to glorify Jesus and put forth His message within the world, although he had to go through many hard times in harsh environment in India. It is the Holy Spirit that moves him to continue to witness for God, not only in sharing the gospel but also in society with his works in education, plant cultivation, social order, and humanity.
We are grateful to God for He continues to send His servants all over the world that until today we can still hear the Word of God.
Application / Group discussion:
· How do you appreciate every opportunity to listen to the Word of God?
· Do you want God to use you to be His witness to proclaim the gospel and share God’s love to others?
· Would you be afraid being God’s witness? If no, why?
Ayat Hafalan:
John 15:26-27
John 15:26-27
[26] “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. [27] And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.