Sent for a Purpose: Be the Dove, Not the Raven
August 24, 2022 · 1:33:40 · Watch on YouTube ↗
These notes - summary, key points, and highlighted thoughts - were generated by AI from the recording and are not the preacher’s exact words.
Summary
A visiting pastor from Pakistan opened the service with a call to discover and fulfill God's purpose for our lives. He shared how his ministry brings audio Bibles to a land where nearly half the people cannot read, and recounted a paralyzed man who rose and walked after hearing the gospel - proof that no one is on this earth by accident. From Noah's two birds in Genesis 8 he drew a sharp contrast: the raven was sent out but, distracted by what it found, never returned and failed its master, while the dove faithfully completed its mission and brought back the olive leaf.
The host pastor then traced God's step-by-step plan through the book of Acts. Starting with Christ's final words - that the disciples would receive power from the Holy Spirit and be his witnesses to the ends of the earth - he followed the gospel from Pentecost in Jerusalem, through persecution and scattering, into Samaria, to the household of Cornelius, and on to Antioch, where the door opened to the Gentiles and believers were first called Christians.
The same God who built that first-century church, he urged, is still at work today through the same Spirit. We are called not to sit idle like the raven but to fly far like the dove - filled with the Holy Spirit, preaching the gospel, living holy lives, and asking what more God wants to do through his church.
Key Points
- God created every person for a purpose; no one is here by accident.
- Like Noah's dove, we are sent to complete a mission, not to wander off like the raven that never came home.
- The word of God still carries power to heal and transform, even where people cannot read it for themselves.
- God does not call only pastors; every believer is sent to take the good news to the ends of the earth.
- Small, faithful efforts - like a sparrow carrying water to a fire - matter to God, who multiplies what we give him.
- In Acts, God unfolded salvation step by step: from Jerusalem to Samaria to the Gentiles at Antioch.
- To finish the work we must be filled with the Holy Spirit, expecting trials yet trusting God for boldness and power.
Devotional
God did not place you on this earth by accident; like Noah's dove, you have been sent with a purpose to fulfill. It is easy to be drawn away by the many attractions around us and, like the raven, forget why we were sent. Today, ask the Lord to remind you of your calling and to fill you afresh with his Spirit. Even a small, faithful act offered in his name can become something great in his hands. Say yes, and trust him to carry you far.
You are not on this earth by accident; God has a perfect plan for your life.
Don't be a raven that forgets its mission; be a dove that brings back the olive leaf.
God is not looking for highly educated people, but for those ready to say yes to him.
Transcript
Auto-generated transcript of this service.
foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] I mean laughs foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] ideas [Music] meaning [Music] [Music] foreign that is all Russian I know so thank you very much once again for giving me this opportunity and it's always an honor to come in this church especially I thank you for my brother Peter whom I met I think somewhere in 2007 or eight foreign and I want to share if the projector is ready then maybe we can have some slides but uh um come from Pakistan yes Pakistan and this is a country of about 95 Muslims and that is one of the strongest Muslim Nation so now Islam so always uh there is a threat for churches a threat for churches a track tracked threat church [Music] but we thank God that the work of God never stops because the holy spirit is the one who has taken the responsibility of church on Earth and almost uh 50 people 48 to 50 people cannot read in Pakistan and that is a very big challenge for the gospel momentum because people cannot read the word of God Is So in 2016 God gave me this vision is approaching that we take the good news we take the word of God in audio form to people who's and from that time till now we have given more than 650 uh maybe more than that audio Bibles in Pakistan 650. um foreign language and we prepared this audio Bible in Pakistani language pakistano and we thank God for this church also last year when I was here so whenever I come here they support especially this audio Bible Ministry together we can reach many people and I just want to share one testimony about this audio Bible a few months ago we went in one Village and there was one man who was just laying on the bed he was not even able to move his arms his legs and when we went there we preached the gospel he started moving his legs and he started walking so the word of God bring uh healing in his body praise the Lord so this is how the power of the word of God is touching lives and this evening I want to talk something about the calling is every one of us are called for some purpose even the small ants which you see on the floor sometimes we don't understand but they have a purpose so everyone who is sitting here this evening God has a purpose for your life who suppose you are not on this Earth accidentally Witnesses [Music] because God has a perfect plan for our lives the Book of Genesis chapter 8 voicemail and of course we can uh it's a long story but I just want to read from words uh let's read from verse 6. Bible says 40 Days Later Noah opened the window he had made in the boat then Noah sent out a raven The Raven flew from place to place until the ground was dried and water was gone Noah also sent out a dove Noah wanted the dog to find dry place your dry ground he wanted to know if water still covered the Earth the dove could not find a place to rest because water still covered the Earth so the Dove came back to the boat Noah reached out his hand and caught the Dove and brought it back into the boat after seven days Noha again sent out the dog and that afternoon the dog came back to Noah the dog had a fresh olive leaf in its mouth this was a sign to show Noah that there was dry ground on the Earth seven days later Noah sent the dove out again but this time the dog never came back so this is a story of the flood you know imiz name should say his story and we see two abodes here [Applause] foreign the Bible says after 40 days uh no uh he sent a raven peace now there were maybe thousands or hundreds of birds in the ark yeah and from thousands of birds he chose a raven isn't it wonderful that he chose Revan for a purpose it says similarly maybe God has shown us this evening for a purpose can everyone say we are chosen for a purpose you are not sent on this uh in this world without a purpose is silly so that was a great honor for that Raven says that he was chosen amongst uh maybe thousands of birds and he was sent to Sea that is there any water on the Earth [Music] but when he was sent out of the boat and he started flying he saw dead bodies everywhere on the water this is and he decided not to go back in the boat because for many days he did not find a flesh maybe uh to eat in the boat please and when he was flying he saw a lot of attractions one thing he forgot that what is the purpose of sending him and Bible says he never came back he could not fulfill the purpose of the master he failed to fulfill the purpose of Noah I mean Vietnamese weapons but remember God always have a second choice like we see in the life of King Saul God called him for a purpose and God wanted him to lead the nation of Israel boys Nazi is right but he failed to fulfill his purpose and when he failed to fulfill the purpose then God called David he was according to God's Own Heart so we see that when Raymond failed to do his purpose no take another uh uh bird which was Dove is and the first time when Dove went out equally would say say hold up he did not find any place and she came back after maybe seven days she was sent again and this time when she came it has a olive leaf in its mouth image name is because uh Noah and his family they wanted to know how much water is still on the earth and when he saw an olive live in its beak in its mouth says he come to know that water has gone down on the earth means and Bible says after that when she was sent out you um he never came back but before that she fulfilled the purpose of uh her Center other theme so tonight I want to ask you a question how many of you knows that God has a purpose in your life and are we fulfilling that purpose on this Earth many times we have many attractions in this world we want to enjoy this world because there are so many attractions in this world in Pakistan people think uh America is like a paradise is everyone is enjoying the life but when I come here I started uh noticing people still have problems here yeah we have to focus on the purpose of our ascending in this world and we see a lot of people in the Bible who really followed their Vision who really followed their purpose of Life Bible tells us about Abraham he was living in a very wealthy place is because where he was living that was uh at a Highway uh which was a trade route of that time it was like a business City and he was having a lot of money there now it was very difficult for him when God asked him to leave this place and go to a place which I will show you is if today God asks you to leave USA and go to places like Pakistan or Nepal or India so maybe that will be difficult today similarly God asked Abraham to leave that place and go to the country which I will show you around and which God was telling him because all the other nations around uh Abraham they all had Idols or any images of God you know some people believed on bail or what on bail ball Ballet and some have other kinds of gods but the God talking to Abraham had no image foreign give everyone behind except your wife I mean please so he has to leave his family he has to leave his business he has to leave his property and have to go to the country which even he don't know about anything so God is calling us for a great purpose this evening are we ready to fulfill the call of God in our lives we don't want to be like a reverend maybe for 20 years 10 years 30 years we are just sitting at one place and we are doing nothing for God or for his kingdom advances but tonight God is calling you because a lot of people are dying without the gospel Allah and I don't see God has called only the pastors to preach the gospel he has no issues or the Bishops to preach the gospel all who believe you have to go to the corners of the Earth because people are waiting for you in Pakistan I know I cannot reach all over Pakistan yes I cannot preach the gospel in all Pakistan but I always uh have uh one story in my mind a fire broke out in one jungle all the animals ran away all the birds flew away all the birds but there was a small Sparrow high and she said in her heart oh Sparrow oh and she thought in her mind that I lived in this jungle and I should do something for the jungle yeah so she fly miles away he went to a stream or a pound put some water in the beak and jobs and throw on the fire and all the day she was doing that because in the evening when she was really very tired a raven came to the Sparrow and ask is there any benefit of your effort which you made the whole day yeah and that little Sparrow gave a very wise answer it's a link of task it says I don't know if it make any difference or not Nema is so for the kingdom do something and God will increase that a lot in 19 uh in 20 20 when we started this audio Bible Ministry many people they've made fun of us because we were standing on the roads and we were giving uh audio Bibles to people when is but after many years no many churches they uh pick this idea and they are doing uh this same work in Pakistan so we did not give up we keep doing that and now uh almost uh more than 3 000 people we have given the word of God so I want to encourage you these are some of the areas very backward areas they look like uh a time of Jesus because they these people have no facilities of life and the work of God is keep increasing because until my life is I am going to do whatever I can for the kingdom of God so are you ready today to say yes to the calling of God [Music] maybe we have many attractions in the world like that Reverend maybe we forget the purpose of our sander Muslims but today come back and say Yes to God lord I am ready your small effort can make a big difference [Music] God is Not uh just looking for a very highly educated people he is looking for the people who are ready to say yes to him who are ready to go and preach the gospel because if we are just sitting and doing nothing for the kingdom maybe we have forgotten the purpose of our coming in this world maybe when we will go on heaven we will not preach there we have to preach the gospel to the sinners in this world and you know about Jesus he was very much cleared in his mind for what purpose he came in this world means when he started his ministry he proclaimed that the spirit of God is upon me it means I mean I am baptized in the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and even in the New Testament we see whoever received the spirit of God what was the main purpose of giving the spirit of God in the Old Testament we see there were three major Ministries uh a king a priest he so whenever God sent his Spirit on any king or priest or a prophet because so there was a special purpose for sending the spirit God wanted to fulfill his purpose for the nation [Music] and a priest has to perform his duties of priests with the help of the Holy Spirit similarly a Holy Spirit came in the New Testament so uh all those you know Apostles they went out and they started preaching the gospel now so Jesus knew his purpose on this Earth and he said the spirit of God is upon me it is okay uh the spirit has come upon him because God wanted him to preach the Gospel YouTube to bring the healing for the sickness and those who are in the chains Jesus came to break the Yokes to break the chains and those who are sitting in the darkness he came to bring the light so that was the Clear Vision of Jesus on the very beginning he knew for what purpose he is in this world and you know when he uh had a fasting for 40 days we see that uh Saturn came to uh tempt him and maybe there was a chance that gives us uh turned the stones into bread he was so weak after the fasting but still he was not focusing on his hunger but he was focusing on the purpose of God is when we are on this Earth we all have a purpose of God in our lives can everyone say I have a purpose in life amen I have a purpose in life I have a purpose in life and I am going to fulfill that purpose God bless all of you so uh see this is all yeah this is the name of our ministry this is the church in Pakistan Pakistani this is our church we are serving says these are our Sunday school and kids Chapel children so we thank God our children are growing in the Lord the small children they started praying and they are praising God because we have to focus on our children this is a good uh uh I mean a soil to seed in years it's uh so this is uh audio Bible Ministry we are Distributing audio Bibles we are trying to cover now the whole villages we try to give as many bibles uh as we have families so these are very uh far areas these are very uh unplanned areas no facilities we also doing Jesus film Ministry we go in The Villages where people cannot read and we show Jesus films and through Jesus film we have reached thousands of people in Pakistan we also trying to help our very poor needy families with food specially during the covet uh be really distributed a lot of food pictures I also translate Christian English books into Pakistani language until now I have translated 124 books yes this is persecution in Pakistan many times many churches are blown up many churches are bombed and suicide bombers they attack Pakistan uh so this is one of the big church here and two suicide bombers entered on Sunday and uh almost more than 400 people were injured and maybe I think 69 or 70 people were martyred inside the church suicide uh she decided today she said so every Sunday we have a great danger for the churches this is uh a small SUV which we are looking for many years and we are still praying for that we could buy an SUV or a van for our audio Bible and Jesus fell Ministry we are also trying to extend our church this small audio Bible cost only 15 but it is really a great tools these are some of our needs which we are praying is and these are some of the ways to help us in Pakistan uh through these uh bank account or any I mean investing Union type things so thank you so very much and God bless this is and once again I'm very grateful to pastor and all the board for giving me this opportunity amen if you can stay for a second brother we would like to pray for you brother we would like to bless you we will do this of course we need God's blessing and everything that we do and the anointing that you mentioned you need that especially in the time that we live in in the country that you live in in the country of Pakistan where many of the Believers are persecuted that God anointing and protection be upon you you your family your team your church and everything that'll be the first thing that we do Pakistani I invited our church to also participate in a financial support for the needs that you mentioned there on the screen whatever God is opening for our Believers for brothers and sisters they'll share that after the the prayer and this during the song so let's pray sorry universe foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] Mommy [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] let me take your seats you know I didn't have a conversation fully with the pastor from Pakistan uh no he went right to Jesus Christ and that's where he ended that the Holy Spirit came down on Christ and the ministry of Jesus Christ and Jesus on the on the um olives and the disciples were gathered there on the on the on the hill on the Mount of uh and the Acts of Apostles chapter 1 verses 8 and 9 speaks on this this was the last request Jesus made before he went into heaven is simile is yeah verse 8 says but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my Witnesses in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the Earth and he said this as after he said this he was taken up before their very eyes and a cloud hid him from their sight and it hid him from their sight what is said last is the most important and today I would like to speak from specifically the church about this great godly mystery of God's plan for salvation of mankind All Nations and of course it happened through the proclamation of the Gospel through Christ and through the edification or the building up of the church or churches and step by step specifically one step after the other because and God began to reveal his plan on how he is building his church through the work of the Holy Spirit praise be to God and then we read that 10 days after this happened the Holy Spirit came down onto the church is and the Holy Spirit was poured out onto the all of them that were present there and uh 3 000 people uh were filled movie and we see that this church there was very powerful very strong right there in Jerusalem and there were many added to them daily and even 5 000 were added yeah it was a Great Awakening but it was just the beginning and then we read the persecution came yes and I say if we desire for an Awakening or Revival and it's good because I desire it as well [Music] with the great Revival comes great um testing and trials and persecution even and it's always been like this and then after this great Revival and this refreshment that they experienced uh began the persecution through the Apostle or through Stephen is and then it says in chapter 8 of Acts that all were scattered except the apostles many different places in Judea and Samaria um and then it says that those that were scattered they were witnessing about the good news uh especially about this Deacon of the church evangelist his name is Philip garada and then he went into Samaria and he began to preach the gospel of Christ and the Holy Spirit it was alive and active in the church and in the apostles was also working through Stephen and uh on to the people that he was speaking to is and Samaria began to receive the word of God and then we saw that churches were organized in Samaria praise God the Holy Spirit was poured out there was a great joy in these towns and then we see how these churches were formed in Samaria foreign and then we see also that the salvation of a man named Saul uh future Apostle what happened there he was a gentile yeah Apostle of Gentile he was an apostle for gentiles and the church throughout Judea Galilee and Samaria enjoy the time of peace and was strengthened living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit it increased in numbers and we see in this whole all the territory of Israel were Churches of God just like Christ had said and then in chapter 10 of Acts it speaks about how God began to bring the Gentiles into the church specifically chose Peter is and he was sent to go to a home of a gentile which was forbidden at those times for Jew to go into the house but the lord gave him a revelation and said go and I will be with you there is and we read there that many people were saved in the home of Cornelius including him and when this happened you know it was like it was not it was not there for the church before this and when Peter returned to the church they started to uh pressure put pressure on him Peter how could you go into the home of a gentile and even eat there with them and Peter began to explain how all of it happened Brothers this was news for me too I I myself couldn't even imagine it but this is the way the Lord showed me and this is what I did you see step by step God was little by little unfolding his plan his strategy for the Salvation of man and when they listen to what uh Peter explained to them chapter 11 verse 18. and when they heard this they said no further objections and praise God saying so then even to the Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life to know his will because sometimes we think he should be this way and so through this uh the acceptance of the um salvation of Gentiles was accepted by the church of Jerusalem praise be to the Lord is God continues to make Godly moves for you and he does it through his church and as we heard today that the purpose that God has what he wants to do 11 19. which is and it says now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as phenicia Cyprus and Antioch spreading the word only among the Jews foreign went to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks also telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus hospital and God's hand the Lord's hand was with him and the great number of people believed and turned to the Lord nobody could have imagined that the gospel would go further even Cyrene uh or Cyprus Hysteria Syria yeah and it began to expand Ed um is that a church in Syria in Antioch there was a it was made out of 90 Gentiles no so this city of Antioch was the third largest city in the in the Greek Empire and that's how important this is the first one of course was Rome Alexandria then Alexandria and so we see this church that was organized in in Antioch in Syria um and we know that this was the second largest church following Jerusalem is under the authority of the Apostles in Jerusalem they were they were accountable to them was sent there he was amazed he didn't know that there would be such a big church there and when he came there he saw truly the grace of God and he was overjoyed because he saw God's grace there Grace on Grace praise be to God and he was telling them hold on to God with a sincere heart and God's plan continued to expand your book is and he made this church the headquarters board the the ministry to the Gentiles where I was found Saul which was then named Paul and brought him into the church and they gathered there and prayed and in the 13th chapter of Acts a the Holy Spirit sends Paul and Barabbas into different uh countries or places to spread the gospel and they went there being sent by the Holy Spirit by the church so even though Antioch was a headquarters type of church it was still accountable to Jerusalem foreign because the prophet said there would be there would be a famine he was nice and so in the church in Antioch uh they gathered money and resources and sent them over to to Jerusalem for the poor Believers that were there so Paul said if we have become we have become inherent inheritors along with the Jews we must also uh do our part da but there and there were other many churches in other places and then when they're returning from there we read in the 14th chapter they shared with the church What the Lord Has Done through their Ministry how God opened the doors for Gentiles in different different nations and as they uh when they returned they saw that there were false teachers that came from Jerusalem to Antioch yeah and so they came saying if you don't become circumcised or begin to fulfill the law that you will not be saved Christianity and there they were called the first time Christians and now we're called Christians and that's actually where it happens praise God and so uh Paul and Bravos were upset with these false teachers um he understood that this was a Jewish teaching and it was a pharisee-like team he was but he was in Grace he said uh by the law of Moses you cannot but when he was with Christ he appeared to be a sinner um um so there was a great tension that arose there and they weren't able to resolve the issue themselves so they went to Jerusalem and therefore there needs to be unions and Bishops because it's it's needed for this and they went there and said look this is the kind of problem we have much time is and we see that many of the church Elders came to this church and gathered together and so they had a deep discussion and just thinking about how to how are they going to receive the Gentiles which if there gives knowledge and they knew that the Gentiles are the the members of the Church of Christ they are brothers and sisters so how must we act in this situation and after a long discussion they came to this resolve foreign regarding this uh Gathering there in Jerusalem um verses 23 to 31 chapter 15 verse 23 to 31. foreign Pablo foreign Buddha foreign you know this ministry is also a part of the life of a church you know when I believed in Christ in the Lord I came to church to serve as a preacher and the brothers you know the Communists and the KGB they always try to find something to to do to to affect us negatively but at the same time many false teachers also came in yes and even with unitarianisms and uh Unitarian Seventh-Day Adventists advantages Jesus only Believers and many others that they came with false teachings and we had to uh solve these issues and little by little it was revealed foreign and so the gospel went into Macedonia and into Rome is why am I sharing this and why did our brother share with us about this calling purpose because it is a part of the life of a church the preaching of the Gospel to keep the gospel to not fall from the grace of God we must strive in order to save this to protect it I know I was talking about the first century and more than 20 centuries went by but you and I were in the 21st century book the same God the same Spirit if he has a strategy in order to save the people and he does step by step shows us the church in order for salvation to come for Allah and that's why we hear many times from many different people it is urged and go and preach the gospel not like a raven that just goes around in a circle doesn't go very far but it's not like a dove it can go very long days and we must be these type of message messenger-like doves they use them they use doves for that reason not just Noah and we must be like this messenger like doves yes in order to bring this message we must pray and ask God what is his expectations for our church in this year of 2022 many things he has done but what more does he would he like to do in us you know when Samaria was was saved we thought it was such a great uh thing like that happened but just wait until Antioch will be saved other other people types of nationalities you and I we don't just live here on this Earth we are called to what Jesus Christ to be filled with the spirit of God to preach the gospel to live a holy life and to bring fruit I mean amen are we in agreement with this is you know why this church in Antioch Jerusalem what was it it's because they were filled with this important goal and are we filled with the school Napoleon are we filled huh I have to well there's Napoleon um we must be filled with as brothers and sisters these are the final words of Christ and in order to fulfill this we must be filled it's not a one day happening there will be uh trials we would need wisdom need power strength yeah even the disciples said Lord they have forbidden us to speak of you in Jerusalem give us the boldness and what did God do he filled up with the spirit and the place Shook and you see us and they began to proclaim the gospel boldly Hallelujah I remember a testimony of a nation in in Africa that was filled with the spirit dude they began to praise God nobody looked at the time because the presence of God and the young man just stands to the stage it's supposed to be the pastor and the second pastor and he began to preach there is and then they started to react like what is this going on youth foreign foreign foreign support tennis this is your hospital Crowder foreign Hallelujah foreign [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] Hallelujah foreign [Music] [Music] foreign foreign foreign yes foreign ideas is sin us sushi that's right it's a email for your the bridge itself foreign the grace may the Lord strengthen our faith I mean