Acts 20:1-16 - Three Marks of Missional Living

Hey, I'm going to invite you to Acts chapter 20 is where we're going to be together today in Acts chapter 20. And as we get ready to look at this chapter, we're only going to look at the first 16 verses this morning. But what I want us to recognize that this is the section of Acts for Paul's on his third missionary journey. And as far as the book of Acts records for us, this is sort of the pinnacle of all of Paul's missionary journeys, just kind of culminating together. He's really learned a rhythm of what it looks like to represent Jesus wherever he goes in this world, recognizing different places receive him in different ways. But it didn't deter the Apostle Paul from being who God has called him to be as he moved through this world in order to make a difference. And so when we look at the book of Acts, I think it's important to remember that while Acts ends for us after Paul's third missionary journey, Paul's going to come back from this journey. He's going to be thrown into prison. And the book of Acts ends with Paul imprisoned in the book of Rome now, or excuse me? In the city of Rome. The Book of Rome. He wrote the book of Romans. But in the city of Rome. And when? When Paul, as the book of Acts concludes here. I want us to know this wasn't because it was the end of Paul's life.

In fact, history teaches us. Paul was released from prison. He later goes back to prison, and that's where he's martyred. But Paul was released from prison after the end of the book of Acts, and he continues on his missionary journey. So when you read books like Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, or even first and second Timothy or Titus, those are all letters Paul wrote after the conclusion of the book of Acts. So Paul certainly lived on his missionary journey beyond the story that we're reading in Acts. And we might ask ourselves, why? Why did Luke end so early? Why did we get all the details of Paul's life? And the reason for that is because the point of Acts isn't about giving you all the details of Paul's life. It tells us a portion of Paul's life. But the bigger story of the book of Acts is how the Spirit of God worked in the people of God to accomplish the will of God. It's helping us understand how the early church went from Jerusalem to the other most parts of the earth, which is what God called them to do. In Acts chapter one, verse eight, which is why after the church starts in Jerusalem, we get to the capital city of the Roman Empire, which is the city of Rome. And this is where Luke chooses to end the story because we're watching the gospel go throughout the world.

Now, having seen how the early church responds in light of who Jesus is, we understand that God calls us on the same mission today, that we're here as a people of God, representing the Lord in this world. And God has a purpose for our existence. And it's a privilege to not only know him, but also honor him in the way that we live our lives. It's why we say as a church, that Alpine Bible Church exists for a purpose greater than itself. And so how do we discover that? Well, it begins in your own personal faith journey, in recognizing who you are in light of who Jesus is and living beyond that because God created His church for a purpose beyond you and me, something that outlasts us. And so as we look at Acts chapter 20, this first 16 verses, we're going to discover from the Apostle Paul's life what that looks like. And in terms of looking at his faith journey and then relating that to our own and how God desires for us to live in this world, we're going to talk about three marks of a, of missional living or really a purposeful life. How do we live that? What are some things we can extrapolate from Paul's life in order to discover in our own. And in terms of talking about his third missionary journey, one of the things that I have taken some time to help us see is exactly where the Apostle Paul went.

And as he started in the area of Antioch, Syria, which is on the middle, far right of your map, my left on this side here, he's leaving from Antioch, Syria, and he travels to the region of Galatia where he ministered in towns like Conium, like Lystra, Iconium, and Derby. And then from the region of Galatia, that's where he really culminated his first journey. He then heads west and west of Galatia is where he spent his second missionary journey. And he ministered and really the town of Philippi, which is the first time the gospel that we have recorded goes into Europe and he goes beyond that region. He's ministering all the way down to in the southern parts of Corinth before he comes back on his from his third missionary journey. And one of the things I think is important for us to remember as we look at Paul's third missionary journey, is he really doesn't go anywhere new from where he went on his first and second missionary journey. First and second missionary journey. All new locations for Paul, his third. He's revisiting the places that he had previously been. And in so doing, he's teaching us about missional living. What does it look like to live that kind of life and light of who the Lord is. The truth be told, we're all going somewhere.

But we're living what we're living for along the way ultimately matters. And we're discovering this in Paul's life. So what does it look like for us to live that missional life? Number one in your notes is this intentional movement, intentional movement. Now, let me be honest. Sometimes I try to put these points in a concise way so that we can remember them a little bit better. And you don't have to write a lot of words down. I don't know anyone that has woken ever awoken in their day and said I'm going to just be unintentional all the time, right? Like we all have a purpose behind why we do what we do. We all have, we all would like to think that our movement has intention to it. But if we're just being frank, Sometimes that intention is stupid or sometimes that intention. We didn't put a lot of thought behind. Sometimes we'll do things and we'll look back on it and think, why in the world did I do that right at the moment? It might have seemed like the best decision I could have made, but hindsight, that wasn't that wasn't great. That wasn't my bright moment in life. And so when we do things, we all, we all tend to do that with intention. But really it's more about what drives that intention behind why we do what we do. I would say it like this some people spend their life, but God's people were called to invest our life and some people just simply spend their life.

There's definitely intention behind that. But God's people are called to invest our lives. And when we think about investing our lives, we're really asking the question, how do I make the greatest impact for who God has created me to be and how I live in this world. Lord, how can my life make a ripple? And even when my days are done that it just outlasts me. And it doesn't mean that necessarily people have to know who I am. But a difference is made in the lives of people around me in such a way that my life ripples for the glory of God to the benefit of others. Because my life was given over to Jesus. I didn't just spend it, I invested it. Even this morning when I was on my way to church, I was listening to some some people on a podcast that I had talking about a revival that's taking place in generation Z, meaning young people today are sick of the superficial ways that we live our life, and they're looking for some depth in how they're in the pursuit of how they're living. And we're starting to see a change in American culture as Christianity has declined and now the younger generations are starting to respond in a way that they want to see their lives matter.

And for the Apostle Paul, this is certainly what he's doing with some intentional movement as he's going on his third missionary journey. And in Acts chapter 20, the first few verses starts this way. After the uproar ceased. And this is, if you remember, at the end of Acts chapter 19, there was some tension that was building in Ephesus to the point that it created a riot. And Paul is getting ready to move on from the city of Ephesus. And so it's telling you now, after after that uproar had passed away, Paul sent for the disciples. And after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. And when he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. And there he spent three months. And when a plot was made against him by the Jews, as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return to Macedonia. You know, it's interesting. We'll talk about this more in a moment. But as Paul's traveling around, it continues to be that persecution and tension is developed in the cities that he visited. And in verse three, it reminds us that there's no difference in that as Paul's moving around, there's a, there's a plot that's made to come against him. And Paul has some concern for what's taking place to the point that he transitions in the way he intended to travel because of that.

And I'll dive a little bit more in this, but I want us to recognize in verse three life that God calls us to have a life that perseveres through opposition. That opposition is normal. It's not exceptional. And so therefore, as God's people knowing that we're going to face challenges in this world, the depth of who we are in Christ must be deeper than the temporal struggles of what life must represent or what life will represent to us or. Or bring in our pathway. And so the Apostle Paul has found something that endures beyond the circumstance for which he finds himself. And so he's got this intentional movement. And we think about what does it look like in my life to live this kind of way. Living on mission is about recognizing not only where we are. Paul's obviously going to places. But also who I'm going to be, not allowing my circumstance to dictate my steps, but rather my steps have already been determined and the identity that I have discovered in the Lord. And so as Paul is moving forward, yes, there are challenges. And yes, sometimes he's got some detours, but it never he never loses focus. And living this missional life and having this intentional movement. And so when we look at Paul's life and we think to ourselves, okay, Paul, what in order to do that, in order to live that kind of life, what is it you did? What kind of who were you? What kind of person were you in displaying your life for God's glory in this world? And it tells you in verse two, his focus was to be an encourager.

You want to use your life for the glory of the Lord. The Bible tells you must lose your life in Jesus, completely surrendered to him. And when you're surrendered to him, you understand why the heart of God is passionate about and what the heart of God is passionate about is the lost souls in this world, that they may come to know him and grow in him. And if you want to join God on that mission, it requires you to be an encouragement to the people around you. And this is exactly what Paul is doing. Yes, he was going to different places, but the primary focus wasn't about the places, it was about the people that were represented there. Paul knew the greatest mission wasn't about where he was going, but who he was meeting on the journey and how he was representing the Lord along that way. And for some of us, it might be true that God calls us to different places for his glory and for others, it might just be opening our eyes to what's around us. I mean, even when we consider the Apostle Paul's calling on this map as Paul went on these journeys, his first, second and third missionary journey, I mean, Paul's journey started in the Church of Antioch, Syria, and he was there for ten years and administering there, the church saw his giftedness, and they commissioned both Paul and Barnabas to go on these missionary journeys.

As he was faithfully serving the Lord, the church affirmed that giftedness on Paul, to be able to go out into this world and make a difference. And it's the same for us. We think about the way that God has placed us in this world, that the best place to discover how you're gifted in serving the Lord is as you're an encouragement to those around you. And in doing that, the body of Christ can participate and encouraging you to faithfully following after the Lord in this world. And sometimes it calls us to send some people. And sometimes people stay behind to be that support base for what the Lord wants to do and among that local community. But either way, it's recognizing that God has us in a place to do something for his glory in this world and being intentional in that movement. And so Paul, he sees his position as one being an encourager to the churches as he's traveling around, he's going to the churches that were established in his first and second missionary journey to encourage them.

If I if I gave a comparative to how Paul is living his life here, it's like a coach on a sports team. You know, this today is March Madness and my favorite team plays at 1245. So I got to close services up here soon. So I get out and watch that. But when you think about the role of a coach on a sports team, he's not actually going to enter onto the field to play, but he recognizes the uniqueness of each person on the team and the way that they're gifted, especially in terms of, when you think about what makes sports teams so good, it's like, certainly you're going to have a talented people in particular areas, but not everyone has the same function. And if you did, your team would be a terrible team. I mean, could you imagine a football team? And I don't mean soccer. I mean real football. Could you imagine a real football team with if everyone was in the shape of a lineman, like you would do a lot of great blocking, but you're never going to get down that field. And the reason is because you're too dang slow, right? But you definitely want someone like that protecting the quarterback. And so there's different ways that God has gifted all of us. And Paul's recognizing that. And he he's encouraging one another in order to make an impact greater than himself for the glory of God as Jesus has impacted his own life.

So how do I make that kind of difference in this world? It's understanding where God has you in order to be an encourager to those around you, whether it's in your home, your church, work, wherever God's got you. It's a place to make a difference for his glory. And it tells us, as Paul's doing, that. It gives us a couple places here in Macedonia and Greece, and you should think about Macedonia. This is where the gospel first goes into to Europe. This is the town of Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea that we read about. And then Greece is the province of Achaea. This is when Paul went down to Athens and Corinth. I mean, wherever Paul was going, he was thinking, as a coach like God, how can I. How can I just be an encouragement to where they are? Are they discouraged? What? What is it? What is it they need in order to continue to move forward in the Lord, even in our own lives? You think about the tendency for us as human beings is that we don't often run into the path of encouragement, but we tend to sometimes gravitate towards discouragement. We tend to highlight our failures rather than our successes. And as believers, our successes are really marked in Christ. Meaning how do I find my identity in the gospel? Because of Jesus, I get to let go of my past.

I've been forgiven in Christ, my guilt, my shame, my sin no more. And I get to press forward in the upper calling for which I have in Christ Jesus. Because of what he's done for me, I get to put the past in the past and look to the brightness of the future because of Christ and therefore living for his glory in this world, knowing that God has me in a place in order to see a difference made that my life would be lived in his hands as a ripple effect for God's glory to the benefit of others. Intentional movement. So that as we think about ourselves in terms of encouragement, we could we could focus on number two in your notes, which is this deep relationships, missional living is marked by intentional movement and deep relationships. No doubt, as Paul is being an encourager to those around him, that it is deepening relationships. But you see this in verse four as Paul goes on these missionary journeys, you start to recognize when you read the New Testament, that the number of people traveling with the Apostle Paul continues to grow. And verse four, the Bereans, son of Pyrrhus accompanied him, and. And of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus and Gaius of Derby, and Timothy, and Asian and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas.

You can trust my proper pronunciation of those names coming from public school in West Virginia. I nailed it, I know I did. So verse six, but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days. Now, the idea of unleavened bread here is significant. But I want us to recognize as Paul is sharing these names with us, one of the things that I think is worth highlighting is that all these people, they're coming from different places, different world experiences, different cultures, different religious upbringings. But there's one thing uniting them all, and that's the identity that they have in Jesus. The truthfulness of who Christ is as they walk with him. Because that's one of the unique things I think about living in Utah is you know, there are some people that are from here, and that's great. And there are some people that are not from here, and I'm thankful you're here. If you could do me a favor and stop telling people Utah is great. We could control our roads better, right? So if someone asked me like, hey, it's all right, don't tell them right where you live in a beautiful place. This is being recorded. I should have thought about that. But when you think about the way we come together as God's people, all of us from different experiences and backgrounds.

But, one of the things I love about living here is that the presence of biblical Christianity is a small percentage. And every day that I wake up, I get to think about the opportunity it is to represent Jesus in this state, I love that. And then when I think, and you know, sometimes God, when we live in a place like Utah, Utah is rapidly growing, which means you got a lot of people coming from a lot of different places with a lot of different ideas. And that can be fantastic, but it also can be divisive because we have different methods, different ways of thinking, different things that might be important to us. But one of the things that I really love about living here is that all of those things take a back seat to the greater thing as God's people, is that God has created us to know him and to live for his glory and the mission that we get to live, wake up, and live for in light of who Jesus is matters more than anything. And that's what unites us as his people. That we can lay aside secondary ideas for the greater purpose which God has called us to in him and move in mission together. And when you do that, you start to realize, man, God has gifted us in different ways so that we can be a blessing to each other. And just like the first century church, when you realize they're coming from different places, different upbringings, different traditions.

And yet, here they are as a people, cooperating together for what God has called them to as a community. And the depth of who we are in Jesus brings a depth to the quality of our relationship that nothing else in this world can even compare to it. I mean, sometimes we even think about it if we didn't have Jesus, we as people often wouldn't even be friends because we come from such different backgrounds. But what we have in Jesus is so much greater, so much deeper, so much more important than anything in this life could have to offer that it's worth pursuing our identity collectively as a community in that than anything else. The depth of relationships is what Paul discovers here. And he and he's recognizing to us that this is happening during the time of Unleavened Bread. Now, I think there's a reason that Luke tells us that it's during the time of Unleavened Bread and. And I'll tell you that reason. And there's also just some further thought. I want to add to that I'm going to be honest and tell you, I don't think it's Luke's intention here, but I do think it's worthy of recognizing when Luke is telling us about an unleavened bread, he's wanting us to understand the timeline that the apostle Paul has put in his mind, because Paul is trying to get to a certain destination by a certain time period, and Luke wants us to recognize just how pressed Paul feels by telling us it's during the time of Unleavened Bread, Unleavened bread.

This would have been during a late March April. This is about the time that this holiday is celebrated. This is celebrated for a week long just after Passover. So if you remember in Israel's history, Passover was the time when they were slaves in Egypt. God came to Moses, said, say to Pharaoh, let my people go. Pharaoh wouldn't forever. Finally, God brings the last curse, which is the death of the firstborn. And he tells Israel, the death angel is coming. But you celebrate this Passover, Meaning if you take an innocent lamb, you sacrifice it and you place its blood over your doorposts that the Passover lamb will. Or excuse me, the death angel will pass over you. And so the children of Israel did. And what they discover is this path to freedom from slavery to this new identity. And the Lord, because of what God's done. But that Passover celebration was ultimately a picture of what Jesus would do for you and for me. This is why John, when John the Baptist, when he proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, when Jesus finally appeared, he said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He was the true Passover Lamb.

Now, when Israel celebrated the first Passover, the very next day, they began the celebration of the of the unleavened bread for a week. And this was to recognize that they didn't have enough time to even really prepare for this departure out of Egypt. They didn't have enough time for even the yeast to raise the dough. They. They had to eat unleavened bread. They had to cook it immediately and then go on the run and get out of Egypt. And they were going to this place of promise that God was given to them. And so Israel continued to celebrate this week long tradition of unleavened bread, recognizing how God took him to this from this place of slavery to this place of freedom. And it happens immediately. You guys can I just tell you, and this is more than what I think Luke wants from this passage, but it's important to understand what this Unleavened Bread holiday represents, especially in terms of Jesus. That he was he's more than enough. He's sufficient for your life. His life was given for you as that Passover lamb. And as soon as you come to know Christ, he calls you into something new, something different, something that you get to immediately leave who you were before, to walk in light of who you are now because of Christ and Paul, he's certainly living out his life this way. And for us, this phrase of unleavened bread should even be an encouragement to our own soul to think about man.

Do I have any hesitation in what it means for me to follow Jesus? Do I have any reluctance? Am I, am I holding on to things in my past and not grabbing a hold of who I really am, in light of who Christ is and everything that he's accomplished? For me, there's a there's a term in Scripture that we use. It's often we refer to it as ransomed or redeemed. And it's this. This word literally means bought from a slave market. And when Jesus talks about your life in Christ, this is what he's saying about you. He ransomed you from this place of imprisonment, and he's given you a future and a hope in him. This is not a place to just pander to sit, to sit in opposition or defiance or even just contemplate. This is saying no in Jesus. Move forward. Let go of who you were and embrace who you are in Christ. And it's the depth of that relationship in Jesus that gives us depth in our relationship with one another. He. He calls us to intentional movement in Christ. He calls us in the depth of relationship in him. So that number three, we can have unwavering purpose. That you and I would walk in unwavering purpose. And verse seven, as Paul continues on, it says on the first day of the week.

And by the way, this is one of the first verses in Scripture that helps us begin to see that the early church started worshiping on Sunday rather than on Saturday. Old Testament, the Jews, they worship on the Sabbath, right Saturday. But the early church begins to worship on Sunday. The day of resurrection. And on the first day of the week when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with him, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. There's ever there's ever a verse that should make you thankful for me, I've got 11 minutes to wrap everything up today. I am not going to keep you here that long. But in verse eight, there were there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered, and a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep. As Paul talked still longer, and being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third storey and was taken up dead. Can you believe he fell asleep in church? But when. But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, do not be alarmed, for his life is in him. And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while until daybreak, and so departed. And they took the youth away alive, and were a little comforted, or were not a little comforted.

When you read a story like that. I would tend to think that the main point of this passage is to tell us a guy came back to life that was dead, right? Eutychus. But when you actually read this passage, you realize that's just an interruption to the main point. Like somebody's got their priorities wrong here, right? I gotta think like, how could you tell a story like that and not think? The main point is there was a dead guy that came back to life. That is that is wild to me. I can't think of anybody that might think this is important. Probably Eutychus mom really appreciates that part of the story, right? But here it is. A young guy that dies and but he's not dead. He comes back to life. And that's not even the main point. That's just the caveat to the bigger point of the story. And what's the bigger point of the story? God's word in worship. The point of what they're telling us in this passage, even though this young man, he fell, he died and was resurrected. The point of the story is not about him. The point of the story is about the Word of God in worship. This unwavering purpose, because you know, this three points that I'm giving you, I'm just giving to you as it comes in order of these verses. But if I had to tell you what is the most important point I would say to you? It's certainly number three, because what determines who we are and what we're about is discovered in the Word of God, which teaches us about the Lord himself.

And this is critical for us because determining who he is, knowing God helps us understand who we are and therefore how we live our life. And more than just that, the intimacy of your own. Walk with the Lord to know, can I trust him? You know, a couple of things that I remind us of that are important as it relates to your own relationship with the Lord, is that one, you need to know God is sovereign, that he is in control. And also you need to know that he's good, that he cares about you. Both of those things are critical to your well-being. And when you understand the sovereignty of God above all things and is careful, gracious, care for your life, it then invites you to entrust yourself to him because you. You discover that what God has planned for you is far better than anything you can concoct on your own. And discovering who he is helps you understand who you are and therefore how you should live in light of that. The Word of God is foundational to everything that we do, and resting in that word is paramount for us. This is what makes Sunday morning so important. This is the catalyst for the rest of our week.

Now, this is not saying this is the only time you should spend with the Lord. I hope this is not the only time you spend with the Lord, but I hope on a morning like today, you see the importance of what Jesus is doing in all of us, and it inspires and compels your life to live for his glory. As you leave this place and continue to meet with Jesus, knowing that it's Christ that lays the foundation for us. Because here's what happens over time. Sometimes the idea of mission drifts from our hearts and we start to fade. But reminding and renewing ourselves again and again the goodness of who God is. Every news and stokes our passion for God in this world as we live for his glory to the benefit of others. That unwavering purpose, no matter where Paul went, he rooted his journey in the word and worship as it should be the same for you Lord. As I wake up each day, let me root myself in the identity for which I have in you, and walk in that discovery as I seek you in your word and as I worship. Because as you learn in verse 13, there's going to be challenges, right? It says, but going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard aboard there for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land.

And when he. He met us at Assos, we took him on board, and went to. My. Oh, shoot! The word is Milena. Milena, there we go. Milena or Milena? There we go. Milena. And when Paul is traveling. I don't know why that left my mind. When Paul is traveling there. I want you to see a couple of things. Like he wasn't necessarily intending the way that he went originally, but there was a detour to his trip. And sometimes when we live our lives for the Lord. Look, the mission doesn't change, but sometimes the means along the route needs to be altered. As God's people, there are things that we hold to with a closed fist. Knowing to change this is to change who we are. Like our identity in Christ, the significance of who Christ is. Salvation by grace through faith alone. The inerrancy of Scripture. These things are paramount to our faith. These aren't. These aren't debated issues. This is our identity. To change that is to change us. So there are certain things in our foundation. We hold on to. However, as we're holding on to those things, as we're honoring God and blessing others in this world, sometimes there is a change to our methodology and how we employ. It doesn't change who we are, doesn't change our mission, doesn't change our purpose, but we adapt in order to make an impact. And this is what Paul's doing on his journey.

He wanted to just sell straight home to Jerusalem, but he was unable to do that. And so he had to go around a secondary way in order to get there. It's the same as we think about representing God in this world, and sometimes people around us aren't ready to receive where we are. So we just kind of adapt the method in which we're employing in order to be more effective for the sake of the gospel, to honor Jesus, where we're at. And as Paul's traveling goes on, I need to get to the end of this. And verse 15 and sailing from there, he came to the following day opposite chaos. The next day went and touched at Samos. And the day after they that he went to Miletus, and for Paul had decided to sell past Ephesus so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. So by not wanting to stop in Asia, what is saying is he doesn't want to go back through Ephesus. He loved Ephesus. He's like, if I stop there, I'll be there for a long time. But he's trying to get back to Jerusalem for Pentecost. We could ask the question, why? Why, Paul? Why Pentecost? Like, just want to celebrate your holidays. Why is Paul so bent on getting to Pentecost? And this is why Luke wanted us to recognize that it was during the time of Unleavened Bread in previous verses, because the time span from Unleavened Bread to Pentecost is only 50 days.

And Paul's got in his mind, he needs to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost. Why does he feel it's so important to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost? I think the answer is because people. It's not because he was thinking about a holiday at the beach. He knew during this particular holiday there would be thousands upon thousands flocking to Jerusalem. And Paul knew that if he got there during this time, his life could be used to make an impact. So Paul is longing to be in Jerusalem on Pentecost. And guys, when you think about where the Lord has you, how critical this just highlights for us the significance of relationships as we find our lives rooted in the word and worship. And along those journeys, to realize, as Paul does, that there are obstacles, but we don't confuse the obstacles with the absence of God's presence. Sometimes faithfulness means changing plans, but not abandoning our purpose. And so Paul is doing what he can, even diverting his route for the beauty of ministering to the hearts of people because he knows God's interested in hearts. Sometimes there's hardships along the journey, but what we do in Jesus matters, which let me let me just end by with this little story. There's a famous missionary in American history in the 1700s named David Brainerd.

One of the things that's unique about David Brainerd is he actually died when he was 29 years old. He had significant health battles throughout his life. He died from tuberculosis at the age of 29. Sometimes we might look at a life cut short and we might think, how could God use that? Or how could God even end a life so early? Why would God allow that to happen? But what's amazing with David Brainerd is his life burns so passionately for the Lord that even though he only lived 29 years, he had 29 years. His life made a tremendous impact in such a way that generations after him, even though they may not know him, were impacted by the life of David Brainerd. In fact, missionaries like William Carey, who's known as the father of modern missions, or even more recently, people like Jim Elliot. If you asked him what person was most influential in encouraging you to live on mission for the Lord in this world, they would have told you it was David Brainerd. His love for Jesus surpassed everything else in his life, and he burned so brightly for Christ that it impacted the hearts of people around him to the point that he said this. Let me not let me forget the world and be swallowed up in desire to glorify God. You want to live a missional life. It's a life with that kind of passion, an unwavering purpose, an intentional movement through deep relationships in the Lord.