Commissioning Service: Tracy & Lindsay Tyson -- 5/19/13

Sunday, May 19, 2013

            Charge to Tracy and Lindsay Tyson   /     Our Commitment to Them

 
     *Tracy preached during the service, but we have no notes.

            Tracy and Lindsay, you know well that the Spirit of God spoke to the leaders of the church at Antioch, telling them to set apart Barnabas and Paul for the work to which He had called them.   Some of us have known for a long time that this day would come, when the Lord would send you out from here to some place in this world.  Tracy, we watched you go to Thailand last summer, and we prayed for you and with you, as you sought the Lord's will for you and your family.  We have confidence that what you are doing is not an ambitious personal undertaking, but rather your  willing and eager response to the Spirit's leading.  Though we will miss you terribly, we are excited that you are going.  And we believe that there is a sense in which we are going with you.

            This is not a light undertaking.  You and Lindsay must not expect things to be smooth.  No doubt, the enemy will see to that.  But praise God that He will take everything and work it together for good, as He conforms you to the image of His Son.  Though we are sending you out, we are well aware that it is the Lord Himself who must empower you to minister the gospel with effectiveness.  As you seek to make disciples of all nations, remember His promise -- "And, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  When things are difficult, He will never leave you nor forsake you.

            Tracy, I know you.  I have watched God work in you through the years.  Remember, "He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it" (I Thes. 5:24).  I challenge you to "endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," for "no one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier" (II Tim. 2:3-4).  You are still pretty young, "but let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (I Tim. 4:12). 

            As you get settled and pour yourself into learning the language, temptations will come your way.  Often they will be so subtle, were it not for the work of the Spirit, you would not recognize them.  One of your greatest temp-tations will likely be to neglect your family for the sake of the work.  When that temptation comes, may the Spirit of the Lord speak firmly and may you have ears to hear.  The Lord has given you a faithful wife and four precious children and will soon add a fifth.  You must not sacrifice them for what appears to be a greater work.  It may well be that Lindsay recognizes the temptation before you do; don't forget that.

            Lindsay, God has not only blessed you with children, but He has also blessed you with a love and devotion to those children.  No doubt, you will face new challenges in Thailand.  As you do, remember that ultimately there is only One whom you must please, and He is the One who loves you with an everlasting love.  May you be as gentle as a dove and as wise as a serpent, as you continue to guide your children in the Lord's ways.  "Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised" (Prov. 31:30).  Lindsay, you are a woman who fears the Lord; may it ever be so.

            Elia, though this move is not easy, know that you are being given a great privilege.  As you have trusted the Lord to this point, continue to trust Him; He will not fail you.  In all the excitement of being a part of a missionary family, remember that your one great need is to know Him.  Cultivate that relationship with Him day in and day out.  Jude, you have asked us to pray that God will save you.  That's what we are doing.  If He doesn't save you before you leave, you can rest assured that we will continue to pray for you until you belong to Him.  God's saving grace reaches Thailand as surely as it reaches La Luz.  Timothy and Xili, you are loved by the Lord, by your parents, and by the people in this church.

             Tracy and Lindsay, today we send you forth in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We urge you by the power of God's Spirit to be faithful to Him who has called you.  Though there are many good deeds you may perform, even good works which you will do in the name of our Lord Jesus, your primary goal is to share the message of the gospel with those who have no hope and are without God in the world.  Never forget the blessing:  "How beautiful are the feet of them who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things" (Rom. 10:15).  Quite a number of people will go to Thailand to give physical aid to the people there, but who will preach the message of repentance and faith unto salvation, if you don't?  Nevertheless, even before you preach the gospel, you must remember what a young man told us less than a year ago.  He said about Christian work in Thailand:  "There are many workers, but few worshippers."  Tracy, you were that young man.  Tracy and Lindsay, as you worship our Lord in spirit and in truth, surely He will empower you with His Spirit to pour forth those rivers of living water that our Lord promised.  Because He is with you, there is no need to fear.  Yes, your troubles He will bless, and sanctify to you your deepest distress.  If God is for you, who can be against you?  He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give you all things?

            I close this charge with the words of the song "So Send I You."  This is the second set of words Margaret Clarkson penned to this title.  As intended in the song, please receive these words from our Lord Jesus...

SO SEND I YOU by grace made strong to triumph
O’er hosts of hell, o’er darkness, death and sin,
My name to bear, and in that name to conquer-
So send I you, my victory to win.

SO SEND I YOU to take to souls in bondage
The Word of Truth that sets the captives free; 
To break the bonds of sin, to loose death’s fetters,
So send I you to bring the lost to me.

SO SEND I YOU My strength to know in weakness,
My joy in grief, My perfect peace in pain;
To prove My power, My Grace, My promised presence,
So send I you, eternal fruit to gain.

SO SEND I YOU to bear My cross with patience,
And then one day with joy to lay it down;
To hear My voice, “Well done, my faithful servant.
Come share My throne, My kingdom, and My crown.

                                    As the Father hath sent me, so send I you.

            People of God, these are God's missionaries, but they are also "our" missionaries.  It is our privilege to send them out, but it also involves responsibility.  As a church, we will be sending them financial support each month.  As individuals, some of us will add to that.  Praise God that He enables us to do that, but it is even more important that we support them in prayer.  It's easy to say, "We will pray for you;" actually praying is not so easy.  My prayer is that we will exercise our responsibility until it increasingly becomes our privilege and our joy to pray for them.  We are not only praying for Tracy and Lindsay and their family, but we are praying for the Thai people.  As we pray, the Lord will work not only in them, but also in us.  May we increasingly be a missionary church and a praying church.

             

Joe Myers will read...

            We, God's people at La Luz Bible Church, joined by a chorus of other brothers and sisters from the body of Christ, desire to love you, support you, and pray faithfully for you.  We realize that the Lord is taking part of our body and transplanting it to Thailand.  It is our desire to ignore the miles that separate us, as we rejoice with you when you rejoice and weep with you when you weep.  We joyfully bind our hearts with yours, as we together seek to reach the Thai people for God's glory.  [The congregation will respond with a hearty AMEN.]

Laying on of Hands / Prayer