Missions Outline

Introduction

7 billion people on earth

60% in Asia

15% in Europe

12% in Africa

8% in Latin America

5% in America - but we consume 60% of the world’s goods.

Missions is not an elective course—a tack on. It is the heartbeat of the church. If it weren't for missions, God might as well come now. It is the main purpose of the church.

The Great Commandment
(Matthew 22:34-40)

Matthew 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they gathered themselves together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37 And He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 "The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." (NASB)

The Saducees were "sad you see" because they didn't believe in the resurrection.

LOVE:

For God

For our Neigbor

Our society twists this. You need to love yourself or you can't love your neighbor. Our society starts with self. We are supposed to start with God.

The Great Commission
(Matthew 28:19-20)

Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

• Disciple Go is a command but the heart of the commission is to make disciples.
• Baptizing - rooting and grounding them
• Teaching - what? - to observe all things. The emphasis on observing.

Verse 20 ends with the fact that we will have help. Christ is with us.

Myths of Missions

1. Myth of the Closed door - there are no closed doors to God

2. Nationalism - This is true. Most of the world is independent. Prior to WWII 99.5% of the world was under Western Domination. By 1969 99.5% of the world was independent.

3. Indigenous churches are self-sufficient - No church should really be self-sufficient. The universal church should help take care of all its members.

4. The hungry heart - the heart is deceitful and loves its sin everywhere.

5. The specialist - you need to be a doctor or a pilot to go to missionfield

6. The unfulfilled life - people who go to the mission field couldn't find anything better in the real world.

How Can We Be
True World Christians?

1. We need information about the rest of the world

2. That should lead to intercession.

3. Intercession will lead to involvement.

4. That leads to more interest.

5. Then you will want more information.

Acts 2:42-45 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. (NASB)

We have already seen that the church should love and disciple from Matt 22:34 and 28:19. Here we see a model that expands on these principles.

• Worship
• Instruction
• Fellowship
• Evangelism

The wife acronym is helpful for remembering what the church should be doing, but we can divide these four things into two areas

• Love = Worship and Fellowship - Love for God and love for Neighbor
• Discipleship = Evangelism and Instruction

Evangelism is essential. What if you went to a football game and the players never left the huddle. That's what many churches are like. We are too comfortable and self-satisfied. We never hear the word "self-sacrifice."

What is church planting?

Drawing together a group of believers into a corporate community for joint worship, mutual fellowship, continuing training and constant outreach.

Missions - the sending forth of authorized persons (those designed by God, empowered by the H.S. and sent by the church) beyond the borders of the church and the immediate gospel influence (this includes geographical and social or economic influence) to proclaim the gospel of J.C. to win converts and to establish functioning, multiplying local congregations. (Peters p. 11)

Purpose in Progress

• God's Concern = mission
• God's Communication = missions

Missions in the Old Testament
5-12-5-5-12

Gen 11: 2 sins

• Pride
• Disobedience - "lest we be scattered over the face of the earth. Man has never wanted to go out into the unknown.

Gen 12:1-3

With context of 11: in mind we have Abraham's call.

 

INDIVIDUAL ASPECT	NATIONAL ASPECT	INTERNATIONAL ASPECT
LAND	NATION	BLESSING
Gen 13	Gen 15	Gen 17
Palestinian	Davidic	New
Deut 30:3-5	2Sam 7:11-16	Jer 31:31-40

Poetry

Ps 2:

• A Rebellious World - 1-3 -- look around
• A Righteous God 4-6 -- look above
• A Redeeming King 7-12 -- look ahead

Retribution or refuge

Ps 33:

 

1-5	Praise	God's Goodness to the earth
6-12	Ponder	God's Greatness over the eath
13-	Pursue	God's Guidance for the earth

Ps 67:

 

A Prayer	for	God's grace God's goodness God's glory
With a Purpose	for	World redemption World reverence World rejoicing
Unto Praise	for	His person His provision His preeminence

Ps 96:

 

Our Worship 1-6	Sing to the Lord
who	all the earth
what	bless His name
When	from day to day
Where	among the nations
Why	for God is great
Our Witness 7-10	Ascribe to the Lord
	Say He reigns
	among the nations
	among the world
	among the people
Our Wonder 11-13	Say He rules
	the earth
	the world
	the peoples

Prophets

Isaiah

 

1-39 God’s Condemnation	40-66 God’s Consolation
OT 39 books	NT 27 books

Isa 5-6: A Responsive Messenger

Our World 5:8-23

Woe - Materialism: possessions v 8-10

"Get all you can, can all you get , sit on the can"

One beg reason we don't want to go to missions is we don't want to give up our stuff.

Woe - Hedonism: pleasure v 11-17

Philosophy that "pleasure is the chief end of man"

Woe - Humanism: presumption vs 18-19

Pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps - "I don't need God. I'm doing fine without Him."

Woe - Relativism: perversion v 20

No absolutes - who's to say what's right or wrong - "homosexuality is just an alternate lifestyle"

Woe - Intellectualism: pride v21

Woe - Imperialism: persecution v 22-23

What is the Solution to our world's poblems?

Look up! In Isa 6:1 Isaiah looked up.

 

Our Worship 6:1-4	Our Witness 6:5-8
God's preeminence v1	Conviction v5
God's purity v2-3	Cleansing v6-7
God's power v4	Commission v8

Verse 5: Isaiah had been saying woe is the world around him, but when he sees God, he says Woe is me!. I myself am awful.

Jonah

 

1:	2:	3:	4:
Jonah Runs	Jonah Prays	Jonah Preaches	Jonah Pouts
graphic	graphic	graphic	graphic
God Chastens	God Cleanses	God Converts	God Cares

1. We need to find our place in the world

1. We need to pray for the world

2. We need to proclaim to the world

3. We need to care for the world

NEW TESTAMENT

 

History	Letters	Prophecy
5 gospels	21 letters	1 revelation

At the end of each gospel you have the homework assignment.

• Matt 28:19-20
• Luke 24:44-48

Emphasis is on scripture over experience - not like today. Beware of any movement that stresses experience.

"You are witnesses" - good or bad, you are it.

 

THE SOURCE	THE CONTENT	THE AGENTS
God's Word	Christ's Work	Our Witness
God prophesied Salvation	Christ Procured Salvation	We Proclaim Salvation

John 20:19-23 "So Send I You"

Disciples had fear - Christ met needs - peace

Communion with Christ = Joy

He had the peace treaty in his hands - nail scars

They were sent but they had to have the Spirit before they could accomplish their mission. was this the filling of the HS. Probably not since He filled them in Acts 2: This was probably similar to Jn

 

Peace of Christ	Power of the Spirit	Pardon of God
v 19-21	v 22	v 23
We Rest in Him	We Rely on Him	We Reach Out for Him

GREAT COMMISSION PASSAGES

 

MATT	MARK	LUKE	JOHN
Make Disciples	Preach the Gospel	You are my Wtnesses	So Send I You
All the Nations	All the World	All Nations	The World Jn 3:16
Purpose	Preaching	People	Process
We are Disciples	Heralds	Witnesses	Ambassadors
Imperative	Imperative	Indicative	Indicative

ACTS
THE CHURCH

 

STARTS	SCATTERS	SENDS
1-7	8-12	13-28

• Cross cultural expansion is emphasis in acts
• Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and uttermost part of the earth

Romans 10:14f

Four questions and the bottom line is that we need senders. Without senders, no one can go. There are plenty of people who are willing to go but raising support kills many endeavors.

(1) Can we reach the world in this generation? 2 Tim 2:1f is foundational. Vs 2 says faithfulness is only requirement.

Value of multiplication: that is; if your witness resulted in in the doubling of Christians each year (1 - 2 - 4 - 8 - 16 - 32 - 64 - 128 - 256 - 512 - 1024 - etc ) at the end of 33 years we could have reached 9 billion

(2) Are the heathen lost?

See "Untold Billions: are they really lost." Ron Blue, Bib Sac

Questions involved:

• Is God Just?
• Character of GodTheology Proper

(3) Is Christ the only way?

Sufficiency of Christ—Christology

(4) Did Christ have to die?

• Necessity of the cross—Sotieriology
• Is not evil relative? Judgment of sin—Amartiology
• Is Man inherently sinful? Depravity of man—Anthropology
• Is the church God's unique witness? Role of the church—Ecclessiology
• Is there a future reckoning?—Eschatology

God has revealed himself in creation and conscience.

What is man's response to the Glory of God?

No praise. Notice: If you do nothing you will be moving.

No thanks—away from God

Vain thought:

Darkened heart—Dark in the heart - Dead in the head.

Pride

Foolish

Idolatry

Sacrificing chickens to a rock is not reaching out to God. It is the last stage in rejection of God.

Man has suppressed the truth. What does God do? He lets them go. He gives them over to their lusts and passions and depraved mind. These three areas correspond and are contrasted with the three areas we should love God with - our heart and soul and mind.

History of missions

Europe

• Paul and Barnabas—Antioch
• Patrick—Ireland
• Augustine—England
• Boniface—Germany

Asia

• Francis Xavier—Japan
• William Carey—India
• Adoniram Judson—Burma
• Hudson Taylor—China

Africa

• Robert Moffat—South Africa
• David Livingstone—Congo
• Mary Slessor—Nigeria
• C.T. Studd—Belgian Congo

Latin America

• Bartolome De Las Casas
• Cam Townsend—Guatemala - started Wycliffe Bible Translators
• Jim Elliot—Equador (martyred)
• Chet Bitterman—Columbia - martyred

Carey starts first sweep - Pioneer - coastal emphasis - 1800-1900

Taylor starts 2nd sweep - Inland emphasis - 1900's

Townsend starts 3rd sweep - Hidden Peoples 1934 ->