CLS Passion for Missions Matt 24_14

Secular:

Motivation… why we do things…

Why we get a hair cut… why we take out the trash… why we eat…

Why are you here…? On this planet… in this place…

Why do you “follow” God?
My mood…
My feelings…
My needs…
If the “my-factor” is your answer….
The question would be in whom have you put your faith?
Even our salvation language…

I have been saved
I believe
It is about lost souls
It is about outreach…
TRUE?
But is that the primary aspect of our faith? Is it about me… is it about others… my songs… their needs… our fellowship…

We need to view things in light of God 1st…
Why? Because there is no one… or nothing… as glorious… unique… holy as God. Nothing or no one compares to God… He is my all in all… and apart from him there is nothing!

Biblical:

Matthew 24:14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Personal:

Here is the Gospel….

God is Awesome!
However you are not!

He is worthy of all Glory!
He Glorifies His name by loving the unlovable…
He Glorifies His Holy Name by redeeming the Unholy!
He Glorifies His Righteousness by providing our Righteousness!
In His Glorious Nature we trust…

Bridge:

WHO IS DOING? – God
WHY IS HE DOING IT? – his Glory

It is our motivation for life…
It is our motivation for Missions…
The passion of God for His Glory!

Our Passion to let everyone know!!
Missions are not primarily motivated by

Lost Souls
Guilt
Imperialistic Strategies

Mission-mindedness comes from a right understanding of God
A Passion for God = A Passion for Mission

Body:

1) God is passionately committed to his Glory and His Name…

The perfection of God…. His Uniqueness… His Infinite Value…. He is completely obligated to His Glory!
NAU Matthew 24:14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Testimony… Who God is… to His Glory
NAU Isaiah 52:7 How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
The God news message is YOUR GOD REIGNS!
You are beautiful…. You Are Lovely…. Your feet… the lowliest part of the body… you radiate God when you brings his Message (3-CHAIRS)
God is passionate about the spreading of his Glory!
Over and over…. NAU Romans 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH."
That the world may know!
That all the world would hear!
NAU Isaiah 12:4 And in that day you will say, "Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted."
Declare him…
Remind them… (Rom 1:18-20)
Who He is Among the Peoples!
Goal NAU Romans 15:9 and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, "THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES, AND I WILL SING TO YOUR NAME."

God wants to touch every people group….
God wants them to hear his name
A Passion for God = A Passion for Mission

2) God’s desire to be known and praised by all peoples cannot fail! … it is going to happen!

Remember the unique and infinite value of God!

All powerful
Al knowing
Sovereign
Perfectly righteous
Perfectly loving
Sufficient… not dependant on anything
What He commands happens….
We can either be for Him or Against Him…
We can either share His Glory or Hide His Glory…

NAU Matthew 24:14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
It is a reminder that the Glory of God motivates!
The End SHALL come to pas just as he has ordained
Are you a part of it!
NAU Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Not some or a bit… but all authority… and with that comes certainty!
NAU Matthew 16:18 "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.… it is going to happen!
This is no head scratcher….
God is sovereignly committed to his purpose… Glorifying His Name….
Are We?
A Passion for God = A Passion for Mission

3) The task of mission is to all peoples… not just all people… (people groups vs. individuals)

Trusting in the Word… and its Power
Helps us to see that it is about getting the Word to every people…. Tribe, tongue, nation
Emphasize then NAU Matthew 24:14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
It will all happen as God has planned…
The idea is that we should ache to be a part of God’s mission…

Either Going or Sending anything else… dismisses God’s glory!

NAU Matthew 28:19 "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."
in light of
NAU Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
The mission is complete when all peoples have heard… not every person… but every tongue, tribe, and nation….
Do we have right goals?
Or have we adapted the plan for us?
What has God asked?
What glorifies His name?
A Passion for God = A Passion for Mission

4) Paul vs. Timothy types…

Frontier versus Domestic….
New Peoples vs New People
Left home - Timothy
Went to Ephesus (Paul Planted) NAU 1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines,
Own Ministry… to Grow, equip, strengthen!
Build structure, recognize leaders
Own elders NAU Acts 20:17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.
From Ephesus the Capital of Asia
… and own outreach NAU Acts 19:10 This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
Paul was a Frontier missionary…
Romans 15:20 And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man's foundation;
We need both… from the strength of domestic ministry… to have strong frontier ministry…
Both to his Glory…
Because we need to finish the mission…
No neglecting one over the other!
A Passion for God = A Passion for Mission

5) Domestic Ministry is the goal of frontier missions….

We want strong frontier missions to build strong domestic missions…
Send out, build up…. So that we can send out and build up…
The Church grows when new groups are reached and they in turn…. Equip, worship, Fellowship, Disciple, Baptize, and SEND
It is part of the mission!
A Passion for God = A Passion for Mission

6) God has ordained suffering as the price of carrying out the great commission

Ouch! Not very P.C. of me…
But what serious move of God’s Glory into darkness will not meet resistance?
NAU Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.
W have been called to suffer for Christ’s sake…
For His glory and his Honour
The testimony of Martyrs is POWERFUL
(Foreign to Take a Pill North America)
“And often, all too often, the church fails to operate like that… In the nineteenth century era of missions, missionaries sailed for the unknown, well aware that nineteen out of twenty of them would die before returning home. They knew what they were heading into. They took their families with them, knowing that perhaps they would have to bury their children in a strange land. But they were convinced they were going where God had called them to go and obedience was more important that life itself.
Would you go for his glory?
Would you take your kids… for his glory?
NAU Matthew 10:16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
God knows what He asking us to do… and he still tells us to do it!
Sheep God says… Wolves he says….
Go he says…
God is Glorified in our suffering for his name sake!
The testimony of his name….
Who would go…?
NAU Luke 21:16 "But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all because of My name. 18 "Yet not a hair of your head will perish.
The redeemed will go… not the tepid… fire insurance folks… the redeemed will go… in the face of his Glory!
A Passion for God = A Passion for Mission

7) God is most glorified when we are a so satisfied in him that we would accept suffering and death to share that joy…

How enamoured with God are you?
Shouldn’t this be our motivation?
How many of us encounter the Television or internet more than God in a week?
Are you ready… could you say in the face of persecution or even death…2 Corinthians 4:17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
Is God’s glory the motivation for our life…
Giving glory to God… Experiencing that?
Regardless of emotional or physical cost?
This isn’t gradient… it is the goal!
NAU Philippians 3:8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
God isn’t asking for our sacrifice on a gradient scale… we don’t warm to the idea…
“I’ll get there one day”
God is declaring His Glory
God expects in the light of that Glory we would drop everything else to seize hold of it…
We have over stuffed arms… with all our junk… even clinging to this fraile, dying, temporary bodies… as if they were the treasure!
A Passion for God = A Passion for Mission

Conclusion:

It is about His Glory
It will happen (are you For or Against)
Spread it to people… not just person to person
Frontier Spirit in our Domestic ministry
Prepare to suffer
Be joyful even unto death!
A Passion for God = A Passion for Mission