Taking Part in the Mission of God (Understanding Sovereignty and Human activity in Mission)

Genesis 24 Taking Part in the Mission of God (Understanding Sovereignty and Human activity in Mission) Introduction: The importance of Chapter 24 to the overall theme of Genesis is the transitioning of the promises of God from Abraham and Sarah to Isaac and Rebekah. A huge theme of Chapter 24 also is the sovereignty of God in his directing Abraham servant to the exact family of Abraham to find a bride for Isaac. Again God is faithful to fulfill his promise to Abraham to bless him and to make his descendants more in number than the sand by the seashore and to bless all nations of the earth through Abraham. All of this is part of God restoring his good kingdom on earth! 1. Abraham Commission’s His Servant. a. “Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, 3 that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter. “ b. Abraham commission’s his servant to go and to seek a wife for his son Isaac, he gives him specific instruction on where to go and what to look for; the servant takes up the commission of his master. c. In the commissioning of Abraham’s servant we see a similarity to the Commission that the Lord Jesus has given to his church. d. Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ has commissioned his servants saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) e. You see God the Father sent his son on a mission into the world; that mission was to save sinners and to reunite them to God, it is often simply described as the work of reconciliation. Reconciling or reuniting sinners with their loving creator. f. This Jesus accomplished by his perfect life being put to death as a ransom for our sin after being dead for three days he rose again from the dead and ascended to God the Father to stand in God’s presence as our representative. i. Jesus upon accomplishing his work commissioned his followers, and said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:22) ii. Paul puts it this way: 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, 1. So in the same way that Jesus was sent by the Father to reconcile sinners to God we have been sent by Christ as his representatives or agents to reconcile people to God through Jesus Christ. g. Because of our identity in Christ we are to continue the mission of Jesus.There is no participating in Christ without participation in his mission to the world. i. A common mistake or misunderstanding among Christians is that some Christians are called to this mission of reconciliation and others are not. ii. Another mistake that we often make is to compartmentalize our lives. We consider certain things sacred like church, personal bible study, fellowship, and outreach; and we consider other things like family, friendship, community, leisure and work as secular. 1. Pastors do this all the time. a. Example; a pastor can have a thriving ministry that every one is in awe over but at the same time his personal life and family life are in shambles. This is because he considers “ministry sacred” and his personal life “secular”. That is incorrect theology and practice. i. “When we acknowledge that all of life is sacred and that each act is an act of choice and therefore sacred, then life is a sacred dance lived consciously each moment. When we live at this level, we participate in the creation of a better world.” -Scout Cloud Lee 2. God wants us to reclaim all of life for his name, not just the “Sacred”. We need to demonstrate to the world what a God-centered, grace filled home looks like, we need to demonstrate for the world what it is to do all things to the glory of God! h. The church needs to realize that mission is its fundamental identity. i. The concept of the Missio Dei, (the mission of God), is recognition that God is a sending God and the church is sent. It is the most important mission in the scriptures. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of that mission; the Holy Spirit is the power of that mission; the Church is the instrument of that mission; and the culture is the context in which that mission occurs. ii. Scripture identifies the elect as being chosen for “declaring the praises,” a missional task carried over from the unfulfilled and unappreciated task of missionary Israel. The Apostle Peter explains, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” 1 Peter 2:9 iii. Do you recognize this call on your life? Jesus Christ himself has commissioned you to share the good news of what he has done and to teach others how to follow him. 2. The Servant Goes in the name and Identity of His master. a. Vs.10 “Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. i. After the first few verses of Chapter 24 Abraham fades from the picture although he is constantly referred to in the narrative. ii. A man named, L. Teugel, who does studies on characterization comments, “that the servant evolves into a complete representative of Abraham.” Although he remains in all scenes, he remains anonymous, highlighting his role as Abraham’s proxy. iii. This man is Abraham’s ambassador; Abraham’s representative. iv. He has ten camels and choice gifts which represent the great wealth of his master; he also speaks on Abraham’s behalf. 1. The scripture uses this same language describing our work as witnesses in the world. a. We are ambassadors. 2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” b. If we think that it’s our job to bring up the most convincing arguments for Jesus perfect life, vicarious death, or resurrection to cause people to believe; we are wrong. That is God’s job to convince people. i. It is simply our job to be a testimony or witness of who God and what he’s done. We are representing God, not ourselves. We are pointing people to him not to ourselves; we are coming with God’s promises and his track record not our promises and our track record. 1. So remember this as you go out; Not only are you going out in the name of Christ as his representative but you also go in his power and authority; and on top of all that it is God who is pleading through you! He is behind you, he is before you and he is in you as you go into the world as his ambassador. 3. The Servant Goes with the Commission and as he goes he prays for guidance. a. “And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.” i. The Hebrew word that is used for prayer here is actually the non-technical term “said”, often used in reference to petition. 1. Such ordinary terms introducing prayer reflect their conversational tone. Prayer here is personal and informal. ii. Once we have taken up the the mission of Christ and our own lives our swallowed up in his life and his mission. Then all we have to say to the Lord is: lead me, guide me to those whom you would have me speak to or demonstrate the truths and principles of your kingdom. 1. It’s that simple, as you are going about your life on mission with Jesus ask/pray that he would use you! 2. I’ve been used to speak to barbers and people on planes, I’ve talked to baristas, and people on the street, people in cafe’s, people all over sometimes it’s been a little blurb other times it’s been the full gospel; but these times have happened as I’ve simply made myself available to the Lord. 3. Be purposeful, be intentional; invite your neighbors over, have a neighborhood bbq, go to the same grocery store, go to the same cafe and restaurants, be aware of your surroundings and in all this just simply make yourself available. a. My own example: Lord here’s my plan for the day.... Feel free to interrupt and use me for your eternal purposes! 4. The Servant Testifies to God’s Guiding Providence. a. Vs.22-27 “When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, 23 and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.” i. God was at work all along! ii. We must remember that God’s sovereign hand is at work in all of this, lest we despair or we take undo credit. iii. Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” 5. The Servant Testifies that it was because of God’s unfailing kindness and faithfulness to Abraham that God led him to Rebekah! a. God is unfailing in his kindness and faithfulness to men. He is a God who relentlessly pursues us!! b. It is God who desires for all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. i. Do we forget that? ii. God wants to save people! He is the one who authored salvation, he is the one who so loved the world that he sent his son to die for the sins of the world! iii. God wants to save people and he wants to use you in that process as a witness to who he is and what he has done. 1. Exodus 15:13 “In your unfailing love you will lead the people.” 2. Just as the the Angel of the Lord went before Abraham’s servant to lead him so also the Holy spirit goes before us to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment! To prepare people’s hearts to hear the message of the gospel. Conclusion: 1. We need to take up the mission of Christ. a. As your Pastor I feel that it is my duty to constantly remind you why we are here on earth. We are not here to be happy. We are here to continue the mission of Christ! i. To proclaim the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light! Spreading the message of salvation! God loves people and wants to save them! ii. To make disciples - baptizing and teaching them all that he has taught us. 2. As you take up the Mission of Christ: a. Go in Christ identity - in his name, in his authority and in his power. b. Remember that it is God that works in you, to will and to do of his good pleasure; it is God that pleads through you; it is God who is drawing people to be saved; and it is God who brings salvation not you. You simply testify c. As you go about your life on mission with God pray/ask to be lead by the Holy Spirit to speak to people or to demonstrate the kingdom of God. d. Finally remember how much God loves people! If he didn’t spare his only son but gave him up freely as the sacrifice for our sins, it would seem that God is passionate about saving people, and he wants to use you!