Sermon Tone Analysis

Sad pictures

What do you think of when you hear the words “missions,” “Missions trip,” “Missionary,” “unreached people group,” “the 10-40 window?”

I’ll be honest, up until recently if anyone used those words in a sentence you could almost guarantee I would shutdown.

I could feel my heart as it slowly hardened toward the speaker.

“Don’t guilt me into feeling bad for people on the other side of the world.”

“There is plenty of suffering right here in America and as a citizen of the US I should be most concerned about my own people.”

“I am doing plenty to serve God’s people in my local church and I don’t have the time or energy to add to that.”

“Becoming a missionary is not something I feel called to.”

There might be some truth to some of those statements.

I have been made to feel guilty for the blessings I’ve recieved that others haven’t.

It is true that there is plenty of suffering here in America.

It’s also true that I serve in my local church.

After telling and retelling myself all these things, it’s no surprise that I was super closed off to “missions” even though I didn’t really understand what it was or why it’s necessary.

I don’t know if any of you have experienced that or can relate to any of those statements but I bring it up because here’s the deal: we are going to talk about missions.

I’m going to say things like God is a missionary God, and he has called all of us to the mission field.

And we (Brandon and I) are going to be talking about this for the next four weeks.

In fact the title of the sermon series is “God On A Mission.”

God On A Mission

Now I hope that doesn’t mean I won’t see some of you for the next four weeks.

I hope that together, we can all set aside our preconceived notions and come at this with an open heart and mind.

And that you will trust that neither Brandon or I are trying to lay guilt, or make you ashamed, or make you commit to something or other or manipulate you into feeling or doing something you’re not comfortable with.

There is none of that.

And if you feel that from either of us at any point please tell us, so we can address it right away.

So here’s what happened.

Brandon and I took a class called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement.

Now the fact that we took the class at all is miraculous.

Like I said before I was really closed off to this whole thing, and then my good friend Miriam asked me to be a prayer partner for those taking the class, and somehow it came into my brain that we should take this class.

And the details worked out perfectly for us to both take it (it must have been a God thing) .

And it’s changed our lives.

But we’re still figuring out what that means exactly.

It doesn’t mean we’re selling all of our worldly possessions to go to a far off land to convert the heathen.

It does mean, however, that that’s not an immediate closed door for us as it once was.

We have no answers for what’s next, how to live this out, but we did feel strongly that this was something we needed to bring to you, our church family, because whatever we do, we want to do it with you people.

Our family.

Enough of that.

Let’s dive in.

Let me give you a quick overview on what to expect these next few weeks.

Four Week Outline

Week 1 (today): Blessed to Bless

Week 2: The Story of His Glory

Week 3: The Great Commission(s)

Week 4: The Kingdom Strikes Back

Today we’re going to talk about God’s mission to bless the nations as seen throughout the Bible, from the beginning in Genesis all the way to Revelation.

We’re going to focus on a few key passages in the Old Testament.

Next week, week 2, we will talk about the why of God’s mission.

You may have heard it called the story of His glory.

We are devoting week 3 to the New Testament to discuss the Great Commissions.

Yes you heard correctly, there are actually five.

Then the final week we are going to get down to the nitty gritty.

What it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ with God’s mission as the forefront during this in-between time that we live in; that is, after Christ’s first coming, and before his second coming.

Okay.

You Ready?

Lets go all the way to the beginning, where we first see God establishing a people for himself.

We see a promise for the people and a mission to the people.

We are skipping over the first few chapters in Genesis: through the creation story, the subsequent fall, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Arc, the Tower of Babel, and we are picking it up in Genesis 12, where God singles out a man, from which will come a chosen people.

Starting in Genesis 12:1-3

At this point, here’s what we know about Abram: pretty much nothing, except that he is a descendant of Shem, one of Noah’s sons.

We eventually know a lot about this dude as we read more about him in our Bibles: he becomes Abraham, he marries Sarah and they miraculously have a baby in their old age, Isaac.

He is the father of the nation Israel, the first of the great patriarchs of Israel, literally the grandfather of the person Israel who was Jacob.

He is considered a man of great faith, and we are told in Romans 4 that his belief in God was credited to him as righteousness.

But I think this passage has very little to do with what kind of man Abram was, or would become.

This passage actually reveals a mission, God’s mission.

The mission includes a chosen people, a promise, and a purpose.

And it’s a mission that is carried out throughout the pages of Scripture, and is still being carried out today.

And here is the very beginning of this operation, the revealing of the basic outline of the mission.

God chose Abraham, and through Abraham he would make a great nation.

This nation would be called God’s chosen people, His precious possession.

We’ve talked about this in other sermons.

Why do it this way?

Why use broken, messed up people to carry out God’s plan?

We don’t know why but we know that time and again that is how God chooses to operate.

In this passage God makes three promises:

God would give Abraham a place to live Genesis 12:1

Genesis 12:1 (ESV)

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

2. God would make Abram a great nation Genesis 12:2

Genesis 12:2 (ESV)

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

3. God would bless the nation of Israel Genesis 12:2-3

Genesis 12:2–3 (ESV)

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Wow!

That sounds amazing!

Three awesome promises with no caveats!

Wait a minute.

A close reading of the text makes this a bit more complicated.

The promises to Abraham have a purpose.

Look at verse 2 closely Genesis 12:2

Genesis 12:2 (ESV)

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

SO THAT.

Why is God going to make him into a great nation, bless him, and make his name great?

SO THAT this nation will be a blessing!

A blessing to who? I’m glad you asked.

In verse 3 we have the answer: Genesis 12:3

Genesis 12:3 (ESV)

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

All the families of the earth!

Not “I will bless you so some people that you have regular dealings with will be blessed.”