The Big Picture - Christian Ministry 3 Missions and Evangelism Week 1 Student Outline

(Ephesians 1:9,10) And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, (10) to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

Missions is God's core purpose for humanity: to REDEEM HUMANITY and to RESTORE HIS RULE through Jesus.

(Gen. 3:15) And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall crush you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel."

(Gen. 12:1-3**) Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; 2 and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; 3 and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

(Gen. 49:8-10) Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. (9) You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? (10) The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.

(1 Chron. 17:11-14) When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring (seed) to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. (12) He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. (13) I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. (14) I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever. (2 Samuel 7: is the parallel passage).

Note: The “seed” is depicted as a future king who restores God’s rule AND as a suffering servant who redeems humanity.

The gospels also record God’s plan to temporarily suspend Israel’s role as chosen nation and work instead through the church.

(Matt. 28:18-20*) Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

The Great Commission: Jesus commands his followers to make disciples of Jesus from all people groups.

(Acts 1:8) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

(Rev. 7:9,10) After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. (10) And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

(Rev. 20:4) I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

IMPACT: Jesus (the Messiah) restores God’s rule over the entire Earth during the Millennial Kingdom.

(Rev. 22:3-5) And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him; (4) and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. (5) And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.

2. Missions is the prime mover of history, both within the biblical period and beyond.

A. God is working through historical events to accomplish _______________________.

(Eph. 1:11) In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…

(Gen. 50:20) You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

(Acts 2:23, 24) ...this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed him to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. (24) And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

(Matt. 24:14) And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

C. The church can “hasten” the coming of the end by ____________________________.

(2 Pet. 3:12) . . . as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

How is the church today progressing in preaching the gospel to the whole world?

God has called on the church to cooperate with him as he reconciles the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). Therefore, Xenos Christian Fellowship exists to help people learn to draw close to God. This work begins by inviting people to receive the gift of forgiveness offered through Christ.

We are committed to fostering spiritual growth by encouraging people to respond to God's love through loving service toward God and all people. Specifically, we direct our resources to serving the family, the non-Christian community locally and internationally, and the broader Christian community.

The church is the only social entity that exists primarily for the benefit of its nonmembers.

(John 12:24,25) I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (25) The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

(Mark 8:34,35) Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (35) For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."

Any spirituality which focuses primarily on individual fulfillment, and does not focus on God's mission, is unbiblical and therefore doomed to failure and disappointment.

(Eph. 4:11,12) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, (12) to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up . . .

Xenos has set out to build a highly trained, sophisticated, caring, leadable, cohesive, committed, and flexible workforce of Christian servants who continually strive to serve the Lord and do his will.

Genesis 12:1-3** The Abrahamic covenant, in which God promised to provide his redemptive blessing to the world through Abraham's descendants. Key elements of the promise: land, nationhood, personal blessing, and all the nations blessed through one of Abraham's descendants.

1 This information was taken from Mission Frontiers, a bulletin published by the U.S. Center for World Missions. Learn more at www.missionfrontiers.org/newslinks/statewe.htm.

2 Patrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think (Evangelical Press, 1997) p. 231.