In His Service

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Our Purpose

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God’s Plan for us

I was planned for God’s pleasure, that’s ‘WORSHIP’, so I will use this day to get to know and love God better.

I was formed for God’s family, that’s ‘FELLOWSHIP’, so I will use this day to show love to other believers.

I was created to become like Christ, that’s ‘DISCIPLESHIP’, so I will use this day to to make choices to grow my character

I was shaped to serve God, That’s ‘MINISTRY’, so I will us this day to serve God by serving others.

I was made for mission, that’s ‘EVANGELISM’, so I will use this day to share the Good News.

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Our Purpose

BiblicalExamples of Jesus and the

12 disciples

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"Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever,"

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Imagine a Picture

Masterpiece painting. His World, and His People,and some not His

People. Purpose for each. God will Modernize some of the Pictures Where do you fit in, in the Picture? You will have to complete the last part of the picture. But God will colour it in for you. He planned this for you, before you were born.

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Images

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Some Pictures and their storiesGod longs for us to get practical and creative

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One Story

One Cohesive Story of God. Many stories written over centuries Story of Reconciliation Sin, and God’s provision of a Bridge. Only recently have inroads begun to un-reached people

groups. His tool in the World, the Church, you and me. From Genesis to Revelations runs a thread – for all People

to Know Him. We need to understand some of the important Perspectives

– each connected to each other

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DIMENSIONS OF GOD'S HEART AND PURPOSE FOR ALL PEOPLES.

Covers an overview of the biblical, historical, cultural and strategic dimensions.

BIBLICAL - What does God's word reveal about his plan? HISTORICAL - How has God been working throughout history? CULTURAL - How does culture fit in God's global plan? STRATEGIC - What role could you and your church play?

Dimensions

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Biblical Dimension

The Bible is the cornerstone of our Purpose The Old Testament call and promise The New Testament fulfillment The Early Church obedience

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God calls us to use our Gifts

Our conviction about the authority of the Bible?

1 Peter 4:10 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others….”

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Imagine Joseph, Jesus’ Father workshop where each tool had a specific purpose to to create from raw wood a beautiful chair, and all the tools being used..

And so each of us are tools made for a purpose in the hands of God.

God Blessed Abraham to be a Blessing to a nations on the Earth. We are descendants through Abraham through Christ, blessed to be a blessing to others.

God’s Story is a Commanding Story.

Our Purpose and the Blessing

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We begin with God’s Story

The Bible is not just a compilation of many stories – it is HIS STORY!

It is the story of God’s infinitely loving relationship with His People From the time of creation Through the fall To the Redemption through Christ Jesus

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Short Overview of the Bible

3 Part Story Intro: Beginning with Genesis = God ruling,

everything in harmony Story: Genesis-Revelation=Battleground – God

moving to redeem mankind, through Israel then the church.

Conclusion: End of Revelation=God ruling and all in harmony again. See: God is a missionary God and the Bible is a missionary book.

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Be transformed by the Renewing of your Mind

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Changes in our Thinking

Mat 28:18 Jesus drew near and said to them, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Mat 28:19 Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Mat 28:20 and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age."

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Five Paradigms of thinking

Discipleship Location of your Ministry (all peoples is where you work and

outside the church, not just in church ministry.) Reconciliation

Reconciling to himself all things (Col 1:19-20) – work, industry, politics, health, education……everything

Work is Worship – Col 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as

working for the Lord. Carriers of Good News – the Lost (What was lost?)

Our Relationship with God / Each Other / The marketplace – the ground was cursed.

To Bless in a tangible way Distributions to the poor

Used with Permission from “Transform your Work Life” by Graham Power and Dr Dion Forster

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MandateModel

Messag

e

Pow

er

Bible

Jesus

The Bible is at the center of our call to

mission

Jesus is the center of God’s Story

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The Mandate

Gen 2:1-4 The LORD said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go

to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.

Matthew 28:19 Go to the people of all nations and make them my

disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

The Top Line

The Bottom Line

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The Message The message is given to us not as a single, neat, mathematical

formula, but in a rich diversity of formulations. The gospel is thus seen to be one, yet diverse. It is “given”, yet culturally adapted to its audience

To evangelise is to spread the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord He now offers the forgiveness of sins and the liberating gift of the Spirit to all who repent and believe

Lausanne Covenant 2 Corinthians 4:1-4

God has been kind enough to trust us with this work. That’s why we never give up. We don’t do shameful things that must be kept secret. And we don’t try to fool anyone or twist God’s message around. God is our witness that we speak only the truth, so others will be sure that we can be trusted. If there is anything hidden about our message, it is hidden only to someone who is lost.

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The Model

John 1:14 The Word became a human being and lived here with us.

We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us.

2 Peter 1:21 The prophets did not think these things up on their own, but

they were guided by the Spirit of God. Hebrews 1:1

Long ago in many ways and at many times God’s prophets spoke his message to our ancestors.

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The Power

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Friends, when I came and told you the mystery that God had

shared with us, I didn’t use big words or try to sound wise. In fact, while I was with you, I made up my mind to speak only about Jesus Christ, who had been nailed to a cross.

At first, I was weak and trembling with fear. When I talked with you or preached, I didn’t try to prove anything by sounding wise. I simply let God’s Spirit show his power. That way you would have faith because of God’s power and not because of human wisdom.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 Three times I begged the Lord to make this suffering go away. But

he replied, “My kindness is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong.

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God is a Missionary God

The Promise - The call of Abraham God will bless his people His people will bless all the families of the earth

The Fulfillment – The work of Jesus The Obedient response – The Early Church

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The Old Testament Witness

The Promise Posterity - Genesis 13:16

I will give you more descendants than there are specks of dust on the earth, and someday it will be easier to count the specks of dust than to count your descendants.

A Land – Genesis 13:14-15 After Abram and Lot had gone their separate ways, the LORD

said to Abram:Look around to the north, south, east, and west. I will give you and your family all the land you can see. It will be theirs forever!

A Blessing - Genesis 17:7-8 I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your

descendants, because I am your God and their God. I will give you and them the land in which you are now a foreigner. I will give the whole land of Canaan to your family forever, and I will be their God.

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The Witness of Jesus

The Life of Jesus was a life of service The Great Commission was evident

throughout Jesus’ life Consider how compassionately Jesus dealt

with Gentiles and Samaritans The Roman Centurion A Canaanite Woman A Samaritan Village Greeks in Jerusalem The Road to Emmaus

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The Roman Centurion Matthew 8:5-13 When Jesus was going into the town of Capernaum, an army officer

came up to him and said, “Lord, my servant is at home in such terrible pain that he can’t even move.” “I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied. But the officer said, “Lord, I’m not good enough for you to come into my house. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. I have officers who give orders to me, and I have soldiers who take orders from me. I can say to one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes. I can say to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I can say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he will do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was so surprised that he turned and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you that in all of Israel I’ve never found anyone with this much faith! Many people will come from everywhere to enjoy the feast in the kingdom of heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But the ones who should have been in the kingdom will be thrown out into the dark. They will cry and grit their teeth in pain.” Then Jesus said to the officer, “You may go home now. Your faith has made it happen.” Right then his servant was healed.

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A Canaanite Woman Matthew 15:21-28 Suddenly a Canaanite woman from there came out shouting,

“Lord and Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is full of demons.” Jesus did not say a word. But the woman kept following along and shouting, so his disciples came up and asked him to send her away. Jesus said, “I was sent only to the people of Israel! They are like a flock of lost sheep.”

The woman came closer. Then she knelt down and begged, “Please help me, Lord!”

Jesus replied, “It isn’t right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs.”

“Lord, that’s true,” the woman said, “but even dogs get the crumbs that fall from their owner’s table.”

Jesus answered, “Dear woman, you really do have a lot of faith, and you will be given what you want.” At that moment her daughter was healed.

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A Samaritan Village Luke 9:51-55

Not long before it was time for Jesus to be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem. He sent some messengers on ahead to a Samaritan village to get things ready for him. But he was on his way to Jerusalem, so the people there refused to welcome him. When the disciples James and John saw what was happening, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy these people?”

But Jesus turned and corrected them for what they had said.

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Greeks in Jerusalem John 12:20-34

Some Greeks had gone to Jerusalem to worship during Passover. Philip from Bethsaida in Galilee was there too. So they went to him and said, “Sir, we would like to meet Jesus.” Philip told Andrew. Then the two of them went to Jesus and told him.

… Then Jesus told the crowd, “That voice spoke to

help you, not me. This world’s people are now being judged, and the ruler of this world is already being thrown out! If I am lifted up above the earth, I will make everyone want to come to me.”

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The Road to Emmaus Luke 24:13-28 That same day two of Jesus’ disciples were going to the village of Emmaus, which was

about seven miles from Jerusalem. As they were talking and thinking about what had happened, Jesus came near and started walking along beside them. But they did not know who he was.

Jesus asked them, “What were you talking about as you walked along?” The two of them stood there looking sad and gloomy. Then the one named Cleopas asked

Jesus, “Are you the only person from Jerusalem who didn’t know what was happening there these last few days?”

“What do you mean?” Jesus asked. They answered: Those things that happened to Jesus from Nazareth. By what he did and

said he showed that he was a powerful prophet, who pleased God and all the people. Then the chief priests and our leaders had him arrested and sentenced to die on a cross. We had hoped that he would be the one to set Israel free! But it has already been three days since all this happened.

… Then Jesus asked the two disciples, “Why can’t you understand? How can you be so slow

to believe all that the prophets said? Didn’t you know that the Messiah would have to suffer before he was given his glory?” Jesus then explained everything written about himself in the Scriptures, beginning with the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets.

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The Witness in the Early Church Acts 3:25-26

You are really the ones God told his prophets to speak to. And you were given the promise that God made to your ancestors. He said to Abraham, “All nations on earth will be blessed because of someone from your family.” God sent his chosen Son to you first, because God wanted to bless you and make each one of you turn away from your sins.

Ephesians 3:6 And the mystery is this: Because of Christ Jesus, the good

news has given the Gentiles a share in the promises that God gave to the Jews. God has also let the Gentiles be part of the same body.

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The Great Commission

Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go

to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

Acts 1:8 But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power.

Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.”

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The Message Spreads

Jerusalem - Acts 5:28 “We told you plainly not to teach in the name of Jesus. But look what you

have done! You have been teaching all over Jerusalem, and you are trying to blame us for his death.”

Samaria - Acts 8:1,5 Saul approved the stoning of Stephen. Some faithful followers of the Lord

buried Stephen and mourned very much for him. … The Lord’s followers who had been scattered went from place to place,

telling the good news. Philip went to the city of Samaria and told the people about Christ.

To The ends of the Earth through Peter - Acts 11:18 When they heard Peter say this, they stopped arguing and started praising

God. They said, “God has now let Gentiles turn to him, and he has given life to them!”

… and through Paul - Romans 15:20 But I have always tried to preach where people have never heard about

Christ. I am like a builder who doesn’t build on anyone else’s foundation.

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Council of Jerusalem Acts 15:13-20 After they had finished speaking, James said: My friends, listen

to me! Simon Peter has told how God first came to the Gentiles and made some of them his own people. This agrees with what the prophets wrote,

“I, the Lord, will return and rebuild David’s fallen house. I will build it from its ruins and set it up again. Then other nations will turn to me and be my chosen ones. I, the Lord, say this. I promised it long ago.”

And so, my friends, I don’t think we should place burdens on the Gentiles who are turning to God. We should simply write and tell them not to eat anything that has been offered to idols. They should be told not to eat the meat of any animal that has been strangled or that still has blood in it. They must also not commit any terrible sexual sins.

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Final Fulfillment

Matthew 24:14 When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the

world and told to all nations, the end will come. Revelation 5:9-10

Then they sang a new song,“You are worthyto receive the scrolland open its seals,because you were killed.And with your own bloodyou bought for Godpeople from every tribe,language, nation, and race.You let them become kingsand serve God as priests,and they will rule on earth.”

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Final Fulfillment

Revelation 19:7 So we will be glad and happyand give him praise.The wedding day of the Lamb is here,and his bride is ready.

Revelation 7:9-10 After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be

counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands, as they shouted, “Our God, who sits upon the throne, has the power to save his people, and so does the Lamb.”

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Conclusion

God God, through Abraham, is developing a unique nation for his good purposes God will bless Abraham and his descendants in countless ways God’s desire is for His nation to extend blessings to all nations God’s people will find deep fulfillment as they link their lives to His story

Jesus Jesus, in His life and person, is God’s premier blessing Jesus offers everyone access to God’s blessing – entry into the Father’s

Kingdom Us

We, as Abraham’s descendants through faith, are now to offer the blessing to others, even to the ends of the earth

As God’s people, we tell His story and live in His power in order to reach all nations with His blessing

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Next Session – Our Gifts

Questions

What does the “Good News” feel like ?