Christ Centered Missions

A CHRIST CENTERED MISSIONS PHILOSOPHY 1.

It is relational as to its motivation (30-34) a. The hunger - “My meat”, my food, that which I hunger for, that which drives me (I must needs go through Samaria) - What drove Christ was: “to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work” - The motivation preceded the mission: the desire to serve God and glorify Him led Him to act. b. The relationship - The burning hunger to please the Father stemmed from a perfect relationship within the Trinity: - The Father glorifies the Son, the Son glorifies the Father (John 17:1) - The Son manifests the name of the Father, the Father gives the bride to the Son (John 17:6) - The extent to which we glorify God is directly proportionate to the extent we love Him. - We are not merely forgiven and our debts cancelled, we are called into a love relationship that mirrors God's (John 14:21-23, 17:21-26, 15:9-10, Col. 2:2) c. Lesser motivations for missions - Duty (Rev. 2:3-5 Ephesian church, Luke 17:10, the unprofitable servant) - Guilt (Romans 8:1, no condemnation, I Cor. 3, Bema seat is a judgment of reward not punishment)

2.

It is Divine as to its power (35-42) We tend to focus on the command in verse 35 so much as to miss the power behind the command. Lift up your eyes, get out into the harvest, but remember: a. The Harvest is His, and He is the Lord of it (Mat. 9:37-38) b. The Church that results from the harvest is His (Matthew 16:18, I Peter 2:9) c. Though He graciously shares the glory of the harvest, the glory belongs to Him (Eph. 1:10-12) d. Redemption has always been His plan, not ours (37-38) The harvest was not a spontaneous in its origin: God planted it and watered it, using Law, prophets, John the Baptist, etc.

Avoid missiological Deism! God did not wind the clock, give it to us, and take His hands off... He is intimately, powerfully, and fully in control of His plan and His church.

3.

The Harvesting Tool is the Word (42) Though God used the Samaritan woman greatly (in spite of her failures and problems), MANY more were saved because of the living Word! The power rests in His Word, not ours.

APPLICATIONS: ⁃

WHAT KIND OF SERVICE DO YOU OFFER? WE DEMAN AND SULLY THE MISSION WHEN THE MOTIVE IS NOT CONSUMING LOVE.

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HOW DO YOU REACT TO OPPORTUNITIES TO BE INVOLVED IN THE GREATEST UNDERTAKING IMAGINABLE? YOUR REACTION REVEALS YOUR RELATIONSHIP.

- HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD? DO YOU MEDITATE ON HIS SOVEREIGNTY AND POWER, AND TRUST IN HIM TO USE YOU? IT IS NOT YOUR POWER, ABILITIES, GIFTS, FAITHFULNESS, RESOLVE, ETC, THAT TRANSFORMS LIVES ETERNALLY... YOU SERVE A GREAT GOD!