Becoming A Globally-Minded Christian

Today marks the end of a week set aside to pray for missions and our friends of our church who are spread around the globe for the cause of introducing people to the love of Christ. Let’s spend a few minutes of concentrated prayer for our friends.

Father in Heaven,

I pray You make Yourself so great in our eyes today. I pray You take small-mindedness away from Your people. Take away the paralysis of fear and You would remind us of Your great authority over all the nations. We are helpless without You. So we come to You, trusting You to bless us. We come to You to listen intently to You. Today, we pray for Steve and Michelle Farris and their work in Colorado Springs. We pray for the D & T people of SE Asia.

We pray for the new work here in North Fort Worth among us at Cross Church. We pray for Stephen and Sonya Stallard and their two children. I pray for their rich encouragement in Christ. We lift before you Victor and Candice, Sanwoo and his wife, and Kim in Vancouver. Let them know afresh how You love them. Raise up missionaries in our midst and send us to the corners of the world. Cause our minds and hearts to say, “Yes” to Your command. Make the heart of this church beat for the Great Commission. Do this in our midst today.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Sermon Preview

I want to invite you to invite a friend and join me the next two Sundays. This is a short series nestled in around the Thanksgiving holidays entitled Creation & Conception: Obstacles to Faith.

Sunday, November 20: Did God Create Life: A Look at Evolution

Sunday, November 27: Why Are Christians So Pro-Life?

This will be an excellent opportunity to bring those who have decomitted to the Christian faith (were once involved in church, etc.) or those who see a conflict between God and science. The second Sunday, I’ll spend a good deal of time on building a case for the pro-life argument from science. Invite a friend and join me.

Are you a global Christian? By the end of the message, I want each of you to mark an “X” on the scale that accurately tells where you presently are.

A Global Christian grows in at least three ways…

1) Understands God’s Word

Mission and missions are not something the Bible merely speaks about – mission and missions are what the Bible is about. Since creation, God has been interested in redeeming all peoples to Himself. From Genesis to the Revelation, God is inviting all believers to join Him in bringing every people group to His throne.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country2 and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 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.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

Abraham is important. Today, Abraham is honored as the father of three “religions of the Book” – Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Today, you can drive by synagogue, mosques, and churches – all of which consider themselves children of Abraham. Jews, Muslims, and Christians have named their children “Abraham” for 4,000 years in honor of Abraham’s place in all three religions. You will not be able to understand the world itself if you don’t understand this man’s story.

Abraham was one of three brothers who hailed from the southern part of present-day Iraq. Not only was he wealthy but he would mount a small army (318 men) to defeat 5 kings to save his nephew’s family (Genesis 14). God changed his name from Abram, which meant, “father of many,” to Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude” – e.g. “Big Daddy!” Abraham’s life is intentionally placed squarely in the center of Genesis.

The highest thing Abraham you should know is this: to honor His promise to Abraham, God brings His people out of Egypt and brings His Son to the cross. You will not be able to understand the world itself if you don’t understand this man’s story.

God made six promises to Abraham and God uses the word “bless” 5 times in the midst of these promises. The result is witnessed in Abraham’s name change: God changed his name from Abram, which meant, “father of many,” to Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude” That was God’s original promise to Abram.

Abraham is this one man is chosen out of all the families of the earth and this one man receives an avalanche of blessing cascading one after another on him. God blesses Abraham so that in turn, Abraham and his family can be a blessing to all the people groups of the world. Interestingly, this command was not for Abraham alone. This responsibility was for everyone in Abraham’s family. They were a missionary family.