Look To The Nations

Introduction

As Christians- often focused on getting people saved while Jesus is looking for- salvation of the nations.

Mtt 28:18-19

Jesus is saying- all authority- all right, power, has been given to me- THEREFORE

I am sending you

in my power, wisdom, strength, to

make disciples of all the nations.

(NOTES): Nations- ethnos- a race or tribe of people.

You and I think in terms of saving individuals, God wants us to think in terms of saving the nations.

In other words, as God’s sons/daughters, our calling is not just next door- but to the nations of the world.

Review

Last Sunday- Mike Black talked about the importance of supporting the local church and the

mission work the local church is involved in.

(NOTES): As the Body of Christ on earth today, we have been given a heavenly calling to complete the work that Christ began.

Jn 4:7-10

Jesus meets this woman, ministered to her and many of the people in her city are saved.

The disciples are focused on getting food and they come back and try to get Jesus to eat.

Jn 4:31-34

In the same way, our food is to do the work of God.

It is easy for us to become overly focused with our own personal lives- instead of

the heavenly calling we have been given as believers and as the Church of Jesus Christ.

Many believe that much of the turmoil we see in the world today is the birth pangs of- end of the age.

Our end time focus, as God’s children, is not to be, “how am I going to survive.”

(NOTES):

We are not called to be survivalist, but conquerors.

Rom 8:31-39

As children of God how do we respond to the heavenly calling to complete the work of Christ?

Challenged- by- article in Mike Black’s newsletter

“What would you do if your church or home group received an anonymous phone call or letter under your door asking you for $500 every month or else a church member would die every week or a member of your family would be kidnapped?”

This is happening in Guatemala today as gangs and organized crime target churches/church groups.

How would we respond to this type of coercion knowing- the police are as corrupt as the gangs?

Would you

pay them,

stop going to church,

sacrifice a church/family member to stand for God and His Kingdom?

A Kingdom Perspective

If we are going to complete the work of Christ in these end times it is going to take

courage, sacrifice,

taking a long view of life, and

having a Kingdom of God perspective.

Too often we have reduced the message of the Gospel to that of salvation.

God loves you, come to God, He will take care of you, everything will be okay.

It is interesting that both John the Baptist and Jesus started their ministry w/same message

Matt 4:17 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." NASU

Repent- think differently about life and morality.

For the Jew it meant a return to the law, a return to God’s order, a change in the way one lives.

Kingdom- realm, a place where dominion or power is exercised, a place where people are ruled by a king

(NOTES): Kingdom of God (Heaven) is where God’s rule is acknowledged and obeyed.

God’s purpose is to establish His Kingdom on earth.

Not a Kingdom of coercion, but one where men are willing to come under the King’s rule- however

Phil 2:9-11

Today we can make a choice, tomorrow it may be decided for us- as will our eternal destination.

We often pray the Lord’s prayer

Mtt 6:10 ’Your kingdom come.

Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

Where the King is, there is His Kingdom.

The destiny of a nation is in the hands of the church. Lance Wallnau

If this is true we have a great responsibility.

(NOTES): The Gospel of the Kingdom of God includes both the sacred and the secular.

We have created a sacred/secular divide that allows us to behave

like Christians in the church and

very differently outside the church.

We separate the gospel from our culture

next life/this life,

eternal/temporal,

sacred/secular,

spiritual/natural,

salvation of souls/transformation of nations.

The church desperately needs to become relevant again to our culture, as it has been in times past.

The church in the past has had great influence on the culture and the morality of a nation.

This will only happen again as we understand our role as Kingdom minded men/women.

Today- overly focused on seeing ourselves as recipients of God’s blessings for our benefit.

We must instead see ourselves as carriers of God’s blessings for the benefit of the world.

As Christians we think way to small.

We are hoping to get a few people saved-