The mission field calls to our minds far-away places of sacrifice, physical hardship, long separation from loved ones, and a touch of the exotic.
The Bible tells us that the mission field is any place:
1) Where paganism saturates daily life,
2) Where differing cultures exist
3) Where a clear gospel witness is absent.
- Hummm sounds like America
Carl Holmberg, professor of popular culture at Bowling Green [Ohio] State University. says "Traditional religion [is considered] controlling, telling people what to do. Spirituality liberates, offering ways to achieve transcendence, ecstasy, a sense of the magical self."
In the secular press, ’spirituality’ is often used synonymously with ’self-help, self-potential or self-fulfillment.
Oprah Winfrey’s did a talk show segment called "Remembering Your Spirit. She never once mentioned the Holy Spirit.
Today Christianity is not despised, it is simply deemed irrelevant and out of touch with reality.
Video at – www.highwayvideo.com
Here is a "Man In The Street Interview" Asking "What is Easter?"
Man - "I don’t know anything about it, I have never attended church in my life
Girl beside him asks What does church have to do with Easter?
Another girl - Bunnies, I just think of bunnies
Interviewer
Don you think the message of Easter is still relevant today?
Girl - I don’t even know what Easter is for.
Women - I don’t know what the Easter message is.
Young Man - At Easter time I used to look for eggs when I was a kid. I don’t see any spiritual aspect for Easter
Another Girl - I think symbolically but not literally.
American Culture Reflects these answers
Barna Reasearch Group
- 1/3 US pop is currently unchurched = 100 million
- What this means they have not attended church the last 6 months
- To put that figure in context, if the unchurched population of the United States were a nation of its own, that group would be the eleventh most populated nation on earth
- Christianity Today Reports that single people are "the most unchurched population in America
- Christina Post even goes farther than that by stating that with-in this group “the greatest desperation among the youth population almost anywhere in the world - young Native Americans.”
- This is the fastest growing group today
- Young People are shaping our country
- This impacts our beliefs
We Have Abandoned Scripture and are not impacted by it
Why? Look at Mal 1:6-11
Israel had not learned from the past (post captivity)
1) v. 6 - We have failed to believe it ourselves
2) v. 7-8 - We have failed to live out what we believe
3) v. 11 ( Lev. 22:19-20) - We have failed to teach what we believe
Is 59:14 KJV .... judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
NLT Is 59:14 Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed.
Is 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
- People lose their way and call good evil and evil good
- In other words we want spirituality our way
Je 7:28 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
- We see this every where TV, Music, Movies, Video games,
- Immorality is taken for granted
- Spiritual discernment is low
- Knowledge of God is scarce
- Today’s living reflects materialism, pleasure seeking and designer religion
1 Jn 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
- America needs Christ
- The Bible calls us to repentance
- To leave the false gods of our making
- Ac 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
1 Ti 2:5-6 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
- We have more bibles and study tools than ever before and yet many Christians take yoga for health not knowing that this is a spiritual Hindu practice
- Truth for America now lies in our personal feelings and experience
- Where does all this fit for you?
- Are you a mission field?
- Needing a personal real & vibrant relationship with Christ
- Our families and neighbors have the most sever judgment hanging over their heads
- Dammed to eternal hell fire
- Believers are to be Missionaries where ever they are
- Are You a missionary?
- Where do we spend the majority of our waking hours?
- Where do people face the majority of challenges to living our their faith?
- Where are most of our relationships found outside the family?
- At work
- Back to — 1/3 US pop is currently unchurched = 100 million
- The workplace is the 4th largest American Mission field
- Did you know there is more heart attacks and suicides between 5:00 am 7:00 am on Monday Morning than any other time of the week.
- Why - People hate their jobs
- The good news of Easter is that Christ gives life
- Christ needs to be shaved -- Good news given --- A hope promised
An area of hope according to the “The Bible League”– a ministry using Bible
studies as the basis for evangelism, discipleship, and church planting
nearly 3.3 million Bible studies were completed worldwide in 2006.
– They reported that an average of 9,032 Bible studies were completed each day
in the more than 60 countries that it works in.
1 Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give
an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with
meekness and fear:
Eph 4:11-13 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
- Note every one has a gift
- Everyone is to share Christ
- When Jesus left eaarth we were given the task to share his promise
- We were given the task to share his promise of good news
- This is the only plan he has
- There is no plan B
Ezekiel 33:11 - I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked
turn from his way and live
II Chronicles 16:9."For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole
earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward
Him
