Missio Dei: How the Mission of God shapes our lives

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God has a bigger plan and purpose for our lives than we realize. God has been on a mission from the very beginning. He created us for the purpose of displaying and spreading His glory around the world. God's Mission, Missio Dei, touches and shapes every area of our lives. It enfuses meaning and purpose into EVERYTHING we do and literally who we are.

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The Monotony of Life

Have you ever thought or said aloud “there has got to be more to life than this!”
Perhaps you have asked the question “why am I doing what I am doing?” Struggling to find meaning and significance in work, parenting, going to school, or whatever else we do.
Monotony can some times seems like a trap we cannot escape. Another meal to prepare, room to clean, overtime to work, kid to drive her, bill to pay, chore to do. THERE HAS TO BE MORE TO LIFE THAN THIS!!!

The Unifying Mission of the Bible

You see the bible as a loosely connected collection of spiritual truths, stories, motivational thoughts, and principles to live by.
We can view the bible like a encyclopedia: we go looking for information that is pertinent our need or satisfies our curiosity.

Tracing the mission of God throughout the bible

Adam and Eve

Genesis 1:28 ESV
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
The mission Adam and Eve were given was to “fill the earth and subdue it”.
They were God’s missionary agents to spread His glory and reign throughout the earth.

Noah

After sin entered the world and God punished Adam and Eve, humanity became evil.
Then Noah enters the picture and God hits the reset button on the earth.
After the flood we read these words from God:
Genesis 9:1 ESV
1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
Noah’s mission was the same as Adam and Eve.

Tower of Babel

This is an interesting story, the people on the earth banded together to build a tower to the heavens in order to be like God, in a since to overthrow Him.
So God, rather than destroy them, stepped in and confused their languages:
Genesis 11:7–8 ESV
7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
gen 11
God created the nations of the world- language, culture, diversity.
But this all went with His plan.

Abraham and the Israelites

Genesis 12:1–3 ESV
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 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. 3 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.”
Gen
Of the nations God created, He chose to bless Abraham and his family and the nation that would come from them so that “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
God chose one nation to be a missionary nation to the world. To spread His glory throughout the world.

Issac

Genesis 26:4 ESV
4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
The mission passed on the Issac

Jacob

Gen 26:
Genesis 28:14 ESV
14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
the mission passed on to Jacob
Gen 26:14

Moses and the Law

Many years pass and God calls Moses to lead His people out of salvary
He gives them the Law
Deuteronomy 4:5–6 ESV
5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
ex
Exodus 19:4–6 ESV
4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
Deuteronomy 28:9–10 ESV
9 The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.
Deu
The laws were given in order that God’s chosen, missionary people would see them as a “great and wise people” and “be afraid of you.”
Fear that leads to transformation.

Prophets

Isaiah 49:3 ESV
3 And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
Isaiah 49:6 ESV
6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Isaiah
In the prophets God is continually calling His people back to His plan and purpose for them’
He is also revealing to them His future promise, ultimately to make them “a light for the nations” so that His “”salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Jesus

The promised Messiah comes with a mission to:
Luke 19:10 ESV
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Matthew 24:14 ESV
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
And then to send His church to:
Matthew 28:19–20 ESV
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Mt 28:

The Church

Then Jesus sent the Spirit to empower His church to:
Acts 1:8 ESV
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
2 Corinthians 5:19–20 ESV
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
2 cor

The End of the Age

Then Jesus will return and to bring about this:
Revelation 7:9 ESV
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
God’s Mission has always been to make His name known throughout the nations through His people.
God has one mission – all nations, and one method – all believers.

Why this matters to us

1) God called you and saved you for a purpose.

Salvation isn’t fire insurance or something to enjoy only when your life is over
is telling us that God called you and saved you for a very important purpose.
This truth breathes life into the monotony of your everyday.
You are no longer a mom driving kids to and from soccer games, cooking meal after meal, and cleaning up the same shoes off the same floor for the 5th time this week.
You are a called and equipped missionary mom who has the opportunity to mold and shape young lives into Christ-centered missionaries for the Glory of God
All ground on which we tread is holy ground, and all work to which we put our hands is holy work, as long as we live and work for God’s glory.

2) Your life is eternally significant.

It is so easy to get caught in the rut of thinking the things you are doing don’t count for much.
I am just a welder, banker, teacher, line worker, office person, salesman...
I don’t have any influence or significance in this world.
1 Peter 2:9–10 ESV
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:4–5 ESV
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 peter 2 4-
1 pet 2 :9
You are a chosen people, a people belonging to God, called to proclaim His excellencies in everything we do.
Your significance is not defined by other people or worldly standards, but by your Heavenly Father who called you for a purpose.

3) Every part of your life is meant for Mission.

Parenting, working, playing, going to school, owning a home, living in this community, going shopping, watching a baseball game…every aspect of your life is meant for one mission… to make God’s name know through words and deed.
1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Surrender to the Call

the prophet vividly describes a vision he received of the Lord.
Seeing this image of God in all His glory causes Isaiah to realize and confess his sinfulness.
One of the angels touches his lips and says “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
Right after Isaiah is forgiven of his sins and saved out of his wretchedness we read this:
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), .
Isaiah 6:8 ESV
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Isaiah 6:1–8 ESV
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Is 6
Salvation leads immediately to the call to the Mission of God.
Isaiah 6:8 ESV
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
When Christ saves us we become part of a missionary army that God intends to use to make an eternal impact on many in this word.
When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.

Your Commissioning

For most of us in this room you have never been commissioned as a missionary for God’s Glory in this world.
Today is the day
I want to call anyone who is willing to accept the call of God on their life to make His name famous in every sphere of influence in your life to come forward and let me pray over you.
If you are able and you are ready I am calling you forward now to surrender your life to the call God has to use you for His glory and renown in the Nations.
Here we are Lord, send us.
Here we are Lord, use us.
Here we are Lord, make us who you want us to be.
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