John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19: And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20: For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21: But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Introduction

When you read the Bible you will realize that God has a mission for the nations and that mission is clearly revealed in the very beginning. Please turn to ...

Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 

We have here the record of God giving Abraham three promises, namely, that He would make him a great nation, that He would bless him and that He would make his name great. But in these promises, God has given Abraham great responsibility. God said to Abraham in verse 3, And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

What God is essentially saying to Abraham is, “I will bless you and all nations on the earth will be blessed through you.” God will bless Abraham to bless others. This blessing is to be one that reaches out to every nation. God said to Abraham, “thou shalt be a blessing.” In this sentence, God has revealed His plan to save the world. Through Abraham seed, will come the Saviour of the world.

God has a plan and mission for the nations. In Psalm 67:1-3, we read, God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

Christopher J. H. Wright writes about this promise to Abraham, “God’s promise to Abraham is the key to the rest of Scripture. It is the beginning of mission and at the heart of the gospel. When we forget who we are and why we are here – to participate in the mission of God – then we have lost the plot of Scripture.”

This morning I want us to consider three simple truths about missions. It is absolutely essential for us to know who we are and why we are or we will fail at the mission of life. What is the purpose of life? What is our mission in life? It is easy for us in the busyness of life that we forget our mission in life.

I – Missions is the Heartbeat of Christ

In our text, Jesus makes it plain to us that He was sent by the Father with a mission. 

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

God had only one Son, and He made Him a missionary. Jesus Christ came with a mission, and His mission was not to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. Jesus came to die for guilty sinners. This is what He proclaimed throughout His earthly life and ministry. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to save His people from their sins. Even His name Jesus, meant “Saviour.”

Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

In Matthew 18:11, Jesus made clear His mission when He said, “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

While John was baptizing in the Jordan River, Jesus appeared, and when he saw Him coming, John the Baptist exclaimed in John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world.” John the Baptist understood fully the heartbeat of Jesus—to take away the sin of the world.

The Apostle Paul was clear about the heart of Jesus for missions. Listen to what he said in 1 Timothy 1:15,  “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

That was the heartbeat of Jesus. As someone has said, “Every beat of His heart throbbed to save souls. Every person He healed physically, He then forgave them of their sin. Every person He dealt with, He first caused him or her to grapple with their sin and pointed them to Himself as the answer.”

Winning the lost is the very heartbeat of Jesus. Man’s redemption is central in all of His plans and purposes. This is true from the beginning of time and it has not changed up to this very hour.

II – Missions is the Hope of the Condemned

Not only is missions the heartbeat of Christ, it is also the hope of the condemned.

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19: And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

The Bible is clear that the whole world is already condemned. 1 John 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. Without the Gospel, lost sinners are helpless, hopeless, and hell-bound. Their only hope is to hear and believe the Gospel. But none of them will hear without someone telling them.

Please turn your Bibles to …

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

If the sinner calls, whoever He is and whatever he has done, God is willing and able to save him. If the sinner calls upon His Name He will answer. He will save, the humble, contrite heart that cries out “Lord, save me!” Here we see both the simplicity and the sufficiency of the Gospel. Even a little child can understand that, and that’s all one needs to do to receive full pardon for sins—to call on the Lord and ask Him in faith to save them.

But Paul recognized a problem …

Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15: And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 

The Gospel is simple and sufficient but as someone has asked, “Of what use is a salvation offered to Jews and Gentiles if they never hear about it? The problem with reaching the world for Christ is not the simplicity of the Gospel, nor the sufficiency of the Gospel, but the scarcity of the goers.” And what’s even sadder is that the few believers who are willing to go, have little support from their fellow believers. O, may we hold the rope for those who are willing to go.

III – Missions is the Health of the Church

First, missions is the heartbeat of Christ, secondly, it is also the hope of the condemned and thirdly, missions is the health of the Church.

As I have said at the outset God has a heart for the nations. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. It is God’s will that the Gospel go to everyone in the world—that everyone have the opportunity to know Jesus Christ. Missions is God’s main business, and it must be our main business. And any church that is not in the business of carrying out God’s business has no business being in business to begin with.

May we take care of God’s business. May we be known to be missions-minded church. That ought to be our heart’s desire—to be known as a missions-minded church. God has blessed us here at Grace & Truth Bible Baptist Church in so many ways, but the best is yet to come for this church. And if we are to continue to experience the blessings of God to the fullest extent in the days to come then we must strive not to forget to fulfill our missionary obligation. 

The Gospel was not designed to be hoarded; it was designed to be shared. You were blessed to be a blessing. 

Please turn to …

Proverbs 11:25 The liberal [generous] soul shall be made fat [rich]: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

This is one of the paradoxes of Christian life, the more you give, the more you have. The more you give it out, the more God gives to you. If you generously give out your faith to others, God will replenish your supply. But if you hoard your faith and rarely share it with other people, then you will find yourself stagnating spiritually. Here is our choice: Evangelize or fossilize.

Closing Thoughts

Now that we know God’s mission, we are to take up His mission. We are to be His ambassadors, bringing the message of the gospel to all nations, so that all nations will experience salvation. 

Our Lord Jesus has given us believers our marching orders when He said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” The question is, What are we doing to reach the lost around the world with the Gospel? That’s what this missions emphasis is all about. Maybe you are not called to go to foreign field, but every person in this room can pray and you can give to send others to go to the mission field to reach the lost around the world with the Gospel.

To those who are still lost, the command to you is not, “Go!”, but “Come!”

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.

AMEN!