INTRODUCTION:
The Outline has been developed for all leaders of the Cell Ministry to serve as a guide for our Bible study meetings in the month of June. The subject is ‘The Missionary Christian’ as taught by our Man of God during the class.
As instructed by our man of God at the beginning of the
study, every cell leader and member
is to get the book ‘Join this chariot’. So, ensure all your members get
this inspiring and instructive book on soul winning.
This outline is in 4 parts. Part 1 defines what a
mission is, and throws light on who a missionary Christian is. It explains
God’s saving power, gives insight into God’s eternal plan for all mankind, and
begins the lesson on the purpose of the missionary Christian on the earth. Part
2 concludes the lesson on the purpose of the missionary Christian on the earth.
In Part 3, we learn about the purpose for which Christ came to the earth, and how
to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth; the concluding part, sheds light
on the future of the kingdom and our persistence and hope as missionary
Christians.
Kindly ensure your members have their Bibles; all
the Scriptures in the outline are read during the meeting; and your members look
into their Bibles while Scriptures are read.
TABLE OF CONTENT:
- Part 1………....……………………………………………………..Page
3
- Part 2……………………………….……..……..…..….........….Page
9
- Part 3………………………………………………………………...Page
14
- Part 4………………………………………………………..……....Page
20
PART 1 -
Introduction:
At the end
of this chapter, each member should understand:
- What a
mission means and who a missionary Christian is.
- What God’s saving
power is.
- God’s
eternal plan for all mankind.
Who is a Missionary Christian?
A
missionary is someone on a mission. Therefore, a missionary Christian is a Christian
on a mission.
What is a mission?
A mission
can be defined as:
- a cause of pursuit.
- an
objective, operation or project carried out for the purpose of establishing a
cause, a way of life, a ministry in a foreign or some designated place.
A
missionary therefore is one who is in pursuit of a cause; who is being given or
is on an objective, operation or project, for the purpose of establishing a
cause.
The
missionary Christian can then be defined as a Christian who is about an
objective, operation or project; one that is in pursuit of a cause.
Psalm 67 v
2 (Living Bible): ‘Send us
around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for
all mankind.’
Notice that
David said ‘send us around the world…’ and
not ‘we’re going around the world...’ He
knew we couldn’t go except we’re inspired to go. We have to be sent for us to
be able to go.
God’s Saving Power:
Psalm 107 v 17 – 20:
17 Fools because of
their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.18 Their
soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.19
Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.20 He sent
his word, and healed them, and delivered them
from their destructions.
From this
verse above, we see that David, who was the writer of this Psalm, knew about
God’s saving power, and the healing power of God’s Word.
Romans 1 v 16: ‘16 For I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.17 For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is
written, The just shall live by faith.
The Gospel
of Christ is God’s saving Power; it’s the power of God unto salvation.
God’s eternal plan for all mankind:
A lot of
people before David didn’t know that God had an eternal plan for all mankind.
Even the apostles had a great debate about whether or not the whole world should
be saved by Jesus Christ; they initially thought salvation was just for the
Jews. But David said, ‘Send us around the
world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all
mankind.’ God does have an eternal plan for all mankind.
Ephesians Chapter 1 v 9 – 10 (NIV):
9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he
purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the
times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on
earth together under one Head, even Christ.
What God plans
to do is to bring all things together, under one head – Christ. This is God
plan and His plan is always the best plan; He’s the all wise, all knowing God,
and whatever He plans to do is the best. God planned from the beginning that
you would serve and live under Christ; that’s His plan and purpose.
Ephesians Chapter 3 v 3 - 12 (NIV):
3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.4 In
reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to
men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s
holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are
heirs together with Israel, members
together of one body, and sharers
together in the promise in Christ Jesus. 7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less
than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to
everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created
all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the
manifold wisdom of God should be made
known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his
eternal purpose which he accomplished
in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with
freedom and confidence.
God’s
eternal plan includes everyone from all nations; He plans that through the
gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one
body and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. We are to display the
many sided wisdom of Almighty God to angelic forces, powers and personalities.
In David’s day, the Gospel had not
been fully made manifest. The time for his prayer in Psalm 67 v 2 to be
answered had not come because the redemptive work of Christ had not been
consummated. But Christ has come now; He died, was raised, and has come into
our hearts. He brought us the Holy Spirit, anointed us and now we have been
sent. That was the cry of David, and that prayer has been answered: we have been
sent around the world.
Jesus said, take this message, to
the nations of the world - God’s saving Power, and make known His eternal plan
for all mankind. That was David’s prayer and Jesus has answered it through us.
Another scripture in connection to
God’s eternal plan for all mankind is Colossians
Chapter 1 v 26:
26 the mystery that
has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the
Saints. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious
riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
God’s plan is all in Christ Jesus, and Christ in you is all you need; Christ in you is everything. The mystery is Christ in you, the hope of Glory.
Our purpose on earth as missionary Christians:
What’s the
purpose of the Missionary Christian and what’s our work in the earth?
God left us
here on earth for a reason; otherwise, as soon as you gave your heart to
Christ, you should have gone to Heaven right away. But God left you here after
you were born again because there’s something for you to do here.
We’re here
now, Jesus has come into our lives, we’ve become His partners in sharing the
Good News and our purpose here on earth is:
To reflect
His glory:
Our first
purpose here on earth is to reflect the glory of God; we are the reflectors of
His glory.
Hebrews Chapter 1 v 1 - 3:
1 God,
who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and
the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his
power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of
the majesty on high;
Jesus
is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image (the icon) of God’s
person. A missionary Christian is a reflector of God’s glory. That’s who you
are and your first responsibility as a missionary Christian is to reflect the
glory of God.
Psalm 74 v 20 – 21:
20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the
earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. 21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy
name.
Wherever
the light of God is absent, there are habitations of cruelty; there you’ll find
wickedness and demon spirits carrying out their activities because the light of
God may only shine dimly. So, the dark places of the earth are the habitations
of cruelty, but when the Gospel comes, light comes and things change, and
people begin to live differently.
Until
the Gospel, which is the light of the Kingdom, comes to a nation, it remains the
habitation of cruelty and the home of wickedness. We find from history that until
the Gospel of Christ arrived in any nation, all they had there was spiritual
darkness, wickedness, the manifestation of satanism and all of its
characteristics – evil, hatred, wickedness; and human life was cheap. It’s the
same story today; any place where the Gospel is heard small, where the light of
God shines dim, you’ll have the habitation of cruelty.
Jesus
said you are the light of the world. We are the ones to bring the light to
these dark places of the earth that are full of cruelty.
Verse
21 states: 21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy
name.
How can
the poor and needy praise the Name of God? This is a prayer for them to come
out of their trouble; out of their predicament and poverty. When the Gospel
comes it changes lives; they receive from God, and they are blessed and changed.
So he says ‘let the poor and needy praise
thy name’. When you pray like this, God hears you, but God sends you.
Genesis 1: 16: And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the
lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
The
Scripture here refers to the sun and the moon with respect to the earth.
Remember that Genesis is a foundation for the spiritual kingdom that God talks
about. The earth is really the physical expression of God’s plan. No wonder the
Bible says the earth is full of His glory, but there are so many people who throughout
their lifetime in this earth, never find the glory of God; those who are in the
habitations of cruelty, because they haven’t heard the Gospel.
God
made two great lights: the greater light - the sun, to rule the day, and the
lesser light - the moon, to rule the night. However, the moon in itself is not
a light at all but is a dark planet of some kind. The substances on its surface
are such that they reflect light in a powerful way. It gets its light from the
sun and reflects light. And so when we look at the near-side of it, we get
light, depending on how much of it is being reflected and what position it is
as it orbits earth. But the far-side of it probably is dark, depending on how
much light is being reflected and what position it is.
The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the
sun of righteousness, He’s the greater light of righteousness and He rules the
day. And the Bible says we are the Children of the day not of the night. We are
ruled by the greater light, the sun of righteousness who has made us a light just
like the moon. In our own selves, we are as the moon, but with the sun of
righteousness we become lights just like the moon becomes a light to the earth.
We are the reflectors of His glory in the earth. We get our light from Jesus,
the sun of righteousness, and reflect that glory to the world. When we beam out
the light which we receive from Christ, then those in the darkness get the
light from us and can see the glory of God. You must remain connected to the
sun of righteousness because that’s where your light comes from. In yourself,
without Him, you have no light, but look at the ministry He has given us: we
rule the earth that’s full of darkness. We are His light; we are the reflectors
of His glory: that’s our first ministry. He said of Himself ‘I am the light of
the world’, then He gave us that responsibility of being the light of the world.
So when you arrive anywhere, you’re the reflector of His glory; you are a light
to the nations. Think like that; understand that this is our ministry: to
reflect His glory. Notice that God said the greater light to rule the day and
the lesser light to rule the night, He didn’t just say to shine in the day or
shine in the night. Light rules. It doesn’t matter what happens or what the
problems are; we rule the darkness.
Questions:
1. A
missionary Christian is a Christian:
a. who is
in pursuit of a course
b. who
understands people
c. on a
mission
d. a and
c
Ans: D
2. The
news of God’s saving power is:
a.
Grace
b. The ministry
of angels
c. The
gospel of Christ
d. All of
the above
Ans: C
3. God’s
eternal plan for all mankind is:
a. To
ensure that all men are happy
b. To
bring all things together under one head, even Christ
c. To
make all men missionary
d. To
give gifts unto men
Ans: B
PART 2 -
Introduction:
At the end
of this chapter, each member should clearly understand the purpose of the
missionary Christian in:
- Preaching
and publishing the gospel
- Establishing
the kingdom in all nations
In part
1, we learnt that our first purpose as missionary Christians is to reflect the
glory of God. That has to do with how we live, the things we do, what we say
and how we express what we have on the inside. It’s about the life that we have
received into our spirits, and how that life is manifested through us. So we
are reflectors of His glory.
Our
second purpose is to preach and publish
the gospel of Christ. We’re not stopping until this takes everything to the
end; till it culminates at the end of all things. That end is when Jesus comes
to establish his kingdom. It is our divine responsibility to publish the gospel
of Christ. A Missionary Christian must preach the gospel; he must be
responsible for the publishing of the gospel of Christ.
Mark Chapter 13 v 10: And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
Matthew 24 v 14: And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Why do
we preach the gospel?
The
purpose of preaching and publishing the gospel is:
- To make the message known: it’s not just
about preaching anything, it’s about publishing the message of Christ, His
kingdom and His salvation. The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto
salvation.
Rom 1 v 16 – 17: 16For I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is
written, The just shall live by faith.
This
means that God will only save men through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The
righteousness of God is revealed through the gospel of Christ; that’s where His
righteousness is hidden. When you preach the gospel, you unveil the
righteousness of God, you open up the righteousness of God to men. We’re not
dealing here about a code of conduct or just a way of life. Christianity is
more than just a way of life; it is life.
Righteousness
is the ability to stand in the presence of God without a sense of condemnation
and without condemnation itself, without a sense of inferiority or inferiority.
It’s the ability to stand in the presence of God in fellowship. The
righteousness of God has been the pursuit and desire of man from the earliest
man. Man has been in search of it since he was driven away from the garden of
God. That’s the reason for all the religions and cults of the world; they’re in
search of righteousness, in search of a way of fellowship with God, seeking
some power and connection with divinity. Yet all of that was hidden, wrapped up
in the gospel of Jesus Christ and delivered to us free.
- We preach the gospel because faith is
not administered if people don’t hear it. Men cannot have faith in God Almighty
until they hear the gospel. The gospel imparts faith. We preach and teach
because man’s life is made through words. You are made through words, your
world is created through words and without those words you’ll fail. You came
out of words; God’s Word is your life. That is why we have to build by
preaching and teaching.
Romans 10 v 13 – 14:
13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.14How 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?
If they
don’t call on Him they’re not going to get saved, but they cannot call until
they believe and they have to hear so they can believe. The literal
presentation of Romans 10 v 13 -14 from the Greek is: ‘how shall they call on Him
in whom they have had no faith, and how shall they have faith in Him of whom
they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a preacher’. The word ‘believe’
there is actually the verb of faith; It means to have faith and to put your
faith in one. Not just anybody is going to preach and impact the Word of God
for salvation, it will have to be somebody that was sent.
Romans 10 v 17: So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
This is why
we have to preach and publish the message: Faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the Word of God. Until you hear the message, faith doesn’t come. It’s not
just about hearing sound, we’re referring to hearing by the spirit. There are
so many ways to publish the message. For example, sometimes you know you may
not have the opportunity to talk to somebody, but you can give the person a
copy of Rhapsody of Realities. They will look at it and read it later on. We
have to do everything we can to spread the message.
Everyone of
us has to do something about the preaching of the Word of God; we have to
preach it, tell it and express it. Use every available means to communicate the
Gospel of Jesus Christ and also receive ideas from God, because God would give
us new ideas and help us communicate His message even better than the world has
known. We are open to receiving greater ideas from God.
Titus 1:1- 3:
1Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the
truth which is after godliness; 2In hope of eternal life, which God,
that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 3But hath in due
times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me
according to the commandment of God our Saviour.
God has
manifested His words through preaching. Eternal life which God promised before
the world began has happened through preaching. So we bring eternal life to men
through the preaching of the message of eternal life. Can you see that we have
the most important job in the world? Preaching the gospel is the most important
job in the entire world. Until we preach people won’t know about eternal life
and therefore can’t have it. The missionary Christian should think like this: ‘I’ve
got to tell the untold and reach the unreached, to communicate the gospel and take
the message everywhere until the last man hears it’. This is very important.
Our third purpose
as missionary Christians is to establish
the kingdom in all nations. This is an extraordinary assignment: to
establish the kingdom in all nations.
John 20: 21: 21Then said
Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent
me, even so send I you.
What
exactly did Jesus mean when He made this statement? Did He mean that we should
die on the cross because He died on the cross? No! the Lord Jesus was dealing
with specific issues here, He wasn’t just talking in generic terminologies. What
did the Father send Jesus to do? It couldn’t be that He sent him to die on the
cross, because he died on the cross and was buried and God raised him back to
life. That means the cross was not the objective so we cannot say God sent him
to the cross. For example, If you are going to school, your destination on that
particular day as you are journeying to the school is school. Wherever you
might stop on the way or whatever vehicle you may take is not the destination.
Your destination is the place where you are going. But even then, no one is
sent to the school as the final destination; your purpose cannot be school
because you go to school to learn so you can apply what you leant in something.
So Jesus went to the cross not as a destination or purpose, but as part of the
process in achieving what God asked Him to do.
John 12: 44- 46: 44Jesus cried and said, He that
believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. 45And
he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. 46I am come a light into
the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Jesus
emphasized here that He was sent. So, what was His purpose and what was He sent
to do?
John 10:10: 10The thief
cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they
might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Luke 19:10: 10For the
Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
These two
verses are generic explanations for His purpose. It’s like saying ‘I went to
the school of medicine because I wanted to be a doctor’; now you have qualified
as a doctor what is more? So there’s more about the purpose of Jesus. When
Jesus said He was sending us as the Father sent Him, it’s important to know
what the Father sent Him to do. What was the ultimate plan of the Father?
Mathew 28 v 18: 18And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Here, Jesus
said something about how He was sending us. The word ‘power’ in the verse
refers to authority. He was saying that He had all authority in heaven and on
earth, and He immediately delegated this authority to the church. This means we
are to go on the basis of His authority to teach all nations and make pupils of
all nations. Jesus has given His authority
to us, the missionary Christians, and we are sent into all nations. The word
for nations there is ‘ethnos’ which refers to different groupings of people all
over the world. This means He is sending us into all nations, into every man’s
world. We have authority to go into every man’s world to teach the Word,
Hallelujah!
Questions:
1. The
purpose of the missionary Christian is:
a. To
reflect the glory of God
b. To
preach and publish the gospel
c. To
establish the kingdom in all nations
d. All of
the above
Ans: D
2. Why do
we preach the gospel?
a. To
make the message known
b. So
that faith can be administered to men
c. To
bring eternal life to men
d. All of
the above
Ans: D
3. We
unveil the righteousness of God through the preaching of the gospel
a.
True
b. False
Ana: A
4. Preaching the gospel is the most
important job in the whole world
a. True
b. False
Ans: A
PART 3 -
Introduction:
At the end
of this chapter, each member should understand:
- The purpose
for which Jesus Christ came to the earth
- How to
establish the kingdom of heaven
Mathew 28 v 18: 18And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
‘Baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost’ means
something beyond dipping people in water. Jesus was not just referring to the ‘water’
part of baptism, He is saying we are going to be called by one name and have a
structure – an organized church.
1 Corinthians 12 v 13: 13For by one Spirit are we all baptized
into one body, whether we be
Jews or Gentiles, whether we be
bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12 v 28: 28And God hath set some in the church,
first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles,
then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
There is a structure in the church
but it begins with the baptism; we were brought into the body of Christ,
and were immersed in water under His Name. And in that body, He set some in the
church in different offices to build the church. He also said, ‘I will build my
church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:18). Now, we can understand that when He gave the
instruction, it didn’t mean everybody is to go anywhere to do what they like to
do, it’s more than preaching, we have to be organized. Jesus placed us in the body, which is called
the Church, for a purpose.
Hebrews 12 v 2: 2Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith; who for
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is
set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus was
put to shame there on the cross, they spat at him, put a crown of thorns on His
head, which pierced His skull till blood gushed out and ran down His face. They
called Him all kinds of names: a deceiver, thief, robber, and crucified him
between two robbers as though He were a robber but the Bible says, because of
the glory ahead of Him, He despised the shame. He didn’t care about the shame;
He held on! That’s the same way we must hold on; we’re going to be criticized, called
all sorts of names, all manner of evil will be falsely spoken against us. But we,
knowing the goal, knowing what is ahead of us, must be just like Jesus and hold
on, despising the shame because we are excited about what is going to happen.
Let’s look
at what our excitement is all about: In Luke
19 v 11 – Jesus was completing His ministry and approaching death on the
cross, and He told them a parable in connection with His purpose. Here, He
establishes clearly what He was about:
11And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he
was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should
immediately appear. 12He said therefore, A certain nobleman went
into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13And
he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them,
Occupy till I come. 14But his citizens hated him, and sent a message
after him, saying, We will not have this man
to reign over us. 15And it came to pass, that when he was returned,
having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto
him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had
gained by trading. 16Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound
hath gained ten pounds. 17And he said unto him, Well, thou good
servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority
over ten cities. 18And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath
gained five pounds. 19And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over
five cities. 20And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept
laid up in a napkin: 21For I feared thee, because thou art an
austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou
didst not sow. 22And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will
I judge thee, thou wicked
servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not
down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23Wherefore then gavest not
thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own
with usury? 24And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the
pound, and give it to him that
hath ten pounds. 25(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten
pounds.) 26For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall
be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away
from him. 27But those mine enemies, which would not that I should
reign over them, bring hither, and slay them
before me.
The parable
says that a certain noble man went to a far country to receive a kingdom. This
means that what he went to receive was not a kingdom of land and houses; he
went to receive authority. He returned with this authority and began dividing it
among his servants.
The noble
man had 10 servants and he gave them 10 pounds; each servant was given a pound.
Note that ‘pound’ in the parable refers to a measure of money just like in a
similar parable where talents were given. ‘Talent’ in the parable doesn’t mean
a gift or ability but also refers to a measure of currency (a talent is about
100 pounds).
He tried
them with money; he gave them money and told them to trade with it. Everyone of
them got the same 1 pound. This is different from the other parable where the Bible
says he gave them according to their several abilities; he gave one 5 talents, another
two talents and the third 1 talent. These are two different parables; they are
similar and the results incidentally are very similar but they are two
