Proclaiming Christ in the Globalized City #3

Christ We Proclaim in the Globalized City

My Conference Theme

Discipling the Globalized City: Our Savior’s

Great Commission Provision

Thursday Morning:

God’s Call to the Globalized City

Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary

2017-11-2

Introduction:

  • Relationships are important, so…
  • Deb and I want to say thank you.
  • On Monday morning we learned that the city was always meant to be a conduit of God’s blessing to man. In fact, the city is uniquely designed to communicate the image of God globally. And although twisted by sin, and maligned by men, the city has always been the most strategic place to do the Great Commission. This is true because the city exerts its influence regionally, and globalized cities do so internationally.
  • On Tuesday evening we talked about the Great Commission and the Globalized City. We found that the creation ordinance to subdue and rule the earth has commonality with the Great Commission of Matthew 28. God has always desired His image to populate the entire globe, and what Adam and Eve failed to do, God has commanded the church to do–make disciples of all nations. It also became apparent that God has made it possible for us to do the Great Commission by moving peoples from all countries into commission ready places called cities (I call them globalized cities). Finally, I pointed out that knowing the potential for Great Commission ministry in the Globalized Cities makes us accountable for doing something about it. It is our responsibility to disciplize the city in order to make disciples of all nations.

We must follow Christ to the City

  1. By obeying the Bible: A call from God is first of all biblically based.

The will of God is discovered by understanding the revealed will of God (The Bible) and by discerning how He has equipped you to join Him in what He is doing.

  • Know the revealed will of God

Making disciples of all nations is the revealed will of God.

  • Understand how God is working in the world.

Proverbs 8: 1-5Does not wisdom call, and understanding lift up her voice? On top of the heights beside the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates, at the opening to the city, at the entrance of the doors, she cries out: “To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. “O naive ones, understand prudence; and, O fools, understand wisdom”.

  • Evaluate how your giftedness fits into God’s work.

Be a Surrendered Christian

Romans 12:1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Humbly but Soberly Evaluate Yourself

3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

Do Your Job

4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

I was helped to understand the FBBC and TS student body better. It was explained to me that, although many within the student body do not like the city, nevertheless, they are willing to go to the city. I am very thankful for this information, but this raises a question in my mind. If you have considered missions, and if you are willing to go to the city, Why not go?

Our Savior has drawn the nations to our cities. Successful ministry in the city needs every kind of gifted person. Make a sanctified guess that God desires you to serve in a globalized city, pursue your calling, and trust that your Savior will stop you and redirect you if your sanctified guess is incorrect—but it isn’t.

We must follow Christ to the City—to the globalized city

  1. By thinking strategically: We should think strategically concerning meeting the largest possible number of needs globally.

Jesus’ command to disciple all nations require we think through how to do so in the most effective way. We can send 10 missionaries to ten places to reach ten people groups, or we can send fewer missionaries to one place where all ten people groups reside.

Missionaries need to be trained to minister to bicultural city dwellers. If these bicultural people are reached with the gospel, they will be far better equipped to minister to people of their own culture.

So, not only is it wise to minister to the world residing in the city because fewer missionaries are able to minister to more people groups, but it is also wiser to minister the gospel to bicultural individuals who are better able to minister to their own people.

As God’s Great Commission stewards, we must not settle for lack of planning and strategizing. Rather, we must wisely choose where to minister in order to reach the most people groups in the shortest amount of time.

We must follow Christ to the City

  1. By responding individually and institutionally: It is time to function as the body of Christ visible and universal.

Individually: I have laid out to the best of my ability the case for city ministry. Now it is up to you to decide what to do with the information you have been given.

Institutionally: The nexus between global communities gathering in large cities and online capabilities provides us almost unparalleled opportunities to make disciples of all nations. If this is to happen, institutions like Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary must take a leadership role. We need a network of such institutions networking together to meet the challenge of the globalized city—Your move.

The choices before the church are simple: (1) Will we rely on formulas and strategies without reference to the sovereign and surprising work of God? (2) Will we misinterpret the teaching of God’s sovereignty over all to lead us to indifference or fatalism? (3) Will we understand the clear connection in the Bible of God’s sovereignty and His call to His people to make disciples of all nations, beginning in our communities and cities?” John Massey

Invitation:

Know-God’s intention for the city-Recognize your stewardship-Yield to your responsibility