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Lesson Eight - Ministry to the World

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" Matthew 24:14.

The preaching of the gospel to the world holds such a priority in God's plan and purpose that Christ's return hinges on its successful completion. Such a high priority in God�s heart should also hold prime position in our own (2 Corinthians 5:14).

Witnesses

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth" Acts 1:8 (see also Matthew 10:18; Luke 21:12-13).

The original Greek word for "witness" is martus, which means "a witness, a record" (see 2 Cor.3:3). It is a noun, not a verb - in other words, you are not called to witness; you are a witness. Martus is where we get the word "martyr" from, which means being a witness to the point of laying down your life.

Being a witness involves three things:

  1. Your words (Matthew 10:18-20)
  2. Your deeds (1 Peter 2:12)
  3. Your life (Philippians 2:14-16)

Three Elements

When reaching out to the world, God concentrates on three elements:

Much emphasis is placed on methods in evangelism, but the Method is simply the package which the Messenger and the Message comes wrapped in.

The Messenger

There are three common "role models" for evangelism, each with a different "messenger-style":

  1. The Superstar Model - based on reputation
  2. The Salesman Model - based on determination
  3. The Human Model - based on identification

God always uses real people to reach real people. Jesus didn't come as a superstar or as a salesman. He came as a human being in order to reach human beings (Philippians 2:5-8). He is our role model of how to be a witness God's way.

The Message

The Message never changes (1 Peter 1:23-25). The Message that Jesus preached, that the early Church preached, is the same Message we preach today . But as you look through the New Testament, you find that neither Jesus nor His disciples used any set formula. The Message they preached was always the same, but the way that Message was expressed varied from audience to audience. The Message is translated through our lives and words in a language that the people can understand. Bible translators called this process "dynamic equivalence."

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ' Brothers, what shall we do?' Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptised everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins"' Acts 2:36-38.

Peter did not use the same words that Jesus did (see Mark 1:14). Yet the Message had not changed. But before he challenged the people to repent, something had already happened in their hearts (read verses 36-37).

They had had a revelation of who Jesus is: both Lord and Christ.

Too many times, when sharing the Gospel, we are presenting only a half-revelation of Jesus. We are preaching only half of the Message.

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him..." Colossians 2:6.

Nowhere does it say in the Bible that we are to receive Jesus as "Saviour". Jesus is our Saviour (John 4:42), but those are not the terms on which we receive Him. A full revelation of Jesus is needed to produce true repentance. We receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour. It's a package deal.

If we replace the word "Lord" with "Saviour" in Colossians 2:6, we can see the results of preaching a half-Message:

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as [Saviour], continue to live in him..."

If someone simply receives Jesus as their Saviour only, they do experience God's salvation, but they continue to live in "salvation mode". Their salvation is mixed with two problems:

Many Christians have genuine gratitude toward Jesus as their Saviour (enough to get them to church most Sundays), but don't have any life-changing relationship bond. We must preach the full Message - a Message invested with power for change (1 Corinthians 1:17-24; Romans 1:16).

Method

Our Method should not be based on pre-set formulas, but based on the person and the situation (read examples in John 3:1-21; 4:5-30,39-42; Mark 10:17-23; Luke 13:1-5; 19:1-10). The Message never changes, but the Method (the wording of the Message and the way it is presented) is always different. It is the Method, not the Message, that must always be relevant to the hearer. "Relevance" comes from a two-way identification:

The result of an unbeliever's full identification with the believer's Message is that he will commit himself to the Lord. He will receive the believer's experience and lifestyle for himself.

Seeing the Harvest

Two revelations will produce a burning desire to be a witness:

  1. There is a harvest (John 4:35)
  2. There is a Lord of the harvest (Matthew 9:38)

Every person is different and the work of God in each person's life is at a different stage. Jesus said:

"...My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working...I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does" John 5:17,19.

God the Father is called "the Lord of the harvest." He has a way of doing things in His harvest field, in accordance with the four stages of harvest:

  1. Ploughing (Hosea 10:12)
  2. Sowing (2 Cor.9:6; John 12:24).
  3. Watering (1 Cor.3:6)
  4. Reaping (Mark 4:26-29; Galatians 6:9; Psalm 126:5-6)

We must recognise what stage a person is at, and cooperate with God in His work. We are not the sum-total of that work, but belong to a team of many harvest workers (read John 4:36-38).

Reaching Out

"...The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field" Matthew 9:37.

To be a part of the harvest process, we must be sent out to where the people are, through:

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God" 2 Corinthians 5:20.

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Copyright © 1995 Paul, Bunty and David Collins. All rights reserved. This study may be freely used and reproduced, wholly or in part, by the Christian Church for the non-profit purposes of study and training only, provided copyright and contact information is included.

Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures quoted in these studies are from the New International Version of the Bible, © New York International Bible Society, used by permission. Other versions referred to are: KJV (King James Version), NKJB (New King James Bible), TLB (The Living Bible), Amp (The Amplified Bible) and The Message. All versions used by permission.

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