The recording cut out 10 minutes from the end of the course.
I've finally gotten around to re-recording the final session:
If I've got time, I'd like to do a little video summary of the 12 weeks, but we'll see...
Outgoing 12B – What’s stopping us?
Tag: outgoing
Outgoing 12 A – Problems of the Heart
Outgoing – Session 12
24 November 2011
Problems of the heart
What stops us from being an outgoing people?
Discuss!
We want to feel ok with the world
But Jesus hits a conversation like a sack of bricks.
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We want to feel ok with God
So I don’t want to get too involved with ‘the world’
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We want to feel ok with ourselves
But frankly we’re spiritually dry and it feels like a duty.
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How would the Apostle Paul handle these objections?
2 Corinthians 5
V1-4 – Our bodies are from Adam, our Spirit is from Christ
Therefore we groan! But...
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V5-9 – We have confidence through the Spirit
We look forward to seeing Jesus
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V10 – Humanity will appear before Christ’s throne.
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Therefore...
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V11-13 – We persuade people
V14-16 – We are driven out by the love of Jesus
We see the world in the light of the cross.
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V17-19 – To be saved is to be scooped up into His mission
His mission is proclamation.
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V20-21 – We implore people.
We make an appeal to people
“Be reconciled to God.”
This has happened cosmically
But it must happen personally
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So how would Paul answer our fears?
We want to feel ok with the world
We want to feel ok with God
We want to feel ok with ourselves
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What can we do to share Jesus in our everyday lives?
Pray
Be human
Love them
Speak of Jesus
Open the Bible with them
Invite them into the community of Christ’s people
COMMON OBJECTION: “You don’t really want to be my friend, you just want to gain converts!”
Outgoing 11B – Problems of the head – part two
Outgoing – Session 11B - 17 November 2011
Questions, Questions...
Coming to Christ is like getting married...
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You do ask questions before you’re married
But that’s not the primary way you get to know each other
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You get to know each other by living in each other’s worlds and by telling stories.
And once you get married, then you start asking big questions.
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It’s the same with coming to Christ:
Questions are important but they’re not the main way you get to know Jesus.
You get to know Jesus as His story is told.
Therefore it's not about taking questions on their own terms.
We must use questions to proclaim Christ.
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Reframing, Reflecting, Revealing...
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We reframe the questions around the Bible’s definitions.
We reflect the question back because they too must answer it.
We reveal the gospel focused on Christ and Him crucified.
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DISCUSS
1) If God is all loving, all knowing and all powerful, how can he allow suffering?
2) If God knows everything, why pray?
3) Religion causes wars
Recommended Reading: Galatians 1-6
What is the gospel?
What does it mean to live by the flesh? And by the Spirit?
What is the biggest threat to the gospel
Next Week: What’s stopping us
Why don’t we evangelise? The real reason is fear, pride and spiritual dryness. The solution? Return to the Fountain!
Outgoing 11A – Problems of the head – part one
Outgoing – Session 11A – 17 November 2011
Problems of the head?
The Link Between Knowledge of God and Salvation by God
Fallen humanity does not know God
1 Samuel 3:7; Psalm 14; Matthew 7:24-27; 11:25-26; John 1:5; 1:18; 5:37-38; 7:28-29; 8:19; 14:17; 15:21; 17:25-26; Romans 1:18; 3:10-18; 8:7; 1 Corinthians 1:21; 2:11-14; 3:18, 19; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 4:17-19; Colossians 1:21; 2:6-8
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To know God is to be saved by Him
Proverbs 1:7; Matthew 11:25-30; John 1:10-13, 18; 14:6-9; 17:3; Rom 10:14-17; 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; Eph 4:17-21; 1 Tim 2:3-4
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We’re not saved by works but by God’s grace alone
We don’t know God by our wisdom but by God’s revelation alone
Our knowledge of God is just as much a gift as our salvation by God.
If this is true, what are the implications for evangelism?
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What about Romans 1?
God is maximally revealed in the world
God is maximally suppressed in us
Something decisive happened with Adam
Though we knew God we exchanged it for foolishness.
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What about Acts 17?
Paul is obsessed with Jesus and the resurrection which seems like strange gods to the Greeks.
Paul says the one thing they know is that they don’t know God.
He begins again with the story of Adam and Christ.
He does not build on their supposed knowledge, he subverts it.
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What would convince the world to believe?
The world demands wisdom or power.
What does God give them? The cross!
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1 Corinthians 1:17-2:5
The cross splits the world
We mustn’t attempt to mend the tear by our own power/wisdom
A Cross-Shaped Message
A Cross-Shaped People
A Cross-Shaped Messenger
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People look for power and wisdom
They are frustrated by the message of the cross.
Yet some believe.
Outgoing 10 – Proclamation People
Outgoing – Session 10 – 10 November 2011
Sorry no audio!
Proclamation People
John 20:19-23 As the Father sends Jesus, so He sends us.
This doesn’t mean we are sent to save the world. John 19:30!
It does mean that we proclaim the forgiveness He won.
How?
John 20:24-31 A Thomas Experience versus The Scriptures
It is more blessed to meet Christ in the Bible
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This is our method – as a priestly people,
we bring Christ to the world biblically
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How do you think of the phrase “WORD OF GOD”?
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Genesis 15:1-6
1 Samuel 3:1,7, 19-21
Psalm 18:30
Psalm 33:4-6
Jeremiah 1:4-10
John 1:1-3
Acts 6:7; 12:24; 13:49; 19:20
1 Thessalonians 1:8-13
Hebrews 4:12; 13:7
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The Threefold Word
Christ
Scripture
Proclamation
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Matthew 10:40; Luke 10:16
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When are my words God’s words?
When Christ is proclaimed biblically.
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Discuss: If this is true, how should it affect the manner of our evangelism?
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Christ must be proclaimed biblically
John 5:37-46
Luke 24:44-49
Our job is not to speak about the Bible.
Our job is to speak about what the Bible speaks about: Christ!
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The essence of evangelism: “I offered them Christ.” (Whitefield)
When we don’t, we offer them....
- Cool
- Credibility
- Creeds
- Courses
Why?
1. We think these are more attractive than Jesus.
2. We imagine the gospel’s a process not a Person.
3. We don’t think people will become Christians.
4. We don’t believe in the Holy Spirit.
5. We refuse to be as vulnerable as the Lord we proclaim.
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Christ must be proclaimed biblically
Acts 17:11
1 John 4:1-3
We don’t just open the Bible – we open it to feed on Christ!
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Christ must be proclaimed biblically
Jeremiah 20:9
1 Corinthians 9:16
2 Corinthians 4:13
2 Corinthians 5:14-21
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The evangelist is never capable of speaking of Christ. They are incapable of doing otherwise.
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Common Objection: I’d believe in God if He showed up in awesome power.
Recommended Reading: 1 Corinthians 1-3; 2 Corinthians 4-5
How does Paul evangelise?
Why does Paul evangelise?
Next Week: What’s stopping us
Why don’t we evangelise? Is it really because we don’t have all the answers? What’s the relationship between ‘reason’ and ‘faith’ anyway?
Outgoing 9 – Priestly People
Outgoing – Session 9 – 3 November 2011
Priestly People
The Priesthood of Christ
Christ is Man in the presence of God.
We are in that Man.
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Discuss: How do you consider your standing with God?
How do you respond when you’ve sinned?
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Priesthood in Hebrews: 4:14-16; 5:1-3; 6:19-20; 7:24-28
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We’re carried on the heart of our Perfect Priest, through death and into the throne-room of the Father.
Therefore approach God boldly!
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“Christianity is not about rules, it’s a relationship.”
Careful! Don’t make “relationship” the new work!
We’re not saved by faith as though faith is the thing we bring to the table.
It’s not that God dislikes deeds but really likes creeds.
Our faith doesn’t save us!
We’re saved by Christ alone because we bring nothing to the table
When we rest in His work – that is fath.
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Faith is not a thing. Faith is merely receiving the only saving thing – Christ!
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It’s not about my personal relationship with God.
It’s about Christ’s personal relationship with God.
Charles Spurgeon: “It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that “Christ is all in all.” Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee–it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee–it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument–it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.”
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesu’s blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesu’s name.”
The Priesthood of All Believers
John 17:20-26
What is our relationship to...
Jesus
The Father
Each other
The world?
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John 20:19-23
How has the Father sent Jesus?
Eternally – it’s part of who He is!
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The Church does not send missionaries
The Church is the missionary body!
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1 Peter 2:9-12
The Priesthood of All Believers does not mean that we are all individual priests.
My priestliness does not exist in myself.
It exists in Christ and in community.
But in Christ and together with others we bring the world to God.
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The Priesthood of Christ:
I’m not walking a holiness tightrope
The Priesthood of all believers:
We’re moving out together into the world
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What does godliness look like?
Common Objection: I just want to live my life. Why should I shrink my world and become a Christian?
Recommended Reading: Hebrews 6-10
What is the difference between Old and New Covenants?
How might we be tempted to live an Old Covenant Christianity?
Next Week: A Proclamation People
We have a gospel to proclaim. This is our priestly mission to the world. Christians will want to love their neighbours in all kinds of ways but the church is sent into the world to proclaim Christ.
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Outgoing 8B – Raised part two
Outgoing – Session 8B – 27 October 2011
Michael Milmine
Raised - part two
The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus
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Is God like a father? No! God is Father
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When Christ ascends to His right hand He declares/ anoints/crowns/seats the Man Jesus. (Heb 1:5; Act 13:33)
Man is now in the presence of God. And we are in Him!!
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Colossians 3:1-4 – We are raised with Christ!
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What are the benefits?
Saved from damnation
Accounted righteousness
Brought to life
Given His riches, inheritance and honour
A life of purpose...
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But these are not the greatest benefits of the Gospel.
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What is the greatest benefit of the Gospel?
We are given Christ Himself!
All other benefits are found in Him.
Discuss: What difference does it make to our evangelism and Christian lives that God offers us Christ, instead of abstract salvation ‘stuff’ zapped into us?
If the Gospel gives us commodities– we need to keep hold of them
If the Gospel gives us Christ – He keeps hold of us.
Therefore, we are not walking a tightrope, we are in our Head forevermore.
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Therefore we are saved by grace alone through faith alone
The gift of God to be received.
Common Objection: What’s to stop people doing what they want and sinning?
Recommended Reading: Hebrews 1-5
What makes Jesus a good High Priest?
What is the quality of the Christian’s relationship to God?
Next Week: A Priestly People
How do we live our lives in Christ? We rely on the Priesthood of Christ. And we are a priesthood to the world.
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Outgoing 8A – Raised part one
Outgoing – Session 8A – 27 October 2011
Raised
He became what we are that we might become what He is
Tonight we see that Christ Himself is our salvation. Just as our being in Adam was the problem, so the solution is the person of Christ. We will examine Christ’s life, death, resurrection and ascension and how we are included in Him.
In this session we consider Christ's life and death.
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What is our Situation as Christ comes to us?
Dominated by five powers:
Wrath, Death, Sin, Law, the Flesh
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The Life of Jesus
Matthew 1:17 – Jesus the end of exile
Matthew 2:14-15 – Jesus the true Israel
Matthew 3 – Jesus joins us in our plight
Rest of Matthew – Jesus fights for us.
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Jesus did not just die for you – He lived for you too!
Jesus is our Representative.
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Martin Luther: “The chief article and foundation of the gospel is that before you take Christ as an example, you accept and recognize him as a gift, as a present that God has given you and that is your own. This means that when you see or hear of Christ doing or suffering something, you do not doubt that Christ himself, with his deeds and suffering, belongs to you. On this you may depend as surely as if you had done it yourself; indeed as if you were Christ himself. See, this is what it means to have a proper grasp of the gospel.”
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Discuss: What’s the difference between reading the Gospels with Christ as your Example and reading the Gospels with Christ as your Representative?
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Jesus was baptised into our life – we are baptised into His life
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It is a marriage union: The King marries the prostitute.
“All that I am I give to you, all that I have I share with you.”
We get all His riches, He takes all our poverty...
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The Death of Jesus – Colossians 2:9-23
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In Adam: you didn’t taste his fruit but u sinned in his body
In Christ: u didnt taste His death but u were punished in His body
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We have been carried through death in the body of Jesus. Now we are beyond wrath, beyond death, beyond sin, beyond law, beyond the flesh (though still in it). Our judgement day was Good Friday. We were judged in Christ and that judgement is now finished for us.
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Outgoing 7B – Buried part two
Outgoing – Session 7
20 October 2011
Buried - part two
We’re enslaved to our passions: Ephesians 2:1-10
In Adam we are dead, dominated and damned.
Sinners are as open to the gospel as Lazarus to Christ’s word!
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In what ways are we free?
In what ways are we enslaved?
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We do what we want to do – that is our freedom and our slavery!
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“What the heart loves the will chooses and the mind justifies.”
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The alcoholic can choose beer, wine or spirits
The sinner can choose a thousand ways to reject Christ
But we can’t simply choose to love God
We must be regenerated, recreated, resurrected!
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Our best is rubbish: Isaiah 64:4
Romans 3:19-20; Romans 5:20-21
What is the place of the law? Galatians 3:15-25
But...
Philippians 3:1-10
Common Objection: “I can be a good person without Jesus.”
Recommended Reading: Romans 5-8
How is the believer connected to Christ?
What is our relationship to sin, law, sinful nature, condemnation?
Next Week: Raised
Good news! Christ comes to dead and buried sinners. He takes our predicament on Himself, puts it to death and rises up new. Best of all, He takes us with Him!
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Outgoing 7A – Buried part one
Outgoing – Session 7 – 20 October 2011
Buried
RECAP: Since God is Giver – what is sin?
Sin is not receiving
Sin is not about behaviour, it’s about being.
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Common Objection: “Sounds like I’m born sick and commanded to be well. How is that fair?”
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THIS WEEK: We will explore four statements:
We’re born in sin
We’re condemned already
We’re enslaved to our passions
Our best is rubbish.
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We’re born in sin: John 3:1-8
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We’re condemned already: John 3:16-18
.What state are we in as Jesus comes to us?
What is the mission of the Father and the Son?
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Why is it good news that I’m condemned already?
I’m not at a cross-roads, I’m not on a tight-rope
Eternity is not in the balance, it’s out of my hands
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Therefore “DECISION” is dethroned.
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“Predestined”
In Adam my destiny was determined “pre”-me.
In Christ my destiny was determined “pre”-me.
Salvation is not a taxi, it’s a bus.
I don't pay for the ride, I don't determine the destination.
I find myself along with others on a predetermined path.
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