Series Title: Just Salvos Sermon Outlines
Message Title: God’s Mission
Sermon Outline: God’s Mission
Topic:
The whole world mobilising into God’s mission
Main Point:
The Mission is God’s
Intended Response:
For individuals to let go of agendas and strategies and directly connect
with the mission of God.
Key Verse:
Luke 10:1-24
Mission Intention
Caring for people, Creating faith pathways, Building healthy communities,
Working for justice.
Introduction:
 Jesus modelled how to do mission.
 We have been called to be like Jesus.
A. Jesus initiated the mission – Sent
 Jesus sent the disciples - mission must be initiated by God.
 Jesus sent the disciples in pairs - team ministry is ideal.
Point One: Mission must be initiated by God and it is best that we go in groups to the
community.
Response One: Ask God to reveal to us his plan for us just where he has placed us or
where he would like to send us.
B. Jesus directed and prepared the mission
 The disciples were completely dependent on God in prayer.
 Although the disciples felt vulnerable as they engaged in mission, Jesus prepared
people of peace to encourage them.
 We are all missionaries and Jesus is our leader.
Point Two: We are all missionaries and Jesus orchestrates and prepares the mission.
Response Two: Put aside any missional strategies from the past and know that all of us
are able to connect with the mission of God through prayer and obedience.
C. Jesus received all the glory from the mission and the disciples were blessed.
 When we go in the strength of the Lord, Jesus shows up.
 Jesus gets all the glory and the disciples are truly blessed
Point Three: When we engage in mission as Jesus commands, God gets all the glory.
Response Three: Surrender our lives to the mission of God.
Illustrations:
Resources:
Sermon Outline: The Mission of God
Introduction:
Often in The Salvation Army we have been dependent on mission being carried out by
“evangelism specialists”, or by a clever program run by people who are appear to be
especially gifted to share faith. We have sometimes been taught that only a select few from
every corps are gifted enough to be missionaries. There has been a wide range of
evangelism courses, leadership manuals, mission programs and teams, which have been
experimented with in the past with some success - a success we should celebrate. But the
idea that only a select few can do mission is not biblical and is perhaps the reason we don’t
experience the same reality or outcomes as the New Testament disciples.
What we learn from the text today is that Jesus sends and appoints 72 unknown,
vulnerable, every day and ordinary disciples on a mission. The missional outcome is amazing
and Jesus shares the joy with the disciples.
Transition
Jesus shows us that every one of us who is called a disciple - that is every one of us who is
aiming to be like Jesus - can be involved in this exciting mission of salvation. It’s not just for
an exclusive or specialised few, it is for every one of us - “the whole world mobilised”. Let’s
discover what Jesus had in mind.
Scripture
Reading
Luke 10: 1-24
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of
him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is
plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out
workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not
take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes
peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating
and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move
around from house to house.
8
“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who
are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter
a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we
wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come
near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
13
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in
you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in
sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than
for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to
Hades.[b]
16
“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever
rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
17
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your
name.”
18
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to
trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will
harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your
names are written in heaven.”
21
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and
revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
22
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is
except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom
the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23
Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you
see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not
see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Transition
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see” – said Jesus. Do you want to be a people like
these disciples who were experiencing the wonders of God? Let us dig deeper to see what
led to this amazing experience.
1. Mission
must be
initiated by
God and it’s
best we go in
groups into
community.
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of
him to every town and place where he was about to go.
The Mission of God is not a game, not a specialised program, but a reality that God invites
us into; a reality he creates.
We read in this text that Jesus appointed seventy two disciples. This implies that these
disciples knew Jesus and had made themselves available to Jesus. Surrendered their lives to
him for him to bless and use.
But the main point to take from this text is that Jesus was in charge and the disciples trusted
him. As followers of Jesus we need to remember that He is our Lord and master and he
equips us for the task that he prepares for us.
Testimony: Share a testimony of a person you know who has handed their life over to Jesus
and Jesus has used their availability.
As well as Jesus initiating the mission, he also prepares the way for us.
3
Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
As we read in verse 3, mission can often be messy and sometimes scary as we are called to
love others; others, who are often people we would not choose to love.
It is a lot easier to engage in mission when you have a team of people. A group who can
support each other, pray for each other and keep an eye out for each other.
Illustration: Use the analogy of a football field. Everyone has a different role but are working
together to support the team.
When we work together in teams we have less chance of loneliness, self-doubt, fear and
isolation, which can often lead to mental health problems, burnout, disillusion, and
ultimately no mission.
When we travel in teams of two or more we are more likely to achieve the mission, as we
are like-minded, supported, encouraged and most importantly, we have someone we can
share the journey with. Debrief, discuss the mission, laugh, cry and cheer each other on.
Point 1:
Mission is initiated by God.
Transition
Jesus doesn’t only model to us that it is God who initiates the mission, he also commands us
to be led and guided by him.
2. Jesus
directed and
prepared the
mission
Luke 10:2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of
the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
The disciples were taught to be completely dependent on God in prayer - to remember that
it is God who prompts and equips people for mission.
How often have we been taught that mission is down to us? While there is some truth in
that, as we need to be obedient and do what God asks, the reality is that God leads the
mission. If God is not leading us there is a risk that we take over the plan and lead it to a
place it was never meant to go.
Illustration: For example in recent years The Salvation Army embraced the idea that if we
simply changed how we deliver church services more people would come to our meetings.
However, The Salvation Army was born to take the reality of Jesus to the streets, to
neighbourhoods, family, friends and enemies, wherever life happens.
When we do what Jesus asks we will see the fruit.
However mission implies vulnerability. Jesus tells us not to take any special resources with
us but to be completely dependent on Him and the provision he has made for us in the
community.
It has been easier for us to sit in our pews than to take the risk of building relationships with
people around us.
The good news of this text is Jesus promises that he has prepared people of peace for us to
find in our community.
People are being prepared for us to find. As we ask God each day to raise up workers, God is
answering our prayers by preparing people for us to find.
Mission has to be relational. We know there is a cost in building relationships and obviously
to find people of peace we also need to be prepared that we might find people of conflict.
Yet Jesus emphasises the wonderful things that can happen when we start building
relationships with people of peace.
Building relationships might mean be having coffee, sharing meals, listening to people, using
your skills and abilities to connect with those around you. You may have a passion for
justice, for animals, for science, for sport. God will use these passions in his mission. We will
see the birth of positive, caring, trusting, inspiring and Godly community when we
surrender ourselves to him. We are just where he placed us to work with him to raise up
workers and build relationships with people of peace - otherwise known as church.
Point 2:
We are all called to be missionaries and Jesus orchestrates and prepares the mission.
Transition
So as we unlearn some of the missional strategies from the past and realise that all of us are
to be mobilised into God’s mission we will start to experience a whole new reality, one in
which Jesus gets all the glory!
A. 3.
Jesus
got all
the
glory
from
the
missio
n
Jesus got all the glory from the mission.
When the disciples returned from the mission they were full of joy, because they had seen
God in action. They had experienced something so unique and exciting that Jesus broke into
prayer saying:
“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from
the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you
were pleased to do.
22
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except
the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son
chooses to reveal him.”
23
Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you
see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not
see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
I don’t know about you but I want to be like these disciples and live a life where this joyful
experience is my everyday reality. Where amazing things happen, which can only be
explained by the presence and power of Jesus. This happens when we point people to Jesus.
This way of participating in God’s mission is not only effective but moves people towards
life in all its fullness. We become full of joy from seeing the reality of God at work in our
lives.
Point 3:
Jesus got all the glory from the mission and the disciples were blessed.
Call to Action
Have we surrendered our lives to Jesus? Are we doing our best to make our own path
straight? How’s it working for you? Are we trying to build our own empire or have we been
brave enough to surrender to God’s? Are we seeing lives transformed in such a way that
people are now experiencing the reality of God? Are you coming away from mission with
such an overwhelming joy that you know, like these 72 unknown disciples, that you are
blessed?
Today let us come to Jesus and surrender our lives to his will for us. Let us engage in mission
by letting God himself use our availability, our ordinary everyday lives to be lights and
witnesses to those around us. We must remember that the mission is God’s – we must take
time to listen to Jesus, to be led, guided and participate in the mission, which is orchestrated
by him. Our role is to stay close to Jesus, listen to Jesus and learn to do what he asks of us.
Closing Prayer
God forgive us when we get in the way of your mission, your will and your purposes. Today
we ask that you teach us to listen to you and learn to be obedient to what you command us.
We ask you to raise people within our community out of darkness into light. Help us to find
the people you are preparing for us to meet and give us the courage to build positive, caring,
trusting and God glorifying relationships with them. May we see our Army mobilised to be
the representation of Jesus to the hurting world we live in. God bless us and our Army.