Send Me: What is the "BIG Picture" of Missions?

Sometimes it's hard to see the big picture.  Sometimes an image only tells us part of a story.  We’ve probably all heard the expression “the BIG picture”.  Seeing the big picture is being able to look at what’s going on in it’s most basic and simple form.  When we look at the Bible we see a few basic themes . . . 1.)  God wants to relate with humans, 2.) Sin prevents God from relating with humans, and 3.) God has done and is doing everything He can to get rid of sin. 
If we look closely at the BIG picture of how God has worked in history we will find that His assignments for people have not really changed.  He has a few big purposes in mind that He knows are essential to recovering His relationship with humanity.  Although the small part that we each play may not make sense, knowing that God sees the big picture is reassuring.  The BIG picture for God has always been about BRIDGING the GAP between humanity and Himself!  We can look far back in human history and see that the BIG picture has always remained the same.

1.  God assigned Jesus to destroy SATAN (Gen. 3:15) –  Satan is a lot like the bully who just goes around tearing people down.  I remember one particular bully in my high school, his favorite thing to do was pick on, torture, embarrass, and put down whoever he could.  He was big, so he was usually successful.  I have one particular memory of him after gym class as a freshman.  I was in the shower all by myself and he came in after me.  Surrounded by 20 or 30 other open showers he walked up to me, punched me in the shoulder, and said, “that’s my shower”!  It took every ounce of will power I had to keep from crying. 

From the beginning God has wanted to eliminate the devil (Rom. 16:20; I Jn. 3:8)!  The devil has been working for thousands of years to destroy the people that God loves.  It is the devil’s intention only to steal, kill, and destroy the life that we have been given.  The devil has been fueling God’s fire for centuries by bullying His creation around.  Satan was one of the reasons that God sent Jesus.  He was sent on a mission to destroy the work of the devil.  God wants to get rid of the devil and the path of destruction that he creates in our lives.

 2.      God assigned Noah to rid the earth of WICKEDNESS and EVIL (Gen. 6:1-22) – Many of us have probably known someone who had cancer.  Knowing someone with cancer is a painful experience because of the destructive effective it has on the person’s life.  Cancer can be gotten rid of with chemotherapy treatments.  Chemotherapy uses powerful drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells by interfering with cell duplication.  The goal of chemotherapy is to rid the body completely of unhealthy tumors or cells so that the healthy ones can thrive.

From the beginning God has wanted to preserve righteousness (I Pet. 3:18-22)!  God wants to remove the “cancer” of wickedness and evil that exists within us.  Righteousness is the healthy condition we need to have a relationship with God.  By putting our faith in Christ, we are not just cleansed from our sin but the evil in our lives in drowned out!  Without the righteousness that comes through having our sins removed we can have no relationship with God.

3.      God assigned Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to BLESS the people of the earth (Gen. 12:3, 18:18, 22:18) – Some of my favorite gifts that I received at Christmas were the ones that were not given directly to me but I got to experience the benefits of.  Usually it was a gift that my dad got for my mom.  My dad would always get my mom something like a VCR, an exercise bike, or a new TV.  When my mom opened her gift the whole family would be like, “wow, WE can’t wait to use that!”  Too bad for my mom but good for all of us.  God’s gift to Abraham to bless his family was not for him alone, it was for all mankind.

From the beginning God has wanted to reward those who believe in Him (Mt. 1:1-17; Gal. 3:6-9)!  It is in the genealogy of Abraham that God revealed the blessing to all peoples on earth.  Jesus Himself, being a direct descendent of Abraham, was the blessing that God had promised.  Faith in Christ is what allows us to experience that blessing that God promised to Abraham thousands of years ago.  We become a part of Abraham’s great nation by believing in Jesus Christ!  It is our mission as well to reveal this blessing to others!

4.      God assigned Moses to RESCUE His people from SLAVERY (Ex. 3:7-10) – Have you ever been needed to be rescued?  If you’ve been rescued then you have been in a place or a situation that you could not get YOURSELF out of!  I had the opportunity to rescue a kid one time.  When I was a counselor at Bible camp one night when there was a kid who was acting crazy and would not go to sleep.  He would not let me shut the light off by screaming if I did.  He got so worked up that he fell off the bunk between the board that was supposed to keep kids from falling out.  He was literal stuck with his feet dangling and could not get out.  I enjoyed it for a minute but eventually saved him from his misery.

From the beginning God has wanted to free us from the bondage of sin (Jn. 8:34-36)!  Everyone who has sin in their life is a slave.  It controls us, it influences our thinking, and leads us to where it wants us to go.  God has never wanted us to be enslaved by anything.  He has always wanted to release us from the burden of guilt and oppression.  That freedom can only come through His Son Jesus.

Conclusion:

Every assigned mission that God has ever sent anyone on had something to do with bringing people back into a relationship with Him!  God assigns people mission’s in life that remove obstacles which prevent people from depending solely on Him.  When we are listening for our assignment in life we need be paying close attention to how it might draw people closer to God.  If your assignment does not accomplish that then we might be creating it ourselves.