Rethink Perspective
Session 1
Perspective is a powerful thing. It has the ability to take something you have seen hundreds of times—something that is totally familiar—and then, with a shift, completely change the way you view it forever.
Perspective Matters
Session 1 - Video 1
Matthew 16:18
Welcome to MomentumYes!
In this series, we hope you will rethink church, your neighbors, how you approach the Bible, God’s mission on this earth, and your part in his story.
God is moving, and we hope that MomentumYes will open your eyes to his plan and purpose that cannot be stopped.
Our prayer is that your hearts would become more in sync with the heart of Jesus for those who have never heard the gospel, and that every follower of Christ would say “yes” to joining his movement in strategic new ways.
China – A New Perspective
In the midst of the Communist Revolution, following World War II, the church in China experienced tremendous growth despite persecution.
China becomes Communist.
There were 750,000 Christians.1
China has 85 million Christians.2
CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES HAVE ROUGHLY THE SAME NUMBER OF CHRISTIANS.
That’s momentum!
Muslim World – A New Perspective
Countries in the Middle East, Asia, and North Africa that are predominantly Muslim are often resistant to any form of religion other than Islam.
Movements to Christ
More than a thousand individuals baptised, or more than a hundred Christian churches planted in a region within a twenty-year window.
Since 2000, we’ve seen seventy-five movements of people leaving Islam to join the family of Jesus in countries like Iran, Algeria, Malaysia, and Pakistan. 3
University students, families, Islamic prayer leaders, Syrian refugees, and even trained terrorists are coming to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
That’s momentum!
Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Matthew 16:18
The World around Us – A More Complete Picture
Approximately 7.5 billion people in the world today.
Three billion people, or 40 percent of the world’s population today, have little to no opportunity to learn the truth about Jesus.4
THE CHURCH IS IN A STRONG POSITION TO MAKE THE GOSPEL AVAILABLE TO THE REMAINING 40% OF THE WORLD’S PEOPLE.
If the current trajectory continues, this could happen in the next twenty to twenty-five years!
Throughout MomentumYes, we’re going to look at the vision of Jesus, the Bible, and the world around us with new eyes!
Discussion Questions
15 Minutes
- How would you describe your perspective on God's work among the nations?
- How do you hope your perspective might change as a result of going through the MomentumYes course?
- What struck you as we zoomed out to view God's perspective on China or the Muslim world?
Perspective on the Old Testament
Session 1 - Video 2
Building the Tower of Babel – Genesis 11:1-9
Old Perspective
Prideful humans built a tower to reach heaven. God disciplined them by scattering them throughout the world with multiple languages.
New Perspective
The Tower of Babel is a story of cultural diversity. The Lord redirected humanity to do what he had originally commanded in Genesis 1:28.
God spoke to Abraham – Genesis 12:1-3
Old Perspective
Abraham is promised a nation of descendants, even in his old age without any children of his own.
New Perspective
The Lord wants to use Abraham’s descendants to bless and reach every nation on earth!
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, GOD’S DESIRE WAS TO SEE PEOPLE FROM EVERY NATION, LANGUAGE, AND ETHNICITY IN RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.
Daniel in the Lions’ Den – Daniel 6
Old Perspective
Daniel trusted in the Lord in the midst of trials. He stood his ground and trusted in God’s protection.
New Perspective
After Daniel survived the hungry lions, King Darius of Babylon declared this to all the people in his kingdom:
“Peace and prosperity to you! I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he will endure forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end.”
Daniel 6:25-26 NLT
This declaration of a pagan king was spoken because God wanted the whole world to know about him.
The Great Banquet – Isaiah 25
Seven hundred years before Jesus, the prophet Isaiah describes what it will be like when the Lord’s plan is finally accomplished. He describes it as a banquet, saying:
In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat. There he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever!
Isaiah 25:6-8 NLT
Old Perspective
An amazing party to celebrate the defeat of death.
New Perspective
All the people of the world are invited to the banquet! The promise that God gave to Abraham will finally be fulfilled because all people who have given their lives to Jesus are able to see his ultimate blessing become a reality.
Discussion Questions
15 Minutes
- From the Old Testament Scriptures that were just discussed, what broadens your perspective?
- How did the Isaiah 25 banquet inspire or challenge you?
- Click here or download the following PDF and see how God has shown us the nations throughout all of Scripture.What is your reaction to seeing this list?
Perspective on the New Testament
Session 1 - Video 3
Jesus Announces His Ministry – Luke 4:18-19
Jesus is baptised and then spends forty days in the wilderness, successfully resisting the temptations from the devil.
He returns to Nazareth (his hometown), stands up in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and begins to read from Isaiah 61.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
Luke 4:18-19
This passage was popular in Christ’s time because it refers to the Jewish people receiving justice for the wrongs the nations have done to them throughout history.
But Jesus leaves out the part of the passage that mentions punishment for Israel’s enemies. Instead, he hands the scroll back and adds,
“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:21
He’s announcing that HE is the ONE, whom this passage was written about seven hundred years earlier in Isaiah. He is the MESSIAH.
This statement shocks the people listening, and then Jesus tells two familiar Old Testament stories to ensure they fully understand. These stories concern God favouring non-Jews.
- Elijah was sent to a nearby country to care for the needs of a desperate widow and her son during a famine.
- Elisha healed a leper, who was the commanding general of the Syrian army.
The Lord’s amazing grace is for Jews and non-Jews alike!
The people were not seeing these stories from the Lord’s perspective. They viewed Scripture only from their own lens and how it personally affected them. And the truth is that we do exactly the same thing.
Jesus Engaged People Who Were Not Jewish
Jesus intentionally engaged people from other nations.
He spent the majority of his ministry in Galilee, a region known for being predominantly non-Jewish.
Christ’s Five Declarations of Mission
Jesus culminated his life on earth with some incredible declarations about the nations and what we were made for as his disciples.
- Matthew 28:19– “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
- Mark 16:15 – “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
- Luke 24:47 – “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
- John 20:21 – “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Jesus was saying that the Father sent him with a powerful message of redemption for all nations. Christ wants us to know that our identity as followers of Jesus rests in this idea of being sent to our neighbours and to the nations!
- Acts 1:8 – “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus declares that the same Spirit who empowers him will now empower his disciples to make new disciples, among every nation on earth, and nothing will stand in their way. This is the power of the good news of Jesus Christ!
Thousands of God-fearing Jews from many nations were in Jerusalem at the feast of Pentecost, and Peter preached the gospel!
Three thousand people gave their lives to Jesus that day and were baptised. The church began to grow!
Everyday people empowered by the Holy Spirit spread the good news about Christ throughout the known world.
In the last book of the Bible, a song is being sung to Jesus in heaven:
“with your blood you purchased for God persons from EVERY TRIBE and LANGUAGE and PEOPLE and NATION.”
Revelation 5:9
SEEING THE GOSPEL COMMUNICATED TO ALL PEOPLES SHOULD BE A MAJOR PRIORITY FOR HIS DISCIPLES UNTIL JESUS COMES AGAIN.
From the first book of the Bible to the last one, we experience the Lord’s perspective and his great desire for people from every ethnicity to be worshipping Jesus!
Discussion Questions
15 Minutes
- What stands out to you from Christ’s interactions with people? How does that relate to God’s perspective on other nations in the Old Testament?
- If the Lord blesses, heals, and loves the people of the nations throughout Scripture, how can we—as believers—follow his example?
- Did your perspective change after completing session 1? If so, how.
Footnotes:
- “Christians in China Stats,” Asia Harvest, accessed June 10, 2022, https://asiaharvest.org/christians-in-china-stats/.
- “China,”, Asia Harvest, accessed June 10, 2022, https://asiaharvest.org/christians-in-china-stats/china.
- David Garrison, email message to author of A Wind in the House of Islam, April 20, 2018.
- “Global Summary,” Joshua Project, accessed October 16, 2018, https://joshuaproject.net.
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