It has been a long while since I last posted. A lot has happened since then (but that is a post for another time!). Today, I am going to post about a great need that I see churches and individual Christians have... the need to be on fire for the gospel. (My goal audience are those who have confessed their sins before God and have excepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior.)
This past week I have watched the Secret Church 21 sermon done by pastor David Platt. (It is very good and I highly recommend it by the way! I will put the link at the bottom of the page.) He speaks about the "Great Imbalance" of the world. Here is what that means:
World population: approximately 7.75 billion
- Unreached People: over 3 billion (about 40%)
People groups: over 17,000
- Unreached People Groups: over 7,000
Number of missionaries sent from churches: approximantly 400,000
- Percentage of people groups working with the unreached: approximately 3%
Giving to missions by Christians and churches: approximately $47 billion
- Percentage of missions giving that goes to the unreached: 1%
For those of you who don't exactly know what an "unreached people group is"(also called UPG's) here is the definition: an unreached people group is any people group who has little or no access to the Bible or any way of hearing the gospel. (Take a look at Joshua Project for more information! I also have the link at the bottom of the page.)
Often times these people don't have any Christians and they have absolutely no possible way to hear the gospel for the fact that there are no believers there and no translation of the Bible in their language.
Matthew 28:18-20 says, "And Jesus said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them int the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
You see dear friend, the issue isn't that there are lost people out there (though that is a problem) the issue is that we are not being obedient to follow Gods call to go to "all the nations".
I said that I was reminded of these truths because I had heard them about three months prior in my Intro to Christian Missions class at Boyce College. I had a passion for the Lord when I was in that class! I wanted to follow him no matter the sacrifice! I was willing to go! ... or was I? That feeling soon died down. But, I have learned that it shouldn't! We shouldn't determine what to do and where to go simply by feelings! If Jesus had done that then he certainly wouldn't have died on the cross for our sins! Remember in Gethsemene right before he was arrested, he prayed, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as you will." Jesus didn't want to die. He was fearful! But, he did it anyway because he knew that that is what God wanted to happen.
So, how do we do this? How do we obey? Well, we do exactly as Jesus said in Matthew! We go! No hesitation! We do it! Jesus also told his disciples later on in Gethsemene to, "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation."
The reason I put those numbers above was to get you thinking. Maybe God has called you to go overseas. Maybe he hasn't. But, I would advise you to pray about it. The subject of "calling" is a very delicate matter. We don't want to go where God does not want us. Nik Ripken reminds us in his book The Insanity of Obedience that in Matthew 10:16, Jesus tells us that he is sending us "as sheep among wolves". He says that Jesus' disciples were told this, not to test their earlier commitment to him, "after all, they had already answered His call, obedience to Him was the necessary next step." So, do you see what I am getting at? God calls us to "Go". That is no question. The question is "WHERE should I go"? That is what you must pray about.
One other thing that Ripken mentions in his book is that if we aren't passionate about sharing the gospel where we are now, it wont change over seas. The thing is, if you cant share the gospel to those you love the most and in such easy circumstances, you wont be able to do it under pressure of persecution somewhere else.
One more thing that I would like to stress greatly is that we NEED to pray! Prayer is and absolute necessity! Not just for finding our won "calling" but to be involved in other's lives. We need to be praying for missionaries over seas that we have never met before, for people groups that need the gospel, for our churches to see the needs in front of them, for our communities to hear and receive the gospel, and for our friends and family members who do not believe. We need prayer.
So, In conclusion, here are some ideas and verse as well as application to help you think about what I have just said:
- Pray for God to start up this fire inside of you and burden your heart for the lost around you. I would suggest reading the gospels and the old testament prophets. You'll see the compassion of Jesus Christ toward a broken people and how we got to Jesus by the prophesies of the prophets. Galatians 1:15-16; Ephesians 3:8-12
- Pray and ask God to show you how you can take the gospel to people where you are right now. Deuteronomy 6:6-; Proverbs 3:5-6, 16:3
- Pray for those missionaries either in the US or overseas. Ask your pastors for resources available for aiding prayer. Ephesians 1:15-23
- Be active in your church and seek to be an encouragement to the believers. We should be "making disciples" (Matthew 28:18-20) which means that we should be teaching them the word even after they have been saved.
- Seek to learn of ways to share the gospel. How, when you get to talking to the person, will you change your conversation to sharing the gospel? How should you go about sharing the gospel to an atheist? A Hindu? Someone who claims to be a believer? Someone with no conviction at all?
- Be creative! Find ways to get out there! Do weird things! The friends in Mark 2:1-12 took off a roof to get their friend to Jesus!! You could give tracks to the cashier at the store, intentionally have a conversation with your neighbor, invite a friend to church, and there is so much more! God gave you creativity! Use it for his glory!
- And last but not least, check your own personal relationship with God. Luke 12:34; Psalm 42:1-2; Psalm 63:1-8; Jeremiah 9:23-24
Resources:
Joshua Project, Radical, International Mission Board, Unreached of the Day
The Insanity of Obedience: Walking with Jesus in Tough Places by Nik Ripken
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