Reaching the Nations for Christ

All Christians understand that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again from the grave so that mankind might be brought back into a right relationship with God.  But that was not the end of the story.  God’s plan on earth is still unfolding, and it’s the reason why Jesus has still not returned.

There is one last sign that is rarely mentioned that must take place before Christ’s return,

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

God wants the whole world to know about the great sacrifice His Son made on the cross. And He wants everyone to have an opportunity to hear, and have a chance to accept or reject His Son’s sacrificial gift for their sins.

This is what I believe is the most important thing on God’s heart today!  God is bringing in the harvest, but only after the full number of Gentiles have come in will He bring an end to this world in its present form. 

We must understand how God measures the harvest.  The Bible defines the task clearly where we are given a glimpse of the time when the harvest has been fully gathered in Revelation 7:9-10, “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

This is exciting news!  We are told there will be worshipers of Jesus around the throne from “…every, nation, tribe, people, and language…”  And just to make it clear, God also mentions it in Revelation 5:6-10, and again in Revelation 14:6. 

God always completes things perfectly.  He created the first divisions among the human race at the Tower of Babel by splitting people into, “…clans and languages, in their territories and nations.  These are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.” (Genesis 10:31-32)

The whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation carries two themes. The first is the redemptive story of Jesus, and the second, which seems to have been lost on so many people today, is God’s plan to reach the nations.  Without understanding this, a Christian’s life will lack a key ingredient and sense of purpose. 

Jesus didn’t die on the cross just so you can have salvation; He died on the cross to save the nations.  God doesn’t bless you and me just so we can be happy.  He blesses us so we can reach out and bless the nations!  And not just every country, but every “…nation, tribe, people and language.”  Only when this happens will Jesus return.  “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

Let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking the work of reaching all the ethnic groups, tribes, languages, and people groups have been done.  It has not! There are Christians that have sat on their backside for decades while they waited for the Lord’s return.  Tragically, their lives have been wasted and they have done nothing for the Lord.

Ever since Jesus gave us the Great Commission over 2000 years ago, how much progress do you think we have made?  One of the best sources of information is the Joshua Project.  They have classified an unreached people group as having less than 2% Christian.  Using this definition, how many of the 16,586 people groups do you think remain to be properly “reached” with the gospel of Jesus?

The answer may shock you: After 2000 years there are still 7,148 unreached people groups in the world today!   From this point of view, the church is just past the halfway point toward the goal.  No wonder Jesus has not returned yet.

In Asia alone, millions of people are still waiting to hear the good news of Jesus Christ for the first time in their lives. Not only individuals, but whole tribes and ethnic groups remain totally unevangelized.

The Lord Jesus is waiting for His full inheritance to come in, and it is a great privilege to be able to play a part in seeing this happen as we serve a sovereign God together.

A Missionary's Confession

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:2-3)

I confess that as one involved in missions for over 15 years, both in America, India and Haiti, I have always taught the major reason the church is on earth is for missions – to fulfill the Great Commission.  I have encouraged people to give more, pray more, and go more so we can get this job done and hurry the return of our Lord.  (See Matthew 24:14)

But now, I no longer believe our primary commitment should be to the task of world evangelism.  Instead of committing to the task first, we must first be committed to the Task-giver.  Instead of giving our all to the Great Commission, we must, first, give our all to the One who gave us the Great Commission.

Actually, I always believed this, but assumed it was understood.  Yet, it’s too easy to forget the Person and focus only on the project.  When challenged by images of lost millions suffering in poverty and spiritual darkness, we must never forget there is a God who knows the name and number of hairs of each of those poor suffering souls. Missions was the passion of His heart long before our heart began to beat.

If we forget that, missions become a heavy task described in terms of obligation and responsibility.  But when we remind ourselves that missions IS God’s heart, God’s idea, and He cares more for the lost than we ever could, we shift this overwhelming burden off us and onto the only One big enough to bear it.

Missions is our participation in what God is already doing, in fact, has been doing for over 6,000 years.  Reaching the lost is God’s mission and we have the joyful privilege of walking and working with Him as He accomplishes it through us.

He will do it through you as you pray for missionaries and the lost.  He is doing it through you as you write a check to support one of God’s sent ones.  He will do it through you as you go on a short term trip or change your life radically.  However He chooses to use us, it is our privilege to participate with Him in what He is doing.

Participation may involve sacrifice, struggle, and sorrow, but we don’t accept these costs out of a sense of duty, but as an expression of love.  I am tired of being committed to a task.  I want to go back to my first love and be committed to a Person.

 I have been exhausted from carrying the responsibility for world evangelization on my tiny shoulders.  I am ready to put it back on the strong shoulders that bore the wooden cross and bore the sins of the world.

I have found this does not actually change what I do, but it changes everything about my attitude and perspective.  It is now a joy to join my heavenly Father in doing what delights His heart; sharing the Good News about the great things He has already accomplished to reconcile the world to Himself.  I get the privilege of praying, giving and even going to let God fulfill His dream through me.

Let us focus like a laser on giving our all to the One who gave us the Great Commission.  And I guarantee we will be more effective in our efforts doing the Great Commission.