Ultimate Easter Egg Hunt: Reaching Hidden People Groups

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:44-49

The Ripple Effect

• Jesus’ resurrection unleashed the unstoppable advance of His Kingdom: Luke 24:44-49; Matthew 28:18-20; Revelation 7:9.

• Scripture is clear that the End (really…the Beginning) will not come until God’s sheep from among every people group on earth have been gathered: Revelation 5:9, Mark 13:10, Matthew 24:14.

• For 2,000 years, we have been in the “last days” where God has been pouring out His Spirit upon all nations, building His Church, gathering His scattered sheep purchased by the blood of Jesus from every tribe and tongue: Matthew 16:18, Acts 2:17, Acts 12:24.

The Remaining Task

• In 2008, our breath should be taken away! Evangelical Christianity has more followers than any other religion or society in the history of the world! Since the Resurrection, over 10,000 people groups have been reached with the Gospel! (www.joshuaproject.net) That is, they have Scripture translated into their languages, they have the Gospel preached clearly among them, and they have their own native churches. What started as a small mustard seed has now grown & flourished into the largest tree: Matthew 13:31-32. Wow!

• However, there still remain approximately 6,000 “unreached people groups” in the world: ethno-linguistic groups of people (“nation” in the NT is from the Greek word “ethnos,” lit. “ethnicity”) who do not have Bibles or believers or churches, and in some cases (approx. 1,500 of them) not even any outreaches of any kind.

• Most of these unreached peoples live in what has been termed the “10/40 Window.” North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and especially Central Asia make up the Final Frontier of world history!

The Role of the Local Church

• Pioneer missions is not our only task, but it certainly is a primary and fundamental reason for our existence! Do we burn for this?!

• God will not call every one to actually, physically go overseas; but He does call each of us to actively pursue the finishing of His task!

• Educate & Incubate a pioneer mission heartbeat among the flock: teaching, regular & strategic mission trips, worship atmosphere).

• Send & Support those God has told to go (Acts 13:1-4, Titus 3:14).

• Pray & Ponder with zeal and creativity. E.g., consider the huge, eternal impact one little church could wield by “adopting” one particular unreached people group for long-term focus & outreach!

~~posted by Jack

A Challenge from the Third World

Yesterday’s post stressed that we Westerners should not abandon our involvement in cross-cultural missions. Yes the “Third World” is more and more doing a fantastic job in spreading the Gospel of Christ.

Today I thought we could ponder the fact that the “Third World” should challenge us in the West. We are so comfortable and so blessed monetarily, that we easily become complacent.

Recently I came across an excerpt from a book by K.P. Yohannan of Gospel for Asia. The book is The Road to Reality, and the excerpt was entitled “K.P. Yohannan on Shallow Commitment vs. Biblical Christianity”. It will be fitting for us to meditate on these words from a native Indian who is transforming India through indigenous missions.

All too often, we are willing to be “students of Christianity”, rather than disciples of Christ. The fact is that most are substituting “learning” and “information” for practical obedience. Never in history has there been a society with so much “information” about God, but so little real knowledge of the Holy One. Right doctrine without right living is worthless in the sight of God.

Obviously, the gap between Biblical Christianity and the way we live today is a very big one. The amount of time the average believer spends before a television, reading worldly novels, and in recreation, is amazing.

We don’t accept “the nail” because it would mean death to our “self.” We demand instead the pleasure our desires for self gratification. And we have found “shepherds” and Bible teachers who will give us a “feel good theology” to match and justify our lives of sinful rebellion. Much of this “Santa Claus religion” is centered around a horrible distortion of Bible doctrine. It denies the demands of the Gospel and says, “You can have the good life NOW, and heaven besides!” It tickles our ears to hear this religion taught. It promises us the services of a god who exists to solve all our problems; making us happy, healthy, popular, successful and rich. This sounds like the false promises of Baal or the idol gods of paganism.

It is obvious that Jesus will have no one among His followers who is wanting to put comfort, family ties or security in this world, ahead of His kingdom. Jesus is saying in effect, “I offer you what I have; hardship, hunger; labor, loneliness rejection, sweat, tears and death. I’m a stranger and pilgrim in this world, and if you follow Me you will have to break away from the clinging attachments of this present life.” There is no place in His band for those who are not willing to accept inconvenience, sufferings, and uncertainty. This is still the price of following Christ today, just as it was then.

How many of us need to confess our adulterous love affair with the world? I fear for the nation and people whose Christian churches have forsaken holiness, and separation from sin and the world. The “spiritual thermometer” of most churches is so low, that a new believer has to become a backslider to feel at home. When the Lord calls you away from this mess of lukewarm, half hearted, plastic Christianity, you can be sure that many will say you are an idiot.

“Dear Lord, we acknowledge that our commitment to You is so shallow. We say we love You, but our actions betray us. Open our eyes so that we see time and eternity as You see them. Forgive us for forgetting we are only strangers and pilgrims on this earth. How foolish we are, O Lord, to store up treasures on this earth and fight to save our lives and preserve them, when You tell us we will lose our lives if we try to do that. We ask You, dear Lord, to forgive us and help us to walk in Your footsteps; forsaking all, denying ourselves, carrying our crosses daily and loving You supremely so Your causes might be furthered in this dark and dying world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

A final note: you can request a free book: Revolution in World Missions from GFA’s website. The book will challenge you anew in regards to missions, and it reveals Yohannan’s passion to equip the Indian church to reach the many unreached groups within India itself.

~~posted by Bob

Book Review: The Art of Manfishing, by Thomas Boston

Thomas Boston, a Scottish Puritan of the eighteenth century, produced at the beginning of his ministry what was to become a classic expression of the Puritan, and indeed the Reformed, attitude towards evangelism. Today we know this passionate and soul-searching meditation as The Art of Manfishing. Anyone who has ever been brought to despair by the lack of success attending his ministry, or the dullness of heart which he often finds seeping into his soul, would find much balm in these weighty words, written by one who truly feels that of which he speaks; and who knows, moreover, where the healing and hope is to be found.

The caricature of Puritanism as a condemnatory and passionless religion of self-satisfied curmudgeons could scarcely be further from the reality, as Boston’s little treatise convincingly demonstrates. Within its pages are to be found deep humility, a passion for souls, and a desperate desire that God be glorified. This is Puritanism at its best; and even at its worst, Puritanism has much to offer the modern church, as she pursues her task of evangelizing the lost. It is primarily in two particulars that we, as modern evangelists, stand to learn from the scripturally-saturated reflections of Thomas Boston.

The first of these is humility. True humility, which ever despairs of oneself and looks to Christ alone for succor, is always in short supply. Thomas Boston habitually and systematically taught himself to remember his own weakness and apply to Jesus for aid. He did not consider his own conversion as certain, unless the Savior should lay hold of him; and so he was ever mindful not to base the likelihood of the conversion of those to whom he preached on their own merits. Precisely in proportion as he despaired of all human effort in evangelism, he leaned upon Christ; which is an attitude as likely to be put to much use as it is unlikely to be found.

The second particular is genuine fervor for lost souls. Rare is the man who can cry out with true and empathetic passion for the lost sheep of his homeland. This the apostle Paul did, as you may remember from Romans 9:1-5. More to the point, this is what Christ did, when he wept for Jerusalem, and was stricken with compassion for the scattered multitudes. If we would follow Christ, we must be affected as he was affected. This eminently Christ-like love is a sovereign gift that serves always as the foundation for a Christ-honoring evangelism. If we would be true “manfishers,” let us cry out to Christ for a measure of this same spirit!

Perhaps this humility and passion, which are so evident in Boston, sprang from his conception of the ministry of evangelism. He saw conversion not as a glib, one-time decision, but an often long and always weighty process of being broken down by the law, so that one might be bound up by the free grace of the Savior. And he saw this process, moreover, as a supernatural affair, impossible to be counterfeited by human measures, and occurring ever as a testimony to God’s surprising power and grace. This may well be why Boston, who loved Jesus much, so desperately desired the conversion of souls. It may be why he was so ardently devoted to pursuing Christ in his evangelistic office. It is certainly why he was so humbly inclined to despair of himself as he looked instead to the one who alone is able, for all his strength both to persevere, and to preserve the gospel free from corrupting influences and motivations. In all of these particulars, we would all do well to drink deeply from the same spring.

~~posted by Zioneer