Defining the terms Missions and Nations

a political nation. Therefore, when the term nation is used in the Bible, it means different ethnic groups (usually those not of Jewish descent).

W

e have to define missions because it is one of the most abused words in Christianity today. What does the word missions imply? I am tremendously grateful for the much-needed work done here on the home front (street ministries, inner city outreaches, children ministries) and by no means do I desire to take away from that; but I do feel a great need to give the word a more specific meaning. The definition we would like to give missions is “cross-cultural, non-local outreach: preaching and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ among the unreached.” The reason for this specific definition is that we have well over half the world yet to reach with the gospel. Although true Christians are challenged with this awful, shameful predicament, we find pitifully few actually GOING to reach these people with the precious gospel of Christ! What did Christ mean when He said that we are to “Go and teach all nations?” “The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God!” (Is. 52:10)

Why Missions? Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is! Ps. 67: 3, 4Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee! I would agree with what John Piper writes in “Let the Nations be Glad,” pg. 11: “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is! Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, mis-

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Statistic: I have also noticed somewhat of a confusion as to what Christ meant by referring to the nations. The Greek word ethnos and the Hebrew word goy had specific meanings. We get the English word ethnic from ethnos. Ethnic groups are defined by language, culture, and geographical location. They do not refer to

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If a group of 100 individuals could represent the entire world’s real, sold out Christian missionaries, only 8 out of the 100 would actually be working among unreached peoples! Where are the other 92 missionaries expending their energies and resources, their prayers and intercessions? They are either working in heavily churched areas or witnessing to nominal Christians! This burden causes us to give the word missions a more specific definition.

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homes (family gods). They sacrifice to other gods besides, in order to ensure protection and blessing on their entire tribe (tribal gods). In other words, “Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of their worldview revolves missions. It’s the goal of missions bearound themselves with their cause in missions we simply aim to gods protecting only them bring the nations into the white-hot Missions is a tempoand their families. As far as enjoyment of God’s glory. “The Lord rary necessity they are concerned, nobody reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many else matters. coastlands be glad” (Ps. 97:1) Now, let me ask you this The Apostle John writes about the very probing question: Has God’s attention been future scene in eternity that only blood-washed riveted solely on only one people group or has saints shall be a part of. “After this I beheld, and God, the Creator God of ALL peoples and nalo, a great multitude, which no man could numtions, always been interested in the nations of the ber, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the world all along? In other words, was He a petty, tribal God? No, a resounding NEVER! God is Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” Let us hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvalook into the Old Testament and see if we can tion to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and detect God’s heartbeat for ALL NATIONS in the unto the Lord!” God is seeking to draw out of every nation and ethnic family group a people that very beginning. I believe a proper view of the fact will love and worship Him; praise God we get to that our God is a Missionary God and that He has woven the great theme of ‘ALL NATIONS’ have a part in bringing this to reality! throughout the entirety of scriptures is indispensable in understanding the nature of God, and what a personal relationship with Him necessitates. Johannes Verkuyl wrote this concerning the subject, If you could step into the interior of Ghana, “The nations are not mere decorations incidental to the real drama between God and man; rather, West Africa and ask the people about the gods they worship, you would soon learn that they believe in the nations are a part of the drama itself. God’s work and activity are directed at the whole of humany gods, not just one. In fact, they would point out an altar (a forked stick stuck in the ground manity.” (Perspectives; pg. 27) sions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.”

God and Missions

holding an upside down bowl) next to the entrance leading into their mud compound, on which they do animal sacrifices to appease these spirits. They would proceed to tell you that each family within the nucleus of their group has a particular spirit they wish to appease in order to bring protection to their individual

North Africa’s Christian workers are outnumbered by the general population by two million (2,000,000) to one (1)

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Missions in the Old and New Testament  The Call of Abraham Our story begins in the Gen. 12:1-3: “Now the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” The opening of the chapter is somewhat abrupt. It seems that we are just dropped into this scene without warning, but actually, the previous eleven chapters lead us right up to this exciting climax! God has something great planned for the entire of His creation! These verses encapsulate God’s eternal plan down through the annals of time. We should never allow ourselves to forget that the Bible begins with the universe, not with planet earth; then with the earth, not with Palestine; then with Adam the father of the human race, not with Abram the father of the “chosen” race. God is the Creator of the universe, the earth and all mankind; we must never demote Him to the status of

a tribal deity or petty godling like Chemosh the god of the Moabites, or Molech the god of the Ammonites, or Baal the god of the Canaanites. God did not choose Abraham and his descendants because he lost interest in other peoples or gave them up. “Election is not a synonym for elitism”. On the contrary, as we read earlier, God chose one man and his family that He might bless the whole world through them!

The Top and Bottom Lines of the Covenant In verse two, the Lord God gives Abram a compound promise. Contained within the promise is the Top and Bottom Line of the Covenant. Both flow together, inseparable in the mind of God. The Top Line cannot function without the Bottom Line. “I will bless thee, and make thy name great. I will bless him that blesses you and curse him that curseth you.” In other words, “I will give you the inheritance of the land of Canaan; I will give you a great posterity. I will make sure that you are a blessed man, kept by my power, overwhelmed with my grace, anointed by my Spirit, sitting in heavenly places; and my presence will ever go with thee (Top Line of the Covenant)!” This beautiful promise is closely coupled with these

In Our World: Almost 2 people die each second

4 births occur each second

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words, “and thou shalt be a blessing.” God was saying that, “Even as surely as you will be blessed, you will be a blessing. People will come to the brightness of the Son rising upon you. Nations will come to know and fear Me as you witness of My goodness and testify of My faithfulness, for from the rising of the sun, even to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is to be praised. Your godly heritage shall compass the entirety of this world and shall be a tremendous missionary influence everywhere! And thou shalt be a blessing (Bottom Line of the Covenant).” Again, the Top and Bottom Line of the Covenant are completely indispensable for a truly Christian (or Christ-like) experience! Both of these, welded seamlessly together, are the prerequisites for every child of God who would experience a deep, fervent, and effective life in Christ.  God chose one people group to focus on to reveal to the rest of the world His love, faithfulness, and goodness, not unlike one would use a high-powered scope to bring the invisible into reality! Did God let this great “missions” cause die after Abraham passed from the scenes? Take note how the mandate was passed on to Isaac and Jacob, and powerfully displayed in the life and psalms of David. This surging passion of God courses mightily down through the pages of history, sweeping along

ALL who have surrendered to the will of God. Look closely, and you will see Isaiah (Isaiah 6), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5), the Minor Prophets, Christ, the disciples, Paul, etc., down through the pages of history. “I WILL GATHER ALL NATIONS AND TONGUES; AND THEY SHALL COME, AND SEE MY GLORY!” (Is. 66:18)

David, A Man after God’s Own Heart David had, even in the old dispensation, a clear vision of God’s eternal purpose. Psalms 67 clearly illustrates this. “God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us.” Why? “…That your way would be known in all the nations!” “Let the people praise thee, O God, let all the people praise thee!” Once again, we see the Top Line of the Covenant (the blessings upon us) and the Bottom Line of the Covenant (us being a blessing) clearly depicted in this psalm! God is not only satisfied with His people singing and lauding praises unto Him, but one of His deepest yearnings for His church is that on the very heels of praise should be the going out and “declaring His glory among the heathen; His marvelous works among ALL nations!”

THE WORLD AT A GLANCE… Statistical data on unreached people groups: The statistics of the numbers of non-Christians can be staggering! Z 865 million unreached Muslims or Islamic followers in 3330 cultural sub-groups Z 550 million unreached Hindus in 1660 cultural sub-groups Z 150 million unreached Chinese in 830 groups Z 275 million unreached Buddhists in 900 groups Z 2550 unreached tribal groups (which are mainly animistic) with a total population of 140 million

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Once we’ve seen that the heartbeat of God for the evangelization of the world was indelibly stamped on David’s heart and life, we no longer wonder why the God of all Nations called David ‘a man after His own heart.’

Our God is a Missionar y God! “Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” (Psalm 2:8) “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.” (Ps. 22:27)

The Mission of Jesus Christ!

”I will be exalted among the heathen… exalted in the earth.” (Ps. 46:10)

“For God so loved the WORLD, that He gave His only begotten son, that WHOSOVEVER believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life!” (The eternal heartbeat of God)

”Arise, O God…for thou shalt inherit all nations.” (Ps. 82:8)

The saving of all nations (ethnic groups), for His glory, is the heartbeat of God that began in eternity past and stretches into eternity future! God Himself entered into this heartbeat when He came to the earth. Christ LIVED and DIED for this great cause!

”Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. …Say among the heathen that the Lord reigns…” (Ps. 96:3, 10)

It is very interesting to note, with the above verse in mind, the Jews’ response to Christ when He showed up on the scene with the intention of inviting the Gentiles (heathen) into the fold of God. You see, the Jews developed a “Gentile

Isaiah wrote that Christ the Messiah would come and preach deliverance to all peoples! Isaiah, like David, could hear the reverberating Call of God!

”All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.” (Ps. 86:9)

”He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.” (Ps. 111:6)

Missions Dollars: Z40% (already Christian) is getting 87% of the funds Z 33% (evangelized nonChristians) is getting 12% of the funds Z27% (unreached) is getting 1% of the funds

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”Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect…shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles! Sing unto the Lord a new song and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, add all this is therein, the isles (islands), and the inhabitants thereof. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands!” (Is. 42:1, 10, 12) The name of the Lord is to be praised even in the isolated, out of the way, inaccessible islands! Hallelujah!

complex” that was totally contrary to what they read in the scriptures and to what was expressed by Christ, the Creator Himself! They loved to revel in the fact that they were the only people on the face of the earth chosen specifically for Him, and all the while were totally missing the very purpose for which they had been called.  From Gracious Teacher to Heretic in 30 Seconds! Luke 4:18- Christ read the Isaiah 49:89 prophecies (preaching the gospel to the poor, healing the brokenhearted, bringing deliverance to the captives…) to the Jewish assembly at the tabernacle and is momentarily crowned as a gracious teacher. The moment that He tries to open their hearts to the desire of God, the fact that God showed special interests to a few Gentiles rather than the Jews (in verses 24-27), they immediately condemn Him as an imposter, a heretic. Then, filled with seething anger at His audacity, they decide to cast Him over a steep hill and destroy both Him and His message, because they were NOT going to share their God with Gentiles!

”Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” (Is. 45:22) Isaiah was to go beyond Israel to preach the gospel; he was to persuade the Gentiles also. “…It is a light thing that you should…raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles.” (Is. 49: 6, 22) ”The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” (Is. 52:10) May God cause a great sense of urgency to burn in our hearts for the redemption of lost souls back to him!

Facts about evangelical status worldwide Approx. 2 billion people are considered an unreached people group ( 1 out of 3 ) Z 66,000 people die every day from this group Z

Z There are approx. 410,000 Missionaries from all branches

of Christendom Z 97% of missionaries work in already evangelized fields Z Only 2-3% of those missionaries work among unreached peoples.

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Fishers of MEN When Christ called His disciples to follow Him, He told them that they would be fishers of MEN (Luke 7:10). Now, how many species of men were there in that day? “[He] hath made of ONE blood ALL NATIONS OF MEN for to dwell on all the face of the earth…” (Acts. 17:26)

the eternal purpose of god… Is to call out from every kindred, tongue, people and nation a multitude redeemed by the blood of His Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. Over whom He will crown His Son, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, forever. This is the passion of the heart of God that cannot be quenched, the obsession of His mind that cannot be denied, the vision of His eyes from eternity past into eternity future that will not dim and the destination to which He has committed His omnipotent, immutable, eternal being. A destination He will not abandon. –Darrell Champlain

 Temple cleansing Christ’s passion for worship from ALL NATIONS was again displayed by His cleansing of the temple. The area He “cleansed” was where the Gentiles were to worship. This part of the temple grounds was almost three times bigger than the Jews’ worship area. Twice we see Him cleansing this area (John 2, Mt. 21), driving out the thieves who had robbed the Gentiles from their rightful place of worship within the temple by making it a stockyard of reeking cattle, sheep, goats, etc. Christ traveled about 30 miles to minister to one Syrophenician woman, and although He faced criticism from His own disciples for doing so, He reaped a great harvest of souls from her village. In addition, how about the healing of a Roman Centurion’s son and the deliverance of the Gadarene demoniac that had a legion of devils within him? Let us remember His words, “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold.” (John 10:16)

The Heart of God Missions is the very nature of God, the essence of His being! Paul, the apostle, caught God’s heart and he would never be content with only “laying on another mans foundation.” He ventured into virtually unknown, dangerous territory with the passion to preach the gospel where it had “not been named!” His life-long motivational verse was, “to whom He was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand” (Rom. 15: 21)! He had seen Christ, knew His purpose on the earth, and from then on could do no less Continued on page 12

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DID YOU KNOW…

Facts on Islam Z Approximatly 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide Z 2 Protestant missionaries minister among every one million Muslims. Z Currently only 12% of the world’s Muslims know a Christian personally so that the Christian could enter into a personal disciplemaking relationship with them. Z Of every dollar given by North American Christians to charitable causes, 1/10 of a cent goes to the evangelization of Muslims. Z Since 1973 Muslims have spent $100 billion in evangelizing the West. This includes the costs of building mosques and printing Islamic literature. Z For every dime we spend on evangelizing Muslims, they spend one dollar to evangelize the West.

1. Every book in the New Testament was written by a foreign missionary. 2. Every letter in the New Testament that was written to an individual was written to a convert of a foreign missionary. 3. Every epistle in the New Testament that was written to a church was written to a foreignmissionary church. 4. The disciples were called Christians first in a foreign-missionary community. 5. Of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus, every apostle except one became a missionary. 6. The only one among the twelve apostles who did not become a missionary became a traitor. 7. The problems which arose in the early church, were largely questions of missionary procedure. 8. According to the apostles, missionary service is the highest expression of Christian life.

Statistics by Arab World Ministries

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Continued from page 10, The Why of Missions

than his God had done all the days of his life! Paul simply could not constrain himself from preaching the gospel “in the regions beyond.” The heart of God has not changed over the past years! God wants each one of our hearts to be beating for those yet outside the reach of the gospel. He desires each of us to follow his example and give everything, our very lives, for this great purpose. We have no choice. “If this is the eternal purpose of God, what will be my answer to God if I find something else more beautiful, more important, and more wonderful to engage my life in?”

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It is easy for us to compartmentalize our lives into my devotional life, my prayer life, my work life, my family life, etc., and therefore do the same with missions. We “flip” the switch, do ministry, and then we snap back out of it that easily. May God help us! If God is a Missionary God, and everything He does is out of this great passion for the redemption and worship of man back to Himself, how can we do any less than throw ourselves into His great purpose? ‰

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