Southeastern Conference on 

World Evangelism 2004

 

 

First Session

 

Tears in Heaven?!

 

Peter said that of all the disciples he would never deny the Lord. He was sure that if all others left him that he, Peter, never would leave or deny him. But then as he stood there waiting on him as he was tried Peter in the heat of the moment did indeed deny him. He went further than he would have ever imagined possible. He ended up denying him with an oath.

 

Now he hears the cock crow. His conscience screams at him. His heart sinks. He knows he has failed then his eyes meet the eyes of the Lord himself. All he can do is run away weeping bitterly.

 

Peter knows the shame of having failed his great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Could that ever happen to you or me?

 

There He is seated on a Great White Throne. Judgment day has come. The Lord Jesus Christ is seated and ready to begin the judging. Behind him as though in a great choir loft is the Church that has been with Him since the Rapture.

 

The angels have made preparation. The books are there. The Book of Life is opened with an angel ready to begin searching for the names. The other books are there also. The books that contain all that those who are to be judged have done.

 

Slowly the prisoners are brought forth to be judged. John Smith from Lexington, North Carolina steps forward with great fear etched on his face. The judge looks down into the eyes of John and then turns to ask the angel if John’s name is to be found in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

 

The angel responds saying that no his name is not in the Book of Life. The Lord then asks for the other books to be opened and begins to hear the story of John’s life. He grew up in a Christian home. He heard gospel preaching on a regular basis. As soon as he could he decided to make his own life. He wanted to do want he enjoyed. He wasn’t interested in the way his parents lived or that leather lunged preacher and what he had to say. John refused the gospel message Sunday after Sunday. He mocked the preachers. He mocked his parents. John had been his own man and now he was facing judgment.

 

The Lord Jesus looks at John and says, your name is not found in the Book of Life. Depart from me you worker of iniquity for I never knew you.

 

John is in shock. He is crying and begging for another chance. He had already heard about this but would just not believe it. Now it was actually happening.

 

Please give me another chance. I will believe this time. I will submit my life to you, but the Lord reminds him, you would have none of my counsel or reproof. I called you time after time and you refused. I stretched out my hand to you and you ignored me.

 

Angels cast him into the lake of fire. He deserves Hell that I prepared for the Devil and his angels. He has rebelled and ignored me.

 

I see tears as they begin to form in the eyes of God’s people there in that great choir loft. They are a compassionate people. It hurts to see anyone cast into to that awful place but he did mock God and the Bible.

 

Tom Jones steps forward next to be judged. Again the angel looks in the book of life but his name is not there. The story is repeated again but Tom wasn’t raised in a Godly home. He didn’t have the privilege of having a preacher that cared about him.

 

Tom steps forward very timidly, obviously very afraid, and says Please give me another chance. I want to be saved. I want to go to Heaven. I do not want to go to Hell but the Lord says Tom you had your chance because according to the books you received gospel tracts on numerous occasions, you saw TV programs that where preachers were preaching the gospel, you mocked the men who preached the gospel on the radio. Tom you had your chance.

 

Cast him into the lake of fire. Tom I never knew you. I wanted to. I sent my people to see you. You had many chances. You turned down every invitation to go to church. Depart from me you worker of iniquity.

 

Again the people of God hurt and agonize. They are loving people. The swollen bellies of Africa brought tears to their eyes. God’s people have never been able to watch people suffer but ….now!

 

One by one they came for hours. Each one had his story but every time the Lord told them you had the gospel, you had a preacher, you rejected my message. You deserve the Lake of Fire as much as Satan himself.

 

Next the angel calls forth Jose Perez. Jose is obviously terrified. He literally has no idea what is going on.

 

Again the angel opens the book. His name is not on the roll.

 

They open the other books but no mention is made of a preacher, teacher, gospel tract, radio broadcast or any other means of getting the gospel to Jose.

 

The Lord says Jose I never knew you. Depart from me into the Lake of Fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.

 

Jose begins to weep. He falls to his feet. He screams in agony. But Lord I don’t understand. Why? Why are you so cruel? Why would you condemn me?

 

I do not condemn you. You had your chance. You should have accepted me. I put it in the creation it is obvious that I exist. You are without excuse.

 

You cannot accuse me I also wrote it in your conscience. Your conscience accused you. You knew you needed me.

 

Lord please forgive me. Yes I knew there had to be a God. I knew that something was wrong but I didn’t know how to come to you.

 

Well Jose, I wrote it in the Creation and in your conscience. I also gave the message to my church to take to you. I gave them the power of the Holy Spirit, the prefect Word of God and all they needed to get the gospel to you.

 

Sir they never told me. I never saw one preacher. No one came to me with the gospel message.

 

The church of God is still standing. They are in awe. Hundreds and thousands have been thrown into the lake of fire. Everyone screaming and begging but it is eternally too late.

 

Now Jesus slowly turns and looks at His church. His eyes are filled with hurt and shame. He tilts his head lifts his hands and says Why didn’t you tell them. How can you let them throw it in my face that they never heard.

 

I trusted you. I committed the ministry of reconciliation to you. I gave you all you needed.

 

The church of God begins to weep uncontrollably. As they look down at their hands they see the blood of Jose Perez and thousands of others who could have heard, should have heard but didn’t.

 

They can’t believe their failure. They have failed the great God of their salvation. The one they preached about. The one they sang to and worshipped but now it is eternally too late for so many.

 

They did have the Word of God. They had the power of the Holy Spirit of God. They knew that they had a responsibility but had just gotten caught up in the everyday life of the temporary world.

 

Bloody hands and tear filled eyes. Broken hearts but too little too late

 

They I awoke. Thank God it wasn’t too late. I still have a chance. I thank God for letting me get a glimpse of what it will be like.

 

I will not allow that nightmare to be a reality in my life. By God’s grace I will do all in my power to get the gospel to the entire world.

 

Currently 106 people die a minute. Thank God that of the 106 that die a minute about 20 of them are under the age of 5 and so therefore probably under the age of accountability, At best the world is less than 10% saved. That means of the 86 that are left about 9 may be saved. That is a very liberal estimate. That means that 75 go to Hell every minute. 65% of the world has not even heard of the Lord Jesus Christ. 40% of the world do not even have the chance to hear the gospel because the message has yet to arrive where they are. Do you realize what that means? Of the 106 who die each minute 70 do not even know who the Lord Jesus is and 42 have no chance to even get to know him because the gospel hasn’t arrive where they live.

 

There are 31,557,600 seconds in a year. That means that to spend one second with everyone in China you would need just under 42 years because there are 1,325,419,200 seconds in 42 years. That is if we could stop the population exactly where it is now with no deaths or births for the next 42 years. Now take that same statistic and give yourself one hour with each person and you would need approximately 151,200 years if you could work day and night. That is approximately 2160 lifetimes at 24 hours a day and 7 days a week for 70 years.

 

The problem isn’t the numbers nor the barriers it is the desire, dedication, and strategy.

 

The question that we will talk about now is whether or not we will have blood on our hands or whether we will stand their with shame for having failed to get the gospel to them.

 

Read Revelation 21:4 and consider what happened with Peter in Luke 22:61-62. Since the rapture in I Thessalonians 4:17 we are ever with the Lord. All judgment has been committed to him John 5:22. We were given a job to do. The ministry of reconciliation is ours II Corinthians 5:18-20. We will have blood on our hands Ezekiel 33:6 or will we be able to say with the Apostle Paul that we are free from the blood of all men Acts 20:26.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Death, Burial, and Resurrection of a Vision

 

There is a principle that seems to run throughout the Scriptures. That is that God gives men a dream to do something for Him, then almost inevitably God sends or causes the vision to die, and then once it is dead, God himself resurrects that vision and God brings it to pass. John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

 

I believe that is what happens with each of us that God calls to His ministry. When I was young God placed a burden in my heart to see great things for Him. I desperately wanted to have a Bible College, to travel the world preaching His gospel, preach many times a week etc. but God did with me what I think I can show you from Scripture. This process I believe is necessary for God to use us. He wants us to know the vision came from Him and that the carrying out of that vision will depend on Him and His power alone.

 

In the Scriptures we see that God gave a vision to Moses to lead the nation of Israel out of captivity. Moses was raised with that thought in mind. At the age of 40 Moses goes out to fulfill that dream in the flesh. A man is killed. Moses is embarrassed. He escapes to save his life. He went from the palace to the field. For an Egyptian there was no lower job than that of a shepherd. God took him from the top to the bottom. After 40 years learning how good he was and how much he could do God took him to the desert to teach him that he couldn’t and didn’t know anything. Now after 40 more years, 80 total Moses knows that he is nothing. He is learning what all of God’s men have to learn, that the way up is down, that the way to live is to die, that the way to be is not to be. God comes to Moses and says to him that He is going to use him to do great and mighty things. Moses says Lord you know that I can’t. God says now that you have learned that you can’t, and then I can. And you know the rest of the story.

 

This is a common thread through out the Scriptures. Joseph as a young man dreams that someday he is going to be a leader. Even his family will bow down to him. He is going to be the man that everyone recognizes. He is his father’s favorite. Maybe just a little bit of wicked pride gets into him. His brothers really have a hard time liking him. Before long the great leader is shocked to be sold as a slave but no matter he keeps a good attitude. Even as a slave he begins to succeed. Soon he is the man again then he is falsely accused and his vision dies a second death. Then to the prison he goes. In prison he succeeds, proves himself and comes out on top. He interprets two dreams. Finally it looks like he will get what he has waited for but then the butler forgets to tell Pharaoh. Years have gone by the dream has been beaten down over and over again. Surely what he dreamed as a young man cannot happen now but once he in his flesh realizes that he can’t then God does.

 

The story is repeated throughout the Scriptures. Abraham believes that God will give him many sons. This isn’t a pipe dream. God told him. But then God has to make sure that whatever he does no one else gets the glory for it so years go by. Where are the sons and daughters as the sand on the seashore or the stars in the sky? Where is God? What is he doing? Finally Abraham decides to suggest to God that his servant can take the place of his servant since it seems that what God promised is not going to happen or will be difficult to accomplish but God says no. Then Sarah and Abraham decide that they have a plan that might make it work. Abraham can go in unto Sarah’s servant and have a child and they will call it theirs. Again the flesh wants to help God but God will not allow any man to share His glory. God refuses to call Ishmael the son of promise. Finally Sarah can no longer have children. Now it is physically impossible. The promise is beyond fulfillment now – but God! God works a miracle and Isaac is born. Then if this vision hasn’t been tested enough God tells Abraham to go and sacrifice his son. There will be no doubt that it is God that is doing the work! It is God that will get the glory. The vision comes true but this time with no human help just God and to His honor and glory.

 

This principle can be seen even in the life of Saul who will be called Paul. He gets saved! He sees the Lord! He goes to the church and is rebuffed by the people of God. Instead of the great ministry he could have had he disappears for several years. He doesn’t get into public recorded ministry until Barnabas looks for him and takes him to Antioch. The vision is born, dies, and then is resurrected. That is a truth God uses in the life of each of us His servants.

 

The more he wants the vision to come true the more the vision will die until it is impossible and then God will come on the scene.

 

Brokenness is Necessary

 

For God to use a man that man must experience brokenness. Every man that God uses must come to the end of himself so that God can show His power in the man’s life without that man taking credit for what God does.

 

With God the way up is down. To live is to die. To get is to give. That is hard for me to take and for most of his people to accept.

 

Jacob was a crafty man. He could move and do with the best of them but for God to use him he must be broken. So finally he finds himself alone and wrestling with the Angel. The Angel could have won at any time. He had the power all along but he wanted Jacob to learn that he—Jacob couldn’t but that God could. From that day forward he limps remembering that he is a new man, a dead man, and a man that couldn’t until God decided to use Him.

 

In Galatians 2:20 and Romans 6 we see that we are dead and should reckon that to be true in our lives so that God can use us. We are crucified. Jesus lives in and though us. Only as the Spirit of God works and moves in us is our lives or our ministry of any value to God.

 

That is much the story of my life. A life of failure! As a young man I gave my life to the Lord. I felt His call on my life to be a missionary. Even with the call of God on my life I was so insecure. I knew every time that I walked into the room that the people were talking about me. I was loud and obnoxious just to cover my insecurities. I had a dream but if God was going to use me it would be in spite of me for sure.

 

In my first church God blessed me. The youth department grew very quickly! From a meeting of 4 young people in our Monday night meeting to over 50 in less than a year. God was blessing. Maybe I began to believe that God really could use me. Perhaps I thought that it was my power and I.

 

In my second church things did ok but nothing spectacular. Then I felt God lead me to start a church in Cartersville, Georgia.

 

My time had come! I had been to the big conferences. I knew that God was going to do things greater than you can imagine. I started, I put my advertisements out, in the newspaper, on the radio, thousands of handouts. God’s man was coming to town! Great things were about to happen! I knew that on the first Sunday we would have at least 100. But to my dismay 13 showed up. Only one from Cartersville. Ok things weren’t going like I had hoped but I knew that once I started working things would straighten out. I visited an average of over 35 hours a week. I was 23 years old. I was the man. I had the power of God. I expected at least 1,000 in attendance on our first year anniversary. We did have a great day. About 120 people showed up. We were only averaging between 30 and 40 on a regular Sunday.

 

Things weren’t turning out like I had expected. I ran 6 bus routes. We got up to 175 for Sunday School. I loved pastoring. I had preached so hard. Every service was about how God wouldn’t put up with pant wearing women, cigarette smoking, long haired men etc and every service I was just hurting people. In spite of my preaching the church grew. God uses dumb people so he still used me but then I realized that I needed to love my people and help them. I knew that I wouldn’t and couldn’t change on what I believed but I needed to begin preaching the Bible. I stood up one night and told the people that I would resign because I knew that I had been hard, excessively hard. I told them that I was willing to allow them to get another preacher. A group of men had already come to me to talk to me. They came with love and the right attitude. They asked me to stop being so hard all the time but to love the people. I told them that the pulpit was mine. I told them that no one would ever tell me what to preach. I told them that at Liberty Baptist Church is going to be my way or the highway. They took the highway. Then due to sin in the life of one of my staff members and my failure to lead the church I lost my salary. Betty and I gave up our salary. For nearly 2 years we lived on offerings from a box in the back of the church. The church was nearly bankrupt and it was my fault.

 

That is how I lost my salary. That is how I put my family through some of the hardest days of our lives.

 

Now I was willing to resign. I had grown a little. When I got down from the pulpit the first man that came up said that he wouldn’t accept my resignation. He loved me and had known all along that I was going to grow up. He was glad it had finally happened.

 

Then another man came up. He was 65 or 70 years old. He said well preacher you made the mess so I think you ought to fix it. So I stayed and slowly began to undo the harm and damage I had done. God has never had a slower, dumber servant than this one.

 

Finally when things were going great God began to deal with my heart about being a missionary. Now I had put my wife through the wringer. The church was finally paying our salary again. They bought us a car. Finally we were coming out on top then I said we are going to Peru. My wife cried and begged for mercy.

 

I knew that God wanted us in Peru. I was afraid that God might actually kill my wife because I was so certain of His call on my life.

 

My wife gave up her home, the new car, family and friends and we were off on deputation. In language school she cried literally every day. Every day for a year she cried and I died.

 

Then we arrived in Arequipa, Peru. I could never admit to it but I was afraid. If I had admitted my fear I believe that my wife would have insisted that we return to the states. It was this fear that drove me to begin doing what would eventually turn into a great success. I began training and discipling the young men I worked with to give me an excuse to be with them rather than tell them that I was afraid.

 

I spent hours every day and week training the men. Little by little they began to become the leaders that God could use for His honor and glory in our ministry. I wish that I could tell you that I was smart or that I had this great plan before I arrived in Peru but the truth is that my fear and failure drove me to fall on Him and let Him do a work in and through me that would not have otherwise been possible.

 

Things were flying. We were excited. Sure there were setbacks. We were robbed or attempted to be robbed 55 times in our first three years in Peru. Our son Chris developed type one diabetes. But God was blessing in spite of it all.

 

When we returned to the states God had allowed us to start and or work in 5 churches in just under 3 years. We were excited. Maybe I was just a little proud of what I had been a part of.

 

Upon our return to Peru we found that the men we had trained had all messed up in some way. What had seemed to go so well was in the toilet. They had stolen my truck and used it as a city bus. They had broken into our storage and stolen our things. Sin abounded on every hand.

 

I called a friend and told him about the tragedy. He had promised to visit but he said what would I see if I came to see you. Sounds like your ministry has fallen apart. Nothing could have hurt worse except for the fact that it was true.

This is not the story of success but rather of failure. This is not the story of what a successful man can do but what a failure can do as he stumbles on God’s plan to build a work.

 

During that first term God allowed us to purchase over 25 acres of land for our Bible College but that land would later be stolen from us at a loss of over $30,000. Preachers fell into sin. Our daughter was raped. Our home was broken into. My children didn’t do what they should have done. They embarrassed me in the city, the churches and even nationally.

 

The truths and lessons I want to share with you today didn’t come cheaply. They hurt as we struggled to learn everyone. They didn’t come because I am smart. They didn’t come from my success but from my failure.

 

Exactly what does God expect from us as men of God? Does he expect all of us to do the same thing?

 

Obviously we have differing abilities and gifts. Matthew 25:14-30 possibly indicates that God has given to His people “differing abilities according to their several ability.” One received 5 talents, another 2, and the third 1 talent. Each had the ability to do something with their talent. They were rewarded not by comparing themselves with each other but by having used what God gave them to the best of their ability.

 

The seed was sown on the “good ground”. I believe that the good ground represents those who are truly saved. The “good ground” produced in differing amounts 30, 60 and 100 fold. Therefore I believe that God will use us to differing degrees. That is His prerogative.

 

In 2 Corinthians 10:12 we are taught that we are not to “compare ourselves among selves” This discussion has nothing to do with comparing ourselves among ourselves but with comparing ourselves to ourselves to see if we can sharpen ourselves to be more effective for the Lord.

 

God does not desire that His servants be satisfied with what they are doing. That is not meant to condemn anyone, nor put us on a guilt trip. Simply to remind us that in John 15:1-8 God wanted his people to bear fruit, then more fruit and finally much fruit. I think He wants us seeking to be more fruitful and we can do that as we more eagerly seek to abide in the Word and allow the Word to abide in us.

 

According to Romans 14:4-5 we are not to judge another man’s servant and each man is to be fully convinced in his own mind. In I Corinthians 4:3-5 Paul says that he does not judge himself and counts it a very small thing how others judge him. Our judge is the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

The point of this discussion is not to judge but to encourage, to motivate, and to share what God has shown us and has worked so successfully. I do not believe that it is just a man or a place but a Biblical principle.

 

Let me add that we can never know just who we are. We can never be sure that we have 1, 2 or 5 talents. How can we know if we are 30, 60 or 100 fold Christians? I want to live, work and act as though I was a 100 fold Christian but can and will not know that until I get to the judgment seat and see what God has to say about that. I do think that we have nothing to lose giving it our all. We might actually produce more than we would have produced if we do so.

 

It bears mentioning also that I personally have made more mistakes and failed more times than you can believe or that I would want to mention. I am guilty of only telling the victories won and not the battles lost in my life.

 

I served as a youth director and assistant pastor for nearly 5 years in 2 different places. God used me in spite of myself. Then I started a church in Cartersville, Georgia in 1977. I made every mistake that can be made. Since I had come out of the Southern Baptist Convention and just become an Independent Baptist I had no real fellowship and no pastor that was really my pastor.

 

I started the church from scratch. I worked hard but not smart. I saw lots of people make professions of faith. In our first year we had over 400 adult visitors through our church but I was so hard that they refused to return. I just wanted to do right. I want to preach the devil out of them. I had just become an independent Baptist. I was doing what I thought I should but I didn’t have a pastor to tell me, train me, correct me so there I was with one mistake after another.

 

I tried to do all the work myself. I was out soul winning all the time. Many people got saved and baptized but I couldn’t keep them.

 

I didn’t do hardly anything for world missions because I thought that my job was to build the church that I was working in. We ran 6 bus routes. We had all kinds of people even a few blacks came to our church. I thought that I was doing my part in world evangelism.

 

I did not know how to disciple so I would get new people into the church and even get them to change their outward appearance but then I failed to get them to reproduce themselves in the lives of others. I did learn to produce leaders but not leaders of leaders.

 

I didn’t know how because I had never seen it done. I didn’t know how to train others because I had not been trained.

 

When I arrived in Peru to begin my ministry there I knew how to preach, go soul winning, visit the hospitals, do weddings and funerals, etc. I knew how to be a typical pastor but I didn’t know how to train anyone to take my work.

 

Much of what I want to share comes at a great cost to my wife, my children, and to myself. I arrived in Peru fairly green although I had already been in the full time ministry over 13 years. During the last 16 years we have been robbed more times than I can count.

 

To enter this discussion we must drop our defenses and allow the word of God to speak to us. If we think that we are being attacked it will be hard to allow God to give us something that we might use greatly for His ministry that He has given us.

 

We have been given some Biblical methods that will work but have been overlooked and placed to one side for a long time for the most part. These methods will work and were meant to work in our local churches. It was meant to work where we are and from there to the entire world. It is time to work smart and not just work hard.

 

God never asks or commands His people to do something that cannot be done. He gave His church the Great Commission. The job of the church is to evangelize the entire world in every generation. Was God being unreasonable or is there a way that He has provided to get the job done. I believe that God has already given us the method to get the gospel to the world.

 

Why then are we failing to fulfill the Great Commission? I would like to offer several possible problems that hinder the Church of the Living God from doing its work.

 

1.                  As men of God we have lost our vision for the world. It was not on purpose! Many have become so busy doing the work that they have lost the big picture. It is as though all were working on building a large building, bridge or railway. It is easy to become a bricklayer rather someone building a cathedral. It is easy to be the guy placing the crossties and not the guy building a railroad. We can’t see the forest for the trees! God wants us involved in World Evangelism but maybe we are too busy taking care of a few people to see the big picture.

 

2.                  We have fallen into the traps that so easily detour us from our real ministry. It is easier to do the work than it is to teach someone else how to do the work. It takes less time and gets done right when the man himself does the job. Due to this we do not take the time and effort to train others.

 

3.                  Our insecurities that others may steal our place and the love our people have for us. Or another insecurity might be that we aren’t sure that we can teach someone else what to do. We fear that our training has not been sufficient to train others.

4.                  We do not believe that we can impact the world so we plan to do all we can to reach our area or our people.

 

5.                  We have fallen into the trap of just being faithful. As long as we stay clean and stay where we are then we have done our duty.

 

 

God has set before us a task that is bigger than us. We are to evangelize the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Session

 

The Tragedy or the failure in missions in the past

 

I.                     The Bible Example

 

Israel and the Church

 

A.                 God chose the nation of Israel to serve Him. They were to be a blessing to the entire world. Instead of telling of the Messiah they rejected and killed Him. John 1:10-11, Mark 4:11, Luke 8:10

 

B.                 God has grafted in the Church to carry the message for a short period of time. He will yet use the nation of Israel to get the gospel to the entire world – 144,000 witnesses. Romans 9-11

 

Jerusalem and Antioch

 

C.                They were given the Great Commission. They knew they were to take the gospel to the world.

 

D.                God gave them great success (Acts 5:28, 2:41, 47, 4:4, 13, 5:14, 6:1, 7) at reaching their own people but they were careful to only go to their own except on rare occasions: Phillip preaches to the Samaritans, then the eunuch. After the persecution started some went on to witness to some Greeks but the church in Jerusalem wasn’t sure what to think and sent Barnabas to investigate. Acts 8:4-5, 26, 10:1, 11:19-22

 

II.                   From Antioch to Macedonia and then maybe on to Rome and Germany, then England and now the USA. Where does it go from here if we will not take our responsibility seriously

 

III.                  Seeing the Local but not the Global

 

A.                 Churches, pastors and missionaries have become concerned about the one area of the world where God has them working and have forgotten that the world is their field.

 

B.                 The world has been delegated to a few individuals and ministries that are willing to carry the load for all, Bible Colleges, mission boards, etc.

 

 

Our Task, The Great Commission

 

"The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command
to be obeyed" -- Hudson Taylor

 

“Christ’s last command should be our first concern”

 

"If you found a cure for cancer, wouldn't it be inconceivable to hide it from the rest of mankind? How much more inconceivable to keep silent the cure from the eternal wages of death."-- Dave Davidson

 

I.                     Mark 16:15. We are to take the gospel to Every Creature. That means that we will have to reach more than 6,300,000,000 people with the gospel message.

 

II.                   Luke 24:46-49. We are to take the gospel (repentance and remission of sins in His name) to All Nations. Nations refers to people groups and not entire countries. We have the Cherokee nation in the nation of the USA. There are approximately 12,862 peoples groups according to Avery T. Willis, Jr. in his article “The Unfinished Task” found in Missiology, An Introduction to the Foundations, History, and Strategies of World Missions.

 

III.                  Matthew 28:19-20. Teaching all nations. Since we already have the command to go to all nations let us consider this word teach, baptize, teaching. The word teach or teaching means (according to Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary Unabridged Second Addition, 1976) to show how to do something, to give instructions to, to train, give lessons to (a student or pupil), to guide the study of, to instruct, to hold classes in, to provide with knowledge, insight. Synonyms: impart, direct, instruct, informer, counsel, admonish, educate, inculcate, enlighten, advise, indoctrinate, and train. The word teach makes it clear that I must disciple or train all nations. It is not enough to get them to pray a prayer. They must be taught enough to be saved, then baptized, then trained to live the gospel.

 

IV.               Acts 1:8. Gives us the geographical context. We are to go to the uttermost. Every country is to hear the gospel.

 

V.                 John 20:21. We are sent as He was sent. This is the incarnation. This is becoming one of them to reach them in the context of where they live and the language they speak.

 

Avery T. Willis, Jr. sums it up in th