The Missionary Call and Challenge

God has called each one of us to be involved in world missions.  This is his greatest desire to reach the world with the message of the gospel that will restore the broken relationship between mankind and God. 

The mission of Coca Cola is to put a can of coke into the hand of every person on the planet.  They have been very successful in accomplishing their mission.  Our mission is to reach every person and progress is being made yet there remains a large number of people unreached.

The Joshua Project has been working for many years to compile statistics on the status of world evangelization.  The world population is about 7 billion people and their statistics show:

10% are true followers of Christ

20 % are nominal believers

40% have heard the gospel but have not responded

30% have never heard, no exposure to the Gospel.

God needs each one of us to be involved in going to the mission field or supporting those who are sent through our finances, prayers and communication.

The greatest concentration of unreached people is in the 10/40 window.  This areas has high concentration of Muslims as well as other religions.

The nation with the greatest number of the 6700 unreached people groups is India (2034) followed by China (456).  80% of the population of India are Hindu and Nepal is mainly Buddhist.  Both countries have less than 5 % of the population who are Christians.

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In the USA less than one cent of every dollar that is given to the church is used to reach the unreached people groups.

God’s heart is to reach the every ethnic group and he will use whatever means available to get the good news to them. Only 1 of 10 cross cultural missionaries is working among the unreached people groups.  The greatest need has the fewest missionaries

As a church the need of the day is to train and send missionaries to the unreached people.  According to Fred Markert from YWAM’s frontier missions work there is only 1 missionary for every 1 million Muslims. 

God will find a way to reach the unreached people.  Ralph Winter a missiologist has identified 4 ways God reaches people through us.

1.       We go voluntarily to them in obedience to the Great Commission

2.       We go involuntarily such as when the Israelites were taken captive. Jonah was the reluctant prophet. Young slave girl who told Naaman about the prophet Elijah.     2Ki_5:1-6  Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.   Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife.  So Naaman went in and told his lord, "Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel." And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy."

    

 IIt is important for children to witness the power of God and hear the testimonies of their parents of how God has demonstrated his power in their lives. One generation must pass on to another the history of God's work among them.

Psa_78:4  We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

Psa_78:6  that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,

3.       People come voluntarily: immigrants, Queen of Sheba, 1Ki_10:1  Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. 1Ki 10:9  Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness."

4.       People come involuntarily.  Sent by governing authorities to live in another country or area.

God is reaching the Muslim world by revealing himself through visions and dreams to the Muslims but messengers are still needed to bring the gospel message and make disciples.  Public proclamation of the gospel is forbidden in most of the Muslim controlled countries and the most effective way of spreading the gospel is through relationships that begin with people of peace who are willing to open their homes to missionaries who want to develop relationships with them. 

David Garrison in his book “A wind in the House of Islam” documents Movements of Muslims to Christ.

AD 600-1800      No known movements

AD 1800-1980    2 movements

AD 1980-2000    11 Movements (Iran, Algeria, Bulgaria, Albania, West Africa, Bangladesh, Central Asia)

2000-2013           69 Movements (across the globe)

Definition of a movement: at least 1,000 baptized believers or 100 new church starts, over a 2 decade period.

We are living in exciting days as we see God move in nations to declare his glory.  His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom that knows no end.  His government will increase and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. 

Isa_9:7  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Hab 2:14  For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

We get to be part of this harvest of souls who are waiting for someone to come and share the gospel with them.  Jesus looked upon the lost nation of Israel and saw them as sheep without a shepherd.  When he saw them in their lost condition he was moved with compassion.

Mat 9:35  And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.

Mat 9:36  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Mat 9:37  Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;

Mat 9:38  therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

We have to have open eyes that see people as Jesus sees them.  We cannot ignore them, wait for someone else to go to them.

Jesus had compassion on them and we also must have an open heart to understand their condition and the lostness of their situation.

Jesus prayed for workers to be sent and we must also have open hands to do the work he has called us to do.  We must be willing to be the answer to the prayer of workers being sent out into the harvest field.

Who will go?  Who will send them?

What part will you play in reaching the unreached people?

Love with Shoes on….Darrell Champlin

He opened the field of Surinam, South America to us. It had been abandoned as a waste of time, men, and money. We found out why when we arrived there in May of 1965. They’d been under the absolute control of demon empowered witch doctors. I’m talking about real power. I’m talking about a witch doctor that could go out here on this street and call lightning and thunder down out of a clear blue sky that would shake this building to the very rafters, and the sulfur smell would singe your nostrils. I’m talking about witch doctors who will send little boys up thorn trees with thousands of steel strong, needle-sharp thorns in rings, just about four inches apart, sticking straight up. They would send the boy up over those and down through those picking fruit. Not a single wound. Not a drop of blood. Under that power this people had lived for two hundred without a soul being saved.

They persecuted us, as they had three couples, driving them all out in less than a year, the last couple lasting five months. You see, there were no roads between those villages. No trails, even. You had to reach them, and still today you must reach them by boat. You’re talking about a climate where we have, in our living room when we sit down to lunch, an average temperature of 94 degrees. Humidity sits at about 70, or 75%. That’s inside the house. In the shade it’s 110. In the open sun . . . I don’t know because we haven’t found a thermometer that will stay in the sun without breaking. They made us sit in our boats and wait till they jolly well pleased to let us come ashore in any one of the villages. They burned us and parboiled us and roasted us until my nose and my mouth were covered with great blisters again and again. The scars are still there. Sadistic people, you say.

No. It was my blessed Lord Jesus asking one of His servants, “Do you love Me? How do you love Me?”

Then miraculously souls began to be saved. A witch doctor was saved. The whole fabric of their demon possessed government was being shaken by a power that they could not imagine. A power they had never experienced. In panic they ratcheted up their persecution until at last, all else failing, they brought out their trump card. They brought Apotu, the fire dancing witch doctor. They invited me to come and watch.

Louise stayed home to pray. I walked over the jungle trail to the village. There a great crowd of people, 400 or more up in the trees or on the ground crowded around a blazing fire over here and a heap of broken beer bottle glass there. I looked around. There behind them I could see the witch doctor clad only in a loin cloth, bare headed and footed, communing with his demon spirits and washing with his herb water. Then he came out to the beat of drums modeled after those brought from Africa many years ago. He began to dance around and around that broken beer bottle glass. He leaped on it, danced on it, rolled in it, and he wasn’t cut. The people began to shout “The demon is on him! The demon is on him!” They knew the source of the power. He left that heap of glass and went into the fire. There he stood in it, playing in it, picking up the blazing brands -- in a knee high fire – running them over his face and through his hair. Back into the glass, back into the fire. Now he has the people in the palm of his hand, and he said, “Now if you will follow me. I’ll give you this power.”

It dawned on me why he’d come. He’d come to break the power of the gospel by demonstrating the power of Satan. My heart broke. “Oh God! Here are babes in Christ. Here are those who are counting the cost of losing their families if they trust Jesus as their Savior, of being ostracized from their nation if they follow the Lord Jesus. They’re being tempted to follow the devil again. Oh God, what can I do to stop them?”

My Lord Jesus simply asked me, “Do you love Me?”

“Yes Lord.”

“Then you just do the dance he has just done to show them that I have power.”

“Yes, Lord.”

They got a couple of candidates and took them off to the side. They heaped the glass again, built the fire blazing again. They didn’t notice that I was able to slip through the crowd. Before they knew what I was about to do I pulled off my shoes and socks and jumped on that glass. I have to admit, beloved, that I jumped rather gingerly, but I found God was protecting me. I stomped in it, it could not cut me. You don’t have to be charismatic to believe that. You just have to know that you serve Jehovah Sabaoth, General of the hosts of the universe.

People began to shout “The demon is on the missionary!” They didn’t understand yet. I tell you I didn’t feel the glass, but beloved, when I went into that fire, it was hot! I was a good Baptist boy, and I never learned to dance, but I did some kind of dance on that fire. Stomped in it, jumped up and down in it, and by God’s grace a few minutes later it was out. I looked down and could see those red hot coals glowing there like little Christmas tree lights between my toes. You can imagine the effect on the people. I turned to them and said, “Now listen. God’s not in the business of fire dances. You have the Bible, His Word. You have His messenger. You have the gospel. If you did not believe and receive the Lord Jesus He could have sent you to hell, and it would have been just. But God had mercy on you tonight to show you His power. Now you can follow this man Apotu, and he’ll give you this demonic power, but it will carry you to hell. If you follow my Lord Jesus He’ll forgive your sins, and he’ll take you to heaven. Make your choice.”

They made it just like that. The drummers got up and left their drums. “Fire dance is over,” they said. The crowd began to break up and go back into the village. The witch doctor and leadership of the village were furious! I’ve been stoned a couple times, but I thought that night, “They are going kill me!” Swarming around, clenching their fists, gnashing their teeth. A couple of our young Christians, just saved, came to help protect me and we had a hot time for about 30 minutes. Finally they let me go. I went over that little trail that they’d just allowed us to cut through the jungle. Back over that swampy place to our house. My feet were hot. I got down and looked at them, but couldn’t see anything wrong. I prayed, “Oh God, if I wake in the morning burned and blistered You have suffered an awful defeat. Lord, you must help me. Your people, Lord. Your glory, Lord. Your mission, Lord.” I went to bed. About six-o-clock in the morning I woke up and looked at my feet. They were perfect. Praise the Lord!

No sooner was I out of bed than there came a knock at the door. But they don’t knock like that. They call out “Kokoko?” I went to the door. It’s people from the village.

“Missionary, how are your feet?”

“Well, you just take a look.” I said. “They’re just fine.”

A couple of our young men, just starting in training to serve, came to me and said, “Missionary, if that’s the kind of God we serve you show us the way and we’ll walk in it.” Today, beloved, they preach in 40 towns and villages across an area half the size of the state of Michigan. They’re walking.

The missionary call and challenge is for each one of us.  We must do our part to support through prayer and finances or be sent to the unreached harvest field.  Pray that the Lord of the Harvest will speak to you what your role should be to fulfill the desire of God's heart to reach all nations and declare his glory.