#1 The globe is the goal.
When a Christian understands the goal of God then they can live out the purposes of God in the context of that overarching goal. When the end is clarified, then the means can be applied with laser focus. The Bible is not shy or secretive about that goal. From cover to cover the Bible sings with the sweeping goal of world evangelization. From the cultural mandate, to the Great Commission, and ending in the book of Revelation, God has been about gathering and saving a heavenly people from all the peoples of the earth. The Christian God “has so loved the world” (John 3:16) and he has commissioned His followers to make sure they make disciples of every nation in that world (Matthew 28:18) and to be His witnesses to the ends of the entire world (Acts 1:8). God’s will is that the world may know. If we miss that will, we will hardly grasp his will for us.
DISCUSS
#1 What will it take?
What will it take to reach the whole earth with the gospel?
When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the ship captain tried to turn him back, saying, “You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages.” To that, Calvert replied, “We died before we came here.”
#2 How should Christians respond to this goal?
It is possible for the most obscure person in a church, with a heart right toward God, to exercise as much power for the evangelization of the world, as it is for those who stand in the most prominent positions. John Mott
DEFINE
World Evangelization, is the responsibility of the whole church to get the whole gospel to the whole world.
Where do you see the components of the definition above stated in the verse below?
What is the scope of missions according to the verse below?
Who is the strength behind getting the whole gospel to the whole world?
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
INTERACT
Considering the verses and maps below, what do you observe about the global mission of God? How did God kick-off world evangelization (Acts 2:1-11) and how does He intend to finish it (Acts 1:8). Or how did God give a picture of His power to fulfill Acts 1:8 through the story of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-11)
You shall be my witnesses…
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Pentecost
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” Acts 2:1-11
DISCUSS
Read over Acts 8:1-3 (about a third of the way through Acts) and observe the consequences of persecution. How is persecution even accomplishing God’s global purposes?
Read Acts 11:19-26. This passage is still commenting on the results from the persecution in Acts 8:1-4 (see Acts 11:19). Who began to hear the gospel in Antioch that had previously never heard the gospel? Why was there a shift?
By the end of the book in Acts in chapter 28 Paul is in Rome (considered the ends of the Mediterranean world). Read verses 28:30-31. How do these act as a summary of the previous chapters and a forecast of the future of world missions?
EVALUATE
Do you know?
Matthew 28:18-20 is the most well-known biblical record of what is commonly referred to extra-biblically as “the Great Commission.” But despite the significance of these and other verses that call Christians to “go and make disciples of all nations,” a surprising proportion of churchgoing Christians in the U.S. are generally unaware of these famous words from Jesus.
When asked if they had previously “heard of the Great Commission,” half of U.S. churchgoers (51%) say they do not know this term. It would be reassuring to assume that the other half who know the term are also actually familiar with the passage known by this name, but that proportion is low (17%). Meanwhile, “the Great Commission” does ring a bell for one in four (25%), though they can’t remember what it is. Six percent of churchgoers are simply not sure whether they have heard this term “the Great Commission” before.
Can you correctly identify the Great Commission?
Taking a different tack, Barna also presented churchgoers with five different passages from scripture and asked them to identify which one is known as the Great Commission. A little more than one-third of churchgoers (37%) correctly identifies the Bible passage—far more than those who recognize the Great Commission in name alone. Nearly all of the churchgoers who indicate they have previously heard of the Great Commission (94%) also select the passage in Matthew 28. The remainder of churchgoers either does not know which of these verses is the Great Commission (33%) or offers an incorrect answer (31%).
The Great Commission by generation
Age also makes a significant difference in whether churchgoers recognize the Great Commission. More than one-quarter of Elders (29%) and Boomers (26%) says they know the text, compared to 17 percent of Gen X and one in 10 Millennials (10%). As with other churchgoing groups, people in all generations are more likely to choose the right passage from a set of options than to remember it unprompted. Roughly two in five people among the three oldest generations correctly identify the Great Commission (43% of Elders, 42% of Boomers, 41% of Gen X). Churchgoing Millennials, however, are about as likely to misidentify (36%) as to correctly identify (34%) the Great Commission. Although not even half of any age group knows the Great Commission well, the youngest adult generation is least likely to recognize it.
PRAY
Prayer for the CO international ministries
Use the video below to pray for our two ministries in Khon Khaen and Chang Mai Thailand. Pray through the prompts at the end of the video.