God’s Heart for… The World
The Biblical Basis of Missions
Genesis 1:28
• 28 God blessed them; and God said to them,
"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth,
and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea
and over the birds of the sky and over every
living thing that moves on the earth."
Genesis 12:1-3
• 1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth
from your country, And from your relatives
And from your father's house, To the land
which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a
great nation, And I will bless you, And make
your name great ; And so you shall be a
blessing ; 3 And I will bless those who bless
you, And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be
blessed."
Genesis 26:3-4
• 3 "Sojourn in this land and I will be with you
and bless you, for to you and to your
descendants I will give all these lands, and I
will establish the oath which I swore to your
father Abraham. 4 "I will multiply your
descendants as the stars of heaven, and will
give your descendants all these lands ; and by
your descendants all the nations of the earth
shall be blessed ;
Genesis 28:13-15
• 13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am
the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the
God of Isaac ; the land on which you lie, I will give it to
you and to your descendants. 14 "Your descendants
will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will
spread out to the west and to the east and to the north
and to the south ; and in you and in your descendants
shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15
"Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you
go, and will bring you back to this land ; for I will not
leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
Deuteronomy 4:5-6
• 5 "See, I have taught you statutes and
judgments just as the LORD my God
commanded me, that you should do thus in
the land where you are entering to possess it.
6 "So keep and do them, for that is your
wisdom and your understanding in the sight of
the peoples who will hear all these statutes
and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and
understanding people.'
1 Samuel 17:45-46
• 45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to
me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I
come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have
taunted. 46 "This day the LORD will deliver you
up into my hands, and I will strike you down and
remove your head from you. And I will give the
dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day
to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the
earth, that all the earth may know that there is a
God in Israel,
Psalm 67:1-7
• 1 God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause
His face to shine upon us- Selah. 2 That Your way
may be known on the earth, Your salvation
among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise You, O
God ; Let all the peoples praise You. 4 Let the
nations be glad and sing for joy ; For You will
judge the peoples with uprightness And guide the
nations on the earth. Selah. 5 Let the peoples
praise You, O God ; Let all the peoples praise You.
6 The earth has yielded its produce ; God, our
God, blesses us. 7 God blesses us, That all the
ends of the earth may fear Him.
Isaiah 49:6
• 6 He says, "It is too small a thing that You
should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of
Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of
Israel ; I will also make You a light of the
nations So that My salvation may reach to the
end of the earth."
Daniel 6:25-26
• 25 Then Darius the king wrote to all the
peoples, nations and men of every language
who were living in all the land : "May your
peace abound ! 26 "I make a decree that in all
the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear
and tremble before the God of Daniel ; For He
is the living God and enduring forever, And His
kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be forever.
Malachi 1:11
• 11 "For from the rising of the sun even to its
setting, My name will be great among the
nations, and in every place incense is going to
be offered to My name, and a grain offering
that is pure ; for My name will be great among
the nations," says the LORD of hosts.
Jesus’ own mission…
Luke 4:42-43
• 42 When day came, Jesus left and went to a
secluded place ; and the crowds were
searching for Him, and came to Him and tried
to keep Him from going away from them. 43
But He said to them, "I must preach the
kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I
was sent for this purpose."
John 3:16
• 16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes
in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Matthew 24:14
The Goal…
• 14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in the whole world as a testimony to
all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 28:18-20
The Command
• 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them,
saying, "All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to
observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always , even to the end of the
age."
Mark 16:15
• 15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world
and preach the gospel to all creation.
Luke 24:45-47
• 45 Then He opened their minds to understand
the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, "Thus
it is written, that the Christ would suffer and
rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and
that repentance for forgiveness of sins would
be proclaimed in His name to all the nations,
beginning from Jerusalem.
Acts 1:8
• 8 but you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My
witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of
the earth."
Acts 9:15 - Paul
• 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he (Paul)
is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My
name before the Gentiles and kings and the
sons of Israel ;
Acts 10:34-35 - Peter
• 34 Opening his mouth, Peter said : "I most
certainly understand now that God is not one
to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the
man who fears Him and does what is right is
welcome to Him.
Acts 17:26-27
• 26 and He made from one man every nation
of mankind to live on all the face of the earth,
having determined their appointed times and
the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that
they would seek God, if perhaps they might
grope for Him and find Him, though He is not
far from each one of us;
Romans 10:11-15
• 11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM
WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." 12 For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek ; for the same Lord
is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on
Him; 13 for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF
THE LORD WILL BE SAVED." 14 How then will they call
on Him in whom they have not believed ? How will
they believe in Him whom they have not heard ? And
how will they hear without a preacher ? 15 How will
they preach unless they are sent ? Just as it is written,
"HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO
BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS !"
Romans 15:20-21
• 20 And thus I aspired to preach the gospel,
not where Christ was already named, so that I
would not build on another man's foundation
; 21 but as it is written, "THEY WHO HAD NO
NEWS OF HIM SHALL SEE, AND THEY WHO
HAVE NOT HEARD SHALL UNDERSTAND."
Galatians 3:13-14
• 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the
Law, having become a curse for us-for it is
written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS
ON A TREE "- 14 in order that in Christ Jesus
the blessing of Abraham might come to the
Gentiles, so that we would receive the
promise of the Spirit through faith.
2 Peter 3:9
• The Lord is not slow about His promise, as
some count slowness, but is patient toward
you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to
come to repentance.
How the story ends…
Philippians 2:9-11
• 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him,
and bestowed on Him the name which is
above every name, 10 so that at the name of
Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who
are in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.
Revelation 5:9-10
• 9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy
are You to take the book and to break its seals
; for You were slain, and purchased for God
with Your blood men from every tribe and
tongue and people and nation. 10 "You have
made them to be a kingdom and priests to our
God ; and they will reign upon the earth."
Revelation 7:9-10
• 9 After these things I looked, and behold, a
great multitude which no one could count,
from every nation and all tribes and peoples
and tongues, standing before the throne and
before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and
palm branches were in their hands ; 10 and
they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "
Salvation to our God who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb."
The Current Status of the World
2 Definitions
• “People Group”
– the largest group within which the Gospel can spread
… without encountering barriers of understanding
(language) or acceptance (culture, caste, etc.)
• “Unreached”
– A people group where the number of Christians within
that people group are non-existent or insignificant to
reach that people group for Christ.
– They have no way of knowing about Jesus!
The World
• World Population: 6.73
Billion
• Total People Groups:
16,598
• Popl in Unreached Groups:
2.77 Billion (up to 3.6
billion)
• Unreached People Groups:
6,918
• % People Groups
Unreached: 41.7 %
• % Population in Unreached:
41.2 % to 53.5%
The 10-40 Window
• 4.43 Billion People Total
•8,811 People Groups
•2.69 Billion Unreached People (97% of all unreached people!!!)
•5,930 Unreached People Groups (86% of all unreached people groups)
Other 10/40 Window Stats
• Breakdown by Religion
– 724 Million Muslims; 787 million Hindus; 240 million
Buddhists
• Largest Unreached People Groups
–
–
–
–
Largest Shaikh, Bangladesh - 133 million
2nd largest - Japanese - 123 million
Next 3 are Indian - 182 million total
6th Largest – Turk - 52.7 million
• Turkey – 74 Million, 99.4% Unreached!
• China – 83% Unreached, 194 million people!
The World’s Unreached by Major Religion
2. Status of the Great Commission
Countries with the Most Unreached Peoples
Country
# Unreached
Peoples
India
2233
Pakistan
447
China
428
Bangladesh
372
Nepal
355
The World’s Christians
The Problem: Part I
We’re hardly doing anything!!!
• We’re not going
• We’re not giving
• Of all money designated for “outreach” in the
U.S., only 5.4% goes to foreign missions. The
rest stays here in the states.
• Only 0.37% is used to take the Gospel to the
Unreached. That’s less than ½ a penny out of
every 100 dollars spent!
The Problem: Part II
What we are doing is not in the right places!
• There are 430,000 missionaries from all branches
of Christendom
• Only 2-4% of all missionaries are working to reach
these unreached people! That means 96-98% of
all missionaries are working places that already
have ready access to the Gospel.
• Distribution of Protestant Missionaries:
74% among nominal christians
3% among buddhists
8% among tribal peoples
2% among hindus
6% among muslims
2% among chinese folk religions
4% among atheist or non-religious
1% among Jewish
World Population
Foreign Missionaries
Missionary presence
What could we do if we wanted to?
• American evangelicals could provide all of the funds needed to
plant a church in each of the 6,400 people groups with only .2% of
their income.
• If all the missionaries needed came from America, less than .5% of
evangelicals ages 18-35 could form the teams required.
• Of those involved in missions in the US:
– 98% are Senders (Financial Support, Prayers, Mobilizers, Pastors)
– 0.5% are Servicers (Administrative, Tech Support, Training,
Communication)
– 1.5% are Missionaries (Church Planting, Development, Tentmaking,
Tribal Outreach, Health Services)
Why is the 10/40 Window
“Unreached”?
• World’s major religions originated in this
region and are firmly rooted there
• Oppressive to Christianity
• “Closed”
• Lack of Christians willing to go
HOW CAN THIS BE!?!
4. Dramatic Recent Progress
Major Religions Annual
Growth Rates
2.60%
1.90%
2.0%
1.30%
1.20%
1.20%
1.0%
Ev
an
ge
lic
als
Isl
am
Hin
du
ism
All
C
hri
sti
a
ns
0.0%
Bu
dd
his
m
Annual Growth Rate
3.0%
Evangelical Christianity is growing faster than Islam and two times
faster than Buddhism and Hinduism.
• Last year alone, about 120 million people were
presented the gospel for the first time. (if this
happened every year, it would take 23 years for
everyone to hear!)
• About 1.7 billion people now listen to Christian
radio or watch Christian TV on a monthly basis.
• Christians now spend 388 billion man-hours
every year proclaiming the gospel in evangelism.
Only One Option: Get on Board or get
left behind.
Proverbs 24:11-12
•
11
Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about
this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive
it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay everyone according to
what they have done?
Isaiah 6:8
•
8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
• And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Mark 8:34
• “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow
me.
But what can I really do?
• Pray
–Ask God to send laborers into HIS
harvest
–Operationworld.com
–Cnn.com/world
–Get prayer requests from people
you know overseas
But what can I really do?
• Pray
• Send
– It only costs between $120-$210 dollars/month to
support a national missionry – 10 people in a Life
Group who give 5$/month could coer ¼ to ½ of a
missionary’s total monthly expenses.
– Support your friends going on Summer Projects or
Spring Break trips
– Who said you’re supposed to give only 10% of
your income?
But what can I really do?
• Pray
• Send
• Welcome
– 22 million internationals visit the US each year. Of these, some
630,000 are university students from 220 countries 25% of
which prohibit Christian missionaries. 80% of those students will
return to their countries having never been invited to an
American home.
– -40% of the world's 220 Heads of State once studied in the US.
– -60% of international students come from the 10/40 window.
– -10% of international students are reached by ministries while in
the United States.
– Reachinginternationals.com
But what can I really do?
•
•
•
•
Pray
Send
Welcome
Mobilize
–Now you know – who are you going
to tell?
–Who are you going to bring with you?
But what can I really do?
•
•
•
•
•
Pray
Send
Welcome
Mobilize
Go
–
–
–
–
–
Summer project
Spring Break
STINT
Go for life
Reach your neighbor – who knows what they will go on to
do?
Resources
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
www.joshuaproject.net
www.thetravelingteam.org
www.operationworld.org
reachinginternationals.com
http://www.vision7nine.org/
http://www.globalprayerdigest.org/
www.perspectives.org/
What is God’s Greatest Ambition?
• To make Himself known as great by saving
unworthy sinners of all nations from death by
grace and faith in Jesus Christ