Thursday, February 21, 2008

Missions...

is a passion that God has deeply wedged into our hearts for years and, I'm learning, never goes away. And I definitely didn't want it to (though it would make some things easier), but I guess we've kinda "put it on the back burner" for the last couple of years as God has been healing and restoring us, building up our marriage and guiding us through the huge transition of becoming parents. I feel like we have come a LONG way from where we were 2 years ago, and the Lord has been slowly, gently but steadily bringing the nations back to the front of our hearts. I have no idea what this will mean for our future, whether we will go or send (or go some and send some), but doing one or the other is clear....Praise God!

So, last Sunday morning Josh and I were in bed recovering from an ugly stomach bug, and decided to listen to several of Piper's sermons on the subject. If you haven't heard him preach on this you are missing a huge part of his heart...start with "Doing Missions When Dying is Gain"...you won't be the same!

Anyway, though he says SO MUCH there was one statement in particular that really challenged us. This is from his sermon called, "Missions: The Battle Cry of Christian Hedonism."

"When Jesus commissioned his church to disciple the peoples, he did not have in mind merely political boundaries. He had in mind the distant, distinct groups including tribes and tongues and peoples. And today there are over 16,000 such groups undiscipled. If every Christian in the world won all his neighbors to Christ, half the world would be unevangelized; because two billion people make up culturally distant people groups who do not have an indigenous witness. They are the "hidden peoples," the "frontier missions" of our day. The only way they can be reached is by cross-cultural missionaries."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen! The most classic quote that I too have been thinking about is "Missions exists because worship doesn't." There is a biblical urgency and passion that longs for all those who have yet to hear the name of Christ reached with the Gospel. We too have been stirred recently with such thoughts and prayers about what it means and looks like!

For His renown!

Spirit of Adoption said...

AMEN!! So funny that my hubby commented on this, because as soon as I read your post, I thought of him and the conversations we've had lately...including on date night last night!

I heard a song the other day that I haven't heard in a long time from one of the worship tapes in my car. It's one of those tapes that has a lot of associations from a VERY different season....very GOOD associations.

One of the songs is about our heart for the nations...and giving our lives for the nations. OHHHHHHH....my heart was so stirred....and almost saddened at how removed I've been from being stirred for the nations! But the Lord used that moment, in worshiping with this song, to bring back all those Piper sermons you are referring to! And stirred my heart!

He also stirred my heart that adoption is a means of reaching the nations. Jason is going to write an article on it soon - sounds like it'll be good!

We're excited for what the Lord will do with you! He certainly hasn't let this passion die in your hearts! And he won't if you are called to go!!! Keep listening, reading, talking, and sharing - it's so good for us to stir up one anothers hearts for those who have never heard the Name of Jesus!!!

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