State of the World

1: You are made to enjoy God and all His glory and exult God to all the nations

2: God has put his spirit to make us more like Jesus and empower us to be more like Him from the inside out

3: God’s Spirit Empowers us to make more disciples of Jesus: Share, Show Teach his word and serve the world

4: of all nations: Because the gospel is good news for everyone, we must go beyond our immediate circles to make disciples among people who have never heard of Christ.

Main Idea: To fulfill the Great Commission, we must help to take the gospel across the world to those who have never heard of Christ.

Head Change: To know that God wants us to share his love with millions of people in places the gospel has never been.

Heart Change: To feel motivated to play our part in exalting God among all nations.

Life Change: To commit to supporting international mission work by giving, praying, or going.

On this map, we see three colors depicting how deeply the gospel has saturated places on earth. Green: Easy access Yellow: not impossible and RED: You have a Bible you die.

Romans 10:13–17 “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

David summarized Romans 10:13–17 by saying, “People can’t put their faith in Jesus if they never hear the truth about Jesus.” His premise sounds logical and simple, but the task of sharing the gospel with everyone in the red area of the map is complicated and difficult. Yet Jesus calls us to participate in that task.

three ways we can all participate in the Great Commission.

First, we can pray, seeking God’s direction on how to give our resources, time, and energy.

Second, we can give financially. Many of us have resources beyond what we need that we can devote to gospel ministry.

Third, some of us are called to leave home and go to those people who do not yet know Christ. We may relocate long-term, learning new languages and immersing ourselves in new cultures. Or we might join short-term trips aimed at providing tangible aid. Regardless of distance, we must determine where God is calling us to serve.

Acts 16

Paul, his protégé, Timothy, and their friend Silas visited towns where Paul had preached and established house churches throughout parts of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Verses 9 and 10 describe Paul’s vision of a man from Macedonia, across the sea from their location, calling for him to come and help them. No longer did God want Paul and his companions just to encourage established churches; now he called them to preach the gospel to a whole new people group. Paul was moving from Asia to Europe.

Acts 16:9–10 “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

3 people whose lives changed because of Pauls expansion.

Lydia: Acts 16:14–15 “One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.”

Slave Girl: Acts 16:16–18 “As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.”

Jailer: Acts 16:25–34 “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brough…”

So What?

Each of us is called to play a part in reaching the world with the good news of Christ. How will you pray or give or go? What’s your next step of obedience?

As believers already privileged to know the gospel, we have a responsibility to take the good news to those who have never heard it. Each of us has a part to play in God’s story of redemption. Some of us will pray—for the ones who haven’t heard, for those living in areas hostile to Jesus, for those who take the gospel to the far reaches of the world. Some of us have resources to spare, wealth and connections that can be used to further God’s plan. And others of us are called to go to immigrant communities in our midst or to people groups across the world. Whatever direction God points us, he’s asking us to share his desire that all would come to know Jesus’s saving love.

Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”