GO

William Carey, the great 18th and 19th century evangelist, was on the forefront of the “modern missions” movement. Carey had a knack with learning languages and a heart to reach people who had not yet heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. Carey began preaching at his church in England on the importance of missions and had this brilliant quote: "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!" With this motto, Carey founded the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792. The problem that Carey faced, though, was that many people in England did not know how to go about “missions” and many individuals thought that reaching heathens with the gospel was a lost cause entirely. Carey, though, believed differently. He believed that believers had the responsibility to share the gospel with other people both in their own communities and abroad. Carey went from England and set sail for India with his family in order to share the gospel with the natives in Calcutta. While in Calcutta, Carey experienced many hardships. That region of India has nearly 20 languages spoken frequently, so even though Carey was proficient in learning languages, this represented severe challenges to sharing the gospel. Not only was it difficult to communicate with these people but it took 7 years for Carey to have his first convert! During his time in India, Carey lost his wife and several children to various diseases and illnesses. After his first convert, though, Carey would publish the entire Bible into India’s 6 major languages and he would translate parts of Scripture into over 200 languages and dialects during the next 35 years! Carey would found a divinity school in India in 1818 that is still producing ministers over 200 years later. Whenever Carey died in 1834, it is estimated that he had led roughly 700 people in India to salvation in Jesus Christ in nearly 42 years in the country. If we do the math on those numbers it comes out to about 16 converts each year. Whenever we think about “crusades” that men like Billy Graham led, we often think of thousands and thousands of individuals responding positively to a gospel invitation. Praise God that this is the case some of the time, however for a man like William Carey this simply was not the case. Carey endured many hardships while on the mission field. Not only was he one of the pioneers on the mission field but he also lost family members and went years without a convert. When these hardships hit, though, Carey remained faithful to the call on his life to “evangelize the heathen”. Praise God for men like William Carey! Because of the work of William Carey and the mission agency that he helped found in England, mission agencies like the International Mission Board 200 years later can trace their history back to this first Baptist Missionary Society.

Just as William Carey was obedient to go share the gospel with the lost, we are called to GO! Does that mean that we will go to India as Carey did? Probably not. However, thanks to the efforts of men like Carey, Christians can partner with organizations such as the IMB and help people across the world receive a copy of God’s Word in their native language.

We are to “GO”. The message this morning will begin a 3 week study on (The Great Commission) as we are going to be spending some time looking at what our response to the final earthly message of Jesus Christ is. We see that we are to “GO”, “BE”, and “MAKE”. Today we are going to be focusing on the first part of that equation and see how we are supposed to Go into all the Earth and proclaim the truth of the Gospel. Please turn in your copy of God’s word to Matthew, chapter 28.

Matthew 28:16–20 NASB95

16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 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.”

Why are we supposed to Go?

Just as William Carey felt convicted about people around him dying without ever hearing about Jesus Christ, our hearts should be burdened by the very though of someone living their life on earth and never once hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ! What we see throughout scripture is that we are commanded to go into the world and share the gospel! Often times we think that this message is restricted to the New Testament (and there are numerous examples in the New Testament as we will look at in a few minutes), however this is a message that we see in the Old Testament as well! We see the prophet Isaiah in be commissioned by God Himself to go out and proclaim the Word of the Lord. Later on in Isaiah, the Israelites were called in chapter 49 to go out and be a light to the nations so that salvation might reach the entire world! Even in the Old Testament, it is obvious that salvation is not something that God simply desires His people to have in their heart but something that is supposed to be shared and proclaimed to all people!

In the New Testament, Jesus calls His disciples in to be salt and light:

Matthew 5:13–16 NASB95

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16

Matthew 5:13–16 NASB95

Jesus calls His followers to go out because they are salt and light. Whenever you are out at a Mexican restaurant and you have chips and salsa, what is one of the first things you do? You grab the salt shaker and put some salt on the chips! (If you’re my wife, you pour about half the salt out onto the chips!) Why do you do this? Because the chips can be a little stale and the salt helps to give them some extra flavor. What good would the salt do for you if you kept on eating your plain chips and never pour it out onto your bowl? Likewise, what good does it do for “salt” to gather with other “salt” and not be poured out where it is desperately needed? Believers are called to go out and be salt in a tasteless world! We are also called to be a light to the world like a city on a hill. Have you ever been outside at night to watch a thunderstorm? It can be pitch black, but whenever the lightning strikes you can see very clearly for a split second. Imagine a city on the horizon at night time. 3 years ago I had the opportunity to travel with First Baptist Ozark to Puebla Mexico (about an hour southeast of Mexico City). The only flights into Puebla’s airport arrive around 8pm and because of that, you are in the air whenever the sun sets on the horizon. If you’ve ever been on an airplane whenever the sun sets, it is one of the coolest things you can experience! About an hour after the sun set, though, I began to see a couple of bright lights on the horizon that began to become much brighter and larger as we got closer and closer to them. The lights were coming from Mexico City (the 10th largest city on the planet with over 20 million inhabitants - more than the states of Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas combined!). It was so dark that I could see the lights from Mexico City hundreds of miles away from the city itself. Just as it was so easy to see these lights, believers are supposed to let their light shine before the rest of the world so that the world can see something different. As we saw in , though, we do not allow our light to shine so that people can see our works and tell us “how good of a Christian we are”. Rather we do this so that they might see the glory of our Father in Heaven!

Have you ever tried to walk from your bed to the bathroom in the darkness? If you have lived at the same house for several years then this might not be that difficult because you can navigate around in the darkness very easily, however imagine that you were in a foreign environment or had just moved into a new home. This task would be nearly impossible to do without inflicting injury on yourself or waking up your husband or wife. It would be much easier to simply turn on the light! How foolish is it to walk on a rocky path in the darkness without light? It is insane! That is exactly what the world is doing though without Jesus Christ! They are living their life in darkness and they are completely unaware of the danger that surrounds them on all sides. The job for Christians is to shine light in the darkness and to show people living in darkness that there is a light and there is danger around them. If we do not go then these people might never see the danger that they are in and more importantly they won’t see that there is a light and a hope in Jesus Christ!

This is Why we Go! To be salt and light in the darkness.

What does it mean to Go?

How can we Go?

Just as William Carey helped found the Baptist Missionary Society and went to India, there are mission sending agencies such as the IMB that send missionaries throughout the entire world! We partner with these missionaries whenever we give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and we can partner with these individuals through prayer and sending short-term missions teams to aid them in their work in various countries throughout the world. Just as Carey went to India, we can pursue missions in foreign countries that are in desperate need of the gospel. One thing that I want to stress this morning, though, is that it can be easy for us to remember the mission field overseas because that is often what we think of when the word “missions” come to our minds. With that in mind, though, domestic missions need our attention, prayer, time and support as well. There are millions of young men and women who are homeless in our country. There are tens of millions of individuals who live on 1 meal a day in the United States. There are various ministries in Southwest Missouri that are directed towards meeting the needs of the homeless or those who are hungry and in need of nourishment. We can volunteer at these organizations and help supply them with the resources they desperately need to continue to minister to those in need! I’ll always remember on a mission trip to New Orleans by Sophomore year of high school we helped out with a men’s shelter for men who were either homeless or recovering from an addiction. We spent hours each day outside in New Orleans in the middle of June (well over 100 degrees) helping this organization sort through clothing that had been donated to them in cargo shipping containers. Was this a pleasant thing to do for 3-4 hours in the afternoon? Most certainly, no. Was it worth it to help a group of men who were struggling and in need of the hope of the Gospel? You bet it was. It is not enough to simply “expect great things for God” if we ourselves are not willing to “attempt great things for God”.

The research organization, Barna, released some statistics on evangelism on February 4th and they highlighted some of the various differences between generations when it came to sharing their faith. Millennials 20-34, Gen-X 35-53, Baby Boomers 54-72, Elders 73+ are the 4 major age groups. 1) Does part of your faith mean witnessing for Jesus? 95% or higher of each group agreed! 2) The best thing that can happen to someone is to come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Once again, each group strongly (95% or higher) agreed with this statement. 3) When someone raises questions about our faith, I know how to respond? 86%-92% of people in these groups said that they feel as though they can answer questions regarding our faith to someone else. That is good news! 4) It is wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith. Half of believers 20-34 believe that evangelism is inappropriate in this situation. What I want to make abundantly clear today as Sunday #1 as your pastor, the greatest thing that we can ever do for someone who is a non-Christian is to tell them about Jesus Christ.

The gospel is not spread around like the flu or some disease. It requires work and effort and energy! How can we share the gospel? By living a life that reflects Jesus Christ in both word and action. As Paul shows us in the book of

Romans 10:9–14 NASB95

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 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?

Romans 10:9–14 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 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?

Romans 10:17 NASB95

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

How will the world know if they have not heard? How will they hear if no one goes? How can they have faith if they do not know the words of Jesus Christ?

This should burden our hearts for those in our community, those in Southwest Missouri and around the entire nation and globe! Only 51% of churchgoers, according to Barna, know what the “Great Commission” is. How can we fulfill its commands whenever we, as a church, do not know what we are called to go out and do? As Luke writes in ,

Acts 1:8 NASB95

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.”

I preached on this a little bit a couple of Sunday nights ago and talked about how the word for “power” in this verse comes from the Greek word “dunamis” which is where we get another English word… Dynamite. You will receive power like dynamite when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. It is not your own power that you use to go, it is the power of the living God who gives you the strength and power to go out and evangelize the lost! As Paul writes in , there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! This is because the spirit of life has set us free from the spirit of death. You are not saved to sit on your blessed assurance, you are saved to go and share with other people. In the words of the former president of the SBC and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Paige Patterson:

“More than 6 (now 8) billion souls populate our globe. If the biblical message is true, then hell is a tragic conclusion for those who have not come to God through Christ. The potential of forgiveness and eternal life with God demands that all avenues of evangelization be pursued. The urgency of the task is the most compelling of any assignment the believer has been given.” This assignment is ours and this assignment we will endeavor to fulfill. We must, for the eternal destiny of men and women demands it. Our Lord demands it.

“It is very grievous to see how some professedly Christian parents are satisfied so long as their children display cleverness in learning, or sharpness in business, although they show no signs of a renewed nature …. When a man’s heart is really right with God, and he himself has been saved from the wrath to come, and is living in the light of his heavenly Father’s countenance, it is certain that he is anxious about his children’s souls, prizes their immortal nature … If you are professing Christians, but cannot say that you have no greater joy than the conversion of your children, you have reason to question whether you ought to have made such a profession at all.”

So how can we go? 3 ways

We can give

We can give our time and our resources to various ministries that are on the front lines of sharing the good news of the Gospel with those who are desperately in need both overseas and here in our own backyards.

We can physically go to the front lines

With the advancement of technology and travel, we can physically go to a place like India in a matter of hours instead of weeks as it took William Carey in the late 18th century. As someone who has had the opportunity to go overseas, nothing will mess up you life (in a positive way) like going to another country and worshipping God with people who literally have nothing. Whenever we go to the front lines we not only help encourage the full-time missionaries and ministers on the ground there, we also experience the blessing of seeing God move in the lives of people from a completely different background than ours. To this day, one of the greatest worship experiences that I can remember is going to First Baptist Church, Puebla Mexico and singing Amazing Grace in English while the rest of the congregation was singing in Spanish. This gives you a much better picture of the New Testament Church and helps you realize what our future church in Heaven will look like as it shows that every tribe and tongue will acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. If you want to wreck your prayer life, go to the front lines.

Finally,

We can pray and equip others

As Paul shows in , our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the powers of darkness. We can pray for our brothers and sisters around the world that they will be bold in their spreading of the Gospel. One of the most interesting things that I learned in reading about foreign missions at SBU is that many missionaries around the world pray for the church in America to experience persecution… The reason being, comfort and complacency run hand in hand. When the early church was growing, they did not grow due to peaceful circumstances but instead due to persecution. Does that mean that we pray for Christians to be rounded up and killed? No! It does mean that instead of praying for prosperity and success, we pray for the Kingdom to be advanced first and foremost.

We also have a responsibility to raise up and train the future generation of Believers in the ways of the Lord so that they will be able to go out and make disciples. If you come back tonight, we will be looking at “Spiritual Gifts” (You need to come back the next 3 Sunday nights as we dive into Spiritual Gifts!) and how we are called to use these gifts. We must train and equip others to use their gifts to advance the Gospel.

Conclusion

Go. It can be hard to go whenever we have been on “pause” for a very long time. What we see in scripture, though, is that we have a command to “GO” because if we do not, people will not hear the truth of the Gospel. Does it mean that we have to sell our possessions and move to Southeast Asia? Possibly, but probably not. What it does mean is that we start living with a Kingdom mindset. It does not mean that we have to “GO” to a specific place but instead we operate with a mindset of “as I go” I am going to be a missionary for Jesus Christ to the people in my school, at my office, at the grocery store. As I go, I will be a disciple of Jesus Christ. We are called to live our lives this way.

As we go from this place, we must continue to live with a kingdom mindset outside of these 4 walls and away from our brothers and sisters. What good is it for a lamp to cover its light in the darkness? It is useless. We are called to let our light shine in the darkness and help those out around us.