LMCO 2020
Notes
Transcript
Jesus... He wasn’t born in a palace, he was born in poverty. He wasn’t placed in a royal bed, he was placed in a feeding trough. He wasn’t heralded, he was hunted. Yet, despite the fact that this middle Eastern child was born on the other side of the planet, two thousand years ago, we lay down our lives to follow Him. People all over the world this year have given their lives simply for taking His name, and loving others because of their love for Him. How did His name, and the story of His life get to us, on the other side of the planet, 2,000 years after he walked this earth? Missionaries. After Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead, he appeared to his followers and he gave them a mission to do until He comes back.
18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
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This is our commission by Jesus, to Go and make disciples of all nations. Incredibly hard for a small church. Southern Baptist churches cooperate together to accomplish this. Cooperative Program, Annie Armstrong Easter Offering (NAMB), Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (IMB),
IMB’s Mission and Vision Statement
IMB’s Mission statement is “To serve Southern Baptists in carrying out the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations.”
IMB’s Vision statement is “A multitude from every language, people, tribe and nation knowing and worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ. — Revelation 7:9”
9 After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!
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God said that there will be a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, who will embrace the gospel and follow Christ. But we still have a long way to go, if we are going to reach the rest of the world who are alive today.
There are still 4.5 Billion unreached people alive today.
of that 4.5 billion unreached people, there are about 7,070 unreached people groups.
An unreached people group is a group of people that is made up of less than 2% evangelical christians.
Of that 7,070 unreached people groups, there are about 4,920 unengaged people groups.
An unreached people group is considered unengaged when there is no church planting strategy underway.
So almost 5,000 of the 7,000 unreached people groups are unengaged… There is no church planting strategy underway to reach them.
154,937 people are dying everyday without Christ. That’s 155,000 people everyday, lost forever. And even considering the death rate, the world population is still growing by almost 1.5 million people every week.
It is a daunting task to take the gospel to every nation, tribe, people, and language, something that no church could ever do alone, but one that we can accomplish together.
There are 47,530 churches cooperating in the SBC
The SBC has a total membership of 14,525,579 people.
Together we can send and take care of missionaries, which wouldn’t be possible otherwise. [talk about when missionaries or their children get sick over seas, a small church can’t pay for the healthcare they need, one missionary’s daughter got scarlet fever and if it were not for SBC’s funds they would not have been able to pay for the medicine needed to save her, neither could a small church like our’s have paid for it]
Let’s look at the impact the IMB made last year through the help of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
Last Year the IMB engaged 827 people groups.
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As of May31, of this year, the IMB is funding 3,623 missionaries around the globe.
Last year, 535,325 people heard the gospel, and 89,325 people were saved!!!!
18,598 pastors were trained!
And 12,368 new churches were planted!
Every Church, regardless of size or resources, can help reach every nation with the Gospel. The IMB has been sending missionaries overseas for 175 years, and we can help keep that going through our prayers and through giving.
I know 2020 has been hard on most everyone financially, and so if you are struggling financially, and so I want to share with you the same advice that Paul gave when those in Jerusalem were suffering through a famine and he was asking churches to give to help them get through the famine.
12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 It is not that there should be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality. 14 At the present time your surplus is available for their need, so that their abundance may in turn meet your need, in order that there may be equality. 15 As it is written: The person who had much did not have too much, and the person who had little did not have too little.
I’m not asking you to sacrifice your needs or the needs of your family in order to give to International Missions. If 2020 has hit you hard and you are in need then God knows that. You may not be able to give this month, and you shouldn’t feel guilty if you can’t. God knows your situation. But if you do have a surplus, if you do have extra, then let me talk to you for just a minute.
If you are saved today, then you have a treasure infinitely more valuable than all the wealth this world has to offer. God tells us not to chase after worldly wealth, but to use it to our advantage to bring people into the kingdom. Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples in all the nations, something that we can’t easily do ourselves, but we have partnered together to make a way. We can obey Jesus’ command to make disciples around the world by giving to the IMB to do just that. Many of us waste money on a lot of things by the end of the year. You will never regret giving your money to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. You will never regret giving your money to save people for eternity. There is no better investment in the kingdom, than through the Cooperative Program.
9 After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!
One day we will be a part of that vast multitude. When we look back at our time here on earth, we will regret spending our money on a lot of things, but we will never regret giving our money to reach the lost all around the world. When we get to heaven, we won’t value money, we will only value people.