This past year has been an incredible year: from uprisings in the Middle East to historical floods and droughts to consistent wars and atrocities.
Matthew 24:6-8 “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. As God’s grace and call on our lives is to proclaim the goodness of God in the middle of destruction, to proclaim salvation in Jesus in the midst of a broken world. These things that are happening in our world become the opportunities of God to see Matthew 24:14 come to pass in our generation.
As I have looked historically at modern world missions, we’ve had four major phases:
1.William Carey led by example and provided leadership in reaching of the coastlands of India, Africa, and South America.
2.Hudson Taylor spurred on world evangelization to the inlands of China, Indonesia, Thailand and others later took up the cause for Africa, India, and South America.
3.Cameron Townsend in the 1930’s and the emergence of Wycliffe Bible translators but even more so the importance of reaching the forgotten tribes, languages and people groups. The church developed a mindset of reaching people groups.
4.If William Carey was the father of the coastlands, and Taylor was the father of the inlands, and Cameron Townsend was the father to stir us to tribes and people groups then what is this generation? This generation is called the “Finishing Generation.”
We know where all the peoples of the world live. We know how to get there. We even know people already in contact with them.
Matthew 24:14 states, “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.”
If there has ever been a generation that has the opportunity to preach the gospel, so that all will hear and have the opportunity to respond, it is now. As we look to the challenges of our world; regardless whether these famines, wars, and rumors of wars are demonic, or whether they are natural, part of existing on the earth or whether they are God allowed - I am not sure we’ll ever know - but one thing we do know is what we are called to do. We are called to run into the places of pain and brokenness and offer hope, grace and mercy in the person of Jesus Christ. And to offer a Kingdom called the “Church” as a place to love, serve, and care for others.
As you see world events shaping ask yourself, ask the people around you, “What is our part to play?” As God has raised us, the Finishing Generation, up for such a time as this, how shall we pray? We should always pray and not lose heart. We should always give generously and abundantly to causes and people engaged in these different areas and we should always go.
We recently sent another team into the turmoil of North Africa as we will be heading up humanitarian work among that tragedy in this area. But the gospel is two dimensional, not one. We will be carrying with us the hope of Jesus Christ in the midst of meeting practical needs of Muslims all over the Middle East and North Africa, crying out for hope.
May you be stirred again. May you know these shakings around the planet are not just empty filled with empty despair, but rather that these are the birth pangs of the coming of the Lord, if we would see things the way God sees it and respond wholeheartedly as the people of God.
My prayer is this: God would you keep us on mission. God would you let us see things the way you see things. God would you let us respond and look on the multitudes with compassion, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:37-38, “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.’ Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” May we run to the battle and not away from it, with the hope, the joy and the love of Jesus that is stirring in our hearts.