Opportunities Galore

I have been thinking of our reluctance in reaching out to the unreached world with the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Seems like the church lost the urgency to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth as the end of the age approaches. We seem to have forgotten that one key ingredient to Christ’s return is the Gospel being preached to every nation.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)

And by nation the Bible is speaking about tribe, people group and language group.

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; (Revelation 7:9)

It is interesting that there are all kinds of experts on the end times. Yet they never find the occasion to reconcile the fact that those end times will ultimately find fulfillment in the Gospel being spread everywhere there are people.

There is so much teaching and talk about the antichrist and his number yet almost no mention of the need to take the Gospel where it has not been heard.

But I believe God has a way of making our reluctance to take the Gospel an inescapable act of disobedience on our part. He is scattering those needing the Gospel to lands having His church in sizeable numbers.

How is He doing it?

Let me give two clear indications.

The other day I saw I think a news item saying divorce among Muslims is exploding and the main cause is infidelity.

Let me explain what I think is one cause.

Islam is a religion that requires fortification to live. From my observation when I lived among them they require the presence of other Muslims to live their faith right. They don’t fight the Jihad for nothing. Numbers determine the livability of the religion as then Sharia can then impose it.

You can’t stone an adulterer unless there are only Muslims around.

Now, due to their materal prosperity, whether it is through piracy or intentional investment of oil dollars; plus of course the greed of some said Christians, they have been able to buy property and move en masse to Christian areas.

This means they stop being shielded from outside influence. They of course get to interact with Christians closely through business and other dealings, of course without the chains of watching Muslims. Then there is little danger of Islamic backlash.

Of course they will freely mingle with Christians in sin. This could be the reason for much of the infidelity they are citing. And as we know they do not have the Holy Spirit to give them power over sin and temptation, they will be caught up with so much depravity due to that freedom outside the cocoons of their faith communities.

Of course that will breed, not only an excess of experimentation with people outside their faith, but also disillusionment with the constraints their faith strangles them with.

That then opens them to considering other belief systems.

And this is where the believer in Christ comes in.

Christianity is the only faith that offers freedom. In other words it is the only faith that offers power to live it without the fort of other believers. That of course does not nullify fellowship. But I do not need other believers to live my faith. You can throw a believer to the uttermost part of the earth and they will still be the salt and light of the world. In other words they will start bearing fruit without the presence of other believers if they are rooted in Christ. In fact that is what Christ meant when He gave the Great Commission.

And we see that in Acts. When persecution broke out, everybody except the apostles was scattered. And we are told that they started sharing their faith wherever fleeing for their lives took them. Then we are introduced to Philip, first in Samaria and then in the desert to take the Gospel to Africa.

We therefore have an open door to Muslims. We just need to open our eyes to the doors God will open as we are mingling with them.

Then the Chinese.

China is atheistic and presently very prosperous. Let me demonstrate what I mean.

Recently, the USA ‘banned’ a Chinese phone from their market by stopping selling some apps to them. This means that they lost, not just the US market but also much of the rest of the world.

Yet what was the result? The same product continued flourishing. And then the leading US phone lost its market share.

China on her own is able to maintain her products without anybody else buying them yet the world must have China buying their products to prosper.

But materialism is very narrow and provides little or no satisfaction. Man is spiritual and has spiritual hunger that only a relationship with Christ can satisfy. I am sure, and have heard that life in China is empty for the most part as pursuing fulfillment in things is always empty; running after the wind as Solomon wrote.

China is therefore a very open ground for the Gospel.

Another reality, however makes it an even more open opportunity to reach them.

They have decided to conquer the world, at least economically. Politicians are even calling it an attempt at colonization.

Should the believer in Christ complain as the rest? Is God not bringing them to us? Imagine a very hungry person coming to your house when your store is overflowing with food!

They are spiritually starving and we have the Gospel. And we are even privileged as we are sharing with them in our context.

But this does not in any way negate the command to take the Gospel where people are. Call this a call for the marketplace Gospel. It is more for those who have not been called to missions; the senders, supporters, trainers etc. That is the reason God is bringing the mission field to them. There are those God still calls completely outside their context to take the Gospel where it has not been heard.

Pakistan, Indonesia, China, Russia, indeed many other places are in dire need of the proclamation of the Gospel. People must still need to go there to take the Gospel, even die there as martyrs to ensure the unreached have no excuse for not responding to God’s love.

What do we need to be effective in this new field?

The first thing we need is to understand the Gospel as the scriptures present it. Then we must receive it and be transformed by it.

That is the ground that will open doors for the unreached to question, then desire the life of faith we lead. Of course it will lead them to asking why we are different from them.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: (1Peter 3:15)

I have just presented two open mission fields for us to share the Gospel. But there are many other people and scenarios that will play by the same script.

People are suffering the thirst that only the Gospel has a capacity to quench. And only the believer in Christ has that solution. Of course the solution is pointing them to Christ.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: (Amos 8:11)

Will you play your part? Or are you ready to face Christ in judgment?