"To the ends of the earth"
He says, "You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6 NLT)
"To the ends of the earth." That sounds familiar doesn't it? Wait, did we jump to Acts for today's reading? Nope, we are still firmly planted in the book of Isaiah nestled in the Old Testament. That's right. We aren't even in the New Testament!
God says that his concern is not just for his chosen people Israel but for the ends of the earth. This is huge for us because it reveals that God's heart has always been for the ends of the earth. That God is a global God. Acts 1:8 says, "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, & to the uttermost parts of the earth."
God desires & promises that all peoples will be represented around his throne in eternity. He has a heart for the nations. The real question is, do we? Do we have a heart for the ends of the earth?
The American church is preoccupied with itself. We are pursuing our entertainment & amusement. We are pursing our happiness & fulfillment. We are distracted from going to the ends of the earth because we are so firmly planted here.
And the ends of the earth are closer than we might think. We learned last night from a missionary in New England (that's right, a missionary here) that China is more reached than New England. There are more evangelical Christians in China than New England.
Need I remind you about New England? This is the place where the first settlers came to enjoy religious freedom. This is where the great awakening flourished. This is where the haystack prayer meeting that spawned a huge missions emphasis took place. And now we are sending missionaries there. What in the world happened? How could this be?
To the ends of the earth means engaging lostness across the street and around the world. It means living lives on mission not just doing missions. Doing missions is geographical but mission is personal. Living missionally means I'm giving my life to make Christ known in all the earth. It's not an either here or there but a both here & there!
This is why Christ came. This is the mission of God in the Bible cover to cover. And this is our mission as well. To the ends of the earth. Are we engaged in this mission? God is.
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