[0:00] I know we'd all like to go there, huh? Let's all go to Children's Church this morning.! Much better than this, I'm sure. Let's pray.
[0:17] Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. That is the anthem we will sing for all of eternity.
[0:30] Singing about the worthiness of our God. So this morning, as we come now to your word, I pray that you would reign in our hearts. That you would take the place of honor for us today.
[0:46] Remove for us the other things that have taken your place. Reclaim your spot of supremacy and lordship in our lives.
[0:57] And as we look at this text today, may there be another area of our lives where we recommit ourselves to be more like our God.
[1:08] We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, if you've been reading the news over the last several weeks and kind of keeping in touch with kind of the international story, you've seen that ISIS, the last major stronghold in Syria, was conquered just a couple of weeks ago in the city of, I think, Raka is how you pronounce the name of the city.
[1:38] But it was not without cost. In this city was a soccer stadium known as the Black Coliseum. Mainly because of the construction of the materials that they used, the black kind of concrete that was used for this black coliseum.
[1:59] But it took on new meaning as a result of what ISIS did in terms of making it a place of imprisonment and torture. The gym and the locker rooms and the showers in the bottom area of this coliseum were used as a jail.
[2:19] And even the gym equipment was used as torture devices. Those that spent any time there and survived recount the story of the horrors that took place in that coliseum.
[2:35] And any of us who have kind of been caught up in the news of all the things that have happened in the Muslim world, particularly with ISIS and their sweeping power across Iraq and Syria and Damascus and all these other surrounding places, have been gripped with the stories of the atrocities that have taken place.
[2:58] It seems that social media has been a great venue for ISIS to promote their story in kind of an unfiltered, raw, in graphic terms.
[3:10] Shocking the world with the grotesqueness and brutality of their collection of individuals, their military force.
[3:22] And what seemed to be horrifying, the one week was just eclipsed by another atrocity the following week. Almost as if they were trying to outdo one another in raising the bar for what can be done to a human body to create shock and awe across the world.
[3:44] As I have watched the story unfold and as I have been caught up in the flow of this moving force across the Middle East, the question that grows in my own heart is how has this affected my perception of a people?
[4:03] The people that we run across, I can remember even the first airplane ride that I took after 9-11 and seeing people on the plane who were clearly Muslim and that sense in my own heart, oh my goodness, what is going to happen on this flight?
[4:28] And perhaps in your own communities as you go to the park or see a rising number of neighbors who are quite different from you.
[4:39] How has the spread of ISIS and the conflict in the Middle East affected your interest in your perception and even your contact, your relationships with people who are different from you?
[4:54] Imagine for a moment what it would be like. If we feel this and we're watching from a distance, imagine what it would be like if you were in the culture.
[5:07] It's estimated that the number of refugees as a result of the ISIS occupation have been 3.3 million people in Iraq alone.
[5:19] Estimated in 2013 of 1.5 million in Syria. Certainly those numbers grew exponentially over the occupation that took place.
[5:33] Here you see a couple of pictures up on the screen. The first on your left, a mob of individuals waiting for food.
[5:44] Can you imagine the desperation between bombed out apartment complexes, this mass of people clinging to life, desperate for the most basic things, shelter, food, clothing?
[6:08] My own heart is gripped by the picture on the right. These are somebody's kids. Can you see the terror on the faces of these children?
[6:27] Imagine if these were your kids. Imagine if it was you standing in line, clinging to life, desperate for what was coming next, fleeing the danger, taking whatever risk it took to get out of the imminent danger and moving into places of relative safety, better safety.
[6:53] Well, what goes through your mind when you see these people? How would that amplify your feelings against those who oppressed you?
[7:09] Those who were hostile against you? Those who robbed you of the people that you loved and took away the things you worked the hardest to get?
[7:21] What would that do to your feeling of hatred, bitterness, anger towards an oppressor?
[7:34] Well, this is the context of the passage that we're in this morning. As we're moving through the book of Isaiah, beginning in Isaiah chapter 10 and moving all the way to Isaiah chapter 35, we see this evidence that God will judge the nations.
[7:54] And if you're experiencing direct hostility, you say, it's about time. They're getting what they deserve.
[8:07] I'm so glad that God is finally going to take them out of the way. Give them a taste of their own medicine. But then we come to this another surprising, shocking passage in Isaiah chapter 19.
[8:28] In the midst of judgment, we find there are promises. Promises to the oppressor. Promises to a nation, an empire, who has been used by God as an instrument of discipline in your life.
[8:45] totally turning everything upside down for you. Ruining families, comfort. And that's where we come today.
[8:59] Feel a little bit of the emotion behind the words that Isaiah is writing to these people as we look at Isaiah chapter 19 this morning.
[9:12] If you're not there already, please turn with me to Isaiah chapter 19. If you're a guest with us this morning, it's on page 581. We're going to start and just focus most of our time this morning on this first point.
[9:26] The promises regarding Egypt. The promises regarding Egypt. Let me begin with just the first couple of verses and then we're going to move to the end of the chapter to really fill out for us the promises that bring hope, not just devastation.
[9:47] But beginning in verse 1 of Isaiah chapter 19. An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt.
[9:59] And the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. And I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians and they will fight each against one another and each against his neighbor.
[10:16] City against city. Kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out. And I will confound their counsel and they will inquire of the idols of the sorcerers and the mediums and the necromancers.
[10:30] And I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master. And a fierce king will rule over them declares the Lord of hosts. And if you are reading this prophecy at least the front end of this prophecy as a person living in Judah in Jerusalem you are saying it is about time they're getting what's coming to them.
[10:58] This stern warning of judgment against a nation. A nation who has set itself against Judah against God's people. has been a rod of discipline on a disobedient people.
[11:14] And here we find in chapter 19 another prophecy regarding this nation and the nation of Egypt whose history was so bound up with Israel from the very beginning going all the way back to Genesis chapter 12 where God is calling out a people for himself.
[11:33] He is calling out Abraham Abraham. And then as soon as God gives this promise of blessing to Abraham we find that Abraham is in the middle of a crisis.
[11:44] There's a famine in the land and where does Abraham go? Well in Genesis chapter 12 verse 10 we find that Abraham goes down to Egypt to escape the famine. God even used the nation of Egypt to harbor and to protect his people.
[12:00] We see the same kind of thing in Genesis chapter 37. Joseph was taken captive down to Egypt and soon after over a course of another famine Jacob and all of his sons 70 in all go down to Egypt and they're there for 400 years.
[12:21] A place of preservation really kind of an incubation center for a nation that was beginning to thrive. What began as 70 grew to millions of people over the course of 400 years sheltered within the empire of Egypt protected and cared for by this nation of Egypt.
[12:46] But there's also a history of military conflict and covenant with one another. We see in 1 Kings that Solomon makes a treaty with the nation of Egypt.
[12:59] He marries the daughter of Pharaoh. We find the first king after Solomon is the king of Egypt comes up against Jerusalem and he takes away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the house of Rehoboam.
[13:17] We find in 2 Chronicles that an Ethiopian general was dispatched by Egypt to go against King Asa. We find in 2 Kings chapter 17 that Egypt is again in play in relationship to the history of the northern ten tribes.
[13:35] And then in our current setting the setting of Hezekiah we find that Hezekiah is called for help. We'll look at this more next week. But when Sennacherib comes he hears this report that the Egyptian king has dispatched a military leader to come and to help Hezekiah in the midst of his crisis.
[13:59] All throughout the history of Israel this nation of Israel it was integrally connected to the history of Egypt the empire of Egypt.
[14:11] But here we find throughout this chapter the first 15 verses we find that there will be judgment that comes on the empire of Egypt because of the way they've been used as a disciplining tool against the nation of Israel.
[14:29] We find in verse 1 that there's going to be futility in their religion. In verse 2 God is going to create internal conflict. A civil war neighbor against neighbor Egyptian against Egyptian.
[14:45] We find in verse 3 that there's going to be an undermining of their wisdom that God is going to turn it to nothing. In verse 4 he's going to shatter their superiority. In verse 5 he's going to devastate their economy.
[14:58] In verse 6 and 7 he's going to dry up the fertility of the land. In verse 8 he's going to eliminate their food source. Verse 9 he's going to disrupt their clothing market.
[15:10] Verse 10 he's going to crush their employment. In verses 11 to 15 he's going to lay low the wisdom of their counselors. They will have no answer for the devastation that is happening to them.
[15:26] But it all is taking place for a purpose. All of these disruptive events, all of the suffering that they will experience will result in leading them to favor of God.
[15:45] The heart of God was on the people of Egypt even in the midst of judgment. Those who had been so disruptive to Israel through the course of their history would now be the recipients of God's face, of his favor, of his blessing on an empire.
[16:04] We find the details of their dramatic return in the remaining verses of chapter 19. And that's where I want to spend the most of our attention this morning.
[16:15] So let me read for us verses 16 through the rest of the chapter. And then we'll pick up and deal with the five promises that God gives to the empire of Egypt that are all couched within and all led by the statement in that day.
[16:35] A familiar phrase we've come to see throughout our time in the book of Isaiah. What are those promises to Egypt? What is God's future heart for this people?
[16:47] Well, let me read for us beginning in verse 16. It says this, In that day, the Egyptians will be like women and tremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts shakes over them, and the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians.
[17:09] Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the Lord of hosts has purposed against them. In that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear legions to the Lord of hosts.
[17:26] One of those will be called the city of destruction. In that day, there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border.
[17:38] It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and a defender and deliver them.
[17:51] And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering. And they will make vows to the Lord and perform them.
[18:03] And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. In that day, there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
[18:25] In that day, Israel will be a third, with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, Blessed be Egypt, my people, and Assyria, the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.
[18:47] For those who would be reading this from the nation of Judah, they would stand back aghast, breathless, speechless, amazed at the promise of God on a people, a people of Egypt, an empire who had been opposed to God.
[19:07] Well, we find in this passage, five promises that God gives to the empire. First, we find in verses 16 and 17, we find that they will fear the Lord.
[19:19] They will fear the Lord. I want you to understand this morning that the first step towards any reformation in your heart, or anyone's heart, is a healthy fear, reverence, and respect for God.
[19:40] We find this at the beginning of the book in Isaiah chapter 6. As Isaiah is standing before the throne, we find reverence and fear at the presence and the image of God.
[19:52] He marvels at the grandeur and the glory of the Lord of hosts. He's terrified at the God of heaven. Proper fear has always marked the people of God.
[20:05] from the very beginnings. Israel's encounter with God at Mount Sinai was very similar. When God comes down to the people and he gives them the law, we find that they actually plead with Moses to act on their behalf as the go-between so they don't have to deal with the physical presence of God in their midst.
[20:32] The people, it says in Exodus chapter 20. when the people saw the thunder and the lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in the smoke, they trembled with fear.
[20:44] They say to Moses, speak to us yourself and we will listen, but do not have God speak to us or we die. A people who are marked by transformation are people who are characterized by fear and respect of God.
[21:05] This was not just an Old Testament experience. We see this at the beginnings of the New Testament church. It was their experience as well. When the first converts come and respond to the message of the gospel, we find there in Acts chapter 2, they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to prayers, and fear came upon every soul.
[21:33] And John's experience of seeing the glorified Christ in Revelation was much the same. We find in Revelation chapter 1, when Christ comes and is delivering his message, it says, I turned and saw the voice that spoke with me, and there was one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to his feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
[22:00] His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters.
[22:13] He had in his hand the seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was like the shining sun in its strength. And when I saw him, I fell to the ground as dead.
[22:27] in that day, there will finally be sight for the people of Egypt and will lead them to fear. It will lead them to understand the power in the presence of God.
[22:44] And as a people, it will move them down the road of worship and reverence to the almighty God, the God of Israel. it will lead them to proper worship of him, devotion to serving him and to loving him, as we find throughout the rest of this chapter this morning.
[23:07] It begins with fear, but it doesn't end there. It moves to the next level, which we find in verse 18. What do we find there? It says, in that day, five cities of the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan.
[23:24] They will learn the language of Canaan. Now, you might not think that's a big deal, but so dramatic their fear of God that they adopt a new national language.
[23:38] In these five cities that are the prominent cities of Egypt, they have determined to be a people wholly devoted to God in every way, so much so that they speak the language of Canaan.
[23:52] The verbal form of this word emphasizes the continuance of their speaking, so that they actually adopt the language as their own, not just speak it as a secondary part, but it now becomes the national language of Egypt.
[24:13] It's typical of Isaiah in connecting speaking with worship. What do we find again there in Isaiah chapter 6? There's Isaiah before the throne, and he says, I am a man of unclean lips.
[24:28] Isaiah understands that speaking and worship go hand in hand. And so in describing this people as a people who have adopted the language of Canaan, he is helping to underscore the fact that this people is a people who have committed themselves completely to the worship of God.
[24:50] In adopting the language of Canaan, they speak, it speaks to accomplish several purposes, several objectives. It will not only help to assist them in their relationships with Israel, to aid them in their study of the scripture, and to allow them to travel to Jerusalem without barriers, but it will also give them full access to everything that is available to the people of God without restriction.
[25:21] Their interest is full allegiance to the Lord of hosts. We find that there in verse 18. It says, they will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts.
[25:39] Their commitment is allegiance to the God of Israel. Allegiance that shows up in full conformity with everything Hebrew. This is yet another critical step in the nation's reformation.
[25:55] I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but when our own nation began to be started, Hebrew was actually recommended as one of our own national languages.
[26:07] Did you know that? William Bradford, who came over on the Mayflower with the pilgrims, were so committed to the scripture and so desirous to be people of God that they actually voted as a colony, what language would be learned?
[26:25] Hebrew was close to the top of the list and only voted down by one vote. We were almost Hebrew speakers. And apparently at the founding of the nation in 1780, when George Washington was making his way to the presidency, one of his companions was a strong advocate for Hebrew as being the national language.
[26:50] As a result of their animosity towards England and the desire again to be a people of God. How can we do this effectively? Well, we do this by learning the language of Hebrew.
[27:03] And even in the older institutions like Yale and Harvard, it was required that all the students that went would learn Hebrew. So much so that even the commencement addresses were actually given in Hebrew.
[27:18] How about that for history? There is something significant about language. Language communicates devotion. It communicates commitment.
[27:31] And as English speakers, we show the roots of where we've come. As English speakers, especially here in America, we identify ourselves with a country, a lifestyle, a way of thinking, certain priorities and attitudes.
[27:47] It fits various stereotypes and distinguishes us as a people different from the rest of the world. And in a similar way, Egypt is desiring to conform their lives and their hearts and their lifestyle to the God of Israel by learning the language.
[28:06] language. And this sets them up to take them to the next level of devotion which we find in verses 19 to 22. We find in these verses that they will build an altar to the God of Israel.
[28:21] They will build an altar to the God of Israel. We find there in verse 19, in that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord at its border.
[28:37] What began as a case for five cities in this empire of Egypt committing themselves to devotion of God now pours out onto the rest of the land itself.
[28:52] The heart has begun to affect the whole. And a whole nation is captured with devotion and worship to God. This pillar is erected in Egypt of worship to God.
[29:08] And we find the marks of the genuine nature of their religion here throughout the rest of these verses. In verse 19 we see an altar. We see a place of reconciliation.
[29:23] A place of communion. A place of repentance. A place of sacrifice. A place of approaching the God of Israel on his terms.
[29:35] In verse 20 at the end of the verse it says it will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt when they cry to the Lord because of their oppressors he will send them a savior and a defender.
[29:51] There is prayer. So there is not only an altar but there is also prayer. There is a commitment to the protection and security and help of God. In verse 21 we find that there is revelation.
[30:07] The Lord will reveal himself to them. Look with me at verse 21 and the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day.
[30:22] The revelation revelation of God is a mark of a true religion a true people who are walking after and following after God. At the second part of verse 21 we find true service.
[30:35] Notice as I continue in verse 21 21. In that day there will be worship with sacrifice and offerings and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them.
[30:48] They will commit themselves to him and then they will carry out the things that they have promised to do. There will be service on their part. Devotion, allegiance, ministry.
[31:01] And then finally there will be providential discipline that we find in verse 22. the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing and they will return to the Lord and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.
[31:19] What is true of any child of God as we find in Hebrews chapter 12? God disciplines those that he loves and here we find his disciplining hand on the people of Egypt, disciplining them for their joy, correcting them so that they turn again to him as he exposes the deficiencies of their lives and helps to lead them to the superiority of God.
[31:49] These are the marks of true religion in this place. This is a mark of a people who have given themselves to God.
[32:01] We find the next promise verse 23. It says, in that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria and Assyria will come into Egypt and Egypt into Assyria and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
[32:20] They will worship with Assyria. Here are these two superpowers of the day.
[32:31] These arch enemies of the day. But in that future day there will be peace. There will be fellowship.
[32:42] There will be community. There will be devotion together of God. Marked by the highway that connects the two nations together.
[32:54] This means of traffic and access to one another's empires. I can remember traveling as a kid to upstate New York.
[33:05] And most of the journey as I recall was a journey by side streets, by these two lane highways that cut through all of the little towns and communities along the way.
[33:17] And it took forever it seemed to get to my grandma's house. And as much as I liked the final destination, the journey of getting there was not pleasant. Until now.
[33:30] Now a journey to upstate New York is a cinch. Because of the freeway that helps connect Columbus especially to my grandma's house. So what took seven hours before now takes about five and a half hours.
[33:44] A highway that marks accessibility. It marks the flow of traffic. It marks a people that are connected together as we see here in our passage this morning.
[34:01] Here the prophet pictures a freeway that connects these two world empires. It's a symbol of mutual relationship. A symbol of shared values.
[34:14] A symbol of trust and alignment as a people aligned under the banner of worship. worship. The unifying factor for these people is their common commitment to the one true God.
[34:29] And if the revelation concerning Egypt wasn't shocking enough, now you add Assyria on top of that. Assyria will join Egypt in worship of God.
[34:42] I like what one commentator says. He says, true religion heals wounds between people. First a few cities, then a whole country, now the whole world.
[34:55] The emphasis here rests on the oneness of people with each other and the free expression that they give to it. Not just a highway between them.
[35:09] Not just a highway between Assyria and Egypt, but we find in Isaiah chapter 11, we find there's a highway from Assyria to Jerusalem as well. Desire, devotion to God, united under the banner of worship to Him.
[35:27] And then this next promise we find in verse 24 and 25. In that day Israel will be a third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, with the Lord of hosts, with whom the Lord of hosts has blessed saying, blessed be Egypt, my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.
[35:57] Now this is an astonishing statement. Almost breathtaking to imagine. Caught in the middle of two superpowers who are defiant and ruthless And brutal!
[36:13] Merciless in every way! And yet, some future day, they will not only have aligned themselves to God, but they will be considered by God as partakers of blessing, as a people of God just like Israel, one of the third, Israel, Egypt, and Assyria, considered so much part of the people of God, they're stated in this way, although defined and ruthless, they're chosen.
[36:52] Chosen just like Israel as an inheritance. Chosen to be a blessing, a blessing to the world. This same awareness of mercy affected a prophet just about 80 years before.
[37:10] A prophet who was called to go to the same group of people, the group of Assyria, the city of Nineveh. He knew the same heart of God. He knew a heart of mercy.
[37:22] He knew what God was going to do in Nineveh. And in his heart, he chose to run. In his heart, he chose he would rather die than for this people to hear the message of mercy.
[37:37] And when they did hear the message of mercy, and responded in commitment to God, what did he do? He sulked. He was angry. He wanted God to kill him.
[37:49] Not what we find here. As the prophet writes this passage and anticipates a future day, we come to appreciate the heart of God for the nations.
[38:03] The heart of God for the peoples of the earth. Not just for Israel, but for all the world. And that's what leads us to our next point.
[38:16] The hope of every nation. The hope of every nation. As we look back, just a chapter, we find an example to the people of Cush.
[38:31] This people who lived just south of Egypt, often referred to as the land of Ethiopia. This is a group of individuals who was foreign and who had little familiarity with these people.
[38:48] But what they did know intimidated them. What they did know made them afraid. Notice with me in verse chapter 18 verses 1 and 2. Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush, which sends ambassadors by the sea, and vessels of papyrus on the waters.
[39:12] Go, you swift messengers to a nation tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide.
[39:24] This prophecy, to a group of individuals that Isaiah is referring to. A group of individuals who will also be judged by God, who also experience the heavy hand of God because of their devotion to idolatry and not their devotion to worship.
[39:48] But notice how it turns. Notice in verse 7 what the result, the future hope of this people of Cush leads to. At that time, it says in verse 7, tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the Lord of hosts.
[40:20] Hope to the people of Cush. Hope to Egypt, hope to Assyria, hope to Cush, and now hope to the people of the world.
[40:33] We see that as an anthem throughout the book of Isaiah, beginning in chapter 2. Turn with me for a moment, just to Isaiah chapter 2, so you can see this for yourself.
[40:45] What is God's future plan for the nations? What is his heart for the peoples of the earth? Isaiah chapter 2, verses 2 and 3, it shall come to pass in the latter days, the mountain of the Lord of hosts, of the house of the Lord, shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills, and all the nations shall flow to it.
[41:15] And many peoples shall come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and that we may walk in his paths, for out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
[41:37] Make no mistake, the heart of a God is a heart for the nations. probably all of us here today want to echo God's heart, and probably all of us here today are recipients of mercy to the nations, because we're not part of the nation of Israel.
[42:04] We are here today because of the grace of God to the nations, nations. And so those who swear allegiance to God must echo God's heart for the nations.
[42:18] Do you have a mission's heart? It is the responsibility of every believer, and we'll finish with this point. It is the responsibility of every believer to have a heart for the nations.
[42:36] We find it in the clear command of Christ to his disciples, go and make disciples in Matthew chapter 28.
[42:47] Turn with me if you would as we draw this to a close to Matthew chapter 28 verses 18 to 20. This is our mission statement.
[43:01] This is our responsibility. Here's how it's summed up for us by Christ himself. Matthew 28 beginning in verse 18 on page 835.
[43:15] Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.
[43:44] God has called you to have a heart for the nations, where you are, or perhaps even here this morning, somewhere else.
[43:56] As I was looking through the website of Wycliffe Mission Agency, I was looking at all the names of all the people represented by their mission agency. And all the places they are around the world, the faces and the families who've been displaced, essentially they've chosen to be displaced from here, so they can serve God in a location that people need desperately to hear the scripture, and have it translated into their own heart language.
[44:26] And I was just blown away with the immense privilege of serving God in a foreign place, of being used by him in a way to lead a group of individuals to himself because of a desire to be useful, and a willingness to take risks for him.
[44:50] But what do we do here and now? How can we be part of this mission mindedness here, where God has placed us?
[45:03] I believe we can also pray for the nations. Pray for the nations. In Matthew chapter 9, verses 37 and 38, it says, Jesus went through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogue, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, in healing every disease, in every affliction.
[45:24] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
[45:39] Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. You can have a mission's heart right where you are.
[45:51] By committing yourself to pray for the peoples of the world. I don't know if you're aware of this, but there are somewhere around 16,000 people groups in the world with different languages and customs and culture.
[46:08] They may live in the same general area, but because of the distinctiveness of their culture, they're called a separate people group. 6,000 of them.
[46:21] 6,000 of them do not have access to the gospel. It's estimated as many as 41% of the world's population has never heard the gospel.
[46:38] And as many as 3 billion people, they have less than 2% of Christian influence where they are. There is no Bible.
[46:50] There is no witness. There is no exposure to Christ. But you can pray. Several years ago, my kids kind of set the example for their daddy.
[47:03] And every night, they would pray for the Jum Jum people. A group of individuals in the northern part of, I think, Cambodia. people in the northern area.
[47:15] And every night for four years, they would pray for the Jum Jum people. Who are these people? I've never met them. But wouldn't you know, we get a postcard in the mail because we had expressed some interest in this group of individuals.
[47:29] And God sent a missionary to the Jum Jum people, I think, because of my kids' prayer. Praying for this group of individuals that did not have a Bible in their own heart language.
[47:43] God showed up and answered that prayer. You can be a part of global mission right where you are through prayer. These are just three different people groups that we're putting up on the screen.
[47:58] There are a hundred prayer cards out on the table underneath the missionary board. A hundred people groups that have never heard the gospel.
[48:10] will you partner with me? Maybe adopt a people group, just one, perhaps for your family or one for yourself. Put it in a place that's visible.
[48:21] Pray that God will do a work in a tribe of individuals who have never heard the gospel. Maybe God will use your prayers to bring the scripture to a group of people.
[48:38] Will you do that with me for the next two months? November and December? Will we pray every day for one of those people groups and see what God might do to show up for a group of individuals that don't know Jesus?
[48:56] Something that we take for granted. Let's pray. Let's pray. God, we are so, so grateful this morning that you have set your affection on the nations and we are here today because you have chosen not to destroy.
[49:21] You have chosen by your mercy to show grace. God, we are here because there are those who committed themselves regardless of the challenges to get the gospel out.
[49:36] We are here because of the legacy of faithful men and women throughout the thousands of years from Christ who have perpetuated the gospel message and brought it to us.
[49:51] Lord, may we be about the gospel. May we echo the gospel heart of our mission-oriented God, a God whose heart is for the nations.
[50:09] Awaken us, Lord, with a similar heart. Catch us up, Lord, with an interest in people who do not know you.
[50:19] overwhelm us, Lord, with a burden for the nations that echoes and mimics the heart of our Savior.
[50:30] We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand as we sing. Sing together.
[50:45] I will glory in my Redeemer, whose priceless blood has ransomed me, my sin that drove the bitter nails and hung him on that judgment tree.
[51:10] I will glory in my Redeemer, who crushed the power of sin and death, my only Savior before the holy judge, the Lamb who is my righteousness, the Lamb who is my righteousness.
[51:40] of course, if there are any of you this morning who just need to talk, we want to be an open channel for that, for you to share your burdens and we can pray with you.
[51:55] If there are people here this morning who don't know Jesus, we would love to introduce you to him and let you in on the joy of knowing and fellowshipping with our God.
[52:07] if there are those of you this morning who would like to become members or get baptized, we certainly want you to be able to express that to us as well.
[52:18] But this morning, I hope as we walk out those doors, we will walk out with a renewed commitment for the nations. There may be jum jum people in heaven because of my kids.
[52:34] There may be a people group that God rescues because of your prayers and commitment to adopt them as your own.
[52:46] To partner with God through prayer and pleading with him to send them a missionary. Maybe even send you. I'm reminded of the song Jesus loves the little children.
[53:03] All the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.
[53:14] Do you have a heart for the world? May God help us to show that this week. Thanks for coming. happy happy guitar solo guitar solo