Well, good morning, everyone. It's a great privilege for me to be here. Can everybody hear me?
When we talk about mission, we just heard some insight into what overseas or cross-cultural mission looks like.
And oftentimes we think that involves language, that involves culture, that involves study.
You need to have skills as a speaker or skills as a teacher or insight as an apologist.
But I can say to you from a human standpoint, the reason why I'm standing here today is a Christian named Alan invited me to church.
I didn't go to church. I didn't believe in God. I saw no need to do either.
And I encountered this man, Alan, 27 years ago when I moved to Scotland.
We shared a flat just off the High Street in the center of Edinburgh on Coburn Street, that windy street that goes down to Waverly.
And Alan was a Christian. And the first thing Alan did was find a church.
It happened to be Buclue Free Church, where I've been ever since.
And Alan had a personal and a profound and an obvious relationship with Jesus.
Now, I didn't know what the gospel was. I didn't know who Jesus was.
But I did know who Alan was.
And I could tell that there was something in him that was different and positive and engaging.
So sometimes we think of mission and we think of the challenges, and there are.
And we think of the preparation, and there is.
But I would suggest that each one of us here, if we know Jesus, if we love Jesus,
then he has given to us the work of mission, whether local or national or international.
And we live in a day where we might be tempted to despair.
We might be tempted to say there's so much, so much darkness.
There's so much ignorance. There's so many difficulties.
And that's all true.
But if the day is characterized by darkness, doesn't that mean that light would be even more apparent?
If we live in a day that is characterized by confusion, doesn't that imply that clarity becomes ever more obvious?
So never lose sight of what you can do, not there and then, but here and now.
With that brief introduction, I'd like to take you to a very distant place.
If you go as far south as you can and you go as far west as you can in China,
there is a monument with a plaque that's written in three languages.
And it's written in the language of Mandarin Chinese, it's written in the language of the Lisu people,
and it's also written in English.
The English inscription reads this,
Today, the Lisu people live in three countries predominantly.
There's approximately 900,000 Lisu people in China,
350,000 in Myanmar, Burma,
and about 40,000 in Thailand.
Now, the Lisu population in China is 45% evangelical.
By evangelical, we're evangelical.
We believe the gospel.
We recognize Jesus as Savior and Lord.
We recognize the Bible as the word of God.
We recognize that salvation is the work of God through Christ applied by the Holy Spirit.
So these are believers as we would recognize believers.
So 45% of the Chinese, the Lisu people within China are evangelical.
52% of the Lisu people in Myanmar are evangelical.
And 34% of the Lisu people in Thailand are evangelical.
Now, I hope today that I'll give you some information.
I'm not expecting anybody to remember statistics.
But remember that this plaque was from the Lisu church in recognition of one man,
giving thanks and praise to God for his work.
So today, if you look at the Joshua Project, and if you've never seen this website,
I'd encourage you to go.
The Joshua Project looks at the world and all of the peoples of the world
and gives you an insight into each of these people.
So you can look up any people group.
You can look up any nation.
And you can see the progress of the gospel in that place and among those people.
So these statistics are as accurate as we can get at the present time.
This is 2017.
In 1908, when James O. Fraser went to...
Well, he left for China in 1908.
He arrived and settled in the far southwest by 1910.
And that was the first time he encountered the Lisu people.
They had traditional dress that was different from the Chinese.
They had language that was different from the Chinese people.
They had customs that were different.
But the one thing that struck James Fraser was this,
that the Lisu people knew absolutely nothing about Jesus Christ.
So we are talking about 109 years ago,
that the Lisu people were unreached,
unpenetrated, unengaged with the gospel of Jesus.
And today, let's say 110 years later,
these are a people who are predominantly evangelical believers.
Now, how does this happen?
How did this happen?
And how can we be a part of what God is doing?
So this church and these people...
Now, James O. Fraser was a missionary
with what was then known as the China Inland Mission.
It's now known as OMF, Overseas Missionary Fellowship.
And this is a missionary organization that is operating
in many of the countries of Eastern Asia,
involved in work among the Asian peoples
and the Chinese people and the Chinese diaspora.
But let me take you back, because I want us to be inspired.
Because as we consider these great figures of the past,
we might be inclined to say,
that's great for him.
That's great for them.
But what can I do?
Or what can we do?
Well, just to take you back a little bit.
So when James Fraser, he was born in 1886.
When he was 20 years old, he graduated.
He had a degree in engineering.
He also happened to be a very accomplished pianist.
And he was going to pursue a career in engineering.
He was a Christian.
And then a friend gave him a leaflet, a pamphlet.
And the title of the pamphlet was,
Do Not Say.
And the subtitle was,
The Church's Excuses for Neglecting the Heathen.
Now by heathen means the foreigners,
the people living in distant countries,
but particularly foreigners who do not know the gospel.
And this is a remarkable pamphlet.
It's about 80 pages.
And this pamphlet profoundly transformed the thinking
and profoundly transformed the life of James Fraser
and through his life,
profoundly transformed the Lisu people group.
So maybe we can begin by asking ourselves,
what excuses are we making?
What excuses are we making individually?
What excuses are we making as a church?
That we look at this world today,
roughly 7.4 billion people on this big planet,
and it's growing.
We think of the diversity,
all different kinds of philosophies,
all different kinds of religions,
all different kinds of customs.
We think of those areas of the world
where there are barriers and obstacles,
and there are many.
We think of those areas of the world
where being a Christian is dangerous.
And we're proclaiming Jesus could be very dangerous.
And we can all make excuses individually.
I'm too young.
I'm too old.
I'm not good with languages.
I find it difficult to eat unusual food.
It's too far.
It's too tough.
We don't have enough money.
This is a reason.
In my own church, the free church,
this is a constant refrain.
We don't have the resources.
We don't have the people.
We don't have the funding.
But this pamphlet was reminding us
that one day,
Jesus Christ will return.
And one day,
Jesus will ask us to give an account.
And this pamphlet that Fraser read,
and this pamphlet,
which you can read,
it's there online if you'd like to see it,
it's suggested that the excuses that we make now
will appear to be very hollow then.
They won't be very persuasive
when Jesus gives us the opportunity
to make our excuses
or to give the reasons for which
we have not shared the gospel with our neighbors,
nor have we shared the gospel
with the distant peoples of the world.
So let's keep in mind this man, James Fraser.
Let's keep in mind a people
that had no knowledge of the gospel
about a hundred years ago.
And that a people today
who are characterized
by a vibrant and by a vital Christian church,
not a perfect Christian church.
As much as you have to celebrate
in Brunsfield Evangelical Church,
yours is not a perfect church.
Beclew Free Church on the other side of the meadows,
certainly not a perfect church.
Why?
Because we're composed of people.
So the Lord Jesus is not waiting to work
in the lives of perfect people
or in the fellowships of perfect churches.
If he was, he would have no one to work with
and no congregations to work with.
But do we have a vision
for what God is up to?
Because as you read the Bible,
and just a few moments ago,
Alistair read two chapters.
He read a chapter from the middle of the Bible,
Psalm 67.
He read a chapter from the end of the Bible,
Revelation chapter 7.
If I could read a few verses
from the beginning of the Bible,
if you look, for example,
at Genesis chapter 12.
This is one of the profound encounters
of the Bible.
The Lord said to Abram,
go from your country
and your kindred
and your father's house
to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation.
And I will bless you
and make your name great
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those that bless you.
And him who dishonors you,
I will curse.
And in you,
all the families of the earth
shall be blessed.
Now, as we read the Bible,
there are threads
that unite the whole of Scripture.
The gospel is one of those threads.
The message of salvation
through faith
is one of these threads
that unites the whole of Scripture.
Because when God spoke to Abraham,
what do we read?
We read that Abraham believed God
and that God credited
his faith as righteousness.
So it's all about trusting in God.
It's not about us,
what we do,
but it's about God
and what he has done.
Now, Abraham saw Jesus
from a distance.
We have a much clearer picture,
don't we,
of who Jesus is
and what Jesus has done.
So the thread of the gospel
runs from Genesis
through to Revelation.
There is no other message
because there is no other Savior.
But I would suggest equally
that the thread of mission
runs through the whole of Scripture.
It becomes clearer
and more focused
as we go from old to new
or as we go from the beginning
of the Old Testament
through to the Psalms,
through to the prophets,
through to Isaiah,
that we see a growing picture
that God has a care and concern
not for some or few,
but for all.
All families,
all tribes,
all nations,
all peoples,
and that God chose
to work in the life
of Abraham,
one,
that Abraham would become
a nation,
a nation based on faith.
So wherever you see Abraham,
think faith.
There is the father
of the faithful.
So God built a great nation
out of one man.
But the desire was
that not only this one nation
would know God,
but that this one nation
would show God off
to the nations
that they would desire
to come
to see God
for themselves.
And that's what God
is doing
in the lives
of his people today.
He not only is concerned
about your salvation,
your eternal destiny,
he's not only concerned
about your welfare,
but God wants
to show himself off
in your life
and through your life
so that the people
you work with,
the people that you
live next door to,
the people within
your household,
the people that you
rub shoulders with
as you go to church,
or the people that
you just have
good friendships with,
that they want to say
there's something about him
and there's something
about her
and there's something
about us.
That's different.
And when God
shows himself off,
what does he show off?
He shows off his power.
He shows off his mercy.
He shows off his grace.
He shows off his goodness.
We sang a version
of Amazing Grace
just a few moments ago.
God demonstrated his power
and his mercy
in the life of John Newton,
a man whose life
was characterized
by infidelity.
He was an unbeliever,
a man whose life
was characterized
by sin and licentiousness.
God met him.
God changed him.
God transformed him.
So when he said,
Amazing grace,
how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost,
but now am found,
was blind.
But now I see
that John Newton
was testifying personally
to the grace
and to the power
of the gospel.
So as we survey
the scriptures,
Abraham will be
the father of a nation
and that nation
through him,
through that nation
and through Abraham
that all the nations
of the earth
will be blessed.
God be merciful
and bless us
that the blessing
that we desire
for ourselves
in Psalm 67
is an overflowing blessing
so that others
might see,
that others might taste,
that others might enjoy,
and others might benefit.
And as we come
to this final picture
in the book of Revelation,
we have that there's
a multitude,
so many that they
cannot be numbered,
that they are clothed,
they're wearing white,
they have been made pure,
they've come out
of the tribulation,
they've washed their robes
and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb.
And how are these described?
A great multitude
that no one could number
from every nation,
from all tribes
and peoples and languages,
standing before the throne,
before the Lamb,
clothed in white branches,
in white robes
with palm branches
in their hand
and crying out
with a loud voice,
salvation belongs
to our God
who sits on the throne
and to the Lamb.
All peoples,
all nations,
all families
will be represented
where?
In glory,
in front of the Lamb.
So the promise
to Abraham
and the fulfillment
of Revelation,
these are the great bookends.
And here we are
right in the middle.
We are in the middle
of God's redemptive plan.
And right now,
we can say
that there is a world
and that there are peoples
in this world
who do not yet know
and have not yet heard.
The Lisu people
now have heard.
They have an indigenous church.
They have a growing church
that is able
to reach its own people
and even reach beyond
its own people group.
Let me remind you
just of those words
of the Great Commission,
Matthew 28.
If you think of Matthew 28,
verses 18 to 23,
three verses
shows how my mind works.
I often think of food.
Think of a sandwich,
right?
A sandwich,
you have a piece of bread,
you have something
in the middle,
you have a piece of bread.
This is a sandwich
because you have two statements
and in the middle
you have a command.
Statement number one,
and Jesus came
and said to them,
all authority in heaven
and on earth
has been given to me.
That's who Jesus is.
The other half
of the sandwich
is the statement
in verse 20,
and behold,
I am with you always
to the end of the age.
So what do we have?
We have the power of Jesus
and we have the presence
of Jesus.
So all power,
all authority,
and his presence
is with us
from now until forever.
Now you understand
those brackets
or the bread
of the sandwich.
You then come
to the command
because if you look
at the command
on its own
you would say,
I can't do it.
We can't do it.
This is impossible.
But if you have
all powerful Jesus
and all present Jesus,
then the command
go therefore
and make disciples
of all the 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.
Now that command
comes now
into a much
different focus.
Because if the power
belongs to Jesus,
can he do this?
Absolutely.
If the presence
of Jesus is there,
will he do this?
Absolutely.
All the power,
all the resources,
all that we need,
the wisdom,
the grace,
the strength,
the courage,
the comfort,
we are not doing
this on our own,
but he is with us
every step,
every journey,
every challenge.
So if you think
of the Great Commission
in that way,
you realize
that it's still
all about Jesus.
the work of the cross,
the work of salvation,
is that a joint venture
on our part
that we give
and he gives
that we do
and he does?
No.
It's his work
on our behalf
and all the benefit
comes to us.
Now in the work
of mission,
in a sense,
yes,
we go,
we respond,
we proclaim,
but it's his work
from beginning
to end.
It's his power.
It's his authority.
It's his presence.
It's his agenda.
All the praise
on all the credit
and all the glory
will ultimately
come to him.
Now when you think
to that story
of James Fraser,
let me give you
an insight
into what kind
of person
Fraser was.
Now you might say
he's an educated man
and he was.
He was gifted
in acquiring language
and understanding
a different culture,
which he was.
So much so
that the
Lisu alphabet
that was adopted
by the Chinese government,
you see,
the Lisu people
are one of 55
minority people groups
within the
People's Republic
of China.
The government
of China
recognized
that the Fraser alphabet
was the best
representation
of the Lisu
language
that has ever
been developed.
So here's a man
with gifts,
absolutely.
But listen to his
insight into the
work of mission.
He said,
I used to think
that prayer should
have the first place
and teaching the second.
Now I feel that it
would be truer to
give prayer
the first,
second,
and third place
and teaching
the fourth.
Now this is the
challenge.
We might not all
have the gifts
to teach.
We might not have
all the gifts
to acquire language.
We might not all
have the gifts
to evangelize
or to give an
apologetic,
a reason,
or a response.
But prayer
is something
that we all
can do.
Prayer is something
that we are all
able to do.
And in prayer
we are drawing
upon the resources,
the strength,
the power
of the one
who has all
power,
all strength.
In one of his
prayer letters
he wrote to
his supporters,
Fraser said this,
he said,
I am not asking
you just to
give help
in prayer
as a sort
of sideline,
but I am
trying to roll
the main
responsibility
of prayer
on you.
I want you
to take
the burden
of spiritual
warfare,
the burden
of warfare,
the burden
of these people
on your shoulders.
I want you
to wrestle
with God
for them.
So it's very easy
to look at
someone like
Fraser and to say
what a great
missionary,
what a great
example of.
But I think
he would be
the first to say
and was the
first to say
that it was
not him,
but it was
the prayers
of God's
people,
but even more,
it was the
God to whom
they were
praying.
He was the
one who
achieved.
He was the
one who
accomplished.
He was the
one who
transformed
the spiritual
lives of
these people.
It was not
him,
but it was
God himself.
So there
you have
the great
commission.
There you
have the
reminder of
what God
has done
and is
doing.
You're
celebrating
these years,
67 to
2017,
50 years.
Let me
take you
back to a
key moment
in that
period.
It was in
1974.
In 1974,
a group of
leaders from
all over the
world gathered
in Lausanne,
Switzerland.
It became
known as the
Committee for
Worldwide
Evangelism,
and they
published a
covenant.
You see,
the recognition
was this.
On one
level,
by 1974,
all the
nations of
the world,
the nation
states,
had been
penetrated to
some extent
by the
gospel.
So there
was a
perception,
among some
at least,
was,
overseas
mission has
now been
fulfilled.
Listen to
these words.
We affirm
that Christ
sends his
redeemed
people into
the world
as the
Father sent
him,
and that
this calls
for a
similar deep
and costly
penetration
of the
world.
We need
to break
out of
our
ecclesiastical
ghettos and
permeate
non-Christian
society.
In the
church's
mission of
sacrificial
service,
evangelism is
primary.
world's
evangelization
requires the
whole church
to take
the whole
gospel to
the whole
world.
I think
we can
celebrate
here,
Brunsfield
Evangelical
Church,
Buclew Free
Church,
Charlotte
Baptist
Chapel,
Corubber's
Christian
Cloth.
We have
many churches
in the
city of
Edinburgh
that have
the whole
gospel.
We'll
differ on
some small
points,
but that
doesn't
matter.
But we
have the
message.
We have
the message
of Jesus.
But are
we aware
of our
responsibility?
The whole
church,
that doesn't
just mean
everyone of
Brunsfield
Evangelical,
but it
means all
the believers
within the
city of
Edinburgh,
within the
nation of
Scotland,
the whole
church needs
to take
this whole
gospel.
We don't
give the
world anything
less than
what we
have,
but we
need to
take it
to the
whole of
this world,
to all
of its
people.
If you
look at
the Bible,
in Acts
chapter 1,
there were
about 120
people who
met together
for prayer.
By Acts
chapter 2,
3,000 had
been added to
the church at
the end of
Peter's
Pentecost
sermon.
Acts chapter
4,
we're told
that many
of those
who had
heard the
word believed
and the
number of
men came
to about
5,000.
By Acts
chapter 17,
when Jason
had welcomed
some of the
brothers into
his home,
we're told
that these
men who
have turned
the world
upside down
have come
here also.
Jason has
received them
and they are
all acting
against the
decrees of
Caesar.
saying that
there is
another
king,
Jesus.
So there
is a rapid
spread of
the gospel
within the
biblical period.
120,
3,000,
5,000.
The world
turned upside
down.
Now, I'm a
student of
history.
When I came
to this
country, I
came to
study the
history of
Scotland.
So it
wasn't church
history, but it
was the history
of the Scottish
people, the
political history
of Scotland, and
it was a
comparative
study between
Scotland and
Ireland.
If you want
more information
that can tell
you fascinating
stuff.
But having
become a
Christian, my
love for
history is
still there.
And when I
read the
biographies of
Fraser, or
read William
Carey, or
read of
Hudson Taylor,
or read of
Charles Spurgeon,
and I'll be
referencing some
of these folks
later today, I
love the
history.
So let me
give you an
idea of
history, because
if you think
of 1900,
1900 probably
was the
high-water
mark of
Western
missionary
activity in
the nations,
overseas,
foreign mission
activities,
probably at
its height by
1900, certainly
1900, 1910.
In 1900,
Africa had
10 million
Christians, and
that was about
10% of the
population.
By 2000, this
figure had
grown to
360 million
Christians,
representing
half the
population.
Quantitatively,
this may well
be the largest
shift in
religious
affiliation that
has ever
occurred anywhere.
I don't know
about you, but
I have this
perception.
I have lived
in Scotland
27 years.
You kind of
see the
church here, and
you kind of
think, well, I
guess that's the
way it is
everywhere.
It's not the
way it is
everywhere.
In the world
today, the
gospel is
reaching new
people, and the
church of Jesus
is growing, and
in some cases
growing rapidly.
If I could
recommend one
book to you,
you might be
familiar with
John Piper.
John Piper
wrote, let
the nations
be glad, the
supremacy of
God in
missions.
If you want
one book that
will fire you
up to pray, and
maybe even to
go, I would
say that this is
the book to
read.
Because Piper
will capture the
biblical imperative,
and Piper will
fire you and
enthuse you with,
if you've ever
seen Piper or
heard Piper, he's
got a great
enthusiasm about
his preaching, and
it comes through in
his writing.
But think of
this, 10% of
Africa, at the
height of the
Western missionary
endeavor, in
1900, 10% of
the population
was Christian.
Today, when
many of the
Western missionary
agencies have
withdrawn or
reduced, so you
see, God is
working, and he's
working in
remarkable ways,
and he's
developing and
growing local
churches,
remarkably, in
the continent
of Africa, and
to the ends of
the earth.
Just to give
you another
statistic that
you might find
interesting.
In 1900, 2.5%
of the world's
population were
categorized as
believers in
Jesus.
2.5%.
So that meant
it took 18
centuries for the
gospel to reach
1 out of 40
people.
That figure was
doubled by the
year 1970.
So 5% of the
world's population
by 1970.
That's remarkable.
18 centuries,
2.5%.
70 years, now
to 5%.
Today, we're
probably around
the 12, 12.5% to
15%.
So you go from
1 out of 40 in
1900.
You're now to
1 out of 8 in
2017.
There's still
plenty to go.
But I was
shocked by these
statistics because I
thought in my
mind that we
would have been
seeing, if not a
sharp decline, but a
steady decline in
the expansion of the
gospel.
Why?
Because we've seen a
steady decline here
within the United
Kingdom or within
Scotland.
But no.
The work of the
gospel, the advance
of the gospel, is
proceeding, and in
some cases, rapidly.
But let me give you
an insight.
You don't need to
remember the numbers,
but think of the
scale here.
Remember in 1974,
there was a
recognition that
describing world
mission by nations
was inadequate.
In the United
Nations today, there
are 193 nations
in the UN.
In the most
recent Olympics, the
Rio Olympics 2016,
206 nations
competed.
Missiologists
suggest that in
the world there
are approximately
17,000 people
groups.
Now, these might be
distinguished because
of language, or by
culture, or by
both.
But that's a much
different picture,
isn't it?
193 nations in the
UN, 206 nations in
the Olympics.
Now, 16, let's say
17,000 people
groups.
And out of those
17,000, 7,000 are
in the category of
unreached, like the
Lisu people in
1910.
They did not know
the gospel.
They had no
meaningful engagement
with the message of
Jesus Christ.
They had no
scriptures in their
language.
They had no
indigenous church.
church.
They had no
significant effort of
bringing the gospel to
them.
So 7,000 people
groups today represent
over 3 billion
people on this
planet.
This afternoon, we're
going to be looking at
what mission looks like
locally.
And if we're honest,
mission among our own
people is tough.
Now, in every church
there will be some
people who come to
church regularly who
are not Christians.
But they might come
because of family, they
might come because of
curiosity, or maybe just
come because of custom.
But at least they're
accustomed to church,
right?
Now, these people know
what church is like.
They have a familiarity
at least with what the
message of the church
is.
So as a preacher,
they're part of the
audience.
You don't need to do
much work to get them.
They're there in front
of you.
So you can preach the
gospel, you can encourage
them or exhort them
because they're there
in front of you.
The next step, of course,
for you or for me, is
how do we reach the
Scottish people, the
people that live in
Edinburgh, work in
Edinburgh, are from
Edinburgh, how do we
reach them meaningfully
for the gospel?
And that's tough.
Because these are
people that don't go to
church.
They probably don't read
the Bible.
They may or may not
have any knowledge or
background about
Christianity.
But when we talk
about these 7,000
people groups, these
are very different
types of people.
They have very
different languages.
They have very
different cultures.
They have a, the
distance culturally
between them and us
is vast.
Now you might say
the difference between
a person who goes to
church, believes in
Jesus, Scottish person,
and the Scottish person
who doesn't go to
church, there's a
gap there, absolutely.
But that's a relatively
small gap.
You speak the same
language, you're from
the same culture, you
understand the nuances,
you understand roughly
what people think, what
people feel, etc.
But if you're trying now
to reach a nomadic
group in Saharan
Africa, they have a
very different language
than we do, they have
very different cultures
than we do, they don't
have settled communities
as we would see them,
that is a huge
missiological gap from
where we are to where
they are.
But if we are committed
to the command that
Jesus gives, and you'll
notice in the Bible,
Jesus never really does
give suggestions.
Jesus never really does
offer advice.
Jesus tells us what to
do.
He gives us what we
need, but he doesn't
give us ten tips for a
happy life.
He doesn't give us
five insights to a
healthy church.
He says, I want you to
make disciples of all
the nations.
Remember that pamphlet,
the church's excuses
for neglecting the
heathens.
These 7,000 people,
groups, who do not
have the gospel, they
are geographically
remote, they are
culturally very
different, many of
them are hostile to
what they perceive to
be the gospel.
They're not Christians
and they don't
particularly want to be
Christians.
There may be
restrictions that mean
that you and I cannot
easily go to those
places.
Now, those sound like
good excuses.
Jesus, the language is
really different.
Jesus, the culture is
very different.
Jesus, they don't
really want to be
Christians anyway.
Their countries or
their leaders are
hostile.
That excuse, to
you and to me, I
think we can convince
each other.
I think we can give
each other a fair
number of reasons why
reaching these 7,000
people groups is beyond
our capacity.
We're few, there are
many, we're limited
financially, the
cultural and all these
things.
We could list a number
of excuses, but the
pamphlet's title was
do not say.
So, 3.1 billion
people on this
planet have no
meaningful connection
to the gospel.
Does that bother
us?
3 billion people.
Now, you might say that
there are lost people
wherever you go.
There might be lost
people in your family,
people that you love
dearly, that do not yet
know the Lord Jesus.
And they, you know,
I once was lost, but
now I'm found.
So, the Bible does
give you this kind of
binary category.
Amazing grace means
you're found by
Jesus.
But the, apart from
the amazing grace of
Jesus, you're lost.
But these people are
not just lost.
They have no
meaningful way of
being found.
Now, does that mean
that God is, absolutely,
God is not limited.
God can do what he
wants, as he wants,
how he wants, when he
wants.
God can do anything
he wants.
And yet, God chooses
to use you and me.
I would choose other
people, to be honest.
I would choose more
able people.
I would choose more
gifted people.
I would choose more
enthusiastic people.
Jesus tends to
choose us.
He chooses ordinary
people.
Why?
Because when
extraordinary things are
accomplished by
ordinary people, the
credit must go
somewhere else.
When extraordinary
things are accomplished
by extraordinary
people, then, well,
they must have the
credit.
He's great at this,
she's good at that.
No.
When we realize that
we're not good at
these things, and
we're not naturally
able to these things,
and when we realize
that it must be
Jesus, and Jesus
alone who does it,
then the credit, the
praise, and the honor
goes to him.
I'm going to give
you one final
statistic, which is
even more striking.
So 7,000 people
groups, 3 billion
people, unreached.
There are 3,000
people groups.
These are often
very small, very
isolated, very
remote.
There are 3,000
people that are
described in this
way, unengaged,
unreached groups.
So there's
approximately 4,000
people groups, and
attempt to reach
them.
They're on
somebody's radar.
They're on a
mission organization.
They're on a
church.
Somebody is trying
to reach these
4,000 people.
But there are
3,000 people
groups, roughly
200 million
people.
That means 40
people for every
Scottish person.
So 40 times the
population of
Scotland.
200 million
people, and all
we know about
them is that they
exist as a people
group.
They have no
indigenous church.
They have no
indigenous believers
in Jesus, and
nobody is attempting
to reach them yet.
So humanly speaking,
they're lost with
absolutely no way of
being found, and no
prospect of being
found.
So as poorly as we
evangelize Edinburgh,
at least the people
of Edinburgh have
access.
They could come to
Brunsfield tomorrow.
They could come to
Becloot tomorrow.
If they want the
Bible, they could get
any number of
copies of any
number of
editions of the
Bible.
But these 7,000
people groups can't
easily go to church,
and these 3,000
certainly can't go to
church.
There's no church for
them to go to.
There's no Bible for
them to purchase.
Even if they could
purchase it, it just
doesn't exist.
James Fraser, 1910,
comes to China, and
he encounters these
people, and they're
obvious.
They have different
culture.
They wear different
clothes.
They speak a different
language.
And when he found out
that they had no
knowledge of Jesus, he
dedicated the rest of
his life, the next 30
years, to learning their
language, to teaching
them the gospel.
And God used him and
others powerfully,
remarkably, to reach this
group of people, so
that today there is a
worshiping church among
the Lisu people in
Burma, in China, in
Thailand.
They know Jesus.
They love Jesus.
They are passing on that
knowledge to their
children and passing on
that knowledge to the
rest of their people.
The task is great.
The challenges are many.
The resources are few.
The time is short.
How do we look upon the
world?
How do we look upon people
who don't know the
gospel?
How do we look upon the
people groups that don't
have a meaningful
connection or a meaningful
opportunity?
Does that move our
hearts?
Does that enliven our
prayers?
Does that elicit a
response?
Maybe you can't go, but
maybe you can send
someone.
Maybe you can't speak
that language, but
maybe you can devote
yourself to prayer.
Remember Fraser saying,
I used to think it was
prayer was the first and
teaching was the second,
but now I'm convinced
prayer is the first,
second, and third, and
teaching is the fourth.
I'm convicting myself
here.
If worldwide evangelism
depended upon the
frequency and fervency of
my prayers, it would be
hopeless.
But if we have a genuine
love for Jesus, which we do,
every believer has a genuine
love for Jesus, and if we
realize what Jesus has done
for us, and if we realize
what we now have, and if we
realize what we once were, and
if we realize where we are
going, and if we understand
that one day we will be in
that great multitude,
Revelation chapter 7, and
we will have the white robes,
and we will have the palm
branches, and we will be in
that great multitude from
every language, nation,
tribe, we know that that's
where we'll be.
How can we best use our time
now?
How can we best use our
talents now?
How can we best use our
resources now?
The work of mission is the
work of taking Jesus, his
message, his life, his
death, his resurrection,
taking the gospel of Jesus
to people who do not yet
have it.
They might be our
neighbors, but let's spare a
thought, and let's consider
what we have to say and what
we can do for the three
billion people that are
unreached.
For the 200 million people
that are not only unreached,
but not even engaged, can we
see those numbers reduced?
Because as many as 7,000 are,
the Lisu people are no longer
in that group.
A hundred years ago they were.
Today they're not.
What will we be able to
celebrate 10 years from now?
What will you be able to
celebrate 50 years from now?
A vibrant, growing church?
Maybe planting new churches
within Edinburgh, but will you
as a church be able to
celebrate and say, we have
attempted by the grace of God
to reach people in this world
who have not heard the gospel
and praise be to God.
He has been pleased to use us,
to use our prayers, to use our
efforts, to use our service at
home, abroad, and to the ends
of the earth, and the praise and
the glory is all his.
In loving memory of James O.
Fraser, 1886 to 1938,
how beautiful are the feet of
those who bring good news.
With deepest love, remember you
always, the Lisu Church.
Can we pray that there'll be more
and more monuments of living
churches to those who have
taken the good news of the
Lord Jesus Christ and that
many today who are lost will
find themselves at that place
in glory, in front of the Lamb,
with the robes, holding the palm
branches, singing the song of the
redeemed.
So may God bless us.
May God encourage us.
May God challenge us.
May God inspire us.
I tell you this, ordinary people
accomplish extraordinary things
because we have an
extraordinary God, we have an
extraordinary Savior, and we
have an extraordinary gospel.
May God bless you and us all.
Amen.