"Churches that have a heart for the nations and give a high priority to missions seem to be the ones God blesses. Must God allow our nation to suffer and our churches to flounder before we look beyond our own programs and interests to our larger mission task?"

 

Pastors.com
Issue #151
4/21/2004

Are we blessed to bless the world?
by Jerry Rankin

Church-planting movements are taking off in China, Latin America and even northern Africa. So many people came to Christ in one African city that mosques had to close. One missionary reached his four-year goal of 200 churches among his assigned people group in just six months.

It is not unusual to hear testimonies of God's miraculous power manifested in signs and wonders when people are confronted with the claims of Christ.

I am often asked why we don't see such things happening in America. Why do American Christians, with thousands of churches and a history of Christian witness, seem to make so little impact on our society?

We expect to be confronted with the tragic consequences of spiritual darkness in cultures where the Gospel is not known. How do we explain it in our own country?

I really don't have answers for these disturbing questions, but Scripture has given me some insight. The Israelites became God's chosen people, not because they deserved his favor, but because he wanted them to be a priestly nation for the sake of others. He blessed them, not for their benefit, but to follow and fulfill his purpose.

It began with Abraham, who was called and blessed so that "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3, NKJV). God explained in Isaiah 49:6 (NASB) that his people were to be "a light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

When Jesus gave the Great Commission to his followers, he was simply clarifying God's purpose that they make disciples of all nations. But did they get it? Did they carry the Gospel to Judea, Samaria and the uttermost ends of the earth? No, they stayed in Jerusalem until God allowed persecution to disperse them according to his purpose (Acts 8:1).

Throughout the Old Testament we read that God allowed Israel to be conquered and punished by pagan tribes, usually because they forsook God to worship other gods. But wasn't this also because they refused to fulfill God's purpose of glorifying him among the nations?

Paul says in Romans that the hearts of the Jews had become hardened and they were rejected "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" (Romans 11:25, NKJV).

Can it be that God will withhold his blessings and anointing until we regain a vision for our purpose as his people?

Churches that have a heart for the nations and give a high priority to missions seem to be the ones God blesses. Must God allow our nation to suffer and our churches to flounder before we look beyond our own programs and interests to our larger mission task?

If all the peoples of the world are to know him, it is up to us, Abraham's spiritual children. May we not follow Israel's example, but obey and follow God's purpose.

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We envision Village to be a church of GREAT GLOBAL IMPACT, reaching the world for Christ.

 

We desire to fulfill the Great Commission by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ through sending out members for evangelism, making disciples, church planting, and church development.  We also recognize the need to relate to the whole need of mankind, both spiritual and physical.

 

The Scriptural Purpose of VBC's Involvement in Missions.

  1. To fulfill the Great Commission of Christ:
    "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (NIV) Matthew 28:19-20
  2. To share Christ's heart for the world:
    "When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.' " (NIV) Matthew 9:36-38
    "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV) John 3:16
  3. To obey Christ by confessing Him to the world:
    "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." (NIV) Matthew 10:32-33
    "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (NIV) Acts 1:8
  4. To see men saved and brought to the knowledge of God:
    "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!' " (NIV) Romans 10:13-15
  5. To minister to the totality of human need:
    The Parable of the Good Samaritan - Luke 10:30-36