1997-18

SERMON NOTES

TITLE: GO INTO ALL THE WORLD - TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

TEXT: Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

(NIV)

INTRODUCTION: Last Sunday, I spoke to you about the need to allow the Holy Spirit to work. Christ had told His disciples to go to the city of Jerusalem, and to wait there until the Holy Spirit came on them, to enable them to live as He wanted them to, and also to give them the power to be the witnesses that Christ desired them to be.

We all know that there was a promise given in regards to this task. It was that " 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."

Now this morning, I am speaking to people who have been given a command. That command is to go and preach; to go and teach; to go and baptize believers, and raise up a mighty army for the Lord. Now this is a general command that is to each of us. But this morning, though this message is certainly for you, it is for some others of you in particular, who have the call on God on your lives for a specific work that He has assigned to you, and to you alone. It is not the work of another; another will not do it for you; if you do not respond and go, it may never be done by anyone, for it was YOUR JOB.

As I shared in the bulletin, I was extremely touched by our missions rally last Tuesday evening. Brother Wood shared missions stories, many from his own family with us. The emphasis of his message was that there are some people who respond when God calls. They do not try to bargain with Him; they do not make excuses; they just set about getting ready to go, and then when the time comes, they depart for the places to which He has sent them. Now I get under conviction about my own lack of dedication and consecration to the cause of Christ every time I am in one of these services. The Lord always moves on me to give. I told someone this week that if I attended these kinds of meetings every day, I would soon either be in a soup kitchen because I was broke from giving, or I just might be the most blessed person on the face of God's earth as He gave back to me so that I could give to others.

Many of the things I am going to use this morning are not original with me, but are the result of reading and gleaning items from the words and works of others, particularly from Dr. Michael Brown and the many books of his which I have read.

The call of Christ is not without cost. If you are looking for a God whom you can serve with no cost to yourselves, you better look elsewhere than Christianity. To be a follower of Christ means to be a servant of Christ, often at great personal cost.

David Livingstone, the great British missionary returned to Africa for his third, his last, time in 1865. For nearly 7 years, no other European saw this "bearded, toothless, haggard old man." Rumors spread that he had died, so the New York Herald sent a reporter, Henry Stanley, to search for him. Stanley was a worldly reporter who had fought for money on both sides during the Civil War. But his encounter with Livingstone changed him. His account is that "For 4 months and 4 days I lived with him in the same hut, or the same boat, or the same tent, and I NEVER FOUND A FAULT IN HIM. I went to Africa prejudiced against religion as the worst infidel in London. To a reporter like myself, who only had to deal with wars, mass meetings and political gatherings, sentimental matters were quite out of my province. But there came to me a long time for reflection. I was out there away from a worldly world. I saw this solitary old man there, and I asked myself, 'Why does he stop here? What is it that inspires him?' For months after we met I found myself listening to him, wondering at the old man carrying out the words, 'leave all and follow me.' But little by little, seeing his piety, his gentleness, his zeal, his earnestness, and how he went quietly about his business, I was converted by him, although he had not tried to do it."

May 1, 1873, Livingstone was found dead, kneeling at his cot. Out of their deep respect for him, the natives buried his heart in Africa before carrying his body, munnified by the sun, to the coast, a journey which took 9 months, after which it was returned to England.

But why did he live like this. He could have been wealthy, could have lived a life of ease and comfort among friends and family. What inspired him? Why did he go to the middle of nowhere, and stop alone? Why did he leave friends, family, forsaking all earthly comforts, risking sickness and death with a foreign people? Why do so many do that today? Why are they so moved to sacrifice when we are hardly moved at all? THEY HAVE HEARD AND OBEYED THE VOICE OF GOD WHO CALLS THEM.

Listen to some words from other great men: William Carey said, "My business is to witness for Christ. I make shoes just to pay my expenses." WHAT IS OUR BUSINESS?

William C. Burns said, "The longing of my heart would be to go once round the world before I die, and preach one gospel invitation in the ear of every creature." WHAT IS OUR HEART'S LONGING?

Jonathan Goforth poured out his heart: "I am 65 today . . . Oh how I covet, more than a miser does his gold, twenty more years of this soul saving work." WHAT DO WE COVET, MORE THAN A MISER DOES HIS GOLD?

1. We must immediately obey, and go where He directs us, even if it is to the middle of nowhere.

2. We must make it our business to work for Him. His business must become our business.

3. We must long to win the lost to Christ. His heart's longing must become the longing of our hearts.

4. We must covet a long life here to work for Him, and to win the lost to Him.

Following God will be difficult many times. Adoniram Judson, who was the first American foreign missionary (born 8-9-1788) was preparing to leave for India and Burma in 1810, when he fell in love with Ann Nancy Hasseltine. She was the highly prized daughter of a prominent family, a fun loving young woman before being born again at age 15, when she devoted herself to the Lord. Judson could not marry her without her father's consent, and wrote an amazing letter to John Hasseltine, a new believer himself. I quote, "I have not to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamation of praise which shall redound to her Savior from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?"

Her father left the choice to her. She soon wrote: "I have about come to the determination to give up all my comforts and enjoyments here, sacrifice my affection to relatives and friends, and go where God, in his providence, shall see fit to place me." She later wrote: "no female has, to my knowledge, ever left the shores of America to spend her life among the heathen; nor do I yet know, that I shall have a single female companion. But God is my witness, that I have not dared to decline the offer that has been made to me, though so many are ready to call it a 'wild and romantic undertaking." She went, and the Judson's worked for nearly 7 years before gaining a convert. After 9 years, they had baptized 18. Several fellow missionaries had died; others quit. Their first baby was stillborn; their second died before reaching his 9th month. Adoniram was imprisoned for 17 months, barely surviving inhuman treatment, such as one night when his feet, raw and bleeding, in elevated stocks, were swarmed by mosquitoes producing extreme torture. Soon after his release from prison, Nancy died. Her life of constant sacrifice and service had taken its toll. Their third baby, Maria, died suddenly a few weeks later. Judson was alone, in a hostile Buddhist land, nearly shattered with grief and pain. He was faced with tiger infested jungles, bat infested homes, and fever infested climate, for life. But he did not quit. He did not abandon his Bible translating, his preaching, or teaching. How could he? There were eternal souls at stake. Who else could reach these people as well as he? So he remained there for over 20 more years. Missions, to him, was a lifetime commitment; he had no place for those who wanted to serve on a short time basis only. He said, "They come out for a few years, with the view of acquiring a stock of credit on which they may vegetate the rest of their days, in the congenial climate of their native land . . . The motto of every missionary, whether preacher, printer, or schoolmaster, ought to be 'Devoted for life.'"

His life was not in vain. One time, in Rangoon during a great annual festival he recorded that he had distributed "nearly 10,000 tracts, giving to none but those who ask . . . Some come 2 or 3 months' journey, from the borders of Siam and China -- 'Sir, we hear there is an eternal hell. We are afraid of it. Do give us a writing that will tell us how to escape it.' . . . Others come from the interior of the country, where the name of Jesus Christ is little known -- 'Are you Jesus Christ's man? Give us a writing that tells about Jesus Christ'" Today there are more than 1 million Burmese believers.

Nearly 200 years ago, there was a brilliant young man, attending Cambridge. He said that his fellow students "thought it a most improper step for me to leave the University to preach to ignorant heathen, which any person could do." He tried pastoring, and found it difficult, and had no visible success as a soul winner. But still he had a clear and definite call from God: "May the Lord be pleased to fix this in my mind, that I am in the midst of dying souls, who are thronging to hell. How cruel, how impious to let a brother perish for want of warning." (Doesn't this sound like Romans 10:14-15?) Now at one time, he would never have sacrificed material well-being for the gospel, but now his heart was gripped for India's millions. He said, "10,000 times more than ever do I feel devoted to that precious work. O gladly shall this base blood be shed, every drop of it, if India can be benefited in one of these children; if but one of these base creatures of God Almighty might be brought home to this duty." So he left, and his leaving was made more difficult for he had to leave behind Lydia Grenfell, a young woman he loved passionately, but would not marry for fear that marriage would be a hindrance to his call. In addition, his own health, never good, was failing. Of this, he wrote in his diary, "Oh, my dear friends in England, when we spoke with exultation of the mission to the heathen, whilst in the midst of health and joy and hope, what an imperfect idea did we form of the sufferings by which it must be accomplished." He gave himself without holding anything back, always putting the needs of others first, serving the Lord with saintliness and godliness which were legendary. Why did he do this? Why did he keep on, refusing to let up or back down even when his body was deteriorating rapidly? Here is what was said of him: "The man who slaved away his life among the people whom the lowest clerk of the East India Company would have despised, and who dragged his dying body over many hundreds of miles of sea and mountain, did it for this purpose: to do the will of God, and to save men women from destruction." (R. T. France)

1. Men and women obey because they have truly heard from God.

2. Men and women go, even though they know the cost.

3. Men and women go, even when the cost becomes increasingly greater as time goes on.

Scottish-born John Paton went as a pioneer missionary to the cannibals of the South Sea Islands, working there for almost 50 years. He had been going through the university, through divinity, and through medical studies in Scotland, all the while "sustained by the lofty aim which burned all these years bright within my soul, namely to be owned and used by Him for the salvation of perishing men."

He was grieved when no one in his church responded to the need for a new missionary to be sent to the South Seas. He said, "The Lord kept saying within me, 'Since none better-qualified can be got, rise and offer yourself.' His overpowering response was the impulse to answer aloud, 'Here I am, send me.'" But he did not want to mistake his own emotions for the call of God, so he spend a few more days looking at the proposal from every angle, while the growing assurance he felt was that this was the call of God to his servant. "The wail and claims of the heathen were constantly serving in my ears. I saw them perishing for lack of the knowledge of the true God and His Son Jesus, while my Green Street people (the church in Scotland) had the open Bible, and all the means of grace within easy reach." His decision was opposed by almost everybody. They said, "There are heathen at home; let us seek and save, first of all, the ones perishing at our doors'" Evangelize our home front first; millions of sinners live around us. Isn't it logical to reach them first?

He agreed there were many heathen at home, saying, "This I felt most true, and an appalling fact; but I unfailingly observed that those who made this retort neglected those home heathen themselves. They would ungrudgingly spend more on a fashionable party at dinner or tea, on concert or ball or theatre, or on some ostentatious display, or worldly or selfish indulgence, 10 times more, perhaps in a single day, than they would give in a year or half a lifetime, for the conversion of the whole heathen world, either at home or abroad."

What happened to this man? At age 82, just after losing his wife of 41 years, he was traveling to speak in Australia, when thrown from his buggy and knocked out. But he insisted on preaching, bandaged head and all. "What have I been spared for if it is not to use every remaining opportunity to plead for the perishing heathen."

1. They go because of the urgency of the call.

2. They go because God does not just call once, and then leave them alone; He calls again and again..

3. They go because pleasing God becomes more important than anything else.

CONCLUSION: The facts today are that the world is mostly lost. Today, there are more lost than ever before in history - 1 billion have never heard the name of Jesus. There are 12,000 distinct peoples with no native church. There are some 6100 languages in the world, and 1/2 of them do not have even 1 verse of the Bible in their language. Not even 1/10 of them have a complete New Testament. The population grows by 1/4 million daily. We have lost sight of a fundamental truth: Jesus died for the world; can we do less. Being saved means being sent. Time is running out and if we don't give or go, who will? The fact is that we have all been told to go and preach; to go and teach; to go and make disciples. The fact is that some of you have had a specific call of God laid on you. So why do you wait? When are you going to stop serving yourself, and begin truly serving God? By that I mean going where he says go, doing what He tells you to do; saying what He tells you to say. By that I mean just being obedient to the call.

We must forget out people, our families; we must forget our natural father's house; we must go; we must preach and make disciples.

Paul, late in his life, speaking of the call of God on his life said, "I was not disobedient to that heavenly vision." What about you this morning? Can you say those words?

William Carey had to overcome great odds to obey the call of God. In The Challenge of Life, Oswald J. Smith noted that "even the Directors of the East India Company opposed [Carey's] work. Following is the idiotic resolution they presented to Parliament: 'The sending out of missionaries into one Eastern possession is the maddest, most extravagant, most costly, most indefensible project which has ever been suggested by a moonstruck fanatic.'" Smith added, "In 1796, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland passed the following infamous resolution: 'To spread the knowledge of the gospel amongst barbarians and heathens seems to be highly preposterous.' One speaker in the House of Commons said that he would rather see a band of devils let loose in India than a band of missionaries. Such was the opposition to missions when Carey set forth. And yet, he was able to write, 'Why is my soul disquieted within me? Things may turn out better than I expect. Everything is known to God, and God cares.'" William Carey stood the test, and became the father of modern missions.

There is a story to the effect that a certain society in South Africa once wrote to David Livingstone, "Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to send other men to join you." Livingstone replied, "If you have men who will come ONLY if they know there is a good road, I don't want them."

David Livingstone wrote in his journal on one occasion concerning his "selfless" life:

"People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paying back a small part of the great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind and a bright hope of glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege." -- Giving and Living, by Samuel Young, Baker Book House, p.71

He also said, "Forbid that we should ever consider the holding of a commission from the King of Kings a sacrifice, so long as other men esteem the service of an earthly government as an honor. I am a missionary, heart and soul. God Himself had an only Son, and He was a missionary and a physician. A poor, poor imitation I am, or wish to be, but in this service I hope to live. In it I wish to die. I still prefer poverty and missions service to riches and ease. This is my choice."

Many people think that God can't use them where they are. But it is certain that God can't use them where they aren't. -- Oswald Chambers

One of God's faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner, experienced many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to the Savior. Despite his troubles, he said, "While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me." In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book showed the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read, "I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God." Think of that! No word of complaint, no childish whining, no grumbling at the circumstances -- just praise for God's goodness.

Osage Gospel Lighthouse, Linn, MO 4-20-97 am