Day For The Nations

3:42I want to share a message. I want to ask the question: what do people really need? There are a lot of opinions about that in this world, in this culture. But I want to just tell you that the gospel is only good news if it gets there in time. I want us to understand today on a day for the nations that there is an urgency about our business today. It's the same urgency that we have every week when we meet as God's people gathering together in corporate worship to lift our heads and our hearts to Him. We live in a world in which people pursue those things which are essentially and Fundamentally unsatisfying and unfulfilling.

4:34We live in a world where people are blind to the truth and they are living in the dominion of darkness. We live in a world in which people will be born, live their entire lives, and die without ever having the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, which alone has the power to set them free, to change them, and save them. What do people really need? Well, God knows what people need. And over the years that Kathy and I served through the IMB, I came to appreciate the IMB for a lot of different reasons. I wanted to give you some good news about that. First of all, last year, in the year 2020, the year of COVID, the year that COVID came and has stayed, last year, through IMB personnel working around the world, 144,000 new believers came to know and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. 18,000 new churches were planted. And did you know, contrary to what might be your idea of it, over 400 new IMB missionaries were sent out and appointed to go to the ends of the earth. And 769,000 people heard a witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, I've got some bad news.

5:56And the bad news is this: that still today, in our World of 4.5 billion people who are unreached with the gospel of Jesus, and there are more than 5 billion in the world, of course. Today, there are more than 7,000 unreached people groups. There are 155,000 people today who will die and go into eternity without Jesus Christ. And some might think, well, what's the big deal about that? Everybody, you know, all roads lead to heaven and all that. There's a lot of modern ideas about that today. There's a lot of ambiguity today. But the fact of the matter is, we are here because we, at least most of us, because we love and serve the one who said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And no one comes to the Father except through me.

6:54The vision of the IMB, in case you didn't know, is this, a multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language knowing and worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ. IMB missionaries are funded through offerings like the one you will give today to your local church here when you give the Lord's tithe and your offerings here to the ministry of this church. Part of that goes on to support missionaries. You understand that, and you know about that. We also have at the IMB this thing called the Lighty Moon Christmas offering that we take every year that supports. And funds missionaries, and it goes directly to the ministry field. So, I would like for us, in these next few minutes that we have together, to consider the matter of what do people really need? And I'd like to come back to the key portion of our scripture today and put that verse back on the screen and invite you to read it with me out loud, if you would, please. You can just remain seated. But let's just read this text together out loud. One, two, three. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God's people who are set apart by faith in me. I think this passage gives us the answer to the question: what do people really need? Let me suggest to you that people need three things. First of all, they need their eyes to be opened.

8:31You see, the text that we have from the inspired Word of God says it very plainly: I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes. Now, who is speaking here? It's Jesus. You remember when Saul of Tarsus was minding his own business, going about the business of imprisoning and apprehending followers of Jesus, when God interrupted his life and changed everything. And it changed everything for not only Saul of Tarsus. But for you and me today as well.

9:02And that interruption of his life took place on the Damascus Road when he was blinded and he came to meet Jesus Christ. Now, Luke in the book of Acts tells us and records a lot about that in the initial encounter, but later Paul talks about that a few other times. He did change his name to Paul. And he tells us some other things that Luke originally didn't tell us. Here is one of those times when Paul is explaining a little bit more and unpacking a little more what happened on the Damascus Road and what Jesus actually said to him. And that's what this is: it is a quote from Jesus when he says to Saul of Tarsus, Paul the Apostle, I'm sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes.

9:47People are living in spiritual blindness. They really are. Let's don't forget about that. They're blind to the truth of God, and they need their eyes opened to the fact that they were created in the image of God, but because of sin, have been separated from God. They need their eyes open to the fact that only through a relationship with Jesus Christ can they be restored to a relationship with their Creator, the one true God. They need their eyes open to the fact that life is short, death is sure, and heaven and hell are real. We served in Buddhist Thailand, where if you attend a Buddhist funeral, you will hear the words in Thai translated into English. Like this, dead, never to arise, asleep, never to awaken, gone, never to return. There's a hopelessness in the world today, and there is a blindness in the world today. Paul knew something about this blindness. He was blinded on the Damascus road, and only then, only when he was blinded, were his eyes opened, and he began to see. And he had been living in this darkness and blindness all of his life until Jesus opened his eyes. Now, this blindness is a spiritual reality because we see in this verse, 2 Corinthians 4, verses 3 to 4, and even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Did you know that? Did you know that the reason, according to this verse, at least part of the reason that people are lost is because they're blinded by the enemy? So when you pray for lost people, you pray for your lost spouse or children or friends or co-workers or parents, pray for their eyes to be open. Pray that God would open their eyes. The enemy has blinded the minds of them to keep them from seeing because he wants to drag as many people down to hell as he can. And the only way he can do that is to keep them from believing. And the first step in keeping them from believing in Jesus is to keep them from. Hearing about him and seeing who he is. People need, first of all, eyes to be opened. But not only this, this text tells us something else. They need their bondage to be broken. That's what he says. They need their bondage to be broken. In fact, here's what it says in the text: so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.

12:29There's a spiritual bondage involved in the work and ministry of missions and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul continues to describe the spiritual condition of unbelievers. Not only are they blind, but they're in bondage, spiritual bondage. Now, picture the chains of bondage. A change that Paul very well understood. In fact, writing from a Roman prison cell, he probably knew a whole lot about chains of bondage, but this was a spiritual bondage more devastating and impacting than chains could ever be. There are many kinds of bondage, and you know about them. There is the bondage of addiction, alcoholism and drug abuse, the bondage of the addiction to pornography and other things that are common in our culture today. And bondage, some are in bondage to something like an unforgiving spirit or a grudge. Paul here is thinking, though, about something very deep and sinister, something spiritual. In fact, he writes about it in Ephesians 6, and you recall and remember this text I'm Sure, he says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

13:55The fact is, unbelievers are living in their native land. The darkness and bondage of the dominion of darkness. That's why, as the pastor prayed earlier, Lord, thank you for delivering us from the kingdom of darkness and bringing us in the kingdom of your Son. We're delivered people, is who we are. We're not people who are better than anybody else. We just had our eyes opened and our faith came to us and we believed in Jesus Christ and trusted in Him as our Lord and Savior. We are people who have been delivered and set free. We are people who believe. But Paul here pictures this spiritual bondage. People desperately need someone to come and share with them the light of God's truth so they can be delivered. People need to be rescued. And Philip in Samaria, Peter and John were sent out, and Simon the sorcerer, all of these examples. And we read in Acts chapter 8: therefore, repent. Of this wickedness, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your hearts may be forgiven, for I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bondage of iniquity. That's where people live.

15:12Mim was living in darkness. In Thailand, we call someone Kun, Kun Mim. I was Kunjani and Kun Kathy, and Kun Mim was living in darkness. I remember I was preaching in the little church there. I think the name of the church was actually New Life Church in Thai. And so I was preaching in the church. It was one of those times when I was keenly aware my Thai is horrible. And I was preaching, and at the end of the sermon, normally in a Thai church, you finish preaching, and then they close the service, and then you move the chairs, and you have lunch together right there. Well, we got through, we did everything. People started moving the chairs and moving the things out of the way, and Kun Mim just sat there in her wheelchair in the middle of the room. She wouldn't move. It was her first time to come to a Christian church. She had come because of an outreach event where the church had distributed Christmas things a few weeks prior, and she had never heard about a Christian church because Thai, to be Thai, is to be Buddhist. And so she said, What is this? And so she ended up at the church. And that day I had preached a simple message on what is the story of God's love in the Bible. A basic message from the whole Bible about how the true God created us, but we were Separated in sin, and so he had to send his son to redeem us. And whoever believes in him can have eternal life. She sat there, and people were wondering, what's this lady doing? And someone went up and asked her, What are you doing? And she said, Let me talk to him. And so I went up there. Keep in mind, my Thai at the time was not real good. Still not real good, but it's okay. She said, Is that true? And I said, Is what true? And she said, What you said today about a true God, one God, who sent his son, and people can know him and be forgiven. I said, Yes, it is true. And I had to ask for a Thai person to come and help. And they took the next 15 minutes and shared the gospel with her. At the end of which time, she prayed to receive Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. And before she prayed to receive Jesus, these people had been sharing with her, and I was praying over there on the side. And after praying to receive Jesus, now, Thai Buddhists wear emulets and amulets and things for protection from the evil spirits. Thai Buddhism is sort of a folk Buddhism. It's not pure Buddhism. It's Buddhism mixed with animism and superstition. So she had this amulet around her neck. And after she prayed to receive Jesus, she took the amulet, broke it off of her neck there, threw it on the ground, and she said, I'm not afraid of them anymore. I'm not afraid of the evil spirits anymore. There's something about having your bondage broken that's liberating.

18:00She asked the question afterwards. She said, Why hasn't anyone told me this before? Well, it wasn't too long after that. Look at these next few pictures. We took her down to the Gulf of Thailand to baptize her. She went down. Look at this next one. Now she's going down into the water. She's got a whole posse of people from the church there helping. Her son is this guy on the right there. He wasn't a believer at the time either. Now he is. Then she goes in, she gets baptized, and look at this next one. She's coming out of the water wearing flowers, and everybody's clapping. And I thought, maybe when somebody gets baptized, we ought to give them flowers as well. What a joy to know that you've been delivered from darkness. And the only way you can be delivered is if you hear the life-changing message of the gospel. Because missionaries don't deliver anybody, and preachers don't deliver anybody. People are delivered from the dominion of darkness when the message of Jesus Christ is proclaimed. And the power is not in the preacher or the missionary or the witness. The power is in the message we proclaim. It has the power to set men free and women like Kun Mim as well. We need, people need their eyes to be open, their bondage to be broken, but they need a third thing: they need their sins to be forgiven.

19:24They really do. The text says it like this: they will receive forgiveness for their sins. This is what. Jesus told Paul. I'm sending you to the Gentiles, he said, and I want you to tell them these things. See, one problem today, folks, in 2021, whether you live in College Station in Bryan, Texas, or Lake Charles, Louisiana, or Bangkok, Thailand, one problem today is people are being told that they're basically good. They're okay. They just need to find their inner goodness. Or maybe you've heard the other one, you know, well, you know, all roads lead to God, and, you know, who's to say that this way is better than that way? And I always like to tell people this. You're right. At the end of every road, whatever path you choose, doesn't matter, you're going to stand before God.

20:11But the only way you'll be able to stand before him with confidence is if you come through his son, whom he has sent, the Lord Jesus Christ. People are confused about things. People think they're good. My grandson just turned 12. I want him to grow up in a culture, in a world where he knows that he has a problem, a sin problem, and he needs forgiveness. And you do too, my friend. You need forgiveness. You need the God of heaven, the creator of the universe, who loved you enough to send his son. You need him to forgive you. And you won't do it automatically. You have to ask. You have to repent and turn to him and believe in him. One day, a group of religious leaders had gathered around Jesus and they were saying, tell us. What can we do to do the work of God? And it's like that old commercial. Some of you older folks will remember the E.F. Hutton commercials. When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen, and there they are gathered around. Jesus is about to answer the question: This is the work of God, he says. And he says, that you believe in whom, in him whom he has sent.

21:21What can you do to please God with your life? What can you do to show God that you love him and value him? Jesus said, You believe in the one whom he has sent. You believe in me. People need their sins to be forgiven. You know Romans 3:23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Not only that, but Isaiah 59:2 says it like this: But your iniquities have separated you from your God, your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

21:56People are living in darkness and they need forgiveness. They're living in spiritual bondage, spiritual darkness, and in spiritual death. I'll never forget the day I met Joy. These little red pickup trucks like this are all through Thailand. They're called in Thai Rot Song Tao. And we were, in order to get on a Rot Song Tao, you flag them down, they come by, and you flag them down, you get on, and when you're ready to get off, you pull the button on the back and it dings, and the guy pulls over, and you give him, you know, a couple of cents, and you get off. Off. But on this particular day, I was on the Rot Song Tao like this, very crowded. And that is the Thai language on the side, by the way. 44 consonants and 26 vowels. Not the easiest language to learn. Anyway, so I was on this, and we stopped at this one particular stop, and everybody got off except me and Joy.

22:54And never would that happen. So I just, you know, I'm... I'm dumb, but I'm not stupid. And so I figured this may be a chance that the Lord has given me to speak to this girl. But I realized sort of a quandary here. It might not look the best if an older white guy in Thailand talks to a young college student. So I said, I introduced myself and my wife. She wasn't with me, but I said, my wife and I live here. And can I ask you a question?

23:23Would you like to study English sometime? And she was real shy about it. And I said, all right, what am I going to do? Because we're about to stop, and there are people waiting to get on, and this conversation is about to end, I'm sure. And I think quickly, what can I do? What can I do? So I said, here is my wife's phone number. Give her a call if you'd like to talk with us about studying English, and we'd love to meet you. Well, as soon as we stopped, the thing filled up, and I couldn't even see her anymore because of all the people standing in the middle of the aisles and all of that. Well, the long story made a little bit shorter, Joy ended. Up calling, setting up an appointment, came to our house, got to meet Kathy, and it so happened that night we had a group of Christian Thai students who were there. We introduced her to them. They shared the gospel. And look at this next picture, if you would, here. This is Joy on the left, the bottom left. That's my wife there in the middle. And then on the right here is Dokmai, who was our Thai evangelism partner. She shared with Joy the message of the gospel. Joy believed and gave her heart to Jesus. Our first Thai convert right there, Joy. So the question: who cares about Joy? Well, God does. God cared about her. Then I got to thinking about this: Joy's parents, Joy's grandparents, her great-grandparents, her great-great-grandparents, and as far back as she could remember, we're all Buddhists.

24:53They lived their whole lives in darkness, and they died in darkness. But one day, an old white man sitting on a roat song towel that emptied miraculously met Joy and invited her to a relationship that led to her hearing about the one who could break her bondage. It's too late for Joy's parents and grandparents. Too late for her great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents and ancestors. It's not too late for her children. And her friends. But unless someone's willing to go, unless someone's willing to say, Lord, what's most important in my life is serving you and your name being praised and your fame and renown being spread to the nations. That's most important for me, Lord, because I know it's most important for you. And when God finds a man or a woman, a student like that, God says, I can use that man, woman, or student.

25:55You don't have to be, you don't have to be an expert. You don't have to be a specialist. You just got to have a willing heart. The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time. I believe that the opportunities are all around us, right here and among the nations, to invest our lives into the one who can set men and women, boys and girls free. And he's looking for students, and he's looking for retirees, and he's looking for professors, and he's looking for pastors and ordinary people who will raise their hand and who'll say, Lord, here I am.

26:47Send me. I love the passage from Isaiah where Isaiah has seen this vision, and he hears the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I? I sinned and who will go for us? And Isaiah said, Here I am. Send me. If God were to stir your heart, would you be willing for him to use you so that Joy's children and grandchildren and her friends and people like Kun Mim can have their eyes opened, their bondage broken, and their sins forgiven.

27:33If they don't hear about him, they can't believe in him. And if they don't believe in him, then the gospel is not good news. Father, I pray that you will help us, men, women, boys, and girls, to obey you and your call on our lives, to go to the nations. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. If you have and find in your heart a stirring and an interest to talk more about how you might be involved in God's plan to bring fame and renown to himself, the pastor and staff here, elders, are available to talk with you, and I would encourage you to do just that. God bless you.

28:25Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.