Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Main Idea: Living as a Christian is more than going to church, it’s being the church, and being Christ’s witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Text:

[IMB Video: Are We There Yet?]

“Are we there yet?” That was the motto of the International Mission Board in 2010, just a year after I became a pastor.

[“Are We There Yet” sticker]

They sent me a sticker with this motto on it, and I thought it would be a good reminder and gauge as to whether we were being effective as a church, so I stuck it above the handle to my office door so that I would see it every time I came to my office: are we there yet.

Over the years, it’s been a reminder to me that my job isn’t just to minister to a small group of people in a small town, but to lead us to share the gospel with lost people all over the world who are headed for hell because they’ve likely never even heard the name of Jesus.

So I see that sticker, and I often have to admit, “No, we’re not there yet.” I mean, it’s great that we do what we do. It’s great that we go on a mission trip every summer. It’s great that we give a portion of our offerings to missionaries all over the world. But I think we also have to be honest and admit that we fall far short of the calling to be Christ’s ambassadors in our daily lives, and we fall far short of being intentional to go to the ends of the earth to share Jesus with the lost.

At the beginning of the video we watched, it stated that there were 6,426 unreached people groups in the world at the time that the video was made in 2010. This week, twelve years later, I was curious about how many we’ve reached since then, and I was shocked to see that the number had gone up, not down.

[Picture of Unreached People Groups]

According to the Joshua Project, there are now over 7,400 unreached people groups in the world. An unreached people group is defined as a group of people with less than 2% of the population who confess Christ as Savior, so there are now more groups in the world who have less Christians in them than twelve years ago.

The last command Jesus gave us before He ascended to heaven was to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. So, are we there yet? Are we even going? Or, to put it more pointedly, are you going?

Romans 15:14-21

My brothers and sisters, I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. Nevertheless, I have written to remind you more boldly on some points because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the gospel of God. God’s purpose is that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore I have reason to boast in Christ Jesus regarding what pertains to God. For I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me by word and deed for the obedience of the Gentiles, by the power of miraculous signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit. As a result, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum. My aim is to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that I will not build on someone else’s foundation, but, as it is written, Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand. (Romans 15:14-21)

Father, help us to be people who go. Give us conviction and boldness to fully proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

About two months ago, a young boy named Juan Cruz got separated from his dad, Eduardo, while they were walking on the busy streets of a city in Argentina. A concerned pedestrian saw Juan Cruz alone, asked him if he was lost, and the young boy told him that his name was Juan Cruz and that he was looking for his father, Eduardo. The pedestrian then hoisted Juan Cruz up onto his shoulders, and this happened.

[Video of Juan Cruz]

So, in the end, Eduardo found his lost son, because all the people collectively came together to shout, ““Eduardo, come and find Jaun Cruz!”

Do we have that kind of conviction for the lost? Do we consistently pray to God the Father for the lost people that we know, so that God will certainly hear our prayer, and find the lost person, because Jesus came to seek and to save the lost?

As we continue working our way through Paul’s letter to the Romans, we continue to learn what it means to live in light of the gospel. Among other things, we’ve learned that it means to put on the Lord Jesus, and to give God not just part of our lives, but all of our lives, and to love others, and now, we see that it also means preaching the gospel so that others who have never heard might also receive Jesus, be saved, and sanctified.

But when it comes to sharing the gospel, we often feel so inadequate. We don’t feel like we’re good enough, or know enough to effectively instruct others. But Paul says just the opposite of us. Verse 14.

My brothers and sisters, I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. (Romans 15:14)

The church in Rome at that time wasn’t much different from many of our churches today. It was eclectic in the sense that there were weak Christians, and strong Christians. People had various backgrounds, including many Jews, many Greeks, and many who had converted from the polytheistic religions of Rome. But they all shared one thing in common: they were now Christians, saved by grace, and a part of the same community of faith, so Paul sought to encourage them to be committed to one another in discipleship and evangelism.

But it seems they didn’t feel up to the task. So Paul encouraged them, saying “I’m convinced that you’re full of goodness and knowledge, and able to instruct one another.”

And in the same way, if you’re a believer today, you don’t just have some goodness, as if your goodness relied on your own acts of righteousness. You have ALL goodness, you’re full of goodness, because you have the righteousness of Christ. And you don’t just have enough knowledge, you have ALL knowledge, you’re full of knowledge, and you’re able to instruct one another. You’re able to jump in and start teaching a Sunday School class, or a class on Wednesday nights. You’re able to stand up and give a testimony on Sunday morning, or even to preach. I would love to see more and more of these kinds of things in our church. And we could certainly use more youth and children’s workers. And I totally understand if you feel inadequate. I do, too. But if God’s word says that we’re able to instruct one another, we are.

So what we’re often lacking isn’t the knowledge to share Jesus with others, but the boldness to do so. Verse 15.

Nevertheless, I have written to remind you more boldly on some points because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the gospel of God. God’s purpose is that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:15-16)

So Paul reminds the believers in Rome about his mission. Paul set out to preach to the Gentiles, the nations, that’s the Romans, and that’s us, so that we would also believe and be saved, and therefore be sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

To be sanctified means to be made holy, set apart for God’s purposes. Not only does it have to do with turning away from sin, but it also has to do with engaging in the mission of God.

At the beginning of his letter to the Romans, Paul said that he himself was set apart for the gospel of God, and now he’s saying that his goal was for the people he preached to to see themselves as set apart for the gospel of God. Just as Paul was a missionary, Paul encouraged everyone in the church of Rome to see themselves as missionaries, set apart for the gospel.

So, church, have you come to see that you’re set apart for the gospel of God? Living as a Christian is more than going to church, it’s being the church, and being Christ’s witnesses to the ends of the earth.

That was Paul’s aim, and it ought to be ours as well. Verse 17.

Therefore I have reason to boast in Christ Jesus regarding what pertains to God. For I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me by word and deed for the obedience of the Gentiles, by the power of miraculous signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit. As a result, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum. My aim is to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that I will not build on someone else’s foundation, but, as it is written, Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand. (Romans 15:17-21)

Now, when I first read that, it was difficult for me to follow Paul’s line of reasoning. But Paul is basically saying this: “God gets all the glory for how He saved me through faith in Jesus, and so now it’s my desire to share with all the world what Jesus has done for me.”

And the thing is, we should all be able to say the same. Your testimony is an awesome tool in sharing the gospel. By simply telling others about how Jesus saved you, you’re proclaiming the gospel. And Paul’s aim was to do that where Christ has not been named, so that they would hear the gospel, trust in Jesus, and be saved.

Maybe that means some of us need to become missionaries. Nearly 2,000 years after Paul wrote these words, there are still people groups all over the world where they’ve never even heard the name Jesus. We want to be a part of sharing Jesus with them so that “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” People are just waiting to hear about Jesus so that God will open their eyes, so that they will believe and be saved.

Billy Graham once told about an experience he had in China. As he was traveling between villages, he saw a Buddhist monk praying on the side of the road, so he stopped to share Jesus with the man. After Graham shared the gospel with the man, he handed him a Bible, and asked the question, “So, would you like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?” Through tears of joy, the monk responded, “The story you’ve told me today? I’ve known the truth of that story my entire life – I just never knew the name Jesus. Thank you.”

You see, we often see the unreached people groups as hard to reach and opposed to the gospel. But God’s already at work in the hearts and lives of those He’s sending us to. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Maybe the place that you need to preach Christ is in your family. Maybe the members of your own family have heard about Jesus, but have never truly seen what Jesus has done for you and them. Seek to share Jesus with them.

Or maybe you need to preach Christ in your workplace. I’m really surprised just how much of America today has little to no Christian influence in their lives, and maybe you’re the only Christian they even know. Be faithful to preach Jesus.

Now, that doesn’t mean hitting them over the head with the Bible every time you see them. Sometimes it just means you let them know you’re praying for them. Or sometimes it means inviting them to your house, or out bowling, so that you can demonstrate what Christian love is all about.

But no matter where we go, God calls us to be His witnesses. So, are we there yet?