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(1) INTRODUCTION: Reaching The Unreached.
In order to fully understand our strategic part in God's plans today it is imperative that we understand His prophetic workings through history (HIS Story). Our lives must be strategic to really enter fully into His plan for us and we need to see His Big Picture also in an historical sense.
God's plan has always been to see an earth full of people bearing His image, ruling and reigning with Him in His Kingdom. We have seen that we are in the time when His kingdom has been striking back, and the earth is being prepared for the Messiah's second coming to rule and reign on earth with His Saints. We also saw how Israel largely failed in filling the earth with His redeemed people (although they were used to 'set the scene' by being forcibly scattered to all corners of the earth and they still are central to God's plan - See Israel's Part In History).
The New Testament shows how Jesus trained the Disciples to be a missionary people, and indeed the early Church did start to accomplish God's purpose of 'reaching the unreached' and extending His Kingdom into the hearts of those who had never heard before. The Apostle Paul first set God's precendent for the Church to be strategically 'reaching the unreached' (see Romans 15:20) because htis best outworks God's 'Big Picture' - His destination will be reached , according to Matthew 24:14, when every people group (ethno-linguistic group) of earth has a dynamic, indigenous testimony of the Gospel in it's midst.
Knowing this we must realize that our lives must be aligned strategically in accordance with God's overall plan for the earth. Our specific calling will be in this context and so our lives must contribute specifically to God's end-time thrust of reaching the unreached for Jesus, whether we go or stay!
We must also see that God's plan is a general westward sweep of the Gospel through modern history which is now at a particualr stage. Understanding our part in this is also vitally important. Let us now look at this westward sweep in New Testament history.
(2) The General Westward Sweep Of The Gospel.
(i) God's Dealing With The Apostle Paul And Team.
If we look specifically at God's leading of Paul and his missionary team we will see an unveiling of God's plan for the Gospel to proceed westward from Israel. Paul's missionary journeys are focused upon in the book of Acts almost exclusively as they are representative of God the Holy Spirit's mission vision.
Paul's
first missions trip is an exploratory one setting the scene for his second
and subsequent trips.
His
second missionary journey is very interesting as it show the Holy Spirit's
specific and implicit guidance of the early Church's missionary expansion.
In Acts 16:6-9 we see that Paul and his team were in Galatia and tried to go east into the Roman Province of Asia. But they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to do this as this was not in His Divine timing. Again, as they travelled west, they tried to go north into Bithynia from Mysia but they were forbidden by the Spirit. Instead they were led all the way to the westernmost point of the continent of Asia - to Troas.
It was here that Paul received the vision of a Macedonian man (Acts 16:9-10) imploring them to cross the sea to Macedonia (in modern day region of Greece). This is significant as Macedonia is in a completely different continent - Europe. The Holy Spirit was revealing to Paul and His team that the 'highway of holiness' for them to tread on and see the early Church expand, was westward.
On Paul's third mission trip, after having returned to Jerusalem, we see Paul had understood the heart of the Father to launch out westward as he immediately went west to strengthen the existing baby churches. His fourth mission trip (involuntarily taken as a prisoner) sees the gospel spread all the way west to Italy (Rome), indeed Paul's eyes were set beyond there as far as Spain - Romans 15:24 - (western most point of Europe) - see the map below and trace God's westward guidance throughout Paul's missionary trips....
(ii) God's Dealings With The Church Through The Centuries.
(a) Europe:
The Church continued to be spread westward into Europe through the early centuries. This was the fullness of time for the Gospel to be revealed in Europe from the time when Lydia, a Gentile European in Phillipi first believed the Messianic Jew, Paul. Civilizations based on Christianity were built up in Greece and then in Rome (after three centuries of battling and much martyrdom). The blood of the martyrs indeed bacame the seed of the Church of Rome which became christianized in the third century under Emporer Constantine.
Then the Barbarians arose to conquer the might of Rome. They conquered Rome but also the Gospel conquered them and Christianity again advanced westward (the 'Barbarians' came from areas that are modern day Western Europe such as Switzerland, France and England). God's blessings fell on these nations and they advanced far ahead in wealth, art, technology and science as a revelation of God is the source of these blessings (this is most marked in the Jewish people themselves).
See the map below to see the gradual advance of the Gospel westward to cover all of Europe...
(b) America - Go West Young Man!
However, Europe bacame too confined. New moves of the Holy Spirit sprang up and problems emerged as the Church resisted the Holy Spirit. Therefore people started looking for a new place to go - this was to the west, to the New World we know as America.
The
early Pilgrim Fathers went seeking freedom. They wanted to worship Jesus
freely with a constitution based on the Bible. God blessed this nation
over 300 years to become a great nation spreading wealth and revival (atleast
five great waves of revival) throughout the earth.
But
America is losing this greatness and is no longer seen as 'good' (morally)
so the Gospel moves on again WESTWARD. West from America is....
.....ASIA! Now Asia (initially East Asia) is arising and a growing Church continues to grow fast. In Seol, Korea, there are now the biggest Presbyterian, Methodist and Assembly Of God churches (which all originated in the west) in the world and many Mega Churches are rising up all over East Asia.This growth has only occured since the 1950's, within the last generation. Europe had 18 centuries of greatness, America 3 centuries, Asia will have how long ?
Look where the wave of the Gospel's westward sweep continues - across the 10/40 window all the way BACK TO JERUSALEM! Jerusalem is the finishing line - Jerusalem lays the foundation and we bring in the harvest!
Prophetically we are in Asia's Kairos moment for missions. Europe and America had their key times in missionary expansion as pioneers but now it is Asia's time. Now (1999) there are more Asian missionaries worldwide than Western ones and they are increasing at an amazing speed. Western missions still has a strategic role to play (especially in envisioning and equipping asian church for missions).
As God raises up Asian Christians where do you think will be the focus of their calling ? That's right! To the west of where they are (please note this is prophetic and doesn't exclude God's calling leading them elsewhere) - this means the focus of the Church is East Asia today should be to reach the unreached in West Asia and the Middle East.
(3) CONCLUSION: The Prophetic Highway.
We
have seen that the Lord has been leading the Church to expand His Kingdom
ever westward from Israel and ultimately all the way back again to Israel..wrapping
up His purposes for this age. Throughout history there has been a PROPHETIC
HIGHWAY OF HOLINESS the church is to follow , preparing the way for
the King of Kings, King Jesus - His glory will sweep along this highway
,as it has already, all the way back to Jerusalem and thrugh her gates.
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There
is a prophetic highway from Asia all the way to Jerusalem and this highway
will be filled with born again believers from each nation on that Highway!
How will they hear unless someone is sent to them to speak, in their own
language, the Gospel message ?
The Asian Church must be mobilized to reach the unreached or it will not enter into God's End-Time plan! The Western Church must be a servant in facilitating this. |
The highway is a way of salvation through Christ for hundreds of millions. As the times of the Gentiles closes the highway will be built closer and closer to Israel until the time comes when Jeshua the messiah of Israel comes to Jerusalem and all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:25-26) as they look upon Him whom they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10-14). This will usher in the millenial Kingdom and we will enter into the fullness of our inheritance in Christ (as much as we have been faithful to His call on our lives).
Come quickly Lord Jesus!
Even so , come!
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