It's Gonna Happen!
"...to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

At your church and in your life, is mission work worth shouting about? For many Christians the answer is "No," because they suffer from doubts about the global proclamation of the Gospel.

• Gustav, a German businessman, says, "Evangelizing the world is hopeless, isn’t it? Six billion people. Thousands of languages and cultures. Hundreds of religions. It can’t be done!"
• Sandra, a Canadian woman, wonders, "My neighbors here in Toronto are Jews, Arabs, Asians, and Amerindians. I’ve always found them to be nice people. I know what the Bible says, but do they really need to trust in Christ to be saved?"
• Mina, an Egyptian student, says, "Why bother to reach out to the nine million Muslims in Cairo? We are Christians. They are Muslims. That’s the way it’s always been. That’s the way it always will be."

To quell mission doubts like these, we need to claim the Bible’s mission promises. (Although it’s impolite to SHOUT in e-mail, God’s global promises are worthy of capital letters.)

1. "ALL PEOPLES on earth will be blessed through you [Jacob] and your offspring [the Messiah]" (Gen.28:14).
2. "ALL NATIONS will be blessed through him [the Messiah], and they will call him blessed" (Psalm 72:17).
3. "He [the Messiah] will proclaim peace to the NATIONS. His rule will extend from SEA TO SEA, and from the [Euphrates] River to the ENDS of the EARTH" (Zech. 9:10).
4. "People will come from EAST and WEST and NORTH and SOUTH, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of heaven" (Luke 13:29).
5. "But you WILL RECEIVE POWER when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you WILL BE MY WITNESSES in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ENDS of the EARTH" (Acts 1:8).

Did you sense the Lord’s excitement? What we consider hopeless, He promises to accomplish: "It’s gonna happen!" Note that He isn’t saying that every individual will come to faith and be saved. No, He is telling us that there will be men, women and children from every language, tribe and people group who will become citizens of heaven through faith in Christ. It’s going to happen! His promise is sure.

I once taught the "It’s gonna happen!" concept in a Bible class. In response, a woman marveled, "Until now, it never dawned on me that someday the Great Commission actually would be fulfilled. But what God promises, He surely will do!" Missions is worth shouting about. "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth!" (Psalm 100:1).

• What mission assignment would you accept willingly, if only you knew that God would bless it?
• While you do your small piece of GodÕs mission task, what difference does it make to you that God has foretold that the entire task someday will be accomplished according to His desires and purposes? (See Matt. 24:14.)

• Using Acts 1:8 as your guide, identify the four groups of people with whom your church can share the Gospel.
  • Your Jerusalem: people who share your culture and who live nearby, in your own community (no obstacles of culture or distance).
  • Your Judea: people who share your culture but live further away, in your region (mission challenge: distance).
  • Your Samaria: people of a different culture who live near you, in your own community (mission challenge: culture).
  • The ends of the earth: people of a different culture who live very far away from you (mission challenges: distance AND culture).
• Pray for the four groups youÕve identified. Start planning ways you and your fellow Christians can reach out to them. What next step would you need to take?