Mission to the Unreached: Part 2 - 230411

SPEAKER A Hello, I'm Christopher Peterson. Welcome to let God speak. When you think of sharing the good news about Jesus with someone, what does that person look like? Do they live in a city or in the country? Do they have dark or light skin? Are they a man or a woman? Often we can have a limited scope of the people we are to reach, but as Christians, we are called to share about Jesus with people, people of all walks of life. So how can we join in God's plan to bring the whole world into a knowledge of Jesus? Join with us as we study this question together on our panel today. We are joined by Casey Vakurka and Hannah Nakagawa. SPEAKER B Thank you. SPEAKER A Let's begin with a word of prayer together. Heavenly Father, as we read from your word, we ask that your Holy Spirit be present with us. Give us wisdom and understanding. Help us to apply your principles into our lives. We pray these things in your name. Amen. SPEAKER C Amen. SPEAKER A Well, our topic of discussion is sharing God's desire to see people from all different walks of life come and put their faith in Jesus. But a criticism I often hear about God is that he plays favourites when it comes to nationalities or ethnicities. So, Hannah, is there any truth to this criticism? SPEAKER C Well, sadly, many people believe that it is true. But it is not true. Well, several times in the Bible, God says clearly that he does not show partiality or favouritism to anyone based on any gender or ethnicity or race. God loves everyone, any social status. God loves anyone. And let me read Deuteronomy, chapter ten, verse, verse 17, where we can see more on that. Deuteronomy, chapter ten, verse 17. The Bible says, for the Lord your God is God of Gods and Lord of Lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. So it really clearly shows that God shows no partiality. In contrast with the idol worship in ancient times, God did not exclusively show his love to any particular tribe or race. Instead, his love spreads across entire human race. SPEAKER A Wow. And that's incredible news for us, isn't it? So we can see God, his love is for everyone. But I wonder, then, Casey, could you answer, if God doesn't show favouritism, why did he choose Israel to make a special covenant with? SPEAKER B Good question. And that takes us to a little bit back in history where there was a situation where most of the world was basically going in rebellion against God. This was around the Tower of Babel sort of time. And it's interesting because after that, there was a number of generations that passed and there was a line of people which did stay true to God. But it seems to be quite evident that God needed to have a group of people who would preserve a knowledge of himself amid a world where everyone else was kind of forgetting about God and going away from God. And so we find that God actually chose a family to hold this knowledge and who he could communicate with and keep this knowledge going. And if we have a look in Genesis chapter twelve, we can see this family. Genesis chapter Twelve and verse one to three. And it says, now, the Lord had said to Abram, get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you, and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him that curses you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. So this is where God called Abraham and his family out for this purpose. But it's so interesting that it says there that God's purpose was not just for them to come apart, to get to know him, but also that they would be a blessing to all the families of the earth. So to the whole world, they were to be a blessing through the knowledge of God that they had. And I think that's a really powerful lesson for us to consider in relation to this topic of mission to people who are unreached. Because God may call us out from the world so that we can get to know him, but it's not to stay that way. He wants us to be a blessing to others in the world. So, yeah, these are some of the lessons, and this is some of the reasons why God chose a special people. SPEAKER A Perfect. Thank you, Casey. So, Hannah, I wonder, do we see examples in the Old Testament where non Israelites or non Gentiles do enter into that covenant that started all the way back with Abraham and his family? SPEAKER C Yes, definitely. We see an incredible example. For example, we see the women, Rahab and her family. There were Canaanites who joined the Covenant family. Other example is Ruth. The Moabites is another example. Both of these women were ancestors of Jesus. SPEAKER A That's incredible, isn't it, that not only do we have non Israelites in the covenant, there's some of the ancestors of Jesus himself. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER A So I wonder, then it sounds like there were some small scale successes in bringing Gentiles into the covenant. But God said back in Genesis, all nations would come to enter the covenant. So do we see any examples of nations on a larger scale entering into this covenant community, do we see that, Casey? SPEAKER B Unfortunately, not really. There aren't really any examples of that. However, there are some examples of where some really influential people were drawn to know more about God through his own chosen people. And we can find an example of that in one kings, chapter ten and verse one. And that's talking. And it says, now, when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. And so at that time, Solomon, he was the king of Israel and he was very prosperous. He was at first, in his reign, very faithful to God, and God blessed him. And so this queen from a far country had heard about that and wanted to see what it was about. So she came with questions. But we find that it's very interesting, her reaction after experiencing what she saw with Solomon and his kingdom. In verse nine of that same chapter, the Queen of Sheba says, blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel, because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore he made you king to do justice and righteousness. So here is this queen from another country. She is praising God as a result of what she sees in this amazing place. And I think this is a really excellent example of what God's purpose was for Israel, unfortunately, and even Solomon himself, he turned away from his faithfulness later in his life and many others did the same thing. And so this kind of a scenario didn't really repeat itself. But I think this is what comes close to God's ideal. SPEAKER C Yes, there are similar stories as well. During the reign of another king, Uzziah, we read it in two. Chronicle 26, verse eight. It says also the Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong. So we see this similarity here. But again, unfortunately, Isaiah, too, became proud. And, yeah, he became a poor leader as well. I guess the pride is the key also. The Solomon, he had a lot of wealth, a lot of everything. He had everything. But then it led him to disobedience because of the pride as well. And even the godly king, Hezekiah, was miraculously healed by, you know, he could have praised God and glorified his name, but instead what he did was that when the visitor came to his country, well, he was basically showing off his place and he missed the point. He missed this golden opportunity. He could have praised God and glorified his name, but he couldn't. He didn't. SPEAKER A It's so frustrating reading those stories where, as you said, casey, they're so close to fulfilling, you know, and it goes to show that the kings often miss the point of why God was blessing them. God blessed Solomon with great wealth and he missed the point. King Uzziah, we're told his army was strengthened. He missed the point. Hezekiah, he gets healed by God, he misses the point. So it's this real testament to God's patience, not only with the other nations, but with Israel as well. So now we come to the fact that the Old Testament kings, they were unable to fulfil the mission that God had given to bring the nations together. But in the New Testament, we see Jesus, he's going to fulfil what those Old Testament kings failed to do. So I wonder, Casey, are you able to share with us an example of Jesus mission to the Gentiles? SPEAKER B Definitely, yeah. So we are actually diving into a new story now. And this one is from Matthew 15 and verse 21, it starts and it says, then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And so from there he meets an interesting person and it's a good story we're going to explore. SPEAKER A Perfect. And, Hannah, can you give us a bit of context? What's the significance of Jesus travelling to Tyre and Sidon? SPEAKER C Sure. So after the Israelites settled into the Promised Land, God purposefully left some of the pagan nations surrounding Israel for the purpose of testing them. Let me read judges, chapter three, verse four. The Bible says, and they were left, that he might test Israel by them to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he has commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. So one of those nation was Sidon. And as we have already read, Israel did not pass the test, unfortunately. Well, they followed after their custom, which is the idol worship. So instead of spreading the light to them, they were actually influenced and they started disobeying God. SPEAKER A So it's very interesting for Jesus to go to this place, which Israel has a very, we could say, spotty history with Sidon's always been bringing Israel into idolatry, but now Jesus is going there to do submission. Well, as Casey said, this is a very interesting story. So let's keep reading. In verse 22 of Matthew, chapter 15, it says, and behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to him, saying, have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David, my daughter is severely demon possessed. But Jesus answered her not a word. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, send her away, for she cries out after us. Now, perhaps as we've read this passage, our ears kind of prick up and gO, hang on, something doesn't seem quite right here. Jesus is ignoring the cries of this woman. Casey, why does Jesus'response here seem so cold to this woman? SPEAKER B Yeah, it's fascinating to study what Jesus is doing here because he was basically playing out and acting out what would be the typical response of some of his own people, some of the Jews, if they were in this situation, like, they would just cold ignore this person. They wouldn't even speak to them. They would despise them, pretend they didn't even exist, and certainly wouldn't care for their troubles. And so Jesus was acting that out to make a point to his disciples, to try and help them to see a bigger picture that Christ's mission was for these people as well. And it's interesting how the disciples there know at first resonating with Jesus'response of ignoring her and saying, you know, send her away, just get rid of her, kind of thing. But we go on to see that Jesus then flips and changes tactic again and makes a nice contrast to help the disciples see a different approach. SPEAKER A Perfect. Well, let's get closer to that twist, shall we? Yeah, let's go to verse 24. But he answered and said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now, I wonder, Hannah, is there any truth to this statement Jesus makes here in verse 24? SPEAKER C Yes. So Jesus mission was first to the Jew. To the Jew. But it was not at the exclusion of the Gentile. It doesn't mean that he doesn't care for other people. The light was coming from Jews. So Jesus was the person through whom the promise made to Abraham would be fulfilled. So all nations were going to be blessed through Jesus. SPEAKER A Awesome. Okay, well, I want to get to the end of this very interesting story. So, Casey, do you want to finish out the story for us? SPEAKER B Yes, let's read it. So we continue now from verse 24 onwards through to verse 28, I believe. And it says, but he answered, sorry, that's the next verse. Then she came and worshipped him, saying, lord, help me. But he answered and said, it is not good to take the chiLdren's bread and to throw it to the dogs. And she said, yes, Lord. Yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from the Master's table. Then Jesus answered and said to her, o woman, great is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour. So it's very interesting here because he challenges this woman. I mean, can you imagine what it would have been like to be in that position? She was trying to come for help. And then he says this to her, well, you don't even deserve this. You're almost like to say someone is like a dog would be like an insult. Even today we would still interpret it that way and certainly back then. So this was really a test. Is she going to just walk away and say, oh, he's not going to do anything for me, or is she going to persist? And she persists and it's such an incredible way that she responds there. And Jesus then rewarded that and then healed. And so this is where he is contrasting what he did before, which was he was playing the cold approach of his own countryman, and then he was contrasting and saying, actually, I have great compassion for this woman. I have power to help her and I'm here to help her. And even though she is not a Jew, she has faith in me. And so her faith is rewarded. So God cares for her too. SPEAKER C Actually, her faith is greater. I feel like, yeah, and, you know, Jesus kind of played here that as if treat the way that disciples would treat or other Jews would treat and show them the reality of their belief, reality of how they treat Gentiles. But then what he's doing is that contrastly, he's showing his will of God, that through Jesus'mission and through, he came to show them the love. He came to show the humanity, all of us, not just the selected people or race or gender or social status. He came to save all of us. So that's what he's sharing that to them. SPEAKER A And that's a powerful challenge for us, isn't it? So it was a challenge to the disciples. SPEAKER C It is. SPEAKER A And now it's a challenge for us. Do we take the gospel out to everyone or do we sometimes withhold it from people? Sometimes we might consider, oh, that person may not be interested or maybe not be worthy, but Jesus did not discriminate in that way. He was looking to take the Gospel out to whoever was willing to listen. So, Casey, I wonder, do we have any other examples in addition to this beautiful story here of Jesus'mission to other Gentiles during his ministry? SPEAKER B Yeah, it's interesting. There are a number of other examples. One of them is the Samaritan woman. She was from, again, a race that was more or less despised by the Jews, and they had a lot of history with and contentions with. But she became a missionary to her own town through Jesus influence. There was also a Roman centurion. And Jesus said he had more faith than anyone in Israel, and he rewarded his faith as well. And then even one of Jesus own twelve disciples was a Gentile. We can read that in Matthew ten, verse two to four. It says there now the names of the Twelve Apostles are these. First, Simon, who is Peter, Andrew, his brother James, the son of Zebedee. And John, his brother Philip. And Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector. James, the son of Alphaeus. And Libius, whose surname was Thaddeus. Simon the Canaanite. And Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. And so that one there, Simon the Canaanite. Canaanites, were some of the worst idolaters in the Old Testament. And these were certainly not people who followed God. And yet Jesus recognised in this person someone who had faith, and so he brought him under his wing to train as a disciple. SPEAKER A So the more that we read about Jesus life and ministry, it just shows that he was fulfilling that promise all the way made back in Genesis twelve. All nations were going to be blessed through this covenant. Now, what is interesting is this is what Jesus did, what he was seeking to fulfil. Once Jesus ascended to heaven, did his followers continue that mission? SPEAKER C Definitely. Well, Jesus himself commissioned his disciple to not to preach just only few people or few nation or few race, but to everyone. Let's read Matthew 28, verse 18 to 20, it says, and Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And Lord, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. I'm so glad that it says, make disciple of all nation, not the one nation, not few nation, but all nation. And that's why someone like me, born in Japan, can also know Jesus received the Gospel. This is not the message for particular race or people, but this is for everyone. And this is his mission. He came to die for us so that whoever believe in him will be saved. SPEAKER A And I've often thought about how incredible it is that people so far removed from ancient Israel believe in Jesus today. I said that to some church members in one of my previous churches out in a western town. And I said, do you know how strange it is that you guys who live in western part of our state in Australia, believe in Jesus? And he started his ministry in ancient Israel. It's in the complete opposite side of the world. And yet all of us were all a testimony to the fact that the church did take that commission seriously, didn't they? I wonder, Casey as well, was there anything unique about the beginning of the church that showed that this message, it was going to go everywhere? SPEAKER B Definitely some very amazing things happened. And if you study in the Book of Acts, chapter two, it's got an account there of what happened. And basically, the early Church, the focus was, of course, they first were ministering amongst Jerusalem and Judea, but then the mission was just all over the world. That was the ultimate goal. And it's very interesting because in Acts Chapter two, Peter is sharing a sermon, and he preached, and there was a special action of the Holy Spirit that occurred as he was preaching, because around listening to him were people from all different nations. And as they're listening to his sermon, even though he was preaching in his language, they were hearing everything being said in their own language. This was a miracle of the Holy Spirit. Right? And it's so interesting, know, way back, we mentioned earlier about the Tower of Babel, and we mentioned that that was a scene where people rebelled against God. And so actually, God confused the languages then so that the people's plan would be thwarted and they would scatter over the earth. But here we see a contrast. God is trying to bring people together and have a common understanding of himself, and he was helping them understand, without the problem of the language barrier, through the Holy Spirit. So it's amazing to see how God's drive is to reach just everyone. SPEAKER A And what an incredible parallel that brings that story full circle, doesn't it? One other interesting story that happened in the early Church, and again, it features Peter, is God actually gave Peter a vision. And the purpose of it was to show that, yes, the Gospel has to go out to the Gentiles as well. And it's very interesting that in acts ten, after Peter has this vision, he says this in verses 34 and 35, says, Peter opened his mouth and said, in truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. And it's interesting that in many ways, that was a bit of a hard pill to swallow for the ancient Jews and the disciples. They had such a long history of looking down on the Gentiles, and yet God was making it clear from the start through what happened in the upper room and at Pentecost, through this vision. No, the Gospel, it goes out to everyone. SPEAKER C Yeah, it must have been a little bit difficult for them to unlearn what they were but then gospel is for everyone. SPEAKER A That's right. And so let's kind of wrap things up. We've looked at really this amazing theme throughout the Old and New Testament. Now we come to us sitting here today. We have to follow the same commission. So, Hannah, what does this mean for our Christian lives today? SPEAKER C Yes, that's right. Jesus called disciple to be disciple in a mission. And that is the commission is to us today for us being Christian as well. Well, let's read two Corinthians, chapter five and verse 18 to 21. The Bible says, now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of Reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the world of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassador for Christ. As though God were pleading through us, we implore you on Christ's behalf be reconciled to God. Verse 21. For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. What a beautiful verses here. That God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. Jesus became sin for us so that we will be righteous through him, so that as he has, Jesus reconciled us through his sacrifice to God. We as well have this mission to be Ambassador of God and we can bring that reconciliation to the world as well. And it is only through the blood of Jesus. SPEAKER A And it's incredible as well. Galatians three says that anyone who's baptised in Christ is grafted into that covenant with Abraham. Well, the life and ministry of Jesus reveals to us the challenge to share the message of the Gospel with everyone. The God we serve does not show favouritism to anyone. But through his Son, Jesus demonstrated love and reconciled the world to himself. As followers of Christ, we must continue the mission he gave to us and share the good news of God's grace, forgiveness of sin and eternal life with people of all walks of life. Will you join the mission that Christ has given to you? Thank you for joining us today on Let God speak. If you were blessed by this programme, tell your friends. Remember that all past programmes and teachers notes are available on our website, threeabnustralia.org au. Or you can email us on [email protected] au. We look forward to you joining us again next time. God bless. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God Speak, a production of three ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit threeabnastralia.org au call us in Australia on AU we'd love to hear from.