Spark Notes 5/6 - Reaching the Unreached

This week, we learned about the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and current state of the world in regards to being reached by the Gospel.

The Bible is one big story from Genesis to Revelation about God and His glory and there is a theme that runs through the entire story of God's heart for all nations and the purpose He has for His people.

In Genesis 12:1-3, we read that we are blessed to be a blessing.
Exodus 9:16 says that God's name would be proclaimed in all the earth.
Exodus 19:4-6 talks about a kingdom of priests, a holy nations, that is, Israel's calling, opportunity, an response. Then we learn about Jesus, the Messiahs for ALL people.

Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, John 20:21, Luke 24:27-29, Acts 1:8 all commissioned, sent and empowered to tell people about Jesus ad make disciples of all nations.

Acts 9: 1,4 - The Church at Jerusalem is scattered, then in Acts 13:1-3, the church at Antioch sends people out. 1 Peter 2:9 again talks about a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. We learn about the top line blessing means bottom line responsibility. 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 says that we are ambassadors with a message. This is the Church's calling and opportunity, so what is the response?

"Make Disciples of all nations" / Greek word for nations is ethnos + ethic groups or people groups.

There are about 17,000 total people groups in the world (total population is 7.5 billion). There are about 7,000 unreached people groups (with a population of 3.2 billion people). There are about 3,000 unengaged people groups. And estimated 2 billion people have never heard the Good News.

Romans 10:13-15 says, How will they heart about Jesus unless someone tells them? Matthew 9:27-28 note that more workers are needed! And we know that the end will come! (Matthew 24:14 and Mark 13:10).

The "10/40 Window" - where 95% of the unreached people groups are in the world today.

3% of all cross-cultural missionaries are working among the unreached.

Our highest motivation should be to see the glory of God in all the earth. John 4:35 tells us that the fields are ripe for harvest! The most beautiful part is that in Revelation 7:9-10 we are given a foretaste of what is to come.

For resources on how to pray for the unreached and to get involved, visit joshuaproject.net
For more statistics, watch this video.

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National Day of Prayer Guides

How to pray for our country on this National Day of Prayer. Provided by NationalDayofPrayer.org with Sioux Center additions made by HOME.

HOW TO PRAY FOR UNITY IN AMERICA

1. #PRAY4UNITY IN AMERICA.

“Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:3

• The present spiritual crisis in America is calling us to pray for and take all necessary actions to come together as a nation.
• God is the only One who can bring unity, harmony, and oneness in America; therefore, we look only to Him in prayer.
• Call upon God to empower us to make every effort to live in unity, call for unity, and forward unity in America continually.

2.#PRAY4UNITY IN THE CHURCH OF AMERICA.

“Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.” 1 Corinthians 1:10

• God is calling His church in America to unify upon the authority of the Bible and the centrality of Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world.
• Ask God for thousands of local churches to unify as one body of Christ, agreeing together that God is our greatest need in America.
• Call upon God for Jesus’ Church in America walks in unity, harmony, and oneness, so His Church personifies, calls, and leads America to unity.

3.#PRAY4UNITY IN THE FAMILIES, WORKPLACES, COMMUNITIES, AND CITIES IN AMERICA.

“Also, the power of God was at work in Judah to unite them to carry out the command of the king and his officials by the word of the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 30:12

• God’s power upon us is the only source to unite our families, workplaces, communities, and cities in America.
• Call families, workplaces, communities, and cities to look to our only King, Jesus Christ, who is not only the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but also the Prince of Peace who can unify us.
• Pray for America’s families, workplaces, communities, and cities. It is the spiritual energy that leads to forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and unity.

4. #PRAY4UNITY AMONG ALL ETHNICITIES AND PEOPLE IN AMERICA.

“For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.” Ephesians 2:14

• Since each of us is made in the image of God, we each bear His image regardless of the color of our skin or the uniqueness of our ethnicity.
• Through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, He has torn down the wall of division among all ethnicities and people.
• In God alone, we unify and live in peace with one another; standing as one people against all racial and ethnic division, denouncing it as sin and not God’s will for us.

5. #PRAY4UNITY THAT WE AGREE CLEARLY, UNITE VISIBLY, AND PRAY EXTRAORDINARILY FOR THE NEXT GREAT SPIRITUAL AWAKENING IN AMERICA.

“They all were continually united in prayer.” Acts 1:14

• Preceding the epic movement of God on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, Jesus’ people were continually united in prayer together.
• Convict the church in America to wake up spiritually, agree clearly, unite visibly, and pray extraordinarily for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America to occur in our generation.
• Call upon God to bring spiritual awakening now in America shaping the future of America, just as the Great Spiritual Awakenings in our history have shaped our spiritual heritage as a nation.

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HOW TO PRAY FOR THE SEVEN CENTERS OF INFLUENCE IN AMERICA

GOVERNMENT

• Federal: Executive, legislative, judicial
• State: Executive, legislative, judicial
• Local: Executive, judicial, police and first responders

In Sioux Center:

• City Council

MILITARY

• Leaders
• Divine protection
• Courage and dependence on God

MEDIA

• Truth-bearers
• Life-giving
• Unity-contributors

Sioux Center:

• Agency Two Twelve
• KDCR
• KSOU
• Cinema 5
• M Design + Promotion
• Sioux Center Publishing
• Premier Communications

BUSINESS

• Leaders of integrity
• Creators of economic blessing
• Givers of resources to the community

Click here for a list of Sioux Center businesses.

EDUCATION

• Truth-centered
• Excellence-driven
• Opportunity-afforded

In Sioux Center:

• Sioux Center Christian School
• Sioux Center Community Schools
• Dordt College

CHURCH

• Gospel-centered in message
• Disciple-makers in mission
• Spirit-empowered to unity

In Sioux Center:

• Bethel Christian Reformed Church
• Central Reformed Church
• Christ Community Church
• Covenant Christian Reformed Church
• Covenant Reformed Church
• Faith Christian Reformed Church
• First Christian Reformed Church
• First Reformed Church
• New Life Reformed Church
• Peace Lutheran Church
• Amistad Cristiana
• Jesucristo el Buen Pastor
• Iglesia Pentecostal Unida Hispana

FAMILY

• Return to the biblical model
• Reconciliation in broken relationships
• Restoration to love and unity

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Spark Notes 4/29 - Keeping Our Eyes On Jesus

On Sunday, Mark Vermeer shared about keeping our eyes on Jesus. 

Beginning with 2 Chronicles 20, we read about King Jehoshaphat:

"2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom,^[b] from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). ³ Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. ⁴ The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard ⁶ and said:

“Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. ⁷ Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? ⁸ They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ⁹ ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

¹⁰ “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. ¹¹ See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. ¹² Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

¹³ All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

The people were facing a crisis, so they turned to the Lord. Why is it that crisis brings us back to the Lord? Why aren't we always seeking the Lord? Why do we get distracted when life is going great? 

Philippians 3:13-14 says, 

^"13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Looking back to the 2 Chronicles passage, we learn that the battle is never in our hands, but it is always in God's. How do we hand it off? We need to discover Jesus (OR re-discover Jesus).  We need to turn from all of the other altars that we build that distract us from the Lord. 

In the story of the blind beggar in Luke 18 we read, 

"³⁵As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

³⁸ He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

³⁹ Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰ Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

⁴² Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” ⁴³ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God."

We know that Jesus sees us and hears us. He stops for us. In this story we see how the beggar went from a blind beggar to a worship leader because his faith healed him, even when everyone cast him aside. He had the faith to be healed and once he was healed, he was filled with joy and began worshiping and the people watching also began worshiping. 

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