Post 88 / The Next Language
May 3, 2022
Go
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly [is] plenteous, but the labourers [are] few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. [Mat 9:36-38 KJV]
There seems to be a Divine progression in the approach to the massive job of reaching the lost. In this passage during the life and ministry of Jesus, He first asked that the disciples “pray” that the Lord would send forth laborers. This is immediately followed in Mathew chapter 10 with His choosing and equipping the twelve disciples to go to the “lost sheep of Israel”.
This was before the death and resurrection and the new era that was introduced as the “Kingdom of God”. Prior to His ascension and the equipping of the Holy Spirit the Lord said almost bluntly, [Mar 16:15 KJV] “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
That “Go” presumed another go made possible by the death and resurrection of the King. At the transfiguration just weeks before we are informed that Jesus and Moses and Elijah were discussing the “exodus” to come. [Luk 9:31 KJV] “Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease (Greek- exodus) which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.”
We find the genesis of the word exodus in [Exo 19:1, 4 KJV] “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of (Greek- exodus) the land of Egypt, the same day came they [into] the wilderness of Sinai. … Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and [how] I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.”
The original exodus and Jesus’ exodus teach us that the exodus is not only about coming out of bondage but about being drawn to God. If we don’t go out from bondage and unto God we are not ready to “go” in obedience to the great commission.
Following the anointing of the Spirit on Pentecost it appears that the actual departure to “Go” on the part of the apostles was delayed by years and not finally accomplished until the sword of persecution literally drove them out. It wasn’t until the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 that the city ceased to be the hub and administrative center for the fledgling church. Apparently the first century saw the “go” of the great commission reach the limits of the then known world.
Did the “Go” dynamics change when those early geographic limits were reached? I think not. The need to go passes to every generation of the church. The personalities and geography change but the need to go persists.
I love the logic of the four lepers at the gates of besieged Samaria. [2Ki 7:3, 5 KJV] “And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, “Why sit we here until we die?” … And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, [there was] no man there.[2Ki 7:9 KJV] Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day [is] a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.” In the midst of their gorging and hording their correct logic forced them to take redemptive action.
Good News is only useful if it is shared.
The Chinese church is teaching us what go means to them in this 21 century. Back to Jerusalem is a serious effort to plant the church through the swath between China and Israel. This includes the three largest non Christian religions of the world and the least reached and most hostile. It falls in what is known as the 10/40 window. They are now many years into this spontaneous venture.
Hear the words of Peter Xu Yongze from the book Back to Jerusalem by Paul Hattaway. “This is surely the time to complete the Great Commission that God gave his followers two thousand years ago. If God had only wanted to save us, He would take us to heaven the moment we believed in Him. Instead, He leaves His unworthy children on this earth for a reason, to proclaim the good news to all the nations of the world that Jesus is alive and has come to set the captives free! Let’s devote all our heart, time and energy to His purpose. Let Back to Jerusalem become the reason we live.”
Time and again we learned in Mexico the value of actually going physically to the languages. A few times that was a repeated process before actually becoming fruitful to the recording of the Gospel. Next week I will tell the story of one language that we visited several times to be rejected until just a short while ago. Because some bodies actually went, today there are close to 40 languages in Mexico that have the Gospel in their language that were not recorded a year ago.
God Bless,
Larry DeVilbiss | Executive Director
Global Recordings Network USA
If you are interested in learning how to share links on social media that will promote use of our recordings and the Gospel in general, please contact RolandHeck@GlobalRecordings.Net