The Great Missionary Hope Sermons – Grace Evangelical Free Church // Wyoming, MN

Matthew 28:19-20 (translation by Mat Adams) Go, therefore, disciple all the nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; 20 teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days unto the end of the age”







Introduction







Before we get to our text this morning. I want to back up and provide some historical context for a shift we have seen in the mission of the church over the past 100 years. Today, the missions industry is driven by a short-term mindset with a goal of rapid multiplication; not the long-term, slow-growing, from-the-ground-up, training-in-theology, and building-institutions-that-last mindset that characterized our theological forefathers.







For example: Missionaries like John Eliot, David Brainerd, William Carey, Adaniram Judson, and David Livingstone; Theologians like Charles Spurgeon, B.B. Warfield, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Augustine; RC Sproul. Recognize those names? These are the heavy hitters and these are just a few among thousands.







In fact, it seems like missionaries and theologians who made the greatest impact in human history not only held optimistic beliefs about God working presently on earth to disciple the nations, but were driven by them, were motivated by them.







Renowned theologians and missionary pioneers from the past two thousand years have believed that Christ is holistically (both spiritually and tangibly) expanding his kingdom reign on earth now through his church. Pre-twentieth-century missions dramatized this optimistic outlook on the world stage. They performed their beliefs for all to see.







Let me give you two examples of my favorite missionaries…







John Eliot







John Eliot (1604–1690) arrived on the scene on the coattails of the greatest revival of Christian doctrine the world has ever seen—the reformation of the 1500s. This Puritan pastor believed, “the Lord’s time is come to advance and spread His Blessed Kingdom, which shall (in his season) fill all the Earth.” [1] So, this pastor and missionary labored his whole life for the salvation of Massachusetts and the Algonquian Indians living around his settlement.







In 1660, he earned the title Apostle of the American Indian. Eliot himself traveled on foot and on horseback, taxing his strength to the utmost, sometimes drenched by rain, facing much sickness, all to bring the gospel to the Indians.







Because the gospel was so successful among the Algonquian, these spirit-filled natives were no longer welcome inside their corrupt and pagan society. They asked Eliot to help them establish new communities entirely founded on Scripture—the culture, arts, music, ways of living, schools, medical facilities, and even their government was founded on the Law of God. Together, they built up entire towns of Christian Indians who prayed together, worshiped together, and centered their entire lives around the glorious kingdom of God. After years of toil, teaching, and evangelism he had trained several Algonquian Indians to aid the work. And by 1675, there were fourteen towns made up of believers, called “praying towns”! (May our towns become praying towns!) These towns were dedicated to “Christian fellowship, learning to read and study the Scriptures, the training of pastors and evangelists, and general human flourishing.”







It’s vital to realize that these towns must not be compared to the Indian Schools that would come about later intended to remove the “indian” from the Indians, and convert them to civilized white folk. John Eliot fought against that notion his whole life.