A Light to the End of the Earth

Basket open your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 49 which is her key passage during this missions conference with a tremendous missions conference and it has been as appraiser been impressed this week for the great privilege we have here at Calvary to be active partners with her brothers and sisters and all of these countries so hope you've availed yourselves of the many opportunities and to continue to pray for the love the theme of this conference, lights for the nation's and we saw this comes from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 49 at the end of verse six. I will make you as a light for the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth delightfully nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth, and over the New Testament turn with me to the book of acts acts chapter 13 when we see the eye working on this very Scripture as the disciples take seriously the command of the Lord given in the great commission in Matthew chapter 28 to go and make disciples of all of the nations acts chapter 13 verse 46 and Paul and Silas spoke out boldly, the fact that there is opposition doesn't mean that we are not bold in our proclamation.

These apostles spoke out boldly, saying it was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life bold. We are turning to the Gentiles or it could be translated. The nations, the Greek word F.

Notice, for so the Lord has commanded us, saying, I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth and here Paul is quoting the Scripture we read Isaiah chapter 49 verse six notice. He takes this as a commander from the Lord as the Lord has commanded us, saying, I have made you the apostles, my followers, a light for the nations that you may bring salvation to the ends of the Opryland last Sunday morning and evening that Isaiah is prophesying about the coming of the Messiah, the true servant of the Lord and it is true that Israel was to be the light for the nations but the full fulfillment of this prophecy is realized in our Lord Jesus Christ and comes as a Savior of the world we use and read this verse again with me. I think we have it on the these screens so it's underlined. Let us not forget this when treated together. I will make you as a light for the nations that my salvation may reach to the and of the earth. Thank you. Please be seated.

I'm intrigued by that expression the end of the earth. The Lord's disciples were commanded to be witnesses. Acts 18. Remember that the weight on the spirit of this but it was going to fill them and they were to be witnesses and in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth after the Romans of the first century the end of the Arthur was called ultimate file it was a distant place located beyond the borders of the known world to them. The end of the earth with probably the thing the remote northern European islands such as the Shetland Islands away to the north of Scotland or the Faroe Islands were my life comes from her Iceland or northern Norway. The end of the earth. Incidentally the one to make a big deal about this, but when I looked at the picture of the world.

On the brochure, there is no United Kingdom. There is no Scotland and you know it should be in the very center of the world were there. We are I guess whoever did that thought it was the end of the world. But don't you praise God that in his grace. Someone brought the gospel to you.

I don't know what you think when you hear the expression the end of the art. It all depends where you are in the world all depends what you know of our wonderful planet. But how wonderful that God in his grace brought the gospel to you that the light of the world shone into your part, but who is going to continue to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ. Another service administer the end for your personal responses.

We use that card.

Let me remind you that Jesus is the light for the nations. When the Lord Jesus, as he says in John eight verse 12 I am the light of the world. Notice it, not just to the Jews, not just Israel but I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but will have the lights of life that is our Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect fulfillment of this Old Testament prophecy and that when he comes, he dispels darkness. Those who follow Jesus will never walk in darkness, but will have spiritual lights without their life in the light of Jesus Christ. We are in the darkness we are blind to spiritual realities and were blind to the truth blind to the light. In fact, we don't want the light stories told of the desert nomads who was hungry in the middle of the night's and with a candle in his little tent and began eating dates in a bowl beside him.

He took a bite from one of the dates and funding theories discussed that there was a worm in it and the through the date of the 10th. He took another dates and bit into it and again there was a terrible worm and attendee through the date of the tent the third time he bit into the date and then again was a worm and the date. So guess what he did. He thought the office continues on, but have no more dates to eat so he put out the lights and quickly ate the rest of the dates rather than facing the reality he was eating worms.

He chose the dark is not were many people are. Jesus says that men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil and all of us left ourselves choose the darkness and the consequences of that to ourselves and to those we love and absolutely devastating but into the world and the grace of God.

This is the gospel God and great love sends his son Jesus Christ the light of the world and he comes to dispel the darkness, spiritually speaking. We are blinded.

Paul says the God of this world has blinded your minds.

Yes, all of us, not just people who follow Mohammed not just animus but all of us are minds are blinded, but since Paul when the gospel comes. He prays that they will see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ is the very image of God and when we come to the lights. Everything is different when I was a very young attorney. I stayed for several weeks with her elder elderly widow in her church. She was a follower of Jesus is a lovely person, a terrible cook with a wonderful person and that one evening at the dinner table.

I asked her how she came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. She told me she was raised in a small island in one of the Shetland Islands.

One of the smaller of the Shetland Islands props to you. That is the end of the world, and someone she said, came to her and told her about Jesus Christ the light of the world and she said, as a young woman. She started working. She said that I place my faith in Jesus Christ, was many many years previously she was a elderly woman and I asked her. I said to Mrs. Peterson, would your life change in any way.

Once you came to Jesus Christ and she smiled and she said on ice this conversation vividly as we side of the table.

She said my life changed dramatically. I saw everything differently and I really didn't understand that I said them. What way did you see things differently. She said well let me explain kisses every day is a young woman. I left this little island went on the ferry to one of the larger islands of Jutland.

When I worked and she said I'd made that that journey many, many times, but after I came to Jesus Christ. She said Jon I saw everything different. The very colors of the sky seemed different. The plumage of the of the birds. The different shades of color on the sea. What happened our enemy who blinds our minds distorts are very understanding and comprehension of the natural world fiberglass farm or the spiritual world and either at her funeral her from her family asked if I might say a few words of the gravesite and I told that story and weaving her hymnbook and I quoted from George Robinson MSAs heaven above is softer blue. After arriving to sweeter green something lives in every issue priceless eyes have never seen birds with bladder songs or flow flowers with deeper beauty shine. Since I know as now I know I am his and he is mine I can testify as every follower of Jesus Christ can testify. When you have a true encounter with Jesus, who is the light everything in your world is transformed. You look at things differently because the darkness of your mind and on your soul and of your heart has been changed.

I was a response to this was a response to Jesus who is the light for the nation's 53 suggestions. First, we must personally experience the light of you had a personal experience with Jesus was the light.

The Bible says God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. You see this light of the gospel, the light of Jesus can sometimes make us feel very uncomfortable.

This light never flatters us this light has no shifting shadows or never compromises. It's always a pure white and reveals what we really are in John chapter 9 there's a man who's been blind from birth and is told by Jesus. Go wash in the pool of silo.

Jesus is going to use a very unusual method of bringing light to this man, but the blind man in John nine doesn't argue with Jesus, he simply obeys, and he experiences the light. Some of you have been coming here for a long time but you've never yet had a personal encounter with Jesus you know about Jesus.

Even enjoy singing these hymns in an songs that we sung, but you've never known the light of God in your heart when the say to you, go wash obey Christ, he will display the darkness of your life, because on the cross, Lord Jesus takes all of the darkness in fact goes into physical darkness goes into spiritual darkness so that we can be forgiven as he rises from the dead, and he offers us now offers you and me.

This supernatural life and this wonderful lights and the more you experience Christ, the more you love Christ, the brilliance of the light will shine more and more. Proverbs 4 verse 18 the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day you get up in the morning and is dark and then the sun begins to come and bit by bit, the light gets brighter and brighter.

So it is with the path of the righteous. As we follow Christ as we experience Christ that light in our heart and their soul becomes brighter and sweeter when my sing to him saying experience the light receive Christ into life first experience life. Secondly, follow the light you doing that in the Old Testament.

The Lord provided a like a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night's but now with the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ into this world. God doesn't just provide our lights. He is the light so Jesus says I am the light of the world. I am the light for the nations laughter ourselves.

We have secrets and we have habits we don't want to expose but Jesus says that if you follow me, you will not walk in the darkness. The light dispels the darkness, and just as a lighthouse shines a warning to ships when you follow Jesus the light of the world, he will keep you from danger was a lot of darkness. Arthur, not just in Africa, not just in the Philippines was a lot of darkness right here in Charlotte under there's a lot of darkness in our schools is a lot of darkness in our society is a lot of darkness in our politics was a lot of darkness in our homes with a lot of darkness in our hearts, but here is the promise Jesus will never, never lead you into the darkness. If you keep your eyes on Jesus, he will as the psalmist says he leads you in the paths of righteousness for his namesake.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path day by day as you get up in the morning look to Christ.

Follow the lights darkness.

I understand can be very enjoyable.

Darkness sometimes can be very alluring and what is necessary, then it's necessary in the darkness for the light to shine.

Remember when good and I first arrived in in dollars. We would use the cockroaches to cold where we come from for them and I would never really seen life cockroaches before we were in Dallas and in Texas.

Everything is bigger in Texas, Dallas, very humble people just like the starts but everything is bigger in Texas. These cockroaches are shoe germane. I had seen smaller rats and them online for some unknown reason reacted in a kind of emotional way to these terrible little creatures that would never experience would go into her apartment with the first thing we did put on the lights. What happened to the cockroaches. They scatter into their dirty little homes. They love the dark because their deeds were evil.

You have evil and darkness in your heart unto some of you say your following Jesus book you've compromised today at the conclusion of this conference would want to hear God speaking to us and when they hear what God has for me. I want to be open to what God has for me but if I'm in the dark and different compromised enough. I'm shutting out Christ and his word. I'm going to continue in my own little dark world and when the light shines of money are very defensive. I'm going to try and rationalize my evil rather than being open to the lights shining into my heart. Follow the light and live an extraordinary life that the main thing I want to say what is, I concluded experience the light follow the lights but be a witness for the I want you to be a witness for the light. I want you to be open are you I say this to my fellow pastors. I say this to my fellow elders and deacons in the Bible study leaders from the Sunday school teachers and the youth workers and those are just sung in a quiet and to all of us. Are you really willing to be a witness for Jesus where ever he may send you we can 11 years ago good is that what this is our last move. If we if we go anywhere else you're going along was not terrible thing to say. So after rebuking her and to say what I hope it I knew what she said and I many homes with limited over the years, but we once my wife and I we once to be open to what God has for us. How could it be anything else and you you turn to Philippians chapter 2. As a by the lights. Fill events to verse 14 I met with the missionaries and on Wednesday. One of them turned to this end, we we read that we thought about it Philippines to verse 14 do all things without grumbling or questioning that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish. Notice this in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life is not brilliant. Our Lord commands us to go and make disciples of all of the nation. He commands us to be aligned to the end of the world. But Paul in the first century is writing about a crooked and twisted generation. Think of the distortion the space in the lies in our culture, as well as the increasing departure from the word of God. Do you think here in Charlotte we live in a good and twisted generation to think our society here in the United States is becoming more and more Christlike or is becoming more and more crooked and twisted easy for us to think of the darkness overseas, and is certainly darkness.

We've heard but we here in North Carolina live in a crooked and twisted generation, you don't know who to believe.

What is the command Paul says in this dark world we are to shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, shining like stars in the sky for Jesus making visible the invisible Christ in this dark world in the first century. The stars were used not just to be admired and I love looking at the stars, but were used for navigational aids the path to safety was by following the stars and as we shine, don't we.

We got AIDS families and others I trust we do into parts of truth and righteousness. I can't emphasize too much that it is Jesus who is the lights of the nation's that is, we are to lift up Jesus.

The ministry is not about me is not a by the missionaries is about Christ. We are to hold fast to the word of life.

That means that I speak to her missionaries, expiratory leaders or speak to all of us. We must never deviates from the sip simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I thought it was wonderful. Her brother shared a brother Yearwood from Trinidad is a magnificent accent.

I really like the accident that the man was surprised by how straightforward the message of the Bible is as opposed to the twisted terms of his message is simple. The gospel many of us came to Christ as children of soul of the simple message and we must never never particularly when we pursue higher education can I say we must never ever deviate from the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ and never ever compromise the word of God, the light of the nations is Jesus is not my idea is not my philosophy based on my spin. So my strategy is Christ.

It is he who is building the church and that message that wonderful message that there is salvation in no one else that he's the way that he is the truth that he is the light that that message was go to the end of the Arthur NMA is very very devious and he wants us to water down a message where my feelings, my emotion, my ideas, my desire for social justice that they cried out the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus. Christ can remind you that my feelings, my ideas, my emotions must never ever be the source of truth. Rather, the inspired word of God with to hold fast the word of life, and I say to her missionary brothers are say to leaders at Calvary. Let us continue to hold fast the word of life without compromise. There is no other way to shine for Jesus and we can't allow a crooked and perverse generation to set out agenda. We must never change your message to make it more palatable the gospel of Jesus that we believe this.

It is the only power in the whole universe which can deliver people from darkness into the marvelous light of the kingdom of God is no other message deposits are not ashamed of the gospel.

He's pretty good. Any stone is thrown into prison, he said. I'm not ashamed why because it is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes Jew and Gentile.

Wherever you are. This is our believe this is our passion that we put proclaim Christ, the great preacher Chrysostom spoke of man who had sold her eyes to find the light painful. While the darkness which permits them to see nothing is restful and agreeable. Never ever get used to the darkness and when you keep your eyes on Jesus, lights will continue to shine when the lights so John the Baptist know we are witness to the light. You you witness the light with your eyes tell someone about Jesus last couple days I felt when was the first time I told someone about Jesus is about six or seven when the believer in Christ and come to saving faith in Christ. I was 12, but was taught this message by my mother by my father in a godly home and it was Halloween little different in those days in Scotland and as you went door to door you had to to do something do a dance stand on your head Charlotte screen saying whatever it was, do some magic show or something, and that this is going to shock some of you. I decided I was going to say and been told by anyone. I couldn't say I keep waiting for Tim to ask me to do a solo here for that, and I remember singing this missing it by learned it for my Princess on the school J stands for Jesus the Savior's own name and when we call him Jesus. And when we call him Jesus. And when we call in Jesus we call him by his name, and even as a wee boy. I realize that the reaction from many of the people of the doors was not particularly affirming securely.

Boy is to be a witness for Jesus. Jesus wants me for a sunbeam to shine for him each day. Children in your school among your friends witness for Jesus dying through the years of trying to hold up Christ many times of failed many times I've missed opportunities. Sometimes I've been afraid when confronted by very godly and well-educated people and thought they would laugh at me if I told them about Jesus within God's grace were to keep the light shine in this week of missions with met missionaries from all over the world and they told us of a great need and wonder what's good your response, the great need of the of the darkness in your wet dark continent is the darkness of the Islamic countries have docketed this millions without Christ. The darkness of the tribes of of Africa with thousands and thousands who need to come to the light of Jesus Christ with out of the darkness of the of the Philippines of Indonesia, the need is absolutely all over Wyoming. The darkness of the urban centers of our world.

My question two is what your response.

We take this card that we put in picture card and you're looking up and look at it with me. What is your personal response. Mission service full-time. I been praying for that I be praying for some of her leaders mentioned that Sunday night. Perhaps one of her pastors whenever elders and deacons in the family, the Rodarte life group been studying the Bible for years. July Bible studies, your heads full of Bible knowledge, but you really never tell other anyone else about Jesus and the time to take all of that large section of a boy or a girl with the spirit of God is been touching your heart and say I want to be a mission as a young adult when so many young adults are self absorbed, say I'm going to serve the Lord whereby a young married couple is about.

We got we got children. Did you hear missionaries is not going to take what a wonderful experience to grow up with a mission field whether my seniors.

Some of you retired. Scott given a great health.gov new resources and instead of planning the next 2030 years playing golf or fishing or just basically living a very self-indulgent life you sent going to serve short-term mission opportunity perhaps to partner with one of our missionaries for six months serving with them a go trip. I like all of you at some point to going to go trip local missions. We saw the street mesh ministry. Many others English as a second language I spoke with some young woman. This week is going up to the third floor all over the world coming to Charlotte. One thing to learn English or an opportunity for you to teach them not only English, with the shine for Jesus, whereby the prison ministry mending many open doors into a presence. Missionaries were there. 30 prisoners on Tuesday. Profess faith in Christ. 14. We committed their life praying consistently, not just this week, but every month you would get prayer requests from these missionaries and all of our missionaries that you can pray to be available to serve will you fill in this card I'm going to give you an opportunity right now as we sing in the minutes to fill in this card the come forward in the act of worship and placing so here I have.

I want to shine for Jesus Christ.

I will make you a light for the nation's that my salvation may reach to the end of the what is your response.

We buy with me as we pray number going to Tim's going to lead us in the song and then I'm going to ask your guests to get under your seats balcony. There are thus people not to leave at this point your LG your lunch whatever else can wait unless it's in the emergency. This is the most important time of our missions conference. So let's let's get focus here. We pray and as I pray you asked the Lord to speak to you eternal God, and her father requiring their hearts with into the Jesus is the light of the nation's we ask what we have is to do speak to his father.

Father speak to some boy or girl would step forward and saying I went to shine for Jesus. Some older person father to pray.

Think of the great need in our beautiful city of Charlotte and yet has so many so much darkness we would get involved in local missions that we would pray for a missionaries father that we would be willing to go. Yes, literally, to the end of the art as we hear your call. Speak to his father. We do pray as we ask it in Christ's name