Every Tribe

Every Tribe

Revelation 5:9

http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/EveryTribe.html

Revelation 5:9

9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

"Kindred" = tribe

What is holding back the Lord's return? Not much! But here in our text we find one possibility. The gospel has not been preached to every tribe yet, though we are getting very close. The 144,000 Jewish evangelists during the tribulation will reach some from every tribe for sure even if we don't!

Mission agencies like New Tribes Mission and Baptist Missions to Forgotten Peoples are sending missionaries into the darkest, most remote jungles of the earth, fulfilling the Great Commission "...to the uttermost part of the earth."

We don't often think about such peoples, but this week our team is going to just such a people, cut off the world completely. When our puddle jumper plane lands on a small dirt strip we are not there yet...we take a canoe several miles to our island with no power, no communications, and no Dr. Pepper!

God cares about every tribe. I want to begin by simply letting God tell you, in His own words about His priorities.

First there are Old Testament promises:

Psalm 22:27-28

27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

28 For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.

Then there are Old Testament prayers:

Psalm 67:3

3 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

Then there are Old Testament commands:

Psalm 96:3

3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.

Psalm 96:10

10 Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth:

Then there is the great New Testament Commission from the risen Christ:

Matthew 28:19-20

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The 'end of the world' is not just a timeframe, it is also a place! Our team will be far from home and out of touch w/ loved ones, but God is ever present and goes with us!

Then there is the apostle Paul's great life of utter dedication to this mission:

Romans 15:20-21

20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:

21 But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.

Then there is the magnificent picture of the final outcome of God's purposes in history:

Revelation 5:9-10

9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

This is the big picture. This is what Christianity is about. This is God's design in world history—that people from all nations and tribes and languages come to worship God through Jesus Christ.

You might say, "But isn't the gospel about finding forgiveness of my sins and getting the hope of eternal life, and being filled with the Spirit of holiness and being changed into the image of Jesus so that I am a better mom or dad or son or daughter or friend or employer or citizen?" And the answer is, Yes. But if that is all you dwell on in your walk with God, you miss the big picture. You miss the bigger point of it all. You're like a bat boy at Busch Stadium who thinks the great point of the World Series is to hand the players their bat.

So I urge you this morning in the name of Jesus to wake up and to enlarge your heart and to stretch your mind and to spread your wings. Mount up above your limited life – yes a very important life, which God does not belittle – and see the great and thrilling big picture of God's global purposes for the history of the world which cannot fail.

Isaiah 46:10

10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: