March 5, 9:00 a.m. 
Speaker: Abner Chou
Topic: Why We Go to the Ends of the Earth

Message Summary: 

The work of missions is a deep and profound work, but it’s one that we often lose sight of—and that our people often lose sight of. It's easy to become disillusioned and discouraged.

And so sometimes people engage in tricks and manipulation to try to encourage others to engage in missions. They engage in guilt-tripping, in emotional manipulation, or in offering false incentives.

These motivations empty the impetus of why we go. They cannot stand theological scrutiny. They cannot capture the heart. They cannot compel the persevering of the soul. And they fail to capture the nobility and epicness of the mission that Christ has commissioned.

So today, we look at three Old Testament texts that use the phrase “ends of the earth” to give us three reasons why we go—why we proclaim Christ to the ends of the earth.

#1. We go to the ends of the earth because of the greatness of Christ’s redemption (Isaiah 49:6).

Isaiah 49 is one of the Songs of the Suffering Servant, and it deals with the success of the Messiah’s salvation. It is the culmination of Isaiah’s protracted presentation of the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ earlier in the book, where he shows that: 

• Christ is exceptional (Isaiah 7) — Born of a virgin, in a way that is humanly impossible, the Messiah is not just among one of many unique individuals in the plan of God. He is in a category all His own. 
• Christ is exhaustive (Isaiah 9) — Everything in history and destiny, theology and promise, weighs on one man: the Lord Jesus Christ. He is exhaustive in His work.
• Christ is the end of all things (Isaiah 11) — There will be a day when all will be made right. Nations and all creation will revolve around the Son who sits on the throne. 

This introduction leads us to Isaiah 49, which dives into the greatness of Christ’s redemptive work. It shows that:

• Christ's work is endorsed by God (49:1).
• Christ's work is effective (49:2).
• Christ is exalted (49:3). 
• Christ's work required exertion (49:4).

Here we see why God wants the gospel to go to the ends of the earth. His motivation is the worthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The motivation for missions has to be, fundamentally, the glory and the worthiness of Christ. That is God’s agenda in all of this.

Our people do not need cheap tricks. They don’t need to be manipulated. They need Christ. Give them Christ in His exceptionalness, His exhaustiveness, His endorsement by God, His effectiveness, His exaltedness, and His exertion for us. 

Give them Christ. And when they have Him, when they behold Him, when they are captured by Him, they will go to the ends of the earth for Him.

#2. We go to the ends of the earth because of the greatness of His reign (Psalm 72:8).

Psalm 72 gives us a picture of what it will look like when the Messiah reigns:

• A faithful reign (72:1–2) — In our broken world, we often have to settle for a modicum of justice. But there will be a day when the complete divine justice of God will reign unhindered and in fullness.
• A fruitful reign (72:3–4) — Christ’s reign is so amazing that it not only rules over nations, it transforms creation. We look forward to the day when God will deal with injustice and the world will be filled with righteousness and peace.
• A fearsome reign (72:5–6) — Christ will be feared at this time, but not in the sense of terrorizing. He will be the greatest blessing. He’ll be like the dawn and the dew of the new day. The earth will be so in awe of the one who is so good.
• A reign of fulfillment (72:8–9) — This reign will fulfill all the promises of God and overcome sin and death.

Christ’s authority—such authority that dictates and determines the ends of the earth—is what backs the very mission that we engage in. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Every land, to the end of the earth, owes Christ their allegiance because He is the only King.

This King has called us to announce Him. And He has done so with full authority and authorization. This is our call. We go everywhere Christ reigns, announcing and declaring His victory.

#3. We go to the ends of the earth because of the greatness of the reward for Him (Psalm 22:27).

Psalm 22 gives us a prophetic picture: there will be a day when Christ returns, and He will set up His kingdom. At that time, Christ will be surrounded by people of every tribe, tongue, and nation, and all eyes will be on Him. The whole world will bow to the Savior. And we will declare with all our hearts, “All glory and honor to the lamb. Salvation belongs to Him alone.”

That is His reward. And we participate in that as an act of gratitude. Anything that will bring Him honor we are for with all our hearts. And so we proclaim the Lord Jesus because we love Him. That’s why we go.

Because redemption goes to the ends of the earth, because His reign goes to the ends of the earth, and because His reward is to the ends of the earth, we go to the ends of the earth.

And as we go, we know that the results have already been decided. The outcome is sure. The battle will be won for the Lord Jesus, and the gospel will go to the ends of the earth.