Platt is lead pastor at McLean Bible Church in Washington DC. After working post grad at New Orleans Baptist Seminary, he pastored a church in Birmingham (Will and I visited when he was looked to attend UAB). From there he headed up the SBC International Mission Board, before going to McLean. Platt founded www.Radical.net an international ministry focused on missions.
Secret Church is put on by Radical each year in late April, to remind us of those who must worship underground. Churches around the world can log on and follow along in the workbooks. Each year Platt preaches on a different topic, but it's heavy with the scripture references. Last year a cyber terrorist hacked Secret Church, knocking it offline. Normally my Sunday School class gathers together for Secret Church, but due to Covid we split up into groups of about three couples. Ceil has participated four times. This was my second Secret Church.
Secret Church 2021: The Great Imbalance. The basic outline. I could go into much greater detail.
A. Four Truths
1. The ultimate purpose of God is to bring people from all nations to enjoy and exalt Him in all His glory.
a. World population = 7,750,000,000
b. 17000 people groups, none superior or inferior to the other.
2. The ultimate purpose of every Christian and church is to enjoy and exalt God in all His glory among all nations.
3. God's plan for accomplishing this purpose is the great commission: disciples of Jesus making more disciples and multiplying churches among all the nations.
4. The great commission is not a general command to make disciples among as many people as possible; but a specific command to make disciples among all the nations (people groups).
B. Three Problems
1. Over 3 billion people in over 7000 people groups are currently unreached by the gospel, and on a road that leads to an eternal hell without even ever hearing how they can go to heaven.
2. Churches are spending approximately 99% of our missions resources in places that are already reached with the gospel. Put another way, churches are spending less than 1% of our missions resources among the 3 billion people in 7000 people groups who haven't heard the gospel – the great imbalance.
3. The number of unreached people is higher now than ever before, and will continue to increase until Christians and churches decide to change how we use our resources – change how we use our lives.
C. Two Conclusions
1. If we are going to obey the great commission, we must rectify the great imbalance.
2. You and your church have a unique and significant part to play in rectifying the great imbalance, obeying the great commission, and achieving the ultimate purpose of God in the world.
D. One Prayer
God, please use this night to bring about a tectonic shift in the way we view the purpose of our lives and churches in this world.
E. A God's-Eye View of the World.
1. We must see the needs among the nations.
a. Urgent spiritual needs, which are ultimate.
2. We must see the barriers to reaching the nations.
3. We must wisely consider what it will take.
F. A God-Centered Perspective of our Lives
1. Replace a limited, local focus with an expansive global vision.
2. Replace an either/or approach with a both/and approach to urgent spiritual and physical need.
3. Replace a focus on reached mission fields with a focus on reached mission forces.
4. Replace a flawed return on investment with a fixed resolve to complete to commission Jesus has given to us.
5. Replace the desire for quick success stories with devotion to slow, sustainable strategies, to establish churches in the hard to reach areas.
6. Replace our fear of the world with faith in God's word.
a. The anatomy of fear
…you disregard the goodness of God
…you doubt the greatness of God
……you magnify potential problems
……you minimize powerful promises.
7. Replace casual Christianity with passionate love for Christ.
8. Replace doctrinal weakness with biblical conviction.
9. Replace the idolatry at safety and prosperity in this world with hope and confidence in the world to come.
G. One Final Charge
The takeaway: to be a disciple of Jesus is to let his ultimate purpose in the world dictate everything you think, desire, and do.
H. Two Spiritual Realities
1. We are involved in a spiritual war, and our enemy is formidable.
2. The outcome of this spiritual war is inevitable, and our ally is indomitable.
I. Three Practical Steps
1. Pray differently – earnestly.
2. Give differently
3. Go differently.
J. Four Biblical Guarantees
1. God has the power to save.
2. The gospel has power to transform.
3. The church has power to change the world.
4. In the face of opposition, this commission will one day be accomplished, and this world will one day be new.
The Braves broke out of their slump after Dansby burned sage all over the ballpark. Sometimes I wonder about the boy. I'd like to think it was Ozuna's striped stockings that did the trick.
Several relievers have blown leads in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, and relievers might've given up runs in tie games in the ninth inning or later. But no Braves closer has blown a lead in the ninth inning since 2019.
JIM KAAT [SABR Bio] pitched to both Ted Williams and Darryl Strawberry. Williams (2 for 3 lifetime vs. Kaat) played from 1939-1960. Strawberry, 1-4 in his two games against Kaat, played from 1983-2007. Kaat's career was 1959-1983. He won Gold gloves playing for three different major league teams: for MIN 1962-72, for CHW 1973-75, for PHI 1976-77 – 16 GG in all. Only Greg Maddux has more. Kaat surrendered a home run to Bert Campaneris on the first pitch Campaneris ever saw in the majors. Top of the first on 23-Jul-1964. For good measure, he homered again off Kaat in the seventh inning on the sixth pitch he saw in the majors.
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