He Is Risen!

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him, — since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened — so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense strength. This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And God put all things under Christ's feet, and he gave him to the church as head over all things. Now the church is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:17-23 NET Bible, emphasis mine)

This is one of my all time favorite passages of scripture. When I think something is impossible, I just go back and read Ephesians 1. It is a grand affirmation of the power of God. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work building His Kingdom around the world.

When I look at the state of the Gospel around the world, it is exciting. Nearly one third of the world has clearly heard the Gospel. Not all of them are truly saved, but the task of making disciples of those people groups has been advanced. Another third of the world is within reach of the Gospel. They still need to hear, but the task of making disciples has made significant progress.

However, roughly one third of the world, around two billion people still have not heard. They have no active Christian witness. They can live their whole lives without hearing the Good News that Christ is risen – He is risen indeed!

What will it take to reach them? It will take a deliberate effort to go to places that are difficult and dangerous. It will take strategic thinking to do more than just what we are currently doing. It will take us being obedient to Jesus' command to make disciples of all people groups.

If you are in the Cedar Rapids area and want to learn more, make plans to be a part of our Great Commission Weekend, April 4-6, at New Covenant Bible Church and find out.