Matt Chandler - The Nations

If you have your Bibles, will you grab them? Let’s go to Philippians 1:21. If you have a history in church, you might not even need to turn to that verse; we’re only going to be there for just a couple of seconds before we flip over to Acts 7. I want to show you this verse and let you see it in your Bible, lest you think I’m making the verse up. Now, let me tell you where we’re going, just no secrets right out of the gate. In 1998, I was invited for the first time on my first overseas trip. I’m a military brat and have moved all over the U.S., at least the west side. Texas is as far east as I’ve lived, so I don’t have deep roots, if you will; I’ve kind of moved around every three to five years for most of my life. In fact, I have now lived here longer than anywhere else in my entire life, so this is very much a home to me and my family now. My kids know nothing but the Dallas area. In '98, I was invited by a missions organization on a trip that would start in Asia and then spend the extent of its time in India. About two weeks before we left on this trip, some of the missionaries, or what they code-worded as M, which is not a complex code, were assaulted by a mob for being believers. So, if you need to be nervous on your first overseas trip, let it be when the missionaries you are going to stay with in India get attacked by a mob for their Christianity right before you leave. Man, I was anxious and nervous; I just prayed and felt compelled. I thought, «I need to see what’s going on out there.» I boarded the plane and flew into Hong Kong, spent a few days there, and then from there went into parts of Asia. I’ll summarize this as much as I feel I need to, and then we headed into India. We were in India for about 12 days, exploring different parts, and two things struck me simultaneously while I was overseas. The first was that the gospel is immense in its implications globally. Here’s what I mean when I say that: I had no idea the gospel was as big as it is! I just didn’t know; how could I know? So, I’m getting on a plane and flying for more than a day. You lose time when you travel overseas; isn’t that weird? You land 24 hours later, a day before you left! Bam! Alright, what day is it? It’s Tuesday. I flew out on Wednesday, but it’s Tuesday, right? I’m a bit discombobulated, and what started sinking in was how unbelievably immense the gospel of Jesus Christ is because everywhere we went, people loved Him, worshiped Him, read the same Bible that I read, and sang some of the same songs that I sing. They broke the bread and drank from the cup, and the sheer immensity of it all struck me. We are just so small-minded here in our Western culture, with such a paltry understanding of just how massive this thing is that we are caught up in. We think, «Oh, I’ve got to try to be better; I’ve got to behave better, ” when God is globally redeeming and rescuing people from every tribe, tongue, and nation on Earth! I got to see it, and it infected me. Since then, every year we schedule one or two trips. In fact, I’ve taken my kids; people here gasped when I took our kids to China. My son was six months old in a carrier, and we just got on the plane to China. People were like, „You’re insane! What if something happens?“ I thought, „What if something happens here?“ You have some guarantees that this is safe. We all got back on the plane and went to Africa. I need them to see it; everything here is trying to teach my kids that they are God! Everything here is saying, „You’re the point; what you want matters; what you’re after is the point of the universe, ” and nothing will make them more miserable than actually believing that nonsense. But what can I do? There are crayons at every restaurant I go to. What is here as a check and a balance? We love you, but it can’t ever be about you. Because if it’s about you, you will be miserable, and if you want to set someone up for depression, anxiety, and heartbreak, teach them they’re the point. Teach them that their happiness is the point. Teach them that what they want is the point, and that their desires are the point. You want to destroy your children? Teach them they’re God! We would never do that; we’re church folk. We’re not going to do that. Church folks are some of the worst at this! Train up a child in the way they should go. What’s the way they should go? Not to be good moral citizens, although we hope for that, but to cultivate godliness and glad submission to their Creator. It got dialed in my heart and notched in my heart that the gospel is immense, and the other thing that happened to me is that I saw the need was great. The need was unbelievably great.