August 01, 1989 by Phil Bogosian

In 1974 at Lausanne I, it was made clear to the church that there were over two billion people in thousands of unreached groups that had no witnessing church among them. A strong mandate was given by the Lord to His church to complete the task of world evangelization. In response, thousands of global church leaders entered into a "solemn covenant with God" stating their shame that so many had been neglected. They covenanted with God to "pray earnestly," "develop a simple lifestyle," and sacrifice," so that "by all possible means and at the earliest possible time," every people group could be reached.

This has not even remotely been done--especially by the church in the West. In the course of my assignment at the U. S. Center for World Mission in church mobilization, I have studied church involvement in missions for about seven years. In all candor and to our continuing shame, let us admit that the world's perishing unreached peoples are very seldom mentioned or thought about in almost all churches. In fact, only about one cent of every one hundred dollars of evangelicals' after-tax earnings goes to reach unreached peoples. There is very, very little prayer for missions in churches, and almost none for unreached peoples. Yet among these peoples, 50,000 perish without Christ every day, day by day, as the Father in heaven weeps over the slaughter of his lost sheep and laments our incredible apathy.

"Blood on your hands!"

"There is blood dripping from your hands," says the Lord of hosts. "The blood of perishing millions from unreached tribes and peoples, tongues and nations.

"Broken Covenant "

"I gave you an assignment in Galilee 2000 years ago. I commanded you to make disciples of all ethne."

"I made that assignment very clear in Lausanne in 1974. I made known to you that there were still over two billion precious people living in thousands of ethne where there are no churches to disciple them."

"At that time you declared your sleep, you entered into a solemn covenant with Me to urgently reach these peoples. You covenanted to develop a simple lifestyle and to sacrifice in order to reach this goal."

"But to this day you have not kept this covenant."

"You have not sacrificed at all. You have changed your lifestyle. Yes, you have made it more luxurious."

"But it is only a light thing to you to disregard a covenant with the almighty God. For you do not teach nor do you understand the fear of God, which would be the beginning of your wisdom."

"I do not say that all of you have transgressed this covenant; for there have been some who have diligently worked to reach the nations for Me and have sacrificed much."

"But most of My Church has only trifled with reaching the perishing, unreached ethne."

Eternal Harm

"But you will say to Me, 'Lord, what harm has been done?'"

"WHAT HARM HAS BEEN DONE? Do you not know that among the unreached peoples, multiplied thousands perish daily? Precious people brutally massacred by Satan's forces with none to deliver them, while My complacent sons and daughters waste their time watching programs on TV or getting by on My blessings at church potluck dinners."

"'What harm has been done?' Millions each year among the unreached ethne are dragged to eternal darkness, while My selfish Church listens comfortably to stirring choir anthems in their elegant, new, air-conditioned buildings."

"I tell you these buildings are as tombs to Me. I take no pleasure in them. And the screams of the helpless perishing in My ears drown out the sound of your anthems."

"Altogether since Lausanne I in 1974, nearly one quarter of a billion precious people have been mercilessly butchered by your adversary, but their blood is dripping from your hands."

Stolen Resources

"But surely we are not responsible, Lord," you will say to Me.

"I have blessed you with over 100 times the money necessary to complete this assignment, 100 times the young people you would need for personnel, health and strength, all the leisure time you would need for prayer, plus extraordinary technology."

"I tell you, I have given you 100 times more resources than you would need to finish My assignment by the year 2000. It can be done! How I wish you ached to get it done as I do. But you have robbed Me and used the resources on yourself."

"Since you use almost all the money I give you on big church buildings, big homes and fine things for yourselves, I am getting ready to plunge you into severe financial distress."

"Because you use your strength and health to do your will rather than Mine, you will experience great sickness and weakness that no healing meetings will deliver you from."

"Since you use your leisure time for your own pleasure, rather than praying for the perishing ethne, I will make your leisure time a great burden to you, and it will soon be taken away."

"Since you do not teach your young people to give their lives to reach the world, they will be taken from you by the world. They will be useless to Me and a great grief to you."

"But you will say to Me, 'Lord, these are severe judgments.' I say to you if you had a son whose brother was drowning in the sea, and the son had the means to save his brother, but simply preferred to enjoy himself on the shore, would you not deal severely with that son? Is he not guilty in the matter?"

"Do you not understand: Millions of your lost brothers are drowning? Each one is as precious to Me as you are. You are My only means to reach them. If there were another way, I would have used it long ago. But you have refused to obey My commandment to reach them. Your hands are dripping with your brother's blood. You, too, are guilty of murder."

"Therefore when you lift up your hands, I will hide My eyes. Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. For your hands are indeed covered with blood."

"My Word declares, 'The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.'"

Repentance Brings Pardon

"I call you to repent, My people. Turn from stealing resources which should be used for harvesting the unreached ethne. Turn from the murder of your lost brothers which results from your shameful self-indulgence."

"I call you pastors and church leaders to stop wasting My money on large buildings and programs that have nothing to do with reaching the unreached peoples. Build Me no more big buildings! I call on you Third World churches not to pattern yourselves after the Church in the West. Pattern yourselves after the Church in My Word. Pattern yourselves after My Church in China, which grows rapidly without elaborate buildings or programs."

"I love you, My Church, My bride, My fair one, My beloved. I have said in My Word, 'Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil; learn to do good. Seek the justice purchased at Calvary for all peoples. Defend entire orphaned tribes. Plead for widowed nations.'"

"Come now, and let us reason together. Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow. I love you, My Church. How I want to cleanse you and empower you by My Spirit to take My love to every tribe and tongue and nation and people. My heart aches to pour My healing, My blessing, My salvation to all peoples through you, My Church. If you truly love Me, you will keep My commandments."

"So I call upon you, My Church, to remove the injustice of which the thousands of unreached peoples are suffering. My Son bled and died that they might have life, and they are still perishing by the millions without God and without hope."

"I call upon you, My Church, to honor the covenant you made in 1974 to reach all these peoples with the gospel of My Son. There is no task of greater urgency. All that you do should have this focus--whether worship, prayer, ministry or teaching, for both young and old. The majority of each church's financial resources should have this focus. All heaven is waiting for this to be completed."

"I call upon you who truly love Me to be relentless in your pursuit of lost ethne. Diligently find out who they are, where they are, and earnestly seek Me for ways to reach them. Be relentless in your search until the very last people is reached."

"I call on you who truly love Me to spend hours daily in earnest, militant, fervent prayer for all peoples, crying out to Me for them with a broken heart."

"I call upon all of you who truly love Me to give your finances in truly sacrificial ways to reach the unreached peoples. I call on everyone to give regularly and significantly until this task is completed. I call on you to live a simple lifestyle as you promised, only buying things that you genuinely need. You do not need many clothes, expensive food, fine cars, fine homes in this life. All those who live this way are living in dangerous sin. Pattern your lives after My Son."

"Those individuals, churches, nations and countries which make their priority My command to make disciples of all the ethne will receive My blessing on their lives, their families, their finances, their homes and all that pertains to them, but not without intense spiritual warfare. They must learn to fight. But they will have more and more of My presence, My joy, My love, My wisdom and direction, even as I have said in My Word."

Those individuals, churches, nations, and countries which disregard or give only half-hearted effort to My command to make disciples of all the ethne will have difficulties and frustrations and curses on their lives, their families, their finances, their health and all that pertains to them. They will have less and less of My presence, My joy, My logic, My wisdom and direction. Soon they will have only empty religious activity, even as I have said in My Word.

Finishing the Task--Bringing Back the King

"My Word calls you to eagerly look for and to hasten My return. My return can only be hastened by completing My assignment to reach all peoples with the gospel."

"I said that I have given you 100 times the resources to finish this task by the year 2000. But this is possible only if you, My Church, earnestly desire it."

"Your adversary the devil and his hosts will fight against you with hatred and fury as you seek to reach the remaining unreached peoples. He knows that when this task is finished, his end has come."

"For I have clearly said in My Word that when this gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world as a witness to all ethne, the end will come. I am very anxious to be unveiled with My bride. You must show Me how anxious you are to be caught up with Me."