Glory of Christ Fellowship

     On May 12, 1792 William Carey published a little pamphlet entitled, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. By God’s grace, his words inspired the modern missionary movement, and I’m praying that they will inspire a fresh passion for global missions at Glory of Christ.      In the second section of his pamphlet, Carey identified and responded to several difficulties that made it challenging for the church of his day to preach the gospel to the nations. In the midst of his response, he addressed ministers of the gospel and challenged them to rise up, die to themselves, and take the lead in bringing the gospel to the world. Last week I quoted from Carey’s comments, and this week I’d like to offer three thoughts about what he wrote.      First, while Carey’s point of view may seem extreme, it accords with what Jesus plainly taught his disciples. “And he [Jesus] said to all,...

     On May 12, 1792 William Carey published a little pamphlet entitled, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. By God’s grace, his words inspired the modern missionary movement, and by God’s grace, I’m praying that they will inspire a fresh passion for global missions at Glory of Christ.      In the second section of his pamphlet, Carey identified and responded to several difficulties that made it challenging for the church of his day to preach the gospel to the nations of the world. In the midst of his response, he addressed ministers of the gospel and challenged them to rise up, die to themselves, and take the lead in bringing the gospel to the world. This week I will let Carey speak for himself, and then next week I’ll offer some thoughts about what he wrote:      "A Christian minister is a person who in a peculiar sense is not his own; he is the servant of God, and therefore ou...

The Bible teaches us that Jesus ever lives to intercede for his people, which means that he prays for us by name, by circumstance, without ceasing, and without end (see Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). While we don’t know all that Jesus prays for us, we know some of what he prays because of texts like John 17. And since we know some of what Jesus prays, we would be wise to take his words as our own and join with him in calling on the Father. Indeed, prayer becomes powerful when we pray according to God’s will, and surely Jesus’ words reveal God’s will. In John 17, Jesus says many things and asks for six things. So, then, let us read the prayer in its entirety, note the reasoning behind each of Jesus’ requests, and take up his words and join him in praying for these six things: 1.        Father, glorify the Son that the Son may glorify you (17:1, 5). 2.        Holy Father, keep your people in your name that they may be one...

     On May 12, 1792 William Carey published a little pamphlet entitled, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens . By God’s grace, his words inspired the modern missionary movement, and by God’s grace, I’m praying that they will inspire a fresh passion for global missions at Glory of Christ.      In the second section of his pamphlet, Carey identified and responded to several difficulties that made it challenging for the church of his day to preach the gospel to the nations of the world. First, the nations that most needed to hear the gospel were quite distant from England, and therefore reaching them would not be easy. However, Carey argued, advances in navigational technology made this a moot point, for it had become common for advanced countries to travel about the world. This was especially true for commercial enterprises, and Carey suggested that Isaiah 60 was a prophecy that predicted “commerce...

     On May 12, 1792 William Carey published a little pamphlet entitled, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens . By God’s grace, his words inspired the modern missionary movement, and by God’s grace, I’m praying that they will inspire a fresh passion for global missions at Glory of Christ.      The primary issue that led Carey to write this pamphlet was that many Christian leaders in his day were arguing that the Great Commission was not binding on the modern church but was instead the burden of the early church. This did not sit well with Carey, and therefore he devoted the first section of his pamphlet to this issue.       Carey begins by affirming that the Great Commission was given to the early church, and that they were laid “under obligation to disperse themselves into every country of the habitable globe, and preach to all the inhabitants, without exception or limitati...

     On May 12, 1792 William Carey published a little pamphlet entitled, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. By God’s grace, his words inspired the modern missionary movement, and by God’s grace, I’m praying that they will inspire a fresh passion for global missions at Glory of Christ.      Carey begins with the words of Jesus: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). While Jesus’ words are clear, the church in Carey’s day had by-and-large come to believe that they had done enough to create a gospel-momentum in the world that would cause the gospel to spread throughout the rest of the world. Therefore, many key leaders believed that their focus ought to be on reaching their own people, and that they ought to leave global evangelism to the Lord alone.      But this logic did not satisfy Carey and thus he argued, “As our blessed Lord has...

     Despite all odds, William Carey (1761-1834) developed a great burden for global missions when he was still a young man. Although he was a Baptist, he had come under the influence of the Moravians and had become convinced that his own denomination lacked passion for and commitment to both local and global evangelism.      Shortly after he was ordained as a minister of the gospel, Carey shared his burden with some Baptist leaders. His plea was not well received. In fact, one of the older ministers interrupted his plea and rebuked him, saying, “Young man, sit down! You are an enthusiast. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he’ll do it without consulting you or me.”      This experience profoundly troubled Carey, and thus he began to pray about how he might articulate his thoughts so as to turn skepticism into passion, and complacency into sacrificial action. His passion was God’s passion, and nothing would be able to suppress i...