What One Book Can Do for the World | 2 Timothy 3:10-17 | Jonathan Huang | May 10, 2026

Preaching Passage: 2 Timothy 3:10-17 (ESV)

Ethnos Church of Houston, Texas

Welcome to Ethnos Church: A Church for the Nations

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

This morning's scripture reading comes from Second Timothy, chapter three, verses ten to seventeen. If you're following along and looking like I was divided, you can find this passage on page nine hundred and thirty-six. If you're able, please rise and reading God's holy union. You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Nystra, which persecutions I endured, yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. This is the word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

Thanks.

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Coming back to the Lord. Blessed is a man who walks not in the council of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seats of scoffers, but on his law he meditates. On God's law he meditates day and night. We pray this morning, God. That that would be true of each of our hearts. True of our heart's affections for you. True of our heart's attitude toward your word. May our delight be on the law of the Lord. May we meditate on it day and night, even now, as we come for this text in 2 Timothy. We ask all this condition to send this to go back to the body. We'll continue on in our journey through the book of 2 Timothy, and this is the final letter written by the great apostle Paul to his young protege, Timothy. And it's he's hoping that his young protege will carry on the baton that he's passing on to you long after he's gone. And this next section, these next sections, actually this week and next, I would argue I would argue are the most significant points, portions of this letter to young Timothy. Why do you know that? Because it's here in these two sections, this week and next, that Paul highlights what he thinks is our top of the list, mission principle for young Timothy to keep in mind as he stays faithful in pastoring this church here in Ephesus, winging it off of life support, so to speak, and building it up to help us once again. Now keep in mind the context.

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We've got leaders in the church of Ephesus.

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Pastors, even, leaders, elders, they've infiltrated this church by teaching ungodly, anti-biblical myths, and falsehoods. These are men, like we've read earlier, who've swerved away from the truth, began leading God's people into more and more ungodliness. They're enemies to the church of God. And they've been captured by the devil into Israel. So, in these next eight verses we're going to be studying tonight, what Paul's giving to young Timothy is really an antidote to the poison that's been spreading throughout his church. And so I want to invite you to turn with me now to the book of 2 Timothy. Again, we're in 2 Timothy chapter 3, starting verse 10. And I want to just lay some groundwork for the rest of the sermon, and just these first verses in 10 through 13. So verse 10 says this. Yet from them all the Lord rescued me. So here Paul is in Rome, in prison. He's alone, he's about to die. And in this last letter to his young protein Timothy, he wants nothing more than Timothy to follow in his footsteps. And there's two things in this list that I want to point out, just highlight real briefly.

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The phrase aim in life.

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Paul mentions that Timothy has followed his aim in life. What was Paul's aim in life? Now to answer this question, we could go to a place like Acts chapter 20, verse 24, where this is the last time Paul meets with the Ephesian elders in the city of Miletus, just south of Ephesus. And he says this, but I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to myself. If only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Paul's singular aim in life was to please his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who called him to testify to the gospel of God's grace. And not only does this mean teaching non-Christians the gospel message proper, but also teaching Christians, young and old, the implications of this gospel for all of Christian life. Or we go to 2 Timothy 2, verse 10, where Paul writes, Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The Apostle Paul has a rock, solid understanding of what we call the doctrines of grace. That God has chosen for himself an elect people who he, before the foundation of the world, that he especially loved and chose to demonstrate mercy towards. In Ephesians, it says this in love, God predestined his elect for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the blood. Paul was clear-eyed. Despite the fact these truths are in Ephesians, Paul was clear-eyed about the fact that the elect would never call on the name of Jesus, never, unless they had the opportunity to hear about him and believe in them. And he knew that God's elect would never believe in Jesus unless someone preached the gospel to them, which is why he saw himself as an ambassador for Christ. He saw how God's eternal plan of salvation for his beloved elect from the ends of the earth would come down only as he and other believers made their appeal to the lost and dying world to be reconciled to God. So whatever it took, whatever it took, whether that meant being beaten with rods, being stoned, being shipwrecked, experiencing danger from starving to death, from robbers, or the pain of betrayal, or sleepless nights, or being exposed to the elements without a warm place to stay at night. Paul made it his aim to endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. And so here in this part of the letter, 2 Timothy 3, Paul's affirming how Timothy has followed his aim in life. Second thing I want you to see. In verse 11, Paul specifically points out three specific cities Antioch, Lystra, and Iconia.

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Now, Paul suffered all sorts of things throughout his ministry, but he points out these three specific places, I think, on purpose. And here's the reason.

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These are some of the first cities in Paul's memory where Paul and Barnabas, his missionary, after they were sent out for the very first time from Antioch, these are some of the very first cities where they experienced persecution for Jesus' name. So check this out. Antioch in Dissidia. This is not the Antioch in Syria. I think I have a map here. Antioch and Dissidia is a different place. Antioch in Syria was where a descending church was Antioch and Dissidia was a place he did missions in. Now, these three cities.

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Number one reason why these three cities are highlighted, I'd say this.

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After being a persecutor for the church for the longest time, remember Paul used to be Saul, and he persecuted the church thinking he was doing the right thing. These three cities are the first time where he experiences the tables being turned on him. Where Jews and others were persecuting him because of what he stood for in Jesus' name. So we see in the book of Acts, after Paul's initial ministry successes at Antioch and Dysidia, many Jews and devout comrades actually follow him. Jews that are converted, they follow Paul and Barnabas and they believe in the gospel. And the Bible says the whole, the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews. The Jews incited devout women of high standing, the leading men of the city, they stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district. And so an attempt at the next city was made to stone Paul and Barnabas, but they found out about this plot. They were an Iconium. They found out about the plot to stone them, and they escaped before it happened. They escaped to Lystra. And so in Lystra, the Jews from the previous two cities end up at Iconium. They decided to just head over to Lystra.

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Can't escape them. And they basically stone him. And they think he's dead and they drag him out of the city.

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And then the Bible says it's so funny. Paul stands up and walks back into the city. And on the next day he goes on to Turkey. So Lysra Paul for the first time experienced what it was like to be stoned. As a mystery, you remember who was at the first stoning of the first Christian martyr? It was this man, Saul, who approved of his execution. The tables return. Antioch, Hycaria, Lystra. Alright, so reason number one why Paul specifically mentions these three cities is because they represent in his mind the first time he ever tasted persecution and suffering through the name of Jesus.

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Reason number two.

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Paul's first missionary journeys through these cities resulted in a model of church planting that results that demonstrated the role of suffering. The role of suffering in planting churches. You see, despite the persecution they experienced in these three cities, the Bible tells us that Paul and Barnabas actually go back to these three cities later on and they strengthen the souls of the disciples, they encourage them to continue the faith, and they say that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had returned, they appointed elders for them in every church that was planted in each of these cities, and with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they believed. That was the model. Plant churches, suffer while doing it, strengthen these disciples, raise up elders and so putting these two reasons together, Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, remind Paul of the suffering and persecution that Christians must face as they seek to spread the gospel, and how, despite opposition, the Lord is going to continue to build his church, his church, throughout the world. And that's why Paul concludes in 2 Timothy 3, verse 12, look down there with me. He says, Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. While evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. They weren't just deceiving others, they were being deceived. Most likely by the devil himself. Satan's war against the progress of the true church of Christ is the chief reason why all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Because Satan stands against the spread of the gospel and progress of his church. And all of this, all of this sets up the main question I want us to wrestle with this morning. Because here, Paul is alone in Rome, imprisoned. He's isolated and facing his last days, and yet, with cheerful optimism, he famously writes later on in this letter: I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept with you. So he desperately wants young Timothy to follow in his footsteps and do the same thing long after he's gone. And you know what he does? He points Timothy to the best weapon out there against the fight against Satan.

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Jesus verse.

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It's the only weapon on the offensive listed in Ephesians 6. You remember this?

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The armor of God, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith.

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Extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. There's only one weapon on the offensive that Paul lists in Ephesians 6. The same thing that Paul gives to Timothy to hold on to the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of the God. So when we get to verse 14, Paul says, But as for you, Timothy, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed. And what Paul needs here is that Timothy is to continue on pressing into what he has firmly believed about the Holy Scriptures. Paul's saying to Timothy that if you just stick with what is written here, if you just be a student, continue to be a student and live out what's written here, you're going to be alright, Timothy. You're going to be alright. You're going to be faithful to everything the Lord has for you on this earth to the very end, just like I have. And it begs a question. Is this book, is this book, the Bible, really enough for us to fight the good fight of faith? Is it really enough for us to finish the grace set out for us as Christians in this fallen world? That's the question I want to ask. And I've got two simple answers that I see from this passage. The first is this. Yes, it is. It is really enough. Because it's the only book in the world that tells us how to be saved from our sins. Verse 14. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you've been acquainted with the sacred writings, which you are, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

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I'm going to just break this sentence, this is just one sentence. I'm going to break it down.

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Paul's famous for writing long sentences.

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So I'm going to break this down first. So I want you to notice here that these exhortations are so stark in comparison to the list that he gives in verse 1 through 9 that Pastor Ben preached on last week.

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And there's this sense that yes, scripture is completely sufficient for the task ahead Timothy. Sufficient for you to continue pastoring a church in times like this, where people are going to be lovers of themselves instead of lovers of God? Where they're going to be selfish and arrogant and abusive.

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Yes, Timothy is sufficient to help you pastor this church and keep this church from looking just like the rest of the world. I love how this passage lands right on Mother's Day.

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It wasn't planned that way, but I loved how Paul talks about this next. Read on to me. This is verse 14 once again. But ask for you to continue what you've learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings. Now, the Bible tells us that Timothy was born to a mixed family. His dad was Greek by origin, ethnicity, so non-Jewish. His mother was Jewish but a believer. And so from a young age, Timothy was exposed to the truth of the gospel and to the writings and the stories of the Old Testament, not only by his mother, but also his grandmother. And that's why Paul writes earlier in this letter I am reminded of your sincere faith. A faith that dwelt first in your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice. And I am sure dwells in you as well.

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What an amazing thing to see how valuable these two women were in the spiritual upbringing of Dominican.

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So, mothers, don't underestimate the enormous spiritual influence that your walk and your love for Jesus has on your children as they see you growing up in your home. And what a gift it is when children are raised in phanties and from an early age they're exposed early and often to the stories of scripture. Next section. Are you able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus? There's no other book written that has the ability to do for humans what the Bible can do for humans. There's no other book in the world, written in the world, that can claim to make one wise for salvation. I mean, certainly there are books written out there that explain Christianity and are able to help people understand the faith and even come to faith. But all those books derive their final authority and their truth from the ultimate source, which is the Bible. Amen. The one source, these other authors of great Christian books out there, have to come back to again and again is this book. The Bible. The Bible and the Bible love. The uniqueness of the Bible is that it contains words that can lead humans out of eternal darkness into eternal life. It's completely sufficient to teach us all things that we need to know about the contours of the gospel. That God is holy, that man is sinful and therefore separated from a holy God, that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross in order to repair a broken relationship with God, that he rose again, and that salvation is available to all who would turn away from a life of sin and turn to Jesus to be Lord and Savior of their lives. Those are the words that are found in this book. And so for those of you who here aren't Christians yet, if you've if what the Bible claims about itself is actually true, that it can make you wise for salvation, then what's keeping you from looking inside this book and exploring what it has to say about God and the realities of this world? And so if you've never seriously studied this book before, I want to challenge you, I want to encourage you especially to make it a point to find someone from our church to read this book with you. And if you want to, if you come find me after service, I can connect you with someone. And Christian, have you ever had the joy of studying this book with a non-Christian in hopes of teaching them what it means to be a Christian? There is a joy that comes from doing that. And so I want to challenge you to make it a priority this year in 2026, make it a prayer of yours. To read this book with someone who's far from God. I'd recommend using a tool like Krishna Explain, which includes walking through the book of Mark, which is the shortest biography of Jesus. And if you're curious about how to use Krishna Explain, which is like a gospel-sharing tool, combine me understands. I'd love to talk to you about it. Parents, know that you have an amazing opportunity to appoint your children at a young age with a children. The scriptures. So take advantage of that. Don't miss this window of opportunity to teach your children the stories of the Bible and to explain over time the main plot line of God's indentative plan of this level. Don't miss the opportunity to teach your children about the gospel.

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I've not used this.

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And you know, you need help with that. I've got a QR code on my screen. It's called the Three Circles. It's adapted for kids. And it's a short three-ish minute video that can teach you how to share the gospel with your own kids.

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Easy.

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So you can use a tool like this to help lead your kids to faith in Christ. Now you not only have an opportunity to teach your children from a young age about the stories of the Bible and about the gospel and how to become a Christian. But you also, you also have the opportunity to open their eyes for the very first time to the fact that there is still a world out there in need of a Savior. So let them know about the fact that there are still countless people in this world who haven't heard the name of Jesus yet. You don't have an opportunity like they do from a young age to be acquainted with the sacred vitamins of this Lord. You have the opportunity to challenge your children from a young age to lay down their lives for Christ and be willing to go anywhere to do anything for Jesus, including the possibility of living somewhere else in this world so that unreached language groups like the Heights and Bajani Sign Language People that Pastor Ben just prayed for can have the opportunity to hear about Jesus in their own heart language.

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Amen.

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Back to the question. Is this book really enough to help us fight the good fight of faith? To finish the race as Christians in this fallen world? My first answer from the passage is yes. Really, it is enough? Because this book is the only book written in the world that contains words that can help us be saved from our sins. But in this passage, the second answer is this. Yes. It really is. Because it's the only book in the world that claims to have been breathed out. And that has major implications. Verse 16, look down there with me. She's got the earlier. All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for approval, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Now the Greek word here used for the phrase breathed out by God is only used once in the entire Bible. Literally, it means to be produced by the Spirit of God. And it's understood to be like the air. If God were to have lungs, it would be like the air expelled out of his lungs. The Bible is breathed out. So even though Duane Grudham talks about how the Greek word prescription reference to the Old Testament. So if that's the case, then how many how many giants do we have with the rest of the Bible that we have in our hands today?

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The New Testament.

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Now, there he explains that there are two specific instances in the Bible that goes into the fact that from an early stage in Christian development and church development, Paul and other Christians in the early church were already in this process of writing what they believe to be holy scriptures. And to include the words of the New Testament. So, for example, 2 Peter 3, verse 15 and 16, the Apostle Peter writes this Encount the patience of our Lord as salvation. Just as our beloved brother Paul also brings to you, according to the wisdom given him. As he does in all his letters, when he speaks in them of these matters, there are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their destruction as they do the other scriptures. I'll end that for you because Peter is talking in reference to Paul's writings, and he glumps them in with the other scriptures. And so Bridom concludes that this is an indication that very early in the history of the church, while many of the apostles are still living, all of Paul's epistles were considered to be God's written words in the same sense as the Old Testament texts were. And then you have 1 Timothy 5, verse 18, where Paul says this for the scripture, all right, scripture says, You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain. And the laborer deserves his wages. One is taken from the Old Testament, and the other is taken, the other quote is taken from the New Testament specifically in the book of Luke. And so he's just for some context here. Paul in 1 Timothy, he is explaining how elders who rule well, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching, are deserving of double honor, especially when we're thinking about financial compensation for their work of ministry. And Paul gives two quotes, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. And the New Testament comes from Luke chapter 10, verse 7. Jesus' words, when he says the laborer deserves his wages. And so Prudham again concludes that these two passages taken together indicate that during the time of the writing of the New Testament documents, there was an awareness that additions were being made to this special category of writings called scripture. Writings that had the character of being God's very own words. And once we establish that a New Testament writing belongs to the special category scripture, then we are correct in applying 2 Timothy 3.16 to that writing as well. And saying that that writing also has the characteristic Paul attributes to all scripture, which is God breathed.

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God breathed.

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And so all these words, Old Testament, New Testament, these are all the words of God. And I say all that because I want you to be confident. The book we hold today, the Old Testament and the New, is legitimately and confidently to be held up as all of Scripture that is breathed down by God. Profitable for teaching, for proof, for correction, for training in righteousness. Yes, this book was written by different authors over a long period of time, over thousands of years, different personalities, different contexts. And yet the Bible is so internally consistent from cover to cover. The Bible has this storyline that connects book to book to book to book with themes that are interwoven from one cover to the other. And argues, it argues for a single author. That's God Himself, who superintended the writings of Holy Scripture, and he came up with this master plan of redemption. So for scripture to be breathed out by God means that we can always, always, always trust the words of this author. We can always trust that God will never exaggerate the truth. He will never bend the truth. We will never be lied to by God. If what he's promised in the past has taken place, then logic will tell us that what he's promised in this book about the future will also take place. And it's through the words of Scripture that we have material that's ultimately profitable for teaching others about the realities of God and this world that He's created. And so the words of one writer of the Bible contain all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly and for obeying him perfectly. If there is any good work that God wants a Christian to do, this passage indicates God has made provision in this work, his work, for training the Christian in it. Thus, there is no good work that God wants us to do other than that already taught to us somewhere in the scripture.

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We can bank on what we want.

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It can equip us for every good thing. Brooks and Nina Cruiser. If you don't know who these two people are, you gotta know who they are.

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Brooks and Nina, well I'll rewind a little bit. Brooks actually grew up in Papua New Guinea.

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His parents were missionaries, and so he grew up as a missionary's kid. And he met Nina in a San Diego college, a Christian college, a small Christian college. Nina herself, while at a missionary conference at a college, heard for the very first time about unused language groups. People who have little to no access about the gospel. Maybe don't even have the Bible translated into their language. Well, Brooks and Nina, over time, they get married first in 1998. They are working in the financial world, both of them, after college. And over time, just as they're studying scripture and as they're contemplating what to do with their lives, they feel this increasing tug to the work of international missions. Alright, so 1998 they get married. And 2003 they make their way back to where Bricks grew up, out of New Guinea, to serve an unreached language group called the Yembi Yembi. I think I have a picture of them too. The Yemi Yembi. And um actually, let me back up a little bit. Before they got to the Yembi Yembi, they spent at least two-ish years or so being trained in cross-cultural communication, being trained in church planting work. They went to another training program where they learned how to learn a language from scratch and how to translate the Bible from scratch. And so they took all that knowledge and then they made their way to live among the Yemi Yemi in Ahmed. Alright? And then so for the next 13 years, they would spend their time living among the Yemi Yemi, learning their language, coming up with an alphabet for them, coming up with a writing system for their language, and then teaching the Yemi Yemi how to read and write in their own language. And then they would start translating the Bible into the language of the Yemi Yemi. And then they would start telling the Yemi Yemi the story of the Bible from beginning to end, starting in Genesis 1, verse 1. And it was not for five whole years. Five whole years. Five years later, April 28, 2008, they finally got to tell the story of Jesus. Five years later, in the language of the Yengi Yemi, the story of Jesus' life, death, burial, and resurrection, they could tell on the face of the Yenbi Yemi the joy of finally getting to connect the dots of the Old Testament and the New Testament of why this man Jesus came to the earth to do what he did for the sins of the world. There is this joy because the very first time in history of the Yemi, they understood the gospel in their own heart language. Because they had these men and women had come to do all that work for them. They accounted for about 40, 45 people who they think accept Christ that day, and later, months later, after the first gospel presentation, there's about seven people baptized. There's seven people baptized. And then the Busers continued to stay among the Yembi Yembi for another eight years to see a healthy church developed, where the Bible was continued to be taught.

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And they stayed until the point where the church is even able to raise their own elders and deacons.

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And so I've got this book. This was a church that eventually developed because it was Brooks and Nina, and I think there's another couple that went with them. And as I think about Brooks and Nina's story, guys, I just can't help but wonder. What would make anyone leave a nice, comfortable American life in San Diego and sacrifice all that for 13 years among these news? What would make them do that? Think about how hard it is to learn a new language, let alone a language that other people don't even know, a new tribal language. Think about how hard it is to develop a language written for this language and then teach them their own language. Why it matters so much for uneached language groups in this world to have a Bible and their own hard language. Because the Bible is the only book in the world that claims to have the words of life that can teach us how to be saved from our sins. It's the only book in the world that can claim to have been breathed out by God. And it's the only book in the world that's sufficient in and of ourselves to teach us everything we need to know. To carry out the good work, every good work God can have us on this earth. To finish the race, to run the race, that fight the good fight of faith on our way into the happy space. So, kids, students, I'm gonna speak to you, you're in this room. Can you believe that there are people in this world who are willing to serve unreached language groups, translating the Bible into their language like abusers? Can you believe that? They see getting the Bible into the heart languages of these people so important. But they're willing to lay down their lives. And you know? You will never really understand why people are willing to do this until you get the words of this book deep down into your own soul and experience the life-changing power of God's giving yourself. So here's what I want to say to you. Allah is made. It is worth your time to give yourself to study this book, to learning what's inside this book. It is more profitable to you long term than Lord of the Rings, than Harry Potter, than any comic book or roman you could ever read, or the Chronicles of Darnia, or any textbook you might pick up from school. Not to say that those aren't interesting or helpful, they are. But this book, this book, contain the words of life. And it doesn't no other book can claim what this book claims about itself. So I want to challenge you. I want to challenge you, like I've challenged my own sons to make it a priority to read this book from cover to cover at least once before you leave home for college. Parents, I've got a QR code for you. A simple Bible reading checklist. You take this, print it out, I've done it for my own sons, each of them have their own. It'll provide a visual incentive as they make their way through scripture and check off each chapter of the Bible. Adults, you, if you don't have something like this, you can print out for yourself. But when they make it through, celebrate it. Make it a big deal. Take them out for a nice dessert. Get them a nice Bible with their name and grave on it. Take them out to the Astros, whatever. Whatever you do. Let them know that it is a priority for you. It's a big deal for. You to see your children doing this. Make it a priority to help your children see just how profitable it is to be students of this. There are still about 3,100 unreached language in this world. And my question to us as a church is what are we going to do about it? What are we going to do about that? Can we really be content living our comfortable American lives here without ever seriously thinking about how we're going to make a dent in that number? My hope is that in our lifetime, this church, we contribute to that number lower. And so I just want to ask us right now, and not have Tom will come up and play some music in the background, but I want to ask right now for us to just pray for some things. I got some two specific things I want to ask us to pray in response to the Word of God. And I want you to get into groups of threes and fours just with the people right in right next to you. Like right now. And if you don't feel comfortable praying, hopefully someone in your group does feel comfortable and you don't have to pray, no worries about that. But I've got this first topic I want to pray, I want us to pray for. If you don't know each other, introduce yourself first. So we just got two comments to pray for this. The first one is this. I'll let it on the screen. I got it up on the screen. The first is this let's pray that God raise up from among us people who like the losers, are willing to lay down their lives upon permission, who are willing to cross cultures and learn new languages in order to bring scriptures that contain the words of life to people who've never heard the gospel, to unreach language groups in this book, to bring that 3100 book to house. Would you pray?

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And countless others that we're not aware of. God would you continue raising people? Perhaps even from ethnos, to be your instrument in bringing the gospel to one of the 3100 or so groups that still have yet to hear the gospel. You glorify yourself and finish the job that you started. May it happen soon, so that suffering and death and separation from you that exist today would be resolved for your glory. In Jesus' name.

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Pray that especially for Tommy and Taro that somehow might gain something of your message to them. I pray in Jesus' name.

SPEAKER_04 49:06

Wherever you are, we've got the second topic on the screen so you can switch over there whenever you can. And second, let's pray that the children growing up in our midst will see the work of bringing the gospel to unreached language groups around the world as something they could possibly do their lives to one day as they follow Jesus. That it wouldn't be a foreign concept to them when they think about what they do with their lives.

SPEAKER_02 49:58

Pray that you are also equipping their parents. So share your heart with them and let them see that that is that is um that's a real calling, that's a possibility for them.

SPEAKER_03 50:30

Kids and Athnos, even our own kids, knowing that your spirit would live in their hearts to draw them into a close relationship with you and to have your love for the nations. So understand your heart and to pursue you. And your calling and your purposes. Your heart is for the nations, and your calling is to make disciples for the nations. So you'd move them children of festivals. And purposes for their lives and for the nations. Just give them a love and a passion for you, understanding of your heart, your heart. Just why you just embrace you.

SPEAKER_04 51:59

By all some bees you can make us with righteousness of Jesus salvation. The help of all the ends of the earth and the hardest things. Friends, we've seen that this book is the only book in the world that has the ability to make human wise for salvation in Christ Jesus. And if the God of this book, if the God of the Bible is really took all the teachings to the ends of the earth, then what are you going to persevere? What are you personally going to do to get this gospel out of the world? If the God of the Bible is really the hook of all the ends of the earth, what are you personally going to do to get the good news of Jesus Christ at the end of the earth? Whether it's to pray, whether it's to give, or whether it's to go, what are you going to do? I'm going to close our time by sharing these words written by a missionary from long ago named John G. Patton. He writes this plant down your forces in the heart of one tribe of Christ, where the same language is spoken. Work solemnly from that center, building up with patient teaching and lifelong care a church that will endure. And rest not till every people and language and nation has such a Christ center robbing in its midst with the pulses of the new life at full.

unknown 53:44

Let's pray.

SPEAKER_04 53:46

Father, we thank you, God. That we have so much access to this book here in this space. A book that over 3,000 people groups in this world have no access to. So keep that on our minds as we process what to do with our lives. Keep that on our minds as we think about what we do with our money. Keep that on our minds as we think about who to pray for in this world. Even if we never get to do what the losers need. We have so many other ways to be involved in the work that you are doing in this world. So would you bring those things to mind? Would you bring people who are going into our lives that we would support, encourage, pray, and give to others? And would we continue to do all we can to bring that number, 3,100, in our lifetimes. Just a small dent in this world. They do our doing among all the churches and Christians in this world. Help us be part of this. For your great name around the world. The name of Jesus is the only name that's worthy to be lifted up among all peoples and languages and tribes and nations. The name of Jesus, the only one that can be worthy of our lives. And substitute his name. And in his name we pray. Amen.