(Clip) The Disfigured Bride And Unreached People Groups
Dick Brogden passionately calls the church to engage unreached people groups worldwide, emphasizing that the fullness and beauty of the bride of Christ depends on the inclusion of all nations.
This sermon emphasizes the importance of apostleship and partnership in reaching unreached peoples around the world, highlighting the need to go into the shadowlands like Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Somalia to witness, suffer, live, and die together. It stresses that the church is incomplete until all nations have heard the Gospel, using the analogy of a bride missing essential features until unreached people groups are reached.
Full Transcript
Apostleship is not to be rendered in the shadow of a thousand steeples. Our partnership must take us arm-in-arm, bend-in-knee-to-bend-in-knee into the shadowlands, to the Libya's, into the Iraq's, into the Syria's and the Somalia's of the world. And we must witness and suffer and live and die in the most unstable of locations together.
Our centennial celebration must be laced with mourning. As Lauren Triplett rightly said, we must measure ourselves by what is left undone. Jesus is coming for a beautiful bride, and yet as long as there are unreached peoples, the bride is still defigured.
The Rashida are unreached, and the bride has no eye. The Pashtun are unreached, and the bride has no teeth. The Somali are unreached, and the bride has no hair.
1.6 billion Muslims are unreached, and the bride has no ear. Hundreds of peoples across central Eurasia are unreached, and the bride has no nose. This is a vital aspect of mission so little understood.
Not only do absent peoples mar the church, absent peoples mar the image of Jesus, for the church doesn't have the fullness of Jesus until the fullness of the nations have Him. And look at this image of a marred, incomplete bride. And yet, every time an unreached people group joins the fold, a new perspective of God is released into Christian corpus.
Think of it. Turkmen of Central Asia are saved. We get our nose back.
Muslims redeemed, and we gain an ear. God is glorified by the Somali, and our head is adorned with hair. The gospel progresses across the Pashtun, and we get our teeth.
The Rashida respond to the glory of God, and we gain an eye. The church is beautified by the spread of the gospel.
Sermon Outline
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I. The Call to Apostleship in the Shadowlands
- Engage unreached nations in unstable regions
- Partnership requires sacrifice and presence
- Witnessing amidst suffering and danger
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II. The Bride of Christ and Her Defigured State
- Unreached peoples cause the bride to be incomplete
- The church’s beauty is marred without all nations
- Illustration of the bride missing eyes, teeth, hair, ears, and nose
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III. The Impact of Reaching Unreached Peoples
- Each group restored brings new perspective of God
- Salvation of unreached peoples beautifies the church
- The fullness of Jesus is realized as nations come to Him
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IV. The Urgency and Mourning in Missions
- Celebrate with mourning over what remains undone
- Measure success by unreached peoples remaining
- Commit to advancing the gospel globally
Key Quotes
“Jesus is coming for a beautiful bride, and yet as long as there are unreached peoples, the bride is still defigured.” — Dick Brogden
“Not only do absent peoples mar the church, absent peoples mar the image of Jesus, for the church doesn't have the fullness of Jesus until the fullness of the nations have Him.” — Dick Brogden
“Every time an unreached people group joins the fold, a new perspective of God is released into Christian corpus.” — Dick Brogden
Application Points
- Commit to praying regularly for unreached people groups around the world.
- Support or participate in missions that take the gospel to unstable and difficult regions.
- Recognize that the church’s completeness depends on the inclusion of all nations and actively advocate for global evangelism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the 'disfigured bride' metaphor mean?
It illustrates how the church is incomplete and marred without the inclusion of all unreached people groups, symbolizing the bride of Christ missing parts.
Why focus on unreached Muslim peoples?
Because 1.6 billion Muslims remain unreached, and reaching them is vital for the fullness and beauty of the church and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
What is meant by 'apostleship in the shadowlands'?
It refers to the call for believers to go into difficult, unstable, and often dangerous regions to witness and serve unreached peoples.
How does reaching unreached groups glorify God?
Each new group that comes to faith reveals a new perspective of God's glory and contributes to the completeness of the church.
What practical steps can believers take from this message?
Believers can pray for unreached peoples, support missions financially and through advocacy, and consider going to serve in difficult mission fields.