|
10/40—Week
1 [PRAY]—The Middle East & Central Asia |
2/1/09 |
The
10/40 Window
Cautions:
1) That
our
conversation doesn’t end in talking—God desires us
to be proactive in reaching
the nations
2) That
our
focus on the world doesn’t keep us from seeing those who need
Jesus around
us—God desires that we be witnesses in Jerusalem (at home)
and the ends of the
earth (the nations)…it’s not either/or,
it’s both/and
WHAT
IS THE 10/40?
The
10/40
Window is the rectangular area between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees
north
latitude stretching across North Africa, through the Middle East, to
Central,
East, and South East Asia.
WHY
IS IT IMPORTANT?
1) Historical and Biblical
Significance
· The
Garden
of Eden was most likely there (Gen 2:10-14)
· The
Ark
rested on the mountains of Ararat (Gen 8:4)
· Tower
of
Babel (Gen 11:1-32)
· Abraham’s
life—Ur/Canaan (Gen 11:1-32, Gen 12:1-20, Gen 13:1-18, Gen
14:1-24, Gen 15:1-21, Gen 16:1-15, Gen 17:1-27, Gen 18:1-33, Gen
19:1-38, Gen 20:1-18, Gen 21:1-34, Gen 22:1-24, Gen 23:1-20, Gen
24:1-67, Gen 25:1-34)
· The
Enslavement and the Exodus—Egypt (Exodus)
· The
Promised
Land—Canaan (Joshua)
· The
entire
life of Jesus—Israel (the Gospels)
· The
birth
and spread of the Church—(Acts & church history)
2) The Unreached
The
10/40 Window is home to the
majority of the world's unevangelized countries.
· Only
one-third of earth's total land area, nearly two-thirds of the world's
people
live here
· An
estimated
4.35 billion (3.2 billion of which are unreached) individuals residing
in
approximately 7,213 (5,393 unreached) distinct people groups are in the
10/40
Window
· Of
the 55 least evangelized countries, 97% of
their population lives within the 10/40 Window
· The
10/40
Window also contains the largest unreached
people groups over one million
· The
10/40
Window also contains the overwhelming majority of the world's least
evangelized
megacities (those with a population of more than one million). Of the
top 50
cities on this list, all 50 are in the 10/40 Window
3) World’s Dominant
Religious Worldviews
· Islam:
most
prominently seen in a wide band through north Africa and the Middle East
· Hinduism:
in
the south of Asia (mostly in and surrounding India) with 330 million
gods
· Buddhism:
eastern Asia
· Atheism:
north-eastern Asia (China, N Korea, S Korea, Japan,
Taiwan)…although still
heavily influenced by Buddhist roots
4) The Poor
· Of
the
poorest of the poor, more than eight out of ten live in the 10/40
Window.
· On
average,
they exist on less than a few hundred dollars per person per
year…just over a
dollar a day.
· The
majority
of the unreached live in the poorest countries of the world.
FOCAL
REGION: THE MIDDLE EAST & CENTRAL ASIA
COUNTRIES
IN THE MIDDLE EAST & CENTRAL
ASIA:
Afghanistan,
Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Israel, United Arab Emirates,
Qatar, Iran,
Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus,
Lebanon, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan,
Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan (26)
Population:
538.3 million
Predominant
Worldview: Islam (95+% adhere
to Islam)
FOCUS
COUNTRY:
TURKEY
Total
People Groups: 59
Total
Population:
75,830,000
Muslim:
99.8%; Christian: 0.008%;
non-religious: 0.0006%; ethnic religions: 0.0002%
From:
www.joshuaproject.net
(Very)
Brief history:
|
1900-323
BC |
Hittites
dominated the Anatolian peninsula.
Hittites fell to the Persians and the Persians later
to the Greeks under Alexander the Great. |
|
133
BC-395 AD |
Romans
brought peace, prosperity and Christianity to the Anatolian region. Constantine
built a new capital city in Constantinople. Early
Roman capital of Asia Minor—Ephesus. |
|
669-678
AD |
Muslim
armies invade from Arabia. |
|
1071-1243
AD |
Turkic
people move down from Mongol during the Mongol Expansion. Seljuk
Empire established. Crusaders
invade. Eventually
run out. |
|
1299
AD |
Ottoman
Empire established. Lasted
until 1920. |
|
1920-1922
AD |
Ottoman
Empire dissolves. General
Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk—Father Turk) defended Turkish
heartland against invading Greeks. |
|
1923
AD |
Turkey
established as “secular democracy” although people
still heavily influenced by Islam. |
|
1960
& 1980 AD |
Two
bloodless coups brought civil and governmental unrest and reform. |
Biblical
Significance:
Apostle
Paul born in Tarsus.
Paul
spent much of his life sharing the gospel in this region.
The
Seven Churches of Asia are all located in Anatolia; Ephesus (Efes),
Smyrna (Izmir), Laodicea ad Lycum (Goncali), Sardis (Sart), Pergamum
(Bergama),
Philadelphia (Alasehir) and Thyatira (Akhisar).
The
churches of Ephesus, Colossae & Galatia are located in this
area.
WHY
IS PRAYING SO IMPORTANT TO REACHING
THE NATIONS?
THE
REQUEST OF PAUL: Colossians
4:2-6
· REQUEST
1: Pray
o How
to pray (Colossians
4:2)
o What
to pray (Colossians
4:3-4)
· REQUEST
2: Proclaim
o Deeds
(Colossians
4:5)
o Words
(Colossians
4:6)
“…the
proclamation of the gospel in Word and deed is the
work of missions. Prayer
is the power that wields the weapon of the Word, and the Word is the
weapon by
which the nations will be brought to faith and obedience.”
(John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad, 63)
Romans
10:12-14
12For
there is
no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord
of all and richly
blesses all who call on him, 13for,
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14How,
then,
can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they
believe in
the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without
someone
preaching to them?
THE
EXAMPLE OF PAUL: Colossians
1:9-12
· PAUL’S
HABIT: Continued
praying (Colossians
1:9)
· PAUL’S
HEART: God’s
knowledge, wisdom &
understanding (Colossians
1:9)
o Why? A life that pleases God (Colossians
1:10)
o What
pleases God?
§ bearing
good fruit from good work
(Colossians
1:10)
§ Continued
growth (Colossians
1:10)
§ Strengthened
by God (Colossians
1:11)
· …for
endurance
· …for
patience
· …for
joyful
thanks
· A
reminder—God has rescued you (Colossians
1:12)
“Prayer
is
the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning
away from ourselves
to God in the confidence that he will provide the help we need. Prayer humbles us as need and exalts God
as all-sufficient.” (John
Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad,
58-59)
2
Thessalonians 1:11-12
11With
this in
mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of
his
calling, and that by
his power he may fulfill every good purpose of
yours and
every act prompted by your faith. 12We
pray
this so that the
name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and
you in
him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
QUESTIONS
TO CONSIDER:
How
do I impact the nations through
praying?
Psalm
17:6
6
I call on
you, O God, for you will answer me;
2
Corinthians 1:8-11
8We
do not
want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in
the
province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability
to
endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9Indeed,
in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we
might
not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10He
has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On
him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11as
you help us by your prayers. Then many will give
thanks on our behalf
for
the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
A
more
personal question…
What
will move you to be involved
in missions through praying?
· ...a
sense
of duty or obligation?
· …because
it
is what I’m told to do?
· …because
it
is a good thing to do?
· …to
keep
people from going to hell?
· …that
God’s
glory would be shown and known among all people?
We
will only
engage with God through praying when properly motivated.
“Missions
is
not the ultimate goal of the church.
Worship is. Missions
exists
because worship doesn’t.
Worship is
ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate not man. [Missions] is a temporary
necessity. But
worship abides forever.” (John Piper, Let
the Nations Be Glad, 17)
|
HOW
DOES GOD WANT ME TO IMPACT THE NATIONS? |
TO
GO BOX:
1)
PRAYER OPTION 1:
Spend time praying for God’s
purposes in the world. Pray
for a
missionary (and their family) that you know.
Here are some suggestions (look up each passage and pray
through it—there’s
one for the next six days).
Pray
for…
…the
worship of God among all people [Ps 67:1-7]
…protection
from the evil one [Jn 17:11, 15]
…openings
for sharing the Message of Jesus [Col 4:3]
…for
the words to clearly and fearlessly share the gospel [Col
4:4; Eph 6:19]
…for
all men to be saved and embrace the Truth [1 Tim 2:1-4]
…
more workers to go [Mt 9:35-39]
2)
PRAYER OPTION 2:
Spend time praying for the
nation of Turkey.
o Turkey
remains the largest unreached
nation in the world – Few of the 74 million
Muslims have ever heard the
gospel and only 15 of Turkeys 80 provinces have a Christian church.
o Pray
that the barriers and prejudices
against Christianity can be broken down. To be a Turk is to
be a Muslim, so
people who decide to follow Jesus are threatened, intimidated and can
be
rejected by their families. There is a deep seated hostility towards
Christians
– who are identified with foreign invaders who invaded the
Turkish empire
during the crusades. Pray that these
misconceptions would be shattered
by the truth and love of Jesus.
o Pray
for an end to the trouble and hostility
between the Turkish army and Kurdish separatists, who
are fighting for
their independence from Turkey. Although there may be a few Kurdish
Christians,
there are no Kurdish churches. Pray for the development of a church
which
reflects and reaches these people.
o After
20 years of work by the Bible Society, a
new modern Turkish translation of the Bible was
published in 2001. Pray
that these Bibles would bring fresh revelation and excitement and reach
the
people who need them.
From
http://operationworld.24-7prayer.com/country.php?country_id=49
3)
FAMILY ACTIVITY:
Make this treat from Turkey and spend time praying for
Turkey (see above
prayer list)…then enjoy the treat as a family.
LOKUM
(Turkish
Delight)