God’s Name Shall Be Made Great

Malachi 1:11 NKJV  For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the LORD of hosts.

• As I was praying and preparing for this sermon I asked the Lord to show me a verse He wanted me to preach from.
  • The Lord told me to read from a book I recently purchased called “Unto a Land That I will Sow You”, about Leo and Phyllis Kaylor, missionaries to Japan.
  • The Holy Spirit told me “read from the book, read about his calling to Japan, there I will show you a verse”.
    • So I opened the book, and flipped right to “My Call to Japan” and right there, in the middle of the page, jumping out at me, was this verse

Malachi 1:11 NKJV  For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the LORD of hosts.

• I read that verse and my spirit started jumping and shouting from within me! Do you guys get why this verse is exciting‽
  • Let me read it again… because some of y’all missed it.

Malachi 1:11 NKJV  For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the LORD of hosts.

• For from the rising sun to it’s going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles, says the great I AM!
  • FROM THE RISING SUN MY NAME SHALL BE GREAT AMONG THE GENTILES.
    • Church, if you haven’t caught it already… JAPAN IS THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN. Even it’s flag is a rising sun!
      • Listen Japan is not even the real name of the country, that is just the English word we use, in Japanese it is “Nippon”… Nippon literally means “Where the sun rises”.
    • The reason it got this name goes all the way back to the beginning of the 7^th century when Japan sent a sovereign message to the Chinese government…
    • The letter was addressed as such “From the Emperor of the land of the rising sun to the Emperor of the land of the setting sun”.
      • Japan, where the Sun rises, China, where the Sun goes down…
      • Christianity did not first reach Japan until about 700 years later!
• Yet it seems as though, Malachi prophesies that God’s name will be great in Japan…

• Do you remember church, the prophecy that was spoken over this church some 7 years ago, twice in one weekend by people who did not know us… “Your mission to Japan is very important… Your calling to Japan is very important”…
  • God has declared, in His Word, that His name will be great from the rising sun to it’s going down… that His name will be great among the nations.
    • And we get to take part in that prophesy, 2400 years after Malachi was written, we get to take place in making God’s name great among the nations, with a focus on the land of the rising sun! Let’s Pray.
• Now we try to keep mission Sunday sermons short and sweet, because praying over and taking up MFP’s always takes extra time… so this morning we have two simple points:
  • Point One– We Get To Be A Part of What God is Doing
  • Point Two– We Can’t All Go, But We Can All Send
• So let’s get right into point one this morning… we get to be a part of what God is doing…

Point One – We Get To Be A Part of What God is Doing

• Malachi 1:11 NKJV  For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the LORD of hosts.
• This verse was written around the year 424 BC, around 2400 years ago…
  • And we get to be a part of it… If that doesn’t excite you church, I don’t know what will…
    • We get to be a part of the fulfillment of this prophecy… and it is a prophecy, because God says my name “Shall be”… meaning “It may not be great now, but it shall be great”.
    • Now in 1549 the first Christian missionaries hit Japan, and had some great success brining entire villages to Jesus… village after village these missionaries would travel and lead the whole town to Christ… but 54 years later Christianity would be banned.
    • From 1603-1868, during the Edo period, Christianity was outlawed and fiercely persecuted in Japan.
      • During this time Christians were martyred, churches destroyed, and villages that had turned to Christ were burnt to the ground.
    • But God never gave up on the Japanese people.
      • In 1865, just before the rules against Christianity were lifted, some French missionaries came to Japan and built a church… and Japanese people filled the church from all around the country.
      • They were called “Japan’s hidden Christians”. This Japanese Christians had secretly kept serving and worshiping Jesus for the past two hundred years as their families had secretly handed down the faith through the generations.

Deuteronomy 7:9 NKJV  “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

• After WW2 Japan drafted a new constitution that guaranteed freedom of religion.
  • And during this time, fresh after the war, General McAurthor urged America to send 10,000 missionaries and a million Bibles to Japan, saying this was a time for Japan to come to Christ.
    • But America mostly ignored his cry… sending only a few hundred missionaries.
  • Today Japan remains largely unreached, with less than 1 percent of it’s population confessing Christ.
    • To put that in perspective, Iran is 1.5 percent Christian.
      • Christianity is illegal in Iran.
    • North Korea is 1.5% Christian.
      • Christianity is illegal in North Korea.
    • Around 3% of China is Christian.
      • Biblical Christianity is illegal in China.
  • Yet in Japan, which freedom of religion is a protected constitutional right… there is less than 1 percent Christian…
  • And I believe that God is changing that! I believe God is brining Malachi 1:11 into play right now, in our lifetimes… and we get to be part of that!
• Speaking of being a part of it, I got a letter recently from someone else who is a part of it… Sister Rachel Tan.
  • Sister Rachel was one of the missionaries who came to Iowa with Amanda and I to plant this church.
  • She moved back to Singapore 9 years ago and continued serving God there while moving on with her life… But God was not done using her… not by a longshot!
  • In fact last month, Sister Rachel, one of the people who planted CLC mind you… last month she left to lead a team of missionaries from Singapore to plant a church…
    • Guess where she is church planting… Sapporo Japan!
      • She and a team from VFC Singapore are planting a church alongside our team from VFC North America… Alongside the church that Rebecka Farrier helped start.
      • And don’t worry, Sapporo is the size of Chicago, there is plenty of room for two churches!.
      • Sister Rachel sent us a letter a few weeks ago that I would like to read to you now…

Show slide “Japan Iowa” already in planning center (Click “add item” then click “Reuse Item” then search for “Japan Iowa”)

Dearest Christian and Amanda,
      They say a picture speaks a thousand words but I think this time, even a storybook won’t be enough. I don’t even know where to begin when I think about my life 11 years ago when I was in Iowa, and where I am now. I think I can only say that God is faithful and His ways are really beyond ours. I just thought this picture could encourage you and the church in Cedar Rapids, of how I guess, things come full circle. I am humbled and eternally grateful to know that our work in Iowa sent people to Sapporo for church planting, and here I am 11 years later, leading a team in Sapporo. I always look back on my missions’ journey with fond memories and I’m always humbled that there are people everywhere in the world giving their all for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that your years ahead in ministry will lead to a great revival in your natation, A nation I know you love so much. I have faith to believe that revival in America can start with y’all. Please send my love to the church, and all our friends. Cheering for you guys, always.
   Love Rachel Tan, Dated September of 2024

• Now would you look at that picture… there is Rachel standing in Sapporo Japan, planting a church, wearing a University of Iowa hoodie, that she got while planting this church in Cedar Rapids.
  • Chinese Singapore, to Midwest America, to Sapporo Japan.
    • For from the rising of the sun even to it’s going down, God’s name will be made great amongst the gentiles, His name will be made great among the nations.
• I believe that Sapporo is going to come to Christ!
  • Not just through our church and the church we planted, but through Rachels church and many many other churches… Japan is going to come to Christ.
  • AND WE GET TO BE A PART OF THAT.
    • We are going to continue supporting Pastor Hans and the church we planted.
    • We will continue sending missionaries, and money, and support, and prayers.
    • Our church there will continue fighting, and waring, and seeking for the lost… as one by one, the city of Sapporo gives their life to Christ.
      • Every new Christian a miracle… every new convert changing the statistics of the nation…
      • AND WE GET TO BE A PART OF THAT.

Luke 15:4-10 NKJV  “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  (5)  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  (6)  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’  (7)  I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.  (8)  “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?  (9)  And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’  (10)  Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

• What I love about this passage of scripture is all the REJOICING… Jesus is finding His lost sheep in Japan, and there is rejoicing… Jesus is finding that lost treasure in Japan, a treasure found first in 1549 when missionaries first came there… the enemy tried to take that treasure away, but Jesus is finding it afresh… and there is joy.
  • For every Japanese soul that repents there is rejoining in heaven before the angels…
    • GUYS THERE ARE PARTIES IN HEAVEN BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT CHRIST IS DOING THROUGH THIS CHURCH.
      • WE GET TO BE A PART OF THAT! Thank you Jesus for letting us be a part of that.
• You know my stepfather was a marine during Vietnam… but he never where’s a Vietnam veteran hat… he never talks about the war… he barely ever tells people he was a marine… why? Because he never saw battle… he never even stepped foot on Vietnam… his boat was deployed around the area at the end of the war, but it never saw action… so my step father doesn’t boast.
  • BUT CHURCH, WE CAN BOAST IN THE LORD OVER THE WAR FOR THE SOUL OF JAPAN… BECAUSE WE, CHRISTIAN LIFE CHURCH OF CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA… WE ARE A PART OF WHAT GOD IS DOING! WE ARE SENDING SOLDIERS… WE ARE FIGHTING BATTLES… GOD WILL DO IT, I KNOW HE WILL! I AM JUST HAPPY TO BE ALLOWED TO BE INVOLVED.
    • We GET to be a part of that… and that excites me…
• Now that brings me to point two this morning… and this is where MFP comes in… Point two is “We can’t all God, but we can all send.

Point Two – We Can’t All Go, But We Can All Send

Romans 10:13-15 NKJV  For “WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.”  (14)  How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  (15)  And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF PEACE, WHO BRING GLAD TIDINGS OF GOOD THINGS!”

• Let me put this into context for Japan and our church…
• If a Japanese person calls on the name of the Lord, they will be saved. How then shall they call on the name of Jesus if they don’t believe in Jesus… but how can a Japanese person believe in Jesus if they have never HEARD of Jesus… and how will they hear about Jesus if there is not a preacher? And how will a preacher get to Japan if they are not sent?
  • We can’t all be the preacher… but we can all send the preacher.
    • Everyone who gives to Missions Faith Pledge has a part in sending preachers to Japan.
    • Everyone who has given even just a dollar, is a part of the church plant we have there.
      • Every Sunday service, every outreach event, every soul saved, every baptism service… If you give to missions at CLC, then you are a part of those victories…
      • Now ultimately God gets the glory, it is all through Him… if we are to boast, let us boast in Him…
        • But the truth of the matter is, God does not need us… but He wants to use us… and I am excited to be used by God.
        • I am excited to be on the winning team.
• So I was thrilled to be able to send Rebecca to Japan… to be able to support her as she did the hard work of the preacher… she was the preacher, CLC was the sender…
• And we are not done sending either… If you have not heard already, we are sending another team to Sapporo to support the church plant there and pastor Hans who oversees that church plant… And we have the honor of training up and sending a wonderful young man to Japan…
  • Brother Cainen, would you come up here.
  • We are going to be training Cainen, as well as a missionary from Lincon Nebraska, a missionary from Alberta Canada, and Japanese missionary from Onterio Canada.
  • They are going to train for two months, one month in Lincoln, and one month here, so you will get to know the whole team… then we are sending them for 9 months to continue the work…
    • And since this point is “We can’t all go, but we can all send” I think it would be beneficial for us to send you off covered in prayers.
• Rebecca, can you come and pray for him… Missions team and deacons would you guys come and lay hands on Cainen, church lift up your hands… Rebecca is going to pray as a sort of spiritual passes the torch… because we all get to send Cainen.
• PRAY FOR CAINEN PRAY FOR CAINEN PRAY FOR CAINEN PRAY FOR CAINEN PRAY FOR CAINEN
• Alright, let’s wrap this thing up, because we need to talk about missions faith pledges, but before we do that, let’s take a moment to share the gospel, here and now, in America…

Conclusion

Malachi 1:11 NKJV  For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the LORD of hosts.

• Now this verse doesn’t just mean Japan… it means everywhere, ALL NATIONS… our church was planted because America is a part of All Nations.
• 11 years ago Amanda, Reen, Rachel, and I were sent from Victory Family center Singapore… we were the preachers sent…
  • They collected missions faith pledges, they prayed, they fasted, they strategized in the spirit, and they trained us up and sent us out.
  • Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, Victory Family Centre Singapore and International Christian Center, Seattle, sent us to Cedar Rapids Iowa… with one goal… to lead people to Jesus…
    • That is, to preach the Gospel and urge people to respond. There are thousands of people who are a part of what God is doing here… thousands who gave, and prayed and sent… people in Singapore and Seattle… so that this church would be here preaching the Gospel.
    • And through 10 years we have lead 100s of people to Christ… now I wonder if there is any more here today… any more lost sheep, any more lost treasure… I wonder if there is anyone here today, on Missions Sunday, who needs to give their life to Jesus.
• Gospel Call

Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God.
Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids.
2808 Schaeffer DR SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
www.CedarRapidsChurch.com