This emphasis on the glory of God is far more than a decorative flower on the Great Commission. More than ever we must work together with a shared passion that Christ be named and that Christ is praised in every people. A “doxological” (having to do with glory) vision of world evangelization offers practical wisdom essential for the finishing of the remaining task.

—Steven C. Hawthorne, “The Story of His Glory”, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement

It will often look as though Christ is defeated. That’s the way it looked on Good Friday. He let himself be libeled and harassed and scored and shoved around and killed. But in it all he was in control. “No one takes [my life] from me” (John 10:18). So it will always be. If China was closed for forty years to the Western missionaries, it was not as though Jesus accidentally slipped and fell into the tomb. He stepped in. And when it was sealed over, he saved fifty million Chinese from inside—without Western missionaries. And when it was time, he pushed the stone away so we could se what he had done.

When it looks as though he is buried for good, Jesus is doing something awesome in the dark.

—John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad

Satan’s aim is that no one be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. And one of his key strategies is to start battles in the world that draw our attention away from the real battle for the salvation of the lost and the perseverance of the saints. He knows that the real battle, as Paul says, is not against flesh and blood. So the more wars and conflicts and revolutions of “flesh and blood” he can start, the better, as far as he is concerned.

So when Paul tells us to pray for peace precisely because God desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth, he is not picturing prayer as a kind of harmless domestic intercom for increasing our civilian conveniences. He is picturing it as a strategic appeal to headquarters to ask that the enemy not be allowed to draw any firepower away to decoy conflicts of flesh and blood.

—John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad

A heart for the glory of God and a heart of mercy for the nations make a Christian missionary. These must be kept together. If we have no zeal for the glory of God, our mercy becomes superficial, man-centered human improvement with no eternal significance. And if our zeal for the glory of God is not a reveling in his mercy, then our so-called zeal, in spite of all its protests is out of touch with God and hypocritical.

—John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

—Revelation 19:6-8

[The Southern Baptist] convention built its legacy on reaching white people. But we’ve got to do whatever it takes to change this legacy. The gospel demands that we do so. God the Father sacrificed his son to reach the diverse peoples and tribes, and to bring them into gospel unity. As the USA becomes increasingly diverse, our all-white churches increasingly appear as a contradiction to the gospel. If we are not careful, public perception will be along these lines, “If you want racial integration and unity, rely on the US government. But if you want all-white gatherings that are bizarre anomalies in a diverse culture, go to a SBC church.”

—Bruce Ashford, in “Theology & Practice of Mission: An Interview with Bruce Ashford,”
Danny Akin, Between The Times [www.betweenthetimes.com]