God Loves the Nations: A Biblical Theology of Global Missions

It has always been God’s plan to win people from every nation. In Revelation 5, we get this incredible vision into the throne room of heaven. John the Apostle is looking into the future, and he sees something absolutely remarkable. He sees a multitude of people gathered around the throne worshiping God. And these aren’t people from one country. They’re not all from one ethnic group. They’re not all from one language or one culture. John says there are people from every tribe, every language, every people, and every nation.

Think about that picture for a moment. A massive, multiethnic, diverse family of people gathered around the throne. Millions upon millions, perhaps billions, of individual people from every walk of life, from every demographic, from every corner of the earth. People who seemingly have no business being together. People who, naturally speaking, would have divisions between them, hostilities, rivalries, historical grievances, different languages, different cultures, different politics, different everything. And yet in this vision they are, together around the throne.

Why? Because the gospel breaks down walls of hostility. The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2 that there is a wall of hostility between human beings, and the gospel tears that wall down. The result is this incredible family: a large, multiethnic, diverse family of people from every language, every tribe, every people, and every nation gathered together around Jesus.

That is the vision of the future that we are headed toward. But here’s what I want you to understand: that vision didn’t begin in Revelation. That’s not a future task that God suddenly came up with at the end of the Bible. The entire Bible is the story of God gathering a multiethnic people from every tribe, every tongue, every nation, and every language unto himself. The local church on this side of eternity is simply a little foretaste of what that future family will look like.

Look around our church. There are people here who, apart from the fact that we both love Jesus, would probably never spend time together. We have nothing in common. Different ages, different backgrounds, different interests, different politics, different personalities. Some of you like camping. The rest of us like enjoying our air conditioning. Walking into the woods and pretending I’m homeless is not my idea of a good time. Some of you love it. We don’t have to like the same things.

But that’s what the gospel does. The gospel rips down walls of hostility.

So this morning, I want to prove that to you from Scripture. I want to show you that the entire story of Scripture is God redeeming for himself a multiethnic people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and language. That’s the goal. We’re going to look at quite a few passages. I’m going to give you some statistics and some data, which is a little unusual for a Sunday morning, but I think it’s going to be helpful. And, I’m going to give you four practical things that every one of us can do to help speed up the vision that we see in Revelation 5. Before we do that, let’s ask God for help.

God, would you help us as we examine your Word? Help us understand what you have revealed to us. Shape our hearts. Give us your heart for the nations. May we see what you see and care about what you care about. We ask in Christ’s name. Amen.

 

God’s Promise to Abraham

Turn with me to Genesis chapter 12. This takes place around 2,000 BC which is important because Genesis is not mythology. Genesis is history as well as theology. About 4,000 years ago, God called a man named Abram, who later became Abraham. Abram lived in a pagan region of the world, somewhere around modern-day Iraq, in the Mesopotamian region. Almost everybody on planet Earth at that point was pagan. There were very few people worshiping the one true God.

So God reaches down into the middle of this pagan world and calls one man. Here’s what God says in Genesis 12: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”

Notice that last phrase: so that you will be a blessing. God doesn’t say, “Abraham, I’m going to bless you because I want you to enjoy the blessings.” He doesn’t say, “I’m going to bless you so you can build a bigger house.” He doesn’t say, “I’m going to bless you so you can buy a nicer car.” He doesn’t say, “I’m going to bless you so you can go on better vacations.” He says, “I’m going to bless you so that you will be a blessing.”

And then God says, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Do you see the mission? God pulls Abraham out from among the nations, establishes a covenant with him, creates a nation through him, and then says that through this one nation, all the nations will be blessed. The goal was always the nations.

Abraham has Isaac. Isaac has Jacob. Jacob has twelve sons. Those twelve sons eventually become the nation of Israel. And through a wild set of circumstances, they end up in Egypt as slaves. For 400 years, they live under Egyptian tyranny. Then God raises up Moses. God rescues Israel from Egypt and begins bringing them toward the land that he promised to Abraham.

And here’s the interesting thing. When God sends Moses to Pharaoh, God tells us exactly why he’s doing all of this. In Exodus 9:16, God says, “For this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”

Do you see that? God doesn’t tell Israel, “I’m rescuing you because you’re my favorite people and I just like you more than everyone else.” He doesn’t say, “I’m getting you out of Egypt so you can sit around and enjoy the land of milk and honey.” No. “I’m doing this so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”

The purpose of the Exodus was bigger than Israel. The purpose of God’s blessing was bigger than Israel. The purpose of God’s redemption was bigger than Israel. It was the nations.

And I think the same thing is true for us today. God blesses his people so that his people can be a blessing to the nations.

 

God Cares About His Name Among the Nations

There’s an incredible moment in Numbers 14. Israel has sinned. They have rebelled against God. They have been stubborn and wicked. And it appears that God is ready to wipe them out.

Frankly, they deserved it. God would have been perfectly righteous to judge them. But Moses intercedes. And listen to what Moses says to God in Numbers 14:15–16: “If you kill these people… then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.'” Moses essentially says, “God, if you wipe them out, the nations are going to hear about it. They’re going to say, ‘God brought them out of Egypt, but apparently he couldn’t finish the job.'” Think about how remarkable that is. Moses appeals to God on the basis of God’s reputation among the nations.

Why? Because God cares about the nations. God cares what the nations think about him. God wants the nations to have an accurate view of who he is. That should matter to us.

What do the people of Yemen think about God? What do the people of Burma think about God? What do the people of Iran think about God? What do the people of North Africa think about God? What do the people living in remote villages in the Amazon think about God?

Many of them have a completely wrong understanding of who God is. And that should matter to us because it matters to God.

 

David and Goliath Was About the Nations

Eventually Israel enters the promised land. They establish themselves as a nation. And for the next 1,400 years or so, the Old Testament unfolds the story of God being faithful to Israel even when Israel is repeatedly unfaithful to him. And every once in a while, somebody gets it.

One of my favorite examples is David. David wasn’t perfect. He was an adulterer. He was a murderer. He was a conspirator. And yet God calls him a man after his own heart. Why? I think part of the reason is that David understood why God was blessing him.

Think about the most famous story in David’s life: David and Goliath. We often tell that story incorrectly. We say, “David and Goliath teaches us that we can defeat the giants in our lives.” That’s not really the point. Or we say, “David and Goliath teaches us that God loves the Israelites more than the Philistines.” That’s not the point either.

David tells us exactly why God is doing this. David stands in front of Goliath and says in 1 Samuel 17:46, “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand.” And then David says that he’s going to kill Goliath and feed the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds. This is a middle-school-aged kid talking. I love his confidence. “I’m going to take you out, sucker.” And then David gives us the reason. Why? Here’s the last line: “So that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

God gives David the ability to kill Goliath so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Imagine being a pagan living near Israel. You worship a false god. You pray to that god every day. And nothing happens because your god isn’t real. Maybe you have sacrificed animals. Maybe you’ve sacrificed your children. Maybe you’ve begged your gods to provide food for your hungry family. And generation after generation, nothing happens.

Then you hear a rumor. There’s this nation called Israel. And apparently their God actually answers. Apparently their God actually does things. Apparently a young boy named David just defeated the most terrifying warrior in the region because his God gave him the victory.

And you start thinking, What would it be like to live in a nation where the God we worship actually exists? That’s the point. God wants the nations to know him. That’s why David understood what God was doing.

 

Solomon and the Blessing of God

David passes this understanding down to his son Solomon. Solomon becomes king, and God blesses Solomon and Israel in profound ways. Money. Resources. Protection. Wisdom. Influence. Talent. And all of those blessings eventually contribute to the construction of the temple.

And Solomon tells us why God blessed them. First Kings 8:60 says, “So that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.”

Why did God bless Israel? So that all the peoples of the earth would know that there is one God.

Solomon understood what Abraham understood. God blesses us so that we can be a blessing. God gives us resources so that we can use those resources to make his name known.

That means when God gives you money, that’s not merely for your enjoyment. When God gives you talent, that’s not merely for your enjoyment. When God gives you influence, that’s not merely for your enjoyment. When God gives you relationships and connections and opportunities, those things aren’t merely for you. God has a bigger purpose. He wants you to use what he’s given you for the nations.

 

Let the Nations Be Glad

Psalm 67 says the same thing. The psalmist prays, “May God be gracious to us and bless us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.”

Notice the prayer: “God, bless us.” Why? “So that the nations can know you.” Then he says, “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.” That’s the goal.

God wants the nations to be glad. There are billions of people on this planet who are not truly glad. They don’t know God. They don’t know forgiveness. They don’t know the gospel. They don’t know the deep, lasting joy that comes from knowing Christ. And the only way they’re going to know is if somebody tells them.

So let’s make the nations glad. Let’s use our resources. Let’s use our talents. Let’s use our money. Let’s use our relationships. Let’s use our influence. Let’s proclaim the good news that God became a man, died for our sins, and rose from the dead. Because true gladness is found in Christ and Christ alone.

Do you pray like this? “God, bless me so that I can bless somebody else.”

Have you ever prayed that? “Lord, there are people who are different from me. People who don’t think like me. People who may even hate me. People with whom I have a natural rivalry. Would you bless me so that I can bless them?”

That’s the heart of Psalm 67. And we see it throughout the Old Testament. Isaiah 42 says, “I am the Lord… I will take you by the hand and keep you. I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations.” Why does God protect and bless his people? So that they will be a light to the nations.

Ezekiel 20:9 says, “I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations.” And then Malachi 1:11 says, “From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name will be great among the nations.”

Do you see the pattern? God cares about his name being made great among the nations. There are places in the world where God’s name is not being made great. That’s why we do missions. Missions exist because worship doesn’t. There are places where worship isn’t happening, and we want worship to happen. God deserves worship from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation. So we have a task.

 

Jesus Loves the Nations

Then we get to the New Testament, and God’s love for the nations becomes even more clear. God himself becomes a man. Think about that for a second. The God who created everything visible and invisible becomes a baby. A baby dependent upon a teenage mother. The Lord God Almighty takes on flesh.

He lives a perfect life, and then he dies a wicked death on a cross. Jesus takes our guilt, our sin, and our shame. What should have happened to us happens to him. It should have been you on that cross. It should have been me. But Jesus takes our place. And then he rises from the dead. And he says the good news is that your sins can be forgiven if you trust in him.

But here’s the thing: the gospel isn’t just for you. It’s for the nations. Jesus says in Matthew 28, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

Not some nations. All nations.

Then Acts 1:8 says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jerusalem. Judea. Samaria. The ends of the earth. The people closest to you, the people a little further away, and then the people who are really far away.

And notice something else. Jesus specifically includes Samaria. The Samaritans were enemies of the Jews. There was a deep historical hostility between these groups. And Jesus says, Even them. You’re going to take the gospel to them too. The people you’ve been taught to hate. The people who are different from you. The people who have hurt you.

Even them. Because the gospel breaks down walls of hostility.

 

Do You Care About the Nations?

So let me ask you a difficult question. Do you care about the nations?

Do you care about people who are different from you? People who eat food that looks strange to you? People who speak with an accent? People who dress differently? People who have different customs? People who worship differently? People who come from countries you’ve never visited?

Do you ever think about the people of Thailand? Oman? Algeria? Iran? India? Pakistan? The Berber peoples of North Africa? The people living in remote villages in the Amazon? Do those people ever cross your mind? Because they cross God’s mind. God cares about them.

And frankly, if we don’t care about what God cares about, that’s a problem.

 

John Calvin and the Nations

There’s a well-known pastor from the 1500s named John Calvin. Calvin was a pastor in Geneva, Switzerland. He’s probably one of the most influential theologians in the history of Christianity.

But one of the things I think is most impressive about Calvin isn’t merely what he wrote. It’s what he sent.

During his roughly 30 years in Geneva, more than 2,000 missionaries were sent out from that city. Think about that. Geneva had a population of only about 15,000 people. And they were constantly training, discipling, mentoring, and sending missionaries.

People would come in. They’d train them. Then they’d send them out. Then somebody else would come in. They’d train them. Then they’d send them out. Many went to France. Others went throughout Europe. Some even went as far as Brazil.

And when Calvin was asked why he cared so much about missions, he said, “When we know God to be our Father, should we not desire that he be known by all?”

That’s the heart of missions. If we know God, shouldn’t we want everybody else to know him too? If we have tasted the goodness of God, shouldn’t we want other people to taste it? If we’ve experienced the grace of God, shouldn’t we want other people to experience it?

And if we don’t have that desire, Calvin says, maybe it’s because God’s glory doesn’t mean very much to us.

So if you’re sitting here this morning thinking, “I’ve never really thought about missions. Honestly, I don’t really care,” I’d encourage you to pray. “God, would you change my heart? Would you give me a bigger view of you? Would you cause me to care about what you care about?”

Because the bigger your view of God becomes, the more you’re going to care about his glory among the nations.

 

How Are We Doing?

So if Jesus has commanded us to go into all the world, how are we doing? Globally speaking, how are we doing? Let me give you some basic information.

There are organizations around the world doing ethnographic research. They’re studying different people groups, their languages, cultures, religions, histories, and geography. One of the largest evangelical organizations doing this research is the Joshua Project.

And according to their data, there are approximately 8.3 billion people on the planet today, divided into roughly 17,000 people groups.

Now, when we say “people group,” we’re not merely talking about political countries. That’s important.

We tend to think of a nation as one group. We look at Sudan and think, “That’s one nation.” But Sudan contains dozens of distinct ethnic groups with different languages, cultures, religions, histories, and identities.

The same thing is true in India. India isn’t one people group. It’s hundreds of different ethnic groups with different languages, cultures, histories, and religions. There are approximately 17,000 distinct people groups on the planet. About 10,000 are considered reached. That doesn’t mean everybody in those groups is Christian. It means there is a gospel presence. There is access to the gospel.

If you live in the United States and you want to hear the gospel, you can find it. We’re a reached people. But that’s not true everywhere.

Approximately 7,000 people groups remain unreached. There is little or no gospel presence among them. And those people groups represent roughly 41% of the world’s population. Four out of every ten people alive today live among people groups that are considered unreached.

Now, 2,000 years ago, essentially 100% of the world was unreached. So we’ve come a long way. But church, we’ve still got work to do. We’ve got work to do. So what can we do?

I could give you 17 things. I’m not going to. I’m going to give you four. Four things every one of us can do to help advance the mission of God among the nations.

 

Four Ways You Can Help Reach the Nations

1) Pray

First, pray. You should pray for the nations every single day. If you’re a Christian, may it be said of you for the rest of your life that not one day went by without you praying for the nations. Every day.

This isn’t my opinion. Jesus commanded it. Matthew 9:37–38 says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Jesus says, “Pray.” Pray that God would send workers. Pray that God would raise up missionaries. Pray that God would send people into the places that don’t know him. I pray for at least one missionary every day. Every morning at 10:02, my phone goes off. I’ve got a reminder on my phone that says, “Pray for the nations.” And when it goes off, I stop and pray.

Maybe you’re in a meeting. Maybe you’re talking to somebody. Maybe you can’t do it immediately. But when I get back to my phone, I see that reminder: pray for laborers.

And here’s something I’ve learned: It’s almost impossible to hate someone you pray for regularly. If you find yourself angry with a group of people, pray for them. If you find yourself frustrated with someone, pray for them. If you find yourself hating someone, pray for them. Prayer changes your heart. I’m going to say something that might step on some toes. I’m a political conservative. I’m not ashamed of that. But our side of the political aisle isn’t always very good at how we talk about people from other nations.

So maybe turn off the political podcast for a minute. Maybe turn off the news. And pray for the nations. Because if you’re constantly consuming media that teaches you to fear or hate certain groups of people, eventually you will start hating them. God doesn’t hate Muslims. God hates evil. And God is calling people out of Muslim countries into his kingdom. So we should love those people. We should pray for them. Pray.

2) Give

Secondly, give. We should give financially and sacrificially to the nations.

The Apostle Paul talks about churches financially supporting his ministry. The church in Philippi and believers in Macedonia gave so that Paul could do ministry.

I’m really glad they did. Because those people helped make it possible for Paul to write things like Romans. And now, 2,000 years later, we’re reading it. Ministry takes money.

If we’re going to reach the nations, Christians have to give. Let me give you some numbers that should probably make us uncomfortable.

The average American evangelical Christian spends around $1,100 a year on coffee and coffee supplies. About $800 a year on streaming services. And according to the statistics I referenced, around $33 a year toward global missions.

Think about that. Over a thousand dollars on coffee. Hundreds of dollars on Netflix. And thirty-something dollars toward reaching people who have never heard the gospel. That’s worth thinking about.

Here at Horizon City, 10% of every dollar that comes into this church immediately goes back out. And the bulk of that goes toward missions. You could say, “You’re a church plant. You don’t have a ton of money. Why would you give money away?” Because we don’t wait until we’re rich to become generous. You start giving when you’re broke. You start obeying when it costs you something.

My wife and I give 10% of our household income to Horizon City every month. And on top of that, we give to missions. There are missionaries we support every month. Not because we’re special. Because I’m reading the New Testament and thinking: This is how Christians live.

Are you required to give exactly 10%? No. The New Testament doesn’t give us an exact percentage. But it does command us to give sacrificially and cheerfully. So give. And be happy about it. Because some of that money is going to help make the nations glad.

3) Welcome

Third, we can welcome. In particular, we can welcome immigrants.

More than 20 times in Scripture, God’s people are explicitly commanded to welcome the foreigner or the sojourner. And here’s what’s fascinating about Central Florida: the nations are already here.

People are coming to us. They’re coming for school. They’re coming for work. They’re coming for internships. They’re coming for conferences. They’re coming for vacations. And Central Florida is one of the most diverse regions in the country. Look around.

My neighborhood has a bunch of Brazilians. My daughter’s preschool has a bunch of Brazilian kids. The nations are in our backyard. So what if instead of hating immigrants, we befriended them? What if we invited them into our homes? What if we had them over for Thanksgiving? What if we showed them hospitality? What if we shared the kindness of God with them? And then they went back home with the gospel?

That’s essentially what happens in Acts 2. On the day of Pentecost, Jews from all over the Roman Empire are gathered in Jerusalem. Peter preaches. Thousands believe. And then those people go back to their home countries with the gospel. The nations came to them. And they reached the nations. We have the same opportunity.

There are organizations right here in Central Florida that intentionally work with international students. There are students from China, Japan, Morocco, and dozens of other nations who come to Disney World for internships. They’re here for months. They’re living in our communities.

And what if the church reached them? Most of us will never become missionaries to China. But maybe the mission field is coming to our backyard. Maybe Disney thinks they’re bringing people here for shareholders. Maybe God is bringing them here so that they can hear the gospel. The nations are coming to us. So welcome them.

4) Go

And fourth, go. There is no doubt in my mind that there are people sitting in this room that God is calling to go overseas long-term. There’s no way a room this size has zero people called to go. There are probably several.

So let me ask you a question: Could it be me? Ask yourself that. “Lord, is it me?” Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. But you should at least ask. If you’ve read the New Testament and you’ve never once thought, “Maybe God could send me,” I’d encourage you to reconsider.

You may not go. That’s okay. But you should at least consider it. Jesus told us to go. And if we’re going to take him seriously, we should at least ask whether he’s calling us to go.

A couple weeks ago, I was with a group of church planters and pastors in North Africa. We were with missionaries from the International Mission Board. I told one of them, “My wife and I have talked about maybe going overseas someday.” And he said, “You would consider going overseas?” I said, “Of course.” I’m a Christian. Every Christian should consider it. That doesn’t mean every Christian will go. But every Christian should at least ask. Maybe me.

 

Opportunity with IMB

If you’re part of the Southern Baptist Convention, we have an incredible opportunity through the International Mission Board. The Southern Baptist Convention is made up of roughly 50,000 churches that collectively fund missionaries around the world. Last year, churches gave hundreds of millions of dollars toward this work. And the IMB has thousands of missionaries serving around the globe.

There are also programs for young adults. One of them is the Journeyman program, which allows college-age adults and people in their twenties to spend two years overseas serving alongside missionaries. Two years. That’s nothing. Two years will go by faster than you think. Go give two years of your life to the nations.

And the IMB isn’t the only organization doing great work. There are many others: Pioneers, Frontiers, Wycliffe Bible Translators, ABWE, African Inland Mission, World Venture, Ethnos 360, Reaching and Teaching, One Hope, Live Dead, The Luke Commission, Mercy Ships, Operation Mobilization, and many, many others. Different agencies do different kinds of ministry in different parts of the world. No matter what kind of ministry you want to do or where you want to go, there is probably an organization that can help you get there.

They can train you. They can help you prepare. They can help you raise support. They can help you get to the field. So the question isn’t really, “Can I make this happen?” The question is: Will I say yes? Charles Spurgeon famously said, “If God calls you to be a missionary, don’t stoop to be a king.”

Every one of us has a role. Every one of us can pray. Every one of us can give. Every one of us can welcome. And some of us should go. John Piper puts it even more bluntly. He says that “when it comes to world missions, there are essentially three kinds of Christians: zealous goers, zealous senders, and disobedient.”

You’re either going, or you’re helping others go. Let’s not be disobedient.

 

Conclusion

As we close this morning, I want to read Psalm 67 in its entirety because this is really the prayer. This is the heart of what we’re talking about.

Psalm 67 says: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.”

That’s the goal. Let the nations be glad. God cares about the nations. So we should care about the nations.

We should pray for workers to be sent. We should give so that workers can go. We should welcome people from the nations who come into our backyard. And we should prayerfully, seriously consider whether God is calling us to go.

And then we trust God to use our obedience however he sees fit.

One day, Revelation 5 tells us, we’re going to see the end of the story. Every tribe. Every tongue. Every people. Every nation. Gathered around the throne. And nobody there will be wondering why they were invited. Nobody will be divided by race or ethnicity or nationality. Nobody will be divided by politics or culture or history. The gospel will have accomplished what it was always designed to accomplish: a redeemed, multiethnic family gathered around Jesus.

So let’s be part of that story. Let’s pray for it. Let’s give toward it. Let’s welcome the nations. And maybe, just maybe, God is calling some of us to go.

Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, thank you for the clear testimony of Scripture that you care about the nations. Help us care about the nations. When we are prayerless, remind us to pray. When we’re greedy, teach us to be generous. When we’re tempted to fear or hate people who are different from us, remind us that you love them and that they are made in your image. Help us love the immigrant who lives in our neighborhood. Help us love our foreign neighbor. Help us welcome the nations that you’ve brought into our backyard. And Lord, I pray that some would go. Maybe me. Maybe my family. Maybe someone sitting in this room. If that’s what you want, Lord, we’ll do it. Raise up people from Horizon City Church. Raise up people from churches all across this nation. Raise up people from other nations. Send them into the thousands of people groups that have little or no access to the gospel. Send workers into the harvest. And Lord, I pray that no one would leave this place feeling guilty for having resources. Instead, help us be excited about what you’ve given us and eager to use those resources for your glory. Thank you for our homes. Help us use them for hospitality. Thank you for our jobs. Help us use them for your kingdom. Thank you for the businesses and influence you’ve given some of us. Bless those businesses. Give your people more influence, more resources, more opportunities—not merely so that we can consume more, but so that we can give more to the nations. Would you raise up young people who become incredible business owners and entrepreneurs, but who use their wealth to make the nations glad? Would you raise up missionaries? Would you raise up senders? Would you raise up churches that are passionate about your glory among the nations? And Lord, one day, when we stand around your throne and see people from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation worshiping you, let us rejoice that you allowed us to play some small part in bringing that day about. May the nations be glad. And may you use us to help make them glad. Amen.