The Sprint to the Finish with Doug Cobb

Part 2

Tim Moore: Well, it’s a real blessing for me; and of course, I was thrilled to hear the message that you were proclaiming in your first book, we’re going to touch on your second today. But let’s reintroduce our viewers to your premise; and that was that we were on the cusp of reaching every people group in the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you had said as Scripture references that once that occurs, Jesus said He will return. So tell us where we stand today.

Doug Cobb: Well, the progress has just continued, it’s actually accelerating; and not just on people groups, but toward the other goals of the Great Commission as well. So, you know, I remain optimistic that we’ll see the completion of this in our lifetimes, brother.

Tim Moore: Well, I remain optimistic as well, not because there’s been any slowdown of proclaiming the Gospel, I just think there’s been so many technical tools, so much technology today we can translate, and of course there’s a great passion, I think there’s a fervor today, as there was perhaps 150 years ago, but folks like you are really getting the word out, so to speak, the Gospel word. But let’s back up and actually unpack some of the terms. So for those who might be unfamiliar with the phrase people group, how does that relate to what Scripture describes as tongues and tribes and nations?

Doug Cobb: Yeah, Matthew 28:19, Jesus says, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” A nation is not a country like we think about it, France or Germany or China, a nation is an ethnos, a people group, a group of people who share a common language, heritage, culture, geography, any number of identifying traits.

The smart people who study these things say there’s about 12,000 of these ethnos in the world, and they’re scattered everywhere. I mean, people live on every continent but Antarctica, and, you know, from the hottest places to the coldest places, the lowest places to the highest places. And, you know, God scattered the nations in Genesis at Babel, we know about that, He did a good job of that. 12,000 people groups in the world, and Jesus told us to take the Good News to every one of them.

Tim Moore: You know, it’s interesting, God did scatter and it seems that He was determined that there would not be complete unity unless mankind almost get too big for our britches. But that became an impediment at times to commerce and to engagement, and yet the Lord was very instructive to say He wanted His Gospel to go to every nation, tribe, and tongue, and therefore every people group.

Well, Doug, you were sharing with me before we began recording some of the travels you’ve had lately. Catch us up on some of the progress that’s been made in just the past three years.

Doug Cobb: Yeah, I just got back day before yesterday on a 10 day trip to Southeast Asia, to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, these are all Buddhist heritage countries. The Buddhism, there is kind of a syncretic Buddhism with animism and ancestor worship, it’s kind of a scramble egg kind of thing. Vietnam, communist country, so that makes it tougher. But in all three of these countries, Tim, I saw the Gospel just breaking out in amazing ways.

You know, ministries are very strategically targeting the unreached places and sending workers there with the Good News to meet people of peace, and to lead them to Christ, and to plant churches, in the same way Jesus instructed His People to do in Luke Chapter 10, you know, it’s kind of everything old is new again, you know?

But one thing I was able to see, for instance, was in rural Thailand, far from the big cities, a baptism service where 1400 Buddhist background believers were baptized in one big service; it was, you know, pretty amazing thing to see.

Tim Moore: Do you think there’s sometimes an easier receptivity amongst those parts of the world that have been more isolated than even our own society? Sometimes, I feel like people say, “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard about that.” They really haven’t encountered the Gospel, but they think they have, they’ve had just enough Gospel light. I say, they’re almost inoculated in their hearts and minds, they become hardened.

Whereas in those places, it would seem that there’s a real hunger and a recognition that would have—”I’ve been handed down by my own ancestors,” is not really working, it’s not truth. Do you see a difference in the reception in places like Southeast Asia and even here at home?

Doug Cobb: Well, they don’t have a preconceived notion about who Jesus is, because many of them, maybe most in a place like Thailand, have never heard His name, so they don’t have any idea who He is.

They are very committed to their sort of cultural heritage, and their religion is tied into that. We see some of the same thing in the United States, but maybe even more strongly than we see it here. And so, when they hear about Jesus, often they’re intrigued, but they are wondering, “What it’s going to cost me if I decide to follow Him?”

But one thing I will say, everywhere I’ve been in the world, God is preparing people of peace that He has chosen to receive the Good News and be the first people in their people groups and their places to become followers of Jesus. So I think it’s open everywhere because I think God has gone before us in every place.

Tim Moore: It certainly has. You know, even as we began recording today, we invited the Holy Spirit to be a part of our conversation, to go before us even in our words and the dialogue we have, and to be able to touch hearts that are watching this program. And so, the Holy Spirit goes before.

I’ve just recently been rereading the Book of Acts, and it talks about how Paul, along with various other partners, Barnabas at one point then, later, Silas, would go out. And it struck me, for instance, in Thessalonica, we talk a lot about First and Second Thessalonians as being a prophetic text, but he went to Thessalonica, and he did not get a very good reception, he was actually driven out…

Doug Cobb: Yep.

Tim Moore: Because people were opposed culturally and economically because the Gospel was threatening their livelihood when various servants would convert, and they were no longer providing revenue. But, in spite of the fact that there was some resistance, there were still believers in those places. And so, Paul was faithful to go, and the Lord knew who would receive the Word.

Doug Cobb: Sometimes, I think the Holy Spirit is standing in these places and tapping His foot and crossing His arms, saying, “Who are you guys? I’ve got everything ready for you, just if somebody will show up.” I say in the new book, The Sprint to the Finish, that I think the most important word in the Great Commission is the first word, “go.” Because Jesus promised us that when we go, He will go with us, and He comes with all authority and power. And so, when we go, amazing things happen; until we go, usually they don’t.

Tim Moore: Well, how will they hear unless a preacher goes and preaches?

Well, you bring up the point that we’re going to talk about today, and that is your new book, The Sprint to the Finish. And so, the gist of this is we are so very close, and we can’t be lax about continuing the effort to proclaim the Good News, because the finish line is near.

So let’s touch back on some of those statistics. How many total people groups, how close are we to reaching what would be the finish line to touching every tribe, tongue, and nation?

Doug Cobb: In this book, I talk about three Great Commission finish lines. I say every nation, Matthew 28:19, every place, Acts 1:8, Jerusalem, Judean, Samaria, the ends of the Earth, and every language, Revelation 7, Johns has a vision of people around the Throne from every language. And in all three of those finish lines, all three of those metrics, we are racing toward the end. Out of 12,000 people groups, I believe that we’re down well under a hundred…

Tim Moore: Wow.

Doug Cobb: Maybe as few as 25 that don’t have an active Gospel effort underway. The ones that are left are very difficult, and the going is slow right now, but we’re very, very close. The folks who work on Bible translation believe they will have the Bible in every active language on the Earth by the end of 2033; amazing to think about that, and the progress that’s being made even daily on that.

Tim Moore: Sure.

Doug Cobb: And then I’m part of a great effort called the ACHIEVE Alliance. ACHIEVE is A Church in Every Village Everywhere, a great acronym, that is, you know, aiming to see a church planted in every place where people live on the planet, no later than 2050, but hopefully sooner than that. It’s a little challenging, because we don’t know quite yet how many unchurched villages there are even…

Tim Moore: Right.

Doug Cobb: It’s not a clear number, but we’re working very hard to figure that out. And as I saw on this trip, already progress is being made to go and plant churches in these unreached places.

Tim Moore: Do you find that some of the technological tools, so we talk about the translators, even on your phone, you can walk around, speak into your phone, and it can, you know, pronounce a different language for the hearer, I mean, this is almost like Star Trek days, you know?

Doug Cobb: It is.

Tim Moore: Is that a tool, an advantage, that is tremendously powerful, or does it still take the hard work of sitting and translating? I know some of these groups may not even have a written language per se, but to get the communication across.

Doug Cobb: Yeah, both/and. There’s still a lot of, you know, hard labor involved, somebody still has to go to these places, and, you know, engage with people, meet them, and tell them about Jesus. But we have such technological blessings that even people a hundred years ago could not imagine.

Tim Moore: Right.

Doug Cobb: I mean, literally I got on an airplane in rural Thailand on Tuesday afternoon in Thailand time, and was home in Louisville, Kentucky, on Wednesday afternoon, Louisville, Kentucky time, that would’ve been unimaginable…

Tim Moore: Yep.

Doug Cobb: Imagine I tell Adoniram Judson, you know, “You could be anywhere in the world in 24 hours.” On the trip, I had a five-hour car ride with a Thai pastor who barely spoke English. We both had our phones out with Google Translate, and we were talking to each other back and forth.

Tim Moore: Wow.

Doug Cobb: I would say something, it would translate, he would read that, I would you know… so we do have amazing technological advantages.

Tim Moore: Amazing technology. And yet it still requires, as you said, that operative word…

Doug Cobb: Somebody goes. Yep.

Tim Moore: “Go.”

Doug Cobb: Somebody has to go.

Tim Moore: And sometimes, you know, there are folks who may be watching this program today who are inspired to go, whether it’s to Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Thailand. Or there may be others whose call and charge, the Holy Spirit’s laying on their heart, is to go across the street…

Doug Cobb: Yep.

Tim Moore: Because today we have people who have come to our own country from some of these other tribes, tongues, and nations. And we’re not going to get into the political circumstance of what’s happening with immigration, but the point is, there are lost people all around us, all it requires is that a believer go following instruction of Holy Spirit. I’m reminded of Philip who was told to go…

Doug Cobb: Go.

Tim Moore: Because there was going to be a man he would encounter on the road, and he went and spoke with the Ethiopian eunuch. So, “go,” that’s an operative word.

Doug Cobb: Yeah. I think my favorite chapter in the book, Chapter 10 is called “The Great Coming,” and it talks about how God has brought this enormous wave of people from unreached places in the world right to our backyard; Syrians, Afghans, Southeast Asians, Indians, most cities have populations of these people. So, you know, it’s politically and economically complicated, but spiritually, it’s such a huge opportunity. We can go without even having to get on an airplane.

Tim Moore: Right.

Doug Cobb: Just get in your car and drive 15 minutes across town and you can be ministering to people who have never heard of Jesus, who have no idea who He is, and, you know, you can be the person to help bring them to the faith.

Tim Moore: Let’s touch on one aspect because it’s a clear and obvious blessing to the person who hears the Gospel for the first time…

Doug Cobb: Yes.

Tim Moore: Whose heart has been prepared by the Holy Spirit and then receives the Gospel and embraces Christ as Savior. But talk for a moment about the blessing you get for being the one who goes, for being the one who shares, for being the one who sees someone embrace Christ for the first time.

Doug Cobb: Yeah. You know, in my job, I don’t go very much; I went on this trip, but I don’t live overseas, I still live at home. We get to fund a lot of folks who go, but I can’t explain to you the joy I feel when I hear the story of the first person in the history of the world, in a people group, to follow Jesus, literally, the very first one.

And you just think about a room that is completely dark, where there’s no light at all, and suddenly somebody lights a candle for the first time, you know? And that’s what that person’s life represents, now the Gospel has a foothold in that place, and it can begin to spread through that person’s family and relational network.

But, you know, that’s happened 11,000 some odd times in the history of the world; the first person, we read about it in the Book of Acts and it’s still happening today, but not many more times, I hope, you know, we’ll be done…

Tim Moore: Yeah.

Doug Cobb: We’ll have seen the first believer in every people group.

Tim Moore: You think about Peter being called and going and sharing with Cornelius…

Doug Cobb: Yes, yes.

Tim Moore: And his family, and how it must have thrilled Peter’s heart. Now there was some pushback even amongst the Jews but he said, “Do you realize the Lord is no respecter of persons? And now the Gentiles have heard the Gospel, and what a joy Peter must have felt to be that person.
Well, let’s go back to basics for just a minute.

Doug Cobb: Yep.

Tim Moore: When it comes to the Great Commission, I’m reminded of Vince Lombardi, some of y’all may remember, great Coach Lombardi, who would begin his football season every year, the training by saying, “Gentlemen, this is a football, let’s go all the way back to basics.”

Doug Cobb: Yep.

Tim Moore: So when it comes to the Great Commission, I will tell you something struck me in your book, and that was the fact that even on your introduction, you write that it appears in all four Gospels and Acts to the Great Commission, but today only 51% of American churchgoers had even heard of the Great Commission, and only 17% of people who are in church regularly can explain what it means. Now, I’ve got to tell you, my own church, we close out every service, every Sunday, by reading the Great Commission aloud…

Doug Cobb: Hmm.

Tim Moore: Every child knows it by heart; they even read the text and the ESV at the end. But that is a shocking and–That’s a very alarming statistic. So let’s go back to basics: what is the Great Commission?

Doug Cobb: Well, the Great Commission simplest way to say it is it’s Jesus’ command to take the Good News to the whole world. And He gave us three different ways, at least three different ways, to think about what He meant by the whole world; we talked about that, every nation, every language, every place. Those three things all overlap with each other and interlock.

And this is what, you know, God does in the Scriptures for us when He wants to make sure we get something, we don’t miss it, He’ll tell us multiple times in slightly different ways, right? But all three of those things describe the entire world. God’s plan is to unify the entire world in the Church under the headship of Christ. And that’s what He’s called us to make happen, by going to every nation, every language, every place.

Tim Moore: Exactly, right. You know, I think it is… Again, we’ve talked about the word “go,” but making disciples, there would be some who might even be watching this today and saying, “Well, do you have to give up…” You mentioned the culture of Southeast Asia, “Do you have to give up your culture? Do you have to give up your identity?” And my answer is yes and no because I am no longer primarily loyal to some kind of other group. I am a citizen of Heaven. I am a member of the Church.

And so, it transcends, is the best way, all of those other loyalties that are manmade, but really it gives me an identity that is far superior. So I have brothers and sisters in Christ who are from other cultures, who speak other languages, and still have all the beauty and, dare I say, diversity that God has provided amongst all those people groups, and yet it becomes like a multifaceted, beautiful gem that the Lord sees with all those different backgrounds reflected in one unified church.

Doug Cobb: Yeah, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there, Tim. You know, imagine what it’s going to be like when we’re all gathered around the Throne on that day and all of us singing and worshiping in, you know, our own languages and our own styles, somehow that’s going to assemble into an unbelievable symphony. One thing I think about, you know, I’ve just come back, I’ve eaten quite a lot of different food on this trip. You know, every culture has its own favorite food.

Tim Moore: Yes.

Doug Cobb: I’m a meat and potatoes guy, right?

Tim Moore: Yeah.

Doug Cobb: I’m a classic American man. And, you know, we’re going to sit at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb and the Word tells us that He’s going to serve us. And I just sometimes like to try to imagine the diversity of the food that will be around that table, you know?

Tim Moore: Oh, man.

Doug Cobb: My friend Daniel from Nigeria, his favorite food is a thing called pounded yam, I can hardly eat it, but I’m sure Jesus is going to serve that to him…

Tim Moore: Sure.

Doug Cobb: And I’m going to get my T-bone with a baked potato, you know?

Tim Moore: There you go, there you go.

Doug Cobb: But all that diversity combines into just a beautiful, really diverse worship for this God who has made this huge world with all of these different people.

Tim Moore: Maybe they’ll have Kentucky Hot Brown there…

Doug Cobb: Yeah, correct.

Tim Moore: At the Heavenly Feast.

Doug Cobb: That’s your favorite.

Tim Moore: If you don’t know what Kentucky Hot Brown is…

Doug Cobb: That’s right.

Tim Moore: Let me just tell you folks, when we get to Heaven, you’ll find out…

Doug Cobb: Heart attack on a plate, yeah.

Tim Moore: Or you can look it up, it’s wonderful. There’ll be no heart attacks in Heaven. You know, you mentioned the worship, I think that’s a beautiful analogy, because I enjoy singing. And you think of a choir, you have sopranos, you have altos, you have tenors, bass, and sometimes even more parts than that; if everyone sang with the same exact tone, the same exact note, it’s a monotone.

Doug Cobb: Yeah.

Tim Moore: And, let’s face it, a lot of churches now have moved away from parts of singing, but the beauty of multiple parts in a choir expresses great joy and worship to the Lord in a beautiful way that is unique. And I think you said something that really touched the nerve, all these different peoples…

Doug Cobb: Yes.

Tim Moore: Is like having all those different parts, but joined together in worship, I think it will be a beautiful thing, not only for the Lord to be glorified, but for us to be participating in.

Doug Cobb: And I can’t wait. I can’t wait.

Tim Moore: No, I can’t wait either, as you well know. Well, there’s another aspect of the commission in addition to going, in addition to proclaiming the Gospel, the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus also says that we should make disciples…

Doug Cobb: Yes.

Tim Moore: And teach them to obey.

Doug Cobb: Yes.

Tim Moore: So how do you think we’re doing on those two notes when so many self-professing believers in our own society seem to be arguably failing on both counts? In other words, making disciples and teaching to obey, let alone obeying ourselves.

Doug Cobb: I’m not sure we’re great at it in the United States, we almost sort of assume it a way, you know, that it’s just something that people will figure out for themselves. You know, our church is trying to do some things to increase that. You know, we did a 21 days of prayer and fasting, you know, so we’re teaching people about those spiritual disciplines, that’s really great.

One of the things I saw on this trip, Tim, was how these house church movements move immediately from evangelism into disciple-making.

Tim Moore: Mm-hmm.

Doug Cobb: And they have a formal process of gathering, looking at God’s Word, talking about what it says, and then putting it into practice, holding people accountable; “What did you do this week from what we studied last week,” right? One of the things that’s a part of that is sharing your faith. A critical component of these church planting movements is, that as soon as you meet Jesus, as soon as you followed Him, you begin to tell other people about Him. You don’t know much, you can’t explain the Trinity to them, right?

Tim Moore: Right.

Doug Cobb: You don’t know about all the mysteries of the faith, but you know you’ve met Jesus, and that He has changed your heart, and you want to immediately invite other people into that. When that happens, and it’s happening in a lot of places, that can propel the Gospel in a powerful way…

Tim Moore: Certainly.

Doug Cobb: Because you have very rapid transmission of the message; not Western missionaries sharing it, or somebody standing up on a stage…

Tim Moore: Yeah.

Doug Cobb: But just relationally, “Hey, let me tell you, I met Jesus.” “Who’s Jesus.” “Well, let me tell you about Him,” right?

Tim Moore: Yes.

Doug Cobb: And so, it’s pretty amazing to see how these movements build that discipleship component in right at the beginning.

Tim Moore: I think it’s so important, and even as you said, you have gone and visited, and I know many people who’ve gone on what are called short-term mission trips.

Doug Cobb: Yes.

Tim Moore: I think that the power of that long-term organic engagement for real discipleship is so valuable, which is why, once the Gospel has been shared with every nation, tribe, and tongue, every people group to have individuals within that group who are able to be the pastor.

Doug Cobb: Yes.

Tim Moore: When Paul left the city, he left behind elders or pastors, and they continued to proclaim from the Word of God to the people of God that would be drawn in that society. I think there’s something very important about engaging those local missionaries who are just, you know, inherent within that society.

Doug Cobb: One thing that most Americans don’t understand today is that, you know, the majority of this last mile is being run by our brothers and sisters who live in other parts of the world, right?

Tim Moore: Oh, yeah.

Doug Cobb: So wherever I was on this trip in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, it was Vietnamese who were taking the Gospel to the Vietnamese, Cambodians to Cambodians, Thais to Thais. And, you know, they have such an advantage in doing that; they’re culturally connected with them, they have language, you know, similarity, if not speaking the same language, and so, it’s not so much, you know, America and Europe sending missionaries anymore…

Tim Moore: Right.

Doug Cobb: It’s now the whole Church and the whole world engaging in this Great Commission process.

Tim Moore: It certainly is. You know, one of the things that jumped out at me, even in your book, and it was just a wonderful point. Page 262, you talked about how Jesus commanded that we as believers, and this is not only in our daily walk with the Lord, but this is in our outreach, in our determination to go, He said that we should be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect. And he said, “But it is my conviction that what Jesus meant,” or that Jesus meant what He said, that He wants us to be the ones to make disciples of all nations.

So here’s a $64,000 question, we don’t have that much time per se, but can we be perfect? The Father is absolutely perfect; how can we aspire to that? Or is this an aspirational verse that really gives us a target that if you’re aiming for, at least you will get closer and closer to the mark.

Doug Cobb: Well, I think again, both/and, right?

Tim Moore: Yeah.

Doug Cobb: You know, we should aim for it, absolutely, and strive for it, we’re all going to fall short of it because we still have that sinful nature. He’s working to sanctify us and we’re getting closer and closer, and then one day, we’ll get new bodies, we’ll be resurrected, and that will be completely true about us, right? So as we approach the return of Jesus, I hope, I believe, you know, we want to really be focused on being ready to meet Him, to be, you know, the pure, holy, spotless bride that He’s promised we will be.

Tim Moore: Amen. Why do you think if the Lord could have just sent out the Holy Spirit and touched hearts, if people could have visions and dreams, and we know some are, in some societies, we hear about that, in the End Times we’re told there’ll be a Gospel Angel that circumnavigates the globe proclaiming the Gospel. Why did He decide to use such poor vessels and poor mouthpieces as the likes of me to get this Word out?

Doug Cobb: Yeah, you wonder if there was debate around the Council of the Throne in Heaven: “God, really, you want to do it that way? You want to trust these knuckleheads to get that job done right?”

Tim Moore: Yeah, exactly.

Doug Cobb: Well, I think He did it because it builds our faith. You know, when we go and see what He can do… I mean, I came back from this trip just incredibly pumped about, you know, God and the mission. You know, He can do anything, and He is doing amazing things. I think it’s mainly because He loves us, Tim.

You know, He’s doing this incredible thing and He has intentionally decided to share that with us. And I’m like, “I can’t believe I get to be a part of this.” Like, you know, He could have done a lot better, a lot faster if He just left us out, and just said, “Watch me, I’ll do it.” But He loves us like little children and He wants us to be part of what He’s doing.

Tim Moore: You know, that’s another great analogy. I’ve gotten to the point that at Christmas, there’s no gift I need or even really want.

Doug Cobb: Yeah, right.

Tim Moore: But what I truly enjoy is watching, not just my children, they’re grown, but now my grandchildren…

Doug Cobb: Yes.

Tim Moore: At Christmas. And the joy and just the delight that they have not only in gifts, but in the time together. And I think the Lord wants us to have that kind of experience. He could have done it all Himself, but to see us have the delight of sharing the News and getting to be a part.

It’s like having your son… You know, I could have built the project, but instead I’m allowing my son to join me. And to see him achieve something I could have done perhaps quicker, but now he’s doing–that brings real joy to me and it raises him up, him being my son, my daughters, my children. And the same thing; the Lord wants to give us opportunity because it brings joy to His heart, and He sees the delight we have just as you just shared.

Doug Cobb: Yep.

Tim Moore: All right, let’s get to the bottom line here. You have keyed, and you mentioned it earlier, on Matthew 24:14, to emphasize that Jesus has delayed His coming for His Church at the glorious event, we know as the Rapture until the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached to the whole world.

Doug Cobb: Mm-hmm.

Tim Moore: Now I could add Mark 13:10, recently in my reading.

Doug Cobb: “Every person,” yeah.

Tim Moore: Which says the Gospel must first be preached to all the nations. How does that align with our belief that Jesus is coming in an imminent way? In other words, the Rapture could happen today, tomorrow, it could have already happened, but we have also had this expectation for 2000 years, and yet we still are sprinting to the finish in terms of reaching those groups.

Doug Cobb: Well, so Jesus, you know, gave us these three goals: every nation, every place, every language, but he didn’t leave us a list of any of those things, right? And so, we do our best to figure out what He meant by that; every nation, you know, different surveys come up with different answers to that question; how many languages are there actually, you know, how many places, we talked about that.

So, even as we’re striving toward these finish lines, we don’t really know how close we are to them, right? We can think we’re close, maybe we’re further than we think, maybe we’re closer than we think. You know, He knows when the task will be complete. One day, the last Gentile is going to come into the Church, the Church is going to be complete, and when that happens, the Church Age will end…

Tim Moore: Amen.

Doug Cobb: He’ll take us out, and, you know, the events of the Last Days will begin. But, you know, I think until that time, His instructions in Matthew 24 and 25 are–our job is to be hard at work until He shows up. He wants to come and find us working. And so, my determination for myself and many of the people that we support is, that’s what we’re going to do, we’re going to keep working until He tells us we’re done.

Tim Moore: Obviously, there are some who would deride our position of expecting the Lord’s coming to be soon, the Rapture. And they say, “Well, y’all just escapists.” No, that is a motivator to get to work, because that is our charge. We don’t have all the time in the world, and so we need to be intentional right now about serving the Lord as He told us by going and sharing the Gospel with all the tribes, tongues, and peoples of the world. Well, Doug, obviously, we’re going to make your book available…

Doug Cobb: Thank you.

Tim Moore: The Sprint to the Finish, through Lamb & Lion Ministries. And so, you can get a copy, I hope that you will call the number on the screen, we’ll tell you a little bit more about that in just a moment. But how can people connect and follow up with what you are doing, and even support the work of The Finishing Fund?

Doug Cobb: Yeah, you can learn more about the Finishing Fund at finishingfund.org, that’s our website. You can learn more about the book at sprintbook.net, sprintbook.net. And so, I’m happy to talk to anybody who’d be interested in learning more about either of those things.

Tim Moore: Fantastic. Well, I know that you serve as an elder here at Southeast Christian, you teach a word-by-word Sunday School class.

Doug Cobb: I do.

Tim Moore: And you are fully engaged in doing exactly what the Lord has called you to do; and for that, I am grateful, sir.

Doug Cobb: Well, brother, thank you for what you guys do at Lamb & Lion, and for your grace in helping us to get the word out about the book.

Tim Moore: Well, thank you for joining me today, please pass along my appreciation to all the leadership here at Southeast Christian to Mitch and the team who have supported us in making this recording. And so, Godspeed.

Doug Cobb: Thank you.

Closing

Tim Moore: Well, folks, as Doug shared today, the fields are white for the harvest, just as Jesus said in John 4:35. And in a few remaining instances, that means that people groups scattered all over the world have yet to hear the Gospel. But sometimes those people groups, those individuals who need the Gospel of Jesus Christ are as near as your next door.

I hope that this great blessing we have collectively to share the Good News will be yours personally and individually as you share the Gospel with someone who does not yet know the Lord. You can receive the blessing of joy, they can receive the blessing of eternal life, and we can defeat the enemy who does not want anyone to come to salvation in Jesus Christ.

So with all that in mind, I pray that my conversation with Doug Cobb has been both a blessing and a challenge to you. And I hope that like me, you are motivated to sprint to the finish.

Until next week, this is Tim Moore from God’s country of Kentucky saying…Godspeed!

End of Program