If we are to obey Christ's commandment to affect whole nations in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must be willing and fully committed to bringing the full message of Christ's Kingdom into all the nations and cultures of the earth.  This does not mean that the whole world will be saved.  History and experience have proven out this fact over thousands of years, that it is a remnant in the earth that is being saved.  Yet this remnant is getting bigger and bigger all the time, and we must not limit God and the outpouring of His Spirit.

However, it is important to understand that it is not majorities that set the agendas of nations--it is always a dedicated minority in that society.  To disciple a nation will not necessarily mean that all of the people or even the majority of the people will give their hearts to Jesus Christ.  But what will happen in the nation is that Christians, as true salt and light, will begin, through servanthood, to give direction to the values and focus of the people and culture. 

The power of the Christian testimony as applied to all areas of life, will be accepted as the prevailing world view of the people or culture.  They will mold their behavior and morals around it;  They will in certain ways honor and respect God;  They will apply His principles in their homes, families, vocations, schools, artistic expressions, and governments.  In short, the power of the Christian gospel will save a few and at the very least, enrich the lives of the rest.

This is exactly what happened during the time of the Protestant Reformation in Europe.  Born-again Christians were never the majority.  But the committed minority greatly transformed the culture of the masses by living out the power of God's truth in the full panorama of life.  True Christians were only the remnant.  But the Christian world view made a broad impact on the culture of many nations, and this discipling of the peoples provided a climate for Christian evangelism, righteousness in society, and also the development of the earth and its resources.
   
This type of cultural reformation through the full presentation of the Lordship of Christ is possible in our day among many nations on earth.  It has happened before, and it will happen again.  It happens in every generation where the church grabs a hold of the teachings of the Bible and dares to serve people in the true authority of Jesus. 

Jon Kennedy optimistically writes, "The first century Christians turned the world upside down, Luther and Calvin lived to see the course of history radically changed as a result of the cultural mandate to one sphere of life (the church), and Abraham Kuyper saw the radical reformation of Dutch society in church, state, education and communication.  Although much of what started through Kuyper's efforts has since tapered off or become lost to competing forces in twentieth century history, much still remains, and the reformational movement is growing in Canada,the United States and Europe."

Where the future is even brighter is in the so-called Third World developing nations.  God is pouring out His Spirit in amazing ways in Latin America, in the Pacific, in Asia, and in Africa.  If believers in those nations will move in the power of the Holy Spirit and serve their people better than anyone else, then billions of people will be brought into the blessings of the Kingdom of God.  They may all not be saved, but Christ's salvation will be proclaimed and demonstrated among them.  It will transform their cultures, and elevate their lives.

We are talking about impacting whole countries or groups of people. This is exactly what Matthew Henry said:  that  we are to "disciple the nations, to do your utmost to make the nations Christian nations. . . to go and disciple them. . . The work which the apostles had to do was to set up the Christian religion in all places, and it was an honorable work;  the achievements of the mighty heroes of the world were nothing to it.  They conquered the nations for themselves and made them miserable;  the apostles conquered them for Christ and made them happy."

Henry lived in a day when the church was busy transforming culture.  It was easy for him to see how the power of Jesus Christ can change a whole society because it was happening all around him and was in evidence through his own life.  The believers of his generation dared to believe the Bible and committed themselves to being the light of their culture.  They were lifting up Christ as Lord of the nations, and in response to their commitment,obedience, and faith, whole peoples were being given into the hands of the King.

One of the goals of Christian missions should be to see the gospel totally permeate the culture of a nation.  Societies will either possess the blessings of Christian influence and culture, or they will produce many unpleasant fruits of idolatry and error.  All nations have a choice.  One religious world view must be predominant in a culture.  There is no such thing as a totally pluralistic culture.  In the West, this is only a clever disguise for a humanistic supremacy that wants Christianity to be relegated to a small religious ghetto. 

But the Christ did not come to only reign in a small portion of life.  He came to redeem the entire world.  The Bible says, "For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish;  it will be utterly ruined (Isaiah 60:12).  If believers do their work completely and totally, masses will come to Jesus and whole cultures will be lifted out of degradation and suffering. This could lead to world-wide revival.  It could also lead to a world-wide cultural transformation through the leavening power of the gospel.

Here's what's needed to accomplish the goal:

First, we must preach he gospel to every person (Mark 16:15), giving every man, woman, and child on earth the opportunity to make a personal decision to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior (John 1:12).  The fulfilling of the Great Commission is the last great unfulfilled commandment.  Each convert must be trained to be a multiplying, nation-changing disciple.

Second, we must be committed to serving the peoples of the earth as Jesus Himself would. The key to changing a nation isleadership, and true leadership is exercised through serving.  If Christians will serve people in all of the dimensions of societal life, then through serving, believers will give leadership to entire nations and cultures.  It is the unique aspect of true Christianity:  being empowered by the humility and servanthood of the Godhead, and its perfect expression in the Lord Jesus Christ, to go forth and bring redemption to the earth through a servant-oriented gospel. 

Third, we must be convinced of the supremacy of Jesus Christ. This is an extremely important point of acceptance.  We must believe that He truly possesses in the here and now all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:19), and that He desires that the will of God be done on the earth just as it is being done in heaven.  The retreat of Christianity is always proportionate to the view that we have of Jesus.  If we see Him in His fullness, then the world will see His reality being lived out through our lives, and will be transformed by the power of His matchless life.

Fourth, we must return to the whole Bible as our source book of all truth and of life.  Revival and reformation come through obedience to God.  Obedience is learned through the word of God. At the basis of every awakening and national reformation in history is the return of the saints to the importance of God's Word.  It alone has the power to enlighten and empower us.  As God's Word again made its way into the lives of everyday men and women, they began to go forth in God's supernatural power to conquer all the works of darkness.  Whole nations were transformed and a Christian civilization was re-vitalized. 

Fifth, in the underdeveloped nations of the world we must demonstrate the good news of Jesus Christ by ministering to the poor and to the needy. Love always cares and serves.  One of its chief motives is to alleviate suffering;  Its follow through is then to build or rebuild the cultural foundations.  This is simply a mirror image of the way God deals with us as individuals.  First He stoops to care and to forgive, and then He continues on in the building process of holiness.  If we do not serve people out of love for Christ, someone else will step into the void and gain the authority of cultural allegiance.  Those who serve are worthy of leadership.  Those who lead will form the cultures of nations.

Sixth, we must lead in stewardship of the earth in the areas of economic development and environmental concern. Christians have a reason to care for God's earth, for they understand the original cultural mandate that man was given by God in the Garden.  It is also true that only the Christian world view can ever create lasting progress and growth in the economic realm.  It is the only one that is true and carries the two promises of both development and stewardship of the world and its resources.  Christians must teach their converts how to apply the Bible to agriculture, to business, to education, and to government.  They  must be taught to have a future orientation.  No other religion can promise success: Christianity can, and thus has the inside track at the developing world.

And finally,  we must be people with Christ-like character who have a zeal and vision for the future.  The servant leadership of Jesus, seen and demonstrated in His people, will put away all fears of religious tyranny and coercion.  God did not send us to destroy the world, but to serve it in the same spirit as His beloved Son.  Coming out of our prayer times and study of the Word must come a people of courage with a message of hope. 

The world can be changed.  Nations can be reformed.  If we do not believe it,then leadership and societal transformation will take place in the world through those who religion will allow them to do so.  Will it be the Moslems?  Will it be the Communists?  Why can't it be the church, moving in the spirit and the methods of Jesus, the servant king?