Expanding & Encouraging Worldwide Missions
There is no more direct call than a command, and we have a command.
There is no more precise command than a written command and we have a written command.
There is no more authoritative command than that of a king, and we have a command from a King.
There is no more powerful king than Jesus the King of Kings. How then can we say we have not been called?
You have had the Gospel message,
you have known a saviors love;
Your dear ones passed from Cristian homes,
To the Blessed land above.
Why did you let our father’s die,
And into silence go?
With no thought of Christ to comfort,
Why didn’t you let us know?
Why didn’t you tell us sooner?
The words came sad and low;
O ye who knew the Gospel truths,
Why didn’t you let us know?
The Savior died for those who sin,
He died to save from woe;
But we never heard the story,
Why didn’t you let us know?
Too long I’ve laid me down to sleep
And prayed the Lord my soul to keep.
I should wake before I die,
And realize time is passing by
And rise and go and tell the lost
Despite my plans, despite the cost.
Too long I’ve laid me down to sleep
While multitudes about me weep
And utter cries of dark despair
While many do not seem to care.
My life is short and soon I’ll stand
With sinners blood upon my hand.
Unless I wake before I die
And realize time is passing by.
I could pursue a life of fun and ease,
With riches, games, and other things that please.
The hardships of my path I could evade
And follow steps my Lord has never laid;
But leaving all my hopes and dreams behind,
I trust that greater riches I shall find.
I glory in my weakness and my pain ~
For earthly loss will bring eternal gain.
I could pursue acceptance from all men
And fear the grave, the stake, the lion’s den.
I could pursue a well-known, honored name ~
And seek approval, praise, and earthly fame.
I choose instead affliction with my Lord,
Esteeming His reproach as my reward.
I glory in my weakness and my pain ~
For earthly loss will bring eternal gain.
To live for Christ is foolish to the world ~
But when the sinners into hell are hurled,
And fools for Christ have not a single fear,
Then who was truly foolish will be clear.
Without exception every man’s a fool ~
I choose for Christ, and bear the ridicule.
I glory in my weakness and my pain ~
For earthly loss will bring eternal gain.
“You are a dead man!” the doctor exclaimed. “Go home as fast as you can and get your affairs in order before it’s too late!” Hudson Taylor was in London studying medicine in preparation for missionary work in China. While performing a dissection, he had pricked his finger with a
contaminated needle and was immediately infected with malignant fever. The average man would have fled home horrified, perhaps cursing God for his misfortune, but Taylor calmly replied, “If I should die, I will have the joy of being with my Master in heaven. However, I believe that I shall not die, for God has a work awaiting me in China, and however severe the struggle, I must be brought through.” Hudson Taylor died that day. No, not
physically, but inwardly he had completely resigned himself to the will of His Heavenly Father, and was prepared by life or by death to glorify His name. Hudson barely made it to his house where he collapsed on the stairs and had to be carried to his room. Two of his fellow students who had encountered the same misfortune died of the fever, but not Hudson Taylor. After days of intense physical suffering, he recovered. God was not
finished with this man of faith, and now, having come through the fire for the finer, Hudson went on to be one of the most greatly used men of God this world has ever seen. Let us ask ourselves this question. Have you died yet? No, your heart may still be beating, but have you died to self? Is your life, its circumstances, activities and ambitions, entirely committed to the use of the Lord Jesus Christ? The question is not, “Are you trusting him”, for this must be assumed if we are to ask ourselves, “Does He control you?” Do you see and accept His Divine hand in all the downfalls and uprisings of your life? Have you prepared yourself as a finely tuned instrument, ready at a moments notice to fly to His service whatever it may be, or are you living according to the whims of your own self worth? Can it be said of you my friend, “You are a dead man?”
When I am asked to preach for someone, I often find myself spending as much time trying to figure out what to preach as I do in preparing the message to preach. Similarly, determining where to plant a church on the mission field can often be just as daunting as actually planting
the church.
The abundance of needy places can be overwhelming. On the one hand, we could just start anywhere. Though there is nothing necessarily wrong with that, we are commanded to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. On the other hand, if our commission is to reach the world with the gospel (not just one area), then maybe we should give “the where” a bit more thought.
In this post, I would like to share five factors that might help us as we determine where to plant a church on the mission field. (To limit the length of the article, I am going to assume that we are daily reading God’s Word, praying, and surrendering our will to God, so that we are in a place where we are sensitive to the His guiding and directing.)
• As missionaries, our number one priority is to train men. Jesus, the greatest missionary who ever lived, focused his efforts not on building a crowd, preaching great sermons, building large buildings, or even planting a church. He focused on training twelve men.
• Without trained shepherds the sheep will scatter, and without trained men the churches will never become indigenous and the work will never grow past what we personally can do.
• To reach an entire country, to reach the world, we must multiply ourselves through discipling and training men to be leaders who can reach and train others. Continue reading “How to Determine Where to Plant a Church on the Mission Field!”
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon 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, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
1. The Great Commission is considered to be church history instead of a command to the church
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of Why aren’t more called to missions? Summit 2017, Page 1! of 1! 0 the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
a. We all know about this verse and believe it
b. It is right in there with Jonah and the whale and the world wide flood
c. Just can’t see how it relates to us
2. People aren’t looking to the field they are just chewing the fat about the need
John 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. Continue reading “Why aren’t more called to missions?”