"Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15)"...and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47)
"I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." (Isiah 43:6-7).
"And this Gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14)
All Christians are called to live a lifestyle of missions.
To be clear there is a difference between foreign missions and the overall call to missions. I believe that all Christians are called to be involved in both. The difference is, that I don't believe every Christian is called to do foreign missions. But I do believe that every Christian is called to do missions.
Doing missions isn't just about actions. It's a lifestyle. It's understanding the heart of missions and making it part of who you are, part of everything you do. When we become Christians, there's responsibilities that come with it. We don't always like to accept that. It's a complicated thing, because it's true that our faith has no strings attached. But at the same time, God gave us a job to do 2000 years ago, and our responsibility hasn't gone away. This is why I'm going across the world to share Jesus.
So what is the call to missions? What is the heart behind missions?
"A group of people taking part in such an assignment." That's the definition for the word missions. I believe the call to missions is to obey the assignment that God gave us, which is to represent the Gospel at all times and make His name famous. Representing the Gospel can be done by handing a cold water to someone who needs it. It can be done by proclaiming the Gospel to people who have never heard it. It can be done by building a relationship with someone who is hurting.
The key is that there's a difference between representing justice, and proclaiming the Gospel. If we are truly being a representation of the Gospel, Jesus will come out in everything we do. If we truly embrace a missions lifestyle, presenting the Gospel will become part of who we are. If we are just representing justice, we will have no impact. Our goal isn't to make good people, it's to make people realize that everyone is broken and everyone needs Jesus.
Missions is finding out what God is calling you to do, and having the faith to do it. "For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you" (Isiah 41:14). The awesome thing about missions is that we don't have to figure it out on our own. God has called us all to missions. There's no doubt about that. But He's also called us to different things within the call to missions. There's a niche for all of us. But here's one of the most important part of missions. We have to be willing to hear God's voice. We all have strengths in certain areas, and God will use that. He gives us those strengths for a reason. But what about when he calls us to do things out of our comfort zone? What if the niche God has for us, isn't the niche we decide is for us? What if we're called to build relationships that aren't in our selfish best interests? What if we're called to cut out some relax time for ministry time?
What if God is calling us to go out to the nations to live a lifestyle of missions?
This is where the call to foreign missions comes in. Foreign missions is one of those calls that are within the overall call to missions. I would say that all Christians are called to play a part in foreign missions. It's the Great Commission. "Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations..." (Matthew 28:19). And I would also agree with the old Keith Green quote: "If you don't have a definite call to stay here, you are called to go." The end goal is to present the Gospel to every person on earth. The reality is that if we live in a place where the Gospel has been presented, we have a responsibility to go out and make His name famous in the places that it hasn't. However, I am definitely not saying that every person should go. Because I do believe strongly that God calls some people to stay, and some people to go. I think the call to foreign missions is presented in Acts 13:2-3: "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off." He had specifically called Barnabas and Saul to do foreign missions. But the people that were told to stay, were also told to send the people out.
If we're not called to do foreign missions, we are still called to support it. It is a biblical principal to support missions by giving financial support, but there are other just as important ways. The end of verse 3 is a call to foreign missions in itself: "...they laid their hands on them and sent them off." John Piper puts it perfectly: "Go, send, or disobey." Prayer is a powerful thing that we neglect. A lot. Missions are a spiritual battle. I can't overstate how important I think prayer is. I think praying for foreign missionaries in another country is a huge deal. I think praying for other countries is a huge deal. God told us to. Another way, that kind of goes along with the praying, is being aware. Do we know what's going on with the church in other nations? Are we paying attention to the issues? We're all part of the missions scene, including foreign missions. We should be aware of what we're working with.
Now, just to clarify, I'm not saying I believe one is better than the other. God calls some people to go, He calls some people to stay. Wherever we live needs Jesus too. The church itself still needs Jesus. What I'm saying is, all Christians have a responsibility towards foreign missions. And that all Christians have to be willing to step out of their comfort zone. I believe there's a lot of people staying simply because they are afraid to go. On the flip side, I believe there's people going because they are afraid to stay. Sometimes we decide what call to missions God has for us and we miss the whole "hearing God's voice" thing, which is the key to it all.
Missions is doing what God is calling you to do right now. I leave for the Ukraine on Friday. I'm beyond excited because I know God's going to use me and my team. But something God challenged me in about a month ago was not to wait for what He's calling me to do in the future for Him to use me and for me to start growing. God has called me to go to Ukraine on Friday. I still have 5 days here. I'm not going to sit back for these next 5 days and not let God use me, and God using me dosen't end when this DTS is over. This is something God has called me to do within my overall call to missions. Sometimes we miss what God is doing with us in missions right now, because we're too focused on ways that we think (think being the key word there) He's going to use us in the future when He decides to. Even if it's something that we really feel strongly He's called us to, He'll take care of the timing. But just because God is calling us to something in the future, dosen't free us up of our responsibility with missions, which is a constant thing.
Something missions can't be: An experience we're looking for to make us feel good. It can't be about you getting us getting our spiritual high. It's about representing the Gospel and serving other people. This trip isn't just an experience for me. I started feeling like I was going to a new level with God a month ago, and I'm still feeling that way. Everything I learn, every area that I grow in, won't be just about the trip for me. It's a balance, because I want to be focused on the DTS, but the DTS is 6 months long. God's going to use me after that. Am I focusing on applying those lessons just for the trip, or am I trying to take everything God speaks to me and make it part of who I am?
Too often, we pass up our responsibility to missions by trying to say that "we're not called to that." After all, that's for the people that are risking their lives and willing to die for their faith. Well, here's the thing. Something, most Christians would agree on is that we're supposed to strive to be like Jesus. Obviously, we'll never reach that level, but that's the goal. This is also not one of those debatable issues. "whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked." So....who was the first missionary?
Jesus.
And the most foreign missionary of all time in fact. Heaven to earth is a long ways. But what did Jesus do? He presented the Gospel. He was selfless. He sacrificed. Jesus came to save us, but he also came to set an example for how to be missionaries of God. At the same time as He was preparing to die, he was leaving a blueprint for what our responsibility would be after He died. We don't have to look at other humans to see a good example of missions. There was one perfect missionary, and luckily we get to study up on what He did.
To embrace the lifestyle of missions, we have to embrace the heart of missions. What is the heart of missions? This is something God has been speaking to me on recently. There's so many different ways to say it. It's easy to sound religious when talking about the heart of missions, and it's easy to make it sound complicated. But I think the heart of missions is really simple. I think the heart of missions is Isiah 6:8:
"And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
The heart of missions is obedience.
Of all the words we will say in missions, the most important one is yes. When God calls us, we go. It should be that simple. The problem is, that there's the calling we want, and there's the calling that God has for us. But the core of missions, what the true heart behind it is, is an obedient lifestyle and doing what God tells us to do when He tells us to do it. This is what God has commanded us to do. Jesus did it. It's our job. We have a battle to fight.
I become more passionate about missions every day. It's a challenge, and yet it's so awesome at the same time. Everyone has a place in missions, it's just a matter of hearing God's voice.
I'm still young and learning. I don't understand everything yet. But God is speaking to me. Or more accurately, I'm actually listening to God right now. And I wanted to try to put it down in writing.
"For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" (Romans 10:14-15).
To live the call of missions we have to embrace the heart of missions.
You are awesome Josh
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