THE CALL TO MISSIONS

All disciples of Christ are called to witness for him, just as Jesus commanded his Apostles to witness for him. Certainly the eleven Apostles that remained with Christ after the resurrection could not carry the gospel to the "ends of the earth" by themselves. So every believer is commanded to share the good news of Christ as he or she goes about daily activities. 

Mission work typically involves witnessing to people in whom Christ is not richly formed, and witnessing in places where Christ is not dominating by the gospel, or places where Christianity is not firmly established. 

Missions involves proclaiming Christ along cross-cultural lines. To preach cross-culturally means to preach to people of different language, tribe, colour, class, religious persuasion or geographical location from your own. 

Missions also involves preaching the gospel with the intention of planting churches. So a Christian missionary may spread the gospel and plant churches in foreign countries or in areas of his own country where the good news of Christ has not penetrated. 

While the primary purpose of Christian missions is to spread the gospel, it is also to help people with physical and social needs. Where possible, a Christian missionary does things like feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and providing shelter for the homeless. 

Mission work is purely by calling. This means that the missionary must have inner conviction that God is calling him or her to carry out a mission in a particular place, at a particular time. Without this inner conviction, it is impossible to succeed in a mission for God. 

Some Christians are called to full-time missions. In order to determine if you are called to such mission work, it is important to be sure of two things, namely;

1. Assurance of eternal life and

2. Guidance of the Lord

Of course, these two essentials are valuable for more than just the call to missions, but throughout life. You want to be sure that you will go to be with the Lord when you physically die. And you want to know how to follow God's guidance in every stage of life.

Assurance of eternal life

The Bible teaches that we are saved by the grace of God through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, not by good works that we do. We are saved from condemnation in order to do good works. 

It is very important to see the order in Ephesians 2:8-10: first, we are saved by grace through faith alone, and second, we do good works because we love God. 1 John 4:19 says that "we love him because he first loved us". In other words, we do good works for him because he has been good to us. 

1 John 5:13 says, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" (NIV). Be rest assured that as a believer, when you physically die, you will go to be with the Lord. 

Guidance of the Lord

You cannot know God except he reveals himself. Likewise you cannot know his will except he guides you. Guidance is the process by which you discover and know the will God. 

The primary means of guidance are: the Holy Spirit, the Bible, Prayer, the church, and circumstances. Other means of guidance include angels, dreams, visions, audible voice, prophecy and life history. 

The Holy Spirit

God speaks to us by the Holy Spirit. The indwelling Spirit guides every believer, and we do well to maintain consistent fellowship with him so that we can receive guidance from him. 

We receive guidance when we obey the Spirit. As we obey him, we seek to become more like Christ. Jesus did only what his Father told him to do (Joh 5:19, 20). Christ was perfectly obedient, so he received guidance from the Father in all aspects of his life. 

Notice that Jesus did only what he saw his Father doing. As a child of God, you must look to see what your Father is doing in the world, and join him in that work. To be guided as Jesus was, we must submit our will to the Father as Jesus did. 

We can only be successful in missions to the extent that we follow God. This is why we look to see what God is doing, and where he is doing it.  

The Bible

God speaks to us by his word. The Bible is the word of God. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can understand what God wants for us through his word. 

The Holy Spirit helps us to understand the Bible when we study it. He illumines the word and he opens our mind to see things the way God sees them, and to flow together with God, and agree with him on what he has said in his word. You need to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance through the Bible.

Prayer

Prayer is a two-way conversation. We talk to God and we listen to God. Don't only talk to God, but also, listen to him. God speaks to us when we converse with him in prayer. 

The church

Some in the church have spiritual gift of prophecy—they proclaim the word of God (Eph 4:11). So we listen to Pastors, to Bible teachers, to Christian counsellors, and to gifted elders in order to hear a message from the Lord concerning our lives. However, we must not solely depend on such people for guidance. 

The advice of fathers, of mentors, of gifted elders and of mature Christians is valuable, but ultimately, you must listen to the Holy Spirit for guidance. The Holy Spirit may lead you to mission work that is not advised by elders in the church. 

Typically missionaries seek the blessing of the church as they prepare for missions (Acts 13:1-2). But God may call a missionary to serve before others in the church know about such guidance. Later the church may confirm this calling. It is incumbent upon the missionary to examine Scriptures and listen to the Holy Spirit. 

Circumstances

God speaks to us by circumstances. For example, a missionary may need a specific amount of money to be able to serve on a mission field, and exactly when the money is needed, the money is miraculously provided. In this circumstance, God must be saying "yes" to the mission work. 

Some circumstances may be open doors or closed doors. You must be able to discern whether a circumstance is an open door or a closed door to mission work. 

Your life is not governed by luck, by accident or by coincidence but by providence. God is in control of your life. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom 8:29 NIV).

By the providence of God means are provided to accomplish a mission for God. God may provide such things as training, spiritual gifts or opportunities and then call a missionary to use such means to expand the Kingdom of God. 

Providence refers to God's care-full governance, God's guidance, God's intervention or God's provision (preparation) for the future.

Circumstances surrounding your life may be God's means of guiding you to accomplish his purpose. However, circumstances are not the ultimate means of guidance. Depend on the Holy Spirit to receive guidance for all aspects of your life. 

#Truth Haven