Friday May 16th 2014 - HAZARDING LIVES FOR MISSIONS

HAZARDING LIVES FOR MISSIONS

Memorise: Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 15:26

Within the space of a few years after the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel about Him had reached Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and all the great cities in Europe, Africa and Asia. The gospel had made great inroads into the aristocracy and among intellectuals, and had already changed the lives of countless ordinary men and women. How did this happen? Evangelism was a priority among the first followers of Jesus. The Apostles and disciples of old obeyed the Great Commission; they were also missionaries who gave their all to missions. 

I have heard people say to me, “Daddy, I am a pastor but not a missionary” who is a missionary? The unscriptural but popular view is that a missionary comes from a rich country that is advanced in education and technology. Because of the advantages of his culture, he comes to help those less fortunate by starting schools, hospitals, agricultural projects and also preaching the gospel. The scriptural view on missions is different. A missionary is someone who is sent with a message from a higher authority. ‘Mission’ does not refer to the society. In the New Testament, wealth, race and technological advancement were not the basis of a missionary call. A missionary call is rooted in the need for these who have the gospel to share it with those who do not, whether they are rich or poor, advanced or primitive. Missions is therefore the Christian Church trying to win others to the Christian faith through a group of selected workers called missionaries. Every child of God should be involved in missions. First, you can be physically involved in missions, which could be either rural or urban missions. Rural missions is the work of a people sent by God to bring 

His work and power of salvation to people living in rural areas while in urban missions, people are sent by God to do the same work, but in urban areas. Mission work could be divided into two parts namely, Home Mission work could be divided into two parts namely, Home Missions and Foreign Missions. Home missions involves reaching out to people living in hamlets, villages, towns and cities around your primary locale, while foreign missions involves reach out that is cross-cultural in nature. A second way by which you can be involved in missions is to give to missions by sponsoring suitable volunteers to Bible Colleges or Missionary training schools; by linking prospective missionaries with those that can plan and supervise their work on the field; by organising financial, material and emotional support for missionaries, and by organising outreach trips to visit missionaries from time to time. Finally, you can organise prayer support for missionaries that go out. Missionaries hazard their lives for the gospel, be involved.

Reflect on how you can be involved in the work of missions and take practical steps on it.