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The Why of Missions
By Jeremy Wollman Defining the terms Missions and Nations
We have to define missions because it is one of the most abused
words in Christianity today. What does the word missions imply?
I am tremendously grateful for the much-needed work done here
on the home front (street ministries, inner city outreaches,
children ministries) and by no means do I desire to take away
from that; but I do feel a great need to give the word a more
specific meaning. The definition we would like to give missions is “cross-cultural, non-local outreach: preaching and teaching
the Gospel of Jesus Christ among the unreached.” The reason
for this specific definition is that we have well over half
the world yet to reach with the gospel. Although true Christians
are challenged with this awful, shameful predicament, we find
pitifully few actually GOING to reach these people with the
precious gospel of Christ!
What did Christ mean when He said
that we are to “Go and teach all nations?” “The Lord hath made bare
his holy arm in the
eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall
see the salvation of our God!” (Is. 52:10)
I have also noticed somewhat of a confusion
as to what Christ meant by referring to the nations. The
Greek word ethnos and the Hebrew word goy had specific meanings. We get the
English
word ethnic from ethnos. Ethnic groups
are defined by language, culture, and geographical location. They do not refer to
a political nation. Therefore, when the term nation is
used in
the Bible, it means different ethnic groups (usually those
not of Jewish descent).
Why Missions?
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is!
Ps. 67: 3, 4-Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the
people praise thee!
I would agree with what John Piper writes
in “Let the Nations be Glad,” pg. 11: “Missions is not the
ultimate goal of the
Church. Worship is! Missions exists because worship doesn’t.
Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate,
not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions
of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of
God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity.
But
worship abides forever.”
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Statistic:
If a group of 100 individuals could represent the entire world’s real, sold
out Christian missionaries, only 8 out of the 100 would actually be working
among unreached peoples! Where are the other 92 missionaries expending
their energies and resources, their prayers and intercessions? They are
either working in heavily churched areas or witnessing to nominal Christians!
This burden causes
us to give the word missions a more specific definition.
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“Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal
of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions
we simply aim to
bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s
glory. “The
Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands
be glad.” (Ps. 97:1)
The Apostle John writes about the future scene
in eternity that only blood-washed saints shall be a part
of. “After
this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man
could number,
of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues,
stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed
with white
robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud
voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon
the throne,
and unto the Lord!” God is seeking to draw out of every
nation and ethnic family group a people that will love
and worship
Him; praise God we get to have a part in bringing this
to reality!
God and Missions
If you could step into the interior of Ghana,
West Africa and ask the people about the gods they worship,
you
would soon
learn that they believe in many gods, not just one.
In fact, they would point out an altar (a forked
stick stuck
in the
ground holding an upside down bowl) next to the entrance
leading into their mud compound, on which they do
animal sacrifices
to appease these spirits. They would proceed to tell
you that each family within the nucleus of their
group has
a particular
spirit they wish to appease in order to bring protection
to their individual homes (family gods). They sacrifice
to other
gods besides, in order to ensure protection and blessing
on their entire tribe (tribal gods). In other words,
their worldview
revolves around themselves with their gods protecting
only them and their families. As far as they are
concerned, nobody else matters.
Now, let me ask you this very probing question:
Has God’s attention been riveted solely on only one people
group
or has God, the
Creator God of ALL peoples and nations, always
been
interested in the nations of the world all along?
In other words,
was He a petty, tribal God? No, a resounding NEVER!
God is the
same “yesterday, today, and forever.” Let us look
into the Old Testament and see if we can detect
God’s heartbeat
for
ALL NATIONS in the very beginning. I believe a
proper view of the fact that our God is a Missionary God
and that He
has woven the great theme of ‘ALL NATIONS’ throughout
the entirety
of scriptures is indispensable in understanding
the nature of God, and what a personal relationship with
Him necessitates.
Johannes Verkuyl wrote this concerning the subject,
“The nations are not mere decorations incidental
to the real
drama between
God and man; rather, the nations are a part of
the drama itself. God’s work and activity are directed
at the whole
of humanity.”
(Perspectives; pg. 27)
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Our
God is a Missionary God!
“Ask of me and I will
give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and
the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” (Psalm
2:8)
“All the ends of the
world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and
all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before
thee.” (Ps. 22:27)
”I will be exalted
among the heathen… exalted in the earth.” (Ps.
46:10)
”Arise, O God…for thou
shalt inherit all nations.” (Ps. 82:8)
”All nations whom thou
hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord;
and shall glorify thy name.” (Ps. 86:9)
”Declare his glory
among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
…Say among the heathen that the Lord reigns…” (Ps.
96:3, 10)
”He hath shewed his
people the power of his works, that he may give them
the heritage of the heathen.” (Ps. 111:6)
Isaiah wrote that Christ
the Messiah would come and preach deliverance to all
peoples! Isaiah, like David, could hear the reverberating
Call of God!
”Behold, my servant,
whom I uphold; mine elect…shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles! Sing unto the Lord a new song and
his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go
down to the sea, add all this is therein, the isles
(islands), and the inhabitants thereof. Let them
give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise
in the islands!” (Is. 42:1, 10, 12)
The name of the Lord is
to be praised even in the isolated, out of the way,
inaccessible islands! Hallelujah!
”Look unto me, and
be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am
God, and there is none else.” (Is. 45:22)
Isaiah was to go beyond
Israel to preach the gospel; he was to persuade the
Gentiles also. “…It is a light thing that you should…raise
up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved
of Israel; I will also give thee for a light to the
Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the
end of the earth. I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles.” (Is.
49: 6, 22)
”The Lord hath made
bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation
of our God.” (Is. 52:10)
May God cause a great sense
of urgency to burn in our hearts for the redemption
of lost souls back to him!
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Missions in the Old and New Testament
The Call of Abraham
Our story begins in the Gen. 12:1-3: “Now
the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country,
and from thy
kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto
a land that I will show
thee:
and I will make of thee a great nation, and
I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou
shalt
be a blessing:
And
I will bless them that bless thee, and curse
him
that curseth thee: and in thee shall all
families of the
earth be blessed.”
The opening of the chapter is somewhat abrupt.
It seems that we are just dropped into this
scene without
warning,
but
actually, the previous eleven chapters lead
us right up to this exciting
climax! God has something great planned for
the entire of His creation! These verses
encapsulate God’s eternal
plan
down
through the annals of time.
We should never allow ourselves to forget
that the Bible begins with the universe,
not with
planet earth;
then
with the earth,
not with Palestine; then with Adam the
father of the human race, not with Abram the father
of the
“chosen”
race. God
is the Creator of the universe, the earth
and all mankind; we
must never demote Him to the status of
a tribal deity or petty godling like Chemosh
the god
of the Moabites,
or
Molech the
god of the Ammonites, or Baal the god
of the Canaanites. God did not choose Abraham
and
his descendants
because he lost
interest in other peoples or gave them
up. “Election is not a synonym for elitism”.
On the contrary,
as we read
earlier,
God chose one man and his family that
He might bless the whole world through them!
The Top and Bottom Lines of
the Covenant
In verse two, the Lord God
gives Abram a compound promise. Contained within
the promise
is the
Top and Bottom
Line of the Covenant. Both flow together,
inseparable in the
mind
of God. The Top Line cannot function
without the Bottom Line. “I will
bless thee, and
make thy name
great.
I will bless
him
that blesses you and curse him that
curseth you.” In other words, “I will give you
the inheritance
of the
land of
Canaan; I will give you a great posterity.
I will make sure that
you are a blessed man, kept by my
power, overwhelmed with my grace,
anointed by my Spirit, sitting in
heavenly places; and my presence will ever go
with thee (Top Line
of the Covenant)!”
This beautiful
promise is closely coupled with these
words, “and thou shalt
be a blessing.” God was saying that,
“Even as surely as you will be blessed,
you will
be a
blessing.
People will
come
to the brightness of the Son rising
upon you. Nations will come
to know and fear Me as you witness
of My goodness and testify of My faithfulness,
for from the
rising of
the sun, even
to the going down of the same, the
name of
the Lord is to be praised.
Your godly heritage shall compass
the entirety of this world and shall be
a tremendous missionary
influence
everywhere! And thou shalt be a blessing
(Bottom Line
of the Covenant).”
Again, the Top and Bottom Line of
the Covenant are completely indispensable
for a truly
Christian (or
Christ-like)
experience! Both of these, welded
seamlessly together, are the prerequisites
for every child of God who would
experience a deep, fervent, and effective life
in Christ.
- God chose one people group to focus
on to reveal to the rest of the
world His love,
faithfulness,
and goodness,
not unlike
one would use a high-powered scope
to bring the
invisible into reality!
Did God let this great “missions”
cause die after Abraham passed
from the scenes?
Take
note how
the mandate was
passed on to
Isaac and Jacob, and powerfully
displayed in the life and psalms
of David.
This surging passion of God courses
mightily
down
through the pages of history,
sweeping along ALL
who have surrendered to the will
of
God. Look
closely, and you will
see Isaiah (Isaiah
6), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5),
the Minor Prophets, Christ,
the disciples, Paul, etc., down
through the pages of history.
“I WILL GATHER ALL NATIONS AND TONGUES;
AND THEY SHALL COME, AND SEE
MY GLORY!”
(Is.
66:18)
David, A Man after God’s Own Heart
David had, even in the old dispensation, a
clear vision of God’s eternal purpose. Psalms 67 clearly
illustrates this. “God be merciful unto us, and bless
us, and cause His face to shine upon us.” Why? “…That
your way would be known
in all the nations!” “Let the people praise thee, O God,
let
all the people praise thee!” Once again, we see the Top
Line of the Covenant (the blessings upon us) and the Bottom
Line
of the Covenant (us being a blessing) clearly depicted
in this psalm! God is not only satisfied with His people
singing
and lauding praises unto Him, but one of His deepest yearnings
for His church is that on the very heels of praise should
be the going out and “declaring His glory among the heathen;
His marvelous works among ALL nations!”
Once we’ve seen that the heartbeat of God
for the evangelization of the world was indelibly stamped
on David’s heart and life,
we no longer wonder why the God of all Nations called David
‘a man after His own heart.’
The Mission of Jesus Christ!
“For God so loved the WORLD, that He gave
His only begotten son, that WHOSOVEVER believeth in Him should
not perish,
but have everlasting life!” (The eternal heartbeat of God)
The saving of all nations (ethnic groups), for
His glory, is the heartbeat of God that began in eternity
past and
stretches
into eternity future! God Himself entered into this heartbeat
when He came to the earth. Christ LIVED and DIED for this
great cause!
It is very interesting to note, with the above
verse in mind, the Jews’ response to Christ when He showed
up on
the scene
with the intention of inviting the Gentiles (heathen)
into
the fold of God. You see, the Jews developed a “Gentile
complex” that was totally contrary to what they read
in the scriptures
and to what was expressed by Christ, the Creator Himself!
They loved to revel in the fact that they were the only
people on
the face of the earth chosen specifically for Him, and
all the while were totally missing the very purpose
for which
they had been called.
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The Eternal Purpose of God…
Is to call out from every
kindred, tongue, people and nation a multitude redeemed
by the blood of His Lamb, slain from the foundation
of the world. Over whom He will crown His Son, the
Lion of the tribe of Judah, King of Kings, and Lord
of Lords, forever. This is the passion of the heart
of God that cannot be quenched, the obsession of His
mind that cannot be denied, the vision of His eyes
from eternity past into eternity future that will not
dim and the destination to which He has committed His
omnipotent, immutable, eternal being. A destination
He will not abandon.
–Darrell Champlain |
- From Gracious Teacher to Heretic in 30 Seconds!
Luke 4:18- Christ read the Isaiah 49:8-9 prophecies
(preaching the gospel to the poor, healing the brokenhearted,
bringing deliverance to the captives…) to the Jewish
assembly
at the tabernacle and is momentarily
crowned as a gracious
teacher. The moment that He tries to open their hearts to
the desire
of God, the fact that God showed special interests
to a few Gentiles rather than the Jews (in verses
24-27), they
immediately
condemn Him as an imposter, a heretic. Then, filled
with
seething anger at His audacity, they decide to cast
Him over a steep
hill and destroy both Him and His message, because
they were NOT going to share their God with Gentiles!
When Christ called His disciples to follow
Him, He told them that they would be fishers of MEN (Luke
7:10). Now,
how many
species of men were there in that day? “[He]
hath
made of ONE blood ALL NATIONS OF MEN for to dwell
on all
the face
of the
earth…” (Acts. 17:26)
Christ’s passion for worship from
ALL NATIONS was again displayed by His cleansing of the
temple. The area
He “cleansed” was
where the Gentiles were to worship. This
part of
the temple grounds was almost three times
bigger than the
Jews’ worship
area. Twice we see Him cleansing this area
(John 2, Mt. 21), driving out the thieves who had
robbed the
Gentiles
from
their rightful place of worship within the
temple
by making it a
stockyard of reeking cattle, sheep, goats,
etc.
Christ traveled about 30 miles to minister
to one Syrophenician woman, and although
He faced
criticism
from His own
disciples for doing so, He reaped a great
harvest of souls from
her village. In addition, how about the
healing of a Roman
Centurion’s son
and the deliverance of the Gadarene demoniac
that had a legion of devils within him?
Let us remember
His
words, “Other sheep
I have which are not of this fold.” (John
10:16)
DID YOU KNOW…
- Every
book in the New Testament was written by a foreign
missionary.
- Every letter in the
New Testament that was written to an individual
was written to a convert of a foreign
missionary.
- Every epistle in the
New Testament that was written to a church was
written to a foreign-missionary
church.
- The disciples were called
Christians first in a foreign-missionary community.
- Of the twelve apostles
chosen by Jesus, every apostle except one became
a missionary.
- The only one among the
twelve apostles who did not become a missionary
became a
traitor.
- The problems which arose
in the early church, were largely questions of
missionary procedure.
- According to the apostles,
missionary service is the highest expression of
Christian life.
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The Heart of God
Missions is the very nature of
God, the essence of His being! Paul, the apostle, caught
God’s heart and he would
never
be content with only “laying on another
mans foundation.” He ventured
into virtually unknown, dangerous territory
with the passion to preach the gospel
where it had
“not been
named!” His
life-long motivational verse was, “to
whom He was not spoken of, they
shall see: and they that have not heard
shall understand” (Rom. 15: 21)! He had seen
Christ, knew His purpose
on the earth,
and from then on could do no less than
his
God had
done all the days of his life! Paul
simply could not constrain
himself
from preaching the gospel “in the regions
beyond.”
The heart of God has not changed over
the past years! God wants each one
of our hearts
to
be beating for
those yet
outside
the reach of the gospel. He desires
each of us to follow his example
and give
everything, our
very
lives, for
this great
purpose. We have no choice. “If this
is the eternal purpose of God, what
will be
my answer
to God
if I find something
else more beautiful, more important,
and more
wonderful to engage
my life in?”
It is easy for us to compartmentalize
our lives into my devotional life,
my prayer
life, my
work life,
my family
life, etc.,
and therefore do the same with
missions. We “flip” the switch, do ministry,
and then we
snap back
out of it
that easily.
May
God help us! If God is a Missionary
God, and everything He does is
out of this
great passion
for the redemption
and
worship of man back to Himself,
how can we do any less than throw ourselves
into His great purpose?
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