Is Missions Worship?

Is missions a campaign to save lost souls, or first and foremost a call to worship God?

God desires worship from His creatures, and He will have it from all His people, from all the nations.  And we have the incredible privilege of being the vehicles of grace and the gospel to bringing a world of worshipers into that eternal praise of God.  This is the mission.

Early in Genesis 11, there was only one people, one culture and one language that existed on the earth.  Although they had been instructed by God to “go and multiply and fill the earth” they congregated and settled down in the comfortable plain of Shinar instead.  The people became wholly devoted to “making a name for themselves.” (Genesis 11:4)

There was no praise for God among this people of Babel, and God judged them.  Part of the judgment is that He confused their one language into what are now more than 6,704 languages spoken in the world today.  He then split their single culture into the 24,000 people groups that are now scattered across the earth.

And then in Genesis 12, He revealed a redemptive strategy beginning with Abraham, where He would gather again a single people for His name; and He is steadily doing it people group by people group, and nation by nation through His representative missionaries.

This is amazing to me; that God redeemed us “in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles.” (Galatians 3:13-14)  What an awesome privilege that God actually uses us for the reconciliation of the nations with Him. (See 2 Cor. 5:20)  Therefore our passion for lost souls should only be surpassed by our passion for the Lamb of God.

We are eager for new opportunities to present the Gospel in the still unreached territories of the earth.  And we want to be busy going and sending missionaries to deliver the redemption of God to His people throughout the nations.  The people get a blessing—Salvation, but we’re going primarily for Jesus.

The privilege of carrying the news of our Savior, Jesus Christ, to the nations is a motivation that will keep missionaries on the front lines when persecution heats up.  In the end, God will once again have “One People” gathered out from every one of the world’s peoples.

“And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9)

And God’s cause; the worship of all peoples, will be a glorious victory!