“Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent
me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22)
Throughout the Old Testament God called many of His people to be
missionaries. We can think of Abraham, who was a witness to many of his
pagan neighbors. And also Joseph, who stood before Pharaoh and bluntly
told him that the God of heaven was the only God. And of course, there
was Moses preaching to a later Pharaoh who chose not to listen. And most
significantly, God placed Israel at the crossroads of the known world to be a
missionary to all who traveled through their land.
God even sent missionaries to reform His own people. In
Isaiah 6, the prophet, in the very throne room of heaven, volunteered to go and
preach the truth. In Jeremiah 1, God told the prophet that He had called him
before he was even born. These men preached to the nations, but to
Israel first.
All these missionaries foretold the Great Missionary, Jesus the
Messiah, who was sent from eternity into this world in order to save it.
Throughout His brief earthly ministry, Jesus insisted that He had come to
do and to say only what the Father had sent Him to do and to say. At His
baptism, the Holy Spirit came upon Him and anointed Him for this task.
Jesus went primarily to the house of Israel, but ministered to Gentiles
as well, often praising their faith.
Then, having completed His work, Jesus sent His apostles into the
world. John 20:21 shows us that we are sent out on a mission, not in
order to earn peace with God, but because peace has already been made with God. Jesus said, “Again Jesus said, Peace be
with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” We are sent
out by Jesus just as Jesus was sent out by the Father.
Now, people can offer God plenty of reasons why they don’t feel
called to spread the gospel. But His call is not issued for our
consideration; He expects a response of obedience and surrender. A
believer is accountable only to say yes to God’s call. It is the Lord’s
responsibility to equip the chosen for the work He’s assigned.
Unfortunately, there's a lot of confusing and sometimes
contradictory talk going out about the missionary call. Beware of the
extremes! Some require you to have had your own mystical call or
voice from God. I don't deny this happens, but don't let others
over-spiritualize the process and force it on you as normal. Other
Christians approach it from an overly rational, dry, mathematical model that
gathers the facts, prays, and then makes a logical decision.
God makes His call with wisdom and discernment. He knows why
He created you and what you're capable of accomplishing in His strength. (See Ephesians
2:10) Rejecting the invitation to serve Him is foolish. It would be
like telling almighty God that He made a mistake. A personal plan has
been mapped for each believer’s life, and God provides the suitable personality
and temperament. Then He adds skills that can be developed, and the
spiritual gifts necessary, to fulfill His mission.
Although missionaries cannot be stereotyped, they each have a call.
God calls them to set aside personal ambitions in order to be witnesses
of the Gospel. Like Isaiah, a missionary joyfully responds, "Here am
I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8b)
A Christian missionary is an ambassador of Christ. Each one
must be yielded to the Lord, loving Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and
strength. (See Mark 12:30) Specifically, a missionary is one whom God sends
through the support of the Church to the unreached. All Christians,
however, are called to be missionaries of the Gospel. The Lord works
through them to rescue the lost. What greater call can one answer?
And surrender opens the door to a lifetime of service, blessing, and joy.
The great mission program Jesus established is nothing less than
the disciplining of every nation on earth. Not only individuals, but nations
are to recognize Jesus as King. (See Matthew 28:18–20) Mission work can
occur near or far. You could serve at home by writing to prisoners, down
the street by dishing out meals at a shelter, across the nation by providing
flood relief, or in another country by translating the gospel.
In short, the missionary calling is whatever God tells you to do.
Each of us is unique. That means that no two people ever have
exactly the same mission from God. Since mission involves disciplining
the nations, it can be as broad as all of life.
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