Jesus said to them again,
"…As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." —John 20:21
{CHAMBERS} “A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He
was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but
the command of Jesus. […] In missionary work the great danger is that God’s
call will be replaced by the needs of the people, to the point that human
sympathy for those needs will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by
Jesus. The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult, that every
power of the mind falters and fails. We tend to forget that the one great
reason underneath all missionary work is not primarily the elevation of the
people, their education, nor their needs, but is first and foremost the command
of Jesus Christ— “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew
28:19). […] We give credit to human
wisdom when we should give credit to the divine guidance of God being exhibited
through childlike people who were “foolish” enough to trust God’s wisdom and
His supernatural equipment.”
{ELGIN} “Brothers and
sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise
by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But
God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak
things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this
world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things
that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you
are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our
righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the
one who boasts boast in the Lord.”” (1
Corinthians 1:26-31) We should not for an instant think that we can do anything for God without God. Anything we do for God is by the Spirit of
God, by our new nature, not by our old nature and its works. Even our salvation is a gift from God through
Jesus and by the Spirit and not of works so no one can take credit for what God
has done. The only way we can please God
is by giving our whole heart to Him.
What God asks of us often
times seems foolish to the world. Personally, God
has given us what we needed when we needed it.
He has called us to very difficult places. He has asked us to defy human reasoning ..
even what many Christians would consider “reasonable” life choices. We have abandoned the “comfortable” life for
the physically uncomfortable. The life
of relative financial abundance for a life of hardship and little comfort. And for what? For His glory and the good of
others. Would that be good enough for you? I am not asking you to compare
yourself to us. God may not call you to
our life and service. But are you
willing to lay your life down, for God, no matter what that means?
What we have actually given
up to serve is unknown to most people and I will not elaborate here, lest I boast
in our sacrifice. My point is, God may
ask you to give up everything. In the
fact of the matter, He already has. “Do
not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of
the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life[a]—is not from the
Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its
desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17) And if you don’t love it, you won’t mind
leaving it. When you consider God’s
calling on your life do you think about what saying “yes” would cost you financially? Friend, I hate to say it, but you have heart
trouble! Where is your faith? Don’t you think that God could restore what
you gave up, if He chose to? Examine your heart. What I am sharing with you applies even if
you stay in your job, stay in your house, live your life without
disruption. Live your life with a whole
heart for God and be ready at any moment to give it up, if the Lord says
so. Don’t be like Lot’s wife or the rich
young ruler. Follow Jesus with empty
hands and a heart full of love for God.
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