Missions As I See It

I just returned from a wonderful visit to churches in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and Culdesac, Idaho ... two diverse but wonderfully identical bodies dedicated to the work of Christ. The church in Edmonton has 1200 souls in a metropolitan area. The church in Culdesac has 40 attendees in a ranching and logging culture.

However, they are alike in their quality relationship with missions. You see, the quality of a fellowship of believers is not in the geography nor the size … God does not measure your stature, He measures your commitment.

He measures the commitment to the job that Christ urgently gave us when He said in John 4:35-36, “Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”

The apostle, Paul, lays it all out in Romans 10:9 when he says, “... if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Then he continues by explaining the dynamics of reaching the lost in Romans 10:14-15, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Where are the lost we are to reach? In the story in John 4:35-36, they were right in front of them … the Samaritans. In our world today, they are everywhere.

We are all to reach the lost but we cannot all go. However, we can be an important part of the labor.

God needs three things: a willing heart to go .. an obedient church to send .. and a receptive heart to listen.

Each has his responsibility. And what is that?

1. We must have a willing heart. We must be willing to say, yes, Lord, send me. That may be our labor. But we may not have to go far. As we relate to the story in John 4, the lost are in our neighborhood, in our town, across the street or even in our home.

2.Give as the Lord prospers us! No one should feel guilty giving a small amount. Give as He has promised. Feel good about the penny you give and rejoice over it. Put in a little extra labor for ... Little is much when God is in it.

3. Pray. Labor can be prayer that storms the gates of heaven! Fervent, interceding prayer for the labor of all concerned. We are not beating the air with our labor ... we are actually moving people into the fold.

4. And as you pray … do so for the third thing … that the fruits of our labor will fall upon a receptive heart to listen.

So, go now … labor for the Lord. And, if you go … do not rejoice over success you didn’t earn. Many labored for that success. According to chapter 4 of John, some of us will be reaping where they did not sow. Some will be reaping where they didn’t labor. The victory belongs to the Lord!

Remember … the final reward for your labor is to hear those words, “Thou good and faithful servant.”

Paul Weresch