How To Be On Mission With God

How to Be on Mission With God

Jesus said, "I did not come to do my own will, but the will of one who sent me." (Matt 26:42)

A servant always needs to listen to His Master in order to successfully fulfill his identity, role and responsibility. Too many Christians are trying to serve God with their own agenda instead of finding out how they need to be accomplishing God’s mission.

Illustration:A missionary in Africa was once asked if he really liked what he was doing. His response was shocking. "Do I like this work?" he said. "No. My wife and I do not like dirt. We have reasonable refined sensibilities. We do not like crawling into vile huts through goat refuse...But is a man to do nothing for Christ he does not like? God pity him, if not. Liking or disliking has nothing to do with it. We have orders to ’Go,’ and we go. Love constrains us."

Our Daily Bread.

Here are a few helpful guidelines that have proven effective through twenty five years of mission experience in Africa and in the USA.

1. The Lord initiated His will through Abraham, as the Provider, the Almighty and the Multiplier of His kingdom for all those who will receive, believe and act on His promises. (Gen. 12:1-20) Paul taught us that we too can share in that promise when he wrote, "Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham, All nations will be blessed through you. so those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham." (Gal. 3:7-9)We need to appropriate the promise that God gives to multiply His seed to all the nations as we believe and act on His promise of the great commission to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.

2. God revealed to John that every tribe, tongue, nation and people would worship together forever in heaven. (Rev. 5:9) We need to be able to find indigneous initiators in each of of the tribes, language groups, people groups, and nations so as to best multiply the kingdom of God through insider multipliers. Many of us can support an indigenous missionaries among the 3000 unreached people groups through credible mission organizations for about $30/month.

Illustration:A one-legged school teacher from Scotland came to J. Hudson Taylor to offer himself for service in China. "With only one leg, why do you think of going as a missionary?" Asked Taylor.

"I do not see those with two legs going," replied George Scott. He was accepted.

Pillar of Fire, January First, 1983.

3. God’s name is to best glorified and His kingdom is best established when more people in the world are reconciled to Himself through saving faith in Jesus Christ. When we follow these three priorities, His glory, His kingdom and His gospel of reconciliation message, then we are most fitting in to the priority purposes of God’s identity and mission.

4. Look for ways that you can commune with God in His word, through prayer and with godly mission minded people who can help you get a greater sense of the pulse of God’s mission ministry that you can plug in to. Many people forget what James teaches us about, "Resist the devil, draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hearts you double minded." (James 4:7,8) When we are abiding in Him then we are able to experience more of the mind, power and perspectives of the Lord Almighty and respond to His mission.

5. Communicate more from the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote, "It is God who at work in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13,14) Only when we are able to allow the Lord to work through us are we able to know that we are on God’s mission instead of our own. James writes, "Wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." (James 3;17,18) When you sense that you are not evidencing these qualities of Spirit led wisdom it may be time to reassess, reconfigure and recalibrate how much of what you are doing is on mission with God.

6. Use the gifts, callings, time, talents, energies, abilities, resources, background, languages, connections, friends, ministries, and open doors that the Lord provides for you. He guides us not only with His moral will found in the scripture but He uses His sovereign will to show us the best ways that we can individually and corporately contribute to the cause of Christ for eternity. Do not try comparing yourself with somebody else. As Jesus told Peter, If I want John to remain until I come, what is that to you. You must follow me." (John 21:15-21)