“Why Missions?”
So why did I choose missions? Why missions over any other occupation? This will be a compilation of my testimony and the Bible and reasons for missions. At thirteen, during summer camp, I surrendered to be a missionary. Growing up in church, missions was put in my heart from a young age. I looked forward to missionaries coming into our church and God used that to work in my heart about becoming a missionary and being involved in missions. While growing up in church, going through college, getting missions training and reading the Bible, God has continually worked in my heart and grow my vision for missions. Below are three reasons why I chose missions and believe missions is very important.
1. It is a command. (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-47, John 20:21, Acts 1:8)
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:18-20
We are given a command to take the gospel to the world. Christ our King gives us a command to teach, baptize, and then teach them to observe. He wants us to go into the whole world and show them who He is and what He has done for them. This is not a suggestion or a thought. It IS A COMMAND! It is not something to take lightly. As Christians, we should take missions very seriously and make it the most important thing in our lives. We should be reaching those we come in contact with every day, but also do everything we can to take the Gospel to those in the whole world. If we do not do the Great Commission we are disobeying God and sinning! Missions is the heartbeat of God. All throughout the Bible you see God wants all the world to know Him and come to Him! This is the first reason to answer the question, “Why missions?”
2. We owe everything to Christ.
I Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
We are not our own, we are bought we a price. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and we owe it all to Him to do whatever He asks. The least we can do is sacrifice our lives to serve Him. He gave everything so we owe everything to Him. As a Christian, I should desire to do anything Christ asks me to do including laying down my life for Him. So often we “sacrifice” and make it out to be such a big thing but lets look at Romans 12:1. It says sacrificing ourselves is a reasonable service! That means it is the least we can do! I owe everything to Christ and I owe it to the world to take the Gospel to them. This is the second reason to answer the question, “Why missions?”
3. There is a great need.
Romans 10:13-14 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
The third reason is the great need. Seven billion people are in this world. Only 5% of the population lives within the United States. That means 95% are outside the United States. A large majority have never heard the gospel. They have never heard the name of Jesus. They have no clue how to get to heaven! There is a great need in this world! People are dying and going to hell every single second of every single day. What are we going to do about it? Many times as Christians we sit back and let people and the world pass us by. We don’t see them as souls and, quite honestly, we don’t care about where they will spend eternity. We basically say “I don’t care if you go to hell or not; I am too busy to care.” Ezekiel talks about the watchman. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul Ezekiel 33:7-9. We, as Christians, are the watchmen of this world. If we do not tell them the Gospel and the good news and we had the chance then we have their blood on our hands. If we do share the Gospel then we are clean from their blood. In my life, I see the need of the world. I see souls dying and going to hell every day and I cannot but do something about it. I cannot help but go to the world and share the Gospel with them. I believe there is no higher calling than serving out the commission of our King by being a missionary. Everyone may not be called into missions, but everyone should wrestle with going into missions. Why did I choose missions? Because I am commanded to go, I owe it all to Christ and their is such a great need. My challenge to you is would you consider missions? Would you consider going to the world and bringing them the Gospel. Would you consider bringing life to those, who if nothing changed, will die and go to hell? I have chosen missions and I would pray that God would work in your hearts to be involved in mission, as well.