Brother Joseph Umokoro
Missions means taking the Gospel of Christ to tribes that have not heard the Gospel of our Lord at all or sufficiently. Christ started the mission of spreading the Gospel. Christ says if the Gospel does not reach the ends of the earth, he won’t return.
[biblegateway passage=”Revelation 7:9-10″ display=”Revelation 7:9-10″]; [biblegateway passage=”Colossians 1:13″ display=”Colossians 1:13″]
“Nations” as mentioned in the above text (Revelations) means tribes and tongues. Cornelius was a man who had good moral standards but had not encountered Christ until God sent Peter to him and his family. Without us hearing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and having the opportunity to choose, we couldn’t have been saved.
Quite a number of believers are still confused about those who are the true believers of Christ. Being a good moralist doesn’t qualify you to be heaven’s candidate. We see this in the life of Cornelius. What he was practicing could be described as self-righteousness. These kind of things make us assume many people we see around doing similar things are true Christians- but like Cornelius, something was still missing. The angel couldn’t deliver this message of salvation to him because it wasn’t given to them to preach. Jesus Christ, after completing his ministry on earth, committed the work of reconciliation into our hands .
[biblegateway passage=”Matthew 23:1-11″ display=”Matthew 23:1-11″]; [biblegateway passage=”Romans 1:1&5″ display=”Romans 1:1&5″]
It is clear from tge above scriptures that Jesus Christ did not condemn the message of the Pharisees but their lifestyle. They instructed the people but they would not practice what they preached. This generation is filled with the same kinds of people who love their lives. We cannot take God’s kingdom if we don’t love our lives unto death. We must stop protecting ourselves from difficulties which the Gospel requires from us.
Since we started taking the things of God lightly, the power of darkness have taken over and the Church is almost pushed to the wall. As far as God is concerned, a Christian does not die but transcends.
[biblegateway passage=”John 17:18″ display=”John 17:18″]; [biblegateway passage=”John 20:21″ display=”John 20:21″]; [biblegateway passage=”Luke 19:10″ display=”Luke 19:10″]
You must be able to identify those that are lost. When God called Joshua, God gave him all he needed to fulfil the ministry but in the end, he wasn’t as successful as he ought. He grew to old to finish his earthly assignment. The church is also wasting time and we are facing a similar end of not saving those that ought to be saved.
[biblegateway passage=”Romans 10:14-18″ display=”Romans 10:14-18″]; [biblegateway passage=”Acts 13:3″ display=”Acts 13:3″]; [biblegateway passage=”Matthew 18:1″ display=”Matthew 18:1″]
The roles designated for the Body of Christ (as regards missions) can be classified into two categories which every believer must belong (to at least one) – the Goer and the sender. The Goer is the one who is sent to preach the Gospel while the sender is the one who supports the Goers. God does not expect anyone to sit on the fence.
Righteousness is not based on our efforts but Christ’s righteousness. Anything you do which is not according to the pattern of Christ, is for yourself. There’s a challenge in the Body of Christ and we must all stand up to that Challenge. If the senders do not play their roles of praying and supporting the goers, then there won’t be fruitfulness in the mission field. Missions is an investment you don’t reap on earth but in heaven. Everyone must make a choice as to which of the roles he/she would belong.