Why We Should Be Involved in Missions
    By Mark E. Moore

Why should we get involved in missions? After all, it hardly seems natural to leave our homes and families and travel half-way around the world for the love of people we have never met. Even in the book of Acts, missions was not a voluntary movement. Paul and Barnabas didn’t get the bright idea to go on their own, they were driven by the H.S. and even then they went to Barnabas’ home of Cyprus. When Philip went to Samaria it was because he was running from Saul. When Saul became Paul and found his way to Europe it was because of the Macedonia call from a vision at night. On and on it goes. Only once in all of Acts can I find a truly voluntary missions movement where someone purposely crossed a geographic or cultural line for the sake of the gospel. There were these guys where were never named who hailed from Cyprus and Cyrene who started a little church up there in Antioch. That church became the center of Gentile Christianity for the next 30 years.

Here’s the point, most of us aren’t going to run out and win the world by choice. It just isn’t natural. What is natural is to warm a recliner, to stay close to mom and gramma, to surround ourselves with the familiar and friendly. However, let me assure you of a couple of things, should you choose to join the ranks of the nameless heroes of Antioch. First, your efforts which fly in the face of daunting odds, which seem so insignificant in the grand scheme of things, for which you seem so unprepared, these very same efforts have a way of growing exponentially in significance and influence after you die. Missionary stories around the world tell how one person’s life of seemingly fruitless labor explodes in the wake of their passing. I’m telling you, devote your life to something that will live on after you. Do something that will matter in eternity. Mark out a tribe as your own, adopt a people as your people, or translate God’s word into an unknown tongue. Do something, anything. But whatever you do, don’t be boring.

Let me assure you of this as well. When you invest yourself into global missions, you dedicate your life to what God is MOST concerned about. If God says something once, it should be enough to perk our curiosity. But if he repeats himse1f, you might want to pay attentions. Five times in the gospels and Acts we read the great commission. It comes in various shapes and sizes but it just keeps coming as if God were truly concerned that all peoples, tongues, and tribes get to know him. This may be our commission but it is God’s mission. He is going to get the task done, without a doubt! The only question is what role will you play. Will you participate with God in his opus magnum?

Allow me to lay a couple of passages side by side. In Psalm 8:3 David describes the heavens as God’s finger play. The sun, moon and stars are the work of his fingers. That’s no small thing. The earth itself has a diameter of just under 25,000 miles. We are one of nine planets in our solar system, yet our sun contains more than 99% of the mass of our solar system with a volume of 1,306,000 times that of the earth. Our solar system is part of the Milky Way Galaxy, which contains 100 billion stars (give or take a few). Yet out to a distance of 3 billion light years, there are some 100 million galaxies which usually hang out in groups, some just a few, others up to 10,000 galaxies in a cluster. All of that is merely God’s finger painting!

If that’s what God did when he was just messing around. What do you suppose he could accomplish if he rolled up his sleeves and went to work. Listen to Isaiah 52:10: “The Lord will lay bare his arm in the sight of all nations and the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.” I realize this comparison is a bit allegorical. Still it tells the truth that the greatest work of God is salvation, not creation. That is where his heart is centered. Now get this. In the middle of his opus magnum, God put down the hammer and said to the church, “You take it from here.” We get to complete the greatest work of God. That is precisely why we should get involved in world evangelism.

There is a second reason, however. I realize this is a bit speculative, but consider the possibility. There is some indication in the Bible that the second coming is not tied to a date on a calendar, but the completion of a task. In other words, God is not saying, “Ready or not, here I come.” Rather, he is saying, “You finish the great commission and then we can go play.”

There are a number of passages that talk about the date of Jesus return. Matthew 24:36 simply says, “You can’t know it.” Yet it does not say that it is fixed. Acts 1:7 echoes that sentiment and even goes further. Not only can you not know a specific date you can’t even understand broad eras of God’s timetable. Again, it falls far short or saying a specific date has been fixed. The closest passage to saying that is Acts 17:31 which says that God has set a day for judgment (cf. Rev 14:7). Indeed, he has. But the bold print in this verse belongs to the certainty of judgment, not a day circled on a calendar.

On the other hand, there are a couple of verses that do seem to suggest that the date of Jesus’ return is flexible. 2 Pet 3:12 says, “You out to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.’ Now that is an interesting verse. The word “speed” means “to be in a hurry” or “to show diligence.” Every other time it’s used in the Bible it means that you hurry yourself or show diligence yourself. It is not so much that we rush Jesus to come but that we rush toward Jesus’ coming. How do we do that? 2 Peter 3:11 explains: we live holy and godly lives. The question still remains, “If we live holy and godly lives, will that usher in the coming of Christ sooner?”

Turn to Acts 3:19-20. Here Peter says that our repentance brings about two events. First, a season of refreshing; second, the return of Jesus from heaven. Typically, we have read the season of refreshing as a parallel to Acts 2:38, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But if you parallel it with its own context, the ultimate season of refreshing is eternal life in the New Jerusalem. Thus, there is something about people repenting, something about the execution of the great commission that brings heaven home. Consider the implication of this possibility.

If we could bring Jesus back sooner by doing what he told us to do, then we are wasting a lot of time here folks. We could be home now but for our own irresponsibility. Isn’t that what happened to the Israelites. When the twelve spies returned from Canaan ten were bad and two were good. The nation of Israel was poised to receive their promised land. But their own faithless fear postponed God’s promise for forty years. Listen to Numbers 14:33-34, “Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. For forty years you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.” Even if it is a remote possibility to usher in the coming of Christ, I want to take a chance! I want to rush toward the Lord’s coming, if perhaps he will rush toward me in response. I just want to finish the task and go home. I’m pleading with you to help me get there.

We are Close to Finishing!

What really makes my mouth water is that we are so very close to actually accomplishing the task. It is not just preacher hype; it is a realistic possibility to expect that we will complete the great commission in your lifetime. I know that is a bold claim, let me back it up with a few facts.

1. Christianity is gaining ground. According to the statistics of Missions Frontiers 17/5-6 (1995), p.5, the percentages of Christians to unbelievers is growing. In the days of the Apostle Paul there was only 1 believer for every 350 non-believers. It took until 1430 before we broke the 100-person barrier. By 1790 there was one Christian for every 49 unbelievers; in 1940 it was one for every 32. By 1980 we had cut that in half, one in 16; by 1989 it was one in ten. As of 1995 there was one believer for every 8 non-Christians. Now folks, I’m not so naive as to think that every person who claims the name of Christ is truly a disciple. But who can deny that the numbers are going in the right direction?! The world is hearing and millions are responding to the gospel.

2. America’s Universities are packed with foreign students. We no longer have to travel the globe to reach the world. The world is coming to us. Moreover, they are not sending us their borderline catatonic. They are sending future princes and scientists, the elite of their societies. We have an opportunity to reach them when they are most open. They come to us wide-eyed and interested, not just in Big Macs and the Reds, but in our culture, history and religion.

3. Bible Translations continue to multiply. Already the Bible can be read in the primary or secondary language of 95% of the earth’s population. Almost weekly new languages are added with more coming down the pike. Computer generated assistance is speeding up the process so that translation has become one of the most fruitful efforts in global evangelism.

4. The English language is coveted around the globe (perhaps because it is the easiest language to speak badly). Nonetheless, this does give us the great opportunity to travel to foreign countries to teach English as a second language. We don’t even need to learn their language. They just want us to come and teach idioms using any material we deem best, including the Bible. This also allows older adults to go to foreign lands with their trades and skills with minimal preparation.

5. We have technology that now allows us to communicate globally. By combining Photonics and Fiber Optics, we can now send the entire contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica around the world and receive it back in two seconds! I don’t know why anyone would want to but just the fact that you can delights me. Think of the possibilities. Through just three satellites we can potentially communicate with every living human being on the face of the planet at one time. Through Email and faxes, fiber optics and satellites, videos and Internet, we can present the gospel in ways Paul never dreamed of.

6. The Elderly of our churches are in better health than ever before. Moreover, statistically, they have more expendable income than any other segment of our society. That means that our most mature veteran soldiers have the time, talent and money to travel to mission points. Not only do they share their occupational skills as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and CPAs, they can also teach the Word of God. What’s best is that they don’t need to ask a dozen churches to support them. They can just go and foot the bill themselves. We need to tap into our vast resources among our silver haired saints and let them know that the only way to cross the finish line in this race is in a hearse.

7. Women’s ministries are flourishing. Please, this is not an appeal to conservative feminism. It is a celebration that over half of the army of God is less fettered than before. I’ll never ask women to work in areas the Bible would forbid them. But I’m thankful that we are in a position to ask, “Why can women pass plates in church, but only in the fellowship hall?” With the whole church unleashed, the world will sooner be won for Christ & Missions movements are surging. Short-term missions trips are busting at the seams. Our Christian Colleges are nearly in a frenzy with interest in global evangelism. There is clearly a movement of the Holy Spirit to race toward the finish Line.

9. Around the country, and even the globe, there seems to be a revival in spiritual activity. Islam is on the rise. So is Mormonism, New Age, Mysticism, Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism. Obviously, this creates a lot of confusion and competition. Yet I’m confident that Jesus can handle both. The good news is, at least for the Christian Church, we have more open doors than ever. People crave both a personal relationship with God and a clear teaching from His divine word. Hey, that’s what we specialize in. Alexander Campbell never had it so good!

10. We are just 27 months away from the turn of a millennium. That doesn’t happen every day, you know. Printing presses are buzzing. Both idiocy and excitement are being generated at a frantic pace. From the very place we stand on the calendar, we have opportunity to teach about Jesus. A church doesn’t have to do anything but open its doors and the questions will begin pouring in about the coming of Jesus. We have unprecedented opportunities to command attention on behalf of our Lord. For these reasons I believe that I will not experience a natural death. Rather, I believe I’ll see Jesus return in my lifetime. If that doesn’t happen, I’ll be shocked (although not necessarily perturbed). I believe that you are the terminal generation. You are the ones who will complete the great commission and usher in the coming of Christ. In a long distance relay, two people get the spotlight: the one who starts and the one who finishes. It’s too late to start. The honor goes to Peter, Paul and Mary. But you can be those that finish the race. Imagine feeling the tape snap across your chest. Now look, we have a job that is so close to being finished I can just taste it. Let’s get one with this thing and go home! Imagine if Emit Smith made it to the Super Bowl again. It is fourth and about a yard. There are 15 ticks left on the clock and the Cowboys are down by four. Do you suppose that Emit would walk into the huddle and say, “Fellas, I’ve been carrying the team all season and I’m just kinda tired of it. Besides, every time I touch the ball, one of those bruisers whacks me. And it hurts! Tell ya what, why don’t we send Irvin into the end zone on a slant. I’m sure he can catch it.” You’ve got to be kidding me! You know better than that. He’s going to walk into the huddle and say, “Gentlemen, here’s the play . . . Give me the ball! Push with all you’ve got, but just give me the ball!” We are so close to finishing the task. We can get it done, and we can get it done in this generation! If you want to stand on the sideline with a cup of Gatorade in your hand that is your business. But I’m in the huddle pleading with God, “Give me the ball!” Give me the chance to do something for the Gospel. Let me preach or teach, evangelize or disciple. I don’t care what, but just give me the ball! GIVE ME THE BALL!!!

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