Bible Studies for Life Sunday School Commentary for the week of December 14, 2008
Your Missions Involvement Matthew 9, 28, & Romans 15
Acquiring Gods heart for missions (last weeks lesson focus) will transform our outlook on the world around us. We will see other people not as someone elses responsibility, but as our mission. Other countries, regions, and peoples are every Christians responsibility. While only some are called to full-time overseas service (and I personally believe more are called than are currently going) we all have the same mission from our Savior to be involved in Gods missionary effort.
Many may ask, If I dont feel compelled to be a career missionary, then how can I put to work my heart for missions? Christians all across our country may yearn to be involved in missions, but dont know how. Lets examine some ways we can all be involved in taking the gospel to the nations.
Giving (Romans 15:23-28)
Two aspects of missions-giving are in view in this passage. The most obvious is the offering Paul speaks about for the needy of Jerusalem. Gentile believers have benefited spiritually through the ministry of the Jews, so it is fitting that they in turn help financially the poor and needy in Jerusalem. A great aspect of missionary work is meeting tangible needs of the targeted people, to win a hearing for our message. Southern Baptist missionaries work to meet all kinds of physical needs among the 1140 people groups among which they are engaged. Our generous giving enables them to provide food, clean water, medical care, housing assistance, disaster relief efforts, and much more to many millions of people on all parts of the globe.
The second aspect of giving in the Romans passage above is direct support for the Apostle Paul. He yearns to visit the believers in Rome, and spend some time with them, as he travels on to Spain; but he also expects to be sent on my way there by (them). This means more than the Roman believers wishing him well in his journey. Their sending Paul implied financial assistance and fervent prayers on Christs behalf.
Churches are responsible to financially support missionaries as they go into the world to proclaim Christ. By our giving, we participate in the missions work God calls all Christians to do. Southern Baptists share in the work of missions through the Cooperative Program, where each SBC church voluntarily gives a percentage of all offerings they receive to support mission work here in the United States and around the world. Also, SBC churches observe the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions at Christmastime and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions at Easter. Every dollar of these offerings goes directly to missionary support in the field. You tithes given to your local church, and your designated offerings to missions, are a vital way to be connected to the missionary effort.
Pray (Matthew 9:35-38)
In this passage the Lord Jesus is working to preach the good news and heal, but is overwhelmed with the needs around Him. As He sees the hurting people, described as weary and worn out by their burdens, He is burdened with compassion for them. Even Jesus could not help everyone. Like a farmer all alone amidst thousands of acres of ripe crops, He needs help to reap the spiritual harvest.
He instructs His disciples to pray to God the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers to the fields. The word send is a forceful word actually meaning to thrust out. We are to pray that God will compel others to join in the harvest of souls in the world. And we are also to pray for those who have already responded to Gods missionary call and given their lives to His service. Missionaries need our prayers! Visit http://pray.imb.org to pray over current prayer requests and sign up to have e-mail requests sent to your inbox at regular intervals.
Disciple the Nations (Matthew 28:18-20)
Jesus continues to emphasize His objective of missions in what we call the Great Commission in the passage above. Under His authority, we are to go into the world and make disciples. And He gives us the action-plan for just how to do it! Making disciples involves winning people to faith in Christ, baptizing them, which includes leading them to publicly acknowledge their allegiance to Christ and align with His church, and then teaching them everything Jesus taught. This work is to continue until the end of the age the end of time. The work of making disciples is to be our life-long work.
We are to go and make disciples. The go in the passage above is rendered in such a way as to mean as you are going. As we go through life, our all-consuming passion is to be making disciples. As we go to work, as we raise our families, as we prepare for retirement, as we go to church, as we go on vacation, as we go to the doctor, as we pay our bills, and as we answer His call to vocational missions service. Making disciples is to be the number one priority of churches and individual believers. How can you be involved in making disciples where you are? Have you asked God for His leadership in this endeavor? What is He calling you to do? For more information about how you can become directly involved in career missions, go here.
