The Missionary
“Declare his glory among the heathen, and his wonders among all people.” (Psalms 96:3)
So important are missionaries, that the last words spoken by Jesus to his eleven disciples were: “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 28:19-2 Notice this work is not to come to a close until “the end of the world”; it is intended to be an abiding and far-reaching effort to reach imperiled souls with the Gospel; for without the hearing of the Gospel, lost sinners are doomed to an eternal Hell where they will be separated forever from the presence and love of God.
While foraging through old photos recently, the Lord brought two pictures to the front which pricked my heart. Those pictures were of a lady and gentleman I knew many years ago, Jim and Tommie Eggimann. These two dear people (both now with the Lord), who were associated with Missions to Military, ministered to men and women from all branches of the armed forces, primarily Navy due to the location of their ministry. Jim and Tommie were my first encounter with missionaries and played a large role in my spiritual well-being; I have since maintained a high regard for missionaries.
Too often our missionaries are either forgotten, or they are placed on the proverbial “back burner”. My own prayer time is usually consumed with things of a personal nature, and. shamefully I admit my prayers far too seldom invoke the Lord’s blessings on our missionaries abroad; and if anyone needs our prayers (and resources) it must be these selfless saints who have left behind everything they know and marched out into a very dangerous world to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe it was our pastor who said recently, “They are doing what you and I are unable or unwilling to do”.
Since becoming a member of Calvary Baptist Church, I have been privileged to meet and get to know many other missionaries. Some of these missionaries serve in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Europe, here in the states, and some of them in very dangerous political environments. These folks have recognized a calling of the Lord in their lives to “go” and have then been sent by various churches and organizations to their particular mission fields. “They are doing what you and I are unable or unwilling to do”. Nevertheless, willing or not, we are all missionaries, called into that right and honorable work. We may not be “sent”, but we do have a mission field.
Wherever we reside, work, play, or wander is our mission field, and I dare say most of us (me included) have been very poor missionaries. We must learn to be always on the lookout for an opportunity to share the Gospel with those around us, whether at home, working, on vacation, etc. In 1986, Uncle Sam sent me on my first paid cruise to Israel. One morning I joined my friends John and Bill, with whom I spent most of my time, on a bus ride to Megiddo to view the massive valley there. A few days prior, John had discovered an amazing sandwich shop where the proprietor, a man named Abraham, made pita bread sandwiches so remarkable that as recently as a month or so ago John, Bill and I (with great pleasure) were still discussing them.
On his first visit to that sandwich shop, John felt led to leave a gospel tract with Abraham. On the day we visited the valley, John took Bill and I to that shop to get a sandwich. We knew he had previously given the gentleman a gospel tract, and that doing such things was illegal at the time so we were all a little anxious about returning. To our delight, Abraham told us he really liked the tract because it said “good things about the Jews”. John had acted as a missionary that day, allowing himself to be led of the Holy Spirit and presented Abraham with the Gospel. Prayerfully, we hope to find Abraham in Heaven someday. If we do, then in all probability, John the Missionary will have played a small part.
Help your local church to support the missionaries which have been sent by your church; however, like John, be a missionary wherever you are and. “Declare his glory among the heathen, and his wonders among all people.” It is OUR calling!
