Victoria Olatuyi

THE IMPORTANCE OF MISSION

Bible Reading: Matt. 28:18-20

1. OPENING

Mission signifies purposeful movement – being sent from one place to another for a purpose. The apostles of Jesus were among the first to be sent out on a mission to share the gospel. (Mk. 6:7; Lk. 10:1). To the Christian enterprise, mission is crucial, fundamental, primary and pivotal. The Gospel is the good news about Jesus Christ. It is the glorious and gracious message that through the personality and work of Jesus, sinners can be brought to a right relationship with God. It is a old message yet ever new. It is the greatest message ever given among people.

2. EVERY BELIEVER IS SENT

Every believer in Christ has been commissioned by the Lord to actively engage in the work of missions. Be mindful also that every child of God in a foreign land is in a foreign mission field. e.g. Daniel, Esther, the 3 Hebrews etc.We are all beneficiaries of the gospel. We are sent as Missionaries to go into all nations of the world. Our purpose is to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus lays out the role of the church in fulfilling this vision when he commissioned his disciples in (Matt. 28:18-20) “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”Our first responsibility is to God, when we give ourselves to Him, all other services becomes a walk through. It becomes easier.
As followers of Christ, our mission is to be disciples who make disciples. The great Commission as handed down by our Lord Jesus Christ to the church was to make disciples of all nations. In other words, we are to spread the gospel to every nation of the earth. The task is herculean,(laborious), it’s not easy to do. It takes visionary, determined and committed people to do it.
We have been commissioned and empowered by the Spirit of God to follow Jesus’ example and do as he did and continue his healing and saving ministry, focusing it on the most vulnerable people. Yet many of us are not sharing this message as we ought to.
In the Bible we have example after example of how he did this: he healed people, he placed value on people that others despised.
( Lk 4:18-19) “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,Because He has anointed MeTo preach the gospel to the poor;He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,To proclaim liberty to the captivesAnd recovery of sight to the blind,To set at liberty those who are oppressed;To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

3. WHAT MAKES MISSION IMPORTANT

People in different communities of the earth are under bondage of Satan, they are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. Satan is not in anyway willing to let his captives go free. It’s a spiritual warfare which we must fight and win. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal…” (2Cor. 1:4). For us to fight and win the battles, we must take some factors into consideration.

1. We must intentionally pursue intimacy with Christ and learn to abide in Him. (Jn. 15:5)
2. Our vision must be clear and certain. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 6:1).
3. We must be ready to spend and be spent (1Cor. 9:16-27) Apostel Paul saying necessity is laid on him to preach the gospel; to win people he made himself servant of all; and also disciplined himself by bringing himself to subjection so that having preached to others, he will not become disqualified.
4. We must be courageous and unmovable to go through challenges associated with the work. (2Cor. 11:21-33) is the record of how Apostel Paul suffered for Christ in his service. (Bitten, stoned, shipwrecked, journeys in perils, hunger, thirst, nakedness, among false brethren, face arrest etc.)
5. The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking… Rom. 14:17. We cannot overestimate the importance of the presence and power of the Holy Ghost in the work of proclaiming gospel of the kingdom of God. It’s simply indispensable because there are kingdoms to subdue, territories to conquer, captives to liberate from the oppressors tyranny, converts to prepare for victorious Christian living, and our ultimate home in heaven. The missionaries work among chronic sinners whose hearts are hardened and minds blinded by the god of this world. Therefore missionaries across various missions field need the divine encounter to demonstrate the Spirit and power of God to pull down satanic strongholds and turn their hearers to the power of God and not to enticing words of man’s wisdom

4. WE MUST TAKE OUR POSITION

Today, the kingdom’s work is suffering neglect because of these factors that are not properly taken care of. It’s time to arise and take up the challenges. We have been mandated and entrusted with the harvest. We must not fail our Lord who has assigned us.
Missionary trips are highly demanding. Missionaries sometimes go through untold hardship and they do so joyfully, glad to carry out the work of the Master. They therefore require finances that can sustain them and meet the needs of the people they minister to. Although not everyone can can become a missionary that will minister cross culturally, we have a duty to support those who go with our prayers, our money and other forms of encouragement. Each of us has a part to play. Some are meant to go to different nations and tribes to preach the gospel. Some are meant to pray consistently for those going while some are meant to be financiers. We must all take our rightful position in this important work of the kingdom.
We must be in time, no time must be wasted because the night comes. “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” (Jn. 9:4). The Kings business demands haste. All handwriting is on the wall that Jesus will soon come. Jesus knows He has a finite amount of time to “work” in His earthly ministry. Likewise, we as Christian believers have only the days of our earthly lives to accomplish the work God has assigned us this time. We must give whatever it takes to put in our best in the service. ….”It pays to serve Jesus, I speak…”

5. CONCLUSION

Let’s serve wholeheartedly, let all of our allegiance be unto Him who has called us. Let’s do our part. Don’t allow any mundane or human factors to distract you. Let’s be a true soldier, ready to die at our post and we will never be put to shame, because He has assured us as at our commissioning time: “…. and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Prayers

1. O Lord, Help us as missionaries and the church not to fail in the work you ordained for us to do.
2. Send your fire into our hearts and bones for accomplishment.
3. Let doors of different nations of the earth be opened to us
4. Give us connections and contacts that will make the work easier wherever we go.
5. Make your presence known with us continually in the mission fields.
6. Make our members true givers to the kingdom’s work.
7. O Lord, May we not miss the mark of our God given assignments in CGM and in your kingdom